WTF-Beta

@wtg said in In Minneapolis:

This is not good.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/immigration-agents-deploy-tear-gas-pepper-spray-minneapolis-confrontat-rcna253782

Infuriating. And terrifying.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Those are amazing photos too!

@Nina this was my question exactly!!

OMG.

This really is the beginning of the end.

Grok will join Google's generative AI engine in operating inside the Pentagon network, as part of a broader push to feed as much of the military's data as possible into the developing technology.

Seriously, we're doomed.

@wtg I’m really sorry to hear this, I missed your update in Nov above, I didn’t realize your student was dealing with this.

Things seem very bleak.

@wtg said in IgniteTech CEO on AI:

I've given up the fight for well-written journalism.

I know what you mean. Isn't that awful.

@wtg this isn't a criticism of you, just an observation. The headline also reads more like click bait because of how it's worded.

@wtg said in IgniteTech CEO on AI:

one of those companies who fired people and replaced them with AI

That headline gave me this exact impression.

Yes, of course when you read the article, it's clear, but I think the headline should have said "replaced" not "fired."

Certainly, for those who lost their jobs, it's awful and that others were hired after them is not going to provide any comfort.

But in the discussion of whether AI will just take jobs, or also create new ones, the distinction matters a great deal.

That headline is rather misleading:

replacing nearly 80% of staff within a year, according to headcount figures reviewed by Fortune.

In the months since, Vaughan told Fortune in an early 2026 statement, the company has only kept growing its headcount, recruiting globally for AI Innovation Specialists across every function, from marketing to sales to finance to engineering to support.

@Bernard said in New Year, new music? Ambitions?:

I should try to get some Bach in my regimen, I do love his music.

I do too.

The other thing about Bach, and the reason why I want to try to have him be a regular part of what I'm working on, is that I find it's like exercising, if I do it regularly. not only do I enjoy it, but it makes the other parts of my life easier because my body works better.

This is the first I've heard of an O visa.

Whoops I forgot to say what I'm working on.

Miracles by Alexis Ffrench. This is kind of interesting because Ffrench hasn't released the score for it, but someone at Piano Tell transcribed it for me https://forum.pianotell.com/d/1185-hey-alexis-ffrench-fans/76 . I worked on it a bit in 2024 but it was a little too hard (trying to figure out whether to use LH or RH for those inner voices was what did me in). This time, my teacher and I looked at it during our last lesson of Dec., and some how, now it feels very doable. I'm about halfway through it and it seems to get easier as it goes along.

Pieces I worked on over the winter break that are almost ready, that I would like to record over the next few weeks:
Song for Gavin by Ludovico Einaudi
Midwinter Memories by Michele McLaughlin
Jesu Joy Canon, and "mash-up arrangement of BWV 147 and Pachelbel's Canon

The two Bach books I'm using:

Then maybe I'll move on to the Little Preludes... Besides the sightreading practice, another reason I decided to do the Bach is because last semester, I worked on an Invention (for the first time in probably 20 years!) and it was just a little bit too hard. In other words, I could get it worked up if I devoted a ton of time to it during each practice session, but I have too many other things I'm working on to want to do that. So I thought I should go backwards a little bit and do some pedagogical prep for Bach.

We'll see how it goes

@andyd Sounds like a great plan!

I start piano lessons for spring semester on Wednesday (yay!) We'll start with things that I worked on over the break, and do some planning for what I'll work on throughout the semester.

Last semester I spent a significant amount of time (by which I mean, several weeks, maybe almost two months?) working on a piece that ultimately was two hard for me and I put it away without even getting through the whole piece. Looking back, that was a bit demoralizing and not a good use of my time. I'm sure I learned from it, but I didn't learn the piece and have nothing to show for the work I spent. I did of course work through other pieces and I recorded some (two??) so it's not like that piece was all I did...

Anyway, this semester, I don't want to do that. I want to have more pieces that are more "in the pocket of playability" for me, and I'd like to make more recordings to share. So I'll try to pick pieces that are challenging, but still easy enough to polish.

I also plan to work through some each Bach (AM notebook, pieces in a book billed as pieces to play before Inventions). In the first half of 2025, I spent however many months working through a book of hymns arranged for piano players, and it was quite pedagogical, and sort of like a sightreading exercise. So this year, I want to use these Bach books for that purpose.

@jon-nyc that makes sense.

I probably would benefit from getting a little more savvy about finding cheaper places to buy certain things that we buy all the time …

@jon-nyc said in The last real place on the internet:

I buy a few OTC meds in bulk on eBay, saved me hundreds over Walgreens or CVS.

I’ve never done this, I would be worried about quality or authenticity. Who are the suppliers for these items? How do you confirm that you’re getting what you think you are? Is it just because the packages are sealed etc?

@Bernard cool! I’ll check out your blog.

@wtg said in In Minneapolis:

Remarkable that he managed to take a video, draw his weapon and fire it multiple times, successfully hit his target, called her a f**king bitch, all without dropping his phone.

While also being scared for his life, apparently.

In addition to the idiot real estate agent, I’m surprised NYT chose this unit, and included this photo. I didn’t read through all the comments but a lot of people are commenting on it in the comments as well.

At the very least NYT could have mentioned it in the “pros and cons” part, instead of just this:

CONS
Only the garden-level unit has access to the backyard.

Pretty sure “bed bugs” is a more noteworthy-worthy con…

I haven't looked at CL in years! I never bought anything from there, but in 2019 I poked around a lot there while I was piano shopping.

@Piano-Dad said in In Minneapolis:

the shooter apparently released video to exculpate himself, which does the exact opposite.

It certainly does.