Author Ryan Van Cleave discussed the growing epidemic of video game addiction, and shared his personal addiction and recovery story. He got hooked on the multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, which attracts millions of users and has no set ending. The game is so popular that a $10 billion cottage industry of "gold farming" has developed where players stockpile tools and game advantages and sell them to other players who don't have the time to earn them. At the height of his Warcraft addiction, Van Cleave was playing up to 50 hours a week, "stealing time" from his friendships, family, and teaching job (which he lost).

There's nothing wrong with video games, per se-- it's a question of moderation, said Van Cleave, who noted that the digital generation has grown up without role models on how to manage one's time with games and online activity. Further, the problem often gets out of control in college, when students have large blocks of unsupervised time.

A lot of therapists don't know how to deal with the issue because it hasn't been classified as a legitimate disorder, and typical addiction strategies don't work for video games because computers and consoles are so ever-present, he pointed out. Among the resources for people to get help are reSTART, a facility in Fall City, WA and Olganon—an online gamers anonymous self-help fellowship.

Egyptian Update

First hour guest, Prof. Carmen Boulter talked about a new discovery in Saqqara, Egypt of a 4,300-year-old tomb (see article below). Interestingly, she noted that a lot of the archaeological finds at this site are only 10 feet below the surface. She also talked about how the Egyptians must have had superior technology like antigravity in order to move the huge blocks of the Pyramids.