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Comment by Rodeoclash | Hacker News Reader

I read another diary online from a man who lived alone on one of the pacific islands. I want to to say that it was in the 1970s but I can't be sure. I think he was originally a New Zealander.

It was fascinating reading, describing how the wild pigs on the island would eat his freshly planted vegetable garden and how he hid up a tree at night until they showed up before leaping down to kill one of them. Also the regret he felt after killing the animal.

At one point he pulled a muscle in his back and just by chance someone landed on the island a day later and helped nurse him back to health.

I've Googled for it now and again but never been able to find the original side (I read the story around 2008).

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>>Also the regret he felt after killing the animal.

I feel like a lot of people would benefit from knowing the cost behind meat production. I eat meat, but growing up on a farm in the "old days" when you could still do this soft of thing, I have witnessed a pig being killed by literally stabbing it in the neck through the artery and waiting until it bleeds out, and then gutting it within minutes after death while the flesh is still warm. The whole process made you very aware of what goes into making a sausage or a porkchop and appreciate it a lot more, and nowadays I get upset about wasting food in general.

This was the best event in village, all children would gather around and then hunt internals to play with! Good times.

I can relate to this, except the last sentence. Taking advantage of the privilege of living in a society where meat alternatives and other sources of protein are abundant, my delayed reaction to witnessing animal slaughter was to quit eating animal products altogether. The only real cost of it has been in dealing with colleagues in the UK, who enjoy questioning me about my dietary choices (at best), or persistently try to convince me to eat meat (at worst).

Maybe "appreciate" wasn't the right word here - I don't mean it in a way like "I appreciate how delicious this is" but "I appreciate that something had to die for me to eat this sausage".

“Meat stunts your growth” closes the conversation down if you’re 195cm (6’5”). It is weird how people, particularly in the UK, particularly if 60+ years old fixate on it.

You are probably thinking of this guy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale

That was it. The site that I read the story on was here:

http://www.janesoceania.com/suvarov_tom_neale/index.htm

If you can look past the garish design of the site, it's great reading.

I have a large stack of paper with that story that I printed out. Excellent read for anyone with deserted island escapist fantasies. Also excellent because of the depth of his preparations and how he applies science and logic to his situation.

Can't recommend it enough.

There's a fantastic book 'Outsiders' by Gerard Hindmarsh, that overviews the story of Tom Neale and many other fringe New Zealanders such as Robert Long, Maori Bill, Snow Mayer, and Keiko Agatsuma.

Hindmarsh himself spent some of his youth in the hippie homestead/commune at Golden Bay, and that perspective really helps illuminate how these people chose to live.

about:reader?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.janesoceania.com%2Fsuvarov_tom_neale%2Findex.htm handles the garish design.

I didn't realize that this was actually a book until digging around a bit more for less garish alternatives: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0918024765

It's a fantastic book, strongly recommend.

    color: blue;

This css bookmarklet helps some, https://oxal.org/projects/sakura/bookmark

> At one point he pulled a muscle in his back and just by chance someone landed on the island a day later and helped nurse him back to health.

According to Wikipedia, it was originally thought to be a slipped-disc but later turned out to be Arthritis

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