App Review: iSurvival

The time hasn't come yet that an iPod Touch is the first item I think of when I'm compiling a list of wilderness survival essentials, but a friend of mine recently recommended a survival app that just might change my mind.

It's called -- maybe this won't win points for originality -- iSurvival. But as I mock the name, I have to say that for an occasional wilderness wanderer like me, it's got some handy stuff, though I'm hard-pressed to way when, in the future, I envision myself becoming lost at sea. Published by Utah-based Fishington Studios, the app is billed as a "military grade" wilderness survival manual. And considering the friend who recommended the app worked as a paramedic and in California and follows military minutia as he has a son who is a soldier, I have to believe that this app lives up to its billing.

Wilderness Survival, ten-year-old style

There are small tells throughout the manual that reveal the text in iSurvival wasn't originally written for the leisure wilderness crowd -- the chapter on shelters, for example, advises that you choose a place to build your shelter that "provides concealment from enemy observation" -- but, in general, the tips therein echo those I've read in more expensive manuals, including a few I've got lying around the house because I haven't yet gotten around to getting lost.

Though I've poked fun at the manual a bit, it's certainly something I'd have at my side if I were wandering off into the wilds. The app's clear textual presentation, accompanied by clear, useful illustration of survival techniques ranging from shelter-building to identification of edible wild plants.

The link provided above says the app is available for $1.99. I searched iTunes and got it for free, though perhaps the "free" was a short-time promotional price. 

The only fault I can see in this app is obvious -- run out of power for your handheld device and the app is locked away forever. Perhaps they've included a chapter on locating current bushes . . .

Fixed the Photo and Story Modules

Great news! We successfully fixed the "share" function of the Uncharted website so that you can once again share your photos and stories from your adventures! Feel free to use your Explorer account to sign in and publish away on Uncharted's website. Invite your friends to do the same by sharing this link with them so they can become an Explorer too: http://uncharted.net/account/register

We look forward to seeing whatever you have to share with us as you continue exploring the uncharted and keep shooting for 2011 Explorer of the Year. For 2010 we gave away a nice Uncharted t-shirt and a couple bumper stickers to the winner, and well do the same or better this year, so share your adventures often!

Now we are working on new upgrades to the site and we will have some more news, tips and information to send to you again soon. As always, if you have anything you'd like to share w/ the whole Uncharted audience or have feedback, we welcome you to send it to feedback@uncharted.net. You can also keep in touch with us at our page on Facebook or Twitter. In the mean time, all the best!

What We Learned

Whew.

The workshop is done. I'm feeling a lot less stress now. I'm used to giving presentations, but I still get that stage fright right before it's time to go on.

And that's what we'll do with the writing workshop offered through Uncharted: Go on.

The March 4th presentation was a good experience. I used about 50 percent of what I had prepared and built the remaining 50 percent on the spot, drawing on what I know works when you've got a bunch of photos, sound clips and souvenirs on hand but you're staring into that blank screen maw, waiting for inspiration to strike.

The next Uncharted writing workshop will be better than the first. And then they'll keep on getting better as more people attend and as more people tell us what they'd like to see in this workshop, and in other workshops we've got in the works.

What did I learn from this workshop?

There's a lot of talent out there. My Uncharted compatriots, shy about sharing what they write, can write some magnificent stuff. Maybe they're lacking a little bit of confidence, or a road map or plan on how to begin. I'm hoping with what I taught them about outlining, making lists, making story diagrams and other such stuff helps them find that confidence and those road maps. I'm expecting great things from them. And you, too. Toddle on over to http://www.uncharted.net/ and show us what you've got.

Uncharted Workshop: Reconnect to Your World

One of the best things about visiting a place – unless you’re one of those secretive fishermen types – is telling the rest of the world about what you just saw. And felt. And smelled. And ate.

But when you sit down to write it all out, do you get that proverbial writer’s block?

Me too.

But by using a few simple tricks and exercises to get your writing juices flowing, you can get past that writer’s block beast and reconnect yourself to the places you love through the lively art of writing.

What to bring:

– Computer or notepad and pencil for note-taking
– Your sense of adventure
– Photos, video clips, souvenirs, sand from your shoes – anything to act as a memory trigger

Who is Presenting:

Brian Davidson, workshop presenter, spent ten years in community journalism followed by nearly five years in technical writing at a nuclear waste dump in Idaho. He babbles a lot on his blogs and has written “Considering How to Run,” a novel he aims to publish before he’s dead.

What to Expect:

Expect to have one Uncharted-publishable story done or well underway by the time the workshop is over, with a clear path on how to write more. Also, some of Brian’s blue nuclear glow might rub off. Don’t worry. It’ll fade with time.

When and where:

March 4th, 2011, 5pm – 6:30pm in Logan, UT at the Cache Business Resource Center (CBRC) Room 1901.

Best thing of all:

This is a free workshop. Come be Brian's guinea pigs and help him make the next workshop even better. Though that shouldn't be hard.

New for 2011 - Cross-Culture Skills Workshop

We are happy to announce Uncharted's first ever Cross-Culture Skills workshop! We will present the workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Saturday, 9 Apr 11 from 9:00am until 12:00 noon at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

For those who attend, the Cross-Culture Skills workshop will help you gain useful skills in adapting to new or unfamiliar cultures while travelling, working, or volunteering in another country or culture, or it will help you while hosting visitors from another culture. The training will help you avoid some of the common mistakes travelers, expatriates, and hosts make when interacting with people from other cultures, and it will also help raise your own self-awareness to your personality and traits which either help or hinder your effectiveness when adapting to another culture. You will also leave the workshop with helpful resources that you can reference long after the workshop is over.

We are excited to provide this opportunity and hope it can serve as another useful tool to you in your efforts to explore the uncharted.

You can register for the workshop online and get additional details at http://kzoocrosscultureworkshop.eventbrite.com/ and the workshop's event page on Facebook where we will continue making updates as the workshop date gets closer.

The registration fee is $30, but Uncharted Explorers will receive a $10 discount reimbursement at the workshop. Anyone can become an Explorer for free by signing up here.

If you are going to attend and would like the instructor to emphasize a certain culture, region or aspect of training, please don't hesitate to reply to this post with that information. We want to make this as useful to you as we can!

If Kalamazoo is to far away for you to attend, but you are still interested in having this workshop brought to your area, reply to this post to let us know of your interest. We are considering holding other workshops in 2011 and if there is enough interest coming from a location we might be able to make it happen. Also feel free to let us know if there is another workshop topic you would like us to provide.

Looking forward to seeing you at the workshop if you can make it! If you have any questions or need additional info, please feel free to reply to this post or make a post on Uncharted's Facebook page.

Your friends in the journey,
"GeoJoe" and the whole Uncharted team

Explore. Live. Feel.

Uncharted Explorer of the Year 2010

Uncharted is happy to announce the winner of the 2010 Explorer of the Year!

The Explorer of the Year is recognized by Uncharted's editorial staff as having made the highest quality, most innovative, and most influential contributions to Uncharted and the community of Explorers through the course of the year.

We are happy to announce Explorer "Lisa M Dickson" was selected as the Explorer of the Year for 2010!




Lisa's content was endorsed by the Uncharted staff and featured on the http://www.uncharted.net/ homepage in 2010, in particular her story, "Italy - A Permanent Etch Into My Heart". She has also posted content from her discoveries in the past at the following locations: Bahamas, Tetons (Wyoming), Alaska, France, Niagara Falls, and Switzerland, just to name a few. Now that's an Explorer! Head over to her profile to see where else she has been and drop a line to congratulate her. We are very impressed not only with her photo and writing talent, but also her continuous commitment to explore the world. Congratulations Lisa! And thank you for everything you have contributed so far.

Lisa will receive an Uncharted T-shirt and bumper sticker, and she will be featured in our blog, facebook page, and historical archives.

There were many other excellent contributions from other Explorers, and we wish we had the ability to give something to everyone who contributed. Just about every story or photo we get from each Explorer inspires us and motivates us to reach higher, so thank you again to all Explorers.

We will continue recognizing the Explorer of Year winner annually, and hopefully we will get to the point that we can provide even better incentives not just to the winner, but to all Explorers. In the mean time, we wish you the best in your journeys and encourage you to "shoot" for Explorer of Year in 2011!

All the best,
The Uncharted Team

Explore. Live. Feel.

Happy New Year! The journey continues in 2011.

Happy New Year to everyone, including our fellow explorers, friends and families! All of us with Uncharted want to wish you the very best at the start of your 2011 journey.

In the coming weeks we will reveal new Uncharted tools, content and opportunities that we hope will help make your start to the new year even better. But before that, and more importantly, we will announce the Explorer of the Year award winner for 2010!



We also continue working on fixing the photo uploader "share" functionality on the website. We apologize to anyone who was affected by the problem. Once we get it fixed we will let you know and it should run even better than before, so don't stop taking photos you can share with the rest of the audience once it is repaired.

We can't thank all of you out there enough among our friends and fellow explorers for the shared adventures, advice and support since we published our first website content about two years ago. Special thanks also to everyone who took the survey and provided the great feedback which will help make the website even better. The website was only a beginning in our journey to explore the uncharted. 2011 will bring new firsts in this journey, and we look forward to sharing them with you soon!

GeoJoe and the rest of the Uncharted team