How to Identify a Zombie, Kill It, & Stay Alive

I used to have a much harder time telling apart a walker, or zombie, from a human.  Now it is much easier since I know what signs to look for, but before it was much more difficult.  I almost died myself a few times mistaking a walker for the living.  On the other hand, I almost stabbed my neighbor’s 7-year old daughter with my pool cue stick thinking she was a zombie.  She came hobbling at me and groaning after her family got attacked by an entire undead hoard over by the lake.  She was the only one that escaped, but she had numerous bite marks on her arms and shoulders, securing her passage to the undead world a couple of days later.  Nonetheless, I would have felt terrible had I killed a human…a child, at that.  Because of this, and to basically stay alive, I quickly learned how to  distinguish between living, breathing, people and flesh-hungry, stumbling corpses.  Crooked walking, cocked necks, moaning or lack of speech, and decaying, rotting flesh are some of the more obvious signs to look for when differentiating between the living and the dead.

Remember to always keep one thing in mind when confronting the undead.  They use to be human…just like you and me.  In this respect, zombies and humans look much alike.  A walker’s clothes may be bloody, dirty, or tattered, but be careful not to thrust your billiard cue stick through its skull due to a few minor holes in its jeans or a filthy shirt sleeve.  You may hastefully be killing someone that is actually still breathing.  Instead of focusing on their clothes, pay more attention to the way they move towards you.  Any sporadic movement or clumsiness, such as heavy limping, a crooked walk or gait, or a cocked neck, is a warning sign and should be approached with murderous intentions.  And if they have their arms outstretched towards you, as if trying to grab and bite you, then do not hesitate…attack!  Unless someone has a death wish and is playing a foolish prank, you are dealing with a walker, for certain.

Moaning and lack of speech are two more surefire signs of the undead.  Again, do not go off “half-cocked” and start firing away if someone approaches you and says nothing.  They might just be acting cautiously.  Also, someone in considerable pain might be moaning for help, not moaning for a meal.  However, always approach with extreme caution and announce yourself loudly.  Once you have spoken, chances are likely that a person will respond with words.  A walker will not.  Moaning, groaning, and all out silence are undead symbols not to be ignored.  Pair a moan with outstretched arms and a limp, and you are staring at your next undead victim, provided it does not get you first.

Decaying flesh is a more obvious tell-tale symbol, although you must be quite close to a zombie to determine whether you are looking at rotten, decaying tissue or scratches or simple wounds.  A deep laceration encompassed by dried blood and bruises may look bad, but it does not mean someone is dead—just hurt.  However, if half of someone’s face is peeled off, yet he does not seem to mind and still gives chase, then bury your pool cue stick deep into its forehead, finishing it off for good.

Decaying flesh should also tell you something else vital to taking out your cannibalistic opponents.  None of a walker’s internal systems work.  Their Central Nervous System, respiratory system, endocrine system, digestive system, and all others shut down permanently, allowing them to survive on only the simplest of brain activity and the instinct to feed to survive.  Since the only things that technically, and partially, work on their bodies are their brains, you must cease all brain activity to kill them.  Massive brain trauma, whether it be by spear, crow bar, pool cue stick, a bullet, or whatever else is contained in your undead arsenal, is the only way to permanently kill what is technically already dead.

Recognizing these general undead characteristics when defending yourself in our current times is essential if you wish to survive.  After you have some basic zombie hunting tactics under your belt, you will feel much more comfortable when dealing with zombie encounters.  This lifestyle is not the greatest, but it can be coped with.  I did not want this life.  But since I have it, I have decided to use my abilities to help others stay alive.  Even if it means taking on an entire undead hoard with nothing but my trusty billiard cue stick in hand, I will prevail.

I learn more and more survival tactics everyday against our new enemies.  I will continue to keep you posted as best as I can.  For now, go to Billiard N Bar Stools to further read up on past transmissions that you may have missed.  You might just come across something that could save your life during your next undead battle.

What Bar Stool Heights to Use for Various Situations

When picking out new bar stools for your home, a number of criteria should be kept in mind, with one element held in a higher regard than all others…bar stool height.  A bar stool’s size is measured in seat height, or the height from the floor to the top of the seat base.  There are not too many different stool sizes, or seat heights, on the market, although finding a seat height for just about any situation is rather simple.  Sizes generally range  from 18 inches up to 36 inches and most sizes can have multiple uses.  Some of the more common uses of all of the different stool sizes are shown below.

18 inch stool heights are typically the smallest size available, as shorter heights would be too small for anything practical for most adults.  An 18 inch stool size is commonly used in areas where your counter, desk, or table is around 30 inches high.  This stool size is typical in bathroom vanities and make-up tables.  They have also been known to hang out in theater dressing rooms and casino slots.

24 and 26 inch bar stool heights are rather new and are designed to be used for counter heights of 36-39 inches.  This seat height was designed specifically for kitchen counters, usually where there is no extra room for the conventional table and chairs.  They can also be used at kitchen islands, given the island is the same height as a regular-sized kitchen table and not taller.

A 30 inch stool size is the most practical seat height for home use, given its versatility.  A 30 inch stool height is designed primarily for bars and counters that are 40-45 inches tall.  This seat height works great as pub stools in your home bar, billiard room and game room, as they add ambiance and atmosphere to your activity area, while providing a spot to sit and spectate or wait for your next turn.  This stool size also works well for garage work and repairs at a tool bench or workshop.

A 34 inch height does exist, but is a custom made size.  Typically, there is no specific use for this stool size unless you have a bar with a height of 46 inches.  If not, then practical purposes for this particular stool height are quite uncommon.

35 and 36 inch heights, or spectator stools, are most commonly used in billiard rooms around billiard tables and in other recreational areas.  These pub stools can also be used in conjunction with extra tall 47 and 48 inch counters and taller pub tables.  Obviously, spectator stools allow a person to sit up a few inches higher than other bar stool heights, allowing its user to better spectate, or watch, the activities occurring.

Before you choose any other characteristics for your new bar stools, figure out what bar stool height you require by measuring the height of your bar, kitchen countertop, desk, or any other piece of furniture suitable for bar stool use.  Once seat height has been calculated, you can then choose other wanted features, such as backs vs. no backs, arms or no arms, wooden or metal seat and/or frame, stationary or swivel, and padding vs. solid wooden or metal seats.  A bar stool’s height is the most important thing to consider in terms of comfort and practical usability, whereas other factors primarily focus on secondary comfort and aesthetic qualities.

There are a ton of bar stools and other billiard room furniture to glance through at Billiard N Bar Stools, along with a variety of billiard room products, useful billiard links, and informative and entertaining articles, and literature.

Proper Bar Stool Heights for Various Pieces of Furniture

Zombies Stay Out: You Can’t Be In Our Club

The second I heard the distress call on my radio, I knew one of two things—it was either some kind of elaborate trap, or I was in for one crazy undead battle.  I was kind of hoping for the latter.  Since my last skirmish at the billiard hall a couple of weeks ago, I have been “dying” to get out of my billiard room base and kill more freaks.  I consistently hear of rising  zombie outbreaks popping up everywhere, but none are close enough for me Zeus, my trusted canine, to do anything about.  After sitting around in my billiard room, practically alone, for days now, I jumped at the chance to get more action.  Seems a small number of individuals are trapped in a backyard tree house a few miles away.  They claim to be in no immediate danger, but are trapped above a swarming hoard of hungry undead, with no way out and no more ammunition.”

Even though I had my suspicions, it sounded real enough to check out.  Gas and fuel is becoming very scarce, and food shelf lives are beginning to expire, making it increasingly likely for humans to set traps and turn on one another for their belongings.  But my neighborhood was already a barren wasteland of desolation.  All of my neighbors had either moved away or had become my own personal moving targets months ago.  Zeus is a loyal subject, but not much of a conversationalist, so I was ready to possibly make a few new friends.  Not to mention I had a brand new arsenal of pool cues and billiard balls at my disposal, none of which have yet been tested.  Oh yeah, and one more thing; the survivors said they were out of bullets.  That means they have guns, a very useful weapon against multiple zombies, given you also have bullets.  Without bullets, using a gun on a zombie would be as useless as trying to stab one with a pillow instead of a pool cue.  With bullets, however, a handgun is extremely quick and effective for multiple targets, especially in short-range situations, giving you a slight edge over your ravenous enemies.  Since I did not know what kind of guns they had, finding ammunition before locating the survivors was pointless, but if I could break them out of there, more guns and more people are definitely vital assets for survival.

Since neighborhoods and streets were almost completely abandoned, I chose to go by foot.  I can handle the sporadic “walker,” as I have come to call the undead, plus fuel conservation is a necessity.  It was only a few miles by streets, even shorter if you cut through yards and the park, and Zeus and I could use the exercise, anyway.  The walk to the given address was rather uneventful.  I did get to run over a walker’s head with a push mower—that was fun.  I realized, however, that I didn’t quite think that through thoroughly when the motor attracted every zombie in the subdivision.  It’s a good thing I’m still faster than them.  We had to bolt into a nearby wooded area to avoid becoming the appetizer at an undead block party.  You would think that after training Zeus to bark only on command, I would be a little quieter myself, but what can I say.  Sometimes, noisy, mass carnage helps relieve pent up frustration caused by forcibly becoming a zombie hunter.

Upon reaching the address in question, I proceeded to sneak around the side of the house to assess the situation.  I could already hear multiple moans in the backyard, mere feet from where I was standing.  Zeus peeked around the corner and looked back at me growling, looking for the go-ahead from me to attack.  I halted him and had a look myself.  The backyard was not fenced in and had a creek running behind it with a small tree line.  As certain as the clubhouse was in those trees, a mass of walkers were beneath it, probably 60 or 70 at least, clawing and grabbing at the ladder and trees, reaching for the helpless survivors trapped inside.  With a pool cue in one hand and a socked-up billiard ball in the other, I was ready.  Zeus peered up at me eagerly.

“Alright, boy,” I said to him quietly.  “Go do your thing.”

Without hesitation, Zeus ran towards the moaning crowd and began barking violently.  I watched silently as the hoard turned its attention towards my mutt.  Within seconds, the fiending mob gave chase.  Zeus quickly took off in the direction opposite me, luring almost the entire hoard away from the trapped, tree house crowd.  Once the zombies were far enough away, I creeped around the corner of the house and made way through the backyard, impaling a few lingering walkers with my pool cue who were hell-bent on getting to their “food.”  My cover was still intact as I finished off a third walker, then a fourth, then a fifth…then I was spotted.  Not by a zombie, but by a human.  One of the survivors noticed me and began screaming for help and banging on the closed window.  Her clatter roused the rest of the group to do the same, which not only gained my attention, but that of slower members of the undead hoard, as well.  Apparently, some undead are not as fast as others, and were still within earshot of screaming cries for help.  By my estimation, 20 or so heard the commotion and abandoned chasing my dog.  I knew I had about 90 seconds before they were on me.  Without delay, I made haste into the tree house, where I was greeted as a savior.  I explained the situation.

“We have about 60 seconds before we are all fast food kids treat meals…I appreciate you letting me in, but I came to get you out, not to get stuck here with you.  Let’s move, now!  Grab what you need…ten seconds…and don’t forget the guns!”

I opened the trap door and headed down the ladder, kicking a walker in the head in the process.  That does not work to well, however.  My trusty pool cue through its skull proved much more effective, dropping it immediately.  Five escapees followed me out, three guys and two girls.  From what I noticed, they had two handguns, a baseball bat, a long staff, and a halberd.  The staff somewhat resembled my pool cues, with slightly more thickness.  And don’t ask where this attractive, young woman acquired a halberd from.  She probably doesn’t even know what she was holding…or how to use it.  Regardless, she had about 15 seconds to learn.

The second we hit the yard, more walkers were on us.  Nothing special was noticed of the groups fighting skills, although I must say they held their own better than expected.  And the ferocity of the halberd girl, Julie, was sensational, as if she was taking it personal.  I did save at least two of them, but who is counting?  One of the men was bitten, but no one noticed…or at least that is what he thought.  I decided to save that confrontation for later.  Right now, we had to escape.  We headed towards the nearest wooded area for cover.

After we were safe, we gathered our breath and made brief introductions.  I offered them some food and temporary shelter at my home billiard room base, which they graciously accepted, and we proceeded back, once again finishing off a stray walker every now and then.  As we came upon the remains of my house and the outside entrance to my billiard room lair, I saw Zeus sitting, waiting for me rather impatiently.  I leaned over to pet him, pulled open the exterior cellar doors, and told everyone to follow in.  As my new comrades cloaked into the basement shadows, Zeus, although trained to be quiet, started barking violently down the stairs.  Something was wrong.  My mutt knew it.  Before I had time to react, one of the girls yelled.  Zeus bolted down the steps and I followed.  Horror struck my eyes as I realized why she had screamed.  Walkers were inside my billiard room!  But I cannot get into that right now.  Stay tuned for future transmissions…

Visit Billiard N Bar Stools today to catch up on earlier chapters of the zombie – billiard room chronicles.  Also learn how to use your pool cue, billiard balls, and other billiard room furniture to protect yourself from undead attacks.

Bar Stools and Other Finishing Touches for Your Home Billiard Room

To determine what finishing touches will work best for your home billiard room, you should start by locating the focal point of the area.  In most cases, your billiard table is the most obvious focal point present, since it is not only the biggest piece of furniture in the room, but also where most people will be directing their attention while present.  Hopefully, your walls and floor already match with your pool table.  If not, remedy that first.  Then you can begin choosing all of the details you need for those ever-so-important “finishing touches.”  Select wall hangings and decor that suit your individual tastes above all else.  Decorations and smaller billiard room furniture pieces can be found at tons of different places, including sporting goods stores, home decorating or department stores, specialty stores and malls, and definitely on the internet.

For starters, consider your walls and other “free” space. By “free” space, I mean areas such as walls or open air space (billiard lamps, bar lights, etc.) that take up no extra floor space whatsoever. A few ideas include neon signs, a neon or felt clock, sports team pennants, logoed mirrors, a dart cabinet, a beer stein collection, and so on. A Tiffany, stained glass pool table lamp will add class to any billiard room, and be sure to also include a solid, wall cue rack, preferably one that is made of wood and matches the wood color and grain of your billiard table.

If your billiard room is a bit smaller and is not conducive for larger billiard room furniture, try going with some scattered bar stools and possibly a pub table in the corner.  Bar stools are perfect for billiard and game rooms, as they naturally “go with the flow” of billiards and are built to get on and off of quickly. If larger billiard room furniture is an option, then match your upholstery colors, wood styles, etc. to complement the rest of your billiard room, again with the focal point being your billiard table.  The same applies to any alternative gaming table you might be considering, such as a poker, foosball, or air hockey table. Try going with one that matches most everything else in your billiard room, primarily your pool table.

If you want to go even further, you can add more options to your billiard room and turn it into a multi-purpose game room. Some examples include:

• Installing a wet bar
• Including a pub table with a few bar stools in the corner for separate conversation
• Adding a satellite television system
• Adding a sound system and/or karaoke machine
• Incorporating complementary games, such as darts, poker, foosball, shuffleboard, a pinball machine, etc.

Adding more complementary components to your billiard room will help mold it into the focal point of your entire house, creating an environment that everyone will enjoy.  Not to mention, it will also allow your billiard room users more options if they are not currently engaged in a game of pool.

Once you have started, you will find that decorating the perfect billiard room may be an ongoing process, as the human mind changes with the weather.  And remember, decorate to please yourself, and have fun.  You will be amazed at what you can achieve.  Check out Billiard N Bar Stools for an abundance of ideas, articles and products to put the finishing touches on your home Billiard Room.

Deciding on New Furniture for Your Billiard or Game Room

When determining what kind of furniture to add to a home rec room, many aspects must be taken into account.  All of the individual furniture and decor choices one makes, either by themselves or collectively as a whole, will affect the mood and ambiance of your new home billiard room.  You will have many options from which to choose, so do not be hasty.  Take your time to make valued and educated decisions about design, color, practicality, and space usage.  For starters, consider these qualities when choosing new billiard room furniture.

First, color coordination is essential for a good-looking rec room.  Consider the overall colors of the room first, such as paint color or floor color and design.  Also factor in the colors and styles of larger pieces of furniture already in the room, like a pool table or bar.  If you own a pool table with red felt, you won’t want bright green bar stools, unless, of course, you really enjoy Christmas time.  Or if you have a solid wooden oak bar, go with stained solid oak bar stools to match.

Themes are always fun to experience with when redecorating a home billiard or game room, even when you are dealing with furniture.  Brainstorm your interests.  Do you have a favorite sports team?  Or how about a tropical island or beach theme?  My billiard room consists of a St. Louis Rams theme, including items such as bar stools, a dart board, a rug, game pennants, clocks and so on.  With themes, anything is possible, from automotive logos to zodiac signs.

Colors are extremely important, and many of them have different meanings.  Keep in mind that this is your rec room, so go with colors that suit who you are and what you like.  For example, a young, vibrant person may pick blues or oranges, symbolizing youth or vitality, whereas an individual in tune with nature might want some greens or earthtones.  Below is a list of common colors and the positive feelings with which they are associated:

• Red – action, confidence, vitality, courage
• Pink – beauty, love
• Blue – youth, peace, spirituality, truth
• Purple – royalty, mystery, magic
• Green – nature, life, well-being, fertility
• Yellow – happiness, joy, wisdom, intellectual energy
• Gold – wealth, prosperity, wisdom
• Orange – endurance, vitality
• Brown – convention, earth, order
• Black – earth, stability
• White – cleanliness, purity
• Gray – security, maturity
• Indigo – intuition, deep contemplation

You want the mood and atmosphere in your billiard room to always remain positive.  Choose colors that best suit you and the atmosphere you wish to project.

Remember to leave lots of space for easy movement during activities.  You do not want to go too crazy with the amount of furniture you choose.  Base the amount of furniture you want on the size of your billiard or rec room, but keep away from the cluttered look no matter how big the room is.   For example, a set of bar stools and a pub table looks good in an adjacent corner to the billiard table, or a Tiffany billiard lamp adds class to any pool room, taking up no extra space whatsoever.  Use these suggestions to get you started.  Once you get into your groove, you will find that your new billiard room furniture possibilities are many.

Billiard N Bar Stools has a large selection of billiard and game room furniture right before your eyes.  Come see what we have to see if we can further the desired outcome of your home billiard room.

Too Cold Outside? Consider an Indoor Pool Party Instead

An indoor pool party??  To understand my true meaning, think of a different type of “pool” party…say billiards, for example.  Billiards provide a different kind of pool party altogether, providing for a fun and exciting time indoors without needing a swimming suit.  Creating a home billiard or game room for your family will not only build long lasting family memories and provide for hours and hours of indoor entertainment, but will most likely increase the value of your house, as well.  Let’s examine some of the key factors to consider when creating an upbeat, yet relaxing, new billiard room or home activity area.

Obviously, if you are going with billiards, then a pool table must be present for a pool room to exist, along with at least one or two complementary billiard room games to entertain those who are waiting for their turns or simply want to engage in something other than pool. If you are lacking the space or money for a full-sized billiard table, consider a smaller six-foot table, or a hexagonal bumper pool table, which are much smaller and cheaper, yet still endless fun. A ping pong or air hockey table is also a cheaper alternative to a full-sized billiard table. As for complimentary pool room games, you will want to select activities that take up much less space. A dart cabinet is a great billiard room game. It hangs on the wall and requires very little playing room. Other ideas include a foosball table, video game coffin, pinball machine, entertainment center with television, Blu-ray, etc., plus may others.

Another thing to think about is what furniture you will want to include. Just remember that no matter what you decorate with, the whole idea behind a pool room is to relax, enjoy yourself, and have a good time. Fill your billiard room walls with items you enjoy looking at and with colors that are pleasing to your eyes. A poorly colored or decorated pool or game room can seriously dampen your mood, making it less desirable every time you enter. Some more popular home billiard room furniture and decor includes bar stools and pub tables, Tiffany stained glass lamps, wall cue racks, wall mirrors, neon clocks and signs, and beer steins, just to name a few.

Something else commonly overlooked for a game room is music. Any home pool room can be good, but music can make it great, as music provides pleasure for your ears just as color and decor does for your eyes. Without music in your billiard room, the silence and monotony can create a very dull, drab atmosphere, leaving the mood less exciting and making your game room less enticing. Not to mention, music helps to build longer lasting memories, as well, and often acts as a trigger to bring up past experiences. Music can be channeled into your “pool” party through a number of outlets, including AM/FM radio, Satellite radio, CDs or personal collection, internet streaming, and so on.

I hope these new billiard room ideas helped, or maybe even coerced, you into getting started on your own home pool or game room.  And when it is cold outside, simply tell your friends that your “pool” party has been moved indoors.  Sure, it is a different kind of pool, but nonetheless, still a ton of fun, providing endless excitement and good times.

Billiard N Bar Stools contains a number of billiard room furniture, accessories, and decor.  We also offer a large amount of articles, literature, and photos explaining how to create a home billiard room, so it will be enjoyed continuously by everyone, day after day.

Music: Your Home Billiard or Game Room Mood Enhancer

In order to have the perfect home billiard or game room, the accompaniment of music is vital if you want to sustain the maximum fun and excitement the room can provide.  In so many ways, music adds a certain ambiance not felt without it, invoking many feelings and emotions.  It does so much more than add to the mood of your game room.  Perhaps best of all, music tends to create and trigger memories by the thousands.

Music has different meanings to almost all walks of life. And with so many different decades, musical genres, and musical styles to choose from, there is some type of music out there to suit almost anybody.  From classical to current dance and top 40 selections, music has always been around us…in our cars, on our televisions, and constantly running through our minds, sometimes even driving us proverbially crazy.  So why not have it in your billiard or rec room, too?

A plethora of musical systems and devices are out on the market that would more than suffice for any small-to-large-sized billiard or game room.  Whichever musical system you decide upon, remember that you will want to provide a widely assorted variety of musical styles.  You will want to have selections for every type of person, whether it is friends, colleagues, children, adults, women, men, etc.  I know that trying to please everyone is a hard task, but each individual has his or her own musical preference, and it is best to have an array of musical selections from which to choose.

Of course, each musical outlet available for a home billiard or game room has both advantages and disadvantages over others.  Some more popular musical devices for your billiard or game room, along with their more common advantages and disadvantages, include:

• AM/FM Radio – Free, easy to install, decent musical selection, but full of commercials and rather repetitive
• Satellite Radio – Probably the widest variety of selections, very few repeats, and almost no commercials and advertisements, but involves a monthly fee, and setup and installation process is a bit more involved than just flipping a switch
• Internet Radio (Pandora©, etc.) – A wide array of music is available and can be narrowed down by search. Sometimes fees are involved, but not usually.  Internet access and a sound system in your billiard room with internet connections is required, and streamability can be a potential issue, especially in a basement game room or with a slow internet speed connection.
• CDs or Pre-Recorded Songs – Very easy to change musical selections, but variety usually depends on the extent of game room owner’s CD collection.  Also, unless you play a CD in its entirety, you are constantly having breaks in the music and interruptions in your billiard game or other activity.
• Jukebox – Provides perhaps the most control over musical selections being added to your game room experience. A jukebox can be filled with whatever vinyls or songs that the owner desires, and many selections can be chosen at once, avoiding “dead air” time you may experience with CDs or other manual musical outlets. Also, it provides, unlike other musical outlets, a more nostalgic value to your game room.  However, it can be expensive, considering the initial purchase and constant new musical selections you may choose to fill it with.  Changing records and labels is also rather time consuming, not to mention that any jukebox can only hold a limited number of musical selections.
• Karaoke Machine – One of the more fun musical devices for a game room or recreation area. It provides hours of entertainment, and can actually even be one of the “games” in a home game room. Some karaoke machines allow you to play the real songs without actually singing along, but some do not, providing nothing more than personal entertainment. Also, musical selections are limited and usually preprogrammed into the machine, not allowing for much, if any, musical expansion.

Not having music in your home billiard room or activity area is kind of like having cake with no icing.  Sure, the cake tastes okay by itself, but the icing usually makes it ten times better.  Just like cake and icing, music and fun times complement each other well.  Your billiard room might be rather dull and drab with no tunes.  Even if you have the best games and activities available that money can buy, your game room may not be as enticing without music included.  And the memories that music creates will add to your and your guests’ lifelong experiences, not to mention they will have a great time in your billiard room, regardless of the activities in which they are participating.  If you have no music in your game room, go spend $20 to $30 for a cheap FM radio.  It’s better than nothing, and you can always upgrade later.

Billiard N Bar Stools has a ton of more articles and literature pertaining to interior decorating, primarily concerning home billiard rooms, game rooms, and  home bars.  Article topics include color selections, choosing themes, furniture choices, and many more. We also carry a wide variety of products for a billiard or game room, including furniture and smaller decor.  Come check us out!