I had a 1974 episode of The Rockford Files was playing in the background. Rockford stated his rate was $200 a day, plus expenses. As I often do when I watch old shows and movies, I decided to visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.
That amount today would be worth about $1,166.00. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.74% per year between 1974 and 2025, producing a cumulative price increase of 551.22%.
A loyal reader reminded me of the The Brimley/Cocoon Line, which I’m dangerously croping in on.
We all thought Wilford Brimley was pretty old-looking in Cocoon. But 50 isn’t what it used to be.
Lt. Col. Tammy Duckworth had
both her legs blown off in 2004 while piloting a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq.
Mr. Vice President, I didn’t think you could be any more of a flaming piece of shit than virtually everyone… https://t.co/C32JG3WwgV
I couldn’t help but think about what I read in this article:
It’s got to be a tough pill to swallow knowing your employer laid you off for cost savings, while overpaying the wife of a sitting billionaire president for a documentary no one is going to see.
I’m having to dig into savings, but I noticed a little risk I took after reading a Jerry Jones article in June 2019 will pay off. The article reported that the worst GM in the NFL decided to invest in a natural gas exploration initiative in East Texas. I thought it was worth taking a chance because Jerry may not know football, but he knows drilling.
“There’s $100 billion present value with gas out there,” the 83-year-old billionaire said in an interview. “That’s why I’m talking to you on the telephone rather than trying to fix our defense with the Dallas Cowboys.” WSJ
Of course, I have also made many poor investment choices over the years.
I know nothing about electricity distribution. However, with today’s technology, wouldn’t it be possible to use a low-voltage heating device to prevent power lines from freezing? I’m willing to bet those heating elements could be powered by solar panels or mini-turbines at the top of each pole or tower, with the power stored in batteries.
One thing about this tragic story I haven’t heard anyone mention is the tremendous guilt the teen driver of the Jeep must be feeling, and how he will probably carry it for life. The pessimist in me wonders if lawsuits will follow.
For the longest time, Dallas Cowboys fans would gripe about media bias regarding the Hall of Fame keeping so many Cowboys from getting enshrined. That media bias sure become evident now that Bill Belichick won’t be making it to the final round of voting.
Austin has a new concept grocery store that is pick-up or drive-thru only. I like the name of the place.
Goods is a pickup only grocery store powered by Pipedream.
I finally watched John Carpenter’s The Thing for the first time. To be honest, I think this is the only John Carpenter movie I’ve seen, as I’ve avoided horror in my younger days. The movie was better than expected, and seeing an un-moustached Wilford Brimley was pleasand surprise.
At first, I was confused because I made a post on Monday. However, it turns out I made a mistake scheduling the couple of posts, thus no recent posts. Sorry about that. It’s nice to know that someone actually cares and appreciates my content. I should post more often, I try to twice a week. Things have been just so darn discouraging as of late, personally and nationally. Hopefully, I can be more consistent.
Ah, what the heck, I’m turning comments on today.
I had a pipe freeze on Monday, which caused a big, unfortunate mess. I rushed to the main water turnoff valve in the front yard, but had trouble finding and accessing it because it was covered by at least two inches of ice.
The leak caused was such a mess that I knew my small one-gallon wet-dry vac wouldn’t put a dent in it. Thankfully, my neighbor let me borrow his larger one that holds sixteen gallons. I had to empty that thing six times. My quick math tells me that’s about 96 gallons. I called the property management company immediately, but had to leave two messages and didn’t get a hold of them until a couple of hours later.
This tweet randomly appeared in my feed, and I thought it made a strange and outrageous claim. I’ve been in a lot of local non-chain donut shops over the last three decades. Each has a slightly different taste and/or texture, and every one had a visible kitchen in the back.
How the DFW donut cartel works (because you care):
There’s a donut shop on every corner here. And they all get donuts from the same wholesaler, delivered at 3am daily…
…except for one. That one exception is called Max’s Donuts in Allen. BEST DONUTS IN THE WORLD! Made on… pic.twitter.com/ssC6WaAyXk
As you go through the thread, you can even see that he double-downed on it. I can’t tell if this guy is insane or leaning into it a bit and using AI to make up stuff.
And, for the record, this family-owned shop in my old neighborhood has the best donuts and kolaches I’ve ever had, and I continue to go out of my way to support them. If they had a website or even a Facebook page, I would have linked to it, but that’s how mom-and-pop they are.
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.
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 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.”
Today, we’re introducing Personal Intelligence.
With your permission, Gemini can now securely connect information from Google apps like @Gmail, @GooglePhotos, Search and @YouTube history with a single tap to make Gemini uniquely helpful & personalized to *you* ✨
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!
These are Filics Units by Filics, a Munich-based German robotics startup. They’re autonomous mobile robots that slide under pallets, lift loads up to 1 ton, and move omnidirectionally with lights for navigation.
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.
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.
VY and I had a blast looking back on our trips to the Rose 🌹 Bowl. Thanks to all the guys on those teams and all the fans that helped us get there! pic.twitter.com/c3mc1ijdiD
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.
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness Friday, January 16, 2025
