The one-room building contained a table with a porcelain top and a hide-bottomed chair, both sitting under an unfrosted light bulb hanging from the ceiling on a long cord, and Obie went in and scraped dust and fallen dirt-dauber nests off the table with the side of his hand.

NEWYORKER: Idols

Building a computer into a table that several users can gather around is one way that researchers are tackling that challenge.

WSJ: The Shape of Computers to Come?

Faticanti said they were talking to engineers in Abu Dhabi about the possibility of creating a well to reach the underground water table in the center of the building, and using it to create a green oasis of gardens.

CNN: High-rise living with a twist

From this year's 200 Best Small Companies list, Dedio found six stocks he especially likes for investors building a small-cap portfolio amid the market's gyrations (see table).

FORBES: Pick of the Crop

Global landmarks that are going green on 17 March include Niagara Falls, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj al Arab in Dubai, Table Mountain in South Africa, New York's Empire State Building and Berlin's TV Tower.

BBC: Queen answers Irish bid to turn Buckingham Palace green

In Maastricht, in the provincial government building where the now-questioned treaty was signed, a small exhibit in a hallway shows an oak table used by one of the delegations at the summit.

WSJ: Doubts Arise in Euro's Birthplace