Zombie: Dark Rum, Light Rum, Cherry Brandy, Orange juice, Lemon juice

Welcome once again fellow survivors,

Alcohol consummtion is already a danger and will only become more of one after the fall of society as we know it. Drinking alcohol is a very common drug used in times of stress and pain. Many people will turn to the bottle once the world starts to fall apart but this is a mistake for many reasons.

The dangers of being drunk are obvious and only a part of the problems drinking presents. It seems almost pointless to point out how not being sober is a bad idea when facing a zombie outbreak. Your wits and training need to be on your side: lack of coordination and loss of clear thinking are like loading the guns for the firing squad. If in need of an example, go to a bar and watch a drunk person try to fight.

If you do find yourself drunk when an outbreak first occurs the most important thing is to not panic but also to not think you are imagining it -even if you are, better safe then undead.- The priority needs to be to get yourself away from any dangers and find a place you can take the time to sober up. Try to think as clearly as you can. If someone is coming toward you, remember, if they can speak they are human, if they can't speak and immediately try to "hug" or grab you they are probably a zombie, run. Do not try to fight, if you have to just try to push zombies off of yourself. Do this by throwing your weight around and using momentum and simple but random movements, flail and make yourself hard to grab but remember the point is to escape. Get away and then keep going until you know you are in a safe enough are to sober up.

Even though getting drunk is such an obvious danger many people will fall to the temptation to drown the pain and sorrow, to try to forget, or even to purposefully put themselves in danger. This is completely self destructive behavior and such a risk must be avoided for a number of reasons besides the most obvious one.
The long term effects of alcohol dependance are complex and awful. Any sort of dependance is a sure path to destruction; be it dependance to drugs, sex, people, booze or anything else. Alcohol is a powerful depressant and easy to get addicted to. When keeping spirits high and finding reasons to live will become a part of life, alcohol can be a major obsticle.

Let's also not over look the fact that alcohol is a poison and a high calorie one at that. The long term effects of over consumtion on the body are harsh and can have negative effects on keeping a body that is fit and able to engage in zombat on a regular basis.

Long term drinking is not the only danger, binge drinking of alcohol, or drinking a large amount in a single night, presents its own set of risks. Some of which relate to the aspect of alcohol being a poison, and taking too much of it resulting in alcohol poisoning. Symptoms of poisoning include:

• Absent reflexes
• Slurred speech
• No withdrawal from painful stimuli (for instance from pinching)
• Confusion
• Difficulty awakening the person
• Erratic behavior
• Seizures
• Feeling very ill including long, drawn-out vomiting
• Slow, shallow, or irregular breathing
• Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
• Inability to make eye contact or sustain a conversation
• Unconsciousness (passing out)

These symptoms are very similar to the normal symptoms of simply being drunk. Note that this is because being drunk is infact simply the earliest warnings that the body is being poisoned. These effects are significantly more dangerous if mixed with narcotics, pain medication, sedatives and anti-seriuze medication.
Should someone be suffering from alcohol poisoning you should do what you can for them, this includes drinking water, a lot of water. Also trying to keep the person awake and alert. Watch from changes in breathing patterns, if breathing slows to less then eight breaths per minute consider CPR or at least assisted breathing. Lay the person on the side so vomit or the tongue do not cause choking. Do not for any reason give the person cafeine or salt, both of these will further dehydrate the body and fight against the goal.
If at all possible try to get the person to urinate regularily and to take in vitamins, even in the form of supplements. This is not ideal but neither is letting oneself get to the point of alcohol poisoning.

Now the normal means of simply watching the person until medical treatment arrives does not apply because medical treatment will not be coming. Survivors are their own doctors. This is why training in medical fields will make a survivor very valuable. But each survivor must also keep themself safe; do not risk yourself in order to stay with someone who may cause further issues or may fall into a coma or worse. If the person does manage to pull through, then steps must be taken to ensure the event does not happen a second time. That the survivor realizes the importance of staying away from alcohol once the dead walk.

The best use for alcohol will be one somewhat unexpected. Not for fuel or molotov cocktales as one might assume. Though that is a good use for them, fire can be dangerous and will not kill zombies quickly but will kill them (burning up the brain) and can spread to kill a great number of them if they are close together.
There are many variations of the molotov cocktail. The classic is a glass bottle filled with gasoline. A rag is placed in the neck of the bottle. The rag is lit on fire and the bottle is thrown. This method is extremely dangerous! The best way to make it safer is to take a tampon that is soaked in gas and place it on the side of the bottle neck. Then, tie a rubber band around the tampon. Make sure the bottle has a cap on it. Light the tampon and throw hard because the bottle must break! Note that origanally the bottles had gasoline in them. Alcohol will suffice as gasoline will become very valuable as fuel. The effects are not as grand but very cheap and easy.

The other use however is currency. Many raiders and bandits and other survivors will be willing to see past the dangers alcohol represents and will want to feel the numbness and escape. They will see alcohol as a drug, and its value will rise as such. Many current drugs need to be processed, some of these processes take time and effort that will be lost for a long time after the fall. Many of those who partake in drugs regularily will also fall out of the ranks of the survivors because of both being high and with drawls. Alcohol will be a great currency because other people will want to consume it while its value to the smart survivor will be little more then fuel for fires.

Be smart, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Surviving death

Hello fellow survivors! Welcome once again and I hope you are able to prepare yourself for the trials that lie ahead.

Before the apocalypse we are given the time to deal with our sorrow and grief over losing someone as we see fit and is true to our customs. This is part of being human, what makes us separate from beasts.

This is also part of the human need to be “okay” and to know others are “okay.”
When someone passes, “It will be ok.”
“We will be ok.”
“It’s ok, he just let go.”
“We’re all ok.”
Even when informed if that a person has suffered a lose others will almost without fail respond, “Are you ok?” or alternatively, “Is everything ok?” Often followed by questions about if the other people involved are ok.

What is this state of ok? Is it simply the state of going on? I believe so. Being ok, is to be able to keep living, so people just want to know that others are ok. As long as others are able to keep living then the asker feels he has done his job.

The trouble comes when a person is not ok: at that point something must be done by someone. Sometimes an outside hand is needed to change events or offer support and make the person ok. Or sometimes the person can make those changes and coping mechanisms on his own. Someone who is not ok will be distracted and unable to accomplish the goals that must be carried out in day-to-day living. Because of that ok becomes subjective to how demanding the tasks a person must accomplish. And survivors must accomplish a great number of vital tasks every day.  But it is important to realize that after the fall just like in today’s social world, if someone cannot be made okay, a survivor must look out for his own safety first and certain customs must be forgotten.

The feelings vary but loss, sadness, confusion, love, empathy, connection, disconnection, despair can all be part of it. Often all at the same time. Every task seems annoying and pointless, life needs to have some sort of point and goals must be accomplished with every move!

The truth, nothing has changed. There is one fewer soul in the close, safe, immediate world. Mortality comes for all survivors and we can only do our best to choose the circumstances of life leading up to it.This seems like a harsh reality but a reality it is. There will be no time for days of mourning, proper burials, cremations, week long festivities. This however does not mean we should not remember and honor our dead. We own much to those who pass, the things they teach us in life and the things they teach us in leaving this world. Even so much as owing to them for things they have taught others who then pass the knowledge on or use it to better our chances of survival. Much is owed and even animals remember and honor their dead. It is possible to still honor without spending too much time or becoming dangerously emotional. The fine line is, what is too much or dangerous?

This will vary group by group and even person to person much as it does now. You will not always have time, especially in the heat of zombat to bury your dead or even recover their bodies. There are ways to work around this however, some may seem morbid but can become a ritual of their own and in fact therapeutic. Below are a number of practices that can be followed before and after death to make it that much easier to become “ok.” People should be encouraged to find their our methods to deal with the loss of other survivors so long as it does not interfere with their ability to perform their duties, i.e. to be ok.

One way to save time is during down time to dig graves. These serve dual purpose; once the time comes you will not have to find time and struggle to dig fresh graves. They can also act as a sort of defense if positioned properly and the undead are made to walk through them.

Decapitation/destruction of the brain, while not the prettiest of retinues is one of the most important and over time will become as second nature as the idea of burying the dead. The number of ways to do this are countless and people may prefer different ways to do it or to even let someone else do it. Rolling the deceased onto its stomach and striking once near the top of the spine with a pickax or similar tool is a relatively clean and quick way to make sure. Using a smaller tool like an ice pick requires a little more strength but will not pierce the front of the head.

It will be hard to give everyone the burial survivors may think they deserve. Because of this and because most deaths will occur quickly and brutally, it is easier to put the memories of these people aside for a short time so that you will survive to remember them. Once you are relatively safe and things have calmed down take the time to remember them with a few words and perhaps a burial of something they owned or a symbol of them.

A powerful way to move on is to forgive. The power of a person’s emotions and will is beyond comparison and few things will wear it away as much as not being able to forgive the dead. This extends to both the undead and the truly gone.

Writing is another way to remember those passed. Writing a letter to or about the deceased will allow a survivor to say goodbye. Many things can be done with the letter, it can be burnt, buried, sent over a cliff or into the sea.

Letting go can be difficult for many survivors. Often it is hard to even realize how difficult until the very moment when a person passes on while in the arms of another survivor. Consider with this the added stress that every person who falls is now a much larger percentage of the human population as a whole. This weight can be over bearing. The danger of becoming “not ok” will continue to grow. To survive this a survivor must become hard and practical. Things we view as humane will begin to fade and the grey lines will blur. THIS MUST HAPPEN! Do not be afraid to let go of things gradually, the danger becomes letting go of everything completely. Eventually surviving will not be enough and the lone survivors will need to band together to form new societies and communities. These societies will have to be rough and hard to thrive but they do not need to be heartless. Make no mistake the world will change and those unwilling to change with it will be swept away. When the dead pass let them fade, keep their teachings and memories but do not let the loss of a live among billions distract and inevitably cost more lives.

Remember that time for mourning has past. Now the greatest honor to give those loved and lost is to keep living. To be “okay.”

Always okay, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Zombies in film: Undead

“Crazy has come to town for a visit.”

Film: Undead

Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Written by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Produced by Spierigfilm

Story: In a small town in Australia there is a fisherman everyone says is crazy because he believes aliens are coming to turn us all into zombies. When the zombies come this fisherman is a prime example of how being prepared pays off even if everyone else thinks you’re a nut job. A small group of survivors try to find their way through acid rain, alien barriers and hordes of the undead until a surprise ending shows things are never what they seem and an even more surprise ending shows that the threat is never over.

Zombies: The zombies in this movie have a few problems with them. First off limbs continue to move and attack even if severed from the body and, in turn, the head. The realism of the movie is somewhat lost on the zombies who spring back to their feet like a rake being stepped on (never mind energy drinks being able to kill a zombie.) These strange events make it hard to pry fact from fiction in this film.

Survival Lessons:

• Three shotguns are better than one.
• Five shotguns are better than three.
• You can never have enough guns.
• Grabbing a new gun is sometimes faster than reloading, reload when it’s safe to do so.
• Don’t kill everything that looks like a threat.
• Don’t climb infinitely tall, spiky walls.
• Panic rooms won’t save you.
• Never let your guard down.

Warnings: It is hard to find the truth in this film through the entertainment.

This is an extremely enjoyable piece of film and covers a wide range of events and possibilities. Including aliens, acid rain, where zombies come from and most importantly that looks can be deceiving. Not everything that looks like trouble is but in the same vein most things that look safe probably aren’t. The film also proves that you will never kick yourself for having more handguns then your average western movie but even if you are the best it only takes a moment’s weakness for you to fall.

Stay vigilent, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Combat tactics: unarmed combat

Hello fellow survivors.

I would like you to think for a moment about your opponents. Note how they do not breath, they do not feel pain, they do not tire and they will only die with destruction of the brain. Facing these undead is unlike any fighting you've done in the past, or is it? The most efficient combat against humans is based around pain and distraction, two things that will not phase the undead. However there are advantages and training that can come in useful. Zombies do not think, they will not fight back; they will not maneuver, flank or use kung fu or cheap tricks. This makes fighting them not necessarily more difficult but simply different.
This sort of fighting is called zombat. It is the art of engaging in combat with zombies. When in zombat you must think in a different way than when facing a normal opponent. Everything about hand-to-hand fighting changes when facing the undead and many who try to engage in combat against these foreign creatures end up joining the ranks of the recently turned themselves.

Many modern styles of combat can still be used against the undead. Focus on forms that remove the opponent from your own space and put distance between you. Or styles which focus on defense and not letting the opponent touch you. Styles such as Judo and Aikido. These styles are readily available to study and both focus on controlling your opponent's body in order to protect yourself. Avoid boxing, karate or similar striking styles: the reason for this is they focus on knocking out or disabling an opponent with blows. Unless you have the strength and toughness to smash bone -namely, a skull- with your bare hands, these techniques will do little for you when facing the undead.

Note that to kill a zombie in hand-to-hand combat is not complicated but will require a level of competence and brutality very people are not capable of. This will change as time progresses but right now you must prepare on how to survive the first few weeks and the experience needed to actually kill the undead will come if you can survive long enough to earn it.


Below are described some basics which may help you get started in your training.


Basic Stance:

• Face forward, maintaining a straight posture with your upper body. Keep your shoulders square. Feet lightly wider than your shoulders.
• Place one leg forward about six inches, bending the knee slightly.
• Place the other leg about a foot and a half back, keeping it straight. Think of riding a motorcycle, that is how much room should be between your feet.
• Be sure both feet face forward and both heels touch the floor.
• Distribute about 60 percent of your weight over the front foot; 40 percent over the back foot.
• Arms at your sides with elbows bent slightly. Hands open and loose.

Label grab defense:
This defense is can be used if a zombie has grabbed you with both arms on your torso.

• Immediately grab one of the zombie's hands on your body with your opposite hand. Do this by reaching across your body over the top of both the attacker's arms. Place your palm on top of the back of the zombie's hand. It doesn't matter which hand you use if the zombie is holding you with both hands. You just have to make sure you are grabbing the hand on the opposite side of your body.
• Throw your other arm completely over the top of the zombie’s hands the other way. At the same time step back and turn your body sideways by moving your back leg backward. You will be pivoting your body on your front leg. Keep throwing your arm over until the hand you are holding is under your arm pit.
• Snap your body downward with all your weight. You must do this at the exact moment the zombie’s hand that you are holding is at a right angle to the ground. To do this throw both of your legs out while keeping a firm grip on the zombie’s hand.
• Slide your rear foot backward as you come down on the zombie's wrist. Sliding backward pulls the zombie off balance and focuses the impact on the wrist. If you do this in a fast, snapping motion the zombie's wrist will break and it will fall to the ground.
• Quickly get up and move away from the downed zombie.

Harvesting:
When a zombie is moving toward you from the front you can use this defense. Note it is easiest to perform if you move your first leg as the zombie moves its same leg (your left and its left for example.)

• Place both of you arms to one side of your body, outstretched downward. As the zombie moves within arms’ reach slide your back foot forward in a large circular motion to make your opposite foot the back foot and bring your arms up in a circular motion above your head and to the same position on the other side of your body.
• Your leading hand should make contact with the arms of the zombie and continuing the circle will push them aside. Your back hand will make contact with the zombie’s head; grab the side of the head firmly to avoid it turning to take a bite.
• Continue the circle by moving your opposite foot which is now the back foot backward to bring your entire body 180 degrese. Continue the circle with your arms. When you are reaching the end of the circle the zombie should be falling of their own weight and momentum, you can help this along by giving a final push with the hand grasping its head. Be careful not  to hold onto the head too long or you will be pulled down with the zombie.
• Once the zombie is on the ground quickly move away from the downed zombie.

Grasp escape:
This defense can be use if a zombie grabs one of your forearms with its same side arm (your left forearm with its right arm.)

• Immediately position yourself so both of your hands are in front of your ki. Do this by touching your thumbs and pointer fingers together in the shape of a diamond. Then touch your thumbs to your belly button. Move your hands about four inches out from your body. This is roughly where your ki is (practice this and make sure to find your ki as it is important in any fighting style.)
• Once in your ki, move the foot furthest from the zombie backward along the ground until you are back to back with the zombie. Do this quickly and forcefully, never letting your hands leave your ki. This will break the zombie’s grip on you.
• Once facing away from the zombie quickly move away.

This technique is the starting point for a great number of techniques that can be used to knock over or destroy the zombie threatening you. Provided examples of each.

To knock down:

• Once stopped behind the zombie continue to move your upper body and slam your elbow into the zombie’s back, knocking it off balance.
• As soon as you have your balance, shoot out your pivoting foot to hit the zombie in the knee. This will knock the zombie over and with enough force break its knee.

To kill:

• Before the zombie is forced to let go of you, spin your moving leg and matching arm (left leg with left arm) in a circle to hit the zombie in the back with your foot and elbow.
• As soon as you make contact with the zombie’s back move the sliding foot back forward so you and the zombie are now spinning toward each other.
• As you come around slam your elbow into the zombie’s forehead. This entire move must be done quickly and with extreme force. It will snap the zombie’s head back and break its neck. This maneuver does not require an extreme amount of strength but is more difficult then it appears and must be done with a lot of momentum.

This can be done alternatively to knock the zombie down:

• When slamming your elbow into the zombie, hit it in the chest to knock it onto its back. This maneuver does not require an extreme amount of strength but is more difficult then it appears and must be done with a lot of momentum.

These are only a few examples of ways to use this technique. Of course avoiding being grabbed by a zombie is ideal but for situations when it does happen this technique will turn certain death into a variety of possibilities.

If you notice the key point of all of these techniques is the quick removal of you from the threat instead of removing or destroying the threat. Look for tactics like these when training for zombat. If the maneuver keeps you clear of the opponent’s mouth and gets you away from them then it is worth learning. If the maneuver is based on pain or harming your opponent pass on it, you may have to use these when facing raiders or bandits but the key threat of the zombie apocalypse, is zombies.

Be prepared, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Zombies in film: Edge of Darkness

"So many zombies to kill. So little time."

Film: Edge of Darkness

Directed by Blaine Cade and Jason Horton

Written by Blaine Cade and Jason Horton

Produced by Zapruter Productions

Story: ... well... you see... it's an anthology... sort of... this movie sucked. There are three stories going on. One about the anti-christ, one about vampires and one about a computer that sucks the life energy out of things. I tried to put some sort of reasoning to this, such as hidden messages about living computers, narrateing each other's lives, things that live off destroying life, it didn't work. Upon reading up on the writer he has admitted the story failed. So if you are looking for any reasoning behind this film just stop it. Nothing ever gets explained or makes sense and there is no set rules to the universe these three stories take place in. The one good thing I can say about this movie is the character attempting to go about their daily lives as if nothing had changed. For many people this will be the only way to coop but it will not help you survive. Priorities must change and daily events must always play second fiddle to safety and zombie removal.


Zombies: The only thing that brings these stories together (besides the narrator having his own completely unrelated story) is there are zombies outside. Now the zombies are... good... they are slow, dumb, killed by destryoing the head. But don't actually play a very important role in the film besides being a deterant to going outside. They don't appear to pose any sort of threat as long as you are inside a building and don't have the anti-christ drawing them to your location.


Survival Lessons:

• Don't do gardening.
• Set traps but always know where your traps are so you and fellow survivors don't get caught.
• If your partner is simply a drain on resources and keepign you an unsafe location: lose him.

Warnings: This movie doesn't make sense. You've been warned!

In the end this movie looked good and had potential but turned out to be an experiment and a waste of time. Do yourself a favor and read Walking Dead instead.

Until next time, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Definitions of "Zombie"

Oxford dictionary:

A soulless body. In the Voodoo cult of Haiti, a zombi is the slave of a magician. The soul may have been removed by magic from a living person, or the body of someone recently deceased may have been brought up out of the grave after the soul had been separated from it by regular rites of death. As the lord of the dead, Ghede has the power to animate corpses as zombis.


Free Online Dictionary:

1. A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States.

2.

a. A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse.

b. A corpse revived in this way.

3. One who looks or behaves like an automaton.

4. A tall mixed drink made of various rums, liqueur, and fruit juice.


Another online dictionary:

1. a person who is or appears to be lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in independent judgment; automaton

2. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) a supernatural spirit that reanimates a dead body

3. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) a corpse brought to life in this manner

4. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) the snake god of voodoo cults in the West Indies, esp Haiti, and in scattered areas of the southern US

5. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) the python god revered in parts of West Africa

6. (Electronics & Computer Science / Computer Science) a piece of computer code that instructs an infected computer to send a virus on to other computer systems

Urban Dictionary:
1.

The Walking Dead. Scientific name Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus.

A deceased human being who has partially returned to life due to indeterminable causes. The brain retains base facilities, namely gross motor function. In its near-mindless state, it grasps no remains of emotion, personality, or sensation of pain. In rare cases, some of the reanimated have reflexively preformed routine activities from their past lives.

The rotting bodies of the undead operate on a fraction of the level at which our bodies normally function. Circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems are unaffected by reanimation. Labored breathing, choking, and moaning are reflexive but no oxygen is carried through the blood. The nervous system functions primarily within the brain and brain stem. Sensory reception is minimal at best and seemingly unnecessary in the pursuit of prey. The undead are incapable of fatigue and will persist at any cost. They will even crawl when their legs have been removed. Even if the head is removed from the body, it will continue to live. The only way to stop the reanimated is to destroy the brain. To prevent reanimation in the recently departed, decapitate the corpse and burn the body.

The only observable action a zombie takes part in is killing living creatures, especially humans, and eating them. Many theories and speculations surround this disturbing behavior. One theory is based on the thought that reanimation is the result of a contagious infection or virus, and that the primal drive to feed will spread the disease to other host bodies. Research has shown that although the majority of zombie attacks result in fatal wounds, all corpses return to life soon after passing, regardless of cause of death. Another theory is that zombies eat the brains of the living to refuel the "un-life" giving chemical serotonin. Because digestive and circulatory systems are incapable of bringing these elements to the brain, this just cannot be true. The final speculation seems the most obvious, that the dead feed for sustenance to satiate their unnatural metabolism. But because the gut has no function in the undead, this is also false. One documented encounter claims that a zombie was unable to move due to the sheer mass of undigested flesh resting in its distended gut. The creature continued to eat even after it's gut had burst open. Studies regarding the nature of feeding have proven that zombies will try to eat when their stomachs and even jaws have been removed. One explanation offers that the walking dead are the incarnation of death itself, a mockery of life that uses the vessels of the living to carry out their dark intentions, they are the opposite of life and are driven to simply undo it.

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth."

2.

when a girl is with a guy and gets it in her eyes so she cant see and she walks around with her arms extended looking for a towel to wipe her eyes with looking like a zombie.

3.

A drink consisting of White Rum, Dark Rum, sours, and pineapple juice
Got the name because of its grey green colour (like a zombie skin)

"I'd like a Zombie please.."

4.

A person who accepts the status quo because of fear and/or lack of conviction. They generally only act out of anger and by then it's to late. They live without beliefs other than the following- Go to school, get a job, make money, buy lots of crap, die. Frequently encountered in the American school system and the suburbs.

5.

Slang for marijuana, pot, refer, or herb in Australia.

"Travelling in a fried out Kombie, on a hippie trail head full of zombie."
  

6.

A song by The Cranberries

...With their tanks, and their bombs,
and their bombs, and their guns,
In your head, In your head, They're cryin'... In your head, In your head, Zombie Zombie Zombie-ie-ie-ie...

7.

A synonym to the "n" word used usually by white people in a a "ghetto" area. The term is used out of fear of being stabbed, shot or raped.

8.

An undead soul, possessed and sent out of the grave to thrive upon the flesh of the living.
After a dead body rots underground for a time, it may come to life, first its eyes will reopen, and fingers will begin twitching. The thumping of the heart may return, unless the heart has been removed. This is the rebirth of a human, the birth of a zombie.
Deteriorating, fallen apart and reeking of the foul stench of death, a zombie will raise from the grave by smashing through the coffin and lifting an arm out of the ground, in the normal zombie style. The zombie will proceed to lift itself out of the soil and moan, usually moaning anything like 'Yaaarghhh...' or 'BRAINS!'
If you fall victim to the zombie's feasting of your flesh and brain, you will become a zombie, forever walking, undead.

9.

A type of virus which sends numerous amounts of useless packets to a computer or a server and floods it to crash it's connection.

"Wow i just scanned this server for open ports and i found a couple and owned it with some zombies."

10.

A theoretical being that some philosophers use to discuss consciousness. A zombie is identical to a regular person in every way (including his behavior), except that he has no subjective, conscious experience at all. The thought experiment goes something like: "How do you know if someone is a zombie?"
Philosophers like John Searle assert that the theoretical possibility of zombies severely hinders our ability to observe and study the phenomenon of consciousness objectively.
Many materialists, however, assert that if a being was structurally and behaviorally identical to a regular person, then consciousness would result as an emergent property -- zombies cannot exist.

Daniel Dennett doesn't believe in zombies.

11.

1) Crack, or an addict to crack.
2) Unconscious state.
3) To be between life and death, to be braindead. Some of the other definitions do better than this.

12.

Gore-drenched Lucio Fulci film about an Island full of the living dead. Considered to be one of the greatest horror films of all time.

I was really surprised that blockbuster carried zombie, but it had that 'youth restricted' sticker on it.

13.

A slow and/or dull girl that only goes after guys with brains. After the guy has been caught, the guy becomes dumber as a result of her lack of intelligence. Its as if the girl had figuratively eaten his brains.

"My ex was a zombie. She wanted me for my brains, but then sucked away all my intelligence."


Field Guide to Monsters by Darren Zenko:
They advance slowly, in eerie silence punctuated only by the occasional moan and the sound of feet scraping the ground. From a distance, the horde may appear to be a shambling crowd of normal humans. The truth is revealed on closer inspection: ripped and bloody clothes, gaping wounds, rotting flesh and the nauseating stench of the grave. These are the walking corpses, the living dead... zombies.

...The zombie was once human - and a human body, even (or perhaps especially) a dead one, is a strong and powerful object. Many methods, technological and magical, take advantage of this potential to bring about zombification. Even a quick sampling of recorded zombie outbreaks reveals zombies brought to life by evil spells; zombies created by meteorites from space; zombies as the result of secret biochemical experiments; zombies created by strange viruses; zombies as the result of ancient curses; and zombies spawned by radiation from atomic weapons tests. In most cases, zombieism is highly contagious and spread by bites or scratches.

...Note that, although the word "zombie" is derived from the Haitian voodoo word zombi, the true Haitian zombi is not undead. It is a living human, turned into a mindless slave by means of powerful drugs - do not blow its head off! Suspected zombie encounters in the areas of known voodoo activity call for careful inspection for rotted flesh and other indicators of zombification. Remember the zombie hunter's rule of thumb: "Signs of decay? Fire away!"

In summation:
It is important to know what a zombie is. Thus a look at the different ways the term is used in popular culture. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks goes into great detail about laying out what a zombie is in terms of the powers and abilities they possess as opposed to some of the myths created by movies and stories. Zombies A Record of the Year of Infection Field Notes by Dr. Robert Twombly lays out the infection from a scientific view point. The most clear definition however seems to come from Urban Dictionary: the first one provided by them. Being able to identify what a zombie is gives survivors the advantage once the end comes about. This definition provides the best view on zombies because it not only states what the creatures are but also what they are not. It clearly points out the falsehoods to many of the misconceptions about the undead. Knowing what a zombie is or is not is one of the first steps in being prepared for days of initial contact and not becoming one of the millions to first fall when the final outbreak occurs. I provide the other definition because it is also important to realize what others may misinterpret a statement about zombies to be or how others may be misinformed and what sort of preconceptions you may face when dealing with other people surrounding an outbreak of any size.

Stay prepared, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.

Morale and interaction

Hello follow survivors, this post will cover a number of topics regarding morale so strap in and put your thinking caps on.

First we start by mentioning games, which serve a number of purposes after the fall. The number one reason for games is to occupy your mind. The long term effects of boredom can be devastating.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bored--find-something-to-live-for

This article is one of many that can be found  describing the effects of boredom. The most interesting thing mentioned here is this, "This heightened appreciation of self and immediate surroundings also lies at the heart of mindfulness." Now when could one be bored during the zombie apocalypse one might think. After all you will appreciate your surroundings a lot more. But boredom also has to do with growing tired of repetitive tasks, lack of entertainment and a number of other things which will still effect a person even when the undead have taken the world.

In an ideal situation you will be bored a lot. If you’ve done your job and are in a safe location your contact with the undead should be at a minimum leaving a lot of time in your hands. There are many ways to use this time. Here are a few: Building/setting/checking traps, Farming/gardening, Caring for animals, Prepping food, Searching for supplies, Training/practicing, Exercise.

These are just a few of the ways to pass the time and they should all be done regularly but you will still manage to find time in which your mind needs to refresh. These tasks are quite mundane and after doing them for even a short period anyone will begin to grow tired of them. One way to refresh the mind can be in the form of talking with other survivors but that brings about its own problems. Social interaction in the post-apocalypse can be strange and foreign. After all many of the things we talk about everyday will seem very minor compared to the daily fight for your life. You will also find that you are forced to be with people by circumstance who you may never have interacted with in our world.

But these are not as large of obstacles as you may think. You can still talk about the past as you would talk about it now. The main difference is to be aware that it is in fact the past and your new life doesn’t have to be horrible but may seem as such when compared to the past. For this reason I would still suggest staying away from the topic unless all survivors involved are fully settled and accepting of the new life they lead.

Some things to think about your new life are: no longer having to pay insurance, no more bosses or managers, not having to pay for anything really, learning new things like the barter system, fewer hate crimes, new social order, no traffic laws, never having to pay for parking. The list of things better about the apocalypse are almost numberless though they appear small. It will be in this time that the people who can appreciate the small things in life will serve a better chance of making it in the long run. It is so easy to lose hope in our world as it is, once most of the world is dead hope and happiness will be hard to find but rest assured it is there! Being able to find the joy in the small things will help you stay in high spirits which is one of the most important parts of surviving any battle, any military mind, sports fan, soldier or player can tell you that most of the battle is in the mind, if morale is low chances of winning drop to zero but if morale is high every movement and task seems easier. This fact is so true it even affects our relationships and chances of success when dating or doing daily tasks like laundry and cooking: which will still exist after the fall.

So as long as people are able to live in the current world and not lose hope then talking about the past can be both therapeutic and entertaining. Another caution though is to let go of judgments passed on past lives. It is good to know a person’s skill set from before but their “social rank” no longer applies. A homeless person will have a completely different skill set then a lawyer and it will not matter how much money either one has after the fall. Each person must be judged solely on their merits. Not on how much of the idea of money they possess.

To understand this, understand that money is only an idea. Money is the idea that the whole world agrees how much wealth a person has. If the whole world decides that money is no longer worth anything then those people who are rich and powerful suddenly lose all status. In the end knowledge and training, skills and materials will become what is truly of worth and value: money will be an idea without a purpose or meaning therefore no longer giving those who have it power.

The more people to talk with the more there will be to talk about and more opinions to bounce ideas off of and topics to talk about. This however can also be a downfall of many groups. So many opinions and especially too many leaders in a group will lead to group separations or worse, groups staying together and eventually destroy themselves. Never be afraid to split ways with the people you are with. This will in fact increase your chances of survival as you will have multiple groups with good relations too each other and you can potentially  get help from if you are ever in need and manage to find them. Smaller groups are also easier to hide from hordes or belligerent raiders.

As you discover these other survivors who you never would have known otherwise you will be able to share completely different viewpoints and experiences. Don’t be afraid of this. Learn to accept each person’s opinion as valid and every idea as a possibility. But also beware of people who will try to use you and give nothing back or who lack moral fiber. In the final days any person will be welcome from the loneliness but every person becomes a potential enemy just as much as a potential ally.

If you yourself are a leader you should find people who will follow you and have skills you can use examples might include: soldiers, firefighters, sports players, construction workers, mechanics, handy men, Scout leaders, cooks, drivers, hospital staff, university teachers, technicians, entertainers.

If you are a follower you will need to search for a leader who will keep you alive. You are likely to find leaders among the following groups: police, criminals, hospital staff, writers. Leaders are hard to find, they can be found in any group as any person can be a strong leader, they are often the people who in the real world stick up for themselves and the people around them. They are the people who rock the boat OR make the boat run smoothly. Leader are not the type of people you want following you but they can make very valuable allies and if you are not a leader or an extremely talented survival expert, your best chances of survival are finding a leader to join with and having skills that leader can use.

Being alone is another option but requires a great deal of skill, combat ability and luck. Everyone will have to spend times alone and in these times the weak will die and the true survivors will be left to fight on. But the time alone can be minimized by finding a good leader or being a good leader.

Having people around also offers the ability to play more complex games. As I mentioned, games can be a valuable asset in fighting off morale, fear and in being prepared. There are many zombie games available which keep the player in the mindset of surviving and thriving in a world covered by undead. Obviously these games are not completely representative of the true apocalypse but they can offer suggestions, ideas and allows the players to play test scenarios which may come up in the real world.

Films are also a good source of preparation. The opportunity to watch films may not come up often as time passes after the fall, nor should time be wasted in front of a television BUT nothing will boost morale quicker than a movie night after a long time away from them. And many zombie movies offer different view points on the undead. Views which you can either confirm or deny based on your real life experiences. A film may also provide ideas or tips on defending against the undead or destroying the undead. It may bring up things you never thought to ask yourself about. This is especially important before the apocalypse, to be prepared for as many potential situations as possible. It is not yet known how the virus spreads except via liquid transfer with an infected. Thus the many outbreaks around the world are unexplained as to how they first come about. Many films offer suggestions on how the virus transfers besides direct contact and thus provide ideas of things to avoid or protect yourself against.

I hope this article helped with suggestions about morale and its importance. Also giving some brief insight into interaction with other survivors.

Until next time, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Survival Packs

I recently discovered a site which offers pre-made survival packs. I think this is a great idea. For anyone who is too lazy to put a pack together themself, which means they are too lazy to survive very long anyway. Below I've included a list of the contents of each of these packs. Each includes a base price and then has additional upgrades.

Ankle-biter
$184

• Pack ($40)
• Handbook
• Knife ($4)
• Emergency Blanket ($5) 
• Lighter ($1)
• 9m Black Duct Tape ($3) 
• First Aid Kit ($15)
• Water Purification Tabs ($15) 
• 1 Roll Electric Tape ($4)
• Tissues ($2)
• Hand Sanitizers ($5) 
• Whistle ($1)
• Keychain Light ($1) 
• 1 Pair Latex Gloves ($2)
• Travel Toothbrush & Toothpaste ($5) 
• 25 ft. Paracord ($40)
• 3 Meal Replacement Bars ($9) 
• Baseball bat ($20)
• Flask ($15)

The total for this came out to $152, just shy of the price charged. Including the upgrades is about the same price. I am not aware of what is in one of these "Handbooks" they include. I would say all of this is useful equipment to have but it it not "zombie" exclusive equipment. I recommend having all of these items in your survival kit for your party.

Vice
$532

• Pack ($60)
• Handbook
• 2L Bladder w/ Drinking Line & Mouth Piece ($40)
• Headlamp ($35)
• Multi-Tool ($8)
• Emergency Blanket/Bivy ($5)
• Heavy Duty Garbage Bags ($5)
• 3 Pairs Latex Gloves ($2)
• Water Proof Note Pad ($12)
• Ball Point Pen ($1)
• 56g Can of WD40 ($10) 
• 50 ft. Paracord ($50)
• Knife ($4)
• 3M Odor/Dust Mask ($3)
• 50 ml Vodka ($12)
• Water Filter Bottle ($22)
• First Aid kit ($15)
• 3 Lighters ($3)
• Travel Tooth Brush & Toothpaste ($5)
• Can Opener/Bottle Opener ($4)
• Duct Tape ($4)
• Black Vinyl Electrical Tape ($4)
• Spork ($3)
• Hand Sanitizing Wipes ($5)
• 4 Protein Bars ($12)
• 3 Packs of Sport Beans ($12)
• Baseball bat ($20)
• Airhorn ($20)

This kit, if got on your own, comes out to only $376, much less then the price to buy it all packaged together for you in this kit. For zombie survival I think a few of the items in this kit are not required and therefore not worth the extra weight. The airhorn is the first, this will only attract the undead and alert other survivors to your location. Both of which can be a bad thing. The WD40 is also only useful in select cercumstances and it's uses do not change life or death situations.

Headmaster
$684

• Pack ($80)
• Water filter bottle ($22)
• 50 Water Purification tablets ($20)
• 3 lighters ($3)
• First Aid Kit ($15)
• Can Opener/Bottle Opener ($4)
• 3M Particulate Mask ($12)
• Large roll Duct Tape Blk ($8)
• Black Vinyl Electrical Tape ($4)
• Adventure Medical Emergency Blanket/Bivy ($11)
• 56g Can of WD40 ($10)
• 10X25 Compact Binoculars ($10)
• Knife ($4)
• 35 Ball bearings ($60)
• Bar of Soap ($4)
• Collapsable Grappling Hook ($125)
• 100 ft. Green Paracord ($75)
• Large Orange Plastic Garbage Bags ($6)
• Multiscrewdriver ($4)
• Bundle of large 25 Ty-Raps ($3)
• Orange Sharpie Micro ($1)
• Black Sharpie Fine point ($1)
• Note Pad ($1)
• 3 Packs Of Energy Beans ($12)
• Latex Gloves ($2)
• Travel toothbrush & toothpaste ($5)
• Crystal Deoderant ($5)
• 3 blade razor ($2)
• Q-Tips ($3)
• Body/Hand/Face wipes ($6)
• 2L collapsible container ($3)
• Headlamp w/batteries ($35)
• Keychain Flashlight ($1)
• Travel Pouch/Toiletry Kit ($1) 
• Soap Holder ($1)
• 2L Bladder and drinking line ($40)
• Unbreakable Baseball Bat ($45)
• Chainsaw ($160-$700)
• Two Way/Weather Radio ($15)
• Forcible Entry Tool ($15)
• Zombie Tools Machete ($25)
• Gas Mask Kit ($60)
• Zombie Mask ($1)
• 1L Fuel Bottle ($5)
• Bolt Cutters ($220)
• Flask ($15)
• Collapsable Grappling Hook ($125)
• Airhorn ($20)

With all upgrades this pack would be $1305 to put together yourself; without them, $599, almost a hundred dollars less then the suggested price. Now note I took the more expensive price of most of these items, meaning my numbers are maxes, you could put these packs together for much less and over time. Also of note this pack does not seem to include the handbook of which I have no information. This final pack includes a lot of items not useful to fight zombies. First of all is the chainsaw. Chainsaws are the biggest zombie myth ever, followed shortly by shotguns. Big, bulky, gas guzzling, noising, heavy, hard to weild (read dangerous to user), any of these reasons are enough to knock something off the list and the chainsaw has all of them! Zombie mask... need I say more? Gas mask, not needed unless you are in an area where you expect to find broken gas lines or leaking factories/power plants. Most of these other items are household items that would be nice to have at your base of operations but not needed in a zombie survival kit.

Over all I find these kits quite lacking. The Ankle-biter pack is decent and for not a bad price but the Vice pack is very over priced and the Headmaster pack while not over-priced, has many items you will find in any house you loot and will just burden you to carry with you every where.
I commend these fine folks for the effort but knowledge and training are going to keep you much safer then spending hundreds of dollars on these packs.
If you wish to look at the packs or contact the company or even purchase one of the packs here is their website:
http://zombiesurvivalpacks.com/

Be smart, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Zombies in film: Day Zero

"What can you do when everyone around you is dead, except die yourself."

Film: Day Zero

Directed by Mathew and Marshall Khalil

Written by Mathew and Marshall Khalil

Produced by Night Terror Films, Cathullu Productions, Atomic Zombie

Story: I will try to avoid spoilers but this is a pretty typical zombie story. A family goes about its everyday life until zombies invade. Then a group of survivors is forced to spend a night barricaded in a house. The cast includes a cowardly protagonist, his infected sister, a teenage girl, her foreign father, a woman from down the street and a scientist. You can see how things are going to go. Not much original here but why break a formula that works right? Two notable parts of the plot are throughout the film we see a mysterious character known only as the Chief and Todd (the protagonist) is forced to make some decisions on who lives and who dies, always choosing himself or his sister even though she is clearly a lost cause.

Zombies: The zombies from this film are pretty close to how the undead function. They are slow, uncoordinated, brain dead and persistent. The film does have inconsistencies in this area though, some zombies will slam their body against a door fruitlessly while others will ring the doorbell and patiently wait for the victim to open up, then the zombie will hide the body… perhaps this zombie in particular was simply one of the various serial killers and maniacs who will take advantage of the outbreak to fulfill their own desires. The zombies also infect other people by releasing an airborne gas which seems to instantly turn both living and dead while the traditional bite takes the regular time to kill and infect (ranging from a few hours to kill and minutes to reanimate, to up to a couple days to kill and hours to reanimate. All depending on the fortitude of the person infected.)

Survival Lessons:
1 - Never shake a bum to get him to wake up. He may be a sleeping bum in which case prodding in ever increasing pressure will suffice OR he may be a zombie about to turn in which case prodding will eventually reveal this and not leave you in an immediate grapple with the undead creature.
2 - Your best friend is no longer your best friend when a seven foot cannibal is trying to eat you.
3 - Swearing at zombies does not slow them down or even hurt their feelings.
4 - Killing yourself by any means that do not destroy your brain only ensure you will rise again and become a danger to others.
5 - Do not be sentimental and protect infected loved ones. It will bite you in the ass.
6 - Look out behind you.
7 - Try to get an important bio-scientist into your survival party. It will make you a priority should the military ever get its sh*t together.

Warnings: This movie has a lot of foul language. There is also a disturbing scene with a baby. You've been warned!

Until next time, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Zombie Defense Tactics

To test your survival technique I have created this chart. Answer honestly and you will find your chances of zombie survival.

If you found yourself among the dead do not be surprised. A great many paths lead to death. And even if you survived, that is one encounter against a single zombie. You will have to survive thousands if not hundreds of thousands of similar encounters to die of natural causes.

But back to if you died. Where did you fail? Did you misinterpret the threat? Anyone can be infected and it only takes minutes for an infected to become an undead. You cannot be sure of anyone unless you search them yourself or spend a few days with them and away from other infected.

Were there weapons around but you don't know how to use them? Or you didn't recognize the weapons in your environment? If it simple to train in use of most weapons. Spend a few hours at a gun club and talk to the people there, fire a few rounds and learn how to reload and use the safety, the basics. Look up fencers, kendo fighters and medieval reenactors. These people are all more then willing to show the basics of weapon combat to anyone showing interest.

Are you trained in unarmed combat? Find Mixed Martial Art dojos or Judo and Taekwondo dojos and take the free samples or even basic lessons. Normally I would never suggest Judo or Taekwondo or similar martial arts because they are useless in a fight against a human BUT it is far easier to learn to disengage a zombie and get away then to kill it with your bare hands.

Do you not rank among the elite in the training you have with hand-to-hand or armed combat? What most people don't realize is how hard it is to kill a human, let alone to kill something that used to be human and now will only stop if you destroy the head. The CIA assassination handbook estimates there are a mere handful of people in the world how are skilled enough in unarmed combat to kill someone before they make an attack back. All the undead need is the chance to make one attack, a single bite and your world is over. Making a headshot with a handgun or rifle is a task made easy in the movies but requires training and dedication most people simply don't realize.

The goal when facing a zombie until you have survived or trained long enough to begin killing the undead is merely to avoid them. Your best chances of surviving any encounter are to escape the danger. If you cannot escape it then removing it is an acceptable option if you are capible of doing so. Hopefully this opens the eyes of a few to the need for training and being prepared BEFORE the dead rise. Be ready or be food.

To that end I wish to bring your attention to a group in Denver who I wish all the best and want to recognize their efforts to prepare the world for it's inevitable end.

An MMA trainer in Denver offers a serious Zombie Defense Tactics course open to anyone of any experience level. First let me throw down that I am an experienced fighter and zombie defense expert and I fully intent to one day make the trip south of the 49 to take all of his courses.

The sample course includes four defensive moves to redirect or kill a zombie. They make a point of teaching that pain does nothing to stop a zombie. The training focuses on immobilizing and running. Exactly the two goals you must always have in mind when facing the undead. Killing the undead is an option and always preferred but as this course points out and I have said in my blog, killing a zombie in hand-to-hand combat is a LOT harder then it would appear. Even shooting a target in the head is a feat which the average person cannot complete under controlled circumstances, forget when the target is trying to eat you.

They include games of HvZ in their training. An age old training technique which every zombie survivalist should be aware of and run regular drills whenever possible. The rules of HvZ are simple. The group is split about 5 humans-to-1 zombie ratio. Humans must then accomplish tasks of varying difficulty (sometimes just surviving for a certain amount of time or finding a weapon with which to dispatch the zombies. Zombies must grab the humans in order to turn them, once grabbed a human is then made into a zombie. Humans may only kill zombies with the add of a weapon (normally nerf guns or swords) and a head shot. It is always surprising to the untrained how often the humans lose this battle and their are an infinite number of lessons to be learned from such an encounter.

ZDT includes a number of reality checks. Including placing a melon on a stand and letting trainees try to smash it with various weapons. Most people will find they cannot even hit the melon, let alone have enough force to smash it. Again this is a controlled event, now imagine if the melon was a flesh craving zombie and your life depended on that single swing. The fear can overwhelm most people.

Which is the main objective of the team at ZDT, to show people they need to train so that when our body goes into autopilot when we get afraid -which don't kid yourself, every one will when the undead come knocking- our bodies will know exactly what to do to keep us safe in those precious moments.

Here is a link to the ZDT
http://www.agogewarrior.com/Zombie_Defense_Tactics.html

Until then, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Looking for leadership team

I am currently trying to start an Edmonton Chapter of the Zombie Research Society. I require two people to help me in this endeavor.

The Zombie Research Society is a group dedicated to spreading knowledge of the impeding zombie Apocalypse and encouraging new research in all areas involving the undead.

A link to the Zombie Research Society can be found at the bottom of my page if you wish to find more information.

To begin a chapter requires three ZRS members to work as a leadership core for the chapter. To round off the leadership team I am looking for a Vice President and Sergeant At Arms. The whole team together decides on chapter meetings, research projects and policies.

President:
Provides direction for the chapter. Maintains contacts with the ZRS and near-by chapters. Being the public face of the chapter and gathering material for members to access. Along with other duties relating to maintaining and advancing the chapter.

Vice President:
Acts as president went the president is unavailable and is responsible for keeping notes and documents for the chapter.

Sergeant At Arms:
Makes sure everything runs smoothly and on time. The SA also handles bringing new members into the chapter.

I mentioned research projects and meetings before. Each chapter is required to complete two research projects per year. These research projects can be of any sort and are decided on by the leadership team. They can vary in size and severity based on the size of the chapter and commitment of its members.

Chapters are required to hold five meetings a year at least two of which must be open to the public. The nature, location and times of these meetings are up to the leadership core.

Anyone interested in helping with this great cause (and located in Edmonton) please leave a comment or send an e-mail to: mdthesoldier@hotmail.com

Good luck, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.

Vehicle Review: Grand Am

I've received a request to look at more vehicles for use during the end. The next vehicle listed is the 1993 Pontiac Grand Am.







Automatic
Front-wheel drive
29 MPG
Top speed – 193km/h (120mph)
0-60 – 7.7s
Tank 57.8 liters (15.2 gallons)


Pros:

Decent mileage
Reliable
Easy to repair
Tough design
Good control

The main thing about this car is it's reliablity. It will take a lickin' and keep on kickin' as it were. In field tests this vehicle showed great promise in terms of surviving very rough crashes including one crash test in which a Range Rover hit a parked Grand Am: the Range Rover was completely destroyed and the Grand Am suffered extremely minor body damage. The mileage on this vehicle is great ranging from 29-35 MPG which puts it ahead of most of vehicles but not quite in the very top rungs. The vehicle is quite easy to repair, with the entire body easy to take apart and replace also the inner working of the car being comparitively simple too other cars. This sports car has a bit of an edge in it's control, tests show that even while racing at 190km/h this car stays easy to control and rides smoothly, a huge asset when dodging wreckage or debris. Though I doubt you will get in many high speed chases in the end days it is good to know your vehicle can hack it if the need asrises. A very good thing about having a strong body is the ability to mow through the undead, a car that can't handle smacking a few zombies around isn't worth the fuel.

Cons:
Crash safety
Power

Part of the problem with a lot of older vehicles which can with stand a lot of damage is that they don't absorb much of the impact: the chances of getting injured are much higher. The car isn't big enough and powerful enough to be an actual powerhouse when it comes to crashes so it will still take the worse end of things. So while the body of the car takes little damage all the force is directed to the passengers. The Grand Am has been given one of the worst safety ratings of all vehicles. The car also doesn't have the weight or horsepower to do much besides get you from A to B. That means I wouldn't suggest pulling anything or trying to push anybody out of the way.

Over all this car is great if your tough enough to take the scraps and bangs OR have the skill to keep this easy-to-use car out of harms way. I would say this is an excellent car for the inexperienced survivor who just needs something easy to use and tough enough to not have to replace after a few close calls.

Good luck, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.