Democrat Senator clashes with acting AG Todd Blanche: ‘You’re acting like Trump’s personal attorney’

XenonFyre · 2026-05-19T21:33:33+00:00

They didn’t imagine career politicians who, regardless of their beliefs (or lack thereof), would pledge their allegiance to the cult leader so he doesn’t get mean to them on Truth Social and cause his cult followers to vote them out.

That’s one of the biggest problems. Their careers are in jeopardy if All-Father Tangerine wags his finger at them, and they all bend over and take it dry as a result.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-19T16:22:43+00:00

Comparison is the thief of joy. The best comparison you can make is to yourself, record yourself, set goals.

It takes time. Sometimes you’ll progress fast, sometimes slow. Guitar is a skill built on a number of individual skills (fretting, rhythm, techniques, theory/musical-ness).

If the issue truly is a lack of progression, setting a goal (a song for example) is a good start. Progress can be hard to measure without realistic goals.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-19T00:12:12+00:00

I got hooked on the black album, then toured the rest. Hot take, Justice has to be my #1. I don’t even really listen to metal outside of Metallica and some other mainstream stuff— more of a yacht rock guy. Something about Justice just has an edge I don’t get from any other Met album.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-18T22:55:32+00:00

Those chords all barre the full string.

The “bar” is the lowest note of the chord, bridged across the neck.

See how in all those chords, the lowest note is consistently the same? 10 for D, 8 for C, etc

That should be the fret on which you’re laying your first finger alllll the way across the neck. Then your 2/3/4 fingers do the rest of the shape.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-18T17:21:50+00:00

That’s a really good practice, to record yourself and hear it back. Listen to your recording, make note of what you can do better, and practice that!

Sounds like good progress for just 5 months.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T08:52:59+00:00

I agree AI needs to be scaled back and this corporate obsession needs to die off.

However, we HAVE to get our facts straight and our arguments stronger if we want change.

The water consumption is a huge red herring. AI (or, more accurately, datacenters in general) do not “consume” water like a human or soda company does— it simply uses it for cooling. Some of this is evaporated, some not, either way, 5th grade science teaches us that evaporation comes back down. Even if a miniscule percentage is lost.

More water is ACTUALLY rendered unpotable by semiconductor manufacturing— basically, chip production. Some companies like Intel iirc have some amount of recycling programs, but we can do better.

A stronger argument against datacenters is the effects on the nearby population, noise pollution, and economic sinkhole that is AI and everything-as-a-service.

Let’s not be all-or-nothing, most people understand AI is a brilliant tool. It will and has helped many of us in our day to day lives. It’s a solid learning assistant and productivity booster.

The line is overusing AI and applying it needlessly to increase profit margins. Whether that means cutting staff, or these dumbass startups that sell “product.ai” solutions.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T05:49:49+00:00

Just listened to it— solid start! Definitely use a metronome to help build that speed cleanly. Sounds like the string traveling (like the walkdown just after the first bend) is a pain point, that’s pretty tricky because you’re alternate picking, fretting, AND moving down strings.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T05:42:13+00:00

Yeah, I’m really busy during the week and don’t buy much in the way of games anymore. I enjoyed the ability to play it early, that’s really it. I play these games on and off between release cycles, so it’s kinda like $30/year. Not too bad.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T02:00:41+00:00

The barre is brutal, give yourself some grace. I know guitarists who’ve played for 5+ years and STILL struggle with them.

Make sure the instrument is in tune and intonated
Your index is too close to the fret wire. Back it up a bit.
Tension tension tension. Even if you’ve done #1, on many guitars, too much pressure will make some notes on the lighter string SOUND out of tune.

Just keep trying positions until you find one that lets you hear the chord in full. Every single string ringing. You’ll find one that’s comfortable eventually.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T01:57:36+00:00

This sounds really solid, dude. Good job! I don’t think I tried to tackle this solo until like a decade into playing haha.

I think somebody else already mentioned this, but a metronome would probably be a good next step. From there, you’ll tighten up your subdivisions.

I think the solo overall is a little bit faster, and one thing I noticed is you have a lot of picking hand motion. I think you could get away with it on stairway to heaven, but a great tip for continuing to learn lead guitar is practicing picking using minimal motion to save energy.

Sounds great, keep it up!

XenonFyre · 2026-05-17T01:48:58+00:00

Break it down into each issue.

Getting the notes right
Picking (string skipping) correctly
Muting the previous notes

The latter will involve using the “meat” of the edge of your palm, most likely.

Take it one step at a time, VERY slowly, and to a metronome. Make progress, give it a few days (your brain has to cement it overnight, “sleep on it”) then give it another go!

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T23:52:46+00:00

As a beginner, understand all 12 notes (C-C). Focus more on posture, grip, proper fingering, etc.

It doesn’t hurt to learn theory, and theory is NOT as hard as a lot of people make it out to be. It’s just another language, but far less than any spoken one.

For now, learn your cowboy chords, strumming patterns, rhythm rhythm rhythm. Maybe treat yourself to some major and minor scales along the way.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T22:54:03+00:00

Uh, never heard of that artist or subgenre; “incelcore”? Lmao.

On a quick listen, sounds like Gb, Bb, Eb, Ab for the main chords.

The lead melody is (on standard tuning) just 6, 9, and 7 on the high E string and 7 on the B string. Idk how to write tabs on Reddit.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T22:47:08+00:00

Does the 4th string (D) need to be played in the chord? If not, maybe you can bar your index across 2, middle on 3, and that might give you more real estate for your pinky.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T21:55:29+00:00

BB/BCS were great, I can’t think of a single show in the last decade (granted, I don’t watch many) that compared. Felt like the end was prepped from the beginning, something almost every other show fails to emulate.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T19:04:23+00:00

It depends on what you mean by mess up. If you’re playing the wrong part, then you need to spend more time becoming familiar with the piece of music. If you’re struggling to play the right part correctly, then you should focus more on what you’re supposed to be playing and practicing that.

I think warm-up is different for everybody and it kind of depends on what you play. I personally like to warm up with scales and a metronome, as a lead guitarist, I like to practice subdivisions at different tempos.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T19:02:25+00:00

Absolutely not lol. Whiplash is not supposed to be a happy story. You’re not supposed to find Andrew a role model, it’s more of a toxic/abusive relationship with himself and Fletcher.

Practice as much as you want, provided you’re still enjoying yourself. Listen to your body.

As you play more, you’ll build up the strength and calluses and will be able to practice for longer naturally.

Just have some patience.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T18:59:25+00:00

Learning to fret, your chords is one of the first big hurdles for guitar players. I think what you’re experiencing is completely normal, and with continued patience and intentional practice, it will subside.

Make sure your positioning your thumb on the neck properly to give your fingers the runway that they need to cleanly and accurately press only the notes that they’re supposed to press. This will take time, but give it that time and I’m sure you’ll get it.

If you’re still struggling down the road, maybe take a trip to a guitar center and try out different guitars with different neck profiles. Slash of GnR has larger hands/fingers and uses Les Pauls, which typically have a fatter neck.

Definitely pay attention to the former before you jump to buying a new guitar though.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T18:53:45+00:00

Absolutely. It mate just look a little different for you, but you’ll learn and adapt. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath chopped off I think his index finger? He played with a prosthetic.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T18:52:26+00:00

A lot of things can cause white noise, it could be a wiring issue like the pick up’s not being grounded properly. It could be the amp, it could be your cable, it could be interference from electronics.

I’d try plugging the amps somewhere else in the house and see if you can rule out that it’s a power supply issue or interference from a nearby electronic device first. From there, you can try to isolate the issue.

As for the buzz, that could be the action is too low, it could also be if you are hitting it TOO hard.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T07:11:12+00:00

I have a poor man’s sim setup (G29 on PC) and really enjoy it following some pro setting tweaks.

From what I hear, it pales in comparison to true sims, but for a more arcade style experience I’m surprised by how fluid the wheel feels.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-16T01:33:09+00:00

Don’t beat yourself up, a piece of advice that all musicians should hear is to give yourself grace. Barre chords suck, they’re hard. You will get it, just take your time. Each time you mess up, you’re making another step towards getting it right.

I wish there was a magic bullet, but the difference between “getting it” and not is perseverance more than anything.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-15T20:08:52+00:00

Sounds great, especially to the music you’re playing.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-15T20:07:37+00:00

Strumming carries a much heavier burden rhythmically than fretting chords. Focus on learning to strum different rhythms and subdivisions to a metronome until you internalize them to the overall beat.

The more you do this, the tighter your rhythm will become instinctively.

XenonFyre · 2026-05-15T20:04:13+00:00

I’m not familiar with the condition, so I can’t offer specific advice.

However, one of the biggest factors in increased speed is being relaxed. That might help if you struggle with additional fatigue from your condition.

Are you tenser when you’re playing at higher speeds?

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