S10.E09: Splintered

[Quilt Fairy]

Quote

Winter descends upon the survivalists, forcing them to adapt to the drop in temperatures. With the snow comes a rush of emotion and the participants are tested in their resolve to keep working towards the $500,000 prize. One survivalist settles in for the dark days ahead, while another makes a surprising discovery.

Air date: August 3, 2023

 

NOTE:  My Comcast listing shows that immediately after this episode it will be showing Episode 1 of Alone-Australia, which has it's own thread elsewhere in this forum.  

NOTE 2:  The extended edition is next week, August 10th, not this week.  My bad. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Quilt Fairy

[rmontro]

20 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

NOTE:  My Comcast listing shows that immediately after this episode it will be showing Episode 1 of Alone-Australia, which has it's own thread elsewhere in this forum.  

My Comcast listing does not show this, and instead has the first episode of Australia showing next week.  Either way, I guess this is the finale for this season, which surprises me.

[Quilt Fairy]

19 minutes ago, rmontro said:

My Comcast listing does not show this, and instead has the first episode of Australia showing next week.  Either way, I guess this is the finale for this season, which surprises me.

Yup, I blew it. It's next week. I'll fix it up top.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Yup, I blew it. It's next week. I'll fix it up top.

I blew it too, tonight wasn't the last episode.  Apparently next week they have the last episode (10), followed immediately by the first episode of Alone Australia.  

I don't know what to say about tonight's episode.  Melanie got tired of it and left.  Supposedly there are three people left, but I can only think of Allen and Mikey.  Who's the other one?

Hopefully we've seen the last of Mikey squeezing blood and pus out of his arm.

[DropTheSoap]

22 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Hopefully we've seen the last of Mikey squeezing blood and pus out of his arm.

That’s Wyatt with the pussy arm. He’s the third. 

[SassyCat]

I knew as soon as Melanie started yapping about she wasn’t doing this for the money, but for the learning experience, I knew she was a goner. She just wasn’t going to give fishing a real try for however long or where ever on the shore bank she might find some better luck at. Her teeth were getting “blubree” stained, and since the blubrees were gone and then any remaining most likely destroyed from the snow, she was done. Get ready Brian.. she’s a’comin home. Get ready to hear all about her feelings, like we all have. Lol, so jaded I am, huh?

I am finding all these last four (now three) Aloners boring, except for Wyatt. Mikey and Melanie were boring me to tears with the constant lamenting about the ones back at home they miss. Mikey is whittling his time there away, whittling, and he is darn good at it. I did think his knife blade he forged and sheath he carved was really nice. He’s going to have a backpack full of handmade goodies to bring home with him.

I am glad Alan caught a fish in his gill net, though, he is boring me too.Is it Alans birthday or something? I wasn’t clear on that. If so.. heres your medal, trophy, and marching band 🏅🏆🎷🥁🎺 for your grand achievement of having the calendar day be the anniversary of your birth.

Oh! He brought his own fireworks to give tribute to and honor himself since no one else was around to extract accolades from. I wonder if the fireworks so desperately needed for a survivalist was part of the 10 items he was allowed to bring. 

I dunno. I just find it worthy of an eyeroll when adults make such a fuss about it being their birthday. Birthdays are for kids is how I feel about the whole deal. Maybe its because being born very near Christmas, my birthday was not forefront in the minds of people scrambling around at last minute holiday preparations and errands. I personally, got used to a no big deal day for my birthday and find it extremely annoying when grown adults leap around with joy and expect others around them to pay homage with fanfare. Especially those who say “It’s MY BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!” ..trying to milk being treated specially for all it’s worth, for as long as they can get others to play along. Just a pet peeve of mine. 

I only like little kids birthdays, because in this day and age the little ones deserve as much joyfulness as can be gotten from this world as it is now. They are only little children for such a short time, before living the rest of their lives as a “grownup”. Rant over.

Wyatt testing out the mushrooms was brave, though I have always thought that if a bird eats it, then a person can too. I suppose the same goes for mice, since they are the poor critters used by the truckload to test products for the human market. I bet his grouse dinner was greatly enhanced by the addition of the mushrooms.

Now that he’s extracted that huge splinter that was hiding out in his arm, I think he’s going to be doing much better, now that his body doesn’t have to try and overcome the growing infection in his arm. Ut oh… next weeks preview looks like he may have a shelter fire starting. 
My thought, is the next one to tap is Alan.

[rmontro]

35 minutes ago, DropTheSoap said:

That’s Wyatt with the pussy arm. He’s the third. 

Okay, clearly I've been mixing Wyatt up with Mikey, not sure why.  Wyatt's the one with the ugly sweater.

[iMonrey]

10 hours ago, rmontro said:

Wyatt's the one with the ugly sweater.

I kind of like his sweater. But I don't need to see any more footage of him squeezing blood out of his arm, thank you very much. Hopefully we're done with that now that he's removed the splinter.

Wow, it's so weird to think they only have seven hours of daylight this time of year. I wonder when the sun comes up and goes down.

Uh, Melanie? Americans know what "wood" means too. It looks like she just didn't have a very good fishing spot compared to the others. I wasn't surprised to see her tap out, but she made it a lot further than some of the guys I expected to go the distance. Still, this is going to turn out to be one of the shortest seasons ever. They are only up to day 43. What's the record - isn't it closer to 80?

I feel like Alan gave up on fishing too soon. Tramping around in the woods is going to burn more calories than standing in one spot. But I guess he got a birthday fish in the end. Where the eff did he get fireworks from? Or was that a flare? Doesn't seem like they'd let you bring fireworks.

No offense to you Canucks but I get a kick out of hearing Alan saying "I'm gonna go check it oot."

Is that actually the aurora borealis?

[humbleopinion]

His aerial birthday celebration is a bear deterrent flare given to the participants to protect themselves if they find themselves nose to nose with one.

That's what his facetious speech about protecting his food stores was about before he lit up the sky with a whoop for good measure.

[DropTheSoap]

12 hours ago, rmontro said:

Okay, clearly I've been mixing Wyatt up with Mikey, not sure why.  Wyatt's the one with the ugly sweater.

I adore Wyatt's sweater. It's a horrible colorway and looks home made. To me, that means someone loves him and he loves them enough to wear it yet he doesn't have to go on and on ad nauseum on that fact.

This site shows sun up/sun down. In early December they get to about 7 hrs of daylight with sun up post-9am and going down a little after 4pm: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@6119272?month=12&year=2023

The location I chose was Reindeer Lake, so that should be close.

Edited August 4, 2023 by DropTheSoap

[LennieBriscoe]

19 hours ago, SassyCat said:

I knew as soon as Melanie started yapping about she wasn’t doing this for the money, but for the learning experience, I knew she was a goner. She just wasn’t going to give fishing a real try for however long or where ever on the shore bank she might find some better luck at. Her teeth were getting “blubree” stained, and since the blubrees were gone and then any remaining most likely destroyed from the snow, she was done. Get ready Brian.. she’s a’comin home. Get ready to hear all about her feelings, like we all have. Lol, so jaded I am, huh?

I am finding all these last four (now three) Aloners boring, except for Wyatt. Mikey and Melanie were boring me to tears with the constant lamenting about the ones back at home they miss. Mikey is whittling his time there away, whittling, and he is darn good at it. I did think his knife blade he forged and sheath he carved was really nice. He’s going to have a backpack full of handmade goodies to bring home with him.

I am glad Alan caught a fish in his gill net, though, he is boring me too.Is it Alans birthday or something? I wasn’t clear on that. If so.. heres your medal, trophy, and marching band 🏅🏆🎷🥁🎺 for your grand achievement of having the calendar day be the anniversary of your birth.

Oh! He brought his own fireworks to give tribute to and honor himself since no one else was around to extract accolades from. I wonder if the fireworks so desperately needed for a survivalist was part of the 10 items he was allowed to bring. 

I dunno. I just find it worthy of an eyeroll when adults make such a fuss about it being their birthday. Birthdays are for kids is how I feel about the whole deal. Maybe its because being born very near Christmas, my birthday was not forefront in the minds of people scrambling around at last minute holiday preparations and errands. I personally, got used to a no big deal day for my birthday and find it extremely annoying when grown adults leap around with joy and expect others around them to pay homage with fanfare. Especially those who say “It’s MY BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!” ..trying to milk being treated specially for all it’s worth, for as long as they can get others to play along. Just a pet peeve of mine. 

I only like little kids birthdays, because in this day and age the little ones deserve as much joyfulness as can be gotten from this world as it is now. They are only little children for such a short time, before living the rest of their lives as a “grownup”. Rant over.

Wyatt testing out the mushrooms was brave, though I have always thought that if a bird eats it, then a person can too. I suppose the same goes for mice, since they are the poor critters used by the truckload to test products for the human market. I bet his grouse dinner was greatly enhanced by the addition of the mushrooms.

Now that he’s extracted that huge splinter that was hiding out in his arm, I think he’s going to be doing much better, now that his body doesn’t have to try and overcome the growing infection in his arm. Ut oh… next weeks preview looks like he may have a shelter fire starting. 
My thought, is the next one to tap is Alan.

I am willing to bet that you are in the minority re: adults' celebrating birthdays. And I think your extended comments show that you think so, too.

Knowing he will be so isolated on the date, a participant's wanting to take with him some way to celebrate his birthday is completely understandable to me! But then, I require balloons on mine. 

[Pine]

What a yawn fest this season has been.

I muted this episode,  between  Mikey and Melanie the whining is enough.   If Mikey has other children,  I hope he tells them how important they are too.

 

[rmontro]

6 minutes ago, Pine said:

What a yawn fest this season has been.

I've been thinking this, so I'm glad you said it.  I agree, for whatever reason, this season has been kind of boring.  Maybe the premise is just losing its novelty.

20 hours ago, SassyCat said:

I dunno. I just find it worthy of an eyeroll when adults make such a fuss about it being their birthday. Birthdays are for kids is how I feel about the whole deal.

I'm not one to make a big deal about my birthday, but I do appreciate it when people remember it.  Making it through another year as an adult is not a small accomplishment, and I'd say it's worth a little celebration.

[Blackie]

 

I wonder how Melanie feels watching the show and seeing all the others catch giant fish,

If Alan goes home with all that stored fish I will be so pissed, I'm glad he did feast for his birthday.

 

 

 

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Is that actually the aurora borealis?

The scenes they show are aurora, probably shot on location or could be stock photos to look nice.

[Pine]

I was waiting for Melanie to tap after building a rather open "cooking area", and never rebuilding her woodshed, or trying to fish for longer than someone at a fish farm.😊

[Blackie]

8 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

His aerial birthday celebration is a bear deterrent flare given to the participants to protect themselves if they find themselves nose to nose with one.

That's what his facetious speech about protecting his food stores was about before he lit up the sky with a whoop for good measure.

 

Yes "bear bangers" . I was reading online that in Canada they are illegal to use except for personal protection, hence the speech (although it was pretty obvious that he wasn't in imminent danger so....)

 

 

[madmax]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

No offense to you Canucks but I get a kick out of hearing Alan saying "I'm gonna go check it oot."

Alan and Wyatt.  I think Wyatt's Canadian accent is more pronounced.  

58 minutes ago, Pine said:

What a yawn fest this season has been.

I muted this episode,  between  Mikey and Melanie the whining is enough.   If Mikey has other children,  I hope he tells them how important they are too.

 

I agree, I'm not as enthused about this season.  Maybe because so many tapped out so quickly?  Or I'm getting jaded as well.  And I get that Mikey's son has special needs, but he has other children.  I don't think I've heard him mention any of the except Nicolai (sp?).  Which does totally suck for the other kids.  I know from experience.

[SassyCat]

1 hour ago, LennieBriscoe said:

I am willing to bet that you are in the minority re: adults' celebrating birthdays. And I think your extended comments show that you think so, too.

Knowing he will be so isolated on the date, a participant's wanting to take with him some way to celebrate his birthday is completely understandable to me! But then, I require balloons on mine. 

Yes, I do know that I am in the minority in that aspect, tho i do make a bit of a hupteedoo for friends and family on their birthdays, which I know is important to them. I just don’t go all out every single year. I personally am fine with zero recognition (basically) on my own. A phone call remembering it means more than enough. I AM lucky tho to get more than that.. presents, cards, good food, maybe an occasional cake or pie lol, but I really tell everyone I do not want or need anything,, unless I do have the rare time I might be needing or wanting. Its always a small need. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by SassyCat

[SassyCat]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I've been thinking this, so I'm glad you said it.  I agree, for whatever reason, this season has been kind of boring.  Maybe the premise is just losing its novelty.

I'm not one to make a big deal about my birthday, but I do appreciate it when people remember it.  Making it through another year as an adult is not a small accomplishment, and I'd say it's worth a little celebration.

True, so very true, as I sit here mending a broken arm that I managed to REALLY HURT falling with the gravity of 10000 moons. When you get older gravity is so much stronger when you fall. It is a celebration to put another year under the belt .

Actually it happened during watching Alone, a few weeks ago. I still have to finish watching that episode form the 13th. Tried Twice but just wasnt into it, lol. Fell going to the kitchen to turn the stove of my just finished cooking pot of soup, off. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by SassyCat
Added

[SassyCat]

8 hours ago, DropTheSoap said:

I adore Wyatt's sweater. It's a horrible colorway and looks home made. To me, that means someone loves him and he loves them enough to wear it yet he doesn't have to go on and on ad nauseum on that fact.

 

I really like Wyatts sweater too, for the exact same reasons. Plus it is a nice bit of color among the basic fall/winter drab colors everywhere else.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I agree, for whatever reason, this season has been kind of boring.  Maybe the premise is just losing its novelty.

I've been having the same thoughts.  I can't decide if something is missing from this season or it's just that we've seen most of it before.  

I'm surprised that Melanie lasted as long as she did.  She was whining about missing Brian by week 2 (of the show).  Also she didn't seem to be eating anything at all that had protein.  

Alan has been my favorite from the beginning and I still hope he wins.  I like his sense of humor.  When he talks about the hardships or missing family, he's more philosophical and/or matter of fact than actually complaining and whining.  I got a kick out of his fish "birthday cake."  

My family pays scant attention to birthdays after people reach their teens.  If my kids remember to text "Happy Birthday, Mom," I'm fine with it.

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, SassyCat said:

Fell going to the kitchen to turn the stove of my just finished cooking pot of soup, off. 

That stinks.  Hope you get to feeling better.   I know falls when you are older are no joke.

 

2 hours ago, SassyCat said:

I really like Wyatts sweater too, for the exact same reasons. Plus it is a nice bit of color among the basic fall/winter drab colors everywhere else.

Let me just clarify, when I call it an ugly sweater, I don't mean I hate it.  I just thought that was what those kinds of sweaters are called, "ugly sweaters".  Like they sell "ugly Christmas sweaters" every year.  I don't care to see it in conjunction with him squeezing pus and blood out of his arm though.

 

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I've been having the same thoughts.  I can't decide if something is missing from this season or it's just that we've seen most of it before.  

That's been I've been wondering.  There aren't a lot of new plot lines that pop up on the show.  I'm hungry, I shot a bird, I caught a fish, I'm burning a lot of calories, I miss my family, that's about it.  We haven't seen anybody kill a bear yet, that would be interesting, although I have to admit most of me doesn't want to see it.

[meep.meep]

I didn't think Alan was making that big a deal out of his birthday.  Before they even left, I'm sure that he looked at the calendar and realized that if he made it to his birthday, he would have been out there a significant amount of time.  Day 43!  Why not celebrate that?

He may have been celebrating other people's birthdays all along (wife, kids, grandma, etc.) but they just haven't shown it.

The thing that surprises me about this season is that people aren't using snares or traps much.  In the past, people have been very effective with them.

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, rmontro said:

  I agree, for whatever reason, this season has been kind of boring.  Maybe the premise is just losing its novelty.

I think it's largely that, plus a lack of strong personalities. Alan is kind of fun but most of them have been sort of a drag. 

[Blackie]

20 hours ago, madmax said:

On 8/4/2023 at 11:18 AM, iMonrey said:

No offense to you Canucks but I get a kick out of hearing Alan saying "I'm gonna go check it oot."

Alan and Wyatt.  I think Wyatt's Canadian accent is more pronounced. 

 

Wyatt has a totally hoser accent. As a Canadian I have never heard another Canadian say "oot" as in rhyming with boot.

6 hours ago, meep.meep said:

The thing that surprises me about this season is that people aren't using snares or traps much.  In the past, people have been very effective with them.

In previous seasons there have been more rabbits in the area, doesn't seem the case in this location (has anyone even got a rabbit this year). However this seems to be the most fish I have seen people catch and big ones too (except Melanie). In the long run, fish is the best food because of the fat, and really not that labour intensive if you have a gill net.

Edited August 5, 2023 by Blackie
spelling

[SassyCat]

15 hours ago, rmontro said:

That stinks.  Hope you get to feeling better.   I know falls when you are older are no joke.

Thank you! It take a few weeks but definite healing is occurring. I am just grateful no surgery was necessary. 
I always remember one tidbit of advice Judge Judy gives for people who are getting up there in years, is “Don’t Fall “.

Boy, is she right about that.

 

[SassyCat]

4 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I didn't think Alan was making that big a deal out of his birthday.  Before they even left, I'm sure that he looked at the calendar and realized that if he made it to his birthday, he would have been out there a significant amount of time.  Day 43!  Why not celebrate that?

He may have been celebrating other people's birthdays all along (wife, kids, grandma, etc.) but they just haven't shown it.

You are right. I admit I do get kind of bah humbuggy about Birthdays. Something I should put more effort into working on to make myself a better human being. Thank you for steering me in that direction. 👍

[Yeah No]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:52 PM, DropTheSoap said:

That’s Wyatt with the pussy arm. He’s the third. 

I know what you meant but of course on first reading my mind went into the gutter, LOL. 😉

On 8/4/2023 at 12:07 AM, SassyCat said:

I knew as soon as Melanie started yapping about she wasn’t doing this for the money, but for the learning experience, I knew she was a goner. She just wasn’t going to give fishing a real try for however long or where ever on the shore bank she might find some better luck at.

I commented last week on how I already saw Melanie starting to engage in that "pan scale analysis" over when she was ready to leave, which is usually the first sign that someone is thinking about tapping out soon.  I also mentioned her over-dependence on berries, which would not be a winning strategy all by itself especially with snow coming and her not being willing to try that hard to catch fish.

Quote

I dunno. I just find it worthy of an eyeroll when adults make such a fuss about it being their birthday. Birthdays are for kids is how I feel about the whole deal. Maybe its because being born very near Christmas, my birthday was not forefront in the minds of people scrambling around at last minute holiday preparations and errands. I personally, got used to a no big deal day for my birthday and find it extremely annoying when grown adults leap around with joy and expect others around them to pay homage with fanfare. Especially those who say “It’s MY BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!” ..trying to milk being treated specially for all it’s worth, for as long as they can get others to play along. Just a pet peeve of mine. 

I only like little kids birthdays, because in this day and age the little ones deserve as much joyfulness as can be gotten from this world as it is now. They are only little children for such a short time, before living the rest of their lives as a “grownup”. Rant over.

I apologize in advance but I'm probably going to make you feel bad now -

When I was a kid my birthday fell during a time in the Summer when all the kids in my neighborhood were away on vacation (and I do mean ALL of them).  I lived in a neighborhood where that was the thing to do by the dominant social group at that exact time of year, so in spite of my Mom (bless her soul) giving me birthday parties and sending out invitations, nobody ever came.  I wasn't the weird kid or anything, either.  I just wasn't from the same social, economic and ethnic background as the rest of the kids I knew. 

What sucked from a kid's perspective was my mother felt so bad for me she would invite over her and my Dad's friends and relatives, which didn't help because what kid wants their grandparents, uncles, and great aunts at their birthday parties, LOL?  And I was an only child, too, so there were ZERO kids there at all.  But I knew she meant well. 

What sucked even more is that for some unknown reason none of the kids in the neighborhood had Summer birthdays.  They were all born in the Fall and Winter months, so I always felt obligated to accept their birthday party invitations, and of course bring a gift.  But do you think that any of them EVER felt bad that they never came to my party or got ME a gift?  NO, of course not!  Later on in life I was amazed to find out that actually more people are born in the month I was born in than any other.  Not in my little childhood microcosm, obviously, which only added to my feeling of isolation and being "different".

So anyway, the point of my story is that as an adult my husband and family always made the biggest deal out of my birthday knowing how deprived and left out of birthday celebrations I felt as a kid.  My husband even calls the entire month I was born in my "birthday season" and plans special outings and events during that time plus he gives me more than a couple of gifts too.  And I don't protest, either, and even though I don't expect it I admit I'd feel let down if he didn't do this every year.  Some childhood scars don't heal and I have to admit this over-attention around my birthday is well appreciated.

On 8/4/2023 at 11:18 AM, iMonrey said:

Uh, Melanie? Americans know what "wood" means too. It looks like she just didn't have a very good fishing spot compared to the others. I wasn't surprised to see her tap out, but she made it a lot further than some of the guys I expected to go the distance. Still, this is going to turn out to be one of the shortest seasons ever. They are only up to day 43. What's the record - isn't it closer to 80?

I think it was Roland with 100 days on that season they had to last 100 days to win the bigger prize.

On 8/4/2023 at 8:29 PM, rmontro said:

I've been thinking this, so I'm glad you said it.  I agree, for whatever reason, this season has been kind of boring.  Maybe the premise is just losing its novelty.

I agree that may be part of it, but don't think it's that in and of itself.  I think other seasons have been able to add an extra twist that kept it interesting, like that season I mentioned above with the 100 day challenge.  And I agree with the others that have said that the people this season are just not as interesting somehow.  Speaking of Roland, he was certainly an interesting character.  While this cast has certainly been nice and not negative in any way, we really haven't had much drama this season.  No crazy guy hoarding his fish, or someone chopping their hand, or catching huge game.  

I also wonder if it isn't something with the editing, too.  I feel like some of these people could have had more interesting edits.  But I also think the fact that so many tapped out so early and that we're down to so few so early in the game has influenced the editing to include more of the minutiae of their daily existence to pad out the episodes, and that can get boring after a while.

14 hours ago, Blackie said:

Wyatt has a totally hoser accent. As a Canadian I have never heard another Canadian say "oot" as in rhyming with boot.

I think if you were an American you might hear it more.

I have been living in CT for almost half my life now, having been born and living in NYC for the first half.  I never "heard" the NY accent until several years after I moved into the middle of CT.  It was amazing to me to finally hear how it sounded to non-New Yorkers.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Yeah No

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I think other seasons have been able to add an extra twist that kept it interesting, like that season I mentioned above with the 100 day challenge.  

That's interesting, since my recollection is that most of the twists the shows have added have not been particularly popular with the fans, like the season where they had the pairs working together.  

There was a recent season where someone built a dug down, partially underground shelter for the first time, which was supposed to stay warmer in the winter.  Things like that helped add interest, but there was nothing really new going on this season that I can think of.  There were some big pike though, that was kind of interesting.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, rmontro said:

That's interesting, since my recollection is that most of the twists the shows have added have not been particularly popular with the fans, like the season where they had the pairs working together.  

The twists themselves don't have to be popular and even though people bitched about it most were still were curious enough to watch it.  Also I remember I was delighted that the show went back to its original format on the next season.  That in and of itself kept me interested in the show.  Also some of the twists weren't really classic twists.  There was that one season of "Alone: Frozen" with 2nd timers which was a kind of twist.  They also had a couple of seasons that took place in novel locations like Patagonia and Mongolia.  By comparison, Saskatchewan somehow feels ho-hum.

[TVbitch]

Looks like a lot of people are bored with this season. I found myself skipping ahead last couple episodes. Hoped Melanie is enjoying her human ..and glad I don't have to hear about it anymore. 

For the record, no one in my family gives a fook about birthdays, including me. We all stopped acknowledging birthdays and buying each other Xmas gifts a long time ago. It was all very freeing. Different strokes. 

[ChristmasJones]

I like this season. I don't mind a slow pace. I watched this episode thinking I would be happy for any of the remaining four to win. Sometimes I don't feel that way as it gets close to the end.  When they give in to missing their family, to me it says they just don't want it bad enough.  Yes, I know it is an unpleasant feeling, but they really should work harder before they go to keep reminding themselves that it is ONLY TEMPORARY.   

I also wish we would have a contestant who is a meditator who could show us how they use their practice to stabilize their mind during the experiment and not tap out purely for emotional reasons. I've honestly been surprised that no one on this show has ever mentioned meditating (but please correct me if I have that wrong).

I thought Alan handled the birthday just right. Awesome for him to catch a huge fish right after he ate a big meal of it.

[SassyCat]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:47 AM, Yeah No said:

I apologize in advance but I'm probably going to make you feel bad now -

When I was a kid my birthday fell during a time in the Summer when all the kids in my neighborhood were away on vacation (and I do mean ALL of them).  I lived in a neighborhood where that was the thing to do by the dominant social group at that exact time of year, so in spite of my Mom (bless her soul) giving me birthday parties and sending out invitations, nobody ever came.  I wasn't the weird kid or anything, either.  I just wasn't from the same social, economic and ethnic background as the rest of the kids I knew. 

What sucked from a kid's perspective was my mother felt so bad for me she would invite over her and my Dad's friends and relatives, which didn't help because what kid wants their grandparents, uncles, and great aunts at their birthday parties, LOL?  And I was an only child, too, so there were ZERO kids there at all.  But I knew she meant well. 

What sucked even more is that for some unknown reason none of the kids in the neighborhood had Summer birthdays.  They were all born in the Fall and Winter months, so I always felt obligated to accept their birthday party invitations, and of course bring a gift.  But do you think that any of them EVER felt bad that they never came to my party or got ME a gift?  NO, of course not!  Later on in life I was amazed to find out that actually more people are born in the month I was born in than any other.  Not in my little childhood microcosm, obviously, which only added to my feeling of isolation and being "different".

So anyway, the point of my story is that as an adult my husband and family always made the biggest deal out of my birthday knowing how deprived and left out of birthday celebrations I felt as a kid.  My husband even calls the entire month I was born in my "birthday season" and plans special outings and events during that time plus he gives me more than a couple of gifts too.  And I don't protest, either, and even though I don't expect it I admit I'd feel let down if he didn't do this every year.  Some childhood scars don't heal and I have to admit this over-attention around my birthday is well appreciated.

Aaah, nah… you aren’t making me feel bad. It is So wonderful that your husband makes your birthday “season” special! He sounds like a keeper! 
Ever since leaving the nuclear family, my birthday has been remembered, recognized and gifts from friends, are never the combo/christmas kind, anymore. I do have a lot to be grateful for, and I am. The childhood birthdays,,, ehhh, not so good, but hey… I live by the words that I must give up all hope of having a better past. It’s just not re-doable, and any dwelling does not do any good.

e

On 8/6/2023 at 3:47 AM, Yeah No said:

I have been living in CT for almost half my life now, having been born and living in NYC for the first half.  I never "heard" the NY accent until several years after I moved into the middle of CT.  It was amazing to me to finally hear how it sounded to non-New Yorkers

Connecticut. My home too. Brooklyn(ites) have a very strong New York accent. Great accents really. No other place on earth has such a unique accent. Lawn Guylinders too 😉

[rmontro]

On 8/8/2023 at 10:17 PM, ChristmasJones said:

I like this season. I don't mind a slow pace. I watched this episode thinking I would be happy for any of the remaining four to win.

Hmm, you've pointed out one thing that's different about this season.  I don't care at all who wins.  It's more apathy for me than being happy for whoever wins though.  At least I don't dislike anybody, outside of Wyatt's arm.  I haven't even thought about a favorite.

Edited August 10, 2023 by rmontro

[SassyCat]

4 hours ago, rmontro said:

At least I don't dislike anybody, outside of Wyatt's arm. 

Yeah, that arm is pretty nasty when he tends to it in front of the camera. It’s production that put it in the final cut for us to see. Thanx for that, producers. 🙄

[wanted]

On 8/5/2023 at 12:35 PM, Blackie said:

the snarewire has never made any difference at all. A snowshoe hare offers only 700 calories. You need 4000 calories per day to be checking your trapline 2x per day.  Jordan put out 100 snares to average catching ONE hare per day. You burn 100 calories per mile walked, un burdened, on flat pavement, at room temps.  They have to lug around 30 lbs of camera gear, fight brush, mud, hills, snow, cold, wind dampness. So they  are burning 150 calories per mile.  5 miils waked,  2.5 mile loop of snare line, twice per day. to average catching one hare per day. Waste of time and calories.

 

 

Wyatt has a totally hoser accent. As a Canadian I have never heard another Canadian say "oot" as in rhyming with boot.

In previous seasons there have been more rabbits in the area, doesn't seem the case in this location (has anyone even got a rabbit this year). However this seems to be the most fish I have seen people catch and big ones too (except Melanie). In the long run, fish is the best food because of the fat, and really not that labour intensive if you have a gill net.

 

[wanted]

they are not allowed to roam more than 2km from their drop off locations. Half of their "5 sq miles" of allotted area is on the LAKE. Not much game to be taken on the water, eh? They should be given a 5 mile radius from a point 4 miles from the lake. Then they'd have about 70 sq miles in which to roam, while moving only 5 miles (at most) from their camp.  It's very easy to move 5 miles to and from a hunting area in 2 hours, giving you 4 hours in which to hunt and 1 hour in which to butcher a big animal and an extra hour to move a lot of meat back to camp. If you keep your shelter portable, as in my tent idea, you dont have to make lots of trips hauling meat to camp. Instead, you move camp to the kill-site.

You can't choke down enough fish and cambium to do more than at most cut your weight loss in half (as compared to fasting).  Losing 40 lbs in 80 days is a lot better than losing 100 lbs in that same time, tho, eh?  And having 100 lbs of fish and guts/heads as stink-bait is highly likely to give you multiple shots at bears.  In the late fall, bears MUST fatten up for hibernation, so a 200 lb bear is a small one. However, that bear will have 180,000 calories, cause it's 25% bodyfat. If you just hole up and conserve your calories. that small bear is enough food for you to lose NO weight for 60 days,  Thus, it assures you the win. HOW will you know how much netting i made or what size mesh I made, or how I deployed the netting? How will you know wha I did with the fish? How will you know if I baited in a bear, or just stumbled across one?