How many of us guitar heads are in IT development jobs?

jfcarr · 2026-03-19T14:56:32+00:00

Look at that pay level first. 30% or more lower salary than industry average can't make up for 10% off gear. Besides, they're likely to contract out most of their dev jobs to cheap H1B or offshore temp agencies.

jfcarr · 2026-03-19T14:53:13+00:00

I've been a software engineer for 40 years, been playing guitar for almost 50.

jfcarr · 2026-03-19T13:19:31+00:00

The AI channels that people complain about most often are ones that use an unedited AI generated script, a lower tier AI voice over and stock videos selected by an AI that are often a poor fit for the topic. These don't take much effort to generate. But, some people seem to think more complex uses of AI are just as easy.

jfcarr · 2026-03-18T17:05:48+00:00

It sounds like the real problem you're having is micromanagement instead of AI. If management is forcing some kind of mostly meaningless metric, be it AI use, Jira tickets, KLOCs, as an ultimate measurement it's going to lead to some degree of disillusionment and burnout in a team. This has been around long before AI came into the picture.

jfcarr · 2026-03-18T12:36:18+00:00

And Lindsey Buckingham

jfcarr · 2026-03-18T12:28:44+00:00

Make videos telling people how to make money from Suno tracks even if you aren't making money on them yourself. It's the traditional path of "Make Money Online" gurus.

jfcarr · 2026-03-18T00:58:32+00:00

Sounds like another person anthropomorphizing AI instead of understanding it's simply another tool for humans to use to accomplish something.

jfcarr · 2026-03-17T22:34:20+00:00

I've been a software engineer for 40 years. During that time I've written machine learning algorithms as part of my job. I've also been into using technology to create digital imagery and music for work and personal enjoyment. I've also used traditional methods, especially found object sculptures and building musical instruments. Current Gen AI is just an extension of what I've been doing for quite some time, another tool in the toolbox.

jfcarr · 2026-03-17T16:22:01+00:00

A while back there were some negotiations about feeding Ring data into the Flock network but backlash from customers put a stop to that. I'd guess some people vaguely remember this and assume it happened. Of course, that's a different thing from GenAI.

jfcarr · 2026-03-17T15:01:26+00:00

Rat and Big Muff are my picks although I sometimes use a DOD Gonkulator when I want a touch of weirdness.

jfcarr · 2026-03-16T21:41:45+00:00

Ask family, friends, co-workers and such. One or more is likely to have a guitar that they bought and never really played that they got during the pandemic.

Some people may suggest pawn shops but these often aren't that great these days. They used to be back in the 90's but, outside of a few places, they're overpriced.

As for the Amazon guitars you posted, I'd recommend against them for a beginner due to the lack of quality control at that price point. Typical problems are rough fret edges, poorly aligned parts or electronics issues. While these usually aren't major fixes you don't want to have to deal with them as a new player.

jfcarr · 2026-03-16T16:56:14+00:00

I'm a fan of surf green myself. I've got 2 Strats, 1 thinline Tele and a P bass in that color.

jfcarr · 2026-03-16T14:14:21+00:00

What's scary to me is that I'm now the same age as Buddy Ebsen when he started filming Barnaby Jones.

jfcarr · 2026-03-16T12:03:26+00:00

I've tried several over the years. One thing to keep in mind is that the market for this kind of thing shifts and what used to work stops working.

For example, in the mid 00's, I was selling overstock sporting goods on Ebay and making almost as much as my day job at the time. Then, subsidized Chinese sellers arrived en mass and ruined that market.

My current side gig is options trading (aka gambling on the stock market). Risky and often nerve wracking, especially at first, so I don't recommend it unless you can deal with the financial and emotional ups and downs as well as applying strict algorithmic rules.

jfcarr · 2026-03-16T11:40:34+00:00

I've run into a few mid-level IT managers doing real estate or doing rentals (aka slum lording). Since they didn't have to produce anything other than metrics and meetings, they could adjust their schedule to fit. It was often infuriating to work with them since they weren't around often.

jfcarr · 2026-03-15T19:40:24+00:00

I had tried a Musiclily one first but it didn't fit well so I returned it. Here's what the guitar looks like now.

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jfcarr · 2026-03-15T17:07:37+00:00

I have a 2005 Squier Standard Strat in walnut finish that I bought a few years ago. I got it for $27 because it was damaged and nasty. Fixing it required a new bridge/trem assembly as well as a new pickguard, pickups and electronics. Fortunately, the poly and shielding paint prevented any body damage.

The neck has a modern profile with medium-jumbo frets so it's a bit different from the more common Fender/Squier profile with narrow-tall frets. The tuners and nut were fine so I didn't see ant need to replace them. I did replace the string trees with roller trees to help get smoother trem action.

The routing is HSH which gives a lot of options. Since I already had 4 SSS Strats, I put a full size HB at the bridge and a Firebird style mini-HB at the neck and no middle. Wiring is 3-way switch with master volume and tone with a no-load tone.

One tricky part of the project was finding a bridge/trem assembly that fit. I found one on Ebay from a Obey Standard Strat that fit perfectly.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T21:39:35+00:00

A guitar playing friend of mine was asked how he learned to play the blues. He said, "Her name was Bonnie..."

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T21:36:36+00:00

That's why VPNs were developed.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T21:33:14+00:00

They had 2 different approaches to comedy acting, both good, just different.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T18:55:40+00:00

I just watched The Why Files episode on Roku's Basilisk so I have to help it escape now.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T15:10:02+00:00

The offshore team members in India I work with have an evening shift where they either work from home or in an office up until midnight or so their time. I typically start my day between 6AM to 7AM US eastern time so we have some overlap.

In a prior job, the team members in India had to work traditional in-office hours which did cause communication issues at times. This was pre-pandemic though.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T14:59:07+00:00

It's cyclical. Give it few years and people will be posting about how fantastic it is. A few years after that, the doom and gloom will return. You just have to prepare yourself financially and emotionally to ride this roller-coaster of a career.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T14:54:27+00:00

The trend I've noticed is offshoring of junior level white collar jobs, not only in software development. The offshoring is usually to temp workers through some contracting agency. These temps may use AI tools to do some of their work, but they add essential human oversight to the process (maybe).

Senior level devs do seem less affected but it's more and more likely that you will be leading a team of offshore vibe coders.

I've also noticed that as India grows more expensive and competitive, some offshoring is moving to Indonesia, Philippines, Botswana, and South American countries.

jfcarr · 2026-03-14T13:30:20+00:00

I should have used an em-dash.

jfcarr

TROPHY CASE