Bag of Randomness
Friday, January 16, 2025

While reading an article on the penny being retired, this caught my attention.

American consumers made only 16% of their payments in cash in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve. A 2022 Pew survey found that two-fifths of consumers never use cash at all.

D-FW to receive 50,000 dozen free eggs following settlement over pandemic price-gouging – Egg company Cal-Maine will donate more than 2 million eggs as part of a settlement with the state of Texas.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., one of the nation’s largest egg suppliers, that includes the donation of more than 2 million eggs to food banks across the state as part of a lawsuit alleging price gouging during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 30,000 dozen eggs will be delivered to the North Texas Food Bank, and another 20,000 dozen to the Tarrant Area Food Bank, according to a news release.

Some folks love this integration; others hate where technology is leading us.

Google Starts Scanning Your Photos For People And Places—Decision Time

Google has now confirmed the biggest upgrade to Gemini we have seen… and sees AI link all your Google platforms together to personalize its offering. For some this is a game-changer. For others, it’s terrifying.

Google says it’s “a step towards truly personal AI.” If it works as billed it’s undoubtedly powerful.

… if you upgrade, “your Google Photos data is used to infer your interests, relationships to people in your photos, and where you’ve been, including by associating your face with corresponding location data and timestamps.” And inferring intelligence from photos is a heavy focus within the example use cases Google has released.

For example, suggesting tire types for a family car by “referencing our family road trips to Oklahoma found in Google Photos” and then providing the license plate by pulling “the seven-digit number from a picture in Photos.”

Trouble in Aggieland.

Texas A&M decided to publicly cancel my Ethics class, and share a false statement that I declined to provide information, which made it impossible for [them ] to request an exemption. See for yourself, if this statement is true.They are getting creative!

— Dr. Leonard Bright (@drleonardbright.bsky.social) 2026-01-14T22:12:02.475Z

Say goodbye to the forklift.

I consider Under Pressure to be the quintessential rock song, especially the live concert version. David Bowie picked Annie Lennox to perform Under Pressure with him at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. This rehearsal is amazing. I got a kick out of seeing George Michael standing in the background singing along.

Here’s the actual performance, post-rehearsal. Lennox was asked by a fan which one of her performances was her favorite gig, and she specifically referenced this moment.

Mack Brown, Vince Young, and their team were recently honored by the Rose Bowl. That’s one fine inscription. How fitting it was Keith Jackson’s last game. Also, on that last touchdown, I appreciate how Young acted. He didn’t spike the ball, do a dance, hoop or holler, or draw attention to himself; he was composed, cradled the ball, and it all let you know how much he valued the moment. Nice and dignified.

Yup, that’s what you call an executive decision.

No telling what future versions of the Fleshlight will be like.

Scientists develop nanophotonic material that changes color, texture, and shape on demand – A serendipitous discovery with some interesting potential applications

According to a newly published paper, this metasurface is the first polymer capable of changing both its color and texture on demand. This behavior is similar to that observed in many octopus specimens and other cephalopods, which can “tweak” their skin for camouflage, communicate complex messages, and more.

The researchers essentially developed the material by chance, using a patterning technique from semiconductor manufacturing known as electron-beam lithography. Stanford engineers noticed that the electron beam altered the polymer’s ability to absorb liquids. When they examined the nanostructures on the polymer film with a scanning electron microscope, they observed that the material could also display different colors and surface textures.

The future is now. And, I hope I made one person laugh with how I teased the article.

 

 

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