Anybody want to put a bid in on the HMS Invincible?
It doesn’t list an asking price, but the good news is, it’s in stock! I’m not sure if they can deliver it in time for Christmas or not, but I suppose you could ask about their gift options.
I guess I have one more thing to add to my list! (And, they conveniently have a button to add it to my wishlist!)
If you recall, I blogged previously about a Harry Potter-style wand that can change the channel. I must be a sucker for any kind of wand related merchandise, because I can’t seem to get over it.
Check out this voice activated wand flashlight. Say “Lumos” to turn the light on and “Nox” to turn it off. Tell me that’s not cool??
Available in two styles!
Also, there is a Harry Potter dueling wand game, which is sort of like laser tag. I don’t think this is as cool as the spell-activated flashlight, but they have more styles!
Four choices this time!
If you prefer something a little more practical (or useful at work), ThinkGeek has non-Harry Potter related merchandise, such as Rebel Leader headphones, for that perfect Star Wars look:
Or some awesome medieval weapon pushpins:
I never get tired of looking at their stuff, and I look forward to getting the catalog the way you look forward to getting a magazine you subscribe to!
There aren’t a lot of bigger zombie apocalypse supporters than me. So, when I see an article entitled 7 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Outbreak Would Fail (Quickly), I get ready to scoff. However, I read the entire article, and I have to say that they make some pretty good arguments! Unfortunately, I have to admit that they have a point. The 7 reasons are as follows:
7. They Have Too Many Natural Predators
6. They Can’t Take the Heat
5. They Can’t Handle the Cold
4. Biting is a Terrible Way to Spread a Disease
3. They Can’t Heal from Day to Day Damage
2. The Landscape is Full of Zombie-Proof Barriers
1. Weapons and the People Who Use Them
You really have to go read the article, because looking at that list isn’t very convincing. But basically the gist of it is that zombie movies downplay certain key factors, and up-play other key factors, to make a convincing movie. In reality, all those little details they are fudging would mount up to a significant, zombie-stopping force. For example, people are more organized and better at killing things than you might imagine (that’s how we got to the top of the food chain to begin with), hot corpses fill with gas until they explode, maggots and bacteria are pretty efficient at dismantling dead meat, there’s no way every bite could lead to infection, etc., etc., etc.
Go take a look at the list and tell me you’re not convinced.
Looking at that list brought me to another list on the same site, 5 Popular Zombie Survival Tactics (That Will Get You Killed).
5. Raiding the Gun Store
4. Get Out of Town
3. Fortify Your Base
2. Conserve Ammo: Use Melee Weapons When Possible
1. Always Aim for the Head
Basically these kind of come down to, “Hey, you’re not the only person who thought of that, idiot.” They’re right to point out that pretty much everybody has the same plan. The details might be different, but the general outline is the same. And I don’t know how many gun stores you have in your neighborhood, but chances are they’re going to get a little crowded. Not to mention that most of us aren’t the superheroes we think we are, where every shot is a head shot, dancing through scores of bodies without getting a drop of blood on us. In other words, real life isn’t a video game.
Who knew cracked.com would be the sanest place to get zombie advice??
I’m pretty sure most of you have played Oregon Trail. Ride your wagon from landmark to landmark, busting axles and getting cholera and dysentery until you eventually try to ford a river that’s too high and your entire party is swept out to sea. Just think of all the hard-won buffalo meat you’ve lost!
Well anyway, that’s all fine and well, but you can’t really relate to it. Who’s a pioneer these days anyway? No, we need something more realistic. We need Organ Trail.
Organ Trail is a little different. Organ Trail has zombies. It’s essentially a one-to-one redo of Oregon Trail, except this time you’re traveling in a station wagon, and your ammo is for killing zombies, not harmless wildlife. You get the t-virus instead of dysentery, and you cross hordes of agitated zombies instead of fording rivers. How grueling will your pace be? How filling your rations?
I made it through on the first try, so it’s not necessarily that hard. My score was 2330. Everybody in my party lived, but Nathan took the brunt of the abuse (stop breaking your leg you clumsy oaf!) and Jackie somehow managed to get bitten by a zombie 4 times! Thank god their fearless leader was a little more competent.
Shane Halbach 