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fandomhigh2011-06-14 08:28 am
bootlessjane.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2011-06-14 08:28 am
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Your African Expedition Adventure!, Tuesday, Period Four [ 06/14 ].
"Welcome back, ladies and gentleman!" Jane smiled at her class as usual in their little Danger Shop jungle classroom, chalk on the ready for another informative and helpful lecture on jungle survival. "I hope you're all as relieved as I am to have had a nice, quiet weekend this time around, but now it's time to get back into the jungle and learn another useful skill. Today, our discussion will be on firecraft. Let's begin, shall we?"
"The ability to make a fire in the wilderness can often the be difference between life and death. As we discussed last week, fire is important for heating your water and boiling it to get rid of all those lovely little parasites that will cause slow and painful deaths. It can also make meat a bit more palatable and reduce the chance of disease there, as well. Did you know that eating heated food will reduce how many calories are needed to process that food, so by cooking food before you eat it, you can save that precious energy for other things to help maintain your survival? It can also help sterilize bandages as well as water, can be used to signal for rescue if things are that dire. You can use it to produce weapons, to ward off animals, and even for a little bit of familiar comfort and peace of mind.
"True, sometimes it can attract danger, it can destroy equipment and create forest fires, burns and carbon monoxide poisoning in closed spaces, so we must remember that while the benefits surely outweigh the negatives, we must be careful to tend our fires and keep ourselves and our jungle safe.
"Now, for a bit of science. Fuel does not actually burn directly; when heat is applied to a fuel, it creates a gas, and it's when that gas is exposed to oxygen, such as what is in the air, that is how fire is created. You could say that this is a fire triangle, and keeping the fire triangle in mind will help you in maintaining your fire longer. Air. Heat. Fuel. Remove any side of this triangle, and your fire is out! The correct ratio will allow you to burn a fire to its greatest potential, and you'll get better at maintaining that ratio with plenty of practise and awareness.
"Selecting a good site and proper preparation will certainly help you maintain your fire triangle. Consider your area and terrain, the sorts of materials you will have, how much time you have to prepare; access your need and consider any enemies that might be nearby. You'll want a dry spot protected from the wind, in a spot well correlated in respect to the location of any shelter you may have, with plenty of fuel nearby and will create a good concentration of heat. There are plenty of things to can fuel your fire--" Which of course Jane dutifully listed off, "--and if time permits, you may wish to construct a firewall to help keep the heat in. A truly ambitious adventurer may even consider a fire hole, which will guarantee a well protected fire and plenty of useful heat.
"Ah, but then how to get the fire going? There are plenty of ways. You'll want to lay a fire in one of several methods, each which will have their own advantages. With the tee-pee, you light the fire underneath a cone of fuel; as the fire burns, the tee-pee will eventually collapse, feeding the fire longer. The lean-to method helps keep the wind out of your fire, and the cross-ditch allows drafts to move through the ditches created in the ground to provide a draft to feed the fire with more oxygen. The pyramid is the most elaborate, but due to how much fuel it will have to fuel the fire, it is the sort that would require very little attention throughout the night so that you can be rested for your excursion in the morning. Naturally, there are other ways of doing this, but these are the four most popular and effective ones. Should you know another method, feel free to give that a go, but please give the others a try, as well.
"So now that our fire is sure to be protected and burn efficiently, how to actually light it? If you've got matches or perhaps a lighter, you shouldn't have much trouble. Tinderboxes and flint and steel can also work, and you'll always want to try to have a supply of these with you in your expedition. A wise adventurer will make sure his or her matches are waterproof, but keep them in a watertight container to be safe. Always light on the upwind side and lay your tinder, kindling, what have you, so that the fire will burn as long as you need it to.
"When in a pinch, there a few ways you can get a fire started without more modern methods of igniting one. A convex lens, for example, such as from a camera, binoculars, telescopes, or magnifying glass, can be angled over the tinder to catch the sun and heat it up. If you've got it, the tinder should begin the smoulder; blow into the tinder gently or carefully fan it to encourage the heat to develop into something more. If you have ammunition on hand, you can use the gunpowder in the bullet on your fire; a spark will ignite it easily enough, so use flint and steel to create one, but be extremely carefully with this one. A fire won't be nearly as comforting if you've just gone and blown off your hand.
"One could construct a fire-plow, using a hard wood against a soft wood to create frictionand metaphors for sex and masturbation in nineteenth century literature galore, and the bow and drill method is going to get even more complex, a little machine that will take a great deal of effort and persistence to get something going."
Jane went over those methods in a bit more detail, perhaps in ways that might have showcased why there were so many scenes about starting fires in primitive ways in the literature of her time, ahem, before she brought things to a conclusion, "And remember, a few last helpful tips before we head out and try to get some fires going. Use nonaromatic seasoned hardwood for fuel, if possible, and collect kindling and tinder along your trail as you're exploring. Keep your firewood dry, and you can dry damp firewood near the fire. Bank the fire to keep the coals alive overnight, but be sure the fire is out before leaving camp. Do not select wood lying on the ground. It may appear to be dry but generally doesn't provide enough friction."
"And there we have it. Hopefully everything you'll need for your fire, and, if not, let's get any questions you may have out in the open. If not, well, then, grab your hats, pull up those boot straps, and let's go find a good site for our fires."
[[ the ocd, it iscoming burning nicely and ready for s'mores! ]]
"The ability to make a fire in the wilderness can often the be difference between life and death. As we discussed last week, fire is important for heating your water and boiling it to get rid of all those lovely little parasites that will cause slow and painful deaths. It can also make meat a bit more palatable and reduce the chance of disease there, as well. Did you know that eating heated food will reduce how many calories are needed to process that food, so by cooking food before you eat it, you can save that precious energy for other things to help maintain your survival? It can also help sterilize bandages as well as water, can be used to signal for rescue if things are that dire. You can use it to produce weapons, to ward off animals, and even for a little bit of familiar comfort and peace of mind.
"True, sometimes it can attract danger, it can destroy equipment and create forest fires, burns and carbon monoxide poisoning in closed spaces, so we must remember that while the benefits surely outweigh the negatives, we must be careful to tend our fires and keep ourselves and our jungle safe.
"Now, for a bit of science. Fuel does not actually burn directly; when heat is applied to a fuel, it creates a gas, and it's when that gas is exposed to oxygen, such as what is in the air, that is how fire is created. You could say that this is a fire triangle, and keeping the fire triangle in mind will help you in maintaining your fire longer. Air. Heat. Fuel. Remove any side of this triangle, and your fire is out! The correct ratio will allow you to burn a fire to its greatest potential, and you'll get better at maintaining that ratio with plenty of practise and awareness.
"Selecting a good site and proper preparation will certainly help you maintain your fire triangle. Consider your area and terrain, the sorts of materials you will have, how much time you have to prepare; access your need and consider any enemies that might be nearby. You'll want a dry spot protected from the wind, in a spot well correlated in respect to the location of any shelter you may have, with plenty of fuel nearby and will create a good concentration of heat. There are plenty of things to can fuel your fire--" Which of course Jane dutifully listed off, "--and if time permits, you may wish to construct a firewall to help keep the heat in. A truly ambitious adventurer may even consider a fire hole, which will guarantee a well protected fire and plenty of useful heat.
"Ah, but then how to get the fire going? There are plenty of ways. You'll want to lay a fire in one of several methods, each which will have their own advantages. With the tee-pee, you light the fire underneath a cone of fuel; as the fire burns, the tee-pee will eventually collapse, feeding the fire longer. The lean-to method helps keep the wind out of your fire, and the cross-ditch allows drafts to move through the ditches created in the ground to provide a draft to feed the fire with more oxygen. The pyramid is the most elaborate, but due to how much fuel it will have to fuel the fire, it is the sort that would require very little attention throughout the night so that you can be rested for your excursion in the morning. Naturally, there are other ways of doing this, but these are the four most popular and effective ones. Should you know another method, feel free to give that a go, but please give the others a try, as well.
"So now that our fire is sure to be protected and burn efficiently, how to actually light it? If you've got matches or perhaps a lighter, you shouldn't have much trouble. Tinderboxes and flint and steel can also work, and you'll always want to try to have a supply of these with you in your expedition. A wise adventurer will make sure his or her matches are waterproof, but keep them in a watertight container to be safe. Always light on the upwind side and lay your tinder, kindling, what have you, so that the fire will burn as long as you need it to.
"When in a pinch, there a few ways you can get a fire started without more modern methods of igniting one. A convex lens, for example, such as from a camera, binoculars, telescopes, or magnifying glass, can be angled over the tinder to catch the sun and heat it up. If you've got it, the tinder should begin the smoulder; blow into the tinder gently or carefully fan it to encourage the heat to develop into something more. If you have ammunition on hand, you can use the gunpowder in the bullet on your fire; a spark will ignite it easily enough, so use flint and steel to create one, but be extremely carefully with this one. A fire won't be nearly as comforting if you've just gone and blown off your hand.
"One could construct a fire-plow, using a hard wood against a soft wood to create friction
Jane went over those methods in a bit more detail, perhaps in ways that might have showcased why there were so many scenes about starting fires in primitive ways in the literature of her time, ahem, before she brought things to a conclusion, "And remember, a few last helpful tips before we head out and try to get some fires going. Use nonaromatic seasoned hardwood for fuel, if possible, and collect kindling and tinder along your trail as you're exploring. Keep your firewood dry, and you can dry damp firewood near the fire. Bank the fire to keep the coals alive overnight, but be sure the fire is out before leaving camp. Do not select wood lying on the ground. It may appear to be dry but generally doesn't provide enough friction."
"And there we have it. Hopefully everything you'll need for your fire, and, if not, let's get any questions you may have out in the open. If not, well, then, grab your hats, pull up those boot straps, and let's go find a good site for our fires."
[[ the ocd, it is
Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
there's a fire in the background!Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: Sign In - YAEA!, 06/14.
Listen to the Lecture - YAEA!, 06/14.
The Expedition - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: The Expedition - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: The Expedition - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: The Expedition - YAEA!, 06/14.
Re: The Expedition - YAEA!, 06/14.
And kept concentrating.
And kept concentrating...
Eventually, after about six minutes of intent staring, it finally lit. She visibly relaxed, a proud smile on her face.
Talk to Jane - YAEA!, 06/14.
OOC - YAEA!, 06/14.