The headhunters called. Haven't heard from them in a long while. Somebody needs a senior messaging architect. It sounds like a pretty cool job and I've certainly got the qualifications. Nah, not today. Been there, done that. But if any of my old compatriots are reading this (and I know a few of them do from time to time) it's through the Rod Asher agency. I could give you the agent's name but no doubt you've already got an established contact there. I recall one agent a couple of years ago that was able to name every person I worked with directly in 1997 (2-3 years earlier). Even Bahman's Canadian team. He had them all in his rolodex.

Something which I don't think has been taken advantage of fully is that he could also name every single person on a competitor's team and tell you exactly what they did and what their qualifications were. Hmmm....

In fact it's quite possible that I have perfect pitch more than half the time. And it seems to be a skill that improves with practice. Don't know if you recall a short time back when I noticed that it was easier for me to tune a violin out of thin air than a guitar. On a violin, every string is a perfect fifth (or third if you're going by whole notes) apart. On a guitar, they all are except for the third string, which is a fourth and which isn't a 'clean' harmonic interval. It's that string which screws up whatever this perfect pitch mechanism is. On a guitar, you usually tune every string in sequence. Either top to bottom or bottom to top. Going one way, if you screw up that string - four strings will be off key. Going the other, three. Out of six. Either way, at least half the strings will be out of tune if you don't get the fourth right. There may be a way out. I'll just have to try it and see. Tune from the outside in and save that string for last.

And so the mad scientist in me designs an experiment. The next time I have trouble tuning a guitar, I must put it down and tune a bajo sexto. If I can tune the bajo sexto (explained below) I have perfect harmonic pitch. The pitch is right and I've got the major harmonics, but I can't pull the entire chromatic scale out of space. If I can't tune the bajo sexto, I have intermittent perfect pitch. But another experiment would have to measure exactly how much harmonic recognition I can pull of..

(*) The bajo sexto is pretty much like a twelve-string guitar, except the lows are (much) lower and the highs are higher. It's quite an interesting instrument. Additionally, it's tuned in perfect fifths. This makes the chords quite a bit more complicated than with a six or twelve string guitar, however if you've ever heard 'Stairway to Heaven' played on one you'd throw that 12-string in the dumpster.

Picked up a new guitar line today - though I probably won't have the merchandise for a few weeks. It's yet another Silicon Valley start-up but I guess he's technically in Santa Cruz. He's another tech escapee like myself who just decided one day to become a musical instrument designer. So he gets his guitars built in Vietnam. And they're awesome. Masters of abalone inlay. It's not laser cut like the Koreans, but it's also not epoxy-filled like the Chinese. It's precision hand-cut inlays in elaborate wreaths and vines. And the guitars sound and play excellent. Each one is a work of art. I'm gonna' throw one into the attic and not think about it for a few years. It's a new guitar company, I've got (well soon) vintage stuff. First production run. If the start-up fails it's always worth what I paid for it. Not much. If it succeeds, it might just put my little girl through a year of school.

Guy walks in. (Tell me if you've heard this before). He met a gal over the internet and he's going to meet her in my store (blind date) at 6PM. It's 5 now, though I'm telling the story at 10. You following? He's gonna' marry the girl and wants to know if I know of any photographers that can sneakily capture the couple meeting for the first time in my store. Like a long telephoto lens from across the street. I send him to the ad agency a couple of doors down because they've got a few photographers on call. 6PM comes and goes. Nobody walks in. Nobody on the street.

But wait, there's more. While he was yakking about getting a photographer, he mentioned that she's buying one of the condos a block away. And she's about his age. That's why he wants to marry her. Hmmm. He's about my age. And she's a block away. And single. And feels comfortable suggesting a music store for a first date. He's not from around here. Though she didn't show up. Nor did he. My guess is that they had a cell phone conversation whilst she was on her way over and she realized that this dude was going to propose on the first (blind) date and got a bit queasy at the prospect. But wait there's more. He's carrying a friggin' shaving bag. Like I'll need this stuff in the morning babe. Doubt I'll ever see him again. She's been here before, and she'll be back. But I'll probably never know who she is.

For you guys who are clueless here are the rules for blind dates:
- the word marriage can only be discussed in the past tense.
- You must be able to produce a condom if asked.
- You must never produce a condom unless asked.
- You cannot touch any part of her except possibly her hand without asking.
- If she sticks her tongue in your mouth and/or struggles with your belt buckle; congratulations. You got lucky.