Life Hacks Thread

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by ww2fan168, Oct 25, 2015.

  1. I wouldn't think y=10 would spawn the same amount of diamonds, because there is less stone because of the lava pools. At least, that's how I thought spawning mechanics worked.
  2. Ores spawn per chunk so I don't think lava pools would make too much of a difference
  3. Got it. Got some tips for that too:
    Real Life Survival Life Hacks:

    • Looking for directions? Sun rises at East and sets at West, and you can figure North/South with that
    • No, you can't make fire with two sticks. Don't even try, you're just gonna waste time and look stupid
    • Shelters are overestimated. Unless it's raining or freezing outside, a bed will suffice
    • Try to make your bed in a place where you're protected from wind
    • I can't emphasize this enough: DO NOT WALK BAREFOOT. Easiest way to get yourself hurt
    • Do not try to climb your way up a cliff. You're not Bear Grylls
    • When hiking don't stay behind or wander away from your group, that's how most people get lost
    • Got caught by a current in a river/beach? Don't try and swim against it, you'll waste precious energy you need to stay afloat. Make a distress signal (waving arms in a V pattern) and wait for help (personal experience)
    • When in a beach be careful of sand banks. One moment they're there, the next they may be gone
    • If you're a newbie don't skii in the soft snow. You'll get stuck and look dumb (also personal experience)
    607 and MrsWishes like this.
  4. I can't quote things on this computer, some plugin isn't installed or something. Biro, some ideas.

    1: The most important thing about survival is preparedness. Knowing literally everything about survival, but nothing about the area can get you killed faster than if you just know there's a road to the (random direction).

    2: Sometimes, the sun sits further north than straight up, making this method prone to error. Try this instead. Put a stick in the ground, and mark where the tip of the shadow is. Wait about 15 minutes, and mark where the tip is now. Then, draw a line between the two. The line is now your east-west line, with the first shadow's mark pointing east.

    3: Yeah, you can totally make a fire with sticks. I've done it in my backyard. It takes knowledge, and I would recommend training your hands, because you're going to get blisters if you don't. If you're really worried about it, buy a firesteel.
    3.5: Firesteel is best, then a lighter, then lastly, matches. You might have 30 matches total, and if they get submerged, they're useless. A lighter works wet, lights thousands of times, and even if it's out of fuel, the spark can be used to light tinder. Firesteel is amazing, though. Look them up, Walmart and Amazon both have them for under $20.

    4: Shelters are in no way overestimated. I guarantee that a dangerous weather pattern can show up from a clear day faster than you can build a shelter. Lack of water will kill you in three days, but hypothermia from laying on a great bed in the cold rain will kill you in an hour. Beds are very important, because on a dry night, you'll lose more heat through the ground than you will through the air. Make both. A bed can be a few logs stacked comfortably, or even a rack made from thin tree branches. Learn the square lashing, flagpole lashing, and tripod lashing. They're useful everywhere, but with those three, you can make nearly anything. 30 foot towers and man-powered catapults included. I had a good time in boy scouts.

    5: Climbing cliffs is fine, if it's required to stay alive. If it's cloudy, and you're in a canyon, water is on the way. Get to high ground fast. Some hikers died a few months ago from this.

    6: When hiking, make the slowest person lead the group, and take breaks if someone is hurting. When wandering off, use the buddy system and tell someone where you're going. Know what time the group is leaving, and know where they're headed afterwards. Have a meeting place set up ahead of time, so the group can tell Rangers where to start looking. Also, if solo hiking, take two maps, and leave one in your car that has your estimated route on it, along with an aluminum foil imprint of your shoe. This will help trackers who might need to find you in a public park, with lots of sign.

    7: If caught in a riptide, swim parallel to shore. They're generally a hundred feet long, and you can get out pretty easily with most of your strength. If in a current on a river, swim diagonally to it, angling to shore. Look for a bend, and swim to the outside of it, if possible.

    The most important tool to have is a calm mind. The second most important is local knowledge.

    Learn the area, the predators, the animals and plants that are safe to eat, ect. Learn the Universal Edibility Test, that'll take you anywhere, but takes time.

    Carry a knife, with a thick spine. Make sure it's full or nearly full tang, meaning that the metal from the blade extends through the handle. Most 'survival knives' are either subpar steel and will dull quickly, or a subpar design and the blade will break from the handle. Don't get one with the hollow handle for storage, you have pockets. the hollow handle will fail, fast. And remember that a big knife can do everything a small knife can, but a small knife can't do everything a big knife can. Go as big as you can comfortably carry and use.

    Learn and make a paracord bracelet. One of those can make you a comfy shelter, fishing lines, and a small trap. Make sure that the clasp is breakaway, so if it gets caught on something, it doesn't tear off your hand.

    Three of anything is the universal sign of distress. SOS in Morse is . . . - - - . . .
    Also, three piles of rocks, three logs laid next to each other on a beach, three fires, three shots from a firearm, anything that can signal a spotter plane.

    Burn live wood in daytime, and dead wood at night for a signal fire. Live wood makes more smoke, making it easier to see in the daylight.

    If all else fails, and you're relatively safe, stay put. Remaining in the same place will let rescuers find you faster, as they may sweep an area that you will later walk into, not knowing that they've passed by.
    607, Birosquinha and ChickenDice like this.
  5. That's the difference between a scout and a weekend hiker :p
    There's a lot more to survival than what I said, I'm no expert. The list was just for people who are newbies and are going hiking or something, like me. I've seen bad things happening to people who forget to do basic stuff, myself included. Dislocated shoulders, bruised ankles, giant thorns sunk into one's skin and, sadly, a fall from a cliff that resulted in a guy's death. If people can learn everything and be prepared for everything that's great, but most of the times it's the little things that can cause you trouble.
    607 likes this.
  6. It also can't hurt to have a basic understanding of first aid.
    Whatever you know, it can mean the difference between someone bleeding out in the middle of the forest and someone walking away.
    607 and Gawadrolt like this.
  7. Yeah, first aid is def important, but I don't know enough to talk about it here. Take a Red Cross class, or a class at a local hospital.

    If all else fails, a tourniquet around the neck stops all bleeding in a few minutes.
  8. 607 and ChamelonNYC like this.
  9. Gaming Life Hacks:


    EDIT: Yup, the video is kind of cheesey but it has some good stuff :p
  10. Stops all bleeding, Gawa. In a few minutes.
  11. If im bleeding out please just watch buffalo. XD

    Edit: Department of Defense certified Combat Life Saver with 3 recerts.
  12. *gets a belt and a sturdy stick* GOT IT!
  13. Not just the bleeding, also helps with the pain. Very effective indeed.
  14. If you apply a tourniquet to someones neck they will die... I don't know why I had to post that twice. If I'm bleeding out I would much rather my death take five minutes than twenty.
    607 likes this.
  15. And when you're dead, you no longer bleed. I don't know why I had to post that three times. Maybe you didn't know I was wearing my sarcasm pants?

    I'm wearing my sarcasm pants.
    ChamelonNYC and Gawadrolt like this.
  16. People have applied tourniquets to the neck before, lets not have that happen again because of a joke :-P
    607 likes this.
  17. Dude, no one takes me seriously but you, and you already know everything, so I don't think there's much to worry about.
  18. I feel like you only own one pair of pants, and those are your sarcasm pants.
    Gawadrolt likes this.
  19. Worn only for special occasions, otherwise known as "The Days That I Wear Pants".
  20. Life Hack #5: Don't make decisions when you're angry. Don't make promises when you're happy.
    Birosquinha and TomvanWijnen like this.