Same exact story. I actually got to the third interview simply because the lead dev liked my general knowledge and the HR liked my character. Once I talked to the CTO, his first question was "So you're not a Perl programmer, why do you want this job?" I was quick to answer that I fully know now that the job wasn't for me, but if there was anything that he had in place for me, that would be great. He didn't, but we talked for about 45 minutes. It was pretty much the only time I left impressed and happy, knowing that I will never return to the place of current interview.