The chef, her face barely visible under her floppy white hat, stamped her foot, forward then back, two or three times, an impromptu metronome.

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It was this metronome-like consistency - 10 or 12 percent a year, despite the ups and downs - that was so alluring to investors.

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There are various programs that do this, such as the Dore method, the Brain Gym, the Interactive Metronome, and the groups of exercises prescribed by occupational therapists.

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Like Kris Kristofferson and Steve Earle before him, Todd Snider often writes songs with a slightly boozy country-rock swagger, paced by a steady intellectual metronome that's a tick or two ahead of most of his peers.

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Because I would sit with my dad when he would practice for hours and he would show me what every note meant, and he'd put a metronome on and he'd make me keep time with the metronome and he'd play notes and have me sing them back.

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