happy anniversary to all who celebrate

Why do the Japanese like their buns askew (2026)

A banner that reads "Game Workers Conference" in white text on a pink and blue background, alongside the ball and threads logo.

Do you work in games? Are you tired of corporate greed taking over our industry? Do you miss when industry events were by workers, for workers?

The United Videogame Workers of CWA, in partnership with other unions and worker-centered organizations, announce the #GameWorkersConference. May 22-23 ❤️‍🔥

Which Steam games caused the most download emissions in 2025? Two things can be true simultaneously: 1) Digital downloads are by far better for the environment than the physical media alternative; shipping discs, cartridges, and plastic cases around the world, ...

I have not kept up with newsletter posting lol

Anyway here’s my best guess for the scale of emissions attributable to simply *downloading games* on Steam

gtg.benabraham.net/which-games-...

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026

"The excess profits come from the pockets of ordinary people… as well as from businesses incurring higher energy bills. Dozens of countries have cut fuel taxes to help, meaning those nations… are raising less money for public services."

We pay. They profit. Then we pay some more.

Record month for EV uptake in Victoria More than 100,000 Victorian drivers have now made the switch to clean and cost-effective zero emissions vehicles, with a big boost in battery electric vehicle sales in Victoria last month. Battery ele...

"Battery electric vehicles accounted for a record 15.4% of new light vehicle sales in Victoria for the month of March 2026. The latest boost in EV sales follows month-on-month increases in January and February of 9.2% and 13.7% of total sales, respectively." www.linkedin.com/pulse/record...

Latest Safeguard Mechanism data shows Australia’s centrepiece climate policy is primarily a clearinghouse for low-integrity offsets — Climate Integrity The latest data published by the CER shows industrial emitters relying heavily on the use of offsets to meet emissions reductions under the Safeguard Mechanism, rather than investing in long-term, sys...

'According to the government’s figures, net emissions fell by 7MT in 2024-25. This will be entirely undone by the North-West Gas shelf expansion – approved during the same period - which will add 7.7 million tonnes to Australia’s Scope 1 emissions each year.'
climateintegrity.org.au/latest/lates...

Good News: The International Court of Justice has declared it has jurisdiction to put Israel on trial. Official legal ruling issued. Court asserts authority to proceed.

Also: Italian Prime Minister Meloni announces suspension of military cooperation and defense agreements with Israel.

30 years ago today, Principal Skinner purchased fast food to disguise as his own cooking at an unforgettable luncheon with Superintendent Chalmers.

#TheSimpsons episode “22 Short Films About Springfield” first aired April 14, 1996.

Endless summer: How the hottest season gained 49 days in 33 years By 2023, Sydney’s warmest season lasted 125 days – up from 76 days in 1990. Within a few decades, it could stretch for half the year.

"From 1961 to 1970, an average Sydney summer started on January 5 and ended on March 9. From 1991 to 2000, it was December 2 to March 12. And from 2014 to 2023, it was November 2 to March 28."

This is both insane and obvious, just based off memory and experience.
www.theage.com.au/environment/...

everyone involved in the dismantling of USAID should be forced to spend their lives watching graphic videos of what they have subjected people to in their callousness, clockwork orange style

How far on a dollar — 13 April 2026 How far can $1 of petrol take the average car vs $1 of electricity in an EV? Live comparison using real fuel and electricity prices in Melbourne.

A beautiful illustration for Australians, and the rest of us. A simple bar graph that depicts how far you can go on a $Aus with petrol, and how far with electricity.
(BTW, the refining of oil into petrol uses a metric sh!t ton of electricity)
More info: elitre.com.au/dollar

You know what fucking rules? Opening a couple of Gaming Websites in new tabs and immediately having my whole fucking M2 Mac completely chug to the point of dropping audio just because of fucking bullshit ads

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE: Palestinians file legal action against the Minister for Defence to force transparency over arms exports to Israel Palestinian human rights organisations have launched legal action against the Minister for Defence, seeking the release of documents to determine if the Australian government has permitted arms export...

Critical legal step taken today to help end Australia’s export of weapons and weapon parts to Israel. Three Palestinian human rights groups, represented by @theacij.bsky.social have filed legal action to force transparency over Australia’s arms exports to Israel acij.org.au/joint-media-...

sure, why not

I was on the NPR show Climate One! Talking about how games choose to interact with, or ignore, the climate crisis.

www.climateone.org/audio/press-...

It doesn't take much pushing to get it helping you out with The Forbidden DIY Projects

French Prime Minister announced a ban on installing gas heating systems "by year's end" in new buildings, including multi-unit housing, to curb dependence on fossil fuels.
Biz will get aid for electric vans and trucks, up to €100,000 – including cargo bikes.

I don't think people really appreciate that like 60% of the world's problems derive from "google stole all the world's ad money".

Australia consumes more diesel per capita than any other country in the world. 80% more than the USA.
Why did Australia get so hooked on diesel?
Great discussion below with @akshatrathi.bsky.social + @davidfickling.bsky.social. The graph that every Australian needs to see + do something about:

M.I.S.S. #286 - Hidden Dungeon Top Down 3D - Hede Strikes Again With A $100 USD Broken Asset Flip! YouTube video by Zaxtor99

Others have called out this dodgy (Russian?) publisher on Reddit THREE whole years ago www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comm...

And also in this very weird and confusing video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV28...

This game drops you in a cursed desert where soccer seems to be the only law. The Old West aesthetic, mixed with a supernatural touch, creates a curious atmosphere that, while simple, is striking and even funny. But the real "curse" came right from the start: I opened the game and all six achievements popped up one after another, as if the ghostly sheriff himself were rushing me out of there. I hadn't even touched the ball and it was already "completed." A comical detail, but one that makes it clear the experience is geared more towards quick achievements than a real challenge. The gameplay is minimal, the minutes of content fly by, and the match ends before you can even settle into your chair. That said, as a curiosity or for a quick dose of achievements, it's adequate. In short: a brief stroll through a haunted West where the rewards come on their own. Fun for a few moments, but too fleeting to recommend beyond the achievement collection.

The slightly simpler alternative is that it's just pure achievement hunter spam garbage – one reviewer describes one of the games like this: "as a curiosity or for a quick dose of achievements, it's adequate."

I imagine the play might go like this:
– set up the most expensive monthly bundle you can
– have your dirty money buy Valve Steam cards with cash
– then you pay for a super over-priced bundle
– at the cost of a 30% cut, you have washed your dirty money through Steam

A series of extremely expensive Steam bundles priced at $1261, $1565 and $2044 each.

Just some very normal Steam pricing right here. The games are also barely even finished. Trailers that are 14 seconds long. Asset store assets. Bunch of default project looking graphics... the only thing I think might explain it is........ money laundering?

"The biggest policy question in Australia right now is this: what will the government do to rapidly electrify everything?"

New from me in @reneweconomy.com.au after the events of this week and how this conversation has played out.

“Private equity, at its worst, is capturing the debt servicing capacity of a company to enrich financiers while making life worse for other people”

@johnmerrick.bsky.social sat down with @hettieobrien.bsky.social to talk about the rise of private equity and her new book, The Asset Class

European power prices are split since the US-Iran conflict. Gas-reliant markets like Italy and Ireland have seen high prices (€140/MWh) while renewable rich regions including Spain, Portugal and Sweden see far lower prices (€40/MWh).

These are average wholesale daily prices (8am to 8pm).

Very interesting to see the losing side reneg on a ceasefire agreement. Do they *want* to lose more? They surely could!

Lebanon: ICRC outraged by deadly strikes in densely populated areas The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is outraged by the devastating death and destruction in densely populated areas across Lebanon today following intensified military operations.

Difficult to describe how unusual it is for @icrc.org to speak publicly like this.

"Heavy explosive weapons with wide-area effects struck densely populated urban areas, including the capital Beirut, without effective advance warnings."

ICRC Outraged by Deadly Strikes in Densely Populated Areas