One Small Step for Man…

Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon.

Saw this video on Jason’s blog, thought it was awesome, put it here for all the shinies to see.

Over the weekend Neil Armstong passed away. For those of you who haven’t heard the name, Armstrong was the mission commander of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing. Leading fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he became the first human to set foot on the Moon and is one of only twelve individuals who have done so in the history of our planet. He also was a Navy officer, served int the Korean War, and was an aeronautics test pilot. Armstrong was, and still is revered as a hero to the common man, because he showed everyone that if you try hard enough, you can do amazing things. Rest in peace Neil.

Commander Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins leave Earth for the moon in their Saturn V Rocket, the only vehicle to ever launch humans beyond standard low-Earth-orbit flights.

The Apollo 11 mission provided us with the first picture of Earth floating in space. The photo shows Earth as a very literal, small blue ball of life, surrounded by empty blackness. This photo prompted the eco-wave. Once provided with a visual stimulus showing us “This is the only home you have. Take care of it.” green technology began to flourish, including more efficient energy production and alternative energy research.

Neil Armstrong steps out of the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander and becomes the first human to ever set foot on the moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin plant the US flag on the lunar surface.

After launching off the lunar surface, Apollo 11, along with all three astronauts, reentered Earth’s Atmosphere and, using parachutes and flotation devices, landed in the Pacific Ocean, where it was then retrieved by the USS Hornet.

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard the USS Hornet after being retrieved from the North Pacific Ocean. The Hornet then carried them and their spacecraft to Pearl Harbor, where they were then airlifted to the Johnson Space Center.

One last thing Shinies… leave your mark on history, okay? 🙂


Advanced Zombie Charging Tactics


Okay, so as a zombie, your most powerful weapon against humans is the charge. But HOW you charge can greatly affect your odds of recruiting a new human into the horde. Below the classic horde rush, along with several more advanced rushes are described. These, when used properly, will help your group of zombies be more coordinated, and more efficient brain-connesoirs. So read up, and terrify some humans! ;D

Horde Rush

The Xs represent zombies about to charge. There is no order in the Horde Rush. It is a favorite among new zombies and a great fallback when getting newbies used to rushing.

This is the classic, inevitable rush that all humans know and hate. This tactic is very simple to execute, but it’s success depends largely on which defensive tactic the humans you are rushing at are using. To use the horde rush, the lead zombie simple counts down or zero and yells “Charge!”. All zombies in the vicinity rush as the humans at the same time. There is no order, no structure, no plan. Any humans caught using this tactic are done so either by sheer dumb luck, human error, or blaster malfunction. The only time this will be incredibly successful is when your horde hopelessly outnumbers the humans, the humans are inexperienced, poorly equipped, or out of ammo.

Improvements on the Horde Rush

If your horde is large enough, the humans are likely to hear your leader count down to zero and yell “CHARGE!!”. This signal tells the humans exactly when to fire, which is a bad thing. In order to give the humans no signal, you can use one of two techniques for announcing the start of the charge.

A strategy-driven horde is a happy horde. :]

  • A Stealthy Pop! – I call this the pop because it’s something subtle, like the snap of a finger, placing your foot a little too far to the right when you take a step, or even saying a particular word in a monologue.                                                                                                          ”We will feast on your bones, humans! And what’s left of you *CHARGE* will become part of the horde!”                                                                                                                                              The leader should do the pop, and the horde rushes, supposedly without a cue.
  • Secondary Announcers – You may designate several people to help whisper “charge” quietly throughout your horde. The leader should say it just so that the people around him can here. Those that do here may then pass along the information. Counting down to charge should also be done quietly.

The point of these improvements is to take information away from the humans. The less they know, even if it’s just a ten second heads up, the better. Because the humans can take this advantage to pull a “Hey! They’re counting down! Get ready to launch a volley of marshmallows!” taking out half your team right off the bat.

When you surround the humans, they can’t focus all their fire in one direction, making it easier for you to dodger their darts.

Surround and Collapse

The next rush type is pretty simple. Just have your horde surround the humans on all sides, forming a circle, and then collapse the circle in on them. While this will thin out your forces, it also makes the incoming darts much less clustered, making them easier to dodge. This attack can really only be done in a spacious, open area.

The Flying V

Have you ever seen Canada geese? They fly in that V-shape right? Well that’s how you’re going to charge the humans! To use the V, one person stands at the front of the formation. Two lines of zombies form behind him, each branching behind him, one to his left and one to his right, just like Canada geese. This formation allows all zombies to still be able to see the humans, while still being giving them some cover. By cover I mean that the zombies at the front of the V are more or less mobile shields. Their purpose is to get stunned, take the hit for their team members, and let them get closer. When the zombie at the front of the V is hit, he stops and the two wings of the V run past him. This process repeats itself over and over, with each wave getting a little closer to the humans. Several Vs executed at the same time can be very effective.

Modification to the V

A more effective variant to the V would be to have your horde line up in rows before the rush. When the first line is tagged, the second pops out and gets closer, then the third, fourth, etc. While this will reduce visibility for zombies further back in the pack, it will increase the chances of them being shielded from darts longer.

*Insert fun biological fact!* “Canada Goose” is the common name for the species Branta canadensis, but these birds aren’t only found in Canada. Most Canada geese will stay within 50 miles of where they were born for their whole life, and if that’s in America, it’s actually an American Canada goose that you’re seeing.There are even Mexican Canada geese. I’ve never seen an actual Canadian Canada goose. 😛

Canada goose (Branta canadensis)


An effective way to get closer to your target is by distracting them with something else. These can be whoops, hollers, howls, yells, clapping or any sort of noise making. I know this works because it freaked me out during my first ever HvZ mission. While the human focuses on what just made the noise, you rush, and by the time the human focuses on you it may be too late. ;]

That’s all I’ve got for now. A post on Ambuscades will be coming up soon so stay tuned!