S34.E03: It's All in the Details

[Netfoot]

12 minutes ago, blackwing said:

With respect to NELs, I don't really see the difference in having multiple Megalegs on the race versus having NELs.

If you come last at the end of a NEL, you get a reprieve, plus 12 (ish?) hours to rest and recover. In the next leg you get restarted as a part of the third group (these days, anyway), which presumably nullifies any delay between last and one-before-last arrival times of the previous leg.

With an Uberleg, you are not given a chance to rest, you are not caught-up automatically with the team ahead of you, and you are not guaranteed to be in a position to follow the previous team on the restart. Your exhausted butt just has to keep slappin' tar to try to catch up and overtake at least one other team.

From our episode-based perspective, there is little difference. You came last, but were not eliminated, and we get to see you carry on next week. But from a racer's leg-based perspective, it is quite different.

Personally I'm in favour of the change. I've always felt that when racing for a million-dollar prize, the teams should have it hard. Multiple Uberlegs help make it so. Also, there is no longer any nonsense with Speed Bumps, Marked for Elimination, "mugging" or withholding funds. And, if there is a cost-saving from not having to set up a Speed Bump, this can only increase the chance that The Race continues to be run.

[Fukui San]

On another note, I still don't understand the decision they've made since the restart after Covid for the teams to start the leg out in groups rather than, say, with a 10 minute interval between each group. As a TV presentation choice, it'd give each team a window for an introductory talking head. As a competition choice, it'd give each team a chance to do their own thing and maybe get into their own unique troubles. Discourages grouping up. Reward leg placements incrementally instead of making certain gaps large and other gaps inconsequential. IE, the difference between 3rd and 4th is large for the next leg and the difference between 4th and 5th is nothing.

[curbcrusher]

Team Maps!! 🙂

But more importantly, I think the editors did a great job, and I don't think I've seen anyone comment on it, but when the Short/Tall couple finally realized that they needed to drive themselves, the scene went something like this:

Woman: We need to remember to read the clue!

Fade from team running back to car to the Anatomy Areana

Instructor: Thus concludes the lesson.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, curbcrusher said:

Woman: We need to remember to read the clue!

Fade from team running back to car to the Anatomy Areana

Instructor: Thus concludes the lesson.

It looked like the clue was folded in 3 and they read the middle section only.  It wasn't until they'd run all over that they opened up the complete paper and saw the writing at the top, which told them to drive to both detours. 

Read the clue.  Then read the clue AGAIN.

ETA: I've been confused about the cheese task.  They went to one location to get the cheese, then a second location to have the cheese cut in two.  At that point, did they have to deliver the 2 halves to a 3rd location and a 4th location, or did they just turn over the first half of the cheese at the spot where it was cut, which was also a restaurant?  

Edited October 10, 2022 by Quilt Fairy

[proserpina65]

On 10/7/2022 at 1:43 AM, 30 Helens said:

Not really. I’ve read the other responses to this question, and there are some valid points (some clutches are more sensitive than others), but if you spend enough time driving a stick shift to become comfortable with it, as I have, you should be able to handle any other manual transmission car adequately. “Enough time” being the operative words. You can’t just take a single lesson, you have to practice. Many driving schools offer this option, for those who aren’t lucky enough to have a friend with a manual transmission car.

Driving schools can be expensive.  It's difficult to rent manual transmission cars in the US and most car rental places have restrictions about using their rentals to learn stick.  (At least where I live anyway.)  Unless teams knew someone with a manual car, something which is becoming less and less common, the amount of time they had to practice was most likely very short.  So I don't really blame the racers for not being proficient driving stick, especially since many did mention that they'd learned.

On 10/7/2022 at 1:43 AM, 30 Helens said:

Or assuming every TAR contestant is like Zach and Flo, or Jonathan and Victoria. Look, I get disliking BB on principle, if all you know are the obnoxious, more controversial contestants. But every reality show has those. I have seen every season of Survivor, Big Brother, and the Amazing Race, and there are people from all three shows that I despise.

I generally dislike casting contestants from other reality shows because I don't like people being on multiple competition shows.  It's just how I feel about it.  So yes, I usually don't like BB and Survivor contestants on AR on principle.  That's why finding that I've been enjoying watching Derek & Claire has been quite a surprise.

On 10/8/2022 at 3:11 PM, aghst said:

But as clumsy as the Garmins were, they were much better option than paper maps because you never had to pull over and you knew how much longer your destination was away at a given point.

Assuming the info they were giving was correct.  I've had the GPS woman make us take unnecessary turns not once but twice on trips to Atlantic City.  And trying to use Google Maps in Dover was a nightmare.  Navigating with a map is still a useful skill and one every contestant on AR should have.

On 10/8/2022 at 10:33 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Because that's a problem with google maps?

No, the problem with Google maps is they aren't always accurate.

On 10/8/2022 at 10:33 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

There are a bunch of better fallback options than paper maps, like open street maps or even still garmin or navigon.

Not if your phone isn't getting service.

Personally I'm a use both person.  But on this race they don't get to use gps so learning to navigate with a map is an absolute must.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

ETA: I've been confused about the cheese task.  They went to one location to get the cheese, then a second location to have the cheese cut in two.  At that point, did they have to deliver the 2 halves to a 3rd location and a 4th location, or did they just turn over the first half of the cheese at the spot where it was cut, which was also a restaurant?  

They left the first half at the restaurant where they cut the cheese.  Heh.

40 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

No, the problem with Google maps is they aren't always accurate.

One time I used Google maps to check on a turn (there had been some road construction, and I just wanted to double check) in the middle of my route.  I asked for directions from my starting point to my ending point instead of just looking at the area of the turn, and Google maps sent me the most remote, ridiculous way that would have taken me all day.  It probably was the shortest mileage, but it involved a gravel forest service road instead of the nice four-lane.  And there are quite a few places in the semi-rural area where I live now where GPS cannot be used as there's no signal.

[Leeds]

On 10/7/2022 at 7:00 AM, blackwing said:

Also, Claire is young and tall and seems fit.  Look at the twins, they are middle aged (maybe around 35?), shorter and chunkier than Claire.  And they have rocked the tasks.

The thought that someone believes 35 is middle-aged takes my breath away. 

[PurpleTentacle]

7 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

No, the problem with Google maps is they aren't always accurate.

Paper maps are way less accurate.

7 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Not if your phone isn't getting service.

None of the fallback options I mentioned need cell service. Navigon and Garmin have preloaded maps.

You can even preload an area in google maps to your offline storage. If you've done so you don't need service.

On 10/9/2022 at 9:15 PM, Netfoot said:

A friend's son told me he refuses to learn how to drive a car. Why would he have to? He can always call an Uber! He doesn't think it necessary to learn how to cook even the simplest of dishes. Why? He can just order a pizza (or anything else) delivered. Want to guess who caught his Royal arse, when he got locked down for months, and there was no Uber and no food deliveries?

Cooking and driving/owning a car aren't exactly the same thing. Getting a drivers license can easily run you 2000€ and owning a car is expensive as hell. Not to mention how shit it is for the environment. If you live in an area with good public transport and/or a lot of Ubers, the best thing you can do is not have a car. I wish I didn't have to drive, but not living in a big city, I basically have no choice.

Btw. when you are locked down you are not supposed to leave the house, wether by your own car or an Uber...

On 10/10/2022 at 1:02 AM, Stardancer Supreme said:

Middle aged is strictly 50 years and over. 

Is the average life expectency 100 years now? Because that is the only way 50 and over is middle aged.

On 10/10/2022 at 3:57 AM, Netfoot said:

A few minutes well worth taking, if your electronic navigation fails you. And please! Don't say that can't happen. It happened to me in England, less than five years ago. What are the chances of an outage when traveling in less sophisticated environments?

If you are so worried you'll have service outages, that you are willing to carry paper maps, why aren't you willing to preload the area in your navigation-app of choice? Seems like less of a hassle.

On 10/10/2022 at 3:57 AM, Netfoot said:

Which is why I'd ban them borrowing phones. If they want to ask someone for directions (or anything) and that person uses their phone to answer, I'm OK with it. But I would prevent racers from using phones directly.

That we agree on.

On 10/10/2022 at 6:48 AM, Quilt Fairy said:

Firmly in the map camp.  I could never take a long trip without paper maps.  I need a sense of where I'm going and how I'm going to get there, what the alternatives are, etc.  An app telling me "turn here", "turn there" doesn't do that.  

You can just view the map on google maps.

I think I might be too young for this board and I'm middle aged...

[Netfoot]

5 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Btw. when you are locked down you are not supposed to leave the house, wether by your own car or an Uber...

Unless your Surname begins with an "M" and it's Tuesday between 9:00 and 12:00 and you need groceries or items from the pharmacy.

Or you are going to visit your doctor.

Or your work is classified as essential.

Besides, I wasn't arguing for motor vehicle ownership. I was saying that driving is a life-skill that could be useful to acquire. 

Quote

You can just view the map on google maps.

Unless say, an oil pipeline gets blown up, and you have to spend a winter with no electricity and your batteries run flat...

Nothing wrong with google maps. I use it all the time. 

[proserpina65]

11 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

You can just view the map on google maps

Again, assuming it's accurate.  I've experienced inaccuracy on google maps more than once.  I'd advocate for always having multiple resources so that if one fails for whatever reason, you have a backup.

Edited October 11, 2022 by proserpina65

[Guest]

Is the next episode here yet?

Edited October 11, 2022 by tracyscott76

[PurpleTentacle]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Besides, I wasn't arguing for motor vehicle ownership. I was saying that driving is a life-skill that could be useful to acquire. 

So is butchering an animal. Only few people can do that. There are probably a million skills that could be usefull, but most people can't do since we live in a society and have devision of labour.

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Unless say, an oil pipeline gets blown up, and you have to spend a winter with no electricity and your batteries run flat...

And you are going to drive to places on air, with no oil around?

If your car still runs, you can just charge your phone in there.

Also if there is no oil or electricity in the winter, you are probably going to spend your time doing everything to not freeze to death.

These scenarios always seem weird to me. How are you concerned about reading a map instead of surviving when there is no more electricity?

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Again, assuming it's accurate.  I've experienced inaccuracy on google maps more than once.  I'd advocate for always having multiple resources so that if one fails for whatever reason, you have a backup.

Again, paper maps are waaaaaay less acurate. You can always check google maps against OSM.

[proserpina65]

2 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Again, paper maps are waaaaaay less acurate. You can always check google maps against OSM.

That has not always been my experience but I'm leaving it here by saying that, whatever one does in the real world, on Amazing Race you better damned well know how to read a map because you're not going to get technology to tell you where to drive.

[Netfoot]

24 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

There are probably a million skills that could be usefull, but most people can't do since we live in a society and have devision of labour.

Obviously. That's why you have to choose those skills that you believe are most relevant to your life.

For instance, I know how to swim. Not because I don't know how to use a boat, but because occasionally, boats sink. I live on an island in an archipelago. If I lived in a desert, I might consider swimming to be less important a life-skill, and perhaps learn to ride a camel instead.

You may choose to learn what skills you think may be valuable to you. I have no idea what they might be. Plugging in a USB charger? Hailing a cab? Eating with chopsticks? Whatever. I don't  care. But to declare map-reading a useless skill that nobody should ever learn because you don't know how to read a map, or you think you will never need to do so?

Anyway, I'm done with this. Hold tight to your opinions, just as I shall to mine.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Netfoot

[Guest]

[awaken]

7 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Is the next episode here yet?

Seriously. The paper maps vs google maps discussion has been thoroughly had. Can we move on?  New episode tomorrow, right?

[Haleth]

Some observations a week late:

Dom is really annoying.  She is the only racer who bothers me though.  There are still a bunch of random couples that I can't identify.

The anatomy challenge should have been in Latin.

The twins really rocked those challenges.  I'm liking them a lot.  

I like Claire.  She knows when she is messing up and costing her team time, but she stays calm and doesn't freak out.  Some day there will be a challenge in her wheelhouse.  (I've been trying to think of who she reminds me of on tv.  Kim Wexler maybe?)

When I was a kid we used to get the big Rand McNally atlas and I'd spend hours looking at each state.  Maps are a work of art.

There will never be a cheese challenge ever as good as the rolling wheels of cheese.

[Netfoot]

On 10/13/2022 at 7:28 AM, Haleth said:

I've been trying to think of who she reminds me of on tv.  Kim Wexler maybe?

I've been wondering the same thing. I never watch BB so it isn't that I am remembering her from there.

Kim Wexler is a good comparison!

[millennium]

I really really really want to see Dom lose her shit as she strives to be "the best version of ourselves."