Fender vs The Guitar Playing World The guitar I play every day is a burgundy mist Cort G300 Pro, similar to a Suhr modern which is about 8x the price. I also admire the Fender Ultra Luxe Vintage Strat which is about 3x the price of my Cort. There are many Stratocasters in the Cort price range.

When I make some follow up it explains why it shouldn't be trusted, (because it's just an advanced autocomplete and doesn't check its answers for logical correctness).

Some days I get really scared by the trust AI investment implies. Here it draws the wrong conclusion from simple numbers trying to make a clever but wrong anecdote about road versus air distance. TBH, this is incredibly human, being objectively wrong in order get some attention for being "clever".

This AI slop is a screen shot of a music store ad. The fret markers are a huge giveaway but it’s generally uncanny. Can their real stock be so unattractive to customers? (I saw an art supply store do the same. Art supplies stores are like Aladdin’s cave, ever box a chest of jewels, why fake it?)

Yep, second version of the campaign showed up today and is explicitly about tracking your partner’s phone because you suspect infidelity. If you have those suspicions, whatever you learn, you’ll still have suspicions. This won’t mend anything. At best it might hasten an ending.

What the hell is this ad for? First thoughts are something like stalking a suspected unfaithful partner? It's not clear what family emergency is implied by that photo in the ad.

Perfect colour and vibe for a live action version of Toad from Frog and Toad.

Irresponsibly dangerous AI fail: IG video of the dangerously venomous eastern brown snake, which the AI summary labelled with a link to “non-venomous snakes in Australian beaches”. Not the original poster’s fault. My best guess is the AI misinterpreted their perfectly clear ironic use of “luckily”.

This is a very cool visualization but I find it sad that I’m right in the middle of a sparse corridor and feel only a little attachment to the clusters near me. It may be related to why I feel a bit on my own on Bluesky at times. (Also curious about the big unlabeled cluster way off to the left.)

Instagram suggested this search again: “fan reactions to the death of vocalist”. The vocalist is fine. I’m fairly social media savvy, so my instinct is to check. But to anyone who still trusts, who can’t imagine these systems are built to be manipulation machines, this could be traumatic.

So much racism hinges on skin colour. Here’s me with my two younger siblings; same parents. That dark colouring in me is largely my paternal grandmother who was Roma. I’ve experienced direct racism because of that. My full blood siblings haven’t. Racists are idiots.

Post the cover of a book you love from the 90s. (Any century!) #BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books

Can you imagine what those people would be thinking if they were all in a room being lectured by him with that map.

Posted on Trumps Truth Social at approx 6am GMT. Trump is talking pretty about meeting with leaders and productive comms with Rutte. But this is what he’s posting on his own time about Greenland.

Data centers with power demands beyond current supply. Etc… And all for a dream of profit without labour. (Neglecting that in their world there’s also no profit without consumers, and they don’t want to allow consumers who are not also workers.)

A challenge to artists: When you see a skeleton in an art reference book can you tell if it's biologically male or female and say why? Can you consciously put those differences into your own sketches? (Here's my attempt, showing chest to pelvis ratios and pelvis and femur angles)

Another example of why you can’t trust AI. I was looking for the origin of “Waffle House brawl” and the summary describes the same event, with Halie Booth catching a chair one handed, in Sep 2021 and Dec 2022.

Such a great source photo! I feel every time I see a picture that uses it as model, it should be the start of a chain of pictures that also use it as a model.

Three months in the new job, working to level up my leadership skills to meet new challenges. Also trying to sustain creative pastimes outside of work that make me feel grounded. Trying for 4 sketches x 4 days x 4 weeks, almost made week 1 and it’s an interesting view of my developing style.

Looking back through some old studies from a time when I was dissatisfied with my figure drawings and tried my hand at landscapes. This one is I think better than I remembered.

Starting a new very busy job means little energy for myself and my hobbies these past few weeks. But I did some sketching that I’m happy with today, (on a work day today at the end of a demanding week, with my family in the middle of very serious flooding).

Technically, yes, on the beach. But in meaningful culturally significant ways, not on the beach.

The AI generated label on this photo from a vacation in the German Alps is why we should not just trust AI.

I’ve come across these two quotes recently of mid-20th century liberal conservatives thinking. One become an Australian PM. The other writing recently to a news paper. The abhorrence of public good that has metastasised in modern politics, left and right, is so strange when you look little way back.

I value the reputation that earned me this leaving gift from my last job. It frustrates me that such a reputation might make a leader stand out.

Finished (for now), study based on a Mucha original. About 2.5 hours work. About 11x26cm. Quite fun and satisfying to do, so I might try a few more things like it.

WIP Study of a Mucha original. This is about an hour’s work, graphite on toned paper, about 10x26cm. I’m happy with how it’s going and now need to finish it more contrast and highlighting with white chalk. Better to do more pieces than overwork fewer.

Bad multi-tasking: Saturday morning YouTube, drinking coffee, sketching faces from YouTube thumbnails. I promised myself less video binging and more creating. This is a poor substitute. And when you look at thumbnails, motivated to find sketch models, it’s shocking how many feature Musk or Trump.

Low moods, doom scrolling, too often alone after months unemployed, blocked starting work waiting for overseas record checks. Savings ruined but feel like spending to lift my mood. Drawing with art videos in the background has been the best distraction. These are straight copies or from reference.

I fret about drawing just from reference, when I want to be storytelling in pictures. I figured try to draw like Emilio Alcala and his simple dynamic figures from imagination. Just have a go. I’m quite happy, these are 5 minute sketches but strong frames for more work, and 3 in a row consistent too.