You relax on cushions and blankets while the facilitator plays crystal singing bowls, and you can feel the vibration in every cell of your being.

In the center of the "sound chamber" is a small hole (approx. 6 inches across), that is directly under a large cement circle at the top of the room. If you stand over the hole in the wooden floor and talk (or sing), you are completely engulfed by the sound. People just a few feet away cannot hear anything at all.

It is a completely rejeuvenating experience and I will definitely go back!

A Little Wii At Work

The head of our group here at work recently bought us a Wii to play after work. I have to say this is an extremely smart move, as it encourages employees to gather together at the end of the day, and bond over that which every person can appreciate - a little healthy competition. So, thanks to this little gimmick, here I am, at 12am, having just finished playing Wii for 2 hours.

Interestingly, I am sweating profusely, just as after a good aerobic exercise. There was definitely a lot of moving around as I ducked to avoid punches and jumped up and down to land a couple of my own. It occurs to me that this is such a contrast from the video games of the 90s, where the most action you can expect is banging on a couple of buttons with your fingers. Now, not only are you having fun and learning some skills, you’re also getting some pretty good aerobic exercise!

My Education From Video Games
Looking back, I think video games really play a pretty big role in the education of mankind. For example, back when I was in high school, I clearly recalled playing an online role playing game called The Realm Online. Every morning, I would get up to kill some monsters and complete some missions. Eventually though, I did everything there was to do in the game, except finding some of the rare items. This is where I started getting some very good lessons about the economy. Instead of playing the game, I bought and sold a lot of in-game items: Buying a thingy for 4 million, selling it for 6 million. Not only that, this game has very interesting twist, in that there is no trading system, so any trade would have to be a “you give first, then I give” sort of thing. That taught me the value of integrity and being an honest person. People liked me and would pay an extra amount just to have bought stuff from CowWarrior (that was my nickname in the game).

Eventually, starting from 1000 gold, I became one of the only billionaires in the game. I was online almost all the time, serving customers as soon as I was able to. I charged a high price, but I was also the only one where you can sell and buy quickly, with no hassles. I ran sweepstakes and became very well known in the community. It was a fun time for me. When I finally decided to quit, there was no shortage of buyers for my account, which I sold for a measly sum of $500.

Before long, I had gotten into other online role playing games, such as Diablo 2. Coming off of my “success” in The Realm, I worked diligently to buy and sell items. In my senior year of high school, I made a few thousand dollars from this venture. Not too much money, but nothing to scoff at either. Interestingly enough, the principles I learned through these minor business experiences are really no different than the ones you’d learn in real life. There were times I was stuck with items I couldn’t sell. There were times where things gone really well. There were angry customers, good customers, cheaters, scammers - all the regular bunch you’d see in real life. And that is exactly what video games are - minor simulations of particular aspects of real life.

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