etd's and ears (thanks ramble)

[Ron Koval]

I don't often take the time to be thankful for this little "corner of the 
internet"...

I stumbled onto the archive years ago; our school had ONE internet 
connection in the library - I hadn't yet connected at home.  I went back to 
the beginning and copied onto a floppy a few day's reading.  Back and forth 
I went for months and months.  As a visitor/lurker, I entered a realm 
unknown to me - in this sometimes solitary profession - the college and 
university technicians.  Over time, I began to 'know' these shadows on the 
screen; Danny, Newton, uncle wookie, Del, Avery, Bill, the rics, Stan the 
man, flamesuit purveyer, Sssssn, many Davids, Rons, Mike and more..... Left 
coast, right coast, no coast, far and near.  Some I've met face to face, 
most, I've not.  Searching, reading, I devoured the writings, sorting the 
wheat from the chaff. (Many days not knowing the wheat from the chaff...)

I got an email address and even ventured to post.  Helpful and hurtful, 
fighting and ignoring, joking and sparring, this ever changing community has 
seen it all.  So when I get a post from RicB stating:

"Ah hell there Ron... you just put down one of those posts that shows the
true potential of this list.  Excellent contribution I gotta say...in
every single way.  This is one I'd just love to sit over a couple beers
/ coffees / whathave yous in some appropriate sitting room somewhere and
delve into with you for an hour or so... or at least until we reach burn
out as such topics inevitably lead to after yielding a time of
discussional enjoyment."

I've got to scream across the ocean, "YES, I'D LOVE TO AS WELL!"  (though 
you might find my writing much more scintillating than me, myself and I, in 
person.)  Your paragraph helped make this weekend a little better for me.

I often read, but haven't been active here in awhile.  David Anderson 
brought me back into the discussion this week not so much because I thought 
he was wrong, but because I thought he might listen to what I was trying to 
say.  Thank you David, for continuing to do what you do.

I know going over this machine/aural discussion is tiresome to some.  Just 
as describing just what a 6:3 octaves means to yet another newbie.   (Though 
I find that trying to come up with another way to 'splain something for the 
hundreth time helps ME to deepen my understanding and clarity of the subject 
at hand.)  When David Love wrote:

"But if we are tuning a piano that belongs to an individual who has explored
every pitch related nook and cranny of their instrument, then we better pay
attention to a few more details,"

Ah, thank you.  I think I "get it".  We work in different markets and seek 
clients based on our own likes and dislikes.  What is stimulating and 
challenging to one, is a high-maintenance client to another.  What to one is 
MERELY "periodic tuning of Aunt Mimi's piano who only calls us because Uncle 
Hector reminded her" represents food on the table, shelter overhead, and a 
chance to allow music to spring forth from an underused instrument.  The 
range of technicians reflects the range of piano owners in existance.

"Better" or "Worse" (as in the temperament wars) perhaps should be left out 
as we continue this experiment in conversation.

Now, to those of you out there...  my skills have improved; challenged, 
prodded, held up, put down, excited, frustrated in this place - all because 
I was willing to read, to post, to think, to try, to study.  We've lost some 
over the years, gained new voices - and I await the posts from those 
"looking over our shoulders".   Sure, someone will tell you to go look in 
the archives, you may get slammed for an idea, but I'm sure Conrad has a few 
more flamesuits available - in just your size...

Many thanks all -

Ron Koval
Chicagoland

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