A massive traffic jam in north China that stretches for dozens of miles and hit its 10-day mark on Tuesday stems from road construction in Beijing that won't be finished until the middle of next month, an official said.
Bumper-to-bumper gridlock spanning for 60 miles (100 kilometers) with cars moving little more than a half-mile (one kilometer) a day at one point has improved since this weekend, said Zhang Minghai, director of Zhangjiakou city's Traffic Management Bureau general office.
But he said he wasn't sure when the situation along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway would return to normal.
The traffic jam started Aug. 14 on a stretch of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway. That section has frequently been congested, especially after large coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia, Zhang said. Traffic volume has increased 40 percent every year.
Drivers stranded in the gridlock in the Inner Mongolia region and Hebei province, headed toward Beijing, passed the time sleeping, walking around, or playing cards and chess. Local villagers were doing brisk business selling instant noodles, boxed lunches and snacks, weaving between the parked trucks on bicycles.
The highway construction in Beijing that is restricting inbound traffic flow and causing the jam "will not be finished until Sept. 17," he said.
Authorities were trying to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night, Zhang said. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations and advised drivers to take alternate routes.
China's roadways are increasingly overburdened as the number of private vehicles booms along with commercial truck traffic hauling materials like coal and food to cities. Traffic slowdowns because of construction and accidents are common, though a 10-day traffic jam is unusual even in China.
Associated Press
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Your fears confirmed: "up to" broadband speeds are bogus
Broadband providers in the US have long hawked their wares in "up to" terms. You know—"up to" 10Mbps, where "up to" sits like a tiny pebble beside the huge font size of the raw number.
In reality, no one gets these speeds. That's not news to the techno-literate, of course, but a new Federal Communications Commission report (PDF) shines a probing flashlight on the issue and makes a sharp conclusion: broadband users get, on average, a mere 50 percent of that "up to" speed they had hoped to achieve.
In reality, no one gets these speeds. That's not news to the techno-literate, of course, but a new Federal Communications Commission report (PDF) shines a probing flashlight on the issue and makes a sharp conclusion: broadband users get, on average, a mere 50 percent of that "up to" speed they had hoped to achieve.
Grocery iQ
- Auto-suggest: Start typing and Grocery iQ will suggest grocery items you can quickly select.
- Barcode scanning: Take a picture of a barcode with your camera to add an item to your list.
- Favorites and History: Add frequently- or previously-purchased items to your list with just a few taps.
- Use Your Voice: Find and add items to your shopping list by saying the item name.
- Create lists for different grocery stores: Add items to a specific list or to your "Any Store" list. Add item details: Enter product quantity, package size, price and more.
- Organize items by grocery store aisle: Grocery iQ automatically sorts your list so you can easily navigate the store.
- Coupons by category: Click on an aisle from your list to view coupons related to that category.
- Coupon gallery: Find over a hundred coupons for your favorite brands.
- Email coupons: Email coupons directly from Grocery IQ.
- Savings Card: Add store coupons directly to your Savings Card.
Japan, Checking on Its Oldest, Finds Many Gone
Japan has long boasted of having many of the world’s oldest people — testament, many here say, to a society with a superior diet and a commitment to its elderly that is unrivaled in the West.
That was before the police found the body of a man thought to be one of Japan’s oldest, at 111 years, mummified in his bed, dead for more than three decades. His daughter, now 81, hid his death to continue collecting his monthly pension payments, the police said.
That was before the police found the body of a man thought to be one of Japan’s oldest, at 111 years, mummified in his bed, dead for more than three decades. His daughter, now 81, hid his death to continue collecting his monthly pension payments, the police said.
Picasa v3.8 Is Out!
Picasa 3.8 has made it easier to organize your photos without opening your browser. Apply Picnik’s photo-editing awesomeness to your photo and save it back to Picasa. Then make a Face Movie out of your portraits. In this new version, you'll also find an amped up properties panel and a new Batch upload option so you can upload your entire photo collection. Get started by downloading Picasa at http://picasa.google.com
 | Face Movie--You might be in charge of making a slideshow for a birthday party or wedding. Maybe you have only have two days and all you have is a bunch of group photos. Don’t panic. With the new Face Movie, you can quickly create a slideshow featuring that special someone, centered around that special someone, complete with transitions, music and captions. Watch a video demo of a Face Movie. Learn more |
 | Batch Upload -- Manage and organize your photos -- We've improved the the upload feature so that you can upload multiple albums to Picasa Web Albums at the same time. You can also remove albums, change upload size, visibility, or the sync state of photos that are already online on Picasa Web Albums. Learn more |
 | Edit in Picnik -- Apply Picnik magic to your photo by selecting Edit in Picnik from the Basic Effects tab. Picnik is an easy and powerful photo-editor that allows you to edit photos easily, share them and save them back to Picasa Web Albums, right in your browser. Learn more |
 | Properties panel -- Picasa now supports XMP along with EXIF data. Image data  is now available in the Properties panel along with places and tags. Use the information to see exactly which camera settings you used when you took the photo. Learn more |
The Secret of Beer Goggles Discovered
British researchers have discovered why alcohol drinking makes other people look better. The reason is linked to humans' preference for symmetrical faces. Bad news for women: You get more affected by the beer goggles than men.
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