Time After Time.

 

After finding the quantum sphere from Continuum at lunch a couple of weeks ago, I dutifully sent the requested location selfie with time machine off to Todd Ireland, the show's Social Media Coordinator, with the following comment:

Obviously the coolest thing I’ve ever found at lunch. 

A long echoing silence followed. Which, to be honest, didn't bother me too much, since I was a little concerned that Mr. Ireland would either ask for his sphere back, or request that I find a new spot for it someplace else in the Greater Vancouver Region.

To my mild surprise, the following e-mail appeared in my In box on Friday:

From: Todd Ireland
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 10:58:14
To:  The Infinite Revolution
Subject: Re: Quantum sphere, as requested.

Wow! I have no idea how I missed this email in my inbox!!!!

I just happened to be going through my emails to see if I missed anything in the last few weeks and found this.

So happy that you found it!

Can you tell us a little bit about how you found it...

Do you watch the show?

May I use your name and photo in our Twitter feed and Facebook page?

Awesome and congrats!

Hold on to that sucker cause it's rare!

Todd Ireland
Script coordinator
Social Media Coordinator
Continuum Season 3

The good news is that Todd doesn't need me to put the quantum sphere back into circulation, which is a huge bonus - it's obviously an incredibly cool thing for a science fiction fan to have.  Thanks very much, Todd!

 - Sid

P.S. The photocomp image at the start just isn't quite making it for me, so, in violation of ongoing policy, there's a good chance I'll change that in the near future - time machine pun not intended.

"Congratulations, it's all yours!"

 Hi sid_plested,

We hope you enjoy your BUCK ROGERS XZ-38 DAISY DISINTEGRATOR RAY GUN 1935 COPPER ORIGINAL. Pay now to get your item as quickly as possible.

eBay.ca

Welp...I just bought a used ray gun on eBay.

(Come to think of it, last week I found a time machine, this week I bought a ray gun:  is ANYONE ELSE'S March going a bit oddly?  Or is it just me?) 

I can't really say I did it by accident.  As per my previous post on Buck Rogers weaponry, the idea of spending over $150 on an antique Buck Rogers disintegrator pistol activates some kind of mental governor that just stops the whole process.  Unfortunately, the eBay seller in question must have read that posting, since the opening bid that they requested on their item was, you guessed it, $149.99.

In my defense, I honestly didn't think that I would be the only bidder.*  In fact, the lack of other interested geeks makes me wonder if I've paid more than I should have (with no offense to the buyer, I refer solely to lack of discriminating knowledge on my part that, based on the photos or description, should have stopped me from placing my bid).

The pictures on the listing look about the same as all the other pictures of 80-year-old Daisy pistols that I've seen on eBay - you can see that the finish is a bit worn, there's some rust on the emitter bell, and a bit of verdigris on the barrel, but again, they all look like this to a greater or lesser extent.  I've actually seen XZ-38s for sale at about the same price that looked like they'd been literally buried in someone's basement since 1935, so this one is not too bad.

However, it's a bit late for second thoughts - I bid on it, I won the auction, it's mine, and, honestly, I will not miss any meals because of the $150 that I spent on an antique toy.  The XZ-38 will be here in about nine days, at which point I'll be able to inspect it to my heart's content.  And then - release Wilma Deering or beware my wrath, evil hordes of Han! 

 - Sid

* I know, this sounds a lot like my defense for purchasing a Major Matt Mason figure.  Obviously I'm a little self-conscious about this sort of thing.

Things To Do With A Time Machine (Other Than Kill Hitler).

"Oh, about sixty C's up the Road I'm an archaeologist.  Every now and then I come back to bury a few things. Then I go forward and dig them up again. I've already written the paper on this batch. Actually, it's a pretty interesting piece on cultural diffusion. I've got some really nice artifacts from Mohenjo-Daro this time around."

Roger Zelazny, Roadmarks

"If I miss a program I just pop back in time and watch it.  I'm hopeless fiddling with all those buttons."
"You have a time machine and you use it for watching television?"
"Well, I wouldn't use it at all if I could get the hang of the video recorder."

Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

"Ten minutes to you, L.M.," Barney said, "but it's been hours for us. The machine is okay, so we're over the first and biggest hurdle. We know now that Professor Hewett's vremeatron works even better than we had hoped.  The way is open to take a company back in time and film an accurate, full-length, wide-screen, realistic, low-budget, high-quality historical."

Harry Harrison, The Technicolor Time Machine

"But you must understand, it's mostly criminals who seek their refuge in time machines."

"I can't blame them...  What's the price of such a thing?"

"How far do you want to go?"

"Well...uh...my intention is to write the history of the Jewish people."

Paul van Herck, Where Were You Last Pluterday?

 - Sid