Why do we dream?

About 100 years ago, Freud declared that dreams are the path to the unconscious. Oddly enough, despite all the progress in science today, we are no closer to understanding why we dream. Does dreaming have a biological function or is it just noise? Dreams can be in color or black and white, with or without sound, and yet we still don't know why it happens at all. So I put it to you - what do you think is happening when we dream?

Your Inner-Pack Rat

Last weekend, I spent two days going through stuff. I decided what I wanted to keep and what it was time to get rid of. I do this about twice a year and yet no matter how many times I swear I will buy fewer unnecessary things, there are always more things to get rid of biannually. I don't want to be a pack rat, but I'm afraid I am. I sometimes think that I want to have things in order to be prepared for the need, even if the need has not yet arisen. The result is I'm always accumulating. Am I alone in having this compulsion? I would really like to hear your thoughts and suggestions. How do you deal with your inner-pack rat?