"Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse The Reality vs The Bullshit: Part One"

Comment

Comment by Mister Cantankerous on November 20, 2011 at 10:17pm

If by "shut up" you  are inquiring as to my thoughts on whether or not  you provided a reasonable, and practical solution that stands contrary to the points I originally presented, then your answer is a resounding "no".  As such my opinion of your plan an it's priorities remain unchanged.  Are you a  happy future brain donor now?

 

Now you're on your own.

Comment by Stalker Taint on November 20, 2011 at 7:09pm

I'll leave the reply short and simple. Did I shut you up on everything but water?

Comment by Mister Cantankerous on November 19, 2011 at 8:20pm

Tainted if you sincerely believe the water being pulled from wells and ponds today is of the same or better quality than it was back in the day when such was a more common practice, you have much to learn about permeation, leeching, and what constitutes good filtration.  Likewise that little carbon filter you got from Walmart  to "purify" your tap water is probably, A) not changed frequently enough to make any difference, and B) is good for taste and smell and that is about it. 

For the record, I was employed for 4 years by one of the worlds largest independent water purification companies as a consultant to their clientele.  I think when it comes to water, hydration, and what constitute proper filtration, I am probably a little better versed on the subject than you, but by all means make whatever assumptions you care too. It is no skin off my back, literally.

I hope it is at least  safe to assume that you are still bathing on occasion, and If so you are at greater risk for exposure  to toxins via your skin than through the tap water you pour into  your gullet.  I am more than willing to bet the "filter" in this  bunker style apartment complex you describe  consist of something attached to the kitchen sink and nothing more. Good luck with that.

In closing, I don't have to get to know you better, nor do I have a desire to. Your opinion of me and what I have to say holds no more importance to me than the opinion of a cow you are about to butcher and consume holds for you.  Take that for what it's worth.  If nothing else I have succeeded in my agenda in that I have gotten  you thinking about things and talking about it.  Whether you personally survive or not is of little to no concern of mine. Sorry that is just the way it is, lunch meat.

 

Now you're on your own.

Comment by Stalker Taint on November 19, 2011 at 7:22pm

Oh no, my post got cut off, too. Oh well, I'm still fine with rubbing it in your face so I'll finish it up for you.

 

-with it's barbed wire fences wrapped around a forest area. We have a lot of supplies at our disposal, and trust me that when it comes to my neighborhood we would have the items we would need to live, and the skills needed to create an even sturdier defense than the steel walls and large bordering concrete apartments. This isn't a nice neighborhood, but my home is well safe, and doesn't jut out into a street for someone to see. It's a good ways away from those who might want to get in, including zombies. 

 

Mister Cantakerous, get over yourself, and before you make assumptions about me, my abilities to survive and my personality get to know me a bit better, because you and your 'buddies' with the easy eats can suck a thick one, though I'm sure that's also going to be used as some kind of insult or you'll say something about it. What ever floats your boat.

Comment by Stalker Taint on November 19, 2011 at 7:18pm

I'm not Rambo, Mister Cantakerous, though nice assumption. Makes you look smart. I said I was stuck between a bunker and guns/ammo. Doesn't mean combine the two, but thanks for throwing that my way because it means I'll be prepared after my supplies run out because I really doubt I'm going to run out of my bunker the moment I get inside. Smart thing to do is use what I can inside that bunker and keep myself in a fit body and fit state of mind. Once again, thanks for the guns and ammo again because that only strengthens my defense of 'I'll be fine because I'll have well over half a years supplies in a bunker meant to defend myself against a nuclear disaster, meaning I really doubt somebody could pat it with their hand for that long -which a zombie wouldn't because they either didn't see me go in there or would have seen someone else go inside-'. Yes, it's a drawn out little thing I put in there with the apostrophes, get over it.

 

I was judging the katana on a personal based opinion of what I thought a 'bad ass katana' would be, which wouldn't be just a hunk of steel with a handle. I don't want a katana, and I wouldn't want to use one in an outbreak when I could use something a bit more beneficial than a sword I have to maintain. A bat can do me good and I won't have to clean it over and over, apply proper oils to make sure it doesn't rust or dull, as well as flatten itself on every draw.

 

The truck was a joke. I was talking about the concept itself, and to me it's ridiculous. Nice of you to consider my welfare, though, and then turn it against me as though I actually attempted an argument with it. Bravo, good sir.

 

As for the liquids, lets go into that because apparently you think I'm a simpleton who doesn't go to the store or has any knowledge of expiration dates. Milk goes bad. Big surprise. I would rather get the milk in my system while it's still fresh. Juice is the same, though I prefer the actual fruit rather than juice alone. Soda is nice and fancy, and I wouldn't mind drinking it in my free time like in my house, but I know damn well it won't do me much good when zombies are chasing me. Also, I'd probably be burning off that 'fat' as you said as I'm running or on the move like you assume I'll be instead of relaxing in my bunker with that climate control and that full belly and that knowledge I'll have a good sleep that night. You know, because apparently I left that for no reason what so ever as you said.

 

I'm not mister 'light-'em-up', and I really REALLY don't want to be, but if I'm in a hold out where I have to as many zombies as possible, and they have no way to get me you better bet your ass I'll be that kind of guy who's using every damn bullet he has from a rooftop to kill them. But I'm sure you're also some how going to turn this on me when the fact of the matter is I would only HAVE to kill them in a hold out is if it's held and I'm going to die anyways from either starvation or an outside cause.

 

Thanks for the information on water, but we all drink it, and being a man that uses filters I'm safe with drinking my water, even if it still has something bad in it because people used to and still do drink it out of ponds or straight from the tap. Get over it.

 

In a practical situation, if I did plan on being on the run, and had some time to prepare and take what ever guns and ammunition I wanted, and used any supplies from my house I'm getting what purified water I can, what food I can that will keep me on the go, and if I some how do have this 'guns and ammo' thing going, I'm taking them with their, and this is only since apparently I could do this if you're right about your Rambo theory of having what ever I want when it comes to them, silencers and plentiful attachments, then ushering myself out through the back. I have people who live around me, thanks to God for this wonderful heavily fenced apartment complex with it

Comment by Mister Cantankerous on November 16, 2011 at 3:43pm

Damn my response got cut off.

 

...and you know how to maintain one, you will not have any fresh juice available beyond day 12 of the apocalypse.

 

Taint, it is all well and good to describe your solution to the issue from the comfort of your climate controlled living room, on a full belly, and the knowledge that you will have a good sleep tonight. It is quite another to approach such a situation logically and practically.  But hey if you think watching TV and movies makes you better prepared than someone who has actually done their homework,, well then by all means go for it "Rambo", and good luck with that. I will tell my mates to keep an eye out for the easy eats.

 

Now you're on  your own.

Comment by Mister Cantankerous on November 16, 2011 at 3:33pm

Well Taint, from the sounds of your reply it sounds to me like you are one of those "Rambo" types. As such I give your odds of survival to be about two weeks max. Longer perhaps if you are being led by someone with capable of logical, rational thinking.

Here are some big hints. Your bunker will be sieged by the living dead. There will be no opportunity for you to replenish supplies again once you hunker down inside. The undead don't sleep, and they have nothing better to do than mass up and await your imminent bravado followed shortly thereafter by your imminent death.

There is no such thing as a gun that has an unlimited supply of ammo, I don't care what kind of pistol you use in Left 4 Dead, ammo is the downside to every fire arm, that and getting replacement parts. Now you are hunkered down in your besieged bunker, and after fighting off 30 waves of the undead in your pathetic attempt to replenish your supplies, you are out of ammo now too. Other than being used as a potential club, your fancy assault rifle has no use other than that of a spiffy paper weight.

 

Are you properly trained in the effective use of a katana? If not then by all means go for it, and you might be lucky enough to have the undead laugh themselves to death as they watch you flail away with it, cutting yourself to ribbons. Remember a zombie without an arm keeps coming, a zombie without legs keeps coming, and zombies in general rarely come alone.

 

Contrary to popular belief a good fire and boiling is not the be all end all for water purification. By simply boiling water you only increase the likelihood that specific  bacteria will be killed. Boiling does not remove all kinds of contaminants, such as heavy metals and the like. I don't care what your local water management authority tells you, it is simply not the case.  On a side note most municipal water supplies available today carry far more toxins in them than the average home owner is aware of.  They will tell you it is maintained at safe levels, but exactly how much arsenic or radioactive elements do you consider safe for drinking every day?

 

Your big Zombie Stomping Truck is going to run out of gas, or worse break down. Do you know how to repair a fuel injection system?  And yeah it might keep the zombies at bay for a lil while, but exactly how long do you think you are apt to survive in any non functioning vehicle once the temperature outside is over 80 degrees or below 40 degrees, and your supply of food and water evaporates or freezes over with nothing to defrost it again?

 

As to your suggestion of drinking milk, soda, or juice let me address each one individually.  First off, where are you going to find fresh milk one week after the power grid goes down and there is nothing to keep it refrigerated? Even a dairy cow that is not milked daily begins to get sick and can eventually die as a result. What do you know about the pasteurization process so that you can ensure any milk you collect continues to safe to consume beyond the day you milk the cow?

 

Soda, go for it. Consuming one 12oz bottle of soda every day increases your overall  body weight by 10lbs each year that you do so. In just 2 short years (assuming you live that long, which I don't) you will have 201bs of additional fat to contend with, which means you are capable of carrying 20lbs less of something important. Not to mention that the ingredients in most popular brands of soda are more apt to dehydrate your body than hydrate them.

 

Finding fresh juice will be about as likely as finding fresh milk once the apocalypse gets underway.  Fresh Juice just like milk is normally pasteurized and has a limited shelf life once refrigeration is out of the picture.  Processed juices contain a lot of the same ingredients as soda and as such are unlikely to properly hydrate the body.  Unless your bunker is set up near an orchard, and you know how

Comment by Stalker Taint on November 15, 2011 at 3:00am

"Di-hydrogen Monoxide"

Chemistry states that because it is a covalent bond it would not be labeled with the prefixes behind it.

Also, I was stuck between a bunker and guns/ammo. I figured guns would relate to things I could use on the go, not a M60 that I'd be forced to toat everywhere. Just saying here, Mr.C, you need to be a bit more specific with these things because generally a 'cool bunker' would have something like WATER and non-perishables to survive you and others a long enough time that outside the infected themselves would be rotted into the ground. Cut the number of survivors down into two or three and you can outlast the infected, and have enough power that you shouldn't worry about anything for a good minute or so. 

 

Guns, on the other hand, would allow you to defend yourself on these outdoor missions to find water. While people can invest in water they can't protect it without weapons. A 5.56mm round to their gut or hitting them across the face with the stock of your rifle and you can take what ever it is you like. Survival doesn't include others. There were holes in what you said, but don't worry, at the same time I used a bit of imagination here and there, considering that a katana would be turned down while a 'super bad ass' katana would be something I'd be all over because apparently I would think it could shoot lightning from it and produce some kind of energy shield to make it 'super bad ass.' The truck, I imagined, was a rather large, almost monster truck sized vehicle. While it would run out of gas, the infected couldn't reach me and I could effectively get to a location rather than waiting around to die. 

Finally, the water itself can be found over most locations along the entire U.S., and of course plenty of other countries. It may not be clean, but a fire could fix that. Or you could just go into a store and get it there. Also, while water is the best choice, many households also carry other less healthy but still usable drinks such as soda, milk, juices, and a fine mix of other things. If worse comes to worse, I'm drinking my piss out of a canteen and using those guns to kill the zombies crowded around the gas station so I can get myself the water inside.