As part of CRESA's http://cresa911.blogspot.com/ #30days30ways challenge, and National Preparedness Month, many of us are examining our personal preparedness. We all know the inevitable day is coming when we look up from getting our mail and see our neighbors lurching toward us with one thought in their heads: BRAINS! Will we be prepared for that day, or will we become one of the shambling undead ourselves? What items and tools will we need to survive Z-day?

This list will include 5 tools, plus honorable mention, that will help us survive the bleak days following the zombie plague. I'm not mentioning items that are completely common sense such as food, water, and first aid. This list will point out some useful survival tools that may have been overlooked.


Honorable mention: Gloves and flashlights

You want to protect your hands throughout this crisis. Some sturdy work gloves will protect you from crossing through barbed wire, or touching hot surfaces

...

I am so ing pissed right now.

I'm choosing to rant here because if I did it on Facebook or Twitter, word might get back to my employer. Seventeen dollars isn't going to break me, but you CAGs understand the value of a dollar, and besides its the principle of the thing.

I'm in the middle of the oh-so-fun process of buying a new house, which of course involves applying for a loan. Part of that process involves verifying employment. Before the sup-prime mortgage crisis that has screwed us all, tard mortgage companies were throwing out loans to anyone with a pulse, and barely checking income, proof of employment, etc.

Well, things have obviously changed. Mortgage companies run weekly credit checks on you, ask for access to all your bank accounts, etc. etc. I have no problem with that. Its responsible lending behaviour that should have been in place all along.

Enough backstory, on to my frustration. My lender wants proof of my employment,...

I got some very cool Zelda themed gifts this year. My brother in law frames pictures, and he framed the maps from the original Legend of Zelda, and A Link to the Past. The pictures don't quite do them justice, they look great on my wall.

I thought I had gotten all my presents, and I was very content, but then my mother in law handed me a small gift bag with a big smile. She must have been working on this forever. I think I saw something like it on Kotaku, or somewhere similar, and must have left it up on the computer screen, because my wife told her about this. It was a total surprise.
...

So I thought while we were home as a family, waiting to go over to grandma's house, that I would play some Little Big Planet. I could dress up Sackboy in his Santa outfit, maybe get some Christmas themed levels, it would be great. Instead, upon loading the game, I'm greeted by the dreaded "There is a new update for this game" message.

We have been sitting here for 8 minutes, and are currently at 29% of 1 of 6 updates.

Some choice quotes from my 5 year old daughter:

"C'mon TV, you can do it!"

"How long is this going to take, 1009 years?"

"This is too much for a kid to take" *dramatic sigh*

"I survived, 'cause now its going faster."

I like decorating my space with the occasional video game or comics related figurine. So when I heard that MEGABLOKs was offering a "free" mini-Spartan for $4.00 shipping, I went for it. http://www.megabrands.com/en/kids/halowars/giveaway.php

Since the figure was free, my four dollars would cover a nice, padded shipping envelope or box, right? Well, not so much.


I'm sure you can see the hole in the flimsy cardboard sleeve where the brave Canadian postal officer bravely wrenched my package out of the jaws of a hungry timber wolf.

I had a bad feeling about what I would find inside, and my worst fears were confirmed.
...

Back in June, John Koller, Sony's head of hardware marketing said there would be a good will program for trading in UMDs so users could play their games on the UMD-driveless PSP Go. I am a loyal Sony customer from the Playstation 1 era, and I have owned every system. I have preordered the PSP GO with Gamestop, and plan to trade in my old PSP 3000 to pay for the systems HEFTY $250 price tag. However, I have not heard anything further about the good will program, and I am concerned that I will no longer be able to play my 15 UMD games. I am very seriously considering canceling my pre-order. Can you shed any light on Sony's plan for the good will program? Regards,
<chakan>

Several years ago, my brother tried to mod his Playstation 2 to play import games, and ended up bricking it. Fast forward to last month, when I came into possession of some Tannerite, which is two inert substances that explode when mixed AND shot with a high velocity rifle round.

My brother and I dragged the PS2 up a mountain like Old Yeller, and this is the video that resulted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC205vs3gow

I get scam emails ALL the time. They are commonly referred to as Nigerian scams, because many of them originate from Nigeria. Its like a major industry apparently. The one I got today supposedly came from the UK, which is the second most likely place to receive these from.

This email was pretty typical; someone with my last name was killed in a car crash, if a relative isn't found their estate reverts to the bank. Here's the email, if you've never gotten one yourself: From Desk of Williams Jeff
Principal Attorney
Attorney Service Group and Solicitors
571 Lea Bridge Road
London E10 6AJ
United Kingdom


Compliments of the day to you. I must solicit your confidentiality and assure
you that I am contacting you in good faith and this proposal will be of mutual
benefit. I am Williams Jeff (Esq.), a legal Practitioner. My client
late Mr.
XXXXXX was killed with his entire family in fatal ...

Many of you who own web-enabled Tivos may already know this, but listening to the CAGcast through your TV is great! Imagine how Wombat's rants would sound on your home theater, or if your TV is in your bedroom, you too can drift into strange dreams while hearing about Cheapy D's latest bowel movement.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e46/TBPic/tivo001.jpghttp://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e46/TBPic/tivo002.jpg
1. Go to Music, Photos, and More" from the main Tivo screen
2. Scroll down to "Podcaster"
3. On the next screen, scroll down to "Enter a URL"
4. Type in: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cagcast then click "Find podcast"
5. You will see the CAGcast logo and a list of shows. Push the "thumbs up" button on your remote
6. Go back to the Podcaster menu, scroll up to favorites. Tivo has saved it for you there!

Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuFTzGkaAso

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCx9EbKcKwk

I have a traditional coffee maker, but two things bother me about it. First, I end up wasting about half a pot every time I brew. I also don't like how messy the cleanup is between uses. Coffee grounds seem to get everywhere, including in the water reservoir.

The Keurig Elite took care of both of my annoyances, and also brews VERY fast. I have a cup of coffee in my hands in roughly a minute, which is great for the first thing in the morning. The machine uses K-cups, which are readily available at Amazon, and other B&M retailers.
A K-cup is like a coffee bullet which is loaded into the machine, has just the right amount of coffee grounds surrounded by a mini paper filter, and is about the size of 2 1/2 coffee creamers. A huge needle punctures the top of the K-cup in the center, and a smaller needle puntures the bottom. High pressure steam is injected through the top needle, and the coffee comes...