Endless Supplies of Gas and Other Nitpicks: It Doesn't Make Sense

[Nashville]

Who knew my Country Crock was really some kind of anti-bacterial faux vegetable spread?

Hey, maybe that's what Daryl's using for hair gel...

I always thought he was more of a Havoline man, myself.

[Nashville]

While we're (kinda) on the subject...

Ever want to crack open a can of Smeat?

And maybe wash it down with a slug from a bottle of Jim Dandie's Kentucky Whisky?

Well, look no further!!!

[kikismom]

Now I want to link to the Monty Python 4 Lancashiremen skit, but I'm too fucking lazy.  :-)

Wish granted:

http://www.montypython.net/scripts/4york.php

[kikismom]

you can figure out why my brand new (8+ yrs old) Dyson vac used only once makes a funny noise and spits out more dirt.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/commercial---the-dyson-toilet/n11854

 

Here you go walnut queen; solve two of your repairs at once!

Edited January 23, 2015 by kikismom

[walnutqueen]

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/commercial---the-dyson-toilet/n11854

 

Here you go walnut queen; solve two of your repairs at once!

 

OMG, kikismom - that's perfection.

[PreBabylonia]

 

My whole point, and science is backing me up on this, is that we've become more susceptible to disease because of the obsession with anti-bacterial everything, excessive antibiotic use, and the over-processed plastic lives we lead.  I played in the park as a child, unattended, lived in a barn as a teen, also unattended,  and survived.  How the fuck did the human race ever survive before this particular modern time we live in?   Old folks have probably been asking this forever, just like me.

 

 

I wonder. When I was a kid, we rode bikes and roller skated with no helmets or knee pads, drank unfiltered, unbottled water from garden hoses, didn't carry hand sanitizer, never washed our hands all day while playing outside, ate icicles like they were suckers,  stuffed our faces with penny candy whenever possible and ate them with our dirty fingers. We never got killed, poisoned or obese although nothing was child proofed or padded and no one paid much attention to our "daily nutritional requirements."

 

My mother, who grew up on a farm, told us, "You'll eat a peck of dirt before you die."  I never did figure out what a "peck" is.

 

I used to think that too, mostly because I've read in countless articles about killing off our own immune systems thru over disinfecting them. Also remember growing up without much illness, other than allergies and a notable bout with meningitis when I was 8 or 9. After doing childcare for the last year though, I've changed my mind. Two and three-year-olds constantly sneeze and cough in your face and guess what? It makes you sick. Unfortunately, it goes well beyond colds and coughs. I keep getting sinus infections and bronchiitis. My theory is that we've greatly changed the physical makeup of our world, thru GMOs and shoving our meat full of sterpoids and antibiotics. I'm pretty sure now that my days in a ZA would be greatly limited. I'm confident that a respitory infection would be the end of me before I had to fend off the hordes, unless I had access to antibiotics. And that seems pretty unlikable, given how quickly medical supplies were hit by the survivors. 

Of course, I may have been affected by watching the flu decimate the group in the prison, while I was fighting off my own infection. Only had the strength to lie on the sofa with my dog, watching at least eight episodes at a time.

Edited January 26, 2015 by PreBabylonia

[kikismom]

. After doing childcare for the last year though, I've changed my mind. Two and three-year-olds constantly sneeze and cough in your face and guess what? It makes you sick. Unfortunately, it goes well beyond colds and coughs. I keep getting sinus infections and bronchiitis.

Try the condiment cure.

You know those add-ons they have at hot dog stands or convenience stores? (Just don't eat the hot dog).

Get mustard, pickle relish, onions, jalapenos, ketchup, banana peppers, sauerkraut if they have it. Mix it all up and eat a few spoonfuls. You must chew it, swirl it around your gums, tongue, roof of your mouth. Swallow and wait at least a five minutes before you take a drink.

I know it doesn't taste great and your breath will smell like you spent the day at Yankee stadium but it does work for me. Peppers and onions and vinegar and mustard seed etc are good for killing little breathable cooties.

I learned this from a friend who worked at the airport.(!!!)

Then one night I was near someone at a class who hacked all over and I felt my throat get sore, my head start hurting, my eyes closing up etc;  and I did this and 30 minutes later it all stopped, the congestion and pain and swollen glands. At least it's cheap, and usually free. Plus you can get the little packets of all this shit and keep them in your purse or briefcase (good for traveling.) Try it as soon as you get exposed or before you are around the sickies.

[BrokenRemote]

I was an " eat a peck of dirt before you die" hand-sanitizer enemy until I got sick. I now take a variety of immune suppressors and mild chemo drugs to stop my immune system from

attacking me. So now I have to be super careful and people make fun of me for using hand sanitizer.

Bottom line: I'm now relying on the rest of your immune systems to work hard, as hard as they can to keep these stupid things from mutating into antibiotic-resistant, hand-sanitizer-resistant zombie plagues. Each one of you is required to eat an extra bite of dirt for losers like me!

Ps I know I will be the first to go when the ZA hits. I hope it's not stabbing some dumb dictator with cuticle scissors but instead fulfilling this thread's glorious promise of death by 2-year old canned pudding!

Edited January 26, 2015 by BrokenRemote

[BrokenRemote]

My mother, who grew up on a farm, told us, "You'll eat a peck of dirt before you die." I never did figure out what a "peck" is.

*goes off to Google "peck"*

I realized nobody answered you. A peck is a quarter of a bushel. Nice amount of tomatoes or peaches to buy for consumption (rather than preserving) at a farm stand. Star of that old classic song "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck", and as mentioned above, the adventures of Peter Piper.

Not really an amount one would like to consume in dirt at a single sitting.

Edited January 26, 2015 by BrokenRemote

[kikismom]

I was an " eat a peck of dirt before you die" hand-sanitizer enemy until I got sick. I now take a variety of immune suppressors and mild chemo drugs to stop my immune system from

attacking me. So now I have to be super careful and people make fun of me for using hand sanitizer.

Bottom line: I'm now relying on the rest of your immune systems to work hard, as hard as they can to keep these stupid things from mutating into antibiotic-resistant, hand-sanitizer-resistant zombie plagues. Each one of you is required to eat an extra bite of dirt for losers like me!

Ps I know I will be the first to go when the ZA hits. I hope it's not stabbing some dumb dictator with cuticle scissors but instead fulfilling this thread's glorious promise of death by 2-year old canned pudding!

Well, the people here won't fun of you. Also, you aren't a loser. Although hanging out with us won't help your social standing. :-D

 

You also won't be the first to go when the ZA hits.

Because I've got a little list... mwoahaha!

[AngelaHunter]

You also won't be the first to go when the ZA hits.

Because I've got a little list... mwoahaha!

 

Are Kim Kardashian, her sullen, "Delusions of grandeur" hubby and Beiber at the top of that list?  I'm sure we could add to it, if it's not long enough already.

[Haleth]

I fully expect to be sacrificed to the zombie hoards unless anyone needs their tax return done or their kitchen backsplash retiled. Although in high school I was pretty handy with a bow. My one experience with shooting a rifle didn't end well. I nearly shot my eye out. Really.

[BrokenRemote]

Well, the people here won't fun of you. Also, you aren't a loser. Although hanging out with us won't help your social standing. :-D

You also won't be the first to go when the ZA hits.

Because I've got a little list... mwoahaha!

I rather like the way you think. Like, who's gonna miss those jerks... I mean hypothetically...

I fully expect to be sacrificed to the zombie hoards unless anyone needs their tax return done or their kitchen backsplash retiled. Although in high school I was pretty handy with a bow. My one experience with shooting a rifle didn't end well. I nearly shot my eye out. Really.

OMG, I'd forgotten that archery class I took! I didn't suck as badly at that as I did softball. So of a stick or a bow... I need to take that up again!

[walnutqueen]

I fully expect to be sacrificed to the zombie hoards unless anyone needs their tax return done or their kitchen backsplash retiled.

 

I need both, so you're golden in my book, Haleth.  ;-)

[Nashville]

Are Kim Kardashian, her sullen, "Delusions of grandeur" hubby and Beiber at the top of that list?  I'm sure we could add to it, if it's not long enough already.

The Kardashians would be an excellent firebreak in a ZA infection burn.

It'd take them a month to eat through all that ass.

[CletusMusashi]

Zombies get to have all the fun...

[Nashville]

Zombies get to have all the fun...

Purely a personal observation here - but "fun" and the Special Ks rarely reside within the same sentence.

With respect to my previous comments regarding how long a dog would be licking his butt to get the taste of walker out of his mouth - I expect a mouthful of Kardashian ass would have him licking even longer.

[kj4ever]

I got food poisoning once, too - from a high end restaurant.  Seriously.

 

Mu Shu - feel free to come & clean my filth any ole time.  I'll sell a trinket to pay a plumber to fix the laundry tub and barely working toilet/shower, and you can figure out why my brand new (8+ yrs old) Dyson vac used only once makes a funny noise and spits out more dirt.  In return I offer you buried vintage forgotten treasures and lots of jewelery, and a rare insight into the delights of an urban wildlife refuge.  You haven't LIVED till you see a baby raccoon begging for a hot dog and swaying to the tones of my windchimes!   Oh, and I have Uverse 450, so unlimited TV, eh.  :-D

 

My whole point, and science is backing me up on this, is that we've become more susceptible to disease because of the obsession with anti-bacterial everything, excessive antibiotic use, and the over-processed plastic lives we lead.  I played in the park as a child, unattended, lived in a barn as a teen, also unattended,  and survived.  How the fuck did the human race ever survive before this particular modern time we live in?   Old folks have probably been asking this forever, just like me.

 

Now I want to link to the Monty Python 4 Lancashiremen skit, but I'm too fucking lazy.  :-)

I do not do well with antibiotics, so I had to have like a gaping wound or surgery before I would be prescribed the one that I was not allergic to - even then the doc would wait and see if I got an infection because it scared everyone that there would be one, maybe two that I could take my entire life.  They were terrified that I would become immune.

 

So the last time I was treated with an antibiotic I think I was 15? when I got my tonsils out.  I'm now 44.  I'm not sure if I don't need them because I never get sick, or if I have this super immune system that fights everything.  All I know is the last time I had a raging case of the flu I was probably 25 years old.

 

Now I'm off to knock on some wood before I come down with a horrible case of the stomach flu :)

[BrokenRemote]

I'm having the same problem with antibiotics, but combining that with a compromised immune system means I'm getting infections too often when I'm down to one or two things I can take.  My doctor keeps saying the same thing, what's going to happen when something comes along that they can't fight.  But the world may end before then anyway.  

 

I am going to be like that guy in Z Nation (yes, I know, wrong show) and horde all the antibiotics I've been given that I can't take, and then set up a shop when the end comes.  I'll be rich, rich I tell you!  (I'm just remembering how Daryl dug around in Merle's bag to find an antibiotic for T-Dog (sob! T-Dog!!!), explaining that Merle had had the clap a bunch of times so he must have antibiotics.  Wonder what happened to the rest of Merle's goodies?  He was looking for narcotics in the prison, ripping up mattresses, so they obviously didn't save them for him.)

 

Why am I having such trouble with this post? It repeated 3 times, now I can't fix it!  Grrrr

Edited February 5, 2015 by BrokenRemote

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Ok, so I hope this the right place to post this.  Here goes.................

 

Sooo, I got to thinking earlier... how much actual (in-show) time has passed, exactly, since Rick joined up with the whole group just outside of Atlanta?  Has it been 1 year?  1.5?  2??  More??

 

I know its just a fictional show and 'realism' is only in the eye of the beholder, but I am getting pretty tired of hearing the whining about having either no food or pretty much none, if they aren't going to display the effects of said problems. 

 

For instance, how are guys like T-Dog (RIP), Tyrese (RIP), AbeFord, Eugene and other 'plus size' people still that same size as when the ZA started?  Or how are the the skinnier people not literally pretty much skin & bones now??  Aside from the occasional animal (usually a small one) that Daryl hunts down,  they have to scavenge for the occasional going-out-of-date can of perishable to spread around a moderately large group of people.

 

Its hard to accept any effort of rebuttal on how "they get enough to eat off-screen" when its constantly in our faces that they are so hungry and have little to almost no food on-screen.  I guess Ty & Sasha had it nice for a couple/few days at Woodbury, but not enough to really make a difference.  Carl got to pig out on dry cornflakes and a big can of choco pudding, but that what's been about it save for some rare pieces of candy Michonne shared with Carl.

 

And even if they are eating enough to just quench their appetites in the eps where hunger isn't made a focus, it still isn't enough to keep these people heavy or at healthy weights.  Again, I'm well aware that I'm watching a fictional show with very little basis in reality, but what little there is, its hard to accept while being unable to always turn a blind eye to it.

 

 

Long story short;  Show, please stop with the overt (even if I'm thinking its more and overstating, while its just actually occasional) discussions of life's new normal difficulties if the detrimental results of said difficulties isn't going to be accurately depicted.  Thank you.

Edited February 9, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[walnutqueen]

Men who are walking around every day, and even running and fighting, in the ZA and practically starving should not have moobs.  Or, they should stop wearing tight t-shirts that make me look at their visibly well insulated torsos.    ;-)

[Mu Shu]

Walnut Queen, if you 're anywhere near Miami, I am in my way to obliterate the filth, repair the Dyson, and eat hot dogs with raccoons. I live hot dogs. If you have coffee and the promised jewelry,, I'm there. Unless of course Daniel Di Tomosso calls for a date. Then you're on your own.

I got food poisoning in Pooler, Ga. How I hate you Pooler. Never to return.

[walnutqueen]

MuShu, now I am almost sorry I live on the west coast (North San Diego County, to be precise).  I say "almost" because I lucked on to the perfect microclimate here - far enough from the beach to avoid May grey & June gloom, yet not inland enough to suffer extreme heat.  I hardly ever have to turn on my little portable heater or old box fan - the breezes through the house are exceptionally mild most days of the year.  Yes, I sound like Goldi-fuckin-locks, but this old dump is practically perfect in so many ways - including every store & convenience within about a mile.

 

I LIVE for good strong coffee (never bitter), and the promised jewelry ranges from the real deal (lots of gold & silver, even a few diamonds & gemstones) to vintage costume (think pretty rhinestones and random collectibles) - some of which you'd have to dig through the "garage" for (treasure hunt!).  You are welcome to indulge in cheap hot dogs, but I have access to some pretty decent real groceries that don't break the bank, and it wouldn't take much to set up a veggie or herb garden here, for the able-bodied.   :-)

 

Georgia sounds horrible - I really don't do well with humidity, and I have it in my minds that it gets humid there sometimes.  Probably because everyone on TWD looks sweaty & dirty.  :-)

 

How many years is canned food safe?  I only buy canned cat food, which is gone in 60 seconds, so have never experimented with the shelf life of other processed goods, but don't those even get "puffy" or something after a while?  Sooner or later our brave scavengers won't find anything viable TO scavenge - am I right?

[BrokenRemote]

With guys like Ty, I can buy that a lot of the bulk is muscle, and they certainly get enough of a workout to keep those muscles.

[Nashville]

 Georgia sounds horrible - I really don't do well with humidity, and I have it in my minds that it gets humid there sometimes.  Probably because everyone on TWD looks sweaty & dirty.  :-)

 

Oh, only every now and then. Like April through November.

How many years is canned food safe?  I only buy canned cat food, which is gone in 60 seconds, so have never experimented with the shelf life of other processed goods, but don't those even get "puffy" or something after a while?  Sooner or later our brave scavengers won't find anything viable TO scavenge - am I right?

Depends. Most canned veggies are good for two years easy. Spam, on the other hand, is probably good for a couple of decades. :)

[walnutqueen]

Oh, only every now and then. Like April through November.

Depends. Most canned veggies are good for two years easy. Spam, on the other hand, is probably good for a couple of decades. :)

 

Heh - so I don't like Georgia, but I do loves me the occasional fried spam (slinking away with head hung low, now).

[kikismom]

In the book Ice Bound, about the mission to build a new station at the South Pole, they went exploring in the old 1951 South Pole station and found hot dogs. After thawing them out, they cooked and ate them and said that it tasted the same as any hot dogs you buy that aren't 50 years old.

Whether that is good or bad depends on you POV.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

With guys like Ty, I can buy that a lot of the bulk is muscle, and they certainly get enough of a workout to keep those muscles.

 

While risking putting on display my huge levels of ignorance, I am laboring with the belief that muscle mass isn't maintained just with constant work.  The body & muscles need proper sustenance (ie, food/fluids + proteins + other metabolic stuff) to maintain their size and bulk.  So, while they would stay strong, the muscle mass (or 'bulk') would actually decrease, while still keeping/working/training actual muscles.  IE, the body mass would 'shrink', while still maintaining core strength; thus while staying strong, they would look like they're losing weight.

[editorgrrl]

I can't find the citation, but I read that Michael Cudlitz was unhappy about his weight when he was cast, and has been working out ever since. So Abraham's moobs should hopefully be shrinking.

 

The only onscreen exercise-for-exercise's-sake I can recall was Dawn on her exercise bike (cardio!), and Michonne doing crunches in the prison while Beth sang to Judith (season 4, episode 2, "Infected"). 

[CletusMusashi]

Maybe that's why they're keeping him off camera for a while. When he eventually shows up, they can extrapolate that he mistook laxatives for vitamins, or went on the "Eugene eats first" diet, or found a ShakeWeight somewhere and has been using it in the car like a madman.

[kikismom]

The only onscreen exercise-for-exercise's-sake I can recall was Dawn on her exercise bike (cardio!), and Michonne doing crunches in the prison while Beth sang to Judith (season 4, episode 2, "Infected"). 

Don't forget Michonne doing her deep knee bends with Merle helpfully (snort!) providing unasked for advice.

 

 

Maybe that's why they're keeping him off camera for a while. When he eventually shows up, they can extrapolate that he mistook laxatives for vitamins, or went on the "Eugene eats first" diet, or found a ShakeWeight somewhere and has been using it in the car like a madman.

I think Eugene had a ShakeWeight in the Self-Help section of the bookstore. Wasn't that what he was doing?

[Anela]

Try the condiment cure.

You know those add-ons they have at hot dog stands or convenience stores? (Just don't eat the hot dog).

Get mustard, pickle relish, onions, jalapenos, ketchup, banana peppers, sauerkraut if they have it. Mix it all up and eat a few spoonfuls. You must chew it, swirl it around your gums, tongue, roof of your mouth. Swallow and wait at least a five minutes before you take a drink.

I know it doesn't taste great and your breath will smell like you spent the day at Yankee stadium but it does work for me. Peppers and onions and vinegar and mustard seed etc are good for killing little breathable cooties.

I learned this from a friend who worked at the airport.(!!!)

Then one night I was near someone at a class who hacked all over and I felt my throat get sore, my head start hurting, my eyes closing up etc;  and I did this and 30 minutes later it all stopped, the congestion and pain and swollen glands. At least it's cheap, and usually free. Plus you can get the little packets of all this shit and keep them in your purse or briefcase (good for traveling.) Try it as soon as you get exposed or before you are around the sickies.

I swish or brush with coconut oil. I rub it into my gums, when I have a fever, and my face as well, if I have sinus pain. It calms swollen gums, and has broken fevers for me, and when I took it every day, it stopped me from getting colds or the flu that everyone else had. My aunt has been oil-pulling with it, and is sure that it kept her from getting sick, too.

[Too Late Kev]

I just checked some cans of kidney beans in my pantry. They say "Best by" March 2018. I probably bought them in 2014 (definitely not in 2015). I don't know for sure how long the ZA has been going on, but Judith still wasn't walking as of The Grove. Maybe she is now, but still, she's less than 2, right? I expect many cans haven't yet reached their best by dates, and generally canned food will be fine beyond that, as long as the can isn't bulging, the top isn't popped up, etc. A lot of food in jars would also be good, still. Things like peanut butter and nutella are probably going to be good for quite some time.

 

I'd also be looking for beef jerky and dried fruit -- raisins, Craisins, dried apples...You could carry a lot of beef jerky and dried apples w/o it being very heavy. Raisins are heavier, but they don't take as much space. And I'd visit a sporting/camping store to lay in a good supply of water purification tablets.

 

I don't think they really spend much time at all talking about food and/or being hungry. It comes up in the rare episode (funeral home, jumbo chocolate pudding), but mostly it seems like "magically, at some point, they ate. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." They also never seem to be wearing backpacks. I'd always have at least a small backpack with some emergency supplies. In the ZA you could be separated from everyone you know in a moment.

[kikismom]

I just checked some cans of kidney beans in my pantry. They say "Best by" March 2018. I probably bought them in 2014 (definitely not in 2015). I don't know for sure how long the ZA has been going on, but Judith still wasn't walking as of The Grove. Maybe she is now, but still, she's less than 2, right? I expect many cans haven't yet reached their best by dates, and generally canned food will be fine beyond that, as long as the can isn't bulging, the top isn't popped up, etc. A lot of food in jars would also be good, still. Things like peanut butter and nutella are probably going to be good for quite some time.

 

I'd also be looking for beef jerky and dried fruit -- raisins, Craisins, dried apples...You could carry a lot of beef jerky and dried apples w/o it being very heavy. Raisins are heavier, but they don't take as much space. And I'd visit a sporting/camping store to lay in a good supply of water purification tablets.

 

I don't think they really spend much time at all talking about food and/or being hungry. It comes up in the rare episode (funeral home, jumbo chocolate pudding), but mostly it seems like "magically, at some point, they ate. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." They also never seem to be wearing backpacks. I'd always have at least a small backpack with some emergency supplies. In the ZA you could be separated from everyone you know in a moment.

They used to have backpacks constantly; lost them at Terminus.

 

I think they will have to discuss food soon, as they are reaching the tipping point here. The dates on prepared foods no longer matter because everything canned, packaged, or sold in grocery stores, camping stores, and stocked in people's cupboards has to have been scavenged by now.

There's about 10 million people in the state of GA; if 90% have died or turned that still leaves 1 million people with just the option of what food they can grab or grow. The grabbing would be done first, or in the event that farming was overrun. Include damage from insects and rats tearing open packages, water and humidity and temperature damage, I'd say the scavenge options are pretty much cashed.

One more reason to put energy and focus into a walled shelter and not living the nomadic life. If being a nomad worked, the human race would have kept doing it as they had been. Hunter-gatherer survival only worked in places with very small groups isolated from other humans, and even then the survival rate is grim.

[CarpeDiem54]

They used to have backpacks constantly; lost them at Terminus.

 

I think they will have to discuss food soon, as they are reaching the tipping point here. The dates on prepared foods no longer matter because everything canned, packaged, or sold in grocery stores, camping stores, and stocked in people's cupboards has to have been scavenged by now.

There's about 10 million people in the state of GA; if 90% have died or turned that still leaves 1 million people with just the option of what food they can grab or grow. The grabbing would be done first, or in the event that farming was overrun. Include damage from insects and rats tearing open packages, water and humidity and temperature damage, I'd say the scavenge options are pretty much cashed.

One more reason to put energy and focus into a walled shelter and not living the nomadic life. If being a nomad worked, the human race would have kept doing it as they had been. Hunter-gatherer survival only worked in places with very small groups isolated from other humans, and even then the survival rate is grim.

Here's a pretty interesting bit of info on nomads. Even though they still exist, they have a plan, move around seasonally and have homes they take with them. They don't just mindlessly wander about like CDB.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomad

[AngelaHunter]

Include damage from insects and rats

 

In other cultures, insects and rats are on the menu daily. Might be a plentiful food source for our gang!

[John Potts]

There's nothing wrong with hunter gathering - it kept the human race alive for millennia, in the face of a hostile environment (so not that different from the ZA). Farming scores over hunter gathering in terms of productivity and allows the population to grow. Since they don't seem that intent on re-establishing civilization so much as just making it through the next week, supporting a growing population isn't really a problem.

 

Kikismom, I'm pretty sure 90% is an underestimate of the population shrinkage - I'd say it's closer to 99%, given how deserted Atlanta seemed when Rick & co arrived (the only sizable town we've seen has been Woodbury - which had a population of 100-200). Even if the population is closer to 10% of what it was, you should still travel with a backpack - you never know when you might come across something useful and it's a lot easier to carry something on your back than having to tote it in your hands. (Though if they've been stolen - I've not seen the latest series - that would be more forgivable).

[kikismom]

There's nothing wrong with hunter gathering - it kept the human race alive for millennia, in the face of a hostile environment (so not that different from the ZA). Farming scores over hunter gathering in terms of productivity and allows the population to grow. Since they don't seem that intent on re-establishing civilization so much as just making it through the next week, supporting a growing population isn't really a problem.

 

I don't know; I think the hostile environment in the show is somewhat different.

 

For early tribes, animals were hunted for protein....most animals now are disappearing because of a competitive "species"--- walkers that can hunt better than living humans. Walkers never need to sleep, never need to be slowed by injury, aren't stopped except by brain wound (and most animals fighting to defend themselves would bite the neck or belly or leg and do no damage at all.)

All wildlife needs water; remember when "Brian Heriot" joins (re-joins) Martinez' group and asks about the fishing in the lake? He was told the lake was dead now. Over-fished by the hungry or just polluted with rotting corpses? I don't know but the walkers are polluting the groundwater, the land and the plants. Plants which could have been eaten by humans or fed on by animals to survive. Walkers are the only life form with an increasing population and they provide nothing useful to the environment, wreck or devour everything, and follow you everywhere. The biggest population of creatures on earth but they can't be hunted for food themselves.

Farming scores over hunting/gathering in terms of productivity? Yes, but one main benefit was that it kept the food supply stable and reliable in bad seasons. Nomads have to keep looking for food; bad weather or wrong times of the year mean starvation. Farmed food can not only be raised in excess quantity for the lean times, it can be stored. When the maximum amount of food you can be sure you have is only what you can carry on your back, that's just a few days worth. Even if Daryl could get a deer, for instance, they can't dry the meat , they can't smoke it, they can't pack it in salt, they can't home-can it. Eat what they can before it spoils and keep moving...what a waste.

Are you sure they aren't concerned with more than just making it through next week? Michonne had something to say about that on Sunday night, and anybody with a baby would want to know she won't starve in front of them. Old expired powdered formula isn't going to make it much longer for Judith.

 

But I know there are people who watch the show who support the nomad theory. Some of Rick's group seem to want to keep roaming.

[BrokenRemote]

I'm with Too Late Kev also on the theory that they're not always starving.  It's sometimes a plot point (long winter, we're scrounging houses and eating dog food, omg the prison burned and we've already cleaned this town out), but they've got Daryl to hunt and they're shown finding the occasional stash (like the one where Bob got bit) to sustain them for a while. I've always kind of fanwanked that if they don't mention it, then the group is eating ok, while not heartily.  Honestly, it seems that with some huge percentage of the population gone, even without farming there should be a lot of food left.  That's another reason not to keep circling the same city, though, if you've already cleaned it out (in other words, leave Atlanta already!)

Edited February 10, 2015 by BrokenRemote

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I think Eugene had a ShakeWeight in the Self-Help section of the bookstore. Wasn't that what he was doing?

 

It was either that or he was feeling masochistic and beating himself up vigorously in a form of self-flagellation & was looking to 'come' to a satisfied conclusion as to what had brought him to the Self-Help section in the first place.

[Bryce Lynch]

The canned goods don't bother me as much as the cigarettes and ammunition. They also have a limited shelf life. Especially shotgun shells. Remember the great bit in The Road Warrior when Mad Max pulls the trigger on his shotgun and it just fizzles? That is the likely result of using two year old shotgun shells. Moisture will seep in. 

Back when I was a smoker, I found an open pack of cigarettes on top of the boiler in the basement. It had to have been there for a year at least. I tried to smoke one and it was absolutely vile. 

 

Ammunition will usually keep fine for decades, as long as it doesn't get wet, or isn't exposed to a lot of moisture.  Ammo spoilage should not be a major factor 2 or 3 years into the ZA. 

[kikismom]

Ammunition will usually keep fine for decades, as long as it doesn't get wet, or isn't exposed to a lot of moisture.  Ammo spoilage should not be a major factor 2 or 3 years into the ZA. 

Which is why it drives me nuts to see the firearms kept outside of the prison in those canvas laundry carts, barrels gaping at the sky. We saw Rick and Carl grab weapons from there the night the walkers took down the fence, we saw Daryl grab weapons from there when the Gov.'s army showed up. We'd seen (shortly before that!) Carol getting water from barrels positioned under roof gutters...can we presume that was rain water being collected? Leaving weapons pointed at the sky, outdoors, day and night, kept always loaded apparently...our hapless crew were lucky they didn't get their own faces blown off.

[Bryce Lynch]

Which is why it drives me nuts to see the firearms kept outside of the prison in those canvas laundry carts, barrels gaping at the sky. We saw Rick and Carl grab weapons from there the night the walkers took down the fence, we saw Daryl grab weapons from there when the Gov.'s army showed up. We'd seen (shortly before that!) Carol getting water from barrels positioned under roof gutters...can we presume that was rain water being collected? Leaving weapons pointed at the sky, outdoors, day and night, kept always loaded apparently...our hapless crew were lucky they didn't get their own faces blown off.

It is possible they covered them or brought them inside when it rained. I think the magazines would protect the ammo adequately for short periods of light rain or humidity. They used their guns a lot so no one magazine of ammo would sit out there too long without being fired. The ARs might have crapped out on them, but the AKs would keep firing, even if caked in walker guts. :)

What bothered me was that Carl had a lever rifle with no rear sight and the rear sight where the front sight should be.

When Daryl told him it would take a miracle shot to kill the Governor from 50 yards, it would have been an idiotic statement, as 30/30 rifles take deer at 100 yards or more all the time. A good rifleman could take out Philip's good eye from 50 yards. But given that he would be shooting with no sights, I guess it would be a miracle. :)

[BrokenRemote]

Nah... We haven't see it rain once in all this time. Apparently the Apocolypse killed off the weather, too!

(Bryce Lynch, is your name a Max Headroom reference? )

[Madding crowd]

I've been a vegetarian since age 8, so I think I would be really screwed in a ZA. However, I think the first to go would be a couple at my health club that insist on scrubbing all equipment even bike pedals with numerous sanitizing wipes. And today I cleared my throat and the man put his shirt up around his face for 20 minutes to avoid my 5 feet away germs.

[kikismom]

Nah... We haven't see it rain once in all this time. Apparently the Apocolypse killed off the weather, too!

(Bryce Lynch, is your name a Max Headroom reference? )

That's why I referenced Carol emptying water from the rain run-off barrels. We don't see weather but that wasn't just dew. Anyway, the total number of inconsistencies in this show are enough that I have become numb to it.

[Bryce Lynch]

Nah... We haven't see it rain once in all this time. Apparently the Apocolypse killed off the weather, too!

(Bryce Lynch, is your name a Max Headroom reference? )

Maybe. :-) You are the first person to get the reference as far as I know.

[Disraeli Ears]

Somebody (actually several of you) mentioned hot dogs? I freakin' love hot dogs, although I don't eat them much.

 

The SO is going to visit his dad in Baltimore this weekend, so it will just be me and my girls (a border collie and a Corgi). When he is gone, I live on a diet of Sonic hot dogs, Kraft Mac 'n Cheese, and Haagen Daas (because he doesn't eat those things). LOL...not so great for the waistline, but good for the soul.

 

About the show and skinny-ness: Yeah, I understand you can't put your actors in danger by asking them to starve themselves, but seriously...they couldn't put Abe and Eugene on a month of eggs and Army-style boot camp? There is no way Eugene would be that schlubby.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Disraeli Ears

[Anela]

I had a bit of a problem with most of them looking like they're at the gym every day, but stabbing zombies in the head would make for a good upper body workout. 

 

I suppose the ladies have picked up razors on the occasional run, but you'd think Rick would have used one. The beard is getting a bit much.

[Too Late Kev]

I just want to mention how much I love the name of this thread. Every time I see it, I crack a smile.