Dreams into nightmares

April 29: From BBC News Africa - Morocco has launched an investigation into Thursday's bomb attack on a cafe in Marrakesh that left 14 people dead including 11 foreigners.
More than 20 others were wounded, some seriously, when the blast ripped through the Argana cafe in Djemaa el-Fna square, a popular tourist spot.
Nationalities of the foreign victims have not been confirmed, but medical sources say at least six are French.
A Marrakesh official said a suicide bomber could have caused the blast.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack.

A beautiful song, released in 1969, also died in that blast. We live in troubled times.

The Secret of the Water Tower

The Chicago Water Tower is located on North Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile shopping district. It is the second-oldest water tower in the United States, after the Louisville, KY Water Tower.

The tower, built in 1869 by architect William W. Boyington from yellowing Joliet limestone, is 154 feet tall. Inside was a 138 foot high standpipe to hold water. In addition to being used for firefighting, the pressure in the pipe could be regulated to control water surges in the area.The tower gained prominence after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. While some incorrectly believe that the tower was the only building to survive the fire, a few other buildings in the burned district survived along with the tower.
�But the water tower was the only public building in the burned zone to survive, and is one of just a few of the surviving structures still standing. In the years since the fire, the tower has become a symbol of old Chicago and of the city's recovery from the fire. In 1918, when Pine Street was widened, the plans were altered in order to give the Water Tower a featured location.
The structure has not been universally admired. Oscar Wilde said it looked like "a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it," although he did admire the arrangement and movement of the pumping machinery inside. The Tower was named an American Water Landmark in 1969.

But all that pales into insignificance when one discovers the true greatness of the structure. What is it? You're about to find out!
Ready? �Wait for it... Smile, and click 'read more'!

Read more �

Earth -- A Short Truth

Has the Earth stayed the same since its creation, or is it evolving? Do you believe in global warming? Climate change? Or maybe you think something's happening, but whatever it is, Mother Nature will handle it.

I take no side, but here's an observation to chew on. Ever since Aristarchus calculated the distance to the moon around 230 B.C., we have gazed upon the heavens to find out who and where we are. In all those years we have discovered many planets, all of which differ from Mother Earth in one key aspect: they're all dead.

As far as we know, Earth, the third planet from a nondescript, average star hanging around in the Milky Way galaxy, is unique in its ability to sustain life as we know it.

Just how skillful and hardy is Earth at its life-giving attribute?  We're testing it right now.