2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show

Yesterday, digitalemur and I went to the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Executive summary:

• a long drive but glad we went


• impressed that they manage to hold what is effectively the Pennsylvania state fair indoors in January


• free admission: only charge is $10 per car for parking


• no midway but not particularly missed


• food court reminiscent of CNE, but with more farm association vendors, which is better, I think


• crowds large but well-managed


• would probably recommend going on a weekday


• definitely interested in going again

There will be a post with photos once I upload.

The Farm Show continues through this Saturday the 14th at 5PM. Wednesday through Friday hours are 9AM to 9PM.

What the hell is going on in Hungary?

I've been meaning to ask this question for a few weeks now, but I've been waiting for more information to provide clarity. That clarity not being forthcoming I'm now asking anyhow.

http://fistfulofeuros.net/afoe/from-here-to-eternity-hungarian-style/

http://creditbubblebath.blogspot.com/2012/01/hungarian-hot-pot.html

(the author of the second piece comments in the first:

I don’t see a constructive outcome without Orban willfully sacrificing himself in the national interest by stepping aside. If he wants to stay put he has the ability to so and could always tap the FX reserves for short term funds. I think there is a pretty meaningful chance that this gets bungled messily. Trusting in politicians to do the right thing has been a dangerous belief to hold for some time now…

Crazy.

China's online train ticket system cracks under holiday pressure.

From Want China Times, a Taiwanese news site about China:

Launched in June 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Railways' online ticket-buying system is facing its first major challenge as the Chinese New Year holiday, the peak travel season in China, continues to pick up speed. A report from Chinese-language news portal Southeast Network has said that the system, which has been periodically crashing, was not given any stress tests prior to the busy season.

The report said the website was viewed 1.4 billion times on Monday, meaning that, on average, every person in the country logged on at least once. Users had a hard time accessing the site, however, due to the tremendous pressure put on the system by heavy traffic. Some experienced buyers tried to access the website many times or in multiple ways, but others had to depend on their luck.

Some media outlets in China used the click-through rate and number of tickets sold to calculate that a user had to try an average of 500 times to successfully make a ticket purchase. Buying a ticket successfully on the site, however, did not mean users would receive their purchase. Over the past 10 days, many users have complained that they have not been able to retrieve tickets at booths even after making payments online.

Color me shocked.