Icelandic Volcano 2024
A volcano threatens an entire Icelandic town. Colorado supreme court rules that Trump can't be on their 2024 ballot. Spider-Man game developers were hit by a massive hack. And this is my last newsletter of 2023!
Dear Fortune Teller, The Clouds Are Shifting
Around 4,000 people have been evacuated from the town of Grindavik in Iceland after massive volcanic activity has put the region on edge.
The town is in the shadow of a volcano, which the residents are used to being a sorta looming threat.
A report from the BBC quoted a resident in saying, "No, I'm not afraid of going back. If it starts to shake again, I'm just going to leave." Locals went on to note that it basically is life as usual there.
However, Iceland is known for its tourism, especially its volcanic tourism, so there's been scores of tourists flocking to the location to take pictures and revel in the event, making a headache for first responders and locals who are actively trying to get a handle on the situation.
49 States To Go
Colorado's Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump cannot be on the presidential ballot in the state for 2024, citing that his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election constitute insurrection, triggering a provision of the 14th Amendment to prevent him from holding office again.
lol.
Trump's legal team is already planning to appeal this decision, bringing it to the ultra-conservative US Supreme Court, so this is not the end of the story quite yet. If the decision holds, it would be a monumental shift in the tides of the 2024 election, even if Trump is unlikely to have won Colorado. The precedent being upheld, especially if upheld by the SCOTUS, would be historic.
Would be. Would.
Keeping You Up At Night
Video game developer Insomniac Games (they make the Spider-Man games) was targeted by ransomware hackers who have since released 1.6 terabytes of data stolen from the company, including files for unreleased games, private company documents, employee information, and contracts and stuff. It totals over 1.3 million files.
Like, its a lot.
Like, HR documentation. I-9 forms and shit.
The hacker group also had some words to say about their attack:
“We knew that developers making games like this would be an easy target.”
This is one of the largest and potentially most devastating data leaks we've seen in the games industry and at large. The full fallout of the data is still unclear, especially given the quantity of it all.
On This Day…
On this day in 1937, Snow White premiered for the first time, becoming the first premiere of a full length animated feature film.
Here's the Weather
More Stuff
- Comcast/Xfinity announced they have had a data breach affecting over 35 million people
- Wizards of the Coast has reaffirmed that they won't allow generative AI imagery in their materials
- Actor Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of domestic assault and has been dropped by Marvel Studios
- A man in Pennsylvania being held on death row for 20 years has been released after his murder charges were dismissed
- Alec Baldwin was apparently beefing with pro-palestinian protestors
- Activision Blizzard is set to settle their sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit for $55 Million
- Rudy Giuliani has been sued again by the people who just won a defamation lawsuit against him due to the defamation he did during the defamation lawsuit
- Apple is halting the sale of their latest series of watches due to a patent dispute around the blood oxygen sensor in the device
Farewell, 2023
This is my last newsletter of 2023. Thank you all so much for your continued support. This year has been nothing short of transformative in my life, as I have transitioned out of my career in consumer technology and now find myself doing content creation full time.
Your support means everything to me, and your continued readership is humbling.
As I look towards 2024, I am vibrating with excitement. I have several large projects planned, in addition to the ongoing work on Stuff Keeps Happening, The Atlas Loom, and the Astral Campgrounds community. Expect more gaming, vlog, TTRPG, and deep dive content, among continued random bullshit.
Thank you again. Seriously. Bottom-of-my-heart type shit. You let me slide into your inbox with some of the wildest sequences of words I can think of, and somehow you don't report me to the feds. What a true bro [gender neutral] you are.
Take care, be well, and Stuff Keeps Happening will return Monday, January 8th, 2024.