If you had a time machine – one way – what / when would you go?

Let’s say it could enclose a 2m diameter sphere and anything inside that sphere could be taken with you.

Would you change your decision if you you could return to that point of time?

Obviousman said:

If you had a time machine – one way – what / when would you go?

Let’s say it could enclose a 2m diameter sphere and anything inside that sphere could be taken with you.

Would you change your decision if you you could return to that point of time?

Add to that, which ten albums would you take with you? Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

roughbarked said:

Add to that, which ten albums would you take with you? Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

Nice call…

• Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

Or you could take an MP3 player with hundreds of albums that fits into a space less than would be occupied by ten albums…

off the top of my head, errr,,,,

Go back to the time of Ghenghis, become his advisor and try to establish an empire that develops with foresight

furious said:

• Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

Or you could take an MP3 player with hundreds of albums that fits into a space less than would be occupied by ten albums…

Which would also mean that you’d have to either provide for or never attend a time zone that didn’t have recharging capabilities.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

off the top of my head, errr,,,,

Go back to the time of Ghenghis, become his advisor and try to establish an empire that develops with foresight

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

roughbarked said:

furious said:

• Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

Or you could take an MP3 player with hundreds of albums that fits into a space less than would be occupied by ten albums…

Which would also mean that you’d have to either provide for or never attend a time zone that didn’t have recharging capabilities.

Small solar panel.

• Which would also mean that you’d have to either provide for or never attend a time zone that didn’t have recharging capabilities.

How do you propose to travel in time and listen to your ten albums without some sort of power source?

roughbarked said:

Obviousman said:

If you had a time machine – one way – what / when would you go?

Let’s say it could enclose a 2m diameter sphere and anything inside that sphere could be taken with you.

Would you change your decision if you you could return to that point of time?

Add to that, which ten albums would you take with you? Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

I’d take a guitar

• That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

All you’d need is a boom stick…

roughbarked said:

furious said:

• Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

Or you could take an MP3 player with hundreds of albums that fits into a space less than would be occupied by ten albums…

Which would also mean that you’d have to either provide for or never attend a time zone that didn’t have recharging capabilities.

I don’t see that as a big issue. Take the recharging gear and know that if you are in an electrical age you need 240v / 50 Hz. If you are going to an age with no electrictity then that is different…

furious said:

• Which would also mean that you’d have to either provide for or never attend a time zone that didn’t have recharging capabilities.

How do you propose to travel in time and listen to your ten albums without some sort of power source?

By the same means anyone would on a desert island.. wonder WTF they saved a record player.

Neophyte said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

off the top of my head, errr,,,,

Go back to the time of Ghenghis, become his advisor and try to establish an empire that develops with foresight

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

Riff-in-Thyme said:

roughbarked said:

Obviousman said:

If you had a time machine – one way – what / when would you go?

Let’s say it could enclose a 2m diameter sphere and anything inside that sphere could be taken with you.

Would you change your decision if you you could return to that point of time?

Add to that, which ten albums would you take with you? Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

I’d take a guitar

Now you are talking but I think even a dulcimer would probably be taking up too much room. I find harmonicas are portable and only need one listener who is the player.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Neophyte said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

off the top of my head, errr,,,,

Go back to the time of Ghenghis, become his advisor and try to establish an empire that develops with foresight

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

That’s a good answer IMO. You thought ahead as to how you’d place yourself to achieve your goals.

roughbarked said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

roughbarked said:

Add to that, which ten albums would you take with you? Bearing in mind that you only have room for the ten albums and that you are going to have to listen to them until you reach a time zone where you could update.

I’d take a guitar

Now you are talking but I think even a dulcimer would probably be taking up too much room. I find harmonicas are portable and only need one listener who is the player.

I’d want to take my Les Paul and then I’d need an amp :(

Obviousman said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Neophyte said:

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

That’s a good answer IMO. You thought ahead as to how you’d place yourself to achieve your goals.

True. I think this would be a requirement of time travel. One would need to always be thinking before each leap.

Obviousman said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Neophyte said:

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

That’s a good answer IMO. You thought ahead as to how you’d place yourself to achieve your goals.

If you want to go back in time to influence a person it would be most sensible to place yourself in their childhood where they are the most impressionable

Riff-in-Thyme said:

roughbarked said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

I’d take a guitar

Now you are talking but I think even a dulcimer would probably be taking up too much room. I find harmonicas are portable and only need one listener who is the player.

I’d want to take my Les Paul and then I’d need an amp :(

You could be reduced to a jews harp.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Obviousman said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

That’s a good answer IMO. You thought ahead as to how you’d place yourself to achieve your goals.

If you want to go back in time to influence a person it would be most sensible to place yourself in their childhood where they are the most impressionable

Preferably before they were seven. Just to set the seed.. Then come back when they are old enough to include you in their power.

roughbarked said:

Obviousman said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

That’s a good answer IMO. You thought ahead as to how you’d place yourself to achieve your goals.

True. I think this would be a requirement of time travel. One would need to always be thinking before each leap.

It would be very good preparation to watch ‘The Man From Earth’ before time travelling. The Man From Earth

I’m not convinced that going to any when where I don’t exist is a healthy choice.

Firstly, before I was born there were all sorts of nasty bugs… that I would have no natural immunity to.

Secondly, I could just take a ship full of gold and ‘play’ the stock market and become a self made tyrant…

Thirdly… ‘all’ the good albums were being made at that time.

Cheers and have fun running with reptiles and blood thirsty Khans.

I’m not convinced that going to any when where I don’t exist is a healthy choice.

Firstly, before I was born there were all sorts of nasty bugs… that I would have no natural immunity to.

Secondly, I could just take a ship full of gold and ‘play’ the stock market and become a self made tyrant…

Thirdly… ‘all’ the good albums were being made at that time.

Cheers and have fun running with reptiles and blood thirsty Khans.

You really need to push the button – ONCE – then wait for a little before re-posting.

LOL!

Too bally easy old thing -

I would go back to the start of the 20th century with blue prints for a Harrier Jump Jet and bang together as good a version as possible and then, on December 17, 1903, I would buzz the Wright Bros just they get their Flyer airborne.

in such circumstances you’d need an AK-47 and a decent amount of ammunition as a ‘just in case situation – you’d need to have a reliable weapon in case everything went pear shaped. if you went back in time a weapon like this would be formidable. you’d want to take serious camouflage so that you could evade people if need be. a trail bike would be useful but you’d need to have it run on ethanol or similar for simplicities sake. you’d want tools so you could make things. a reliable data store of useful information and display would be very useful..

• in such circumstances you’d need an AK-47 and a decent amount of ammunition as a ‘just in case situation

Like I said… A boom stick…

Hmm, 2 metres diameter you say.

A few good pipes, a much tobacco as I could stuff in, and a few books of physics, mathematics, chemistry and general science.

I’d perhaps try to influence Julius Caesar. Get him before the power went too far to his head and try and get the Roman Republic maintained.

furious said:

• in such circumstances you’d need an AK-47 and a decent amount of ammunition as a ‘just in case situation

Like I said… A boom stick…

not just any boom stick you need something that will continue working, you’d need spare parts and tools to build stuff from metal and make metal.

it might be possible to fit the entire wealth of mankind into a small sphere

the sphere itself would need to be strong so the occupant could return in an emergency.

you could have it so it floats and thus separates you from the baying rabble that would want to kill you. if you went back in time before flight you’d be relatively safe in the air of a night.

the ultimate package would be a powerful flying machine that was strong and had a nuclear power source, it would be able to move around easily. the camouflage suit would be “predator” style to ensure maximum chances of survival on earth.

I wouldn’t bother to try and change major history

with an advanced space machine you could rescue Laika from her doomed space capsule (and no one would any the wiser)

you could travel time righting wrongs without anyone knowing

One problem with going back in time you would probably be locked up as a lunatic or burned as a witch, your genius would only be appreciated by later generations.

I would take six numbers back 30 years.

• you could travel time righting wrongs without anyone knowing

Or wronging rights…

• I would take six numbers back 30 years.

Why so far?

Skunkworks said:

One problem with going back in time you would probably be locked up as a lunatic or burned as a witch, your genius would only be appreciated by later generations.

you say very little to people who you don’t know

I would say it would be very unwise to try and take someone on with the full might of modern technology

furious said:

• I would take six numbers back 30 years.

Why so far?

To give them to my 18 year old self.

Whilst an AK47 is a simple weapon would you have enough knowledge to make the rounds, might call for alloy and machining not available, and would black powder work and how are you going to make primers.

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

• Whilst an AK47 is a simple weapon would you have enough knowledge to make the rounds

A shot gun would be simpler…

with more modern technology you build a paradise on a remote island where the things/ people/ animals you have saved live

as time progresses you start building lunar bases and bases on other planets where you could retreat if need be if you were attacked by more advanced versions of men.

you’d need to adapt and change so that you could outwit, out run , fight anything that might try to take you on. you might need to become bigger but as you get brainer you design a bigger time machine/ spaceship to allow you to travel the universe and prevent the milky way colliding with Andromeda and ultimately to save the universe from the heat death

furious said:

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

And unless you area genius yourself, it may be easy to describe a microscope or an engine but could you build one from scratch to prove you are not a loony?

Skunkworks said:

furious said:

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

And unless you area genius yourself, it may be easy to describe a microscope or an engine but could you build one from scratch to prove you are not a loony?

why would you bother wasting your time trying to convince anyone?

Skunkworks said:

One problem with going back in time you would probably be locked up as a lunatic or burned as a witch, your genius would only be appreciated by later generations.

You’d need to keep mum about a few things but that wouldn’t be that hard.

your ship of choice would be the cube ship

this would be perhaps 100m each side with a power source to transport you around the universe

this would be enough for you to do your stuff

wookiemeister said:

your ship of choice would be the cube ship

this would be perhaps 100m each side with a power source to transport you around the universe

this would be enough for you to do your stuff

We are the Borg. You will be assimilated.

Skunkworks said:

furious said:

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

And unless you area genius yourself, it may be easy to describe a microscope or an engine but could you build one from scratch to prove you are not a loony?

The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

• this would be perhaps 100m each side with a power source to transport you around the universe

The original premise is about straight up time travel, one way. Nothing about galactic domination…

if you had a cube ship it would easily be able to fit right into any civilisation, people understand buildings

the ship would simply fit into a building and as it wouldn’t necessarily need to move spatially as we know it could come and go without causing much fuss.

you could dig a big hole in a mountain to house your cube ship or simply sink it in the ocean

furious said:

• this would be perhaps 100m each side with a power source to transport you around the universe

The original premise is about straight up time travel, one way. Nothing about galactic domination…

think big furious – think big

• The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

Yeah, but…why?

wookiemeister said:

furious said:

• this would be perhaps 100m each side with a power source to transport you around the universe

The original premise is about straight up time travel, one way. Nothing about galactic domination…

think big furious – think big

and anyway – who said anything about galactic domination?

Witty Rejoinder said:

Skunkworks said:

furious said:

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

And unless you area genius yourself, it may be easy to describe a microscope or an engine but could you build one from scratch to prove you are not a loony?

The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

Yep, Cicero, Cato the younger etc. Some of the real smarts. Show them some goods, especially maths. That’s your in.

furious said:

• The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

Yeah, but…why?

right

if you were so powerful you’d already dwarf any human that had gone before you

• think big furious – think big

I am, but seemingly I am the only one considering going forward in time…

furious said:

• The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

Yeah, but…why?

Well if you are stuck in some historical hell-hole, wealth and influence might make up for the fact that everyone has fleas.

furious said:

• think big furious – think big

I am, but seemingly I am the only one considering going forward in time…

no I spoke about saving the universe and the milky way, that’s quite some time in the future, you move ahead billions of years

you need to move around forward and back, its useless in one direction. hopefully you’d have developed enough brains to help you.

the other thing to consider is this

if you were that smart you might have other motivations and objectives unintelligible to our way of thinking

Witty Rejoinder said:

Skunkworks said:

furious said:

• you say very little to people who you don’t know

That’s the thing you see… Julius Caesar, ghenghis or even henry viii, none of them would understand a word that you said…

And unless you area genius yourself, it may be easy to describe a microscope or an engine but could you build one from scratch to prove you are not a loony?

The best bet would be to ingratiate yourself with historical figures who you can help further their careers.

I’d go back in time again and give Einstein a few more tips.

…oh, did I say that out loud?

an advanced being might be able to control people/ animals via mind control you wouldn’t need a machine gun

dangerous people could be instinctively be warned off from messing with you and leave you alone if need be

you’d just need to ooze “dangerous” into their brains if they thought of doing something silly around you.

an advanced being might be able to control people/ animals via mind control you wouldn’t need a machine gun

dangerous people could be instinctively be warned off from messing with you and leave you alone if need be

you’d just need to ooze “dangerous” into their brains if they thought of doing something silly around you.

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

• …oh, did I say that out loud?

Well, you certainly typed it, only you know if you also uttered it out loud…

in theory you could prevent nuclear wars on earth and other planets

doing this kind of thing ultimately doesn’t tamper with the fabric of time too much as your actions would be the natural will of the universe

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

you could go back in time and invent “google glasses” and make a fortune.

wookiemeister said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

you could go back in time and invent “google glasses” and make a fortune.

I don’t think they’re going to really catch on.
I can’t back that up other than thinking it’s just a tech fad that’ll end up being inconvenient.

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

Obviousman said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

Yes, I did say that.

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

Woops – the smart thing to do is go forward to see what happens, pop back to make investments based on the knowledge of the future, then go back to the future!

Obviousman said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

Woops – the smart thing to do is go forward to see what happens, pop back to make investments based on the knowledge of the future, then go back to the future!

OP:
If you had a time machine – one way – what / when would you go?

Obviousman said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

Woops – the smart thing to do is go forward to see what happens, pop back to make investments based on the knowledge of the future, then go back to the future!

Oh for sure, but you said it was a one-way trip.

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

$2000 put in a bank account for 200 years at 4% will leave you with $5.1 million excluding tax, by which time it is worth virtually nothing :)

• the smart thing to do is go forward to see what happens, pop back to make investments

Yeah, but I thought we were restricted to one way travel?

I’m allowed to change my mind, am I not?

AND I AM NOT FUNBUNNY, DAMMIT!

• $2000 put in a bank account for 200 years at 4% will leave you with $5.1 million excluding tax, by which time it is worth virtually nothing

But the government will nick it after 6 months of inactivity…

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

$2000 put in a bank account for 200 years at 4% will leave you with $5.1 million excluding tax, by which time it is worth virtually nothing :)

Depends which country you use, and while I inferred a plain bank account, I’d rather set up something a bit smarter and with stronger growth.

*implied

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

$2000 put in a bank account for 200 years at 4% will leave you with $5.1 million excluding tax, by which time it is worth virtually nothing :)

Depends which country you use, and while I inferred a plain bank account, I’d rather set up something a bit smarter and with stronger growth.

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

$2000 put in a bank account for 200 years at 4% will leave you with $5.1 million excluding tax, by which time it is worth virtually nothing :)

Depends which country you use, and while I inferred a plain bank account, I’d rather set up something a bit smarter and with stronger growth.

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

I’ve been thinking about that over the last few minutes and …

…. I don’t know. I guess a minimum of about 200 years to make it worthwhile though.

Spiny Norman said:

wookiemeister said:

Spiny Norman said:

Forwards in time for me.
Pop as much money into an account as possible to get the interest thing happening as well. The past would certainly be very interesting but after being exposed to pretty good standards of health care, transport, and communication I wouldn’t want to go backwards with any of that.

you could go back in time and invent “google glasses” and make a fortune.

I don’t think they’re going to really catch on.
I can’t back that up other than thinking it’s just a tech fad that’ll end up being inconvenient.

just my little joke

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

Depends which country you use, and while I inferred a plain bank account, I’d rather set up something a bit smarter and with stronger growth.

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

I’ve been thinking about that over the last few minutes and …

…. I don’t know. I guess a minimum of about 200 years to make it worthwhile though.

You’d need to pick the country of investment very wisely then.

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

Don’t like the bank account for 200 years idea.

You’d need to arrange a valid postal address for 200 years so there is no returned mail. Otherwise it might be declared lapsed.

That’s if the bank still exists in 200 years time with the same name. When I was working at the bank we had people that had paid off mortgages after 25 years asking for their mortgages to be discharged and their titles returned. Some of them that started out with small building societies had been through about half a dozen name changes, mergers and acquisitions in that 25 years. After 200 years it might be a task to find which organisation you have an account with. That’s if they haven’t gone broke.

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

I’ve been thinking about that over the last few minutes and …

…. I don’t know. I guess a minimum of about 200 years to make it worthwhile though.

You’d need to pick the country of investment very wisely then.

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

Yep good point.
Though perhaps you could carry some commodity in the time machine to trade with later.
Pizza’s spring to mind.

Wot p_p said as far as bank accounts go…

Bury a rare metal. Gold is probably a safe bet.

And… the government will nick it…

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

I’ve been thinking about that over the last few minutes and …

…. I don’t know. I guess a minimum of about 200 years to make it worthwhile though.

You’d need to pick the country of investment very wisely then.

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

Estados Unidos de América

>>the government will nick it<<

And that’s a bit of a problem too….governments are rather ephemeral.

• Gold is probably a safe bet.

200 years? Probably not…

sibeen said:

Spiny Norman said:

sibeen said:

OK, how long ahead are you looking?

I’ve been thinking about that over the last few minutes and …

…. I don’t know. I guess a minimum of about 200 years to make it worthwhile though.

You’d need to pick the country of investment very wisely then.

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

Maybe invest in some property that will eventually be part of a city or buy something you can put into a vault and will appreciate.

furious said:

And… the government will nick it…

if the bank don’t nick it first :)

Go backi in time and start a secret society like the masons.. :) get them to invest

Obviousman said:

Bury a rare metal. Gold is probably a safe bet.

I’d still go with pizza’s.
And maybe chocolate – can’t be too careful, they may have a chocolate recession in the future.

Do like the highlander and buy some quality goods now and in time they will be antiques…

>>Go backi in time and start a secret society like the masons.. :) get them to invest<<

It’s a one way trip….you’d be stuck there with the machinations of the beginnings of the masons…

;)

Go back far enough to purchase a few 350 Fords and a little suburban block. You have all the fun of the 70s and reasonable healthcare and stuff and later you have a few millions in cars and property.

sibeen said:

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

I don’t share your enthusiasm for a United Europe.

Witty Rejoinder said:

sibeen said:

Name a country that you can be assured of being in existence in 200 years? I can’t see any country in Europe surviving as a separate political entity over that period, and that includes Switzerland.

I don’t share your enthusiasm for a United Europe.

There was no enthusiasm intimated in my post :)

• I don’t share your enthusiasm for a United Europe.

What about a united Korea? Or will they be up to Kim il Boing Boing?

buffy said:

>>Go backi in time and start a secret society like the masons.. :) get them to invest<<

It’s a one way trip….you’d be stuck there with the machinations of the beginnings of the masons…

;)

Ok start one now, in India, then go forward 100 years

furious said:

• I don’t share your enthusiasm for a United Europe.

What about a united Korea? Or will they be up to Kim il Boing Boing?

I’d go for Nigeria – The only way is up for them.

Start a religion promising to return in 200 years or whatever. Build the religion around donations to the church as the means to salvation.

… then skip forward 200 years as the returned messiah.

• Start a religion promising to return in 200 years or whatever.

That’s a winner!

Skunkworks said:

Go back far enough to purchase a few 350 Fords and a little suburban block. You have all the fun of the 70s and reasonable healthcare and stuff and later you have a few millions in cars and property.

That is not a silly idea. Imagine havings about six or seven Phase III GTHOs in showroom condition.

party_pants said:

Don’t like the bank account for 200 years idea.

You’d need to arrange a valid postal address for 200 years so there is no returned mail. Otherwise it might be declared lapsed.

That’s if the bank still exists in 200 years time with the same name. When I was working at the bank we had people that had paid off mortgages after 25 years asking for their mortgages to be discharged and their titles returned. Some of them that started out with small building societies had been through about half a dozen name changes, mergers and acquisitions in that 25 years. After 200 years it might be a task to find which organisation you have an account with. That’s if they haven’t gone broke.

try the bank of england

furious said:

• Start a religion promising to return in 200 years or whatever.

That’s a winner!

Manichaeism, and a host of other religions that died quick deaths and that there is no record of would suggest otherwise,

• Imagine havings about six or seven Phase III GTHOs in showroom condition.

I’m not sure that I can…

Okay, I keep shifting the goalposts but let’s think about if you were going to go back and change history as a deliberate act. What, where, why? Push JFK out the way? Introduce the indusrial revolution to the Roman Empire? Kill Hitler?

Personal gain and self-interest is almost mandatory in this hypothetical.

• Manichaeism, and a host of other religions that died quick deaths and that there is no record of would suggest otherwise,

Yeah but that didn’t have some dude rocking up 200 years later saying “I’m back”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Neophyte said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

off the top of my head, errr,,,,

Go back to the time of Ghenghis, become his advisor and try to establish an empire that develops with foresight

That assumes you’d get anywhere near him, and not just be slaughtered outright by one of his foot soldiers.

You think it would be difficult to think ahead and plan for these things. Say I went back to when he was outcast with his mother and his family and joined him then? Would be the best place to start if I wanted to ensure that I had sufficient physical skills to keep up with the times wouldn’t it?

Two initial aims to steer Ghenghis toward. Redirecting regional rivers to turn the Gobhi Desert into an irrigation resoivoir that serves the surrounding arid country. Second would be to pre-empt the the creation of the Suez canal.

Obviousman said:

Okay, I keep shifting the goalposts but let’s think about if you were going to go back and change history as a deliberate act. What, where, why? Push JFK out the way? Introduce the indusrial revolution to the Roman Empire? Kill Hitler?

Personal gain and self-interest is almost mandatory in this hypothetical.

Eh, I thought personal gain would have to be quite low on the list.

I’d still do the Romans, just before the Republic broke down.

• Push JFK out the way?

Sure, it sucks to be assassinated, but it means little to me that he is dead. I think the world would be a better place if River Phoenix was still alive rather than JFK…

I’d go back to before JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

So of course I’d take the HP books and for shits and giggles I’d take the Twilight series and just because I still have room in my 2m circle…the Fifty Shades crap.

Rowling is younger than me…so if I start publishing her stuff before she starts writing in dodgy cafes I’ll be set for life :P

The Twilight and Fifty Shades books? Hmmm….maybe just burn them in a public ceremony when I am famous and beyond wealthy. Condemn them for the crap that they are ;)

OCDC said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies

Hahahah, the company at the top of that list went into liquidation in January 2006 :)

• I’d still do the Romans, just before the Republic broke down.

Or get the Romanovs to ditch that Rasputin dude…

Maybe he was a time traveller?! Maybe he is Wookie!

Obviousman said:

Skunkworks said:

Go back far enough to purchase a few 350 Fords and a little suburban block. You have all the fun of the 70s and reasonable healthcare and stuff and later you have a few millions in cars and property.

That is not a silly idea. Imagine havings about six or seven Phase III GTHOs in showroom condition.

As you travelled forward in time you could pick up bargains that were unloved at the time, a polariser HDT and keep the polariser in it, the VL fiberglass flyer, Xu6 Toranas, scour the second hand market and get a split screen VW and some EH prems, FB Holdens etc which would be cheap in the 70s.

i’d invest in win chimes

timeless

you could always invest in those collectors plates in readers digest

wind

furious said:

Maybe he was a time traveller?! Maybe he is Wookie!

Does haemophilia respond well to apricot seeds?

furious said:

• I’d still do the Romans, just before the Republic broke down.

Or get the Romanovs to ditch that Rasputin dude…

Maybe he was a time traveller?! Maybe he is Wookie!

what do you mean by “maybe”?

I reckon I would be too scared to change any of the biggies of history, too many imponderables. You wouldn’t just be stopping an assassin you could lead to a third world war if key members are changed or indeed live on.

kii said:

I’d go back to before JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

So of course I’d take the HP books and for shits and giggles I’d take the Twilight series and just because I still have room in my 2m circle…the Fifty Shades crap.

Rowling is younger than me…so if I start publishing her stuff before she starts writing in dodgy cafes I’ll be set for life :P

The Twilight and Fifty Shades books? Hmmm….maybe just burn them in a public ceremony when I am famous and beyond wealthy. Condemn them for the crap that they are ;)

THIS is what I want to hear! Ideas to note down if you are building a time machine!

Skunkworks said:

I reckon I would be too scared to change any of the biggies of history, too many imponderables. You wouldn’t just be stopping an assassin you could lead to a third world war if key members are changed or indeed live on.

i think building the suez canal as early as possible would change a lot for that area of the world history wise

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

If you assassinated Hitler when he was famous enough to be located (otherwise how would you find him on the western front or selling postcards) he might be replaced with someone more reasonable who was not silly enough to go into Russia or kill jews so that he had a head start on the bomb. Russia and a united Europe under Germany might still be looking at each other across a mined DMZ.

Obviousman said:

kii said:

I’d go back to before JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

So of course I’d take the HP books and for shits and giggles I’d take the Twilight series and just because I still have room in my 2m circle…the Fifty Shades crap.

Rowling is younger than me…so if I start publishing her stuff before she starts writing in dodgy cafes I’ll be set for life :P

The Twilight and Fifty Shades books? Hmmm….maybe just burn them in a public ceremony when I am famous and beyond wealthy. Condemn them for the crap that they are ;)

THIS is what I want to hear! Ideas to note down if you are building a time machine!

There’d be a fair chance that the HP books would sink like a stone in an alternate history/universe. The books are OK, but it’s not as if there isn’t hundreds of authors with books of a similar vein out there. There was some part of luck involved in those particular books becoming the hit that they were. I’m not certain that that would be repeated.

furious said:

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

I believe the shady deals the british and french governments did to take control of the mid east after wwi should be undone. that is why i suppose the suez canal being built early and controlled by locals

sibeen said:

Obviousman said:

kii said:

I’d go back to before JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

So of course I’d take the HP books and for shits and giggles I’d take the Twilight series and just because I still have room in my 2m circle…the Fifty Shades crap.

Rowling is younger than me…so if I start publishing her stuff before she starts writing in dodgy cafes I’ll be set for life :P

The Twilight and Fifty Shades books? Hmmm….maybe just burn them in a public ceremony when I am famous and beyond wealthy. Condemn them for the crap that they are ;)

THIS is what I want to hear! Ideas to note down if you are building a time machine!

There’d be a fair chance that the HP books would sink like a stone in an alternate history/universe. The books are OK, but it’s not as if there isn’t hundreds of authors with books of a similar vein out there. There was some part of luck involved in those particular books becoming the hit that they were. I’m not certain that that would be repeated.

Might not have appealed to a publisher unless you were a persistant and broke single mum.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

furious said:

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

I believe the shady deals the british and french governments did to take control of the mid east after wwi should be undone. that is why i suppose the suez canal being built early and controlled by locals

Err, the suez was built way, way before WW1.

Skunkworks said:

If you assassinated Hitler when he was famous enough to be located (otherwise how would you find him on the western front or selling postcards) he might be replaced with someone more reasonable who was not silly enough to go into Russia or kill jews so that he had a head start on the bomb. Russia and a united Europe under Germany might still be looking at each other across a mined DMZ.

That is a reasonable assumption. remember that the british did NOT assassinate Hitlet in the later parts of WWII because they felt his was making very bad decisions and did not want a more competant leader installed.

what sort of modern inventions could you take back in time and patent?

the jet engine, hydraulics .. ??

sibeen said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

furious said:

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

I believe the shady deals the british and french governments did to take control of the mid east after wwi should be undone. that is why i suppose the suez canal being built early and controlled by locals

Err, the suez was built way, way before WW1.

sure. but that is where it all started. maybe go back to alexander and instead of his stoopid lighthouse he could have had real vision ;)

Riff-in-Thyme said:

furious said:

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

I believe the shady deals the british and french governments did to take control of the mid east after wwi should be undone. that is why i suppose the suez canal being built early and controlled by locals

the locals can’t do SFA

that’s the problem

party_pants said:

what sort of modern inventions could you take back in time and patent?

the jet engine, hydraulics .. ??

The problem with this sort of thing is that you end up like Leonardo. Drawing pictures of helicopters does not a helicopter make. You need the base infrastructure and science to be very close to the eventuality of your idea for it to be reasonable.

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

what sort of modern inventions could you take back in time and patent?

the jet engine, hydraulics .. ??

The problem with this sort of thing is that you end up like Leonardo. Drawing pictures of helicopters does not a helicopter make. You need the base infrastructure and science to be very close to the eventuality of your idea for it to be reasonable.

That’s what I was alluding to earlier when I said you would be thought of as a nutter, unless you can build it from leather and on a forge you will be a very clever person indeed to build anything from scratch and until you do you will be a wookie and his cube ships. Sorry wookie.

Skunkworks said:

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

what sort of modern inventions could you take back in time and patent?

the jet engine, hydraulics .. ??

The problem with this sort of thing is that you end up like Leonardo. Drawing pictures of helicopters does not a helicopter make. You need the base infrastructure and science to be very close to the eventuality of your idea for it to be reasonable.

That’s what I was alluding to earlier when I said you would be thought of as a nutter, unless you can build it from leather and on a forge you will be a very clever person indeed to build anything from scratch and until you do you will be a wookie and his cube ships. Sorry wookie.

Which is why I was taking a decent book(s) on maths. A mathematical proof gets you through the door with THE ANCIENTS!

wookiemeister said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

furious said:

I don’t think an thing in history needs changing, it is what it is…

On the other hand, the future, that’s the real undiscovered country…

I believe the shady deals the british and french governments did to take control of the mid east after wwi should be undone. that is why i suppose the suez canal being built early and controlled by locals

the locals can’t do SFA

that’s the problem

if I was doing it with Ghenghis Khan ar Alexander’s help the locals would do what they were told like they are good at

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

what sort of modern inventions could you take back in time and patent?

the jet engine, hydraulics .. ??

The problem with this sort of thing is that you end up like Leonardo. Drawing pictures of helicopters does not a helicopter make. You need the base infrastructure and science to be very close to the eventuality of your idea for it to be reasonable.

Good point. Means you can only go back to within say a generation before in order to be able to actually build one. Might not be worth the bother.

sibeen said:

Which is why I was taking a decent book(s) on maths. A mathematical proof gets you through the door with THE ANCIENTS!

hehehehe, you would have to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk though, otherwise they would be pulling your fingernails out with pliars demanding that you produce the author.

Skunkworks said:

sibeen said:

Which is why I was taking a decent book(s) on maths. A mathematical proof gets you through the door with THE ANCIENTS!

hehehehe, you would have to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk though, otherwise they would be pulling your fingernails out with pliars demanding that you produce the author.

I could wing a proof or two, and it’s the new ideas that would shine through. Even I could take a swing at calculus and get the concepts across :)

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

Obviousman said:

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

Hoverboards and flying cars?

Ya got my vote.

>Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

More of a mess than we find ourselves in, I suspect.

Obviousman said:

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

If it was too revolutionary they may just have a pogrom and burn them all.

• Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

Major changes like that pretty much guarantee our non-existence…

Obviousman said:

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

‘ere, hold on, that’s my idea and I’m doing it near the end of the Roman Republic. With the maths, physics books etc, and my background I can start them off with a nascent communication network. Think morse code and wires. With communication the empire becomes a lot more secure.

Bubblecar said:

>Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

More of a mess than we find ourselves in, I suspect.

I can’t say I’d disagree. Does our social devlopment keep pace with technology? Does it drive it?

Obviousman said:

Bubblecar said:

>Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

More of a mess than we find ourselves in, I suspect.

I can’t say I’d disagree. Does our social devlopment keep pace with technology? Does it drive it?

Lags it by quite a degree would be my supposition.

Unfortunately, my existence is dependent on Hitler launching Operation Barbarossa, and doubtless a very long list of other nasty happenstances.

Bubblecar said:

Unfortunately, my existence is dependent on Hitler launching Operation Barbarossa, and doubtless a very long list of other nasty happenstances.

Probably on a lot longer list than that, a missed bus or whatever and your parents may never have met.

That should probably be grandparents.

• Unfortunately, my existence is dependent on Hitler launching Operation Barbarossa, and doubtless a very long list of other nasty happenstances.

The past is what it is, that’s why the future is… Well… The future…

Go back far enough and just the idea of cleanliness and disease prevention would have the army that you were advising win more battles than not. It can be the ideas that we take for granted that would make a huge difference.

sibeen said:

Go back far enough and just the idea of cleanliness and disease prevention would have the army that you were advising win more battles than not. It can be the ideas that we take for granted that would make a huge difference.

Ottoman armies were good at that, tents for the troops to keep them out of the rain, latrines away from camp and the water source and slaves getting rid of rubbish plus very probably the muslim habit of washing before eating. They were a slow moving army but they arrived fighting fit.

I might go back to the 1490s and become a surgeon during the French invasion of Naples. Just so when the first few cases of a new disease presented I could name it Tony Abbott instead of Syphilis.

sibeen said:

Obviousman said:

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

‘ere, hold on, that’s my idea and I’m doing it near the end of the Roman Republic. With the maths, physics books etc, and my background I can start them off with a nascent communication network. Think morse code and wires. With communication the empire becomes a lot more secure.

oh dear sibeen has got stuck on the romans again

can someone nudge the needle and get him off that again

wookiemeister said:

sibeen said:

Obviousman said:

You could take a swath of text books back and introduce advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc, decades before they occured in our time line.

Imagine if they had that; what would today be like?

‘ere, hold on, that’s my idea and I’m doing it near the end of the Roman Republic. With the maths, physics books etc, and my background I can start them off with a nascent communication network. Think morse code and wires. With communication the empire becomes a lot more secure.

oh dear sibeen has got stuck on the romans again

can someone nudge the needle and get him off that again

again

again

again

again

again

again

Skunkworks said:

sibeen said:

Obviousman said:

THIS is what I want to hear! Ideas to note down if you are building a time machine!

There’d be a fair chance that the HP books would sink like a stone in an alternate history/universe. The books are OK, but it’s not as if there isn’t hundreds of authors with books of a similar vein out there. There was some part of luck involved in those particular books becoming the hit that they were. I’m not certain that that would be repeated.

Might not have appealed to a publisher unless you were a persistant and broke single mum.

Here’s the rest of the plan….before I go I approach one of the publishers who knocked Rowling back – we hatch a devious plan and this is the publisher that gets the $$$ when HP goes boom on the book world when I “write” the series :P

kii said:

Skunkworks said:

sibeen said:

There’d be a fair chance that the HP books would sink like a stone in an alternate history/universe. The books are OK, but it’s not as if there isn’t hundreds of authors with books of a similar vein out there. There was some part of luck involved in those particular books becoming the hit that they were. I’m not certain that that would be repeated.

Might not have appealed to a publisher unless you were a persistant and broke single mum.

Here’s the rest of the plan….before I go I approach one of the publishers who knocked Rowling back – we hatch a devious plan and this is the publisher that gets the $$$ when HP goes boom on the book world when I “write” the series :P

no what you do is kill Rowling and thus save the world from the scourge of happy potter

wookiemeister said:

kii said:

Skunkworks said:

Might not have appealed to a publisher unless you were a persistant and broke single mum.

Here’s the rest of the plan….before I go I approach one of the publishers who knocked Rowling back – we hatch a devious plan and this is the publisher that gets the $$$ when HP goes boom on the book world when I “write” the series :P

no what you do is kill Rowling and thus save the world from the scourge of happy potter

the name of my dealer

Also – take back an iPod, iPod mini, mp3player, Walkman etc to my older brother circa 1967.

That time we were sitting at the kitchen table and I was helping him with his electronics work. Ross told me of the future where transistor radios would be tiny and he offered to make me one from a How To magazine. A transistor radio as small as a matchbox. I’d have to listen to it via big headphones, because ear buds hadn’t been invented.

So when my big brother says this I can open the drawer in the sideboard and take out all this modern paraphernalia and say: You mean stuff like this?

I’d go back to December, turn around and make it alright.
I’d go back to December, turn around and change my own mind.
I’d go back to December all the time.

Kingy said:

furious said:

• I would take six numbers back 30 years.

Why so far?

To give them to my 18 year old self.

My 18 year old self would just piss the winnings up against the wall, thus placing me in the same financial position as i am in now.
Thus proving time travel cant change history.

gaghalfrunt said:

Kingy said:

furious said:

• I would take six numbers back 30 years.

Why so far?

To give them to my 18 year old self.

My 18 year old self would just piss the winnings up against the wall, thus placing me in the same financial position as i am in now.
Thus proving time travel cant change history.

But it would change memories. Awesome memories…