It’s truly wonderful to see government organisations finally taking some initiative and responsibility in this area, and it can only be hoped that more public sector bodies follow this example. We don’t want to see another Leicester incident in our lifetimes.

Overall, this is a solid policy that will serve the people of America well in the face of disaster, but there are some noticable areas for improvement and a few inaccuracies.

“We’ve all seen at least one movie about flesh-eating zombies taking over (my personal favorite is Resident Evil)”

This cannot be correct. Everybody knows that Resident Evil is a fucking terrible film.

“where do zombies come from and why do they love eating brains so much?”

A common misconception, but zombies do not simply hunger for brains. They are more than happy to munch on any living flesh, so anyone expecting to survive the onslaught just by popping on a particularly sturdy hat is in for a nasty – and brief – surprise.

The passage about possible sources of zombie infection and potential infection vectors is much better informed – solid work from the CDC here really showing where their expertise lies.

“The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen.”

Could happen? Will happen.

The CDC suggest your should maintain an emergency kit containing essential items you’ll need in the event of an outbreak. Their list includes:

Mostly good, although what use your driving license will be is questionable at best. Zombies are not known for their strict IDing policies.

A radio will obviously be essential for monitoring the state of society’s collapse, and of course you should always carry as much duct tape as you can carry. Some WD40 would probably be useful as well, even if just for its comforting aroma. The point about medication is invalid, infection can be staved off with regular doses of Zombrex although it will be extremely expensive in the post-apocalyptic trading posts. Be prepared to barter.

Where the CDC’s list falls down is with what’s missing:

1. A bloody big shotgun. As shown in countless movies and games, the trusty boomstick is your best friend in any zombie situation. Powerful, simple to maintain, and with a damage profile that perfectly suits the ‘destroy the brainstem’ approach that zombie combat requires. Assault rifles require too much accuracy, pistols are useful as a last resort but lack long-range stopping power.

If you have time before the sirens sound, it’s worth looking up this little number. Not only does it incorporate a huge amount of survival kit, it also comes equipped with flashlight, 5″ bayonet and a plaque bearing an inspirational quote to read out while laying down some shotgun justice for maximum badass factor.

2. Hand-to-hand backup. If you’re caught low on ammo you always want your cricket bat to fall back on.

3. Transport. Keeping on the move is essential for surviving the zombie apocalypse – holing up somewhere is an invitation for the mindless hordes to build up numbers and smash their way in. As soon as confirmation of an outbreak hits the news (or the news shows George Alagiah clutching Huw Edwards’ spine with bits of eyeball hanging out of his mouth) you should be looting your local Land Rover dealership. Make sure you stock up on fuel as well. Actually maybe some sort of van would be best – maybe the Scooby Do gang were on to something after all.

4. Fire starting and hunting equipment. You may need to be self sufficient for some time depending on how long it takes the army to clear out major population centres. Most animals should be fair game as they seem to be immune to the zombie virus (apart from dogs usually, so if you do have a canine pal, expect a heartbreaking scene later on where it gets infected while saving your life and you have to take it outside and ‘Old Yeller’ it.)

The CDC’s tips for post-outbreak action are mainly sound, especially:

“Plan your evacuation route. When zombies are hungry they won’t stop until they get food (i.e., brains), which means you need to get out of town fast!”

However, the plan does advise making for a refugee camp or evacuation shelter. This is a terrible idea and frankly negligent on the part of the CDC. Although there are obvious benefits in being with other non-infected survivors, a densely populated area is the last place you want to be. All it takes is one arsehole smuggling in their infected child and before you know it the camp is in uproar. An enclosed space packed with people is the ideal environment for rapid, uncontrollable spread of the infection and in the unlikely event that you do get out in time you’ll probably be stuck without access to your supplies.

Instead, you are much better off lone-wolfing it until the infection dies down. Keep on the move, avoid towns and cities, sleep in shifts so you can maintain a watch or keep driving. You just need to hang on long enough for the army to do their thing, so just make sure you don’t let yourselves get cornered. One or two zombies out in the open – anyone should be able to take care of that. Try to fortify an abandoned shopping centre, and you’ll soon have thousands of the groaning bastards forcing their way in from all sides.

Stay mobile and trust your boomstick!

The camera comes as as a kit, with full instructions that are a) in Chinese and b) illustrated with diagrams that don’t exactly match what’s in the box, which can lead to some interesting trial-and-error.

It’s actually not that hard to assemble, there’s no tools required apart from a small screwdriver and it’s fairly logical how it all goes together. The only bit that was really tricky was the shutter assembly as the diagram didn’t show how the spring needed to be set and it was very hard to get into place, one of those situations where you spend half an hour nudging it into place only for an ill-timed hiccup to send a shower of small parts pinging across the room.

Make sure you put the lenses in the the right way up too.

Once assembled you get a surprisingly solid feeling camera, complete with pop-up viewfinder shade and anchor points for a strap. Loading film is ridiculously simple, and operation is just point and shoot.

The viewfinder allows for reasonably accurate focussing, although the plastic lens does blur considerably towards the edge of the frame. Film is advanced by turning a knob, it doesn’t stop automatically at the next frame but there’s a rotating wheel marked with arrows to show you how far to turn. You can roll the film forwards and backwards as much as you like for all sorts of multiple / overlapping exposure possibilities.

According to the manual the camera has an aperture of f/11, and the shutter speed is about 1/100 – 1/150 depending on how the spring is set.

I’ve been playing with mine for a while and am really happy with the results, for something you put together yourself from a kit it’s great to see photos come back and is a wonderful illustration of how simple photography can be.

See more on Flickr…

Not terrible, but the orange-and-black looks a bit ’90s. Which fits perfectly with the Virgin brand, I suppose. The only real problem I have is that D’Ambrosio’s name makes me feel the car should be painted like a West Country farm truck.

Lotus

Gorgeous. ‘Nuff said. +10 points for the new Caterham logo as well.

HRT

Bloody awful. They have actually made an F1 car that looks like a child’s toy of an F1 car.

The real shame here is the wasted opportunity. You would think the lack or any sponsors at all would give them a blank canvas upon which to lavish the most elaborate creation ever seen, they could even have run a design competition like McLaren’s overalls thing and had a different livery every race. They could have made it look like a panther. Or a spaceship. Or a panther flying a spaceship into battle while shooting lasers out of its eyes. But no – it looks like a car designed by the intern on a wet Tuesday morning. Fail.

Sauber

Quite classy, in an understated way, but a bit boring and I’m afraid white cars don’t look as cool as you’d think they would.

Renault

One the face of it, very nice indeed. Classic, timeless, nostalgic. The only problem is it doesn’t look like a sodding Renault, it looks like a Lotus. Writing ‘Lotus’ in large type on the car doesn’t help either. OK, so they have perfectly valid reasons for buying into that heritage and it would be absolutely fine if there wasn’t already a team called Lotus on the grid.

It has to be said that this is a vast improvement on the hideous ING years, but 2010′s bright yellow livery was a winner and it would have been nice to see them develop this.

Force India

Absolutely love this. Bold, bright, brash and incredibly distinctive. A lot of people don’t like it (haters be hatin’) but I think it’s awesome. Reminiscent of the blue-and yellow era Renaults with the bright, contrasting colour palette. The team’s logotype, however, is a disgrace.

Williams

Yaaaaaaaaaawn. Instead, lets concentrate on how much Pastor Maldonado looks like Bert.

Ferrari

Well, they look like Ferraris. Not really much room for getting creative here without raising the ire of the Tifosi. At least the cigarette advertising has been toned down a bit.

Mercedes

The silver looks great, but that Petronas green makes the car look like it’s been squeezed out of a toothpaste tube. Honestly? Go back to the Brawn livery.

McLaren

Love it love it love it. It’s like someone said ‘how do you make a car look like it’s going too fast, all the time?’

Red Bull

Hideous! There’s far too much going on here, no clear identity manages to shine through. A nauseating swirl of corporate imagery, whereas they could have gone with something stylish and slightly retro like the side of the Red Bull technology center.

Toro Rosso

Like Red Bull but worse.

This is a video assembled using images from the BBC webcam. They managed to keep it going this year, so the video goes right through the setup of the stage, the festival weekend, and the start of the clearup.

Playlist by Dan & Sha:

U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name – New Edit U218
U2 – All I Want Is You
Morrissey – Everyday Is Like Sunday
Morrissey – The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Biffy Clyro – Mountains
B.B. King – When Love Comes To Town (With U2)
B.B. King – Don’t Answer The Door (Parts 1 & 2)
Wu-Tang Clan – Gravel Pit
Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know
Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk
Metronomy – Heartbreaker
Metronomy – The English Riviera
coldplay – Violet Hill
Coldplay – Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love
Elbow – powder blue
Elbow – Leaders Of The Free World
Tinie Tempah – Pass Out
Tinie Tempah – miami 2 ibiza feat swedish house mafia
The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound
The Gaslight Anthem – Old White Lincoln
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z – Crazy In Love
Pendulum – Tarantula (Ft. Fresh, $Pyda & Tenor Fly)
Pendulum – Slam
Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al
Paul Simon – Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
Paul Simon – Graceland
Laura Marling – Ghosts
Laura Marling – Devil’s Spoke
Laura Marling – Rambling Man
Laura Marling – Darkness Descends
Don McLean – American Pie
Don McLean – Vincent
The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin
The Low Anthem – Wire
The Low Anthem – Hey, All You Hippies!
Primal Scream – Movin’ On Up
Primal Scream – Loaded
Primal Scream – Country Girl
Primal Scream – Rocks
Primal Scream – DOLLS
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
Fleet Foxes – Montezuma
Bright Eyes – Four Winds
Bright Eyes – We Are Nowhere And It’S Now
Bright Eyes – Land Locked Blues
The Vaccines – Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)
The Vaccines – All In White
The Vaccines – If You Wanna
The Naked And Famous – Punching In A Dream
The Naked And Famous – Young Blood
Brother – Darling Buds Of May
Brother – Still Here – Single Mix
The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl
The Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats
The Chemical Brothers – Galvanize
The Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun
White Lies – To Lose My Life
White Lies – Strangers
Friendly Fires – Jump In The Pool
Friendly Fires – Paris
Jimmy Eat World – Sweetness
Jimmy Eat World – If You Don’t, Don’t
Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American
Jimmy Eat World – Pain
Jimmy Eat World – Hear You Me
The Kills – Fried My Little Brains
Queens Of The Stone Age – Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
Queens Of The Stone Age – The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
Queens Of The Stone Age – Monsters In The Parasol
Eels – Saturday Morning
Eels – Novocaine For The Soul
Eels – Mr E’s Beautiful Blues
TV On The Radio – Second Song
TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me
TV On The Radio – Dancing Choose
TV On The Radio – Golden Age
TV On The Radio – Halfway Home
Bombay Bicycle Club – Rinse Me Down
Cold War Kids – Something Is Not Right With Me
Cold War Kids – Hang Me Up To Dry
Cee Lo Green – F**k You
Chase & Status – Let You Go
Chase & Status – No Problem
Chase & Status – Against All Odds
Chase & Status – Blind Faith
Jimmy Cliff – I Can See Clearly Now
Jimmy Cliff – You Can Get It If You Really Want
Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come – Short Version
Bellowhead – New York Girls
Kool & The Gang – Get Down On It
Darwin Deez – Radar Detector
Darwin Deez – Up In The Clouds
Cage The Elephant – Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (Original Version)
Cage The Elephant – Shake Me Down
Battles – Ice Cream (Featuring Matias Aguayo)
Noah & The Whale – 5 Years Time
Noah And The Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.
Noah And The Whale – Shape Of My Heart
Noah And The Whale – Life Is Life
Warpaint – Baby
Anna Calvi – Desire
Yuck – The Wall
Yuck – Georgia
Yuck – Get Away
Fight Like Apes – Jake Summers
The Streets – Going Through Hell
OK Go – Get Over It
OK Go – WTF?
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass
OK Go – Crash The Party
OK Go – The Fix Is In
OK Go – Do What You Want
OK Go – White Knuckles
The Joy Formidable – The Magnifying Glass
The Joy Formidable – I Don’t Want To See You Like This
Big Audio Dynamite – E=MC2
Jenny And Johnny – Big Wave
The Walkmen – The Rat
Graham Coxon – Freakin’ Out
Those Dancing Days – Actionman
Gruff Rhys – Honey All Over
Lykke Li – Sadness Is A Blessing
The Bees – Chicken Payback
The Pierces – You’ll Be Mine
Deacon Blue – Real Gone Kid
Deacon Blue – Fergus Sings The Blues
Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
Robyn – Dancing On My Own
Elbow – Red
Janelle Monáe – Tightrope – Feat. Big Boi
Janelle Monáe – Cold War
The Joy Formidable – Whirring
The Chemical Brothers – Believe
Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy
Kool and The Gang – Celebration
Kool and The Gang – Ladies Night
Morrissey – First Of The Gang To Die
The Go! Team – Ladyflash
The Kills – Cheap and Cheerful
Suzanne Vega – Luka
London Community Gospel Choir – One
London Community Gospel Choir – Now That We Found Love
Hurts – Better Than Love
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man
Cold War Kids – Mine Is Yours
Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds
Katy B – Katy On A Mission
Fenech-Soler – Battlefields
Fenech-Soler – Lies
Fenech-Soler – Demons
Fenech-Soler – LA Love
Hard-FI – Hard To Beat
Guillemots – Trains To Brazil
Two Door Cinema Club – Undercover Martyn
The Wombats – Tokyo – Vampires & Wolves
The Wombats – Let’s Dance To Joy Division
The Coral – Dreaming Of You
White Lies – Farewell To The Fairground
Elbow – newborn
Janelle Monáe – Dance or Die – Feat. Saul Williams
U2 – With Or Without You
U2 – Angel Of Harlem
U2 – Pride (In The Name Of Love)
The Vaccines – Post Break-Up Sex
Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
Robyn – Hang With Me
Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat – Radio Edit
Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
Bombay Bicycle Club – Magnet
Tinie Tempah – Miami 2 Ibiza
Tinie Tempah – Written In The Stars (feat. Eric Turner)

Photo: ESA / Paolo Nespoli

Photos taken by Paolo Nespoli from the departing Soyuz TMA-20 capsule, showing the Johannes Kepler ATV-2, truss of the ISS and Endeavour during STS-134.

More available on the ESA and NASA websites

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