Keeping it simple on DIY favourite

It’s been a whole Olympiad since we last saw Mitre 10 Dream Home or Simon Barnett on our screens. But while the latter no longer has Stars in His Eyes, he’s excited about fronting a new version of the perennially popular home renovation competition, especially as it has been set in his home province of Canterbury (Kaiapoi’s new Sovereign Palms subdivision, to be exact).

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The Decemberists: Nerd Rock

It’s a clear, chilly winter day in Portland, Ore., and Colin Meloy, leader of the Decemberists, is expounding on folk chanteuse Gillian Welch’s guest vocals on their new album, The King Is Dead. “No country-rock record would be complete without some backing vocalist with a clear and distinct voice,” he says, citing Nicolette Larson’s singing on Neil Young’s Comes a Time and Emmylou Harris’ work with Gram Parsons.

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First rocky planet found outside solar system

Scientists have discovered the first confirmed Earthlike planet outside our solar system, they announced Wednesday. “This is the first confirmed rocky planet in another system,” astronomer Artie Hatzes told CNN, contrasting the solid planet with gaseous ones like Jupiter and Saturn

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Can computer software account for climate change?

Microsoft had trouble solving the problems with its Vista operating system, so what are its chances of fixing climate change? The global software firm has created an online tool called Project 2 Degrees for cities across the world to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, the hope is, then do something about them. While Bill Gates’ company have tailored an online carbon accounting tool for cities, businesses are increasingly turning on to the benefits and need to track their own GHGs, opening up an area for enterprise software companies to provide the best tools for the job

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