Sunday, December 3, 2006

Not a Whole Lot Going On...

Halloween was pretty slow this year. We decided to take it easy, I picked up some candy, but we didn't get any trick or treaters. We'll probably go check out Saw III tomorrow, since I'm off. I wish there were some new zombie flicks out, it's Halloween, dammit. We have a few good ones coming up, like the remake of Day of the Dead, 28 Weeks Later, and World War Z, but I want some now. Max Brooks rules. I really hope they do WWZ justice. Personally, I think it would be better done as a series on HBO or something, but we'll see.

Just for shits and giggles I've been seeing about working up a good Zombie Survival Plan, based on the ZSG. I figure most of the material in it is good solid survival advice anyway, and I've been wanting to bone up on that type of stuff. We usually have a good supply of water in the apartment, and I have a crapload of camping gear. While I don't have any guns, I do have a crapload of swords, most of which, while not in total "combat readiness", would do in a pinch. Per the ZSG, I should probably consider getting myself a gun at some point. Ideally, I'd want a World War II M1 Garand, as I've heard great things about them. They're semi-auto, but in a zombie situation I'd need to go for head shots anyway, so that's no big deal. No need to waste the ammo. When I was at the Renaissance Festival this past weekend they even had a ton of bayonets that I recognized as being specifically designed for the Garand, thanks to Wikipedia. I may pick one of those up when I go back in a few weeks, if I can find one in good condition. Most of them were rusty as hell, but nothing a good sheet of fine grain sandpaper couldn't fix.

I think I'll look around for a good Garand reproduction. My only experience with guns up to this point has been with shotguns and .22s when I worked at scout camp, and I was a crappy shot then. Knowing how to shoot seems like a good skill to have, at any rate. I figure a Garand should be my primary weapon of defense, and I'll supplement that with a good shotgun and a pistol. As much as I'd like an AK-47 or something, I don't have the need or money for something like that, even if it is just semi-auto, like the ones I'm told that it's legal for citizens to have. Garands, shotguns, and pistols have the advantage of having readily available ammo, at damn near any gun/sporting goods shop. I figure a Mossberg for the shotgun, and probably a 45 for the pistol, since both have good knockdown power. Shotgun shells, 45 caliber bullets, and 30-06 rounds, which the Garand takes, are all easy to find. I'll probably want to get Cat some guns of her own as well. I'll find out what she wants, and if we can afford them. We can probably take them to the range together and practice. It'll be fun. That'd be important if a zombie apocalypse situation actually does go down. I need to be able to scavenge for stuff where I can, and I'm sure there's a hell of a lot more of that type of ammo at places like Wal-Mart than there would be of exotic NATO and WARSAW Pact stuff. I could be wrong, though. I'm incredibly ignorant about the subject. I'll have to see what I can do about that.

Enough about guns, for now. I'm certainly no Raptorman or Alpha Dog. I'm a fat, out of shape guy, with no military training. I am, however, an Eagle Scout, ;-). I'm certainly not as good as Les from the Survivorman show, but I remember some basic wilderness survival stuff from when I got the merit badge. I need to focus on other supplies, like foodstuffs and medical supplies, things of that nature, that are relatively easy to get a hold of. I think I'll take an inventory of what I need, and think about laying in some stocks. I'll also see about putting together a "bug-out bag", like Raptorman talks about. Something I can grab and go.

Other things to consider are escape routes. I think the city will rapidly deteriorate when Zed comes to town, so I'll want to plot a quick route out. I think we'll shitcan my truck if it comes to that, it's cramped, and needs work done on it. It is not a reliable vehicle, at all. Cat's Jeep gets just about as good, if not better mileage, so I'll plan on that as our means of transport, for as long as we can get gas for it, at any rate. I'll figure out what we can leave in the Jeep on a permanent basis, what we can stow quickly, and I'll also see about getting roof racks for our bikes, for when gas becomes unavailable.

I think I should put together a group, other than Cat and myself. There might be safety in numbers. I'll have to see if my friend Adam wants to get in on this. He's another Eagle Scout, and he can probably help me with some of the stuff I'm weak on. He doesn't have much, but I know he has at least a bit more experience with guns, for instance, and he tends to be pretty handy with vehicle maintenance and whatnot.

This is going to be so much fun.

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