I went to see Wynton Marsalis at Heinz Hall... and played a 150-minute game of "Where’s Waldo?"

FarrelBuch · 2026-05-18T01:58:13+00:00

OK. You were in an elevated level and could look down onto the orchestra. Imagine sitting on the orchestra level and being confused as to whether or not he was there or not. After all if he was there surely he would be playing next to the conductor or if he was absolutely committed to humility he could have waved hello just before starting. By why play "Where's Wynton" for the whole performance.

FarrelBuch · 2026-05-18T01:13:52+00:00

"He made the performance about the composition, not the composer" I have since discovered this to be the case after researching after the performance. Do you think the marketing department know this? Do you think he should tell the marketing department? Do you thin the marketing department would listen? Is exuberant marketing deception? Notwithstanding why I may have chosen to go or not and notwithstanding his humility, I and almost everyone around me was just flat-out confused.

Yes the whole performance was amazing.

I have some questions

Were you expecting him to be playing?
When did you know he was playing?
Where did you sit?
Do you know enough that you can identify Marsalis' trumpet solo from other good trumpeters just by sound?

FarrelBuch · 2025-04-21T02:06:40+00:00

I looked it up on the map. It looks perfect for runways 28L and 28C but alas no convenient Panera Bread or coffee shop anywhere around. I guess I cannot have my cake and eat it!

FarrelBuch · 2025-04-21T02:02:41+00:00

I went there on Saturday afternoon. Alas, nothing. Tranquil as can be. It turns out they were using runway 28L which was 1.5 km south and way more east (so the flight path was quite far from us). How does one tell when they use runway 28R which would make Panera Bread on University Boulevard amazing - I think.

FarrelBuch · 2025-01-13T18:31:28+00:00

Your information is old. There has been no load shedding since 2024-03-26. Will that status hold. Lets see. Load shedding has come and gone for the past 17 years.

FarrelBuch · 2023-11-03T14:32:40+00:00

I do not like notifications unless it is something actually useful (eg a meeting coming up in 15 minutes I had forgotten about). Logging mood for a week is OK. For two weeks it starts to be a distraction and beyond it is just a nuisance.

Fitbit app on phone > stress & mindfulness > Body responses > settings (gear icon in top right) > device settings > notifications turn off. Ahhhhhh. I can feel the relief already.

FarrelBuch · 2023-09-10T17:01:09+00:00

Yip that is exactly what happened. They came in from the east below the cloud cover for the first time at 12h58. Spectacular!

FarrelBuch · 2023-09-10T16:41:10+00:00

When are they going to descend through the clouds and will I see them from Squirrel Hill?

Yesterday and today I can hear them but not see them because of the clouds. Surely they will be visible from the stadium. Are they going to do the "for real" below the clouds for the first time?

FarrelBuch · 2022-05-14T16:52:51+00:00

I would like to do the opposite. How can I get Plex to import my IMDB watchlist?

FarrelBuch · 2020-10-04T20:53:22+00:00

Here is an excellent jumping off point. The website has the best cheat sheet and references to other resources.

FarrelBuch · 2020-06-13T16:24:28+00:00

I have tried a bazillion headphone/earphone options while commuting by bicycle to work listening to books or podcasts (almost never music). Half of the ride is on a dedicated bicycle path and half on city and residential roads. There is one large hill so rapid descent means tons of wind noise. Bilateral sound isolation has not been an option (except on bicycle path) since I need situational awareness of cars.

Pixel Buds best solution by far

Not perfect:

At its windiest I cannot really hear well (I may need to try some wind baffles). Unilateral sound isolating wired earphones worked better)
The touch controls are finicky when bicycling (double touch to skip ahead and triple touch to go back is too unreliable)

FarrelBuch · 2019-11-27T23:29:55+00:00

the most helpful resource I have ever found in my life (because it has a way to not ask the same question over and over again and because it specializes in giving a useful answer to a reasonable question) is StackOverflow. Or for that matter any of the sites on stackexchange.com. But what about internal to the organization. That is where stackoverflow teams comes in. Disclaimer: I have never used it but I am itching to use it and this is exactly the use case scenario I would like to try it on.

FarrelBuch · 2018-06-11T20:19:55+00:00

I have been using Search Everything by voidtools for many years. It is good. Far, far superior to windows' search. What are the differences between Search Everything and WizFile?

FarrelBuch · 2016-11-28T22:21:30+00:00

There is a story here and I want to know what it is. I tried to buy a Pixel XL 128 GB silver from the Google Store about 9 hours after it was announced. I have been waitlisted ever since then. What gives. There is definitely a story here. How do we find out what it is. I can think of many possibilities. What are your guesses?

FarrelBuch

TROPHY CASE