"Most of the drivers in the congested 45-mile interval between the north and south ends of the loop-to-come, in fact, actually enter and then leave the interstate in that interval, and so will have no use for the loop. And the bulk of the 18-wheelers that cause so much stress for the urbanites in their noisy shadows likewise will have business inside the loop and remain on I-35.
But what Texans will get for the $1.5 billion they're spending on Texas 130, along with the estimated $167 million for Texas 45 Southeast, will be a shot at maintaining the traffic status quo rather than facing genuine big-city gridlock on I-35.
And, Central Texas policy-makers say, construction of Texas 130 and its sister toll roads will protect the area against further economic shocks such as Dell Inc.'s 1999 decision to put a plant in Nashville in part because of traffic problems in Central Texas."
"The proliferation of WiFi, or high-speed wireless Internet access -- among corporations, on university campuses and even in cafes such as Starbucks -- has also helped spur growth of the tablet PC, analysts said.
And while Promisel said there will be a consumer market for tablet PCs -- such as college students taking them to class for note-taking and such -- what really needs to happen for the tablet PC to take off is the development of new software applications for corporate customers."
'Every young democracy needs the help of friends,' Bush said in Tuesday's speech to the U.N. General Assembly. 'Now the nation of Iraq needs and deserves our aid. And all nations of good will should step forward and provide that support.'
'What surprised us was his attitude in his speech and the meeting,' said a senior diplomat familiar with one of Bush's private sessions in New York. 'It was, 'We're going to go ahead and do what we need to. You're welcome to come along. It's up to you.' ' A respected Republican foreign policy veteran said he has found the president's chilly approach to the United Nations and important allies 'baffling.' The former official -- who, like many interviewed for this story, would speak only on background -- described it as consistent with dominant themes in the Bush administration's overall approach to international affairs.
'It's unilateral by design,' said the former official, who described a White House and Pentagon that do not reach out or listen very well. Influential figures believe, he said, that 'if we pay attention to others, they'll just hogtie us. We'll be Gulliver and the Lilliputians.'
