Season Two Talk: Brand New Contestants, Same Old Bears

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, seasick said:

I couldn't tell if it was a cooking area or not.  Itt may have been because she did bring an extra tarp.  BTW did anyone else see where they said each participant was issued 2 tarps?.   I don't recall seeing that on any of the lists...

If you look on the list of stuff everyone gets which doesn't count against the 10 items under the "tracking/safety" heading, you find a 20x20 canvas tarp and a 10x10 tarp to protect the camera gear. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, riverheightsnancy said:

Yes, I assume that too. They say that the oceans are full of so much garbage because some countries/people dump garbage right into the oceans. 

Randy better hope Les Stroud washes up on his beach.

[CN42]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I hope MK didn't do any permanent damage to her hand but I also hope the cut is enough to send her home.  I'm already sick of hearing about her kids and she talks like she's read way too much Norman Vincent Peale.

I thought I was the only one tired of hearing her go on every five minutes about how she wants to raise strong, independent women. I can understand missing your family, but I thought part of the appeal of the experience was to get away from it all and focus on your own growth, skills and confidence. Kids learn by example, not by somebody preaching to them. Whenever somebody says "I'm doing this for my kids," I think NO YOU'RE NOT, you're doing for your own (selfish) reasons. < end rant > 

[Quilt Fairy]

If I understood her reasoning correctly, given that her tent is only big enough for her sleeping bag, Mary Kate wanted an area protected from the rain where she could have a fire every day, not specifically a cook shack. Her wound looked halfway between her thumb and forefinger to me, she may be OK once she gets over the shock of hurting herself like that.  

Randy, Randy, Randy. You don't know much about fishing and you didn't think to learn? Did you not watch last season? Did you not see that the biggest game anyone caught was a mouse? And now you've dropped your ferro rod into the fire. Props for rewinding your footage and catching what happened to it.  Bad luck finding out that it won't survive a fire.

It's a toss-up right now whether Randy or Mary Kate is the next to go, but it has to be one of those 2 don't you think?

I'm anxiously waiting to see Jose and Nicole. I don't think there was anyone we didn't see in the first week last season. (Of course, we had already lost 3 or 4 people by that time.) They're either really bad at filming or go really far in the competition. I'm hoping for the latter.

[Ina123]

One thing I'm curious about. I thought some of them took emergency rations, yet we haven't seen anyone hang a bear bag except for Desmond who tried but failed.You cannot keep that food in your tent. Was Desmond the only one who brought the e-rations? Just another reason to have paracord.

[MostlyContent]

13 minutes ago, Ina123 said:

One thing I'm curious about. I thought some of them took emergency rations, yet we haven't seen anyone hang a bear bag except for Desmond who tried but failed.You cannot keep that food in your tent. Was Desmond the only one who brought the e-rations? Just another reason to have paracord.

Randy was the only one who didn't choose emergency rations as one of his ten items.  

In fact, several of them used 2 of their 10 items on emergency rations.  

http://www.history.com/shows/alone/interactives/alone-gear-guide

ETA:  Dried rice and dried beans etc, probably don't give off much *eat me* scent to bears.  I'm sure wolves could care less and mountain lions are just curious.  

Here are the food items they could chose as one of their 10 items:  

1. 5 lbs of beef jerky (protein)
2. 5 lbs of dried pulses/legumes/lentils mix (starch and carbs)
3. 5 lbs of biltong (protein)
4. 5 lbs of hard tack military biscuits (carbs/sugars)
5. 5 lbs of chocolate (Simple/complex sugars)
6. 5 lbs of pemmican (traditional trail food made from fat and proteins)
7. 5 lbs of gorp (raisins, m&m’s and peanuts)
8. 5 lbs of flour (starch/carbs)
9. 2 lbs of rice or sugar and 1 lb of salt

:)

Edited April 29, 2016 by MostlyContent

[Ina123]

Thanks. I wonder if they will show anyone hanging a bear bag? It's quite a trick.

[cooksdelight]

Quote

Randy was the only one who didn't choose emergency rations as one of his ten items.  

 

Why am I not surprised by this?

[MostlyContent]

1 minute ago, cooksdelight said:

 

Why am I not surprised by this?

<snark>  

Because you're a thinking sort?   

Okay, that sounded odd.  :)  

I meant to imply that perhaps Randy was *not* thinking.  

[ProfCrash]

(sigh) I don't know why this site never fully displays for me at work. No clue but I have no idea where the various buttons are for quoting and the like because I can't see them or find them with my slow mouse drag. So pardon weird posts for a while. And the like of liking things. (sigh)

OK, so this group is doing far better then last season because there have been far fewer tap outs early in the game. I am not worried about the people being less entertaining right now. We are pretty early in the game and there are a lot of folks left. We didn't see the quirky sides of folks until a bit into the season when there was more time to spend on each individual.

I am liking most of the folks this season. I like their backgrounds and how they are doing so far. No one is really standing out to me yet but that is not a surprise.

I do hope that MK starts to build up her shelter. She is going to need exterior insulation on the tarp structure. Adding some fern frond on the exterior will decrease the heat drain from the interior. I don't have a problem with the size of her sleeping area, Alan and Sam had smaller structures last year. Lucas was the only person to build something other then the standard tarp/tent structure. MK's seperate fire/cook space will give her a warm place to hang out with space to move and stretch. The fire and fire material is protected and she has a little rock firepit going. Hopefully her cut doesn't hurt her too badly. We were pretty worried with how she was wielding that ax.

Randy is the survival teacher for the AF? I am not surprised he didn't take extra food. He is willing to eat seaweed and there is plenty of that lying around. Heck, he even knew three different seaweeds he could easily collect and consume which is better then Alan last year.

Overall, a good group of people with some promising filming ahead,

[Auntie Anxiety]

I think Mike is the AF survival teacher.  He is also the one who lived in an orphanage and seems to have had a lot of emotional upheaval in his life.  Randy is the "survivalist" who lost his ferro rod, doesn't know how to fish and looks like he is doomed to fail.

[seasick]

7 hours ago, SRTouch said:

If you look on the list of stuff everyone gets which doesn't count against the 10 items under the "tracking/safety" heading, you find a 20x20 canvas tarp and a 10x10 tarp to protect the camera gear. 

Yes...forgot abut the canvas tarp.  But none look like canvas,? and the canvas one was mentioned last season as not being waterproof.  big difference if they changed it.

I was disappointed in this episode:  I would have liked them to describe their shelters and their sites--where they found fresh water etc. even if they hadn't rolled back to day 1. I started to realize it wasn't going to go anywhere interesting  when we saw a lot of  prolonged dull narratives about the duck, the kids ( again) the seaweed and the deadfall trap.  The seaweed talk was somewhat interesting but not really.

Mike's story is sad but the fact that he continues to billboard the whole orphanage thing still concerns me.  Maybe this is a dumb point put I find it hard to believe that any orphans went without gifts on Christmas.  Mike sounds like he misses his Mommy which is more of how he describes Barbara..  not like a wife.  I did like how he buried the fish and hope it works.  He does seem to have the best skills so far.  I hope he finds his gratitude list for his current life as an adult.

I suppose the table at MK's camp was a wash-up, and okay --it wasn't a case of frozen tv dinners but I would hope that something odd and out of place like that would be mentioned even if it isn't a significant survival tool.   Considering how dull the episode was I wish they hadn't made MK's cut a cliffhanger.  

"Reputation votes"  .ughkk  What was wrong with "likes?"  I think this entire format was dragged over from some defunct site or something. I'm afraid to leave this "alone" site because it took me forever bring it up and find my content. and not even sure I actually did. The ease and fun parts of this site are gone.    

[ClareWalks]

Ugh, Mary Kate. Not being nearly careful enough with her blades. Every time I saw her chopping something I was cringing, and sure enough she damn near cut her thumb off. 

I'm just gonna say it: I'm pissed that we've gotten through two whole episodes and seen not a minute of Nicole. WTF. Is there anyone else we haven't seen anything about? 

Mike reminds me of Alan, personality-wise. That is a good thing.

13 minutes ago, seasick said:

"Reputation votes"  .ughkk  What was wrong with "likes?"  I think this entire format was dragged over from some defunct site or something. I'm afraid to leave this "alone" site because it took me forever bring it up and find my content. and not even sure I actually did. The ease and fun parts of this site are gone.    

I agree, whenever I get a notification that "someone has given you reputation," it just sounds like it was written by an English-language learner, plus it doesn't indicate whether the reputation is positive or negative. I guess there are no "dislikes" here, so it must be good, but it's really bizarre phrasing.

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

Randy is the survival teacher for the AF? I am not surprised he didn't take extra food. He is willing to eat seaweed and there is plenty of that lying around. Heck, he even knew three different seaweeds he could easily collect and consume which is better then Alan last year.

Overall, a good group of people with some promising filming ahead,

Nope, you're thinking of Mike. Mike was the USAF vet who taught air crew/pilots to escape and hide behind enemy lines. Just from his little seaweed talk, I can see he was probably a good teacher. IMHO, he was the star last night.

Randy is younger, and has the bushy beard look going. He's a survival instructor in Utah. While he may be expert in his terrain, I fear he's not long for this competition because he's found himself on an island in a temperate rainforest forrest. He came prepared to hunt with his bow and arrows, trap with snare wire, and unfortunstely, told us last night he doesn't know much about fishing. Poor Randy brought no rations, is starving, and has now last his fire starter. He's still got a chance, a real long shot, but as of now I think he'll be next to go home.

[SRTouch]

14 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Ugh, Mary Kate. Not being nearly careful enough with her blades. Every time I saw her chopping something I was cringing, and sure enough she damn near cut her thumb off. 

I'm just gonna say it: I'm pissed that we've gotten through two whole episodes and seen not a minute of Nicole. WTF. Is there anyone else we haven't seen anything about? 

Mike reminds me of Alan, personality-wise. That is a good thing.

Still waiting for Jose, the ex Spanish special ops guy living in the Yukon. He was one I picked to watch, and not a peep so far. 

[ProfCrash]

SRTouch, I would give you reputation if I could see the button but I can't find it so sorry. In fairness, it took me months to find the button on the last site as well. Also the quote buttons and the like. I have no idea how work has things configured but I know I don't see the full site. I can't even get the site to open using Explorer.

OK, so Mike I really like. His story is heart breaking and I am worried that he is going to tap out because he misses his wife. I can understand why someone with his background would be more clingy. It makes sense. I just want him to last a long time because I think he has the skills and can really do some neat stuff. He kind of reminds me of a Lucas, someone who knows what he is doing and looks like he could last a long time, hell could thrive out there, if he decides to stick it out. Both men had some serious back story that you could tell they were working on resolving. Lucas tapped when he worked through what he wanted to work through even though everything about his camp and what he was doing said he could have won easy. Mike could be the same way. Stay long enough to prove to himself that he really does know his stuff, demonstrate his skills. work out some of his angst and then take off because he has better things waiting for him at home.

Randy seems like he knows his stuff but I am not sure that he has every really lived the skills that he is teaching at his school. Hopefully he is able to build a fire without the ferro rod next week. He seems like a good guy and very frustrated with himself.

Am I the only one who would have preferred if they had done two starts? Show the five they did last week and then this five from day one this week. Yes, we know that Desmond taps but it would have been nice to see how these folks found their shelter locations, water and the like. I get the feeling that these folks had very few problems during the first days which is why they were not shown and they focused on the people they did last time.

[ClareWalks]

4 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

Still waiting for Jose, the ex Spanish special ops guy living in the Yukon. He was one I picked to watch, and not a peep so far. 

Yes, Jose! That's the one I couldn't remember. Thanks :) Yeah, I liked that guy in the casting special too. WTF with this show. We wasted a billion years on Desmond.

[riverheightsnancy]

I haven't trolled any spoilers, but I have a strong feeling that we haven't seen the others because we will see a lot of them later on because they last the longest. I suspect that we have a longer front loaded show (i.e., people last longer right out of the box), but we will have more taps closer together a bit farther in and those people are being featured now. So if I was to guess, based on my extensive reality TV viewership over the last 10+ years, that is how they are editing it. I would surmise that we have also seen the winner too. I would hope that the editing is not so obvious, and this is just me spit-balling about editing in general. (again, I have not looked at any spoilers for this show-if there are any). Is there any possibility that people are still out there? 

I actually liked how Mike described all the food. I had no idea that the bull-kelp looked like that, but I am concerned about his need to keep going back to his orphanage trauma story. He was one of the contestants that I had concerns about regarding his mental state, based only on what he said would come up for him out there. It is like he wants to go through this traumatic upheaval. The reality is, for many people these types of events are always pushing through to their consciousness and they need to work through it. But, being alone in the woods to do it, may not be the best location. 

[SRTouch]

7 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Randy seems like he knows his stuff but I am not sure that he has every really lived the skills that he is teaching at his school. Hopefully he is able to build a fire without the ferro rod next week. He seems like a good guy and very frustrated with himself.

Am I the only one who would have preferred if they had done two starts? Show the five they did last week and then this five from day one this week. Yes, we know that Desmond taps but it would have been nice to see how these folks found their shelter locations, water and the like. I get the feeling that these folks had very few problems during the first days which is why they were not shown and they focused on the people they did last time.

My take on Randy is that he's expert in what he knows and is comfortable with, but is lost outside his comfort zone. If the show was shot in the badlands of Utah he'd be kicking it, but not so much on Vancouver Island. I could be totally wrong to make that assumption after seeing him such a short time on TV. I see two major hurdles for him coming up, food and fire, and he'll need to go outside his comfort zone for both. For everyone who thought this group would benefit from watching last season, the History channel gave us Randy.

I guess with the number of contestants they figure they couldn't show us everyone picking their spot and camping camp - but I wish they had. I hope they show us a little more of Jose and Nicole setting up camp, and not just start them out on day 10. Thinking back, there were episodes last season where I was wondering where certain people had gotten off to.

[candall]

I'm not as enthralled with this show as the rest of you, but I enjoy how much you all are enjoying it.  (My life seems survive-ally enough.  I just tried to dig a diversion trench to save my driveway from the six inches of predicted rain.  Dogs unimpressed so I'm bragging to you.)

I thought the show was greatly enhanced with Alan's comments down in the corner <squint squint>  I hope that's an alternative version every week.  NB: It's listed as a separate show on my tv guide.

I am extremely sympathetic to the man whose whole area is on the incline.  (Is that Feckless Dave?)  I know it's the luck of the draw, but whoa, that's a tough obstacle to deal with, right out of the gate and top of everything else.

TERRIBLE shame about the shellfish.  I love that woman and wouldn't have begrudged her snacking on mussel bounty for six months.

[seasick]

30 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

 

I guess with the number of contestants they figure they couldn't show us everyone picking their spot and camping camp - but I wish they had. I hope they show us a little more of Jose and Nicole setting up camp, and not just start them out on day 10. Thinking back, there were episodes last season where I was wondering where certain people had gotten off to.

I think they could have, and should have, even if they broke day one in two episodes. That's a lot more interesting than what they did show,  and the shelter building, water, fire says so much about their skills.  I'm living a little vicariously through them so that's the stuff I like to see.  They are essential elements and really tells me about the participant. The first days are the most exciting!

I would have liked to see Jose and Nicole myself, and a follow up on Larry. (Did he end up just getting a hotel room? )  Jose and Nicole were two of the most intriguing to me (along with Tracy) so  perhaps they're saving the best for last...and doing cliffhangers like with MK's injury. 

I feel like the ghosts of those living in a normal, work-a-day world took revenge on MK for her blather about how pathetic their lives must be.

[piequinn35]

1 hour ago, SRTouch said:

Still waiting for Jose, the ex Spanish special ops guy living in the Yukon. He was one I picked to watch, and not a peep so far. 

Me 2, he is the only fellow Canadian here...

I just think the ones who were not shown had bad camera shots or no shots at all :/

Edited April 29, 2016 by piequinn35
added something

[SRTouch]

2 hours ago, seasick said:

Yes...forgot abut the canvas tarp.  But none look like canvas,? and the canvas one was mentioned last season as not being waterproof.  big difference if they changed it.[/quote]

Now that you point that out, I think you're right - those do not look like canvas. I can't help but wonder about how most of them are using the tarps. Looks like most are doubling up the tarp because it'seems bigger than the area they want to cover. Makes you think it might be better if they gave a couple 10x10 tarps instead of a 20x20 (making that three 10x10 tarps everyone gets. Maybe once they get around to more permanent shelters they'll use the big tarp more efficiently.

Did we even get to see everyone's shelter? We got glimpses, but very few good looks. 

2 hours ago, seasick said:

"Reputation votes"  .ughkk  What was wrong with "likes?"  I think this entire format was dragged over from some defunct site or something. I'm afraid to leave this "alone" site because it took me forever bring it up and find my content. and not even sure I actually did. The ease and fun parts of this site are gone.   

Every time I see the "reputation" notice it just seems odd. And, I miss not being able to see who it is that "gives reputation" as I scroll down. 

[piequinn35]

Seasick, you can customize the homepage, so only the forums you want show up.

[Scaeva]

Mike is an early favorite for me, and I hope he makes it to the final three. Like SRTouch he is sort of reminding me of Lucas so far, in that he seems to have the technical skillset to thrive but is carrying around some emotional and psychological baggage, and all that isolation & introspection might do him in before the elements do. 

I didn't find his comments about his wife creepy in any way. Given his background, it perhaps makes some sense that he might value family over the average person. She might be the first real family he's had. Hopefully the loneliness won't cause him to be an early tap.

I was surprised when Randy said he didn't know to fish. If last season is anything to go by, he's not going to last. The people who thrived where food was concerned were those who were able to make the most out of what the sea provided. There didn't seem to be much in the way of land-based game. I wonder when the contestants knew where they were going. I can't imagine anyone who can't fish trying out for a season of Alone set on Vancouver Island. Like Joe last season I'm willing to cut him some slack for losing the ferro rod. It was a dumb mistake, and probably one that dooms him to an early departure, but lack of food and sleep is going to make anyone a little absent-minded.

[Charlesman]

Rewinding the camera footage to find the ferro rod was smart but also strikes me as kind of cheating. I mean, maybe it's not actually against the letter of the law, but at least a little against the spirit of the rules.

[ClareWalks]

5 minutes ago, Charlesman said:

Rewinding the camera footage to find the ferro rod was smart but also strikes me as kind of cheating. I mean, maybe it's not actually against the letter of the law, but at least a little against the spirit of the rules.

Not sure what you mean. The spirit of which rules? I figure since they're forced to drag the cameras around and were taught how to rewind and watch their footage, doing so is totally fair game.

[Quilt Fairy]

We did get one really good quote this ep, which I think was David saying (paraphrasing): This place is so beautiful, if you could live on beauty alone, I'd be full.

OT - Really hate the site changes, it  seems like a backward move. Yeah, you can customize your homepage, but you can't sort the shows, so I had shows that hadn't had a post in years showing up ahead of ones like 19KAC that are constantly active. The only way I was able to get a marginally useful homepage was to unfollow all but a handful of shows that I currently post on. I don't see any way to get the functionality and information of the old My Shows page. I will, however, give it time. :-(

[candall]

2 hours ago, SRTouch said:

 

Every time I see the "reputation" notice it just seems odd. And, I miss not being able to see who it is that "gives reputation" as I scroll down. 

I really, really miss seeing the names, too.  I feel I got familiar with various people whose names I saw regularly.

When you do bother to click on the "reputation" number, each name is accompanied by a green up-arrow, so I guess the original reputation template included an option for disliking the comment.  Yikes, glad we didn't incorporate that! 

[cooksdelight]

If you remember how TWoP worked, this is it all over again. I hate it also.

I didn't even notice MK had a table. I wish she'd tell us where it came from.

[ClareWalks]

I hate the reputation shit, but I like that I can customize my homepage. I weeded out a lot of stuff and now it's much nicer to look at. 

On topic? The first little "project" I would do is making a shovel. Seems like there is a lot of digging involved and I wouldn't want to dull my blades by using them to dig holes.

[riverheightsnancy]

12 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

If you remember how TWoP worked, this is it all over again. I hate it also.

Seriously, I was gonna say that too. It is like TWOP, or at least that is what I thought that I was remembered. I don't really mind the changes, because my browser address is set to open directly into the forums and I scroll to the shows that I want. Maybe it would save time to set up a home page, although I have never done that. I do miss the likes as Candall said. I like getting to know the names of people. It is like a little family in some threads. If anyone watched the abortion that was Utopia (defunct the reality show), you will know what I mean. 

Regarding the show: I suppose that they can only show what these guys recorded, I guess that we will have to wait until the end to find out if some didn't record a lot and that is why we aren't seeing other people. I also hope that the fish that Mike buried works out for him. I kind of love that the gill net worked for him. 

[Quilt Fairy]

I just watched Ep1 enhanced with Alan's comments (pulled the chair way up close to the TV ) and I noticed a difference from the original airing last week.  Remember that Mary Kate is shown at 2 different houses, the clapboard house and the log cabin? Last week, the clapboard house was identified on screen as Homer, AK, and one poster kept saying at the time that it just didn't look like Homer. In the updated version, the clapboard house is now identified as Shepherd(?), MT. Which leads me to assume that the log cabin is in Homer, AK.  So, whoever that was, your instincts were correct. Interesting that someone caught the error and thought it was important enough to correct it on-screen.

One thing that Mary Kate did that I really like is her rain suit. It's bright yellow.  All the guys we've seen so far have gone for camo. Which would be great if you're hunting, but in this situation I don't think you want to hide, you want to make your presence known.  And even if animals can't see color, that yellow is just frickin' cheerier.

[SRTouch]

7 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Ugh, Mary Kate. Not being nearly careful enough with her blades. Every time I saw her chopping something I was cringing, and sure enough she damn near cut her thumb off. 

I had the same thoughts. Even without the preview that showed someone cut themselves, her careless handling of her knife and ax made me cringe. By the time I actually watched the episode, someone had identified MK as the one in the preview. I was just waiting for her to cut her hand off at the start of the show when she's sitting in her shelter cutting notches in a stick. I was surprised by her handling of the ax as she split firewood - I expected better tool safety from someone whose bio says she grew up off grid and has worked as a forest firefighter.

[Jordan61]

I didn't mind MK talking about her girls, but what she was saying about teaching them to be free and adventurous, going where your whimsy takes you, and how boring a life of going to the same coffee shop every morning is, I had to smile. You never know, after being raised with a wanderlust lifestyle her girls could very well end up wanting a (boring) life of stability and going to the same places every day. :)

[seasick]

4 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

Seasick, you can customize the homepage, so only the forums you want show up.

Thanks piequinn good to know.  Just new navigating and ..sigh.

 

10 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I just watched Ep1 enhanced with Alan's comments (pulled the chair way up close to the TV ) and I noticed a difference from the original airing last week.  Remember that Mary Kate is shown at 2 different houses, the clapboard house and the log cabin? Last week, the clapboard house was identified on screen as Homer, AK, and one poster kept saying at the time that it just didn't look like Homer. In the updated version, the clapboard house is now identified as Shepherd(?), MT. Which leads me to assume that the log cabin is in Homer, AK.  So, whoever that was, your instincts were correct. Interesting that someone caught the error and thought it was important enough to correct it on-screen.

One thing that Mary Kate did that I really like is her rain suit. It's bright yellow.  All the guys we've seen so far have gone for camo. Which would be great if you're hunting, but in this situation I don't think you want to hide, you want to make your presence known.  And even if animals can't see color, that yellow is just frickin' cheerier.

Thanks for the update on that Quilt Fairy. Maybe they mixed the editing and I'll look again but as I recall the landscape around that cabin was just as Montana looking.   It's not important but it is my crazy 'thing'   so thanks.    Yellow rain suit was more cheerful and might even warn a bear or two..but for those who think they're going to 'hunt' with bows and arrows or rocks or ..whatever.. I guess they want to stay incognito.   Wouldn't want to scare off the mice.  

Overall I have the utmost respect for these folks for signing up and actually stepping foot on VI.  But from the warmth of my living room and a pot roast simmering on the stove... I expect a little better from these people.  That's one reason I watch.  They're survival experts.  (well many are..and teach it)  So I don't have sympathy for Randy losing his fire rod. (or Larry being crazy and indignant over no flat ground)   If they were to be dropped off and picked up 3 months later without the lux of an easy tap out, Randy would be screwed for "survival".  And the 'not experienced with fishing'  thing kills me.  I've done some survival stuff too, but I'm not adept at finding water to boil because where I was I could drink from the backyard hose. You'd think someone who teaches it would be more well-rounded.   It's not like fishing is some esoteric skill like igloo building or something,  At least he *brought* a gill net and fishing gear. I think a gill net is pretty self explanatory.    While my hats are off to these people I have no problem snarking on them  Maybe they should have stayed home and watched more TV.--the last season at the very least.

OT:  This new format is suited to a Q and A format where there are "replies" for questions (rather than just new posts) and "reputation votes" for how reliable my answers are in, say, how to fix your boat or plant your tomatoes. (it reminds me of 'street cred" or something)   Also, I thought in the old format we had to go thru a moderator or something to request a new topic. (I'm not sure)   but nothing is worse than a discussion forum where everyone starts a new topic for every thought they have..I hope that doesn't happen here.    I liked seeing who "liked" the posts with cleverly my "YOU"  remaining first so I knew if I had already "liked it". This format does not suit this forum and whatever upside I doubt outweighs the downside and awkwardness in trying to make it fit.   

 

 

. 

[seasick]

1 hour ago, Jordan61 said:

I didn't mind MK talking about her girls, but what she was saying about teaching them to be free and adventurous, going where your whimsy takes you, and how boring a life of going to the same coffee shop every morning is, I had to smile. You never know, after being raised with a wanderlust lifestyle her girls could very well end up wanting a (boring) life of stability and going to the same places every day. :)

I thought the same thing about how her girls may turn out.  With her luck (and not just *her* luck but simple parental luck)  they'll probably turn out to be real girly girls who don't want to chip their nail polish, and (horror of horrors) as cute as they are, talk about snaring a rich guy so they don't have to work or do housework. 

[raven]

I felt badly for Randy losing the ferro rod.  The show said he had eaten about 2K calories total in 3 days, which is probably about a third of what he should.  But I also felt a little badly for Desmond tapping out in a few hours because 1) he had not just a few people but a whole posse cheering him when he left that he has to face on his return and 2) he was so obviously freaked out.  I know it's his own fault and all that, but even his "bragging" before leaving didn't seem like macho tough guy.....or maybe it's because I have a bear phobia and am also a sap. 

Binged the first season but have no guesses as to who will last this one, maybe not until we see everyone anyway!

[Charlesman]

6 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Not sure what you mean. The spirit of which rules? I figure since they're forced to drag the cameras around and were taught how to rewind and watch their footage, doing so is totally fair game.

Well, to me, using a camera to track down where you dropped something kind of violates the spirit of the rule that you can't use "anything with batteries" to help you out, for example. I dunno. Like, what if one guy smashed one of his GoPro cameras and used the lens to start a fire? Or, just ejected the battery, short-circuited it with a piece of metal, and used the spark to start a fire? What if someone grabbed an unused tape (if they're using cassettes and not memory cards) and unspooled the reel and used it as twine or fishing line?

I know, those are extreme examples, but, it's a bit of a slippery slope.

While I do appreciate the creativity of the solution, it doesn't quite sit well with me.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Charlesman

[Quilt Fairy]

I would think that checking what they've filmed is allowed if only to make sure that they are using the equipment correctly.

[Snarklepuss]

I apologize if I seem to be coming out of the blue but I'm struggling with this new forum format.....Speaking of that, you can see who liked a post by clicking on the number next to the heart, so I'm not sure what is being discussed above, unless I missed something and if I did, again I apologize......

Speaking of Randy losing the ferro rod, that's almost exactly what happened to someone in season 1 (I forget his name now) and he didn't last long after that if I remember.  That's too bad but how stupid could he be?  I hope Mary Kate's hand doesn't send her home either, but that looked like a nasty cut and she strikes me as another idiot anyway.

Randy not knowing how to fish and then I find out he didn't bring emergency rations?  Another idiot - He didn't learn from watching last season?  I guess he thought he would be better than Sam at catching critters.

I can see already I'm going to get tired of the whiners whining about missing their families.  Geesh these people must really not know anything about how it is to really be alone.  It bugs me because if they can't handle it they should know themselves better than to go on a show like this.

I know we haven't seen everyone yet but who's missing so far?  It's too early for me to keep track of them all.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Snarklepuss
new thoughts to add

[ghoulina]

So 4 new dudes this week, and MK. But no Tracy (boo!) or Larry (yay!) 

 

MK seems to be doing alright for herself. She's got herself a covered cooking area (although my husband wouldn't stop bitching about how she killed a tree when she didn't need to) and a cute little door for her tent. Let's just see how well those things work out for her. Well, if we get to see. I'm not sure what's going to happen as a result of her hand injury. It didn't appear like it was gushing blood; I think sanitation is going to be the big issue. Grab some moss, girl! Natural iodine. 

Out of the new guys, I think I like Randy, the hipster Rollo, the least. He seems very mopey. When things didn't go right, he was saying the right things - "You have to adapt and keep trying" - but his tone of voice didn't match his words. He already sounds very defeated. And then, of course, he lost his ferro rod. Someone did that last season and it was game over. So I don't see how he could keep going. Even if he was capable of making fire without one, it would be a lot of work. So he'd either have to expend that energy every time OR keep it going constantly, which is also expending a ton of energy. Not a good situation. I said to my husband, "I think he's glad he lost his ferro rod". And my husband said, "I think he did it on purpose". I don't know if I'd go that far. But he didn't really seem like he wanted to be there. 

I think I'll like Mike the best. He's going to be the Alan of this season. I mean, I know he won't be as humorous or profound, but he definitely seems to have a good spirit about him, and appears very industrious. He seems very knowledgeable about all the plant life, and just a few days in and he's having to bury excess food! He really has potential to do well out there. So let's just hope missing his lady doesn't get too him too badly. 

Justin seemed pretty cool too, competent and positive. And I like the work he's doing with veterans back home. I'm hugely anti-war, in part because of how it effects the returning soldiers. I love that he is doing something proactive to help his brothers out. His little pet duck was so cute and I was very sad when he found it dead. I only wish he'd have saved it for bait instead of throwing it back to the water. 

David seems alright, a bit too soon to tell, but also looks to be possibly defeated by the foocd situation. What I don't get is, why do these people only try ONE thing? Set up a gill net AND a trotline AND some deadfalls. SOME deadfalls. Not just one. 

 

At any rate, I think this group is already off to a better start, given that we're a week in and only one tap out. Should be interesting going forward.

[seasick]

Snarkle, regarding the "likes"-- some of us were saying that we miss having the names (or some of them) visible without having to click,   and being able to see if we had already "liked" a post because "you" was always kept first.

Charlesman  you make an interesting point about the camera use/rewind.  Wonder if they could even tell if it's been rewound.  I'd say it's a 'soft" use; but I see what your saying.

Was watching "trailblazers" last night and the one guy cut his hand same way--same place as MK, and was told he cut a tendon and needed surgery or else lose the use of his thumb.  I think she's out.

On 4/29/2016 at 0:28 AM, LittleIggy said:

Randy better hope Les Stroud washes up on his beach.

 I got a good chuckle from this..but later I started to think of Les and his screw-ups on his show.  I was on a bus trip and someone brought up the show and we had a good time sharing stories of Eps. where Les wasn't quite the shining example of great survival techniques.  I recalled one show where he simulated a  plane crash and he decided he would sling one arm to feign an injury like might happen in real life.  Later Les decided to lose that idea because it was too hard to really do much with one arm.  I think another time he set his camp on fire..     Maybe Bear Gryllis would be a better find

[Snarklepuss]

30 minutes ago, seasick said:

Snarkle, regarding the "likes"-- some of us were saying that we miss having the names (or some of them) visible without having to click,   and being able to see if we had already "liked" a post because "you" was always kept first.

Thanks, Seasick - I hear you, I don't like not seeing the list of people who liked our posts either, but so far there's a long list of things I don't like about this new software.  I'm trying to keep an open mind until some of the bugs are ironed out.  Not that I want to defend it at all but you can see if you already liked a post because the little heart turns red when you do.  I am very tired of software changes that seem like they're just for the sake of change but end up actually going backwards in terms of user-friendliness.  Sorry to be OT but it's a big issue with me right now - and not coming at a good time either.

To get back to the show, I'm still trying to find out who has not been featured yet.  I know there was some talk upthread about a guy named Jose but who else?  I'm too busy these days to sit and figure it out.

[seasick]

27 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

Thanks, Seasick - I hear you, I don't like not seeing the list of people who liked our posts either, but so far there's a long list of things I don't like about this new software.  I'm trying to keep an open mind until some of the bugs are ironed out.  Not that I want to defend it at all but you can see if you already liked a post because the little heart turns red when you do.  I am very tired of software changes that seem like they're just for the sake of change but end up actually going backwards in terms of user-friendliness.  Sorry to be OT but it's a big issue with me right now - and not coming at a good time either.

To get back to the show, I'm still trying to find out who has not been featured yet.  I know there was some talk upthread about a guy named Jose but who else?  I'm too busy these days to sit and figure it out.

Jose and Nicole have not yet been featured.  Nicole was the slender woman who taught anthropology and had MS.  Jose is the Spanish guy who lives in the Yukon and appeared to have the most skill or experience.  We are all waiting to see them..and I know I'm disappointed not to have seen their first days of arrival and set-up, even if it does signal that they may be around for awhile.  

I totally hear you on the point and worthiness of the huge undertaking to install a new format.  I'm getting used to it, but if I was new to this forum I'd be lost because the simple and obvious labeling is gone.  I also liked the more precise time stamping better as it was easier to find a post. .  It bothers me to continuously feel so negatively about it but it appears they added some superfluous crap at the expense of the fun and friendly.  Thanks for the heads up about the heart turning red.  Maybe didn't notice before--maybe it's new.  They did change 'reputation"  to "likes".

[Snarklepuss]

11 minutes ago, seasick said:

Jose and Nicole have not yet been featured.  Nicole was the slender woman who taught anthropology and had MS.  Jose is the Spanish guy who lives in the Yukon and appeared to have the most skill or experience.  We are all waiting to see them..and I know I'm disappointed not to have seen their first days of arrival and set-up, even if it does signal that they may be around for awhile.  

I totally hear you on the point and worthiness of the huge undertaking to install a new format.  I'm getting used to it, but if I was new to this forum I'd be lost because the simple and obvious labeling is gone.  I also liked the more precise time stamping better as it was easier to find a post. .  It bothers me to continuously feel so negatively about it but it appears they added some superfluous crap at the expense of the fun and friendly.  Thanks for the heads up about the heart turning red.  Maybe didn't notice before--maybe it's new.  They did change 'reputation"  to "likes".

Thanks, I'll bet you're right that both of those people last a long time.  Too bad we won't see their first week.  Maybe later they'll have a special to show us what we missed.

I can see how you missed the red heart.  On my pute it's almost greyed out unless you put your cursor on it.  I think a lot of these changes are supposedly to make things easier on different types of devices but in the long run they just end up dumbing everything down so much that it alienates the membership.  If you have to be a techie to figure out how to use the software, something is wrong.  This is not a forum for techies.  OK, I'm done venting for now!!  ;-)

[ClareWalks]

14 hours ago, Charlesman said:

Well, to me, using a camera to track down where you dropped something kind of violates the spirit of the rule that you can't use "anything with batteries" to help you out, for example. I dunno. Like, what if one guy smashed one of his GoPro cameras and used the lens to start a fire? Or, just ejected the battery, short-circuited it with a piece of metal, and used the spark to start a fire? What if someone grabbed an unused tape (if they're using cassettes and not memory cards) and unspooled the reel and used it as twine or fishing line?

I know, those are extreme examples, but, it's a bit of a slippery slope.

While I do appreciate the creativity of the solution, it doesn't quite sit well with me.

I understand your point. I think they do use memory cards and I think they (and batteries) are switched out during the routine medical checkups. I know they should stay primitive and not use things "with batteries" to survive, but I guess the difference is they are forced to drag around these cameras and film most things they do, generally to their detriment. Everything takes so much longer because of having to film it, so I see them reviewing the tape as a bit more of an equalizer. In the PNW though I doubt they could start a fire with a lens (not sunny enough), so the camera at least is safe :)

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, seasick said:

Was watching "trailblazers" last night and the one guy cut his hand same way--same place as MK, and was told he cut a tendon and needed surgery or else lose the use of his thumb.  I think she's out.

That was my worry when she ran out camera saying she couldn't lift her thumb. That sounds like the tendon is cut, which to me would mean game over. With MK, though, we have to remember how she reacts when something goes wrong. Oh no, her boots are wet - she's screwed! She has water in her shelter and her sleeping bag and clothes are wet - she'll have to go home! In the past, once her drama was done, she settled down and got on with it. Whether her cut is a game ender will be determined on how bad it really is, and what the rules are regarding medical assistance. We know that everybody was given a first aide kit - but don't really know what's in the kit and the rules on when they can use it. IIRC we know they are not really left alone for the duration. Yes, they're alone MOST of the time, but as I remember, a medical team makes periodic checks. As long as the tendon is NOT cut, I think she'd be ok even if she had to be stitched, assuming she can use supplies from the first aid kit and is monitored a couple times a week to make sure it's not infected. If the tendon IS cut, or if she develops an infection, she should tap out.

[seasick]

2 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

That was my worry when she ran out camera saying she couldn't lift her thumb. That sounds like the tendon is cut, which to me would mean game over. With MK, though, we have to remember how she reacts when something goes wrong. Oh no, her boots are wet - she's screwed! She has water in her shelter and her sleeping bag and clothes are wet - she'll have to go home! In the past, once her drama was done, she settled down and got on with it. Whether her cut is a game ender will be determined on how bad it really is, and what the rules are regarding medical assistance. We know that everybody was given a first aide kit - but don't really know what's in the kit and the rules on when they can use it. IIRC we know they are not really left alone for the duration. Yes, they're alone MOST of the time, but as I remember, a medical team makes periodic checks. As long as the tendon is NOT cut, I think she'd be ok even if she had to be stitched, assuming she can use supplies from the first aid kit and is monitored a couple times a week to make sure it's not infected. If the tendon IS cut, or if she develops an infection, she should tap out.

My guess is that having to get med assistance though (i.e. getting her hand stitched and monitored) would be against the rules for staying on.  I'm assuming if she cannot take care of it herself she's out.    (but I do get what you're saying about her initial 'doomsday" reaction to things)

[ClareWalks]

Yeah, I agree that unless the cut is extremely superficial, she is definitely out, and possibly even if it is superficial because of the infection risk. A cut tendon or ligament needs surgical repair immediately (within 48 hours) or it will never heal properly.