Writer's Block: Year of the Ox
The description at the site for this Writer's block really annoys me because it gets the details wrong.
A good overview of Chinese Astrology can be found at the Wikipedia. According to a paperback I read years ago, there are five layers: Year, Season, Month, Day and Hour. I seldom see more than Year and Season discussed at any web site. Just using the Year with or without the Season is as good as using Western astrology and only referring to one's Sun sign, and not a full natal or transit chart. Either is like judging a person based on the colour of their underwear, without taking into account what they're wearing on top.
Having said that, it may just be that rather than being a standard system, that there are many regional variations of Chinese Astrology. In any case, as a Tarot reader, it's my opinion that what matters isn't the system used, but the reader. A good western Astrology will cast a natal or transit chart, but like tarot cards, that is a focus from which they read the person. Such readings will only be as good as the reader.
Newspaper columns are by default nonsense because they are not written to a particular person, but to a generic archetype. There are those who consider all of Astrology to be nonsense regardless of what system to be used. For the vast bulk of it that may be true, but saying that all Astrology is worthless, is like saying that all politicians and used car businesses are crooked. There's a fair percentage perhaps, but not everyone can be put so simply.