I think we can all agree that sometimes, it's important to prepare for the worst. Part of any good preparation plan includes scenario building. From those various scenarios can come any number of solutions.

So it was with this judicious safety research in mind that my cousins and I embarked on the critical scenario building of what we'd do if the world was full of zombies. Such are the in-depth discussions that brew out of a belly full of Thanksgiving turkey.

Assumptions

First, we needed to lay out some assumptions. What kind of zombies are these? Slow, lumbering Night of the Living Dead zombies? Or fast, vicious 28 Days Later zombies?

We determined they were the latter kind. The most frightening kind. You can't survive by just outrunning them, because they can run as fast as you can.

Second, how intelligent are they? We decided they're not dumb, mindless creatures. They're semi-intelligent, like the vampires of I Am Legend. They're not about to drive cars and develop websites, but they can learn at the pace of a young child.

Next, are the zombies after you, or just walking around, minding their own business? We said they'd be coming after you specifically. They can smell your blood and are hungry for it. So you're constantly on the run.

Finally, we were the only ones still alive. Everyone else was a fast, vicious, semi-intelligent zombie coming after you. Who said life was easy, right? However, we could use whatever we found, such as cars, supplies within grocery stores, and guns from weapon stores.

With those set of scenario assumptions, we played out various solutions.

Scenario One: 28 Days Later Penthouse Solution

We could hole up in the penthouse of a skyscraper, just like the father and daughter team from 28 Days Later. However, as we thought through the logistics, lots of problems emerged. There wouldn't be enough power to last forever. That's a major problem, especially since power is needed to run a refrigerator and possibly heat.

Being in a skyscraper means we're well above the nasty zombie-infested world. But the semi-intelligent zombies would eventually climb up the stairs and hammer down our door. Being holed up anywhere meant they'd eventually break in - especially a simple penthouse room.

Food and water would be another huge problem. Even by raiding a supermarket for all the canned goods we could carry wouldn't be enough. It would run out over time. Water especially. Also, what if the zombies happened to tamper with the power and water lines? They may not be intelligent enough to break them on purpose, but certainly could do it on accident.

The 28 Days Later penthouse solution would definitely not work.

Scenario Two: I Am Legend Offense Solution

We could hole up in a townhouse in the city, just like the hero of I Am Legend. We'd arm ourselves with weapons of all sorts, a trusty dog, and actively go hunting the zombies. The best defense is a strong offense, right?

The power, food and water problems of Scenario One are similar in this one. Not to mention the overwhelming number of zombies determined to eat our brains. All the guns in the world wouldn't be enough to hold off millions of fast, vicious zombies. We'd either run out of bullets or get tired of swinging our axes. Plus, we need sleep and zombies don't.

The I Am Legend offense solution would definitely not work.

Scenario Three: Lost Island Solution

Let's get away from hiding in a building of some kind. How about we hole up on a deserted island somewhere? Sort of like Lost, except without the black smoke monster, genetic experiments, and civil war between shadowy scientists and enigmatic natives?

We'd choose an island where we could be self-sufficient: abundant food sources, fresh water, and materials for shelter. Without a way for the semi-intelligent zombies to get to us, we'd be safe indefinitely. Sure, we'd be living like cavemen again, but at least we could survive.

Sounds like a winner! There aren't many ways to foil this solution.

Well, there's very one small chance of failure. What if a ship full of zombies happened to crash onto the island? Sure, that would assume that a bunch of zombies wandered onto a ship and happened to kick it into motion and happened to aim it at our island. It's a miniscule chance, but it's still a chance.

It's a chance we'd take though. The key seems to be removing ourselves from any large land mass full of zombies. If the zombies can get to us by feet, then we're dead. But if we were someplace they couldn't get to, then we'd have a good chance of survival.

After this intense discussion, we moved on to other vital matters, such as vampires and werewolves. It's important to prepare for the worst. And what better way than to do so with a belly full of Thanksgiving turkey? I hope Janet Napolitano is taking notes.