I found a practice room with a perfectly tuned piano yesterday evening. With most of them ten cents flat, finding a tuned piano is like winning the lottery, but without the subsequent monetary satisfaction.

I finally broke down and ordered a copy of Finale 2002, which is supposed to arrive this afternoon sometime. It's really ridiculous the way Microsoft has started the trend to release new versions of software on a yearly basis, with just enough modifications to be useful. Maybe on my next birthday I'll shave my head, add a letter to my name, and charge twenty dollars more per commission.

With Finale 2002 almost in hand, I think my next free-time project will be to read the manual from cover to cover to become an expert. I haven't actually read a Finale manual since they shipped the printed edition that accompanied version 2.0 back in 1994. Consequently, I probably don't do things the most efficient way. I do hate reading online manuals though; after wading through screens of text all day, nothing beats a paper copy for reference and ease of use.

You know, when I listen to the third movement of Beethoven's Seventh, I actually do hear the yaks jumping about.

"There is no doubt that the first requirement for a composer is to be dead." - Arthur Honegger