I Haven't Seen One of Those In Twenty Years

[redemption]

That might have answered the question of the time frame about how his been down there.

[Paradizzle]

I think the lines on the wall represent the number of days hes been down there.

[andrewbash]

yeah the lines on the wall were tally marks for him to keep trak of how long he's been in the hatch, but that realy doesn't mater because we only see a small section of the wall.

[Samhain78]

Im going to disagree on the lines keeping track of the number of days.

They are keeping track of the number of times he's reset the counter.

So, 1440 minutes in a day would be roughly 13 ticks per day.

I would say that the wall covered < 1 year of time. Granted, there may be more walls, but I would think keeping track of the number of times traveled to use the computer would be close to it.

[Lost_Mommy]

I think it's days also.

[Angelmonster]

I use to think it is days, now I think that it is every time he has to type the numbers into the computer.

[DarthLost]

I agree its probally days, if he has to reset the counter every 108 mins, there would be a hell of a lot more. if you pause it and count them you get about 1500, approx 4 years give or take (same time frame Jack met Desmond and then now)

[ace_ryan_icon]

I think it's days, because Locke asked, how long he had been down there

[henryporter]

From the title I thought this might be another thread about Kate's cleavage!

[LOSTMAN]

I agree it was probably days he's been there. 4 years is a long time being in a artificially sunlit hatch....

[LOSTboost]

How can it be days if he has no way of keeping track of time. The light in the hatch is artificial and we know he hasn't been outside because he thinks that there is some type of illnees out there. I am going with the number of times he reset the computer to 108.

[Lost_Mommy]

maybe he has a clock and can keep track of days by the time. Just because he is on a different schedule then the rest of the world, doesn't mean he doesn't know the time.

[ScottOrSteve]

I agree its probally days, if he has to reset the counter every 108 mins, there would be a hell of a lot more. if you pause it and count them you get about 1500, approx 4 years give or take (same time frame Jack met Desmond and then now)

Yes, I agree. If he has to reset the counter every 108 minutes, how is the man ever supposed to sleep? What if he's taking a really long dump?

[kimbowarrior]

i think days, yes he has artificial sunlight, but that could just mean his days are at a different time (ie why he was waking up, when it was the middle of the night). and he definately met jack less than 20 yrs ago, so lockes comment about not seeing one of them in 20 yrs cant have much to do with how long he has been down there. mayb someone started preparinog the place 20 yrs ago, but he didnt go down there til 8 or less yrs ago.

[alch3mist]

What if he's taking a really long dump?

Then I hope he has a router and a laptop!

[Sweating Bullets]

I think being stuck down there for 20 years is a bit crazy.
It wouldn't fit with him meeting Jack.

[Marius]

From the title I thought this might be another thread about Kate's cleavage!

rofl... :D

[soumya86]

well if you look on the mural there's crossings on there aswell that probably represent number of years, like 25 or something.

[iveka]

The computer may have been there for 20 or more years, but he hasn't.

[Animelee]

Then I hope he has a router and a laptop!

LMAO, awesome! Wittiest thing I've read in a while.

Anyways, I also think it's days. Why would he need to add one stroke every time he reset the counter? The counter tells him when he needs to reset it, it's not like he has to add a stroke to see how many times he's done it.

Or, maybe, those strokes were made by a previous inhabitant? Who knows...

[Elbatcho]

I am a cross between the two. We know the couter resets but we never saw it start again. Also what if he is working on Metric time? I think he may be Anal enough to track how many times he resets the counter but until we see the counter start I am not sure they are marks for every 108mins.

[Mal de Mer]

I think it's hours, not minutes or days.

[Dude?]

Something to maybe consider are the washer and dryer. According to this thread (http://lost-forum.com/showthread.php?p=469000&highlight=sears+2001#post469000) the models shown in Desmond's "apartment" were first released in 2001, meaning that he may have not spent more than four years down in the hatch.

So, I'd be more likely to buy that the marks are for the reset of the counter, or, a running count of how long the hatch has been in operation, each new person continues the marks as they take over from the previous.

[Elbatcho]

Something to maybe consider are the washer and dryer. According to this thread (http://lost-forum.com/showthread.php?p=469000&highlight=sears+2001#post469000) the models shown in Desmond's "apartment" were first released in 2001, meaning that he may have not spent more than four years down in the hatch.

So, I'd be more likely to buy that the marks are for the reset of the counter, or, a running count of how long the hatch has been in operation, each new person continues the marks as they take over from the previous.Washer and Dryer in colors didn't come out in until 2003/2004 the only reason I know that is because of Extream house make over and my wife wanting one. We got one but in plain old white and they are freakin heavy. So the question comes down too is he stuck down there or can he come and go as he pleases since he also have $150 trash can from Bed Bath and Beyond (man when did I turn it to such a girl)

[djdementia]

Washer and Dryer in colors didn't come out in until 2003/2004 the only reason I know that is because of Extream house make over and my wife wanting one. We got one but in plain old white and they are freakin heavy. So the question comes down too is he stuck down there or can he come and go as he pleases since he also have $150 trash can from Bed Bath and Beyond (man when did I turn it to such a girl)

I aggree that the washer & dryer appear new, but I dunno that seems like it may be a mistake or perhaps there really was a model 20 years ago that looks like that. Designs of new items are often recycled based on a much older design. Here is an article that shows how the iPod mini bears a very striking resemblance to the first portable transistor radio. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050922-5338.html) There is infact a term for this where designing something "new" unconsiously resembles an older design, called Cryptomnesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia). It's not like they showed the washer and dryer up close, and as far as I can tell 100% of everything else that they did show in detail down the hatch appear to be 20 to 25 years old. I had that same computer myself in 1982 - it's an Apple IIe (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=83)

I think that the Desmond down the hatch is a twin of the Desmond that Jack met. Did anyone else notice that when Desmond told Locke to type on the computer he said "Do you know how to use one of those boxes?" - as if not many people use or know what computers are. Even 8 years ago nearly everyone knew how to use a computer (short of 3rd world contries I'd imagine), but 20 - 25 years ago they didn't.

Even the Apollo candy bar Kate ate was old. I looked it up on the net and that candy was discontinued (http://www.thecandycompany.com/discontinued_items.shtml). Unfortunately I couldn't find the date it was discontinued (anyone else want to search?), but lets be logical here folks. Even if the area WAS prepared a LONG time ago and he just recently came - do you think his choice would be to bring a brand new washer and dryer - yet eat food that may be 10 years old? Don't you think the priority on new supplies/equipment would first go to food, and second go to electronics? Like a DVD player and tons of movies? Modern computers? Food that isn't 10 years stale? I sure as hell would bring that stuff over a new washer & dryer. Hell if I was alone that long, I wouldn't stress about even if the washer & dryer did break. It's not like I wouldn't have plenty of time to hand wash all my clothes :)

[Dude?]

I aggree, but I dunno that seems like it may be a mistake. It's not like they showed the washer and dryer up close, and as far as I can tell 100% of everything else that they did show in detail down the hatch appear to be 20 to 25 years old.

Very well could be a mistake...but it seems odd that everything else is, as you say, older except for those two items. They could have eaisly gotten some ancient washer and dryer to pop in there rather than a brand new set. Just seems too much of a glaring mistake to be, well, a mistake. :confused:

[Sluggo]

It seems like the show's creator's have taken great pains to illustrate how outdated all the items in the bunker are, and yet all the anachronisms are completely wrecked by the obviously modern-looking washer and dryer that are down there. I just don't understand why they'd do that-- granted, while front-loading washers and dryers were the norm at one time and have again come back into fashion, older models of front-loading washers and dryers weren't shaped or colored like the ones shown in the bunker- thus the mere fact that they are front-loading and thus could be old doesn't hold up, because their coloring and design is too modern.

I just can't imagine the producers would allow a product-placement in the show that would completely wreck their attempt at storytelling, so I'd like to think there's a more legitimate reason for their appearance.

[Ries]

maybe someone else was there before him, so thats why the equipment is old

[lovejuice]

there are plenty of systems out there that are using old equipment, you cant just simply swap crap out - it is as simple as that. If you have an entire system (possibly Island) running on something built specifically for it, you dont just go swapping in new Dell computers - it was even mentioned that the Space Shuttle still has computers from the 80's when it was designed.

There is nothing wrong with the computers being old and the washers being new. It actually could point out that Desmond was a replacement for someone else, and brought some new stuff with him.

Legacy Systems, even IBM has them in all shapes:
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/sep05/lieberman/?ca=dgr-lnxw01legacysystems

[Psychopompador]

someone mentioned the counter being in metric time- can you explain what you mean by that...

[Elbatcho]

someone mentioned the counter being in metric time- can you explain what you mean by that...I found this link http://www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/things/metrictm.htm I read something else a while ago how this would be the prefeared time tracking in deep space or places devode of sunlight where time is not mesured by the earths rotation.

[lovejuice]

it is so easy to just make everything 'fit' - unfortunately

"This system obviously won't be in use for a while, as it is only practical when one spends a lot of time in space, or travels between celestial bodies very frequently."

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1147273

Note from Monolith's writeup that one of his chrons would equal the amount of time it would take for light to travel one billion (1 x 109) meters. I had three options when choosing the base unit for this, but there were some things I needed to consider before just picking one arbitrarily. The three options were to make the base unit equivalent to 1.08 hours, 10.8 hours, or .108 hours. To have this be compatible with space operations, I tried for the 1.08 hours in hopes of making one of the space "days" equivalent to 10 chrons.

[Pirate]

Someone said Desmond has no way to keep track of days.

He could look through the Hatch's window to see if it's night or day.

Or maybe the hatch's window was covered with mud when Locke found it so it would be impossible to look outside ?

[yorda]

I think that the Desmond down the hatch is a twin of the Desmond that Jack met. Did anyone else notice that when Desmond told Locke to type on the computer he said "Do you know how to use one of those boxes?" - as if not many people use or know what computers are. Even 8 years ago nearly everyone knew how to use a computer (short of 3rd world contries I'd imagine), but 20 - 25 years ago they didn't.

Actually, I think what Desmond said was "Do you know how to use this, Boxman?" I mean, he called Locke "Boxman" once before when he told Locke to tie Kate up :)

I also don't believe in the whole clone or twin theory. I'm pretty sure the Desmond in the hatch is the same person Jack met at the stadium. Even if the equipment in the hatch is old, it doesn't mean Desmond has been there for 20 years.

[lostnfound]

but how would desmond know if it's day or night when he's below ground with no sunlight to see if it's day or night

[lovejuice]

:> date
Fri Sep 30 22:19:20 UTC 2005
:> ls
porn porn-1 porn-2

[yorda]

but how would desmond know if it's day or night when he's below ground with no sunlight to see if it's day or night

Maybe he has a clock? Lol :) Or maybe there's some kind of a timer-system or maybe Desmond just doesn't need to know if it's day or night. He can probably count the days he's been down there even without seeing the sun rise and set.