TGIF! Who’s ready for another weekend crossover edition of Swifty and the NFL? Well, it’s happening anyway, so brace yourselves.

Survival – Personal Edition

Today’s situation is you’ve irresponsibly wandered out in nature and forgot to bring your compass. All is not lost! Note that the first two methods are Northern Hemisphere only.

1. Stick and Shadow Method
   • This requires an analog watch set to the correct time. Also, this method is way less accurate the closer you are to the equator given the reliance on the shadow.
   • As the title of the method portends, you’ll need a stick. Find a straight stick about 6 inches in length. (No offense, D. Favre) Plant that stick in the ground vertically.
   • Now take that super awesome and accurate watch of yours, and lay it on the ground. Orient it so that the hour hand is parallel to the shadow from the stick.
   • Locate the point on the dial midway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. If it’s DST and your watch is set to that, then you want the midway between the hour hand and 1 o’clock.
   • The line between that point and the center of the dial is the north/south line.
   • You may be astute enough to wonder, then, which way is north and which way is south. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, whichever end has the sun is south. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sun side is north.
2. Star Method
   • This requires a clear sky, obviously. And a basic understanding of constellations.
   • Northern Hemisphere only requires locating the North Star, which is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper.
   • When you’re walking towards the North Star, you are heading, surprise, north.
   • If you can only make out the Big Dipper, you’re still in luck. The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s bowl point to the North Star. Estimate the distance between those two stars, multiple by five, and the North Star is that far from the last star.
   • Southern Hemisphere uses the Southern Cross constellation. Seeing a pattern in the naming convention, here?
   • The Souther Cross is four four bright stars in the shape of a cross and tilted to one side.
   • Assess the long axis of the cross and multiply its length by five. Use your fingers or make markings on a stick.
   • Add that length to the bottom of the long axis and that’s due south. To assist in navigation, draw a line straight down to the horizon to find a visual landmark.
3. Cloud Method
   • This requires clouds and wind.
   • Watch the direction the clouds are moving. That movement is generally west to east.
   • If you are in mountain areas, this can be very unreliable.
4. Moss Method
   • This requires moss. And is the preferred method here in the PNW when in the mountains.
   • Find trees with that have moss on only one side of the trunk. If moss is on more than one side, it’s of no help.
   • When you do, that moss is on the north side of the tree.

And now you’ve at least figured out which direction is which. Hopefully you know where you are and where you want to go as well. Good luck!

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Survival – Species Edition

Time to put the sexy in Friday!

Enjoy the weekend, folks! Alright, now let’s get to the comments!