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Kendrick Lamar’s fee for performing at the Super Bowl. He will get a tiny performers’ union payout. Last year’s headliner, Usher, got a check for $671. The real payment? His Spotify plays shot up 550% after the show.
Tags: Spotify, Super Bowl
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Kendrick Lamar’s fee for performing at the Super Bowl. He will get a tiny performers’ union payout. Last year’s headliner, Usher, got a check for $671. The real payment? His Spotify plays shot up 550% after the show.
Tags: Spotify, Super Bowl
This makes cents: If you’re looking to make some extra cash, this might be for you. Instacart is rolling out a new side gig where you can make money by just taking photos of products on store shelves. This way, brands see what’s selling and how their products look to customers. The pay? Around $12 for 10 minutes of work (paywall link). I made $15 taking pics of store shelves at Costco while writing about the TaskRabbit app years ago. Too bad I walked out with 50 boxes of animal crackers and a kayak.
A real-life nightmare: Imagine random people showing up at your door, primed and ready for a good time. That’s what happened to a university professor who was stalked for seven years. The creep behind it fed her info into an AI chat site where people hang out, looking for sex. The first line of his ad? “[Victim] Is University’s Hottest Professor. How Will You Seduce Her?” She wasn’t his only victim, and the 36-year-old guy could spend up to 20 years in prison.
🐾 I’m a dog person: My Abby makes life better. It turns out that’s true even if the pet isn’t real. Ageless Innovation makes meowing cats, wagging dogs and chirping birds that respond like the real thing, minus the walking, feeding or litter box duty. Now they’re all over assisted-living facilities and even hospice care centers. Some 93% of folks say they feel more joy after getting one. They’re for sale on Amazon.
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They only care about money: Searching “undress app” on Google brings up paid-search promoted results for AI tools that create nonconsensual naked pictures. All you need is a photo of someone’s face to make a very lifelike fake. Google’s ad policies prohibit deepfakes, but these links keep showing up. When there’s money to be made, enforcement gets blurry.
😱 Apple, we have a problem: For the first time ever, crypto-stealing apps made it into Apple’s App Store. (Yes, they’re on Google Play, too.) The infected apps snoop through your images, looking for crypto wallet recovery phrases. One of them, ChatAi, has 50,000 downloads on Google Play. I sure hope you’re using malware protection on your phone.
This is why I don’t change at the gym: A 68-year-old creep in Kaysville, Utah, planted a camera in a gym’s private tanning room. He connected it to the gym’s Wi-Fi for remote access to the footage. It was there two whole days before anyone noticed. Before you tan, change clothes or go to the bathroom in public, look around for a camera first. There are so many creeps in the world.
🚨 DeepSeek gets all your deep secrets: I said this when DeepSeek first came out, but maybe you weren’t paying close attention. If you use DeepSeek AI, your login information to various sites, documents, pics, searches, videos and more goes straight to China. They’re not even trying to hide it. PSA: Only use DeepSeek the secure way if you have to at all. Steps here on my site.
🔑 Know the secret Amazon code: A woman bought a $600 coat on Amazon. In the pocket, she found house keys and a car fob with an Apple AirTag attached. The AirTag wasn’t in Lost mode, but she tracked down the owner days later. Turns out, that new coat was a return. Prepare to be amazed by this insider tip: You can tell if an item you bought on Amazon was returned if it has a label that starts with “LPN.” Seriously, where else can you get this intel?
To stream Super Bowl LIX on Tubi. All you need to sign up is an email address (no credit card, yay!). Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 9. No idea who’s playing yet, but I know you love it when something’s free!
On Prince Edward Island, Canada Laura Kelly’s doorbell cam caught the exact moment a meteorite fell. In a big first, the cam also caught the sound it made on impact. It happened last July, but scientists just dropped their findings. Huh, sounds different than I expected.
🌠 The sky is falling: On Prince Edward Island in Canada, Laura Kelly’s doorbell cam caught the exact moment a meteorite fell. In a big first, the cam also caught the sound it made on impact. This happened last July, but scientists just released their findings. Huh … sounds different than I expected.
🛑 Stop letting Big Tech decide what you see: StartMail is my pick for privacy-first email. It’s super easy to switch over your contacts and mail, or you can treat it as a fresh inbox for only your VIPs. Save 60% now with my special link.
Adult diaper influencer: You read that right. It’s 27-year-old YouTuber Bumble Pree, who has trouble controlling her bladder as a result of multiple sclerosis. Her two diaper companies, InControl and Rearz, make options with trendy designs like kawaii-style cats and unicorns. Their ads feature cute gals in crop tops. The adult diaper biz is set to hit $24 billion by 2030. Hooray, I wrote all that without making a poop joke!
Space heaters recalled: Nearly 8,000 Vornado VH2 Whole Room Heaters sold on Amazon are being recalled. The power cord could detach, leading to electric shocks and fires. Check your heater for the date codes “JUL24” or “AUG24,” along with “TYPE VH2” on the silver label. Hit this link for help.
👀 The IRS is watching: If you sold over $5,000 on sites like eBay, Etsy or StubHub last year, keep an eye out for a 1099-K form in the mail (paywall link). The reporting threshold used to be $20,000. Now, you need to report side hustle earnings over $5,000, even if you don’t get a form from a specific site.
No, you didn’t miss jury duty: This scam is spreading across the U.S. It starts with a call or email from a “court official” saying you’ve gotta pay up via wire transfer or gift card to avoid fines or arrest since you were a no-show. Delete the email or hang up the phone. Then, if you’re still concerned, call your county’s courthouse. Heads-up: Real government websites end in .gov.
Let’s talk AI-bot it: The CIA’s new AI chatbot takes on the personalities and views of foreign presidents and prime ministers so agents can better prepare. This upgrade is part of the intelligence agency’s plan to woo tech partners and create a more Silicon Valley-like work culture.
💸 Stargate will change everything: Yesterday’s announcement by President Trump, along with the biggest tech CEOs, is the most consequential technical project of the century. Stargate is bigger than anything. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son declared a half-trillion-dollar investment in AI. In medicine, Stargate promises cures and the ability to stop most diseases from happening. We cannot fathom all this means except that our country will be an AI leader. Stargate will create an immediate 100,000 jobs.
Can you read cursive handwriting? Now, this is something. The National Archives needs volunteers to help transcribe over 200 years of handwritten historical documents. Most are from the Revolutionary War era, including pension records, geographers’ field notes, and immigration and census records. Interested? Sign up online to get started and preserve the past. What a fun thing to do!