<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As a rank rookie, some years ago, I was = privy to all kinds of horror stories told by the pros about their most = nightmarish tuning experience. I purposed to get ahead of the game. So, I would practice = "tuning" at home with the saturday afternoon Texaco broadcast of the Met going full-blast. It really did help. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3>Sometimes, one can affect the = environment. But, sometimes one cannot. As when doing a performance tuning for a stage = band with the band warming up around you and a freight train of empty coal cars = clattering away not fifty feet away. All outside. That was interesting. Sheer = concentration and an Accutuner got me through it. Likewise with the time that the = customer, in his home, was right around the corner running a chain saw. Or, in a = school cafeteria at lunch hour (kindergarten age kids). </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>But, like many of the rest of you, a normal = converstion going on in the same room can be deadly. Especially when in the fifth or = sixty octaves and the voices are female. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Tom Cobble, RPT, now in Florida, loves to tell = the story of the rabbit, sitting on the grass median strip of a very busy highway = who ignores all of the hustle and bustle around him. But, picks up his ears immediately to a light scratching sound in the grass. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>It is amazing what we can learn to filter out, = given good motivation.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Robin Blankenship</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR>---<BR>Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.<BR>Checked by AVG anti-virus system (<A href="http://www.grisoft.com">http://www.grisoft.com</A>).<BR>Version: = 6.0.384 / Virus Database: 216 - Release Date: 8/21/02</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>