I came up with an ingenius idea to get rich quick. I lay a dollar on a desk, wait 5 minutes, then go back in time 5 minutes and give myself that dollar. Giving me 2 dollars. Then go back again in 5 minutes and give my 5 minutes ago self that two dollars, giving me 4. Every time you go back and give your old self money, make sure to commit suicide, wouldnt want to go reproducing ourselves a million times HAHAHA!! So, now all we need to do is come up with mechanism that allows us to transverse the flow of time and we're set! Who's with me?

just make sure you don't see yourself...:P

If I could travel back in time, I would just use the dollar to buy a lottery ticket...

Oh I'm definitely with you! Ok..... now that we got that settled... do you have any ideas as to how we're going to get this mechanism?

Sam, your idea seems much simpler.
OK Plan B: We all here at caedes.net construct a time machine together, then go back in time and buy a winning lottery ticket!
Except there is no lottery in NC.
OK Plan C: We all here at caedes.net construct a time machine, and if you live in a state in which there is a lottery, buy a winning lottery ticket, and send 25% of your winnings to me!

haha wow, this is crazy

Noob: You need to make the time machine in the future, then come back to this time and tell yourself how to do it.

ingenius, better yet, I'll just bring one back.
hmm wouldnt that mean if I planned that right now, I should be expecting myself any time now???
ok I'm starting to get confused

The trick with time travel, of course, is not to mess with anything in the past that would adversely affect the present.

Ah, but this assumes time is linear. Who says you won't just end up in a different timeline were money is no longer used?

Oh, what if time was linear, and I were to bring back money to the point where my present self no longer needed to go back in time in the future and give myself money, that would mean I never gave myself money which would mean I wouldnt have the money to not give myself to begin with and the exchange would have never happened in the first place.
??

wow that was difficult to read

see you been smoking too much peace pipe in here, tonto...

How about this: Do some research, and find out about an item that was very valuable that was lost at some point in history, for example on a sunken ship or similar; That is, noone is going to miss this item if you travel back in time, and pinch it from it's last known location. Then you bury it somewhere (that isn't going to be disturbed) and travel back to the current day. As you have not interfered with the timeline everything should be exactly as it was (if something has changed due to something I haven't foreseen, you will have to travel back in time again and stop yourself from screwing up history ;-) Then you just travel to the location where you buried the item, get whatever permits you need etc. and... Eureka! Not only are you incredibly wealthy having discovered one of the greatest historical treasures ever, but you also gain worldwide distinction and fame as a archaeologist (just like Indianna Jones...)

But... I still think the main prob. is going to be inventing the darn machine in the first place...

Ah yes, for your plan we would not only need a time machine that places you at any unique point in history, but also one that places you at any point in space (from where I am standing to the boat). Also, researching something that wouldnt be missed would be difficult. Also, if I buried it, I would have to hope that some other future archaeologist didnt find it in my place. Also I would have to make sure that if I did accidently screw up history (like that would happen HAHA) I would have to make sure that I didnt disturb my own ancestors, thus making myself dissapear on the spot and ruining my entire plan to begin with.
Other than those minor details and inconsititancies, I think this plan is perfectly feasable. So who wants to offer a preliminary time machine design?