REBLOG! Copper Beech Farm …$US190 Million

Earlier this month Sydney’s house prices topped out at $AU50 million – Altona, a Point Piper harbour front mansion – In the US however, a house has just gone on the market with an asking price of $AU195 Million.

Copper Beech Farm – named for the Copper Beech trees, not a US misspell - is set on 20 hectares/50 acres of manicured (subdividable) lushness, it boasts 12 bedrooms – excluding separate staff quarters – 9 bathrooms, standout views across Long Island Sound, two islands, private beach, grassed tennis court, 25-metre swimming pool, a proper geenhouse, gatehouse and stone carriage house.

…it’s not he Neo-French Renaissance style that’s got the asking price so high, nor is it’s history, Copper Beech Farm is a breezy 45 minute drive – as if you’d drive – to New York City. What’s that sound real-estate agents keep making? “Location, location, location.” :: Read the full article »»»»

Australia’s FIRST National Space Program Gets Government Funding

The Australian Federal Government has launched Australia’s first national space policy at Canberra’s Mount Stromlo Observatory. The launch showcased 14 Australian space research projects, funded by a $40 million Federal Government investment to support space-related research and education. Melbourne’s RMIT is one six universities in Australia to receive the funding boost, our favourite University scored almost $3M in funding :: Read the full article »»»»

British PM Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher Dead at Age 87

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87 following a stroke. As Britain’s longest-serving 20th century Prime Minister and the only woman to have held the job, Lady Thatcher presided over a decade of radical change in Britain, carving out a reputation as the most loved or loathed Prime Minister in memorable history. Lady Thatcher died peacefully on Monday morning, said Lord Tim Bell, a spokesman for the Thatcher family. Her death has been marked by tributes and celebrations. Regardless of your point of view, Lady Thatcher was surely the most powerful woman of the 20th century. In an amusing sidebar, Lady Thatchers death has caused a little twitter confusion. Many of those celebrating her passing marked their tweets with the hashtag #nowthatchersdead causing panic among fans of the US singer Cher, as some took this to read: “Now that Cher’s dead” :: Read the full article »»»»

Japanese Dream Machine Predicts Pictures While We Sleep

Grrr… Waking from a dream, instantly forgetting it is one of the slight handicaps we suffer as intelligent beings, surprisingly it doesn’t seem to appear on any of the interwebs Most Annoying lists – unlike No 12 our ability to eat with our mouths close - which also eeks me no end! Japanese scientists have solved the first problem, they’ve invented a machine that predicts images dreamt during sleep.

In science Visual Imagery during sleep – dreams, or at least the pictorial part of dreams – has until now been elusive to any objective analysis. Japanese researchers however have taken a novel new approach to our none waking hours, utilising machine learning models are able to predict the visual content of  our dreams. The new study – Neural Decoding of Visual Imagery During Sleep –  published in the journal Science and the findings could pave the way to prevent nightmares :: Read the full article »»»»

Ikea Kills Elk Lasagne After Traces of Pork Contamination

As Europe gets over it’s horse-meat scandal, spare a thought for Swedish furniture behemoth Ikea, after withdrawing their famous meatballs from sale, the flat-pack giant has stopped selling its frozen elk lasagne after a batch was found to contain traces of pork.

The company withdrew 17,600 lasagnes from sale and began performing its own tests after a Belgian laboratory said the minced elk meat contained just over one per cent pork.

The product, which contains around 12 per cent meat, had only been sold in European countries and was not available in any Muslim countries. Islamic law forbids the consumption of pork. The contamination had taken place at Dafgaard, the same company that produces the Ikea meatballs that were pulled after tests showed they contained horsemeat :: Read the full article »»»»

Canberra Man Goes Postal Armed with Chainsaw

A 34-year-old man has been taken into police custody after he entered a Canberra office building brandishing a running chainsaw. Police were called to the scene on Cowlishaw Street, Greenway in Canberra’s south around 3:30 this afternoon after receiving a number of hysterical phonecalls.

Police say the man from Dickson in the city’s north – believed to be an ex-government employee – entered a communal area of the commercial office space and cut through a number of doors with the chainsaw. The premises, across the road from Lake Tuggeranong, house a tax accountant’s office, a podiatrist and a real estate agent.

The building was evacuated as a safety precaution and no-one was hurt. The man was taken into custody and is expected to be charged with burglary-related offences.

UPDATE! Fairfax’s Canberra Times has superlative eyewitness coverage of the crime from a Department of Human Services employee who said she was at the Greenway building when frightened colleagues ran past “yelling and screaming for everyone to get out, I heard the banging of the chainsaw on the glass and it was pretty loud.” the witness told Matthew Raggatt :: Read the full Canberra Times article »»»»