Most significantly, Allison's since been out here and discovered the glory that is California. In her time here, I've subjected her to every corner of my beloved hometown, grubbed clam chowder at Fisherman's Wharf, and just generally mucked about. She's due for a return visit in a couple of weeks, and I'll guarantee you I'll report back on it by September, at the latest...

With Dave having shipped out to Exodus (with a brief term at NASA in there), I've assumed a couple of pieces of his old job into my already overstuffed work schedule. While it's made me something of an expert in the hitherto unexplored world of web surveys, working with WebSurvent has dimmed my interests a bit in spending my free time writing HTML. My apologies to the few people who's lives are in any way affected by my new, slower pace, but I assure you, I haven't given up completely.

Before letting this volume go, I wanted to acknowlegde the passing of George Van Eps. He's low enough in profile so as not to have caused much of a commotion during his life, but there are few musicians out there who've made a more significant contribution to their instruments. Fourty years before Steve Vai and Korn took up the seven-string guitar, Van Eps added one to play some of the most harmonically complex music of the era. A member of Guitar Player magazine's "Gallery of the Greats," Van Eps laid a foundation for everyone who's since assembled a set of challenging changes to blow over. A true virtuoso, he's a musical presence who'll be both missed and remembered.