Anyone who has read this magazine for the past two years has probably noticed that I'm a big music lover. I've been a music aficionado since my fourth birthday, when I received an album by The New Vaudeville Band entitled "Winchester Cathedral."

My editing job has allowed me to indulge my audiophile tendencies. I've sprinkled Pink Floyd references in as news subheads, and I've given free PR to UP Media Group's blues band, the Porch Dawgs, in this column.

I once wanted to be editor of Rolling Stone. To me, the ideal job involves writing about music, bands, concerts and the business itself.

Luckily for me, ideal just got a lot closer. UP Media Group is launching a music-oriented Web site, and I'm going to take the reins of this new property. I may not become a music mogul like Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone, but I'll be doing what I've always wanted to do. And I'll be able to play the guitar even more than I do now.

But it's hard to believe that this is my last column as editor of PCD&M. I've been editor for two years, but it seems like just yesterday that I slid into this chair following Mike Buetow's move to head up Circuits Assembly.

In my tenure as editor, I've tried to keep PCD&M vital to PCB designers and manufacturers. I wanted the magazine to be so useful, so full-featured, that subscribers would feel compelled to read it from cover to cover each month. I didn't always succeed, but I like to think I was pretty close most of the time.

Don't worry - I'm leaving you in good hands. Taking over as editor of PCD&M is Kathy Nargi-Toth, an industry veteran of over 20 years. Kathy comes to UP Media Group from Technic, where she served as global business director; prior to that, she served as technical marketing manager, HDI materials and metallization at Enthone. You've seen her at Apex and you'll see her at PCB East in Durham, NC, in September.

Not only is Kathy an industry vet, but she's a writer too. (Such is not always the case.) She's penned a variety of papers on PCB metallization and high-density interconnect structure techniques. Kathy has written for PCD&M, Circuits Assembly, HDI, Electronic Packaging & Production and numerous other trade journals for the PCB industry. Best of all, Kathy is a longtime member of the editorial review boards for PCD&M and PC FAB, so she's familiar with the way we determine the editorial direction, content, coverage and potential covers for the upcoming year.

She and the other review board members have been of immeasurable help to me during my time as editor, helping me help you do your job better, which is what a trade publication is for, period. If you're reading this, you need the best technical information you can get, the sharpest opinions from the industry's best minds, the latest news and the best analysis of recent events. There are challenging times for designers and fabricators, even in a good economy, and you can't afford to miss a beat.

The industry's landscape is constantly changing. As of July 1, we officially entered the lead-free zone. The RoHS deadline has passed, and anyone shipping product into the EU had better comply. China's version of RoHS is on its way, and as of this writing China RoHS contains no exemptions. And California's iteration of RoHS is set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2007.

Yes, it's rough out there. But most of you seem to thoroughly enjoy what you do for a living. You like facing challenges and solving problems. It's been a pleasure working with you.

I'll be the editor-at-large for PCD&M and CA, so I'll still see you at trade shows in the future.   PCD&M

Take care.