"No thanks, I have already eDone that."

Two weeks ago at a annual community fair I got to experience a near once in a lifetime opportunity. A friend and I were making our way through the crowds when we spotted a helicopter landing in a nearby field. After moving closer to the helipad we noticed a sign that read "helicopter rides." Upon arriving at the registration tent we found that rides were only $35 and without hesitation I put my name on the list of upcoming riders.

Only minutes after paying I was in the air buzzing around Draper pretending to shoot a machine gun out the side or wishing I had pennies to drop. Even after slightly expecting a case of "never meet your childhood star" syndrome, I can say that the flight was nothing short of amazing. It was everything I expected a helicopter ride to be in my mind. After we landed, however, I realized that the entire event felt oddly familiar.

It took me several days to figure out why but soon I realized that the culprit for the "I've experienced this before" feeling was nothing more than computer software and video games. It is uncanny how well Google Earth or any flight simulator can match the exact feeling that I got while in a real-life helicopter. The view of looking down on civilization below can be nearly carbon copied through the soft glow of an LCD screen.

The helicopter ride was truly one of the neatest experiences of my life. But I honestly think that I would have enjoyed it much more if I didn't know exactly what to expect before lifting off and hovering 500 ft over my house. It is a sad but awe-inspiring thought that modern technology has the ability to recreate situations- ones that would ordinarily be incredibly unique and special- virtually any time you want to experience it. I just can't wait till they come out with robot wives...

-- Chad Waite, Daily Derbi