Most books and films about a zombie apocalypse focus on the negatives.  Getting eaten, fighting off undead family members, collapse of infrastructure, etc…  It is a rare thing to hear about the positive aspects of a global zombie nightmare.

This is an obviously under explored area of thought.

I have always thought it best to concentrate on the positive rather than the negative. (Although, I may not actually achieve this goal in everyday practice).  So, I'm starting a new series of posts pointing out these positive aspects so that we might count our blessings when everything else has been destroyed by the zombie apocalypse.

Upside of Z-Day #1

No more taxes!

We have the results of the HungryZombies.com taste test of emergency rations!

These things are actually pretty good!  All of the testers, myself included, expected these to taste horrible, but to our surprise they were not bad.  Not super yummy, but not bad.  A fact all the more surprising when considering the brick like feel and weight of the vacuum sealed packs.  I didn’t expect to like any of them.

We tested the Datrex 2400 Calorie Food Bars, the Mainstay 3600 Emergency Ration bars, and the 2400 Calorie ER Bar.

The Datrex ration was the overall favorite in terms of flavor, texture, and packaging.  However, one tester hated it because of the coconut flavoring so if you don‘t like coconut then this one is not for you.  Everyone else was generally pleased.  One of our favorite features was that each bar in the pack was individually wrapped so as to keep the rest from going stale as you eat them over 3 days.

The Mainstay was the second favorite.  The lemon flavor was pleasant and not too strong.  The bars are also sectioned so it is easy to grab a single portion.  The texture was OK - a bit coarse, but not unpleasant.

The ER Bar was the least favorite.  The lemon flavor was similar to the Mainstay bar, but was not as strong.  Most folks didn’t like the texture as well as the other bars, but one thought it tasted more substantial and as a result might make him feel more full after eating a portion.  Another thing we didn’t like was the fact the bar was not pre-sectioned.  It is just one big block that required a fair amount of effort to break into smaller pieces.  Heh. Some went flying about the room in the process.  Still, even with these issues, it was certainly edible.

Sample 1: Mainstay Bar, Sample 2: ER Bar, Sample 3: Datrex Bars

Overall we were quite pleased.  We agreed, save for that fellow that hates coconut, that it would probably be best to buy a mix of the various bars so as to have some variety.  A little variety can go along way if you are forced to eat ration bars every meal.

Thanks to my co-workers that were kind enough to take part in this test.

Click here for more about other taste tests.

Update:  Even if you choose not to eat these, they still could save your life.  An unopened pack is pretty solid and could be used to deliver a swift whack to the head of a hungry zombie while shouting lines like "Eat this!"

If you are going to have a zombie party then you may want to check out some of these items from Anatomical.com under the Halloween section.

They have gelatin molds for human brain, heart, and hand!  Imagine you and your zombie friends diving into jello brains!  Honestly, it grosses me out a bit.  Heh heh  Still, they seem wicked cool and I will probably buy some.

They also have a lot of other items that could be used for decoration and such, but these items caught my eye since every good zombie is always hungry!

Well folks it is that time of year again - time to decorate the house will all sorts of gore and scare the crap out of trick or treaters. Muhahahaha! 

However, the question remains - Will I be too lazy to do anything? Heh.

The plan is to watch some classic horror movies, visit "haunted" attractions and build a kickin' new fog chiller to replace the cheap one I put together a couple years back.

Hopefully, I will be posting, details of my fog chiller experiment, details about my decoration setup, and some reviews of those "haunted" attractions.

It is a good thing when I find great new music. Today I have done so with my discovery of the group Rotersand - specifically the album 1023.

I was listening to some online radio stations while doing some work today and my ears perked up when the track "I Cry" came on. I liked it so much I immediately went out and picked up a copy of the full album. Wow, it was not a disappointment. Rotersand could be classified as future pop, EBM or even industrial (I'm still learning all the classifications) so it has an electronic feel, but also includes some classic instruments. Most tracks have a great driving beat while some are slower, more moody, to help even things out.

Online radio has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that I have found a whole new world of music I didn't even know existed just a few years ago. A curse in that I now have a list of at least 50 CDs I want to buy. Ooof, I may need a better paying job too keep up with my purchases.

I actually am fairly new to zombie stuff on the net, but I have to stay that ZombieWorldNews.com is, so far, one of my favorite sites.

ZombieWorldNews.com is a fictitious news site tracking a worldwide Zombie plague in 'real time'. Through editorials and reader reports we are exploring the social, political and economical impact such an event would have on humankind.

It is written as a news site that covers zombie outbreaks around the world.  Imagine waking up and reading reports of undead walking the Earth.  ZombieWorldNews.com brings us a slice of that world. 

I think the site is great fun and definitely worth checking out.  Creative folks can look for details about submitting news articles to help grow the site.

Well, I got the prototype shirts and discovered that what looks good on screen does not necessarily look good on a shirt.  The red chosen for the blood looked too dark on the finished product.

So, in order to make sure this does not happen again, I am preparing a couple shirts with color tables and sample images.  This way I can see how the colors are shifted in the manufacturing process and have a better idea of what to expect.

Very sad news... Karl Hardman passed away over the weekend. I'm sure all fans will fondly remember Karl's portrayal of 'Harry Cooper' in 'Night of the Living Dead' - Who in the end of course was right about it being safer in the cellar!

Godspeed Karl.

Via Home Page of the Dead

The top five movies for the weekend were R-rated, but it was the evil one, as in Resident Evil: Extinction, that won the competition for the box office, debuting with $24 million in ticket sales.

It did so well, best opening for the franchise, that there is now talk of a fourth in the series.

OK, I have ordered a pack of the Mainstay 3600 Emergency Food Rations, a pack of Datrex 2400 Calorie Food Rations, a pack of Vita-Life ER Bars and a copy of the book Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival.  They should arrive in approximately one week. 

I aim to test these food rations for myself and write a review.  In an earlier post I linked to an article from Popular Mechanics where they did a small taste test of these products.  While interesting, it didn’t really help me decide which survival ration would be best for me.  So, I figured I had best try them myself before committing to buying a whole case.

I also indend to write a review for the book as well, but I can't say when that will ready.