#gear guide

[eldaeriel]

#lotro level 100 rep & gear plan

[kenleephotography]

The best Milky Way photography gear guide

What equipment do you need to photograph landscapes with the Milky Way? The equipment does not have to cost tons of cash. This handy gear guide will help! This is more of a beginner’s guide. Therefore, I am not going to list star trackers. They are not necessary for creating beautiful Milky Way images or astro-landscapes. Also, this guide is written with single-exposure Milky Way photos in mind,…

[biglisbonnews]

How To Use Apple Music Sing for Karaoke on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV 4K Apple Music's new sing-along feature brings on-demand karaoke to all your devices. https://www.inverse.com/tech/how-to-use-apple-music-sing-karaoke-iphone-ipad-apple-tv-4k

[solradguy]

Guilty Gear Isuka Complete Guide

Another from the big .ZIP with lost scanner credits. Uploading it as its own thing for ease of reference. Highly technical; nothing too exciting in here unless you're a Dustloop editor. It does include pictures of all the palettes for each character though, but we have those on the wiki too.

Download: ARCHIVE.ORG

[portraitoftheoddity]

Beginner Hiking Guide: Gear - What to Bring Hiking

What you want to bring with you on a hike will vary depending on what kind of hike you’re doing. If you’re going on a very short (under an hour) and easy hike on highly-trafficked and easily accessed trails for instance, you may not need to bring much at all -- though I always recommend a water bottle, sun protection and a hoodie or something. But if you’re doing a longer trek on backcountry trails out in the wilderness, you’ll want to bring quite a bit more with you, because the stakes are higher if things go wrong.

My general rule of thumb is: Pack for the Worst Case Scenario.

What is the worst that could happen if you get lost or injured? How long would it take for someone to find you if your phone died and you couldn’t call for help? If you get stuck out overnight, how cold is it going to get, and will you be able to survive it? How about if you have to wait several hours for a rescue party to carry you out if you can’t walk?

I carry a bunch of emergency items in my pack that, on an ideal hike, I never need. But if things don’t go ideally, given the places and conditions I hike in, they could save my life. In the list below, I’ve put an asterisk next to items I recommend packing even for short day hikes (2 hours or less)

So let’s start with the most important thing:

You Need a Backpack.

If you’re going to carry supplies, you need something to carry them in, and a backpack is the easiest, most comfortable way to do so that won’t compromise your balance or leave you unable to use your hands on a hike. (On short outings, fannypacks are great, but you’ll want a backpack if you’re going out into backcountry).

DON'T: use a drawstring backpack -- this will dig painfully into your shoulders pretty quickly. 

DO: use a backpack with a waist/hip strap (and chest strap if possible). Having more of your pack’s weight on your hips than on your shoulders will cut down on back pain! The more adjustable, the better; you want to be comfortable.

There are really great hiking specific backpacks out there, but they are on the pricey side. It’s something where, if you plan on doing hiking more regularly, I would recommend investing in a good pack, but for your first time your old book bag will probably do okay.

The Ten Essentials

If you do any research on backcountry hiking, you will probably see “the ten essentials” mentioned somewhere. These are the things that you’re recommended to always bring on a hike with you if you’re going out into the wilderness. The list can seem a little daunting, but honestly a lot of the things on it are pretty small and easy to acquire. 

1) Navigation / Map & Compass* -- Have a paper map in a ziploc bag and a compass in addition to any digital tools and GPS you may be using to navigate. Technology fails, and having a map that you’ve familiarized yourself with before you set out will help you to stay on your route and avoid getting lost. REI has useful articles on how to use a compass and how to read a topographic map.

2) Nutrition / Extra Food -- I always bring food hiking. You burn through a lot of energy while hiking, and snacking will help boost your energy levels and keep you moving. Calorie-dense foods with sugar and protein like trail mix, nuts, and granola bars give you the biggest boost while not taking up too much room in your pack. And if your hike runs over, you’ll be grateful for the extra rations.

3) Hydration / Extra Water* -- I typically bring a full liter of water (or gatorade!), minimum when I hike. Nalgene bottles are great because they’re lightweight and virtually indestructible. You’re going to be losing a lot of moisture through sweat and through the vapor your exhale while breathing heavily, so you are going to need to hydrate. Bring more than you think you’re going to need in case things go badly.

4) Insulation / Extra Layers* -- I talked about this in the post about clothes, but always have an extra layer. If the weather shifts, or you get injured and can’t move to keep warm, or you get lost and need to wait for a rescue, the last thing you need is for hypothermia to come along and make your day worse.

5) Illumination / Light -- There’s always a chance of something going wrong, be it a twisted ankle or just misjudging the length of a hike, that can lead to you being out for longer than you anticipated -- and if you’re stuck out in the wilderness when the sun goes down, you want to be able to see where the hell you’re going to find the trail and get home. On any longer hike (especially if you’re starting later in the day), bring a headlamp or flashlight with extra batteries (and test it before you leave!)

6) Emergency Shelter -- Is there any chance that on the hike you’re doing, you could potentially get lost enough that you have to spend hours and hours out here? In the theme of extra layers, if you get lost, injured, or otherwise caught out in bad conditions and can’t hike out on your own for any reason and rescue won’t be there anytime soon (search and rescue teams take time to assemble, deploy and then hike out to you), you want to have some means of shelter. Obviously, you don’t wanna drag an entire tent out into the woods if you’re just going on a day hike, but a there’s a few lightweight options that can make a difference when you’re improvising protection from the elements, such as:

A mylar space blanket / shock blanket

A bivvy sack (basically a lightweight plastic sleeping bag that keeps warmth in and water out!)

....And if you’re on a budget, a large plastic trash bag can do in a pinch!

7) Firestarter -- On the topic of shelter, especially if you’re stuck out in the cold overnight, a fire can be an emergency source of heat and light. Since most of us are not capable of starting a fire just by rubbing two sticks together like in the movies, we’ll want to make it easier on ourselves by bringing something to start a fire with: pack something to ignite it with, and something to use as tinder to catch the flame and sustain it long enough to ignite other fuel you’ve gathered. I personally carry a bic lighter that was like, .99c at the gas station, and a toilet paper tube stuffed with dryer lint for tinder. This is one of those “hopefully you never actually have to use it” things.

8) First Aid Kit* -- You want to be able to treat an injury if it happens, and to address smaller health concerns before they become bigger health concerns. With blisters especially, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- putting blister pads on your feet when you’ve got hot spots before they turn into full on oozing blisters is going to make a world of difference. And as someone who has taken a nasty spill on the trail and hiked out injured, I always carry a solid first aid kit with me. You can buy a compact pre-made kit easily enough to carry with you, but you may find yourself customizing it to your needs. I recommend having the following:

Ibuprofen -- good for managing pain, swelling, and soreness

Tylenol/Acetaminophen -- pain reliever, fever reducer, better for head injuries than ibuprofen since it doesn’t thin blood (also, if you’ve hurt yourself and you’re in a LOT of pain, you can alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen)

Benadryl or some other antihistamine for allergies

AfterBite -- good for stings and bug bites

Bandaids in assorted sizes

Blister pads

Disinfectant wipes x 2

Gauze

A triangular bandage

A lightweight SAM splint 

Ace bandage - good for wrapping sprains

Tweezers - good for removing splinters!

Any important medications you personally need, such as an EpiPen or inhaler, or personal joint braces you require

9) Sun Protection* -- Even if you’re hiking under tree cover, or on a cloudy day, with hours spent outdoors, you’re getting a lot of UV exposure. Regardless of whether you’re someone who sunburns easily or not, it’s good to have sun protection. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen, and consider wearing a hat. Especially at higher elevations, where the air gets thinner and blocks less UV radiation! And don’t forget when hiking in winter, that you can get snowblindness and sunburn from light reflected off snow. 

10) Repair Kit + Knife / All That McGuyver Shit -- A few lightweight and simple objects can make it much easier to jury-rig a shelter, replace a snapped bootlace, or hold together a torn pack until you can get back to the parking lot. I personally always have:

A pocket knife/multitool

Flat-wrapped duct tape

Several safety pins

A handful of zip ties

A spare shoelace

And other people may find other items useful depending on their gear and the kind of repairs they might need.

In addition to the stuff on this list, there may be weather-specific or trail-condition specific gear you might need, like microspikes for traction on ice, or rain gear for hiking in wet climates. You can use your best judgment and the recommendations of others who have hiked where you are hiking to figure out what the best packing list is for your specific hike. This list is a guideline and a starting point.

Other things you may want to bring:

Whistle -- if your phone is dead and you’re waiting for rescue, you can blow on a whistle a lot longer (and a lot louder) than you can yell. Three short bursts usually means ‘hiker in distress’ and will help other hikers or searchers find you.

Toilet Paper + plastic bag -- If you don’t think you’re going to be able to hold it, bring a means to go in the woods. But bring the plastic bag to carry out your used toilet paper so it doesn’t pollute nature (Leave No Trace!)

A ziploc bag big enough for your phone -- if you need to cross a river or if it starts pouring, have a means to bag your phone to keep it dry. If there’s a risk of rain, bring a trash bag as well that you can use as an improvised pack cover to keep your stuff dry.

Insect Repellant -- even if you don’t bring it with you and just put it on in the parking lot, if you’re hiking in spring or summer especially, you’ll want some bug spray.

Keeping It Light

You want to pack smart, which means maximizing the usefulness of what you pack while keeping things as light as possible. Try using a lightweight plastic water bottle instead of a heavy steel one, and packing spare layers that are warm without being too bulky. Put sunblock in a small tube or bottle instead of packing the huge family-size one. The weight adds up, and the final weight of your pack is what you’re going to have to be carrying along with you. Though the good news is, your pack will get lighter as you consume the food and water you’ve packed!

If you are hiking with friends in a group, there’s some things you don’t really need multiple redundancies for -- if one person has a well-stocked first aid kit and another person carries enough sunblock for the group, you don’t need three of each and every item. Communicate with your group to make sure all your bases are covered, but also be sure you stay close together while hiking. Your friend having the group’s utility knife isn’t going to help you if you go off on your own and get separated. And you will all still want your own food, water, clothing, and light.

Organize Your Bag

Having the right gear is helpful. Knowing where it is is even better!

I try to organize my pack so the weight is evenly distributed (with the heaviest objects at the center near my spine to avoid throwing off my center of gravity), but also so I can find stuff easily enough. If your backpack has different pockets and compartments, think about using those to organize your supplies. Put stuff you’re more likely to need to use in easy to reach places. I usually keep my water bottle in a side pocket that I can reach from the outside of my bag, and my snacks in the topmost compartment so they’re easy to get to and not squished.

I also have a couple of lightweight smaller bags inside my pack I organize things in -- a mesh bag I keep all my first aid supplies in so I can pull out the splint, main kit, extra bandage, AfterBite, etc. all together, and a waterproof stuff sack that I keep all my “emergency” supplies (bivvy sack, shock blanket, headlamp, lighter, knife, etc.) inside so they aren’t all rattling around loose at the bottom of my pack where I will never find them. 

-

Using your knowledge about the hike you’re doing, the duration, the conditions, and your own body and needs will help you make smart choices about what you need to bring in order to keep yourself safe, both during your hike, and in the hypothetical scenario where something goes awry. Be informed, be prepared, and have fun out there!

<< Previous Part: What to Wear Hiking

[theriu]

How To Extinguish A Phoenix

Phoenix: ACHOO! (bursts into flames)

Me: (sprays down with fire extinguisher)

Phoenix: (sniff) . . . I think that-ah-ACHOO (combusts again)

Me: (sprays again) We might need to switch extinguishers here soon.

Phoenix: Already?! Just let me di-ah-ah . . . ! No, lost that one. Anyway, just let me die, then!

Me: Not a chance, buddy! Remember what you said: no matter what, don’t let you burn to ash, because a cold isn’t as bad as spending six months regrowing all your feathers. Focus on that! The meds should kick in soon! And I’m not giving your deposit back!

Pheonix: I knooow, but I haaate thiiis . . . ah-ah-AH—!

Me: (sprays)

Phoenix: (sputtering) At least wait until I’m ACTUALLY on fire!

Me: (sheepish) Sorry. I got excited.

Phoenix: So glad you’re enjoying yourself!

Me: Look, I do not care how much you paid me: Dodging flammable pheonix snot is not how I like to pass my time. But fire extinguishers are fun, and if we’re both going to be miserable, I don’t see why we shouldn’t relish what little joy is to be had here.

Phoenix: . . . That’s fair, I guess.

Me: Tell you what—if I catch on fire, you can spray ME down.

Phoenix: Aw, thanks. That’s really . . . ah . . . ah . . . ACHOO!!!

Me: (sprays)

———

(A/N: This one goes out to all the people afflicted with holiday bugs! There’s SO MANY OF YOU, my WORD. I hope you feel better and still have a very Merry Christmas and all the other holidays left this year!)

For more assorted nonsense, visit my How To Guides for Mythical Creatures Masterlist!

[otsmosis]

a leetle companion piece to my fake dating radiodust fic The guide to fake dating a serial killer. Check it out maybe!

[eru-iru]

malfunction

[dracallyart]

I realised each time I wanted to draw Monsoon (specifically for Cyberpunk) I keep doing it on the fly without a clothing reference so I made one for fun! I made this Monsoon art as a sort of "dress up file" so I'll be adding more stuff most likely!

[hypnoneghoul]

CUSTOM VS. STOCK HAGSTROM FANTOMEN

from @aliendisco-arts' ask, but I wanted to make it a separate post, including a second chart for versions used by each ghoul that played/plays the fantomen, requested by @genderlessghoul. the second one is more about the visible difference though, because I can't be sure about some technical specifics from photos alone.

There’s also one picture of Ifrit playing the Fantomen that looks a bit different, an early version, maybe?

[fatehbaz]

.

[pollopom]

arthur lester malevolent and zato-1 guilty gear swap husbands

[la-li-lu-le-lol]

I have seen more than a few people go "wow, konami are going to give us full game scripts of EVERY codec with the re-releases?! That's so much work to type all that out wtf insane" and like. You children... you young'uns... full scripts of each game have been freely available on gamefaqs for like upwards of 20 years at this point. In the 2000s we had brave warriors typing out every optional codec into a text document by hand and they will not be forgotten!! 😤

[solradguy]

Soltober 18

[campbyler]

hi! i just read your post about struggling with the manual car (which is completely reasonable lol)

i happen to be a person who can indeed drive a manual! (my dad is still teaching me so i am no expert but i have driven our car many times and watched my dad drive it since i was wayyy younger)

and you can completely ignore this ask but here's what i have learnt in my time driving!

a manual has three pedals: clutch, break, accelerate, in that order from left to right (where i am from, atleast)

there are six gears, 1 through 5 and reverse.

clutch breaks the engine from the wheelers so you can shift gears and stop the car without damaging the system and the other two are obviously, to stop the car and accelerate the car

to start, you need to turn the key while PRESSING CLUTCH and NEUTRAL GEAR so the car doesn't run off lmao

then you shift the gear to 1 and VERY SLOWLY release the clutch. if you do it too fast, the engine will turn off and you gotta start over (i struggled with this a lot lol)

the car will start out at a very slow speed and you can try driving and stopping the car

to stop, start pressing the clutch and SLOWLY pressing on the breaks. make sure that by the time the car has stopped, the clutch is floored. you can also floor the clutch then slowly apply breaks

when you have the hang of it, you can try gearing up and down

to gear up, maintain a speed of (gear number + 1) times 10 kmh. so to gear up from first to second you need a speed of 20 kmh

to shift gear, floor the clutch and use the stick to change gear and IMMEDIATELY release clutch, no need to release slowly here like you had to while starting up. same to gear down

and voíla! you now know how to, in theory, drive a manual! tada!

also, for the fic, just keep in mind that the speed of the car when someone else is driving and when you are driving is COMPLETELY different

my dad could easily drive in 4th gear where he takes me to train and i would feel nothing, but for me, 2nd gear is still pretty fast when i'm driving!

these are the basics of driving but the driving STYLE can vary vastly.

hope this helps ily!!

anon this was genuinely so helpful i am kissing you on the mouth

[c0rpsedemon]

the thing about the queer media tournament that really gets me is that last i checked there wasn't a single mxtx work on it. like not even the untamed made it in and don't get me wrong the og mo dao zu shi books are huge but cql is def more popular among tumblr circles. idk it just really rubs me the wrong way how every single piece of western media that ppl have ever gotten a lil bit aggressive abt shipping with is there and then for east asian media there's utena and madoka magica and the handmaiden and last i checked that was pretty much it. and then for the rest of the world there's next to/nothing but idk enough to really make judgements there.