How can I reboot my mac os x without having it play the loud chord
which can be disruptive at a meeting, etc...?

Thanks.

Hi needquietboot-ga,
 
With the shareare program "Startup Chime Stopper", you should be able
to turn off the loud chord sound when rebooting.
 
"Startup Chime Stopper allows you to remove the irritating chime of
your Macintosh at startup.
 
You are fed up with the irritating chime of your Macintosh at startup?
You want to remove it?
Then Startup Chime Stopper is what you need! 
 
Features: 
- It removes the irritating chime of your Macintosh at startup. 
- It is a background application that does not appear in the Dock. 
- It doesn't need any installation which makes it very easy to use. 
- It is available in English, in French, in German and in Italian. 
Read the whole documentation for more details..."
http://alphaomega.software.free.fr/startupchimestopper/Startup%20Chime%20Stopper.html
 
"To register your software packages you need to purchase a registration code.
All our applications are starting at just 15 Euros."
http://alphaomega.software.free.fr/registration.php
 
Download link (English):
http://alphaomega.software.free.fr/startupchimestopper/Startup%20Chime%20Stopper.sit
 
This solution, and other suggestions, were posted on this thread:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=184
 
   
I hope this is useful.
  
Best regards.
jackburton

I just mute the speakers when I'm not using them.  That way, I never forget.