I Just...Couldn't...Resist

Vaguely there, in the back of my mind, I knew it existed. But it took Elias posting a photo on my facebook wall to inspire me to visit my old neighborhood and check this place out.

Yeah, probably not, but more about that later. 

The above photo of the Zombie Apocalypse Store is the one I posted on my log for a nearby geocache. 

My review? The interior was smaller than I expected, but the store is still well-stocked with guns and ammunition (which I didn't look at because even if I had looked, I wouldn't be able to testify to the quality or value of same), knives, MREs, camping supplies and souvenirs. 

I picked up another Emergency Fire Starter, but beware! It was more economical on amazon.com, and I also think that the amazon version has more magnesium than the Zombie store version (obviously, I didn't know that at the time, even though I had my moderately intelligent phone [thank you, Congolese miners!] and could have checked). So...inflated prices due to the owners know you're willing to pay a bit more for a product that is combined with zombie ambiance. 

There are many, many novelty items related to the store's theme, including bumper stickers, posters, books and movies, t-shirts and even bleeding zombie targets.  

There was a heavy flow of traffic in the store from the time I arrived until the time I left. 

BY FAR, the best part about the Zombie Apocalypse Store in Las Vegas (are there any other Zombie Apocalypse Stores in other cities? I ran a google search for this and came up confused) is the little zombie-shooting range. You stand behind the counter, feed two quarters into the slot and get a fixed number of shots to aim at glowing targets. When you hit your glowing target (I know, because it took me exactly two shots each time to get each zombie), the furniture twirls or the zombie head pops up or some other interactive feature gives you positive reinforcement for your good shot. 

There was also a corner of a display case weirdly dedicated to Twinkies, and a Twinkie recipe book. 

The million-dollar question: is the zombie apocalypse store worth the $1.85 in gas that it will cost you to get from my home to the store? 

The answer is mostly yes, especially if you are a tourist here and you've gotten bored and/or lost money on the Strip, or if you live here and guests who do not know about the Zombie Apocalypse Store are coming to visit. 

The answer is no if you are seriously looking for survival items and weaponry. There are other places in town which have these things at a better value. The answer is also no if you live here and are very busy with like, say, a job or something. 

So that's that. Let me know what you think if you visit the store. Lots of people do, I think, because as I was driving home I noticed about 27 "zombie hunter: kill or be eaten" stickers on various cars around town.

Product Reviews

I recently attended a professional development in which we read a portion of the 1992 article, "Jihad v. McWorld." Part of the after-class online discussion component, because one of the professors conveniently forgot to upload a question for us to answer, was to comment on how "Jihad v. McWorld" compares to our contemporary American political parties. I answered that the parties are not different and that both support a McWorld of ugly consumerism that I myself also support because McFlurries are delicious and I would like to keep my cell phone in coltan for as long as possible.

So, in a nod to the McWorld that we live in, I offer the following reviews of products I have acquired as part of my apocalypse gear. I tested these products this Memorial Day Weekend (thank you for your service, veterans) during a camping trip to Mt. Charleston, where it (drum roll please) *snowed* on my head!

I finally got to use the ThermaRest camping mat that I bought for $3.50 at a recent REI garage sale. Oooh a contest!!! Ima totally use my ThermaRest again and try to win me some stuff! ah-haha. Maybe. There's a lot going on between now and June 11 when the contest ends.

I am so impressed with the boosting power of the ReVIVE solar charger that I purchased a combination solar flashlight/radio/NOAA radio/cell phone charger. The jury is still out on that. Out of the box, the radio worked really well, but after a few hours of cloudy charging on the mountain, not so much. The flashlight still worked like a charm, though.

I also unwrapped my first Emergency Fire Starter (thanks for the tip, Gokey!) on this particular trip to the mountain. I eyeballed it with suspicion for three full minutes, but then three minutes after THAT, thanks to a generous handful of dryer lint, I had THIS:

And this kept us in not dogs and s'mores.

AND that's about all of the products I've been able to afford in the past few months. I've lived up to my Being Useful resolution by reviewing them, and a few more, on amazon.com. There is however something else I learned during my trip to the mountaintop, which I will share with you-all now:

YOUR APOCALYPSE BAG IS USELESS IF YOU HAVEN'T PACKED IT.

Remember all of the little check marks I put on the Na'he list? YEAH. I have all of those things, but I only have a small number of things in the grab-as-you-head-out-the-door bag. In fact I had to make a memo in my cell phone (thank you, Congolese miners!!!) to throw the games and the paper/pen into the bag. I'll do that now.

I cannot say enough about the value of field-testing your apocalypse kit. Not only does it simultaneously make you feel prepared (ThermaRest) and show you how unprepared you are (games), but it also gives you a chance to breathe air untainted by the smog of the McWorld below, which we seek to escape even as we are entangled in it.

We were able to see verdins in the trees, white-tailed antelope ground squirrels, whole families of deer, wild horses (sorry, I simply COULD NOT help it), and burros to boot!

Summer's coming! It's so close that we can taste it! Happy Camping.