Learning + Tutorials

Updated November 2025

There are certain items which are difficult if not impossible to recreate from raw materials in the wild.

They are:

Almost all of us carry instantly updated maps and GPS systems in our pockets these days in our phones, reducing the threat of being lost to almost nil.

But what would happen if you didn't have your phone, or the battery died, or your Tom-Tom took a swim? What if you just don't get any signal where you are?

Lets look at the old fashioned, never-fail navigation tool: the humble compass.

^{*Use your preferred colorful metaphor}

How do you prepare for those fast happening emergencies that occur in the middle of the night?

A friend of the family was woken out of a dead sleep in at 4 am by his cat. His house was on fire and he only had a few moments to get our of bed and collect his wife, 2 kids, and dog (the cat got out on his own, but was nice enough to give them a warning beforehand!)

The house was almost completely destroyed, all of the bedrooms and the home office were lost. Photos, computers, office filing cabinet: all gone.