I like technology. Always have. I remember when I first wanted to learn to run the "big boards" at church, years ago. I couldn't comprehend what the heck all those knobs did, but I knew that I wanted to learn. And, over the years, I have learned a lot about the technology of sound reinforcement. I can tell you how to solder an XLR connector, where to place the mic for a snare drum and what kind of mic to use, and that adding a bit of 3-4khz adds a nice crispness to vocals. But until recently, that's the only thing I had been interested in. The technology. And reading the introduction to a book yesterday, I stumbled across the following sentence: "...[sound engineers] all have one thing in common: They share an unquenchable, roaring passion for music."1

Well duh, sparky.

I realized that I've been far too focused on the technology of sound reinforcement, instead of the music itself. It would seem self-evident that a sound engineer would have to have a passion for music, but this apparently simple concept has until now failed to dawn on me. I realize now that the music, not the technology, is the most important part of sound reinforcement. So I thought I'd just share my little revelation with the world.

Thim: Why, thankee.

Kamper: Glad to see you!

Chris Timmons: I know you've been here. Leave a note. :P

I've been campaigning for a master key to my church building...I do so much stuff there that's it's really inconvenient to have to go around and ask people for their master keys. What really irks me is that they give out a bunch of the things to people, then realize that people will lose them, and then balk at giving one to someone who actually needs one. It was suggested that I "just use Chris's key" forever. Yea. That'll work. ::rolls eyes::

For Christmas, I received some books about sound engineering, a nice t-shirt from ThinkGeek, and a lot of socks. The best present, though, was an XBox from (Brian), who managed to get one bought and delivered while in Iraq. I also nearly got my butt kicked at Halo...by a 12 year old. A humbling experience, that was.

1 Section 107 of the US Copyright Law allows me to use this excerpt from "Crank it Up: Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour Engineers" by Clive Young, copyright 2004.