Terrain Training Tuesday: Shipwrecked! Part 2

Isn’t it great that you have found dry land and have a kick arse shelter. Now before all the others (if there are any) turn this into just another episode of Survivor (why don’t any of them do any survival training or reading beforehand?! This used to always puzzle me until I realised they were all fools.), your own survival training should kick in. Being a good minion of HiiRagi you should have learnt over the past couple of months all the basic skills you will need for a variety of terrains. Because of this, we’re looking at another facet of being ship wrecked: Smoke signals!

First used by Native Indians and the Chinese, who used them along the Great Wall (makes me think of the beacons being lit in LOTR but I am a complete geek), they are an incredibly useful communication technique within their range (meaning as long as you can see them). Once you have a fire started, you simply cover it with a blanket or the similar and then uncover it. Wha La! Signals! Best to put lots of greenery and grass onto the fire to increase the amount of smoke your fire produces. Now, people train to be able to change the style of signals that you can send so they control the size, shapes and time between puffs.

Apparently there is a secret smoke signal code...but what’s the point?! The only universal code I could find (and probably the one that will get you rescued) is:

One Puff: Attention
Two Puffs: All’s well
Three Puffs: Danger or Trouble

I suspect though that if you are in the middle of nowhere and someone sees smoke, they are probably going to check it out, however to pass the time I’m sure it will be hilarious to make up a code all of your own.

The other thing to remember is to build your fire somewhere up high so that it will be visible (once again think the beacons are lit from LOTR as seen in the image above, once again, I’m a geek). If your there for a while it would be super cool to build a raft and then go from island to island and build up fires on all the highest points and recreate that epic scene. I will leave it up the individual minion to figure out how to convince others that that would be a good idea but I know you are a resourceful bunch. And one last thing, try to build your fire so that it won’t get away and burn down the whole island, the local inhabitants will be most appreciative.

Next week, hunting for treasure. I was going to look at that today but it’s a subject close to my heart and I have A LOT to say on the subject. Something to look forward to, I’m sure...

I'm sorry, i just found this image randomly and thought it was hilarious....Take that Robin!

Terrain Training Tuesday: Shipwrecked! Part 1

So to the accolades of those who were lucky enough to be wrecked with you, you have been fortunate enough to drift onto an island (isn’t funny how you immediately think of a tropical island). This is good. You'll have more opportunities to impress with your survival skills. The first thing you should do, aside from kissing the sand beneath your feet in gratitude, is set up shelter. If you're weak (which will mean you are no minion of HiiRagi), don't spend too much time searching for the perfect spot -- you can improve your shelter after you rest. Look around the island for any washed-up garbage -- almost everything can be of use.

If a life raft has survived the trip ashore, use it as a temporary shelter. It will keep you off the ground, away and protect you from the sun and rain. If you ditched your raft and swam to the island, you'll need to build your own shelter. Lucky we know how to do this.

Chances are there are palm trees and maybe even bamboo on the island. Palm fronds are excellent for providing cover, and bamboo is one of the strongest woods you can find for your frame. Don't get too fancy -- start with a simple lean-to or A frame. We covered how to make them here but for those too lazy to look, here are some brief instructions:

• Place two "Y"-shaped branches into the sand about a foot down and 6 feet apart.
• Take a long branch and place it between the forks as a ridgepole.
• Place more sticks from the ridgepole to the ground to frame your roof.
• Lash everything together with rope or vine.
• Fill the roof area with dead palm fronds, then top with green ones.

Don't sleep directly on the ground. Instead, line the floor with more palm fronds, which will insulate you and help keep you dry. You can also add walls to block the wind.
You know how to survive from here on in, we’ve covered this before.

Next week, how to do all the cool signalling and hunt for that treasure you know is hidden somewhere...

Terrain Training Tuesday: Sea Survival Part 4

Ok. We’re on our way to surviving this ship wreck. We have supplies, we have that loser out the back kicking, now all we need to do is spot some land. You should watch carefully for any signs of land and there are many indicators that land is near.

A fixed cumulus cloud in a clear sky or in a sky where all other clouds are moving often hovers over or slightly downwind from an island. Depth of water is also an indicator. Deep water is dark green or dark blue, a lighter colour indicates shallow water, which may mean land is near.
In the tropics, the reflection of sunlight from shallow lagoons or shelves of coral reefs often causes a greenish tint in the sky.

In the arctic, light-coloured reflections on clouds often indicate ice fields or snow-covered land. These reflections are quite different from the dark gray ones caused by open water.

At night, or in fog, mist, or rain, you may detect land by odours and sounds. The musty odour of mangrove swamps and mud flats carry a long way. You hear the roar of surf long before you see the surf. The continued cries of seabirds coming from one direction indicate their roosting place on nearby land.

There usually are more birds near land than over the open sea. The direction from which flocks fly at dawn and to which they fly at dusk may indicate the direction of land. During the day, birds are searching for food and the direction of flight has no significance.

Mirages occur at any latitude, but they are more likely in the tropics, especially during the middle of the day. Be careful not to mistake a mirage for nearby land. A mirage disappears or its appearance and elevation change when viewed from slightly different heights.

If you want to be really cool you may be able to detect land by the pattern of the waves (refracted) as they approach land. By travelling with the waves and parallel to the slightly turbulent area marked "X" on the illustration below, you should reach land and earn the respect of all around you. How diabolical is that?!

Dorothy: Casualties of War

Dorothy is a collective of like minded artists who rate winning the Co-op's under 12 drawing competition as one of their greatest achievements.   I just saw this image of the soldiers and was struck by it.  There is some really great stuff out there to make us do a double take.

Found via Culture Kings.

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Terrain Training Tuesday: Sea Survival Part 3

It is in a lifeboat or a makeshift raft that there is the greatest chance of survival and rescue.

Life rafts are packed by the manufacturer and require regular servicing to ensure their usability.  Unfortunately, even the most expensive life rafts aren’t always leak-proof.  The ocean is tough on a small vessel, and you may end up with water coming into your safe haven.  All modern rafts come with pumps and repair kits for good reason.  You’ll also make good use of your bailer to help empty your raft of water.  If there is no life raft, grab onto anything that floats.  Even better if you can find a couple of things and join them together.

One of the most challenging aspects of being lost at sea if the psychological toll it takes.  To look around and see nothing but open water can cause a great deal of mental distress.  Additional anguish comes when you see passing boats and planes, or come close to land before drifting away.  HiiRagi minions should use this time to hone their mental strength and curse the stupidity of others for not seeing you.  If you’re with someone else, occupy yourself with word games or talking about future plans like taking over the world and ridding the world of stupidity once and for all. 

Drifting is your only hope for finding dry land, so the more you drift, the better your chances.  Most life rafts are equipped with sea anchors to stabilise the vessel.  This is fine but it will also slow your drifting rate.  If you have one, pull it up.  At a rate of 2 knots, you can drift as far as 50 miles per day, in clam weather you can bob in place for hours so get the HiiRagi doubter (you know them, you saw them roll their eyes when you mentioned world domination for the 50^th time) out the back and make them start kicking.  Good thing you remembered to pack your knife....

July Sketchbook

This month the obsession has been with bunkers.  Not a lot of drawing but a lot of thinking about them.  Below is a brief sketch as I work out what I actually want to draw.  Apologies for the crapness of the scan but I was working in 2H.

I have also been re working images in pencil for some new products that will be coming over the next couple of weeks.  Yep, Occupational Force ready for action!

The Army and I also thought we would benefit from a little training camp away from HQ, so we packed up the tank and took off to Freycinet.  The weather was beautiful and the Army got back to basics.  Time to start working off that Winter coat, me thinks....

Hmmmm...no, I don't think this is the place to bust out the explosives....

I like where your head's at though....

Superkitch and Koralie Part 2

Just a quick note to say I found a second part to the video yesterday that includes interviews with the dynamic duo.  Check it here.

Supakitch and Koralie

For anyone looking for a bit of inspiration, look no further.  This is a great video by Elroy documenting a collaboration between Koralie and Supakitch. Below are some images from the video.

Awesomeness.  Thanks Miss Ellie for sharing this with me!

Terrain Training Tuesday: Sea Survival Part 2

OK, we’re in a spot of bother with our boat.  The decision has been made to abandon it, key to a diabolical escape is to get up wind and stay clear of it. 

Keep away from fuel slick, and if forced to jump or swim through flames, jump in feet first and again, up wind.  Swim away underwater if you can, otherwise swim into the wind using breast stroke and splash the flames away from your head to help you with breathing.  If you think there is going to be an underwater explosion, reduce the impact and risk by swimming on your back.

Now, if you’re lucky and there is land in sight, you can just relax and float, as in the picture below, until the ebb turns and this will then carry you to land. Too easy!  

Otherwise take comfort in your lifejacket and the lollies you grabbed.  If you have the misfortune of no life jacket, improvise a short term option from a pair of trousers.  Simply knot the legs, sweep them over the head to fill with air, then hold the waist below water to trap in the air, making the legs into water wings.

Once clear of the wreckage, inflate your dinghy or life raft.  If there isn’t any, a few curses wouldn’t go astray and then gather together as much flotsam as you can to use as a raft.  Tie it together with cord, belts, shoelaces whatever you have at hand.  This is survival people so grab any floating equipment for later use.  Who knows what you’ll find...

Exciting Star Wars Purchase!

Imagine how excited the Army and I were when we stumbled upon two original Star Wars necklaces!  That's right some fool was selling off Darth Vader and R2D2 for a song!  Much muttering, some bickering amongst ourselves and a couple of button clicks later and the necklaces were mine...sorry...ours!

Oh yeah, cast in metal they are the source of much jealousy and rivalry at HiiRagi HQ.  In fact here are some close up so you can bask in their awesomeness....

R2D2.  His legs move and everything.

Darth, the one and only.

And to make him feel better after is ordeal, I have gallantly allowed RU1014 wear Darth Vader, I know it's not going to do my reputation much good but he's so happy when he gets to wear it.  In fact he hasn't taken it off.  Looks like I'm going to have to stick with R2D2.