TimR

I think moving on and then poaching other musicians isn't really a good look. Probably not helped when musicians feel they can only be in one band or the band thinks musicians should only be in one band. I'm playing in 3 bands at the moment. No one seems to be that worried. It's not like its a full time job. I've not had a practice with any of them in over a month.

Have you been invited to play in Band C?

If you deregister you are supposed to account for any VAT on stock and pay any output tax.

That's not how it works.

You've lost me. Why would you pay VAT on a second hand item?

It's not intelligent. All it can do is copy and follow instructions given to it by a programmer. So far AI just uses algorythms and a massive memory archive (glorified programmable search engine). It doesn't know what is good and bad. Humans don't actually know where intelligence comes from but it's characterised by an ability to solve novel problems that the entity hasn't been told how to solve. Animals also exhibit this behavior, right down to bees, so the question is: to what level are animals conscious? When we take exams we are usually mainly tested on our memory. We are given problems to solve that we have already been taught what methods to use. In the old days of A-levels (I don't know if it still happens), there would be a final part to each question which was designed to test the students reasoning skills on an area of the subject that hadn't been taught. So we use a mixture of emotion, memory, intelligence, and unconscious reactions to carry out everyday tasks. So until the machines become sentient, they'll always be our slaves. There then becomes the question of whether we should be using machines to be intelligent when humans are faster and more efficient at it than machines, and just leave the machines as AI memory aids. The humans can then take the output and apply intelligence to it. The above is paraphrased from this podcast: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/06/24/280-francois-chollet-on-deep-learning-and-the-meaning-of-intelligence/

Yes. They usually get 200 on a Thursday but in London Thursday is the new Friday and on Monday the city is deserted. The last gig I did with my main band we had 2 people watching plus the 3 'fans' that follow us everywhere.

A perfect example of why AI is not intelligent at all. It has no concept of what you actually asked for. What it is good for is to work as a very good search engine. The results of which can then be intelligently reworked by a human being. I certainly don't see these AI tools as being able to produce something without a lot of very careful instruction and all it will return will be a bunch of stuff that it's copied from somewhere and rearranged.

I rescind my offer. I was after a vintage relic, you've knocked thousands off its value by restoring it.

Interestingly I was working in Holland and returned in the company van full of equipment including an absent colleague's tool box. The van was searched by the drugs dogs. Luckily not very thoroughly it turned out when we got back to the factory. We weren't impressed.

It wouldn't take long for a super computer to write every single permutation of music. I suspect if that happened the copyright laws would be adjusted. Maybe they won't apply to computer generated music as manufacturers and operators of lathes do not get the patents of the items designed and made with them.

£32,000 to account for inflation seems a fair price.

The latest SBL podcast is quite interesting. The AI can create music, but it's really a tool and needs a human to refine it and make it into something reasonably listenable. It's like any computer, someone has to program it, sense check and debug the output.

See the current AI thread.

Certainly with houses, it's a complex game. People are limited with what the mortgage will lend vs what the house is notionally worth and then what they have agreed to potentially sell their house for. If you don't agree a price, then you may not be able to buy the house you want or even sell the house you have. Unlike a bit of consumer electronics where most people have a pile of cash ready and waiting. Maybe I've done a gig and have £50 in my pocket and want to buy a certain pedal. If it's £50 including P&P, fine. If it's more, then there's no harm in asking. If someone makes an offer on a metal box that's just sitting in my cupboard, then that's £50 I wouldn't otherwise have. I'm not going to put it on for £55 and expect to sell it for £50, and it will depend how many messages I get as to whether everyone is offering me £45 as to whether I let it go or hold the price amd wait another day. You can always say you have had a few messages and will get back to them if the others don't work out. And it also works the other way, I've sold cars where I've had 5 people lined up to come and look and one has made a higher offer when I've told them I have someone coming later to look at it. It's one reason to wait a day before replying if someone immediately contacts you.

Absolutely hilarious evening. Was asked on Friday night to stand in to play corporate drinks background music. Received set list, mostly standards or tunes I've played before, a few curveballs, but stuck them on Spotify and listened to them on my way to work on Saturday morning. Decided I could have a better look on Monday morning - which didn't happen for various reasons. Had a quick run through of a couple of songs at 4pm and started at 5. About 50 people turned up and were mostly gone by 6:30. Was good to meet new musicians who didn't take it all far too seriously, lots of interesting endings, missed bridges and extra choruses. Sounded great and they loved us.

Buying a house?

Only in shops. Every car I've bought or sold the price has been negotiated. Even at a car dealers 'shop'. What happens when you guys go for a job interview? You just accept whatever is offered or is there a discussion on what you're expecting?

Yes a simple, "No, that's the price, take it or leave it." reply is easy enough. Takes seconds. The pedals I've bought I've paid the asking price. I'm not going to haggle to change the price by £5. Anything over £200 I'm probably going to put in an offer. I don't understand how that would offend anyone. That's often what happens on the second hand market.

I am also suffering the keys players left hand problem. It's just a musical maturity thing. I've had to talk to keys players before and explain why it doesn't work and the way I've done it is to say that we would need lots of extra practice to make sure we are exactly together otherwise it'll sound a mess. In the same way as backing vocals need extra practice. These things don't just happen. Make it a two way problem rather than suggesting the keys can't play what you're playing and that's their problem. I did have the same problem in a two guitar band where I had to diplomatically tell the guitarists to play different parts as it sounded a mess. They had more fun working out what to play instead and it sounded 100% better.

I bought one of these, that has a compartment big enough for my Warwick iPro but also all my leads and my Tablet, and other bits and pieces. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076M85W1K/?coliid=I1J85TUPEASG7I&colid=8M7DXGXY9TOP&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_lstpd_SFRJJTXQ48AGVBP91G7P&language=en_US

That monotone adjective laden voiceover 'man' and 'woman' are dreadful. The AI doesn't understand the words or know what they mean, it just knows how to pronounce them. Hopefully it will improve exponentially or the algorithm learns quickly that people don't want to listen to them.

Some interesting stuff here. Has he come round to it?

Ikea Hack?