From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
In Mumbai, India, work started on the 245m 'Residence Antilla' for mogul Mukesh Ambani midway through 2007. Expecting to be completed by the end of this year, the tycoon's palatial residence boasts some very impressive green ideas - notwithstanding that nearly half the levels are gardens with open space built into its design.
Although the building will be the headquarters for his company Reliance Industries it predominantly serves as Ambani's home. In the most densely populated city in the world (30,000 people per sq. km) who can blame this man from desiring some space and tranquility.
And tranquility will certainly be in abundance. Far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Mumbai, the Ambani family will be able to enjoy open space consisting of fytowalls, waterfalls and massive sky-gardens. In fact, the whole building will be reminiscent of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - albeit inaccessible to the public.
One of its claims to fame is this comment from Skyscraper News;
Even more impressively is the outer skin of the building which in part will have a living wall - it's been designed to have entwined plants running up to the top of it on the 40th floor which will make it a unique building and set a new world record for the tallest continuous living thing.
Touted as costing more than US$1 billion dollars, it's a palatial garden centre that has spread heavenward rather than sprawled through urban or rural locales.
Would I have built it if I had the money? Let's say the jury's still out on that one - which is probably why I don't have that kind of money - but it certainly does have some benefits. Plus, it raises and incorporates many of the future thoughts I have discussed here, here and here.
In Mumbai, India, work started on the 245m 'Residence Antilla' for mogul Mukesh Ambani midway through 2007. Expecting to be completed by the end of this year, the tycoon's palatial residence boasts some very impressive green ideas - notwithstanding that nearly half the levels are gardens with open space built into its design.
Although the building will be the headquarters for his company Reliance Industries it predominantly serves as Ambani's home. In the most densely populated city in the world (30,000 people per sq. km) who can blame this man from desiring some space and tranquility.
And tranquility will certainly be in abundance. Far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Mumbai, the Ambani family will be able to enjoy open space consisting of fytowalls, waterfalls and massive sky-gardens. In fact, the whole building will be reminiscent of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - albeit inaccessible to the public.
One of its claims to fame is this comment from Skyscraper News;
Even more impressively is the outer skin of the building which in part will have a living wall - it's been designed to have entwined plants running up to the top of it on the 40th floor which will make it a unique building and set a new world record for the tallest continuous living thing.
Touted as costing more than US$1 billion dollars, it's a palatial garden centre that has spread heavenward rather than sprawled through urban or rural locales.
Would I have built it if I had the money? Let's say the jury's still out on that one - which is probably why I don't have that kind of money - but it certainly does have some benefits. Plus, it raises and incorporates many of the future thoughts I have discussed here, here and here.
Not a bad description of menopause - for a guy. The symptoms suck. No wonder, some woman want to forgo the symptoms altogether. And according to the Mayo Clinic, women should be able to mask their bad symptoms with drugs. They should be able to have their cake and eat it too: “even though menopause is not an illness, you shouldn't hesitate to get treatment if you're having severe symptoms.” 
Which brings me to my take on menopause. Here's my theory about Menopause, or it’s alarming ancestor, Hysteria, which women “suffer” as they age. The hormonal stew sloshing around in women of child-bearing ages is the real sickness and the storms of menopause sweep away the miasmas of fever. From the onset of puberty, hormones that make women nubile make them very distracted. Then comes menopause, and women pass another hormonal mountain range. The end of menopause permits women to pay attention. They can (if lucky) retire from their lifelong role as daughter, wife, mother, caregiver. As the word itself subtly hints, women can pause in their lifelong task of caring for men, pause, and become sisters with other women. Over the last few years, US automakers have introduced not merely world-class, but superior cars in every category, and all this has happened with astonishingly little fanfare or notice in the press. The four-door sedans include the nearly flawless 300 from Chrysler, the ultra-sharp 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, and my favorite, the redesigned 2008 Ford Taurus. Subcompacts include the Italian-looking Aveo and Cobalt from Chevy and the Ford Focus, the best small car of the last decade. Pontiac and Saturn offer sweet convertible sports cars and Ford’s Mustang is a design masterpiece. Luxury cars include the 300C as well as every model of Cadillac.
No foreign manufacturer can beat these cars for value. The fact that they are designed and made in the USA, the greatest nation in the world, seems to have been ignored, even by their marketers. The “big three” are running lackluster ads. For example, the Focus is a blast to drive and gets great mileage, but Ford pushes its tedious hands-free communications system. Similarly, they soft-sell the Taurus’s safety features, when it is a virtual S-class Mercedes at a third the price.
If personality is your thing, Chevy’s HHR and Pontiac’s Vibe deliver quirkiness as well as mechanical brilliance. Plus, both Ford and Chevy offer excellent hybrids. It’s a good thing when you can go to the big three’s car lots and smile all day. I’ve owned both German and Japanese cars. I’ve also traded them in for American cars, as soon as I saw what Detroit was producing. Ford has been especially impressive, but then I’ve always been partial to the Taurus, ever since the 1986 introduction year, even during the last few years’ jellybean designs. But Nissan gave Ford a wake-up call, which they heard, big time. And a used 1968 Malibu was the first car I owned, so it’s going to be fun to watch how the impressive new version progresses. The Japanese and Germans produce good cars, but all those profits going overseas bugs me. I admit the Honda Fit is hard to resist—until you drive the Focus. Ditto the Lancer and Impreza, until you drive the Fusion.
Now that Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep are back in American hands, God bless them. Detroit has a new lease on life.
Hils brought the new Bird bath in on Monday. I hope they use it to drink and bath...
A new Bird for the Garden.I dont know what it is yet. I need to read my Bird books and try to identify him. He picked up the seeds that have dropped from the red net bag that is on the fence post...
The Blue Tit stretching his neck to admire the new bell shaped seed feeder!
Another Unknown bird.I thought it was a Blackbird but it is not I dont think. He fed off the ground near the Bird table..
Ding Dong. Bird seed in a Bell shape. Fran brought it this morning along with the Dogwood, and a DVD player. The fruit cane is now holding it aloft.I love the acrobatic birds balancing on it as it swayed in the wind. They found it within five minutes off me placing it outside.
The Solar Light, one of four outside now in the Left hand Border.They must have charged the battery before they packed them. I just removed a red tag and it came on.I think night lights add magic to a garden, and mean you can see it differently at night, compared to the Daytime.