• Holidays Are Coming to Red Dead Online.
• AMD and MSI Cancel Physical Presence at CES 2022.

• Bzzz: Japan-built drone vacuums dangerous wasp nests. Thanks Max.

• Alexa told a child to try a dangerous stunt because that's what the search engine said.

• Some Asus Z690 Hero Motherboards Have Melting MOSFETs, Theory Proposed.
• Windows 11 bug is messing with colors on some HDR monitors.
• PC Gamer Hardware Awards- What is the best motherboard of 2021.
• StreamFab version 5.0.1.3. Thanks Console General.
• Bad Ass Custom Build of the Day.

• Microsoft launches new Defender capabilities for fixing Log4j.
• Open source security leader Brian Behlendorf discusses the impact of Log4j.
• Why IoT is the cornerstone of AWS's zero-trust strategy.

• What The Matrix Resurrections Really Says About Video Games…

Last Link of the Day: Hendrick's Gin's 'Gaming Chaise' Has Nothing to Do With Gaming.

Obituary: NFL Hall of Fame coach, broadcasting icon John Madden dies at 85.

Moving Out is now available for free as today's holiday giveaway on the Epic Games Store. As the title suggests, this is centered on moving people's possessions into a new home. As the title also evokes some classic warnings, like "who needs a house out in Hackensack?" and "working too hard can give you a heart attack (ack ack ack)." This is yours to keep as long as you move it into your library before tomorrow's giveaway begins tomorrow at 11:00 am EST. Here's word on this co-op action game:

Moving Out is a ridiculous physics-based moving simulator that brings new meaning to "couch co-op"!

Are you ready for an exciting career in furniture? As a newly certified Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician, you’ll take on moving jobs all across the busy town of Packmore. Smooth Moves may not be the biggest moving company, but there’s no task too dangerous or strange for this busy team of go-getters. Grow your business to brave new heights, recruit colourful customizable characters, and save your town from furniture peril!

Remedy Entertainment announces Vanguard, which is the codename for a free-to-play PvE multiplayer shooter coming to PC, consoles, and mobile. This doesn't yet carry a release window, but early details include that this is a Games-as-a-Service project being developed on the Unreal Engine 5 to be published in Asia by Tencent and by Remedy in other territories. Here's what we know so far:

The game codenamed Vanguard (“the game”), Remedy’s original intellectual property, is a free-to-play, co-operative PvE shooter that combines Remedy’s narrative expertise and action gameplay into an immersive multiplayer experience. The game is developed with the Unreal Engine for PC and console platforms. Remedy will develop and publish the game worldwide, excluding selected Asian markets, where Tencent will localize and publish the game.

The game’s development is currently in the proof-of-concept phase. Its development budget up to the end of the first year of live operations will be in the range of a typical Remedy AAA game budget. This development will be co-financed by Remedy and Tencent. In addition, Tencent will localize the game for the selected Asian markets and cover the related localization costs.

Bloomberg Law reports that Riot Games has settled the gender discrimination lawsuit that's hung over the company since 2018. It appeared this was all settled in 2019, but after objections were raised, the lawsuit was reopened last year. Word is the new settlement will cost Riot $100 million in compensation and legal fees:

Riot Games Inc., a Tencent Holdings Ltd. subsidiary, settled a 2018 gender discrimination class-action suit by agreeing to pay $100 million in compensation and legal fees.

The settlement agreement announced Monday stipulates that Riot will pay $80 million to all current and former employees and contractors who identify as women and worked for Riot at any time since Nov. 2014. The payment will be distributed via a fund, pending court approval. A further $20 million will cover attorneys’ fees and miscellaneous expenses, and Riot has agreed to have its pay processes overseen by a third party for a period of three years, the company said in a statement.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive » 2022 Service Medal.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• This Stardew Valley mod makes managing your inventory way easier.

• PCGamesN - Time sinks like AC Valhalla are ruining games, not microtransactions.
  "But in order to get you to buy into those microtransactions, publishers don’t just have to make a game you like – that game has to become a significant part of your life. You might check out the Assassin’s Creed II DLC one weekend if you played through the main game months ago, but you’re not going to pick up that sick new Eivor skin on the Ubisoft Store unless you’re living in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla every day."

• Players Choice - Indie of the Year 2021 feature - Indie DB.
• Players Choice - Mod of the Year 2021 feature - Mod DB.
• Meet The Two Teenage Brothers Dominating Tetris (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Neutronbeam.

• This Week's Deals With Gold And Spotlight Sale Plus The Countdown Sale - Xbox's Major Nelson.

• 17-inch Lenovo ThinkBook Plus laptop comes with a built-in tablet of sorts. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Xiaomi Watch S1 smartwatch goes official in China.

Thanks Ant.

• ‘Podcast Movies’- Feature-length Fiction Stretches the Medium.
• Ozzy Osbourne Is Betting Fans Will Be Hungry for His NFTs. By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings! Thanks RedEye9.
• Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to put penny in plug socket. Looking to get in on that sweet Darwin Award action. Thanks brother19.
• Relive Apple's golden years with this incredible Monterey-Mac OS 9 mashup.
• SeaMonkey 2.53.10.2 Release Notes.

Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

• Samsung NAND Plant Enters Emergency Mode After Covid Outbreak.
• Why 2021 was the year QLED finally beat OLED.
• Acer Monitor Fires Investigated- Blown Capacitors on Acer XV340CK (video).
• CES 2021 Worst in Show — The Repair Association. Missed at the time. Looking forward to this year's awards. Thanks RedEye9.
• Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg Dedicates Nation’s First-Ever 3D Printed Habitat Home to Williamsburg. Thanks Slashdot.
• Glary Utilities..5.179.0.207...Dec. 27-21. Thanks DSLReports.
• 7-Zip..version 21.07 (December 26, 2021). Thanks DSLReports.

• Vulnerability Summary for the Week of December 20, 2021 - CISA. Thanks Ant.

• Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX - Christ Centered Gamer.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• CPU Cooler: Fractal Design Lumen S24 & S24 RGB CPU Water Cooling Systems - Nikk Tech.
• Headset: Grell TWS-1 customizable in-ear headphones - Engadget.
• Headset: Monolith by Monoprice M1070C review - SoundGuys.
• Laptop: My favorite laptop of the year was completely unexpected - Tom's Guide.
• Laptop: MSI Katana GF66 Review - PCMag.
• Monitor: iiyama G-Master G2740QSU Black Hawk Monitor - OCinside.
• RAM: addlink addGame Spider X4 RGB DDR4-3600 2x 8GB Review - TechPowerUp.
• RAM: TeamGroup A440 PRO PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe review - Guru3D.
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 8TB SSD Preview - Size Matters - TweakTown.

• Was 2021 the worst year ever for games?…
• Why 2021 Was the Biggest Year for the Labor Movement in Games (may require registration or subscription)…
• Hideo Kojima Working on Two New Game Projects; One a 'Big Title'…
• Why It's Smart to Be 10 Years Behind in Gaming. Thanks Neutronbeam…

The lull around the holidays is a welcome break since I work year-round, so it's a chance to take it easier. Today the quietness has an additional benefit, as I got sick last night. I woke up in the middle of the night and vomited, and this morning had what we'll delicately call further bathroom difficulties. This is unusual for me, as I have a pretty iron stomach, but it sounds a lot like food poisoning. But MrsBlue and I have been eating the exact same leftovers since Christmas, so it's hard to see how I could get an isolated bout, as she's feeling fine. But I'm feeling much better already too. So I'm not happy at being sick, but it's good that it didn't really disrupt things here too badly. Not exactly a Festivus miracle, but prettay, prettay good.

Prettay Good Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Science

• The Science of Gift Wrapping Explains Why Sloppy Is Better Than Neat. Thanks Max.
• 2021 was a huge year for space exploration. With NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship, 2022 could be even bigger (may require registration or subscription).

Images

• How Infrared Photography Can Create Stunning Sci-Fi Night Photos.

Media

• Carvana making dreams come true. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Transnorthern DC3 at Anchorage on Dec 8th 2021, engine failure and gear up landing. Thanks VideoSift.

Follow-ups

• A nation in turmoil sealed the Monkees’ fate and left Mike Nesmith bitter. But, in the end, he became a believer. Thanks Acleacius.
• Dinklage Reflects On "Thrones" Finale Backlash. Excellent actor, terrible critic.