It's HP. They can just lay off enough people to cover the tab. It's the Fiorina fandango.

eethoven 4 and 8 are definitely under 40 minutes... IIRC, he was aiming for a classical style symphony in 8. Beethoven 5 is usually well under 40 minutes... mainly because of the breakneck tempo in the first movement. Those late Sibelius symphonies are unearthly long. I think Sibelius was getting paid by the minute by his publishers. I can't imagine they're performed much these days... I have recordings of them, but I don't often seem them on concert programs - usually only 1 or 2.

I agree. Though these might not be entirely all professional, $13,000 doesn't go very far. If they were paid union scale, that would probably fetch you a few symphonies, with no rehearsal time. Of course, quite a few people on slashdot would assume that the musicians will work for pennies (the love of music and all that.)

However, as to the length of the symphonies, I'd be willing to be the majority of symphonies are under 30 minutes. I don't think any symphony reached 40+ minutes in length until the Eroica.

Don't forget donations... many orchestras don't break even on concerts - although pops concerts can be somewhat profitable... less rehearsal time (typically easier music.) But donations and grants are important. Even the big name orchestras usually have hefty endowments.

Actually, in Japan tipping isn't really insulting, it's just that absolutely no-one does it. For example, if you give try and give a tip at a restaurant in Japan and they're not wise about western tipping culture, they will simply assume that you made a mistake when trying to pay. Either way, if you tip they'll just try to give you your change back (even to the point of running down the street after you!)

The only time it might appear rude is if it could be mistaken for a bribe. This is really a pretty rare occurrence, but just in case I'll warn you not to try and tip any police officers or customs officials ;) In other situations like trying to tip bellboys, etc., you will cause confusion, but no actual insult.

anyone else feel that facebook is a reversion to the AOL days? Too bad they can't provide a browser within the browser - and that dial up isn't so popular anymore.

Solaris is still around, and probably will be for a few more years. For whatever reason, Oracle loves the idea of running oracle on sparc Solaris. I guess it's rather "enterprisey."

That should be Apple's new motto. Most people do not like to have to decide on an item out of a large selection.

you were talking about Boston, but then I realized it was Middle east and not northeast.
I don't think anything can be done. Many people are horrible drivers. A certain percentage is very afraid of driving and clog up the road with their uncertainty. Another set believes that driving's just like a video game, and that signals, proper distance between cars, and basic courtesy are inconvenient and optional.
There is nothing that can be done, I'm afraid. Honestly, if they made drivers "qualify" for different types/sizes of vehicles, accidents would be reduced. But, everyone values their time over safety.

Have a peek at All Japanese All the Time. The answers to your questions lie within. Check the table of contents first!

Actually, this isn't true. It is very much possible to become fluent without going to another country. What you _do_ need to do is listen to the language you want to learn for hundreds/thousands of hours and understand what you hear. Note that this is different from studying a language - it is not the conscious study that will get you there, but a subconscious process of assimilation. You just listen to interesting messages in your new language and your brain learns the rules for you!

Going to another country is great because it is easy to find interesting messages to listen to, but if you have the right tools and materials you can learn a language faster at home than than you could by going the immersion route. This is particularly true for beginners, because it's actually quite hard to find things that are easy enough for you to understand when you're surrounded by native speakers speaking very quickly. Plus, if you go the immersion route there can be more pressure for you to speak before you are ready, which can actually have the effect of fossilizing the wrong language structures in your brain, just because you said them so much. For those who are interested, see Stephen Krashen's website and read his free online book "Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning". (Leave this for when you have a spare hour or three - the book is 140 pages long.)

He certainly tried them out. As far as I know, he didn't actually write anything for the fortepiano. Even though he had a favorable account of the later fortepianos, I guess it was too late in his life to really start writing for them.

Are you thinking of C.P.E. Bach? While J.S. did get to play on pianofortes, I don't think there is any indication he was ever planning on ditching the harpsichord or the organ.
C.P.E., however - he definitely took to the pianoforte. Still, it took a while for the harpsichord to die out.
If I remember correctly, Beethoven's Pathetique sonata (1798) was published with the indication that it could be performed on performed either on the pianoforte or the harpsichord. I've certainly never heard it played on the harpsichord.

Yeah, Linux will eventually be included on that list for Slashdot, too. Mac fanbois have taken over; the Ubuntists are out.
Pretty soon, a minor Linux kernel update won't make the front page.

My suggestion for a slogan for Apple is:

Freedom from the tyranny of choice

Their marketing department can use that for free.