I have just paid the monthly rent for the thirtieth time to the same landlord. This means that at the end of this month I will have lived in the same apartment for three and a half years. This is mildly depressing. I thought I was more adventurous than that. A chat with a friend... Continue Reading →
I ♥ Adobe Reader X
A few days ago, patenttranslator admitted that his new best dictionary-friend is Google Translate in a well-balanced and well-reasoned post. —Yes, there is a relatively small population of Earthlings who have dictionaries for friends. Weird, possibly, but true. Some have had relationships with dictionaries since earliest childhood. Most adherents to this subculture conduct relationships with multiple dictionaries... Continue Reading →
Effective terminology
Occasionally, when in the midst of a terminological quandary I will emerge from my study and inflict the background information on my partner. You may find this particularly cruel, since she is physically incapable of walking away from me. Nevertheless, she is gracious, and hears me out. Sometimes she laughs at me unashamedly. These dramatisations of... Continue Reading →
Simon, Garfunkel and Yoda
It all started when a fellow translator posted an image of Yoda, of Star Wars fame, on her Facebook wall. The speech balloon said, "OOYL", which, of course, is short for "Only once, you live". Despite obvious pronunciation difficulties, I prefer Yoda's rendition to the now ubiquitous YOLO. "My favourite, he is", I commented. "Ha!",... Continue Reading →
…little talk awhile of me and thee…
I came across one of those sentimental "quotations" so prevalent these days. I have done a quick translation into English, and must emphasise now that I do not identify with the sentiment conveyed! And if I were to die? Imagine what it would be like, you sending me an SMS knowing that I would never answer... Continue Reading →
Three strikes and you’re human
I have just had to prove I am human once again. I thought I did that every day. Today, I did was unable to manage it to satisfaction. Twice. Someone on a translation mailing list which I first joined in the previous millennium posted a link to her blog. I felt moved to post a... Continue Reading →
Shifting gear, with moonbeams
It is not just me. Confirmation of my own stirrings as subtle shifts in our natural surrounding herald the changing of the seasons abound. Such confirmations abound chiefly in the status updates of the people on Facebook whom I call my friends. They are a diverse and much beloved bunch scattered across the globe. Although... Continue Reading →
Revise that!
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE IS DEFINITELY ABOUT THE REVISION OF TRANSLATIONS. THERE ARE NO PICTURES. JUST WORDS. YES, I USED CAPITAL LETTERS. I must have been feeling upbeat yesterday. Why else would I accept a couple of assignments involving the revision of translations from German into English? There is nothing unusual about this. The last revision I... Continue Reading →
Freshly processed
So you all think I am going to describe various fruit juice crazes throughout my life? Not today. I am expressing myself with an experimentally processed photograph thanks to suggestions on Circa Dee's freshly pressed blog today. I took this photograph yesterday at a Medieval Festival at Castro Marim. Castro Marim is in the south of... Continue Reading →
Footprints in moon dust
Neil Armstrong, first to set foot on moon, dies at 82 | The Columbus Dispatch. Impossible to be sad, really. This single fact of history, that Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon, did more the ignite people's imagination than anything else in Sixties. And that's saying something. I remember the crackly... Continue Reading →
That elusive pair of jeans 