Sponsored by
The Future of Housing Is Being Printed
The construction industry hasn't changed much in decades. Azure Printed Homes is changing that.
The future of housing is printing now, and you can be a part of it!
Three robots in our Los Angeles facility each print a home per day. Homes go up in 24 hours and are move-in ready in about 20 days, starting at $40,000.
In 2024, we crossed $5M in revenue. We currently have $62M in signed orders backed by pre-paid deposits.
Now we're raising capital to open a second manufacturing facility in Denver in 2026, doubling our production capacity.
The housing crisis needs scalable solutions. We're building them.
Invest in the future of housing.
FROM THE DESK
I learned to tie five knots in one afternoon (Issue 56: 3,500 U.S. troops just arrived in the Middle East I got comfortable with map and compass navigation (Issue 28). Both are useful skills. Both required completely different learning approaches. Knowing how to learn a skill, not just what skill to learn, is a multiplier that makes everything else in this newsletter more effective.
Here’s what I’ve got this morning.
THE BRIEF
How to Learn Preparedness Skills Faster
Over 78 issues, we've covered dozens of skills: water purification, first aid, navigation, cooking, gardening, radio communication, and more. But a list of skills isn't competence. The difference between reading about a skill and performing it under stress is where most preparedness plans fall apart.
Military and emergency training programs use a framework that accelerates skill acquisition. It's not complicated: explain, demonstrate, practice, evaluate. First, understand what the skill is and why it matters. Second, watch someone do it (video, in-person instruction, or demonstration). Third, do it yourself, repeatedly. Fourth, test yourself under conditions that simulate pressure.
The "explain" phase is where most people stop. They read an article about tourniquet application and feel informed. But information without practice is like reading about swimming. You know the theory but you'll drown.
The "demonstrate" phase is dramatically improved by video. YouTube has tutorials for virtually every preparedness skill. Watch someone apply a tourniquet. Watch someone start a fire with a ferro rod. Watch someone navigate with a compass. Visual learning accelerates physical skill acquisition because your brain builds a motor plan from what it sees.
The "practice" phase is where competence is built. The standard in emergency training is three to five correct repetitions before a skill is considered learned, and periodic refresher practice to maintain it. If you can tie a bowline correctly five times in a row, you know the bowline. If you haven't practiced in six months, you probably don't.
The "evaluate" phase means testing yourself under realistic conditions. Can you apply a tourniquet in under 30 seconds? Can you start a fire in the rain? Can you navigate to a point using a map and compass without GPS? Adding time pressure, darkness, cold, or fatigue reveals whether you've learned the skill or just memorized the steps.
Prioritize skills by impact and likelihood. Stop the Bleed class (Issue 38) might save a life. Fire starting might not matter if you have a camp stove. Allocate your learning time to the skills that address your most likely scenarios first.
The most effective learning schedule: one new skill per month. Practice it weekly for four weeks. Then move on and revisit periodically. In a year, you have 12 practiced skills. In two years, 24. That's more practical capability than most people build in a lifetime.
ONE THING THIS WEEK
Pick one skill from a previous issue and practice it physically.
Not read about it. Do it. Apply a tourniquet. Tie a knot. Start a fire. Navigate with a compass. Cook on a camp stove. Choose one and spend 15 minutes doing it. Hands, not eyes.
ON THE RADAR
A flesh-eating fly is 70 miles from Texas — USDA has closed the border to livestock
The New World Screwworm has now reached Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, the two Mexican states bordering Texas. As of May 5, the outbreak has infected 171,700 animals and 1,830 people across the outbreak zone. The screwworm lays eggs in open wounds; larvae burrow into living tissue and can kill within days if untreated. USDA closed livestock ports of entry to prevent US spread — a move that has already cost one New Mexico crossing over $1 billion in trade losses. USDA and Mexico are dropping sterile male flies near the border but won’t reach full production capacity until November 2027. There are currently no confirmed US cases.
Source: CDC HAN, USDA/APHIS, CIDRAP
LESSON FROM: JOHN HUDSON
John Hudson literally wrote the book on teaching survival skills. As the UK military's Chief SERE Instructor, he trained thousands of military personnel to perform under extreme conditions. In How To Survive, he explains that survival training isn't about covering the most topics. It's about building reliable competence in the skills most likely to matter.
Hudson's teaching hierarchy is clear: master a few critical skills rather than dabble in many. A person who can reliably stop bleeding, purify water, and navigate is better prepared than someone who's read about fifty survival topics but practiced none. He recommends what he calls "skill stacking," building each new skill on top of a proven foundation, so that competence compounds over time.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
US Navy escorts merchant ships through blockaded Strait of Hormuz under live fire
On May 4, US Central Command launched Operation Project Freedom, sending Navy destroyers through the Strait to escort merchant ships out of the Persian Gulf. Iranian forces responded with missiles, drones, and small boat attacks. CENTCOM called it an unprovoked Iranian attack; Iran said the US violated the ceasefire first. Separately, Iran launched drone and rocket strikes at UAE targets; Israeli-operated Iron Dome batteries engaged 19 incoming projectiles, though three Indian nationals were injured at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone.
The Strait has been partially or fully blocked since February 28, cutting off roughly 20% of global oil traffic. Ceasefire negotiations remain on what President Trump called “massive life support,” with senior aides saying resumption of major combat is now actively under consideration. Gasoline is up roughly $1.50 per gallon nationally since the conflict began.
Source: ZeroHedge, Antiwar.com
WHAT WE’RE TESTING
Skill Tracker (Notebook System)
I added a section to my AAR(after action review) notebook for skill tracking. Each page covers one skill: name, date learned, source (video/class/book), practice dates, and a self-rating (1 to 5) updated each time I practice. It's simple, analog, and visible.
After four months of use, I can see which skills I've maintained (tourniquet application: practiced monthly, rating 4) and which have degraded (fire starting: not practiced in three months, rating dropped from 4 to 2). The visibility creates accountability. When I see a skill rating dropping, I schedule practice.
The notebook cost $8 (Rite in the Rain). The system cost nothing. The awareness it provides is significant. About $8 total.
Budget alternative: A note on your phone listing skills and last practice date. Free. Update it when you practice. Review it monthly.
Are you tracking agent views on your docs?
AI agents already outnumber human visitors to your docs — now you can track them.
OVERRATED / UNDERRATED
Overrated: Multi-day survival courses as a prerequisite to preparedness. They're excellent but expensive and time-intensive. You can build significant competence from free YouTube tutorials, library books, and deliberate practice at home. Don't let the perfect course prevent you from practicing now.
Underrated: Teaching others. When you teach a skill to a family member, friend, or neighbor, you solidify your own understanding. Teaching forces you to articulate what you know and reveals gaps you didn't realize you had. It's the fastest way to move from competent to confident.
THE LINK DUMP
StopTheBleed.org — Free bleeding control classes. Highest-impact skill training available.
REI Classes — Outdoor skills classes including navigation, first aid, and camping.
Corporals Corner (YouTube) — Practical wilderness survival and skills training from a former Marine.
Grokipedia: Skill Acquisition — Background on how humans learn physical and cognitive skills.
NEXT ISSUE
Pest control without professionals. When the exterminator isn't available, here's how to handle the most common household pests yourself.
PS: I can now apply a tourniquet in 12 seconds. Six months ago it took me more than double that time. The only difference: monthly practice. Twelve reps over six months turned a clumsy skill into a reliable one.