"Make Your Own Kind Of Music," released in 1969 by Mama Cass. Desmond was playing this on the original vinyl. Most of the tape recorders we saw had to be late 70's/early 80's era (at the lateest?) due to their size. The old green screen computer is roughly the same era. Nothing technology wise in that shaft after about 1984 (big brother is watching ;)).

What could this all mean? Well... we know Desmond and Jack had a little encounter around the time he was operating on Sarah. From the time Jack met, operated on, married, divorced(?) or seperated from Sarah, and then onto the fateful flight, it could be anywhere from, oh, say 1 or 2 to maybe even 10 years. Jack is roughly 38ish or so now, and judging from his appearance in this ep. he could have maybe been as young as 28ish. (side note, did Matthew Fox not look absolutely adorable with the shaggy hair!)

If Desmond ended up on this island during his "race around the world" he could have been on there as long as maybe 10 years. But, 10 years ago (the show is roughly set in modern day) would make it maybe only 1994 for Lost-time. Now, even if Desmond had lots of personal effects with him, he probably wouldn't have brought all of those pieces of equipment (assuming he was just an athletic enthusiast and not some spy-scientist). My point is - when and however Desmond wound up on the island, he probably found the apartment/hatch the way it was. Most of the stuff in there was probably already there, but it couldn't have been there longer than about 25 years, since that's when the record came out. It COULD have maybe been brought by Danielle and her crew, but she did not mention anything about it, nor seem to have an opinion about it when they showed the hatch to her to suggest blasting it open. So its possible that Danielle had no idea what the hatch was... but... well... she's nutty and you never know with her.

One last thing... when Desmond and Jack met in the stadium, Desmond mentioned something about miracles. One of the next scenes involved a miracle when Sarah was able to wiggle her toes. Sound familiar? Who had a big miracle about being able to walk last season? AND, remember, if we're going along with the flashback being anywhere from 1 or 2 to 10 years ago, it could have been 4 years... 4 years (roughly) was the time that Locke said he'd been in the wheelchair before the big crash. Is it possible that Locke lost his ability to walk around the time that Sarah had her miraculous recovery? Is there any direct connection between those two events?

Can't wait to see how Locke ended up in that wheelchair, or to see how Desmond ended up on that island!

Hmmm. That's very interesting. I didnt pick up on the possible connection of Locke losing his mobility and Sarah gaining hers. Definitely a possibility. And if Jack witnessed this miracle of Sarah being able to wiggle her toes, then why does he seem to not believe in them on the island? And what happened to Sarah's fiance, i wonder?
And Desmond, he's just a confusion. Its funny that last season I used to think some people over analyzed the show, but now everything is important. I get that now.
Side question, what was that thing on the computer screen? It looked like either an angry face...>:I...or a sad face...I:<...depending on how you look at it. Or maybe its some computer thing I'm unaware of.

The show cannot be set in present time, since Jack and his father both use the phrase "That's why the Sox will never win the World Series." That would push it back at least one year, assuming that the "Lost" world and the world we live in are one and the same.

They crashed in Sept, 2004.

Side question, what was that thing on the computer screen? It looked like either an angry face...>:I...or a sad face...I:<...depending on how you look at it. Or maybe its some computer thing I'm unaware of.
It's a computer thing you're unaware of. :)

It's a command prompt. Older computers used to use >: and then the blinking cursor. Modern ones use C:\ and then a blinking underscore. Go to Start, Run.. and type in 'cmd' to see what I mean, but I'd advise against typing anything in unless you know what you're doing.


Also, if you watch carefully at the beginning, Demond types in 'the numbers' before hitting the Execute button.

Side question, what was that thing on the computer screen? It looked like either an angry face...>:I...or a sad face...I:<...depending on how you look at it. Or maybe its some computer thing I'm unaware of.

Back in the Stone Ages.... Before Microsoft Windows....computers ran on DOS. It looked like a prompt from DOS without a drive name. For example, if you were going to type a command for your hard drive, there would be a prompt that looked like this: c:\> -

Nothing technology wise in that shaft after about 1984

The washer & dryer are definately recent. I'm pretty sure they're Whirlpool.

The washer & dryer are definately recent. I'm pretty sure they're Whirlpool.

A fair point, but I think it's debatable.

Upon watching the opening scene again, I noticed that when Desmond got up, he woke up from the top bunk of a bunk bed, and when he rolled over to the computer, there was already a mug of coffee, and then in the kitchen he could have been cleaning up after someone else. They didn't show him eating, just cleaning it up. He made his powder and fruit shake after all that. So, perhaps he doesn't live alone down there.

But why is he there? Is he stationed there with a purpose? Somebody clearly designed that place for someone to live in, and maybe they keep them supplied with what they need with new appliances like the Whirlpools. Although, it looked like he may just have a bulk supply of things, such as the serum he injected himself with.

And why would he inject himself with that? Is this some antibody to the "sickness" Danielle talked about? And why would he inject himself unless he knew that people might be coming down there or were hanging out? We know that he turned on the floodlights for Locke last season...

Did someone put Desmond on the island or did he show up randomly... and what does he do down in his quarantined little apartment? Hmm...

It's entirely possible that what Desmond may have been doing may have been out of fear. Think... if the rest of the Island was supposed to be under quarantine, he may think that Locke, Kate, and Jack are people with "the sickness" that have come to attack him, and he is doing what he is doing out of self defense.

This is probably wrong, but it's a plausible theory.

just a note about the song..it was also re-released on vinyl in 1979 as a part of a Mama Cass compilation... for what that's worth.. :)