Category Archives: Uncategorized

Roblox Implements Age Estimation

Online games can conceal all sorts of things. For example, back in 2020 a 12 year old allegedly received this message in a chat on the Roblox online platform:

“You’re 12, I expect you to be a little slow on the upbringing, but soon I’ll corrupt you beyond your wildest dreams.”

This chat message wasn’t from another 12 year old, but reportedly from an adult man known in Roblox as “Doc,” with the purported legal name of Jadon Shedletsky. “Doc” was known to have made similar comments publicly, such as self-referencing as “the old man with kids in his basement.”

But “Doc” wasn’t Jadon Shedletsky. He was in reality Arnold Castillo, and several years later was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity and Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. In additon to Roblox, Castillo used Discord and Instagram to communicate with the girl, and Uber for the “transportation of a minor” part.

Understandbly Roblox and the parents of Roblox’s youthful users don’t want the kids to strike up chats with people like Castillo. So Roblox is limiting chats between young kids and adults.

“[O]ur age check requirement to chat, which launched in select regions in early December, is rolling out globally wherever chat is available. Users in the U.S. and select regions will see in-app prompts asking them to complete an age check to chat with others. Over the next week, these prompts will roll out to all regions where chat is available.”

But how do you enforce such rules when kids normally don’t have identification?

According to Biometric Update, with age estimation.

“Roblox uses facial age estimation (FAE) technology from Persona for its Trusted Connections feature, which requires users to do an age check before they can interact with others on the platform….

“The technology used by our vendor, Persona, has been tested and certified by third-party laboratories. The age estimation models used achieved a Mean Absolute Error of 1.4 years for users younger than 18, based on testing by the Age Check Certification Scheme in the UK.”

There are differences between age verification and age estimation, but there are also times when you can only use one or the other.

As biometric product marketing experts know.

We Want Information

We want information and we want it now. Grocery bill balance? Document word count? Tell me!

Dashing through the store

Last spring I discussed the demise of Amazon’s Just Walk Out in favor of Dash Carts.

Even though the Just Walk Out system was a model of zero friction, it was also a model of zero information.

“It’s masterful, really. You just throw your purchases into your cart, and a battery of cameras record and price everything automatically.

“In reality, a battery of cameras and third world workers record and price everything semi-automatically. But I digress.

“Anyway, all your purchases are recorded and totaled, and your payment method is charged as you just walk out.

“THEN you find out how much you just spent.”

Too late?

In contrast, the lower tech Dash Cart solution—shopping carts with scanners—allows customers to “scan items as they shop, view their basket total in real time, and pay using contactless payment at the end.”

High friction because the shopper has to scan every item instead of letting “AI”—either cameras or low-paid remote employees—do the work.

But the shopper has immediate information.

Writing through the words

And I need immediate information while performing Bredemarket work.

Two of my packages are based on word count. The Bredemarket 400 Short Writing Service delivers between 400 and 600 words, the Bredemarket 2800 Medium Writing Service between 2,800 and 3,200.

Approximately. I don’t get bent out of shape if the final work product has 3,317 words. And as you know if you saw one of my recent videos…

Tactical goals.

…I currently charge $500 for the short service and $2.000 for the other. And if a particular work product falls between these two word counts, I charge accordingly.

The upshot is that I have a vested interest in knowing the number of words in my Microsoft Word documents.

  • I can go to the Word Count menu item and get the word count.
  • Or for working documents in which the seven questions (and more) are embedded in the bottom of the file…
Tactical goals again.
  • …I just select the portion of text that contains the work product itself, go to the Word Count menu item, and get the word count of only the selection.
  • Or I can use fields. On a recent project, I used a Word field, NumWords, to display the word count without requiring me to go to a menu item or select anything.

There’s only one problem with using fields: NumWords is static and requires me to manually refresh the field to update the current word count.

But Microsoft Word lets you do things several different ways.

  • I could bypass menu items and fields altogether if I would simply remember to look in the lower left corner of my Microsoft Windows desktop app for Word, where the word count has been displayed all along.
Microsoft Word page and word counts, automatically updated.

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

Frictionless.

If you need content of varying word lengths, talk to Bredemarket.

Stop losing prospects! Use Bredemarket content for tech marketers
Content for tech marketers.

Anti-Human Trafficking: Media and Tools

Hillsborough County, Florida seeks bidders for “the continuation of an anti-human trafficking media campaign and related services.”

Bredemarket is not expert in anti-human trafficking campaigns, but several of Bredemarket’s clients and former clients have used biometrics to combat human trafficking and rescue the victims.

Contribute however you can.

For My U.S. Readers Interested in Visiting Uzbekistan

When using your passport to travel internationally, sometimes you need a visa to enter a country.

And sometimes you don’t.

“The country of Uzbekistan will lift visa requirements for U.S. travelers starting Jan. 1, 2026, offering Americans another country to visit visa-free. The police change, which was recently confirmed by the government, will allow U.S. citizens to enter visa-free for up to 30 days.”

Just don’t bring your surfboards. Uzbekistan is double-landlocked.

When You Can’t Tell Them Apart

Will facial recognition ever become precise enough to distinguish between identical twins?

NIST investigated this in 2023 but did not continue the research. From the report:

These results show that identical twins and same-sex fraternal twins give outcomes that are inconsistent with the intended or expected behaviour from a face recognition algorithm.

Today’s Repurpose: From Del Shannon to Numa Numa

Some of you have heard the Tom Petty song “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” a guitar-heavy tribute to Del Shannon with an excellent closing solo by Mike Campbell.

Tom Petty (technically a solo song, but…).

Petty of course is no longer with us, but the song lives on in covers, including this cover by Mike Campbell himself, with his band the Dirty Knobs.

Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs.

And this one by Marty Stuart, with acoustic stringed instruments.

Marty Stuart.

Well, it’s been covered again; recorded a few years ago, and released on an album in 2025.

Without any stringed instruments at all.

Gary Brolsma.

If you don’t recognize the artist name Gary Brolsma, I only have to say two words. One is “Numa.” And you can figure out the other one.

If you like electronic music, you’ll love this. And Brolsma has a pleasant singing voice.

And Petty’s estate, co-author Campbell, and additional co-author the ever-present Jeff Lynne make money off every one of these covers.

Speaking of Jeff, here’s an early live performance of his. He’s the guitarist in the gown. The lyrics were subsequently reworked for album release.

Electric Light Orchestra.

As far as I know, Brolsma hasn’t covered this song…yet.

(And if THIS post goes viral, I’m in trouble.)

Bredemarket 2026 Tactical Goals 1 and 2

Long-time Bredemarket fans may recall when Bredemarket established and publicized annual goals. I haven’t publicized my overall goals since 2022, but I am publicizing these two tactical goals for 2026 to (1) hold myself accountable, and to (2) enlist your help. Both are awareness goals, designed to bring Bredemarket to the attention of the identity, biometric, and technology marketing leaders who are my hungry people.

Tactical Goal 1

In calendar year 2026, achieve 100 WordPress views (as measured by “Most Viewed,” not “Most Downloaded”) for each of the three “essentials” videos:

  • Landscape.
  • The Seven Questions I Ask.
  • Bredemarket: Services, Process, and Pricing.

For your convenience, you can find and view all three videos at a single Bredemarket blog post “Bredemarket Essentials November 2025.”

Tactical Goal 2

In calendar year 2026, achieve 1,000 YouTube views for each of the same three “essentials” videos.

Again for your convenience, you can find all three videos in this YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDHu4DNJv1KYQaR9Pvo0z4KzaZZweM02C

How you can help

You can help me realize my goals by doing one or both of the following (I ask, then YOU act):

  • If you have not seen all three of these videos yourself, visit either the Bredemarket blog post or the YouTube playlist and view the ones you haven’t seen. No need to view the ones you’ve already seen; I’m interested in meaningful views, not statistical inflation.
  • Share the videos with identity, biometric, and technology marketing leaders who can use Bredemarket’s services.

For me, 100 or 1,000 annual views of a video is a stretch goal. Even looking at lifetime statistics, my most popular WordPress video, my discovery of the Amazon Fresh Upland opening, has less than 100 views, and my most popular YouTube short, the metal strips that protect palm trees from squirrels, has less than 3,100 views. (I believe my most popular video ever was my Instagram reel of the San Antonio Avenue bridge: over 6,800 views.)

Maybe I should ditch the wildebeests, wombats, and iguanas (and koalas) and concentrate on squirrels. On a bridge. Eating Amazon Fresh groceries.

Google Gemini.

Non-citizen REAL ID Expiration Dates Calculated Incorrectly in California

Remember my post that noted an error in Slashdot and Reason reporting about REAL IDs for non-citizens?

No, you don’t have to be a citizen to get a REAL ID.

But your REAL ID is tied to your authorization to be in the United States, and expires on the same date as your authorization to be here.

Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work.

In California, the date calculations (based upon 2006 legacy code) were screwed up for 300,000 legal residents.

“The error overrode the correct expiration date, which should have matched the end of the cardholder’s authorized stay in the United States. Under federal rules, immigrants with legal status — including permanent residents, green card holders and visa holders — are eligible for REAL IDs, but the cards’ expiration dates must align with the length of their authorized stay.”

Except when they don’t.

And for those who believe that granting REAL IDs to non-citizens is an example of California breaking the law:

  1. The DHS approved California’s REAL IDs in April 2019 under President Trump.
  2. Check reliably red South Dakota’s REAL ID requirements.

“If you’re not a U.S. citizen, you must apply in person at a state driver exam station and provide a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration document proving your lawful status in the U.S.”