malkuth23

NYC cabs are waaaay better now that ridesharing is dominating. They used to almost universally keep their doors locked and quiz you on the destination, then drive away if it was Brooklyn or somewhere they did not feel like going. They are actually happy to get a fare now, so they do not treat the customer like crap anymore.

I wish Niantic would realize they suck at making games, but have a treasure of data. They could license that data to more creative game devs and everyone would benefit... They could be a platform instead of a game company.

Alaska is a pretty nice airline actually with a fair number of benefits that no one else seems to offer. I hope they grow viable in Southern California.

Unfortunately when I ride for work I have to use my company Amex, so I get no benefits... Maybe my situation is weird so they have not bothered making a program for people like me. It works well for the airlines and hotels though because while I do not spend my money, I can decide WHERE I will spend it.

Neither company has any stickiness with me. By that I mean, I can switch between them willy nilly with no real affect on my life. I like to tip when my work picks up the bill, so I most often use Lyft... If either of them offered a rewards program (like frequent flyer miles) I would probably use that one exclusively. I have no idea why neither has implemented that yet.

I am sure that is true (I don't have a music background). I just think it is usually much more interesting to watch someone perform with vinyl. More showmanship or something.

I sometimes operate media servers that deliver video for several classical pops concerts including Fantasia and a number of more modern Hollywood type movies. The conductor gets a special synchronized video feed with white dots flashing to indicate tempo, colored lines to show when changes are coming up and bar numbers, all superimposed over the movie. The conductor has to speed up and slow down the orchestra in order to match the music exactly (or as close as possible) to the original video. I never change the speed of the video. Some pieces seem to be harder and also require a click track. These are shows that obviously require very close attention to the conductor.

I always wonder if all the orchestra was given a click and a copy of the modified video, if the conductor could just sit down and eat a sandwich. Of course, that is kind of like contrasting watching a DJ that selects mp3 tracks vs someone who can adeptly spin vinyl.

Curiously, I can tell you from listening to the conductors speak candidly, they often consider this sort of conducting much harder despite these added tools. Even when they are playing very familiar pieces like the music from Fantasia, it is very difficult to match it so exactly to the original. They compare adjusting the speed of an orchestra to speeding or slowing a freight train.

With professional orchestras, most only do 1-2 rehearsals before the shows I control video. It is amazing how fast the musicians take notes and adapt to the direction of the conductor. There is almost always a marked improvement between 1st and 2nd rehearsal and the actual show.

I will say that having stood at the conductor's podium at many of the top theaters in the U.S. (while empty) - it is an incredibly intimidating thought. Every seat points straight at you. It is much more singularly focused than a dramatic stage. It definitely has given me (someone with very little musical understanding) a great deal of respect for their responsibilities.