The Warrior Zone, which opened August 26th in Fort Riley, Kansas, is a 25,000 sq. ft., $10 million multi-purpose facility entertainment facility developed for use with the base’s personnel. It features 68 computers for gaming and general use, dozens of game consoles hooked up to 55-inch flat screen televisions, pool and poker tables, a 75-seat snack bar, full bar, theater and large conference room. A covered patio is also available outside with grills and a large fire pit. It looks like a great place to kick back and relax, and it also seems to be a great success; they’ve already extended the hours on Fridays and Saturdays to 0100.
Fewes on DeviantArt has created an impressive Glock 17 simulator made in Flash. Every function is accurate to real life, not counting the reduced magazine capacity (most likely intentional). For example, every slide pull ejects an unspent cartridge and a tactical reload accounts for the round already in the chamber. It’s better than most video games in that regard. Click the above image to try it out for yourself.
Call of Duty XP started yesterday, and the event began with this reveal trailer for MW3. While I’ve been disillusioned by CoD games because of the multiplayer reveal trailers before (Black Ops before, you know, it actually came out looked amazing), this one impressed me quite a bit. A small* amount of graphical polish coupled with a somewhat reworked perks and killstreak system are what interested me the most, although seeing the MultiCam clad Delta members and explosive action was a nice bonus. Also, the XM25.
Trailer not doing it for you? Footage from the MW3 beta currently running at XP is showing up on YouTube, if you’re interested in a more ‘personal’ look at how the gameplay is.
*It’s still running on a modified version of the outdated id Tech 3 engine, IW 5.0. Really, the lighting and audio are the most substantial boosts the engine received this year.
In this video, an employee of Texas Armoring Corporation (TAC) gets to practice shooting at as his boss, CEO Trent Kimball, with an AK-47, all to prove the integrity of their bullet-resistant glass. The multiple camera angles give it a nice, action movie-esque flair.
Just a quick update on that totally sweet turbine powered Batmobile built by Casey Pusch I wrote about a while ago. It turns out he’s currently putting it up for sale on eBay to help fund other projects. However, as expected from something built from …”a military spec 385 hp Boeing turboshaft engine from a naval drone helicopter…”, as well as being modeled after the most bad-ass super hero of all time’s preferred mode of transportation, it ain’t cheap. If you’re really into getting it, you’re looking at spending $620,000. At that price, only the real Batman could ever hope to afford it.
I’ve said before I’m a sucker for a good-looking watch, but the Ur-1001 Zeit Device practically transcends such a simple description. Beneath the sleek exterior made from non-magnetic ARCAP alloy lies indicators for all manner of measurements. It features and/or tracks satellite hours, retrograde minutes, a day/night indicator, running seconds, a power reserve indicator, a revolving satellite calendar displaying months plus date, an oil change indicator, a 100-year indicator and a 1000-year indicator. That’s right, it’s very easily designed to outlive any potential owners simply by how long it’s meant to track time. The cost? Roughly 430,000 USD. Is it limited edition? You better believe it: only 8 are available for purchase, starting in October. At that price and rarity, it was obviously meant for men with riches far beyond what most of us have available. Just the same, if given the chance to own one of these I think I’d still stick with my G-Shock. I feel it’s more functional and since it’s digital I don’t have to wind it.
The 2012 Hot Shots calendar is now available for pre-order with a 1 September release date. Produced by UK-based Edgar Brothers, it pairs models Charlotte McKenna, Rosie Jones, Holly Peers, India Reynolds and Stacey Noblett with the latest in weapons and kit featuring products from Magpul and Crye Precision.
If that wasn’t enough, consider this. 50% of the proceeds are donated to the UK based Help for Heroes.
Follow Hot Shots on Twitter, and like them on Facebook for special giveaways.
Support Help for Heroes and pre-order your copy of the 2012 Hot Shots calendar now.
Apparently designer diapers are a really big thing right now. This naturally has led to Huggies coming up with camouflage diapers (since camouflage is always fashionable, amirite?). Now, while I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of this Navy-esque pattern for your toddler in the field, there is a good cause behind it: every package sold equals a diaper donated to a needy military service family. If you’re looking to buy some of these, they’re available exclusively at Wal-Mart.
This is a fun, neat little trick to try if you’re out camping and brought eggs, oranges and tin foil. You start by burning a fire down to the coals. Meanwhile, split an orange in half and hollow out the contents. You then place an egg inside each orange half, wrap them in the foil and place them on the coals. 3-5 minutes later, you have an egg cooked to perfection, with a hint of orange flavor to boot.
The above video shows a slightly different method involving placing the orange directly on the coals, but the principle’s the same. I just prefer foil since it keeps everything more secure.
One of the most iconic police cars in the US, the Crown Victoria, is finally being retired by Ford. Although the Crown Vic wasn’t available from licensed dealers since 2008, Ford continued to sell to police departments until this year. The cars Ford is replacing the Crown Vic with? A Tarus variant and the Explorer SUV. Commence laughing at any time; the Tarus sucks. Some good news comes from this though, since I’ll no longer have to wonder if any old dudes rocking Crown Vics on the highway are just playing cop or really driving an unmarked car.
“Emergency” author Neil Strauss is a journalist who caught the prepper bug a couple of years ago. While he’s more well known for this Pick Up Artist books, “Emergency” is definitely worth a read. It’s more of a why to do it than a how, but he’s such a great writer, it’s the kind of book that will make your friends who are on the fence about preparation looks things in a different light. He has a section of his website that he uses to post survival info. Considering we’ve been hit with an earthquake and hurricane, both in the same week, this topic seems pretty poignant. Check it out.
Finally, an ‘Aliens’ game that seems to do the property justice: a 4-man squad of Space Marines must survive an overwhelming force of Xenomorphs armed only with their wits and some iconic weaponry (including my personal favorite, the M41A1 Pulse Rifle). This game can’t come out soon enough.
Enjoy this footage of a behind the scenes look for the Hot Shots Calendar 2012. Oh, and as the title points out, the video is basically NSFW: some salty language, firearms and a lot of half-nakedness is contained within.
The Hot Shots Calendar will be available September 1st, 2011. You can pre-order yours here. 50% of the proceeds is donated to UK based Help for Heroes.
The Swag is a lightweight backpack that turns into a single-person shelter with a 6’2″ EVA insulated foam mattress and a top cover fabric made from UltTrex Lite™, a material 7 times more waterproof than canvas. Besides this, the Swag is anti-mildew treated, windproof, and features steam-sealed seams, zippered mosquito mesh, four zippered external pockets, an internal waterproof pocket, a lockable internal pocket (brass lock included), Velcro front pocket, Kevlar security loop, 2 wind clips, two carabiners, and three built-in ropes, among other features. Plus, every Swag purchased buys another for a homeless individual.
Echelon Software’s Black Powder Red Earth V1, which I wrote a review for back in late June, is now available for purchase. Authored by Jon Chang and Kane Smith and illustrated by Josh Taylor, Black Powder Red Earth V1 takes place in near future Basran, a post-Iraq state. It follows the actions of a PMC against, primarily, Iranian-backed groups and agents.
I love how Activision feels it appropriate to release a video on ziplines at the Call of Duty XP event, considering the majority won’t be attending in the first place. At least they got Jen Taylor (best known for her role as Cortana in the Halo franchise) to voice the safety procedures. The history of ziplines in the CoD series is a nice touch.
Call of Duty XP is an event taking place September 2nd & 3rd in Los Angeles, California. Besides the MW3 multiplayer reveal, there will also be a $1 Million CoD tournament and other live events.
I was at the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend and I had the pleasure of seeing the FUBAR team for the second year in a row. For those not familiar with FUBAR, it’s a graphic novel zombie anthology series that takes place during WWII featuring a mix of different artists and writers for each story. The first volume, FUBAR: European Theater of the Damned covered the Nazi and Allied zombies in, appropriately enough, the European Theater.
This year, the FUBAR team has released FUBAR 2: Empire of the Rising Dead, taking place in the Pacific Theater, with plenty of zombified soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Despite being the second volume, it’s not linked to the European stories, so you wouldn’t miss anything story-related by skipping straight to FUBAR 2, although I suggest you get both; it’s an exellent series.
In addition to the graphic novels, there’s also a set of zombie targets available. Originally confined to just WWII zombie soldiers, the targets now include a Wild West Cowboy, Michael Jackson in Thriller, and my personal favorite, the Modern Operator (complete with Blackwater Logo, lol), among others. These come in two sizes: 11″ x 17″ and 24″ x 36″.
Finally, the FUBAR team is currently running a Kickstarter page to help with printing the second book. In exchange for your contribution, they’re offering everything from T-shirts to posters to both volumes of the book with custom sketches, depending on the size of your donation. You can donate here.
zombiefubar.wordpress.com
This i09 article details a brief history of sword making, from bronze to iron, including the ever-elusive ‘Damascus Steel’. A decent read, and a great reminder that humanity’s had no problem with killing each other before the invention of gunpowder.
US Military Bracelets is offering a chance for you to win one of 30 Sterling Silver Military Emblem bracelets of your choice. All it requires is either a short Youtube video or paragraph explaining how you honor your courageous soldier or service. Other prizes include 20% off any single item purchase from US Military Bracelets or free engraving on a new US Military Bracelet.
Equal parts funny and violent, this trailer for the upcoming ‘Rezurection’ DLC Pack for CoD: Black Ops shows the work the researchers at the zombie labs undertake to understand and better combat the moon zombie menace. ‘Rezurection’ includes the 4 original World At War zombies maps in addition to ‘Moon’, as well as the zombies soundtrack and a premium zombies dashboard theme. As a nice bonus, if you already have the original maps through the hardened/prestige edition of Black Ops, you get this content pack for free. Score!
‘Rezurection’ drops August 28th on Xbox Live for 1200 Microsoft points ($15)
First used during WWI, the 1918 Mark 1 Trench Knife is among one of the most iconic knife designs in history, a lot having to do with its brass knuckles-esque ‘knuckle duster’ grip. Now, Cas Hanwei offers a replica version of the Mark 1 for use as a letter opener. The piece features a steel blade and a blackened bronze grip and authentic detail. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cooler way to open your incoming snail mail then with one of these.
Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, has just sunk $1.25 million of his own money into the Seasteading Institute, an organization that essentially wants to create an above-the-ocean version of Rapture. Lack of genetics-altering, stem cell-loaded sea slugs aside, this seems like a fantastic idea, especially after reading this quote: “a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons.” Honestly, you’d figure billionaires would be rich enough to sit down and play more video games. Andrew Ryan tried this in the 50’s and he ended up with a civil war on his hands… wait, “…few restrictions on weapons.”? It’s decided, I’m sold! Now, where do I apply for citizenship?
The Sawyer Squeeze Filter consists of a filter with a push/pull cap that attaches to one of three different sized reusable pouches, 12, 16, or 32oz, or most threaded plastic bottles. The system is lightweight, weighing only 3oz., and is very portable. Despite its small size it removes upwards of 99.99999% of all water-found containments. The filter can even stand up to high-pressure backwashing due to Sawyer’s robust hollow-fiber membranes, although because of the filter’s large surface area this isn’t a frequently required task.
In accordance with a 2009 presidential executive order, the Senate has directed the Defense Department to look at uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles and other “formerly used consumer material”. The 2009 policy’s goal is that 95% of all new government contracts for items other than weapons be products or services that are “environmentally preferable.” This can take the form of nontoxic alternatives, products or procedures that don’t deplete the ozone layer and presumably granola-eating manufactory staff with a penchant for hugging trees.
Apparel made of recycled material is not new. The uniform company Cintas has been making hotel and casino staff uniforms of recycled bottles and apparently has a whole line of such recycled couture. Sports uniforms in South Africa have also been made from bottles retrieved from Japanese and Taiwanese landfills. Though it’s doubtful soccer players there must worry too much about IEDs, or need FR clothing, one hopes allowances would be made to keep military uniforms from melting onto a grunt’s skin.
Though it’s not widely known, the uniforms of some specialty units (like the Mobile Infantry) have been made from recycled soda bottles for years. Their MREs are all made of Soylent Green, too.
