@samvarma@fosstodon.org
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

samvarma

@samvarma@fosstodon.org

Chicago, U.S.A. | Guitarist, video editor, photographer

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Theblueone, to random
@Theblueone@mastodon.social avatar

There's gonna be so much new & cool guitar gear out of #NAMM in the next week, but nothing is gonna have me excited as #Yamaha finally revamping their Pacifica range of #guitars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ACkJHCBRA

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@Theblueone private link apparently. I work for Yamaha here in Chicago and they told us about this in October… I wish I'd known about this before I picked up that Schecter!

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@Theblueone that blue one is just sick… Only question for me would be how much abuse can that trem take

Theblueone, to guitar
@Theblueone@mastodon.social avatar

Guitar of the Day #guitar

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@Theblueone dude these mij nitro finished beast have got me 🥵

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@Theblueone I have exactly 2 pro guitars right now: a PRS 594 and a Schecter USA Nick Johnston signature, which has vintage spec pickups and a Gotoh two point (but not locking) trem.

Don't know if it's lame to drop names, but I did a gig with Jack Blades last month and had to play all the Gillis/Watson Night Ranger stuff, and without a Floyd + higher output pu it's basically impossible, so here we are 🤤

samvarma, to music
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

Just discovered Lazarvs thanks to a hot tip from my brother. Good Lord, that is aggression distilled into music.

What an epic video – I love everything about how this was shot and lit. I love that guitar cases are leaned against the amps, just zero pretension.

If you like Alice In Chains, thrash, doom, stoner, then these guys have got you.

#music #MusicVideo #metal #rock #stoner #doom #thrash #Lazarvs #AliceInChains #guitar

https://youtu.be/rkurxT2g3FY?si=9B268kB-crCN5kxE

TheSpaceshipper, to random
@TheSpaceshipper@socel.net avatar

What my morning looks like: spending a whole hour reading and replying to as many messages as possible (except from trolls) on my accounts. 😀

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@TheSpaceshipper one more thought for you: on this platform you are essentially working for yourself, creating following, that you can take with you, on an open protocol.

On all the other platforms you are essentially working for free gathering eyeballs for them to monetize…

TheSpaceshipper, to random
@TheSpaceshipper@socel.net avatar

Look, should I continue this account here or not?

Here, most of the engagement, lately, is complaining about what I'm doing or not doing. Unlike what I experience on Twitter, BlueSky, Insta and Threads. And to the point of losing all pleasure.

Yes, I rarely post alt text because it's time-consuming, I have to manage 5 accounts and there aren't enough people on my Patreon for me to devote enough time to it.

Yes, sometimes I put links to Twitter because I've been on it for 5 years and...

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@TheSpaceshipper man, I would be very sad to see you go!

I think you should block for even the most minor infraction. Most of my interactions here have been constructive, but the moment somebody rubs me the wrong way I will block without mercy. 1/?

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@TheSpaceshipper in any case, I hope you realize that there are many of us here who enjoy having you in the feed! I have always loved science-fiction, and you often highlight stuff that I would not otherwise come across ❤️ 3/3

andycarolan, to random
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

All these companies that are cutting humans in favour of AI... I wonder if they truly understand what that will do to consumer’s perception of their business 🤔

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@andycarolan yeah but that doesn't matter until, like, a couple years after this crop of douchebags get their stock payouts and bonuses

samvarma, to Metal
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

If you know you know

samvarma, to random
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

Tbh when I see this chart I don't know how any of us can be expected to plan for the future

So it's probs ok to just buy that guitar

From: @andrewdessler
https://mastodon.world/@andrewdessler/111659350158536995

samvarma, to music
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

If this is extremely your shit, allow me to recommend "The Soundtrack Show", one of the most fascinating podcasts I have ever come across, and specifically this episode: https://overcast.fm/+MBtti_Sc8

From: @simoncampbell
https://mastodon.art/@simoncampbell@mastodon.art/111624849967650363

csilverman, to art
@csilverman@mastodon.social avatar

Inspired by this short story by @MicroSFF

https://mastodon.art/@MicroSFF/111603465632659711

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@csilverman @MicroSFF i like the combo of the old school textures on the blade and the more impressionist ones on the rest

terence, to random
@terence@fosstodon.org avatar

Surprised to receive a review request from a top journal. Editors must be getting desperate.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@terence or it's the AI that's running the journal looking to assimilate you

samvarma, to photography
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

Late in the day, but allow me to offer this for

samvarma, to random
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

Rock hard, veiny agree

From: @kev
https://fosstodon.org/@kev/111590588242944403

samvarma, to random
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

L O L when it comes to light you know it's probably been going on for years already. I'm sure we have all had experiences where we know for certain there's no other way there could be a connection other than the devices are listening.

https://www.404media.co/cmg-cox-media-actually-listening-to-phones-smartspeakers-for-ads-marketing/

dimillian, to random
@dimillian@mastodon.social avatar

Leave the world behind is a marvelous metaphor for the shit state of our society. I compare it to Mother!. The world is collapsing in front of their eyes, yet they can’t communicate with each other. They are blinded by the consumerism of their forgotten existence.

Mother! is probably my favorite movie ever. It's so perfectly put together. The slow decay, the rotting of this pristine world. Perfect.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@quaff @dimillian this discussion has made me add it to my list! Thx

dimillian, to random
@dimillian@mastodon.social avatar

Imagine reading a book about one concept. And then, imagine reading a corpus of text about this concept. You get acclimated to this concept. It gets familiar to you. Then, you start to communicate this idea to other people naturally. But it's so familiar that when they ask you where you got to learn about this, you can't bring yourself to remember exactly from which source material it was.

Now LLM’s are like that. Thinking it's industrial theft (yeah, I've read that) is a bad take.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@dimillian I think it's much more like if I go to the bookstore and I photocopy all the pages of all the books, and then when somebody comes to ask me a question I charge them and give them whichever photocopy pages they want

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@dimillian I mean once again, don't get me wrong, I am excited by the possibilities and I can clearly see how this is valuable. But I have spent my entire life becoming a professional musician, and the idea that OpenAI will come along and train their data set on my work, and then be able to spit out an "averaged" version of my work to make money (making it unnecessary for anyone to come and find me) is theft of a sort.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@dimillian ah but who the fuck are you? Your work isn't even in the dataset!

Yes, but it's still devaluing what I have spent a lifetime learning.

And yet, no different to what drum software does to drummers, or what the cotton gin did to weavers.

Hence why I'm conflicted. There's no doubt it's a transfer of wealth into the hands of the technologists, and I suppose the real question is what kind of society does it leave us with if we don't protect the arts.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@dimillian On the 2nd point: if the AI can steal enough of the value from me, it means I can no longer afford to invest my time in being a musician, which means that the art as a whole and society are impoverished because it no longer becomes feasible to be an artist.

I already see that difference in the USA just because of health insurance. Europeans make it far more realistic to try to become a musician and devote yourself to something that doesn't pay off for a long time.

mike, to random
@mike@fosstodon.org avatar

I find the etymology of surnames to be fascinating, maybe because my first and last name are pretty boring. I was in a meeting this morning with an individual with the last name of "Bonesteel". There's just GOT to be a story there.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@mike 😂 fucking metal

dimillian, to random
@dimillian@mastodon.social avatar

Without AI I wouldn’t get any icons for @IceCubesApp 🤷

From: @Gargron
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/111540601270069143

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@dimillian @IceCubesApp @Gargron No judgement, but what you're really saying is you would've had to pay a graphic designer.

Don't get me wrong: drum software means I don't need to go out and pay a drummer to play my songs… unless I really want to make art in which case I need to find the best drummer I can

csilverman, to art
@csilverman@mastodon.social avatar

Had an "oh my god" moment just now when, on upgrading to iOS 17, I opened Notes and saw new tools to play with.

I'm freaking out. The crayon and watercolor especially are going to be game-changing.

Best part: this toolset works on attachments now. That means I can zoom while drawing, which is key to the process as some of you know.

Thank you @shantini and all the other talented folks at Apple who just gave me some new superpowers here.

samvarma,
@samvarma@fosstodon.org avatar

@csilverman @shantini Great now they can be disturbing in much more detailed ways

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