Episode 492: Regrets

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Dave

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Zombie Cliche Lookout: Worried Team

If there’s any more hoary a trope in zombie and horror stories than the danger of splitting up, then I don’t know it. Of course that doesn’t mean it’s not something that won’t actually come up. There’s going to be a lot that needs to get done in a zombie survival situation, and it’s going to be awfully hard to accomplish mush if everyone in your group is all huddled together for safety. Odds are, you’ll have to split up, at least a bit. Of course people probably still shouldn’t go off on their own.

About this Episode:

I like decorating these little LEGO scenes I make, and I especially like to add art and other items on the wall. In this scene I’ve got a clock, which isn’t ideal. The problem is that time passes in the comic, but the hands on that clock never move. So here’s my rationale: this is a cabin in the woods that isn’t used that often, and the battery has simply died. There you have it.

Oh, and before anyone points it out, I realize I could rotate the tile.

Discussion Question: Clocks and Watches?

I’m the type of person who almost always wears a watch. I just can’t stand digging my phone out of my pocket (when I remember the damn thing) to check the time. Of course, I’m not living in the zombie apocalypse. If I did, I wonder how useful I’d find that watch. So the question is, what use would a survivor have for a watch or a clock? I can think of a handful. I know you can use an analog clock as a compass, and you could certainly use it to coordinate times with people if several of you had them. Beyond that? Well, that’s where you come in.

28 thoughts on “Episode 492: Regrets”

  1. Typo alert, About This Episode, second sentence, the word adjacent to the full stop: idea–>ideal 😀

    Discussion Question, first sentence: where’s–>wears 😀

    I have no idea who “where’s” a watch, either! 😉

    • Fixed. I have no idea what I was doing with the watch thing. Good lord.

  2. DSave, is your comment on Episode 478 misdirection on your part, or did you simply forget that you mentioned Cheryl might be out in the woods with Stewart? If she was really out gathering firewood with Stewart, it’d be really bad form of her to not check up on her partner and make sure she’s got him in visual range the whole time. It’s even worse form to wander off back to the cabin without your partner! 😀

    • *Dave, sorry. 😀

    • *Argh, episode 479, sorry! 😀

    • I was only saying that she might be out there; we simply didn’t know what the noise was.

  3. Typo alert, Episode number! I think>/b> it should be Episode 492! 😀 I almost didn’t spot this one but I was rereading the archives, and thought, hmm, that’s odd and then found out the Episode number for this episode is wrong by 10! 😀

    • Oops, bolded wasn’t turned off properly. Dave, how about upgrading this comment box to one that has both a preview function and an error-checking function for mismatching HTML tags? It shouldn’t be too hard to find a decent comment box that can do this. 😀

      • Yeah, I’ll have to look at that. I know there are a few comment plugins.

    • It should absolutely be 492; fixed.

  4. I’m the same kind of person. I always have my crappy heavy duty Timex on, and I use it all the time. (considering the only other clocks in my house are the oven and bedroom alarm) I need it because it helps me hold my shifts better at work, and in other things. If the Zombies started coming I think I would use it to hold a good schedule in my safe house. (sleep, eat, patrol)

    But once it’s batteries run out (it’s digital) I could just grab a watch off of some zombie or a dead guy, since so many people wear them.

    • Good suggestions here. One thing I really love about my watch is that it’s solar powered. No batteries to worry about. I’ve had it for seven years now and haven’t had any issues with it.

      • I hear Swatch has released a new model of automatic watch that is quite impressive. No battery, 90 hours autonomy, it recharges as you wear it and move around… and it looks great.

        • More info here.

        • Oh wow, that looks pretty sharp. So you just have to move around to keep it charged? That’s super cool.

        • Yes, they have been making “automatic” watches for years – that’s how they call these movement charging systems – but these used to be more expensive and complex. Other brands have designed their own models too. The particularity of this new model is that it only uses 51 parts and 1 screw (hence the name Sistem51) and the price is reasonable.
          I have had an old automatic swatch at home for years, the back case is transparent and you can see how all the gears and parts are moving… it’s quite mesmerizing actually.

        • Super cool!

        • I guess solar powered is cool too… but what if the apocalypse is a nuclear holocaust and the dust clouds hide the sun… he, you’d be screwed my friend!
          Well, we’d all be screwed actually but the ones still alive who happen to wear an automatic watch would still be able to know the time.. I guess that’s a plus.

        • It’s actually quite amazing how well the solar power works. Obviously, outside in the actual sun in the best, but it will charge from artificial light as well. If it gets low on juice, it goes into a standby mode where the hands stop moving, but it keeps track of the time. That way when it gets power, it resets itself to the correct time. Love this watch.

        • Wow, that’s nice. So it’s a mechanical watch but with solar power? I would have assumed it was a digital display.

        • It’s analog. Growing up, my mom would never let me have a digital watch. Now that I’m an adult, I can’t imagine owning one. It’s weird.

        • Oh I don’t like digital watches, we have enough of those already around us all day on computer, phones… and your mom was right!
          It reminds me of a story I read about a car manufacturer who did a study on analog vs digital clock dial in their cars (sorry, can’t remember which one, but I recall it was an upscale one) and the results were that analog was preferred by their consumers. While digital may seem to have an edge on analog with the instantaneous aspect of reading the time, analog gives you a lot more information than just the time. For instance you get a visual indication of a duration, instead of having to do the math. Of course, it’s also a question of personal preference.

  5. Oh, and by the way, Im having a horror fest with my buddies on Sunday. Can anyone recommend any good Zombie movies other than Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Night of the Living dead, Quarantine, Quarantine Terminal and The Zombie Hunter?

    -Thanks

    • Look for the Italian zombie movie Zombi (sometimes called Zombi 2). That’s a good one. If you like Quarantine, check out the original [Rec], which is in Spanish.

  6. First off, holy crap it’s been a while. Second I’m a watch person mostly because mom and dad always said I had to use one no matter what so I’ve grown used and in a way dependent on them. As for zombie apoc scenarios, besides knowing what time it is you get to know what the date it is making it good for you to start planning on farming seasons which I’d like to think is essential to survival. Sure, you may not know what day it is but you’ll hopefully have a general idea.

  7. Guessing you didn’t see the movie the Internship, where the basic plot is these two guys lose their jobs selling watches cause NO ONE is wearing watches any more.

    I would use wind up clocks and wind up watches (if I could find one) for basic coordination of activities with the group (syncronize those watches everyone) and so I don’t spend all my time sleeping. Gotta keep busy or depression can take over.

  8. Watches are the way to go! And when did Russell show up in the comic again? I can’t remember him for some reason.

  9. Funny that you talk about what seems a useless object in a ZA. That reminds me TWD, I remember 2 episodes where Dale first, then Hershel/Glenn talked about watches and time.

    After all it’s a nice object people can pass to others as a souvenir or something like that.