Nerd Update (subtitle: I've Discovered Ebay):

Yes, I know my use of the colon, above, is incorrect. Enter proctology joke here.

As many of you know, Todd and I were avid fans/collectors of Star Wars toys when we were young. As the Keeper of All Things Burri, it has fallen to me to store what's left of our once-great collection: just a handful of action figures and a few extremely-beaten ships these days.

Recently, I decided to set a long-term goal for myself: to restore our collection to its old glory, and even to surpass it. I can't recall exactly why I first checked Ebay.com. Might have been a friend's recommendation. But...holy crap, is there a lot of stuff out there.

I've already bought a vintage 1978 landspeeder (I've wanted one since I was eight years old) and a vintage 1978 X-wing fighter (ditto the wanting), and expect to receive my Moon of Endor speeder bike in the mail anytime. My next target: a vintage Tie Fighter.

The cool thing about it is, these things don't cost that much. The action figures, especially: if you don't mind a loose, played-with figure with a few flaws, you might pay ten bucks for it. But you can probably get it for less.

Point being, I'll be able to do what I'm setting out to do over the course of a few years without having to dedicate every single free penny to it, which is good, because there aren't a lot of free pennies lying around.

On the other hand, original action figures in their original packaging are worth hundreds of dollars, and a few rare variations (like a Jawa with a vinyl, rather than cloth, cape) could probably fetch a grand.

Anybody got one of those? I'll give you five bucks and a pack of gum for it.