SAG-AFTRA announces plans to picket Activision on Wednesday as part of its ongoing strike against game companies over the use of AI actors in video games. Back in the formative days of labor unions picket lines were full-time efforts marked by extreme hardship and violence. But this is drastically different in the present day, and this week's demonstration at Activision's Santa Monica offices will run from Noon to 3:00 pm EDT. Here's a refresher:

SAG-AFTRA members who perform in video games went on strike against all video game companies signed to the Interactive Media Agreement, effective 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 26.

SAG-AFTRA is striking this contract so that members working in interactive media (video games) can continue earning a living doing the job they love. Our members’ work and likenesses are being exploited by artificial intelligence, and video game companies have refused to offer a fair deal that addresses this existential threat.

• ANTONBLAST on Steam (Windows). "ANTONBLAST is a fast-paced explosive action platformer that's all about destruction. Play as the enraged Dynamite Anton (or his cranked-out coworker Annie) and use your Mighty F’n Hammer to demolish bizarre worlds, tussle with screen-filling bosses, and steal your Spirits back from Satan!"
• Sand on Steam (Windows). "SAND is a vast, open world PVPVE game where you explore the fallen planet of Sophie. Build gigantic Tramplers to conquer this hostile environment, filled with mystical anomalies, monuments, and other players. Find out what happened in this fallen world, once ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

• Marvel Studios Rumored To Be Developing The First Ever MCU-Set Video Game - Comic Book Movie.

Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• New Skyrim Mod enables AMD FSR 3.1 Native AA & NVIDIA DLAA - DSOGaming.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - The Replacer -Rideshare Driver.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - There's some new equipment arriving in #BlackOps6. Homing knife? Really?
• Sand - Official Gameplay Demo.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Deep in Deathroot Depths - Elden Ring #82 - Carbot.

• Free Starlink for Hurricane Helene victims not entirely free • The Register. Thanks Reddit.

• Facebook, X and TikTok- How social media algorithms shape speech - BBC.
• Shocking revelations about teens in redacted TikTok documents - NPR.

• Are custom liquid-cooled PCs even worth it anymore? Why we’re fast approaching the end for bespoke cooling - TechRadar. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Asus Z890 motherboard launch lineup lacked a back-connector model, but firm commits to 'design, development, and production of BTF solutions' - Tom's Hardware.
• The 'strawberrry' problem- How to overcome AI's limitations - VentureBeat.

• Pokémon Developer Game Freak Reportedly Hacked, Stolen Data on Unannounced Games as Well as Nintendo Switch 2 Codename Leaked - IGN.
• A Mysterious Hacking Group Has 2 New Tools to Steal Data From Air-Gapped Machines - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• New Gmail Security Alert For 2.5 Billion Users As AI Hack Confirmed - Forbes.
• Trump campaign connected with Elon Musk’s X before it blocked links to hacked materials - CNN Business.

• Headset/Earbuds: Creative Outlier Free+ & Outlier Pro+ Bone Conduction Headphones - Nikk Tech.
• Headset/Earbuds: Razer Kraken V4 Gaming Headset - Mad Shrimps.
• Laptop: Dell XPS 13 (9350) review- Lunar Lake on defense - Tom's Hardware. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Monitor/Projector: Titan Army P32A2S2 32-inch 240 Hz QHD gaming monitor review- Quick, bold color and a great value - Tom's Hardware.
• PC: MSI Vision Elite RS Review- A Vision of Gaming Perfection - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).

There was a question in the forums this week about my excitement level about the NY Mets and what's so far been a dramatic postseason experience. The answer is that my excitement level is indeed pretty extreme, but I feel like I talk too much about sportsball for most people's tastes, so I try (and fail) to not overdo it. But I am on the topic right now, because as hard as it is for me to believe, I have to complain again about inconsiderate scheduling. For a second week in a row the New York Giants game is directly opposite the New York Mets game. Okay, not directly, the football game gets underway a full five minutes after the opening pitch for the baseball game. I don't imagine it's in the best interest of either league to have to split the audience in the largest media market in the country between two games. But I guess it's expecting too much Major League Baseball and the National Football League to be able to coordinate schedules on things like this? After all, a full four blocks separate each league's headquarters. Oh, yeah, and those offices are in midtown Manhattan, the heart of New York City. It's very hard to figure out the thinking here, as this seems like a money loser, and financial considerations are generally the main, if not only, factor in decisions like this.

Scheduled Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Story

• Nat Geo team discovers what's believed to be foot of Everest climber Sandy Irvine - NPR.

Science

• Cells From Different Species Can Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA - WIRED (may require registration or subscription). New phone, who dis?
• Scientists create real-life Spider-Man sticky-web shooter - TechSpot. How hard could it be? Peter Parker was a teenager.
• Researchers want to use pyrolysis to turn asteroids into food for long-term space exploration - TechSpot.

Media

• When guys go to the bathroom 🚽⏳.

Follow-up

• Starship is about to launch on its fifth flight, and this time there’s a catch - Ars Technica.
• Boeing strike has cost company and workers $5 billion, new analysis shows - CNN Business.

The Funnies

• FoxTrot.