In various news:
I finally figured out the fingering for my "Brian Boru" chanter. Very strange; first, it's a major scale, so every G is instead a G#. Then, basically each finger plays a note lower than on the Highland chanter. To finger an "E", I play the usual F#, to play a C#, finger a D. The thumbhole is a high G#, and high A is now a key. High G-natural is still there as a key, but low G-natural is not. Shakes and doublings are still possible, though using the thumb for the the G, and grips are still possible (using a G# instead of a G). I'll have to learn the double-tap method for birls, though.

The upshot of all this is that Amhan na bhFiann goes from low A to high C# (okay, low Bb to high D, but who's keeping track?). So if I can get it reeded up, there's a chance I might be able to play the Irish national anthem on the pipes on St. Patrick's day...

I brought the electronic chanter on the metro with me for the first time in a while. As I was coming home, an elderly Chinese couple sat next to me, and both were intently watching me play. I finally acknowledged them, and said "bagpipes". They looked confused. I said "It's an electronic bagpipe". They looked more confused, and one of them said something in Chinese. Realizing that they spoke no English, I showed them a picture of a piper on the back of my Cairngorm music book, and they nodded and said "ah!". They continued to watch as I played, so I offered the headphones to them. The husband took them first, and his eyes lit up while I played Scotland the Brave. He said something to his wife, and handed the headphones to her, and her eyes lit up. In very broken English, they thanked me, and said it was good.

And it was.