I live in the USA and I am concerned about the future. I created this blog to share my thoughts on the economy and anything else that might catch my attention.
Dr. Strange Move or How I Learned to Love the Bill
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After a couple of years of disinflation, the Fed changed directions and
started lowering rates. By most measures, the economy had been humming
along near a...
NVIDIA Revisited
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On August 26, 2023, 5 days before it a new closing hi at 493.55, I wrote a
critical post about NVDA - the stock, not the company. After that, the
stoc...
Stay away from popular tech stocks, part II
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Last August, I wrote a blog post arguing that largest technology and
internet companies -- Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft -- would
never grow i...
So, Where Have I Been?
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Well, of course, I have been where I am!
It's been a good few years away from this blog. I do miss some folks
terrible, and I sort of miss things financial...
Those Whom The Gods Wish To Destroy ...
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they first make mad. Still true!!!
*(Note: this post, and probably several others to follow, are actually
about the US dollar and relative currency trends....
That's me playing. My girlfriend shot the video. It was my third or fourth attempt at a reasonable score. 12.3 million is a keeper, much to the delight of my girlfriend. I warned her that it could take 20+ attempts, especially with the added pressure of someone watching me (and being videoed)!
At 136+ million as a total for all 11 scales, I currently hold the 34th best score on Rocksmith's Scale Runner mini-game. I expect to move into the top 10 in the not too distant future.
Is it a guitar addition? A video game addiction? Let's call it both.
Once again, sorry for not posting much lately. I doubt it is permanent. If/when the cracks begin to form in the dam again my posting activity will surely increase. That's assuming that the illusion of prosperity has not been replaced by actual prosperity of course. I don't really think it is much of an assumption!
It looks like I hit about 249 notes in a row. My record is 259 notes in a row. The best I've seen by others is 274 notes in a row.
It appears that if I can go 6% faster than I should have a really good shot at getting up into the top 10.
For what it is worth, I'm roughly 10% faster than I was last week (230+ notes in a row).
My fingers may not be bleeding, but they are really sore. The first few minutes of practice feels like the strings are made from razor blades. Fortunately, the pain shuts off mercifully once I'm warmed up. Comfortably numb? ;)
I actually grabbed over 100 quality MIDIs of pop songs -- half JPOP -- to help with this approach.
But licensing BS make this pretty difficult. Can't get a mechanical license for interactive use of songs, you got to do the full negotiated license route.
It doesn't hurt that the narrator is female and she has a choice word every 20 notes or so in a row. Very motivating!
My favorite is "Ridiculous!" That one seems to show up at 200 sometimes. I don't know exactly what triggers it but it definitely makes me feel really good when it happens, lol.
"P.S. I played about 6 hours in the last 24. I looked at my fingertips with a magnifying glass. Not pretty, lol."
I remember when I was breaking in my fingertips. It took about three weeks total. I'm afraid to skip more than a day of practice for fear that the calluouses will soften up.
One thing I'd like to incorporate into my practice is an exercise to get the fingers stretched out to cover four frets at the low end of the neck, you know, where all the space is between frets. Right now, if I play a scale with three notes per string I have to lift and move the hand rather than simply covering with the fingers.
There are actually books for sale on Amazon to practice this very thing. Maybe in a few years ;)
Do you have any trouble covering the space between notes on the same string without lifting other fingers? I am a long way from solving that riddle.
Another area I have some work to do on is coordinating alternate picking with each string on scales. I'm going down-up-down on string 6, then up-down-up on 5, then back to D-U-D on 4, and so on.
I try mastering each measure (2 strings, 6 notes) before moving on to the next measure (three measures per scale).
Your hitting ~250 notes in a row, I'm happy with 18! LOL!
My fingers still lift quite a bit. I definitely need to work on that. I also need to work on anchoring my right hand. It's currently floating above the guitar. It's okay for moving one string at a time but probably not more than one! ;)
I'm all down so far in the game but I've been practicing down-ups on the side.
I played a lot of Rockband (fake plastic guitar, right hand has an up-down plastic lever) in the past. I started all down there too until my left hand was under control. I'll fully transition at some point but I'm not worried about it. There's some muscle memory that definitely wants to alternate.
As a side note, I've been practicing my up-downs on my real guitar by running the scales as triplets (no amp, while watching TV). Seems to work well at mixing things up without feeling overwhelming. Down-up-down then up-down-up and so on. It also has a nice sound to it for what it's worth.
I know what you mean about anchoring. I also float at the moment. I've tried placing my pinky against the treble pickup and it works okay for all but strings 5 and 6. Usually I just roll the other three fingers into the palm. Stretching them out and bracing them against the body below the first string is something I see my "heros" doing off an on. It seems to depend on what they're doing at any instant.
There is a technique called "palm-muting" where you place the edge of your picking palm on the bridge and them roll it over the string(s) to mute notes. I've tried anchoring my hand there but it doesn't work for me. I'm sure you're familiar with The Scorpions, "The Zoo". That's a good example of palm-muting in use. It's something I want to learn eventually so I can play that song.
Another thing I see is occasional hanging the thumb over the top edge of the guitar on the left hand. Most of the instruction lessons I use say to keep the thumb behind your middle finger in the center of the neck. I can't do that all the time though as I increase my finger strength.
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It looks like I hit about 249 notes in a row. My record is 259 notes in a row. The best I've seen by others is 274 notes in a row.
It appears that if I can go 6% faster than I should have a really good shot at getting up into the top 10.
For what it is worth, I'm roughly 10% faster than I was last week (230+ notes in a row).
My fingers may not be bleeding, but they are really sore. The first few minutes of practice feels like the strings are made from razor blades. Fortunately, the pain shuts off mercifully once I'm warmed up. Comfortably numb? ;)
5+ hours per day! I feel it.
wow!
that's some sexed-up UE!
when the iPad came out I was looking at making an app that used FFT to figure out what note was being played, and do something like this.
never would have gone with this aggressively spinning immersive approach, but I see the reason.
pretty cool that a video-gamey experience actually creates real-world skills.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_downloadable_songs_for_Rocksmith
nice DLC, LOL
I actually grabbed over 100 quality MIDIs of pop songs -- half JPOP -- to help with this approach.
But licensing BS make this pretty difficult. Can't get a mechanical license for interactive use of songs, you got to do the full negotiated license route.
Troy,
pretty cool that a video-gamey experience actually creates real-world skills.
I often wonder what would have happened if Jimi Hendrix could have played this game when he was a baby. ;)
It doesn't hurt that the narrator is female and she has a choice word every 20 notes or so in a row. Very motivating!
My favorite is "Ridiculous!" That one seems to show up at 200 sometimes. I don't know exactly what triggers it but it definitely makes me feel really good when it happens, lol.
You're killin' it Mark!
I gave you a thumbs up on YouTube : )
"For what it is worth, I'm roughly 10% faster than I was last week (230+ notes in a row)."
Isn't it about time that you gave us a "...you get out of life what you put into it..." hoorah!! LOL!
I'm about 1% faster.
I hit 261 notes in a row and am now 29th (142 million).
Hoorah! :)
P.S. I played about 6 hours in the last 24. I looked at my fingertips with a magnifying glass. Not pretty, lol.
Watchtower,
Thanks for the thumbs up!
"P.S. I played about 6 hours in the last 24. I looked at my fingertips with a magnifying glass. Not pretty, lol."
I remember when I was breaking in my fingertips. It took about three weeks total. I'm afraid to skip more than a day of practice for fear that the calluouses will soften up.
One thing I'd like to incorporate into my practice is an exercise to get the fingers stretched out to cover four frets at the low end of the neck, you know, where all the space is between frets. Right now, if I play a scale with three notes per string I have to lift and move the hand rather than simply covering with the fingers.
There are actually books for sale on Amazon to practice this very thing. Maybe in a few years ;)
Fritz_O,
Doesn't help that I have a scar on my left index finger from my youth. The callous there is not forming ideally.
Do you have any trouble covering the space between notes on the same string without lifting other fingers? I am a long way from solving that riddle.
Another area I have some work to do on is coordinating alternate picking with each string on scales. I'm going down-up-down on string 6, then up-down-up on 5, then back to D-U-D on 4, and so on.
I try mastering each measure (2 strings, 6 notes) before moving on to the next measure (three measures per scale).
Your hitting ~250 notes in a row, I'm happy with 18! LOL!
Fritz_O,
My fingers still lift quite a bit. I definitely need to work on that. I also need to work on anchoring my right hand. It's currently floating above the guitar. It's okay for moving one string at a time but probably not more than one! ;)
I'm all down so far in the game but I've been practicing down-ups on the side.
I played a lot of Rockband (fake plastic guitar, right hand has an up-down plastic lever) in the past. I started all down there too until my left hand was under control. I'll fully transition at some point but I'm not worried about it. There's some muscle memory that definitely wants to alternate.
As a side note, I've been practicing my up-downs on my real guitar by running the scales as triplets (no amp, while watching TV). Seems to work well at mixing things up without feeling overwhelming. Down-up-down then up-down-up and so on. It also has a nice sound to it for what it's worth.
I know what you mean about anchoring. I also float at the moment. I've tried placing my pinky against the treble pickup and it works okay for all but strings 5 and 6. Usually I just roll the other three fingers into the palm. Stretching them out and bracing them against the body below the first string is something I see my "heros" doing off an on. It seems to depend on what they're doing at any instant.
There is a technique called "palm-muting" where you place the edge of your picking palm on the bridge and them roll it over the string(s) to mute notes. I've tried anchoring my hand there but it doesn't work for me. I'm sure you're familiar with The Scorpions, "The Zoo". That's a good example of palm-muting in use. It's something I want to learn eventually so I can play that song.
Another thing I see is occasional hanging the thumb over the top edge of the guitar on the left hand. Most of the instruction lessons I use say to keep the thumb behind your middle finger in the center of the neck. I can't do that all the time though as I increase my finger strength.
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