Girl in a Russian rocket factory

Заброшенные здания, недостроенные здания, военные объекты, брошенная техника, промзона - ОАО "НПО Энергомаш"

Mossberg Just-In-Case Kit

Mossberg Just-In-Case Kit | Uncrate

Badass Lego Guns

40mm machine gun

Friendly-fire-tracking with iPhone app

iPhone App Tracks Battle Buddies (Rifle Mount Optional) | Danger Room | Wired.com

Fallout rifle replicas

Cluster bomb

Top Zombie apocalypse tools

My favorite blog Topless Robot comes up with its own list of useful tools for the Zombie apocalypse. It's interesting that no items on this list are the same as our own Top Ten Zombie household items we posted a while back. Really surprising and helpful stuff though!

Topless Robot - 9 Useful Items for Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

Moscow subway

Morning commute: a Russian commando cleaning his rifle while riding on the Moscow subway. More on English Russia.

English Russia » Photos made in Moscow subway

EOD bomb-proof suit

Very interesting piece on how the bomb-proof EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) suits as seen in the Oscar-winning movie The Hurt Locker work. These suits are made from hi-tech materials to ensure their wearer survives the initial shockwave blast from an explosion.

Real-life Hurt Locker: how bomb-proof suits work | DVICE

Grenade explosion

This interesting video shows how a grenade inflates to more than twice its size before actually exploding. (Is that where the term "to blow up" comes from?)

Cynical-C Blog | A Grenade Exploding in Slow Motion

Spotting a hidden gun

Here's a useful infographic about how to spot a hidden handgun: there are a couple of telltale signs, such as an asymmetrical walking gait, involuntary hand movements and conspicuous clothing that could give away that someone is carrying a concealed weapon. On the other hand, if you're packing heat yourself, you might want to study this so you can avoid these mistakes.

the world's best ever: how to spot a hidden handgun

Shotgun master

This advertising video for Benelli shotguns shows you how to do it: shotgun master Tom Knapp showcases his skills, he even shoots his own shell casing after they come out of the gun.

Video: Shotgun Master Can’t Miss | Danger Room | Wired.com

Russian flying fortress fighting off a Nazi UFO

Exactly what the title says: a depiction of the fictional Russian super bomber K-7 attacking what is clearly a U.F.O. of Nazi Germany allegiance.

English Russia » Russian Flying Fortresses

Abandoned missile base

I'm a big sucker for abandoned facilities, even more so when it comes to military installations. Here's some new photos from such from the English Russia blog.. I'm mostly intrigued by those missile charts shown here.

English Russia » Abandoned Military Object

Bullets in slow-mo

Here's a video of bullets hitting stuff, filmed by German engineer Walter Mehl at a rate of 1 million frames per second.

The Daily What: Lights Out: Super-ultra-slo-mo footage of bullets

Top 10 household Zombie fighting tools

Popular Mechanics just published a list with 50 Tools Everyone Should Own in their May 2009 issue. Great, but it would be much more important which tools from that list can also double as DIY weapons against the impending Zombie onslaught now wouldn't it? So I give you the 10 Zombie fighting tools everybody should own:

1. Broom / broomstick
Probably the worst choice under any circumstances. Useful for holding back some Z's but not really made for attack and killing. Worse, nowadays you'd usually end up with a broomstick made out of plastic, and even a wooden one would be quite prone to breaking.

2. Kitchen knife
Comes in a huge variety and can be found nearly anywhere, but has some severe drawbacks: Reach is very limited, the knife is prone to remain stuck in the body of your Zombie opponent, and breaking of the blade is a very true danger.

3. Screwdiver
Durable and easy to come by, but also quite limited in reach and use. One would have to attack the head part of the Zack at hand, most prominently eyes and nose, which poses a great danger of getting bitten (and that, we know, is a 99% no-go with nearly any variety of Zombie).

4. Baseball bat
Limited usability with this one. Firstly, quite hard to come by outside of an USA scenario, and even though fairly effective for the first few blows, might become warped or even break after a dozen hits. Conceivable substitutes would be hockey bat, cricket bat and golf club.

5. Hammer
Depending on size and make, not a bad choice at all! Hammers come in a huge variety and are usually easy to locate in any household. Go for the largest size, and also checking the head is not wobbly before going into action is preferred.

6. Shovel
Blunt tools give you an edge over Zombies, since you don't need to stab and slash to kill them, but kick their head in. So a sturdy shovel (or spade, or even the fabulously handy trench tool) will do a good job to keep those Zeds at bay and even down them with some targeted blows.

7. Pipe Wrench
As with all tools up here on the evolutionary ladder of Zombie fighting household tools, the big industrial types are much larger and sturdier, but probably much harder to get a hold on in a pinch. This tool is also the most versatile, because you can use it to disassemble any machinery you encounter on the way to sell the intact parts on the scavenger black market in exchange for much-needed bottlecaps.

8. Axe
One of the oldest tools of mankind and rightly at the forefront of Zombie bone crunching. I'd prefer a blunt (not spiked) back-side to have the best of both worlds - dismemberment with Side 1 and crushing with Side 2. Do not confuse with pick-axe, which is far less effective due to its pointed head!

9. Crowbar
A much disputed choice in the Zombie fighter community, but a sturdy large crowbar will not only open up crowds of Zack, but also any locked doors or crumbling walls on the way to wherever you're going to loot more provision stashes. If you're serious, go for the big brother of the crowbar, the titanium Halligan bar.

10. Sledgehammer
Not everyone has this at home (me included) but it's hands down the best choice for impromptu Zombie defense, as can be seen to great effect in the movie rec. Get a large one and pound away. Simple yet awesome!

Anything missing in your home from that list? Be sure to stock up in your local hardware store before it's too late. Note that chainsaw, lawnmower and some other tools of zombie extermination often featured in popular media are not part of the list as they are not independent of power or fuel (and are also considered not very effective by internet zombie fighters around the world).

A lot more options can be found at the Zombie Survival & Defense guide (link below).

Melee Weapons - Zombie Survival & Defense Wiki

Vietnamese SAM

These pictures were taken on my trip to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia about 10 years ago. This Russian SAM (surface-to-air missile) is a leftover from the Vietnam War and can be found in the small village of Pa-Am in Southern Laos, close to where the Ho Chi Minh trail used to run past. It's fenced in with some makeshift wooden poles and located close to the village proper (just a few houses really) inhabitated by an ethnic tribe, the Alak. As can be seen on the second photograph, the fully intact missile is stenciled in Russian and Vietnamese.

Getting to the site was half the fun, as we rented a minivan and rode the 30km from the closest town, Attapeu. For those not familiar with Laotian geography, this is all taking place in the deep south of Laos, going inland from the Mekong and the border with Thailand, towards the sparsely populated jungle areas towards the Vietnamese and Cambodian border. Consequently, the town's population (and especially the children) were having a great time watching and examining the funny white strangers, nearly dropping in the river while crossing it to get to the SAM, taking a bunch of pictures and then taking off after 15 minutes in the direction they came from.

Snipers of tomorrow

Danger Room is giving a rundown of some weapon systems of the future for snipers, among them homing bullets, computer-aided super-precise laser scopes, and another technology straight out of a science fiction story:

A companion project, Super-Resolution Vision System (SRVS), wouldn't just make snipers more accurate. It would make them functionally invisible, as well. The system is trying to use "heat haze" -- that shimmer you see on summer days, out in the distance -- for helping snipers, instead of inhibiting them. In any given instant, the heated air acts as a series of lenses; you may be able to look right through them and see a magnified view of the scene beyond. The trick is to use digital technology to identify the "lucky regions" or "lucky frames" when a clear view appears and assemble them into a complete picture. SRVS researchers are aiming to do just that.

If scope works out, it'll be a particular spooky tool. Even if the target is looking right at you, they won’t see a thing because of the heat haze. A sniper using one of these will be a truly invisible assassin, with the ideal technology for picking off high-value targets.

Pirates Beware: Next-Gen Snipers Could Get Guided Bullets, Super Scopes | Danger Room from Wired.com

Halligan bar

I present the ultimate in Zombie defense technology: the Halligan bar.

Wielded by fire and rescue workers everywhere, the Halligan Bar is the best door-smashing, get-me-the-heck-into/outta-here, zombie-fightin’ tool in the world. The deluxe 30-inch one I have (pic above) is made of high tensile strength titanium, so it will never rust and, despite its imposing appearance, weighs just 5.25 lbs.

Cool Tools: Halligan Bar