I had an adventure on The Great Material Continuum.
One of my low-key favorite pieces of Star Trek canon is The Great Material Continuum. The Ferengi believe it flows through the universe like a river, bringing people the things they need from those that have, and back again.
Some time ago, an opportunity presented itself which I could not resist. A truly cosmic alignment of unrelated events. I stumbled upon an online liquidation auction for a video production studio. In their very impressive catalog happened to be a unique blend of things I needed, things I wanted, and something I've coveted.
A listing for a broken laptop. Same make and model as my daughter's. Only this one with a palm rest that hasn't been schmeared with *child,* and a battery that isn't an extremely forbidden burrito. Opening bid was less than a crappy one from ebay. Mine.
A 65" LG C1 OLED, on a rolling stand. My old TV was chugging along, but really was showing its age. I don't have the money for a new high-end 65" OLED. But a used one at auction? I can swing it.
And that which I coveted: a fully top of the line iMac Pro.
You see, I collect eccentric pieces of tech. I have an x99 ITX motherboard (yes, that one). I have an original Lian Li O11 tower case because I think it's the most gorgeous PC case I've seen. Neither are particularly valuable, but they scratch just the right itch.
The iMac Pro was eccentric on its own, and one spec'd like this was even more so.
A need. A want. A coveted item. All of this, local pickup only, in Manhattan. I even tossed a bid in for a nicely appointed 21" iMac, because, "hey, I'm going there anyways."
I have a car and a job in Manhattan, lets make it happen. This isn't going to be the story of the time we wished we did, this is going to be the story of when we did. Anxieties and fears of everything going wrong? Fuck it, we ball.
So i book parking at my office, arrange the half day, and take my Buick Regal TourX into the city. (like I said, eccentric) As i leave the apartment I accidentally knock over the collapsible cart we usually forget to bring for grocery runs. Perfect size for a couple of iMacs and a broken laptop.
And it all goes right. From start to finish. In fact, it goes better than right. I was required to make two stops to pick up my gear. At the first stop I was given two other broken laptops that nobody placed a bid on. Both easily made whole with a little bit of know-how.
An open stretch of curb at the second location ends up being conveniently located across the street of the loading ramp. Here is where the rolling cart becomes the MVP of the story. Because how does an individual transport a 65" OLED without assistance? On the fucking cart they bought it with.
TV successfully loaded. Cart, laptops, and iMacs successfully stowed. I make my way back to Westchester, unused to the feeling of an unexpectedly complete victory.
The collapsible cart is waiting for me when I get back to my parking spot in our building's garage. Made the task of moving the smaller items back to my apartment. That night, Fern helps me wheel the TV back to our apartment. Two mornings later, the same cart wheels the old TV out to the quarterly dumpster, that was miraculously scheduled for the same week. Because you weren't even thinking about how I was going to dispose of the old one.
Laptop repaired, TV mounted, iMac Pro attained.
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