As writers, or artists, or hell, just as people, being around folks who love and accept who we are and what we do is a vital component. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about higher education that one of the benefits of it was being around a posse of people who are all striving towards to the same goals. Now don't confuse what I'm saying here, I'm NOT saying to surround yourself with "Yes" people, or in other words, people who will tell you what you want to hear. That doesn't help anything and can actually make things worse. I'm saying you want to surround yourself with people who support your goals and will help you reach them.

One of those people in my life, is my wife. From the beginning, she's supported my goals as a writer, as a hunter, and as a person. Just last night, she sent me a pic of a dude holding a smoke bomb, one of those regular small ones from the fireworks store. She said, hey, before you go out hunting next time, take some of these with you, you could use them as a survival signal.

The comment by itself is sweet and caring, but there is a deeper message going on. One, other than the outside message of, "hey, I love you and I would like you to have every possible tool in your toolkit to make it back home alive," she's supporting my fascination of survival and survival ideology. She supported me going for an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction when the smarter idea might have been to pursue a different degree for the "real world." (I'm being a little sarcastic here with my choice of words, I totally believe that my higher education has already paid dividends for my skill and my writing career and I think you should pursue whatever education and training you want.) She gives me the time I need to complete my writing projects, and supports my other endeavors. She does so realistically and keeps me grounded in reality, but gives me the time and motivation to pursue things. In short, she's awesome. Find awesome people and make them a part of your life. You won't regret it. Now assemble your team of awesome.

Coming soon:
- Updates on my recent foray into the Wilderness Athlete 28 Day Challenge
- Scouting for elk 2016
- Barnes & Noble book signings 

For most of my adult life, I’ve been overweight and out of shape. Every now and then I get a bug up my ass to do something about, and I do. It doesn’t last, want to know why? It’s because I’m generally getting in shape for a specific reason due to my chosen profession. In the Air Force, we are expected to maintain a certain standard and have to pass an annual physical fitness test which involves running for 1.5 miles, sit-ups, push-ups, and a measurement of your abdominal circumference. All of these items are tallied up and you have meet a certain minimum. My test happens to take place in October, and almost every year, I decide to take a break. Each year, I tell myself that I’ll only take a week or two off, but that week or two ends up stretching until February or March. During that off time, I typically destroy all the progress I made throughout the previous year and I have to start over from scratch.

Well, fuck that shit.

This year is going to be different. (I know, you’re probably rolling your eyes and saying, yeah right, and I don’t blame you.) This year I’m going to keep up the workout routine and there will be no time off. This year, I’m going to focus on strength training and general fitness throughout the winter months so that when February rolls around, I’m not a big ball of dough. Why? Because I can’t afford to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m getting older and it’s getting harder and harder to bounce back. I know I’m not that old, but a couple of years ago my metabolism decided to give me the finger and walk off.
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This is all fine and dandy, but it brings me to my next problem. I like to eat. I like tasty, tasty foods that taste good in my tummy. It’s a mental thing for sure, and I can do OKAY at eating healthy MOST of the time; however when I fall off the wagon, I fall into a big old pile of cheese, meat, and deep fried goodness. Because of all shenanery, my weight loss has been slow going. Over the past two months, I’ve lost about eight pounds (not too bad, but not where I need to be). So what amI going to do about it? I’m going to invest in a jumpstart program of protein powder and supplements and I’ve narrowed my choices down to two different things.
 
Now you might be rolling your eyes again and saying, what the hell Cody? Just put in the work and make it happen. Good talk, but I think there is something to be said about forking over some hard-earned cash for some product, and I know that I stick to the product program that I’ll lose weight. I’m not looking for a full-time thing, I’m looking for a springboard. The two programs are the Wilderness Athlete 28 Day Challenge, and the Mountain Ops Get in Elk Shape. 

Wilderness Athlete says, “The 28 Day Challenge is about providing people with solid nutrition,” said Mark Paulsen, the Founder of Wilderness Athlete and the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of New Mexico. “Exercising is extremely important when you want to lose weight but eating the proper diet is crucial for Muscle Management. Our 28 Day Challenge promotes a healthy diet by providing supplements and meal replacement products that offer sound nutrition. Combine these products with exercise and people can quickly lose weight.” It’s 200 dollars.

Mountain Ops says, “Any weight you put on in the off-season will work against you once you step foot into your hunting unit. Most hunters want to lose weight, and some want to put on muscle or do both. The Elk Shape Combo is designed to aid in your nutritional needs.” It’s 215 dollars.

They are both pretty similar, so I’m wondering if any of you out there in Googlewebs land have tried any of these products or have any experience with them? Either one I choose, I’ll be doing a review and a progress report of how things are going. Mainly I’m looking to jumpstart the weight loss and get into a healthier style of living. I’ve been working out since January this year, but it’s been slow going. I need to get in shape and stay in shape not only for my job but for my own health and to be an example for my two girls. Train hard now so you don't suck when it matters. That's what I need to do.

I generally try and steer away from political hot topics, mainly because I don’t want to get bogged down in the muck and the mire of the moronic comments and such (because let’s face it, the Internet is chock full of stupidity which seems to quadruple when something goes viral). However, in the wake of the recent tragedy of the Orlando nightclub shooting, I think this post may be appropriate. I’m not writing this to point fingers, do he/she said this, or why didn’t they do such and such, this is merely education.

Mass shootings, murders, and general assholery is a major problem these days. I’m not going to get into the reasons why (because as I mentioned above, I don’t want to go down that road of ridiculousness). I want to give you some tools that you can use to help survive certain situations should they arise around you. In the Air Force, we’re trained to respond to active shooters with Run, Hide, Fight. I’ve seen a similar mantra tossed around in different circles, but they all seem to use the same concept.

First, if an active shooter is around you, run. Plain and simple Try and get as far away from the douchebag as fast as you can. Help others around you, but get away. Don’t get cornered in an office or another part of the building if you can help it. This isn’t the time to be a hero; it’s the time to save your skin and others if possible. Run. Run fast. Your life depends on it.

Second, if you can’t run, then hide. Barricade yourself in a room, lock the doors and be as quiet as possible. Do everything you can to separate yourself from the shooter or shooters. Be aware that bullets go through drywall and doors easily, so know the difference between cover vs. concealment. A shooter can spray a room from the outside and it can be deadly. Also, silence any electronic devices you may have on you. Nothing will ruin a hiding spot quicker than a phone ringing or vibrating. It’s a very distinct sound and can draw the shooter’s attention.

Finally, if all else fails, and there are no other options, you must fight. Find anything you can to use as a weapon and be as violent as possible when you attack. If you’re in the final part of this Run, Hide, Fight process, there are no other options, so you must give it your all. A pen can make an effective weapon or a fire extinguisher. Use numbers in your favor and attack en masse. You might be saying, well if I go to attack and expose myself, I might get hurt or killed. True. You might get killed. But if you do nothing, you might get killed anyway. As I said, fight is the last option. Below I’ve linked an interesting article on using a tactical pen. I've also linked a video that explains these steps in a little more depth.
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Everyone is different and reacts differently to high-stress, life-threatening situations. You never truly know how you will react until you find yourself in said situation. Reading a blog post on the subject isn’t going to be the end-all-be-all of surviving a bad situation. However, you can perhaps increase your odds if you think about it, make a mental game-plan, and train. Train for self-defense. Train for disarming attackers. I’m not a fan of using violence to solve problems; however, I do truly believe that sometimes violence is the only answer.

http://survival-mastery.com/skills/defence/how-to-use-a-tactical-pen.html

If you find yourself out in the wilds trying to survive and you just can't seem to find any water, worry not! You can use a transpiration bag with little effort on your part. Now I know you packed clear plastic bags in your in your survival/bug-out kit because I mentioned their use in an earlier blog post. Grab one of those divine chalices and find a plant (the larger the better, because they will have the most water. Do NOT use this method on poisonous plants...just don't...I think it will cause you to lose your mind, shit your pants, and possibly die, only to be reborn as some ungodly creature that scours the night preying on unsuspecting humans. But in all seriousness, don't use this on toxic or poisonous plants. If you're unsure, then move along until you are sure).

Once you've selected the plant that gets to endow it's life-giving liquid unto you, then wrap that bag around the greens, at least 3/4 of the way into the bag. Tie the top end off with some cord real tight so it won't fall. You'll also want to use a small rock to keep the corner low so the moisture will collect. Then you wait and let the sun do it's work. The plant inside will go through its magical process and within a few hours, SHAZAM! you've got water. The amount of water you collect will depend on a lot of factors like sun, cloud cover, type and size of plant, etc...but it should produce enough to keep you alive.

​To collect the water you can open up the corner with the rock and drain it into a container. You might want to filter it because sometimes there can be debris or "other" things in there (free protein if you aren't opposed to eating creepy crawlies). You can also place a tube in the bag and use it as a straw if that's your thing. Anyway, that's a quick tip for survival. Make sure you put some clear plastic bags in your survival gear and you can get some water.

If you follow my blog or have read any of my earlier posts on survival training, you’ve probably heard me talk about training. Training in the skills you need to know is essential, because when the shit hits the fan is definitely not the time to try and become the master of wilderness survival. Get out there and practice in a safe environment when your life isn’t on the line. Get some professional hands-on training from skilled professionals.

I decided to put my money where my mouth is and get some professional training. I was trained by the military to survive in the wilderness, but that was over 14 years ago. I most certainly have lost some skills, and I know I’m weak on primitive fire-making and medicinal herbs. Therefore, when I saw that holistic survival professional, Luke McLaughlin was putting on a weekend class in Utah, I jumped on the chance to attend.

Luke McLaughlin was on the television show, Naked and Afraid where he had to survive 21 days in the wild with nothing but his skills, a partner, and one survival item. His episode landed him in the country of Namibia located in southwest Africa. His emphasis isn’t just on survival, but re-wilding and the survival of the earth. You can learn more about him here at his website: http://www.holisticsurvivalschool.com 

The training was supposed to take place over a weekend in the West Desert of Utah. I knew it wasn’t going to be an arduous ordeal where we’d be surviving on nothing; rather it was an educational opportunity to meet some new people, get back in touch with nature, and learn some primitive survival skills. Luke would be touching on two of the items I really wanted to learn more about (fire-making skills and herbal/edible plants), so I was stoked.

To set the scene, it had been raining off and on for the last two weeks leading up to the training. The weather forecast called for a medium chance of showers, and cooler temperatures and they weren’t joking. We got out to the site and started to set-up, and it rained off and on the entire day. The temperature dropped to the 40’s and we found ourselves sitting by the fire and socializing for the majority of the first night.

Snow dropped on us and the temperature dropped even further during the night, making for a restless sleep. I had packed for chill and rain, but obviously not for the kind of cold snap that occurred. The next day, it was sprinkling off and on, and we started talking about plants. Instead of just diving right into different plants that could be found in and around the mountainous areas of Utah, Luke broke it down into what kind of plants could be used medicinally based upon the type of issue occurring with your skin/body, and the taste/smell of the plant. It was almost a basic usage that would work the majority of the time and was great because you might not know what kind of plant it is, but based on some characteristics, you can surmise what it can do to help you. I would suggest attending his training for that knowledge alone.

It was shortly after that block that the rain started to pour down on us. We broke for lunch to see what would happen, but it was apparent that it didn’t have any intention of stopping any time soon. We had a couple folks in the group who were scheduled to fly out the next morning, and we didn’t want to get stuck up in the mountains and have them miss their flight. The road to get up to the site was narrow and muddy, and the rain was just making it worse. We finally decided to call it quits and reschedule for another time. Oddly enough, we made it down the mountain fine, but the car I was in got stuck in the mud on a dirt road near a field. We got out, but it took a lot of persistence and mud baths. 

The reschedule day was very nice with it being sunny and cool enough to be comfortable. This is when we went hard into primitive fire-making skills. Luke taught us some different wood combinations that work well together, and some to avoid. He broke down the steps and theory behind making a “nest” to put the coal into, as well as how to properly hand drill and bow drill. First things first, as Luke said at the class, DO NOT RELY ON PRIMITIVE METHODS to start a fire. They should be used as a last resort. That’s why it’s imperative that you have a couple different methods of making a fire with you. Everything has to be just right when using a primitive method. The materials and weather were ideal, and it took me 1.5 hours to get a fire going with a bow drill. Granted, it was my second attempt in my lifetime to try and do this (the first attempt was an utter failure) and there were a lot of hiccups and training moments. However, it was very elating to get that fire going finally. From now on, whenever I go camping, I’ll be practicing to try and get better. 

We finished up with more herbals and reinforced some of the knowledge that was taught on the first day. All in all, it was great training and I would recommend taking a class from Luke if you get a chance. He has a laid back teaching method, but is still very thorough. It’s obvious he knows what he’s talking about because he’s had to rely on his skill in real-life situations. Plus, he’s just an all-around cool guy with some fun stories. If you see him, asking what the bonus C stands for in his C’s of survival, probably one of my favorite and something I’ll take with me camping/hunting from now on.

There was a recent thread on Facebook in a group run by Seton Hill University college friends where some questions about firearms recently came up. Before that thread ever posted, I was already playing around with the idea of doing a multi-post series on guns and writing. I've done a blog post before on guns, but it was geared more toward self-defense rather than writing. My intent with this series would be to give authors a basic course on firearms, their operation, use, and other information based around the senses with the hopes that it would help said authors create realistic scenes involving firearms. Nothing beats hands on training, but this might help in a pinch. However, this is a larger endeavor, so before I start into this project I would like to know if this is something you'd like? I would run a blog post on each of the following: revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, shotguns, bolt action rifles, and semi-automatic rifles. Each post would involve some basic terminology, common calibers and what they mean, different uses for each type of weapon, and perhaps even a video of said weapon's operation (maybe even fire it at something as well). What do you think? Vote below please. 

Sorry for the delay folks, but I've been busy helping my wife take care of our new baby girl! I'll get back to blogging as soon as possible. But while you're waiting, please stop by and vote for what you'd like to see in my bonus post on survival. I'll pick the top three voted items and give you my take on the subjects. You can vote here.