Dear blog readers,
Merry Christmas to you and very best wishes for a healthy, peaceful and happy new year!
As a
minimalist, I have made a donation to UNICEF UK in lieu of sending
Christmas cards this year. More information is available on the UNICEF website.
Friday 18 December 2015
Monday 30 November 2015
ITI German network Christmas party 2015
With the festive season fast approaching, around 25 members of the ITI’s German network gathered at the Kipferl Kneipe and Kitchen in London on 28th November 2015 for Gernet's annual Christmas get-together. The Kipferl is an Austrian coffeehouse in North Kensington, slightly tucked away in a side street off Portobello Road. It has gained a fine reputation for its excellent food and Viennese coffee varieties, served in a contemporary Austrian setting.
Kipferl Kneipe and Kitchen in North Kensington, London |
It had been decided, after many years of meeting at the Barley Mow pub on Horseferry Road for this occasion, to try a new venue for this year’s event. Personally, I think the Kipferl was a great choice: the (German-speaking) staff were welcoming and friendly; the food was delicious; and the surroundings were both comfortable and stylish. Good company and conversations made for an enjoyable afternoon, with conversation topics ranging from the challenges involved in translating a novel via cycling in London to the availability of real Advent wreaths in the UK. And since we had the whole restaurant to ourselves, it was (relatively) easy to mingle and circulate around the room.
Vanillekipferl |
Given that most of
us work in isolation, this get-together provided another wonderful opportunity
to connect with fellow professionals in person and exchange work-related or
other experiences. There was ample time to share tips on working habits,
compare notes and talk in a relaxed social atmosphere. And I even met a couple
of translators whom I had previously only known as Twitter names!
It’s true that quite
a lot of us translators – due to our natural temperaments – tend to prefer
smaller “doses” of socialising; so events of this kind can be energy-sapping.
I, for one, am certainly not used to chatting for many hours. However, I
definitely think it was worthwhile making my way into the capital for this
meeting: it was a convivial afternoon that offered a chance to spend quality
time with like-minded people.
Sadly, the afternoon
drew to a close quite quickly, and at around 5 o’clock it was time for us to
leave – after the 5 hours had just flown by. I love walking through London and
enjoyed my walk back to Paddington Station afterwards to catch the train back home
to Bristol. The experience of meeting at the Kipferl was enhanced by Twitter interaction as it allowed us to
stay in communication for a while longer even as we were making our way back
home.
Walking back to Paddington Station |
By the way, you can
keep up to date with the latest news and stories from the ITI’s German network
by following @ITIGerNet on
Twitter or by liking GerNet on Facebook. Do join us there!
Labels:
Christmas,
ITI German network,
London,
translation,
Twitter
Tuesday 3 November 2015
How successful women make the most of their time
"So, how are you?" When people ask me how I am, how things are going, I often catch myself replying: “Busy, as usual.” Do you find yourself doing this, too?
In her latest book I Know How She Does It, Laura Vanderkam describes, and draws conclusions from, the strategies that working women employ to create space for their priorities. It contains numerous examples of how women with full lives structure their days to have it all. “Having it all” is defined by Laura as a life involving professional success as well as enough time for personal pursuits.
The book obviously is again set in an American context. The women who recorded their time for one week as part of Laura’s "Mosaic Project" had to fulfil the following criteria: a) They had to have an annual income of more than USD 100,000; and b) they had to have at least one child under the age of 18 living at home.
Laura has been criticised for the controlling rigidness of her approach to time management. I, too, had felt slightly put off by her tenet that "a life is lived in hours" and that we should plan carefully how to spend the 168 hours that are available to us each week. With her new book, Laura demonstrates there is indeed nothing rigid about a disciplined and thought-through approach to her time management strategies.
The book sets out not just Laura’s favourite time management strategies, but also offers fantastic ideas on how to seize quality time, how to always hunt for the positive, and generally how to maintain a relaxed approach to life. They are practical ideas that are instantly applicable to everyday life – amidst all its craziness – and in particular when you combine work with raising children.
Just how much life really can get away from you when you’re juggling work and young children became clear to me a couple of years ago when at a get-together with former work colleagues from Bristol’s tourist office, I was told – to my absolute amazement – that Jessica Raine, who had previously worked with us, had, in the meantime, become a national film star.
I hadn’t been aware of this at all as I’d been so busy with work and my young children that I hadn’t met friends or colleagues, let alone found the time to switch on the telly over a prolonged period. I have since, of course, caught up on watching (most of) the “Call the Midwife” episodes. It felt surreal to see Jess on the TV screen! I am so pleased for her, as this is the career Jess had dreamed of!
I know I tend to have trouble carving out time for leisure or to decompress, so I found I Know How She Does It insightful and refreshing. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from it. Next time I’m asked how I am and how thing are going, hopefully my answer will be a bit different: "Busy – but less busy than usual."
In her latest book I Know How She Does It, Laura Vanderkam describes, and draws conclusions from, the strategies that working women employ to create space for their priorities. It contains numerous examples of how women with full lives structure their days to have it all. “Having it all” is defined by Laura as a life involving professional success as well as enough time for personal pursuits.
Combining professional success and personal pursuits |
The book obviously is again set in an American context. The women who recorded their time for one week as part of Laura’s "Mosaic Project" had to fulfil the following criteria: a) They had to have an annual income of more than USD 100,000; and b) they had to have at least one child under the age of 18 living at home.
Laura has been criticised for the controlling rigidness of her approach to time management. I, too, had felt slightly put off by her tenet that "a life is lived in hours" and that we should plan carefully how to spend the 168 hours that are available to us each week. With her new book, Laura demonstrates there is indeed nothing rigid about a disciplined and thought-through approach to her time management strategies.
The book sets out not just Laura’s favourite time management strategies, but also offers fantastic ideas on how to seize quality time, how to always hunt for the positive, and generally how to maintain a relaxed approach to life. They are practical ideas that are instantly applicable to everyday life – amidst all its craziness – and in particular when you combine work with raising children.
Just how much life really can get away from you when you’re juggling work and young children became clear to me a couple of years ago when at a get-together with former work colleagues from Bristol’s tourist office, I was told – to my absolute amazement – that Jessica Raine, who had previously worked with us, had, in the meantime, become a national film star.
I hadn’t been aware of this at all as I’d been so busy with work and my young children that I hadn’t met friends or colleagues, let alone found the time to switch on the telly over a prolonged period. I have since, of course, caught up on watching (most of) the “Call the Midwife” episodes. It felt surreal to see Jess on the TV screen! I am so pleased for her, as this is the career Jess had dreamed of!
I know I tend to have trouble carving out time for leisure or to decompress, so I found I Know How She Does It insightful and refreshing. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from it. Next time I’m asked how I am and how thing are going, hopefully my answer will be a bit different: "Busy – but less busy than usual."
Meeting (former colleague) #JessicaRaine after #XThePlay @royalcourt >though famous now, Jess hasn't changed a bit! pic.twitter.com/fUFvkw6em6— E. Hippe-Heisler (@detransferendo) April 30, 2016
Agatha Christie spy drama with Jessica Raine & @davidwalliams as marrieds thrust into trouble: http://t.co/P2uDTn8hJl pic.twitter.com/XV4c6HPBR7— BBC iPlayer (@BBCiPlayer) July 27, 2015
Totally, totally, totally blown away by Jessica Raine's performance in "The Last Post." Gritty, bold, daring, gusty, this is Jessica as we've never seen her before. It's the performance of the year. Well done, Ms. Raine. pic.twitter.com/YPVeVYHCzO
— Jim Ruocco (@JimRuocco) November 14, 2017
Labels:
freelancing,
great books,
Laura Vanderkam,
time management,
work-life balance,
working parents
Saturday 6 June 2015
ITI WRG IT & CAT Tools Day
I've just returned from the ITI WRG's IT & CAT Tools Day, which was held at the Watershed on the harbourside in Bristol. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to Sandra Mouton for organising this workshop with such superb efficiency and good humour!
In the morning, Kevin Flanagan gave a presentation on sub-segment recall in translation memories, the theme of his PhD research. Based on this research, Kevin has developed a new functionality called "Lift", which will be incorporated into SDL products in the future. For more information check out the demo video here.
In the afternoon, five WRG members (including myself) demonstrated specific translation tools that they find useful in their work. These tools included MemoQ, Dragon Naturally Speaking, CafeTran, Trados, OmegaT with LibreOffice and LF Aligner. My demo was about IntelliWebSearch. There was also ample opportunity to share software-related ideas and best practices in a relaxed social setting.
As announced in my demonstration, here is the video on IntelliWebSearch that I found on YouTube this week. It is presented by Michael Farrell, who developed the application.
In the morning, Kevin Flanagan gave a presentation on sub-segment recall in translation memories, the theme of his PhD research. Based on this research, Kevin has developed a new functionality called "Lift", which will be incorporated into SDL products in the future. For more information check out the demo video here.
Four of the presenters: Elisabeth Hippe-Heisler, Mark Elliott, Sandra Mouton, Will Helton (from left to right) |
In the afternoon, five WRG members (including myself) demonstrated specific translation tools that they find useful in their work. These tools included MemoQ, Dragon Naturally Speaking, CafeTran, Trados, OmegaT with LibreOffice and LF Aligner. My demo was about IntelliWebSearch. There was also ample opportunity to share software-related ideas and best practices in a relaxed social setting.
As announced in my demonstration, here is the video on IntelliWebSearch that I found on YouTube this week. It is presented by Michael Farrell, who developed the application.
Labels:
Bristol,
IntelliWebSearch,
ITI Western Regional Group,
SDL,
software,
translation,
WRG
Monday 27 April 2015
ITI Conference 2015
The biennial ITI Conference, the biggest translation and interpreting event in the UK, was held at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead from 23 - 25 April 2015. Once again, it attracted translation and interpreting professionals from all over the UK and beyond.
The buzz around this year’s event was enormous. Not only was it declared a complete sell-out weeks in advance, but the conference hashtag #iticonf15 on Twitter immediately became the no. 10 trending hashtag in the UK on Friday, the first day of the conference.
I had booked for Saturday only, but arrived on Friday just in time to join the impromptu ensemble, coordinated by Ben Jones. Thank you to local cellist Penny Callow for lending her cello to Kari Koonin and thanks, too, to Louisa Fox for collecting at such short notice the keyboard from Anne Greaves for me to use.
I should point out that we had never played together before, although we had had the opportunity to practise a little at home. Everyone who was involved in the music-making enjoyed it, and the people listening evidently enjoyed it too. Parts of our music experiment were actually not too bad!
I was especially interested in William Cassemiro’s talk on how a machine translation tool – he uses ProMT – can be integrated into CAT tools. I agree with William, who doesn’t view machine translation as an enemy, as many translators do, but rather as a mere tool.
The enthusiasm over his session was still palpable during our fringe dinner at Panis Café in the evening. I am always on the lookout for new ways of bringing more efficiency to my workflow, so I have made a mental note to definitely check out ProMT.
I would like to express a huge and heartfelt thank you to the conference organisers – and Anne de Freyman in particular – for making the ITI Conference 2015 such an efficiently organised, successful and memorable event!
Claire Cox, Jennifer Whiteley, Kim Sanderson, Oliver Lawrence, Ellen Worrell and YTI have also blogged about the conference:
- Claire Cox: Window on the Tyne – my view of the 2015 ITI Conference in Newcastle
- Jennifer Whiteley: Appreciating Bridges
- Kim Sanderson: When is a square not a square?
- Oliver Lawrence: Reflections on the 2015 ITI Conference
- Ellen Worrell: Review: ITI Conference 2015
- YTI: ITI Conference in Newcastle
Claire Cox has written another excellent conference blog post, which is entitled "An introvert's guide to avoiding conference overload". You can find it here.
Finally, you may also like to listen to this year's "Singing Translators".
View from the Gateshead Millenium Bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
The buzz around this year’s event was enormous. Not only was it declared a complete sell-out weeks in advance, but the conference hashtag #iticonf15 on Twitter immediately became the no. 10 trending hashtag in the UK on Friday, the first day of the conference.
I had booked for Saturday only, but arrived on Friday just in time to join the impromptu ensemble, coordinated by Ben Jones. Thank you to local cellist Penny Callow for lending her cello to Kari Koonin and thanks, too, to Louisa Fox for collecting at such short notice the keyboard from Anne Greaves for me to use.
I should point out that we had never played together before, although we had had the opportunity to practise a little at home. Everyone who was involved in the music-making enjoyed it, and the people listening evidently enjoyed it too. Parts of our music experiment were actually not too bad!
The impromptu ensemble |
Making music together ex tempore in the hotel lobby was certainly far less daunting than the thought of my upcoming appointment with photographer Jules Selmes for a professional photo shoot the next morning…
Jules Selmes was on site to take professional portraits of attendees for their online profiles. I am glad to report that this, in the end, was far easier than expected as Jules really put me at my ease. If you’re looking for a professional photographer, I highly recommend his services!
Conferences are a wonderful platform for the exchange of profession- and industry-related tips, experiences and knowledge, and the Hilton was the perfect venue. As always, I’ve tremendously enjoyed the company of other translators and interpreters, both new and familiar.
The event was marked by a relaxed social atmosphere, but at the same time had the usual polished, professional feel to it, which is typical of ITI conferences. Talks by high-profile speakers and encounters with other professionals made for a worthwhile and enjoyable event.
Jules Selmes was on site to take professional portraits of attendees for their online profiles. I am glad to report that this, in the end, was far easier than expected as Jules really put me at my ease. If you’re looking for a professional photographer, I highly recommend his services!
Conferences are a wonderful platform for the exchange of profession- and industry-related tips, experiences and knowledge, and the Hilton was the perfect venue. As always, I’ve tremendously enjoyed the company of other translators and interpreters, both new and familiar.
The event was marked by a relaxed social atmosphere, but at the same time had the usual polished, professional feel to it, which is typical of ITI conferences. Talks by high-profile speakers and encounters with other professionals made for a worthwhile and enjoyable event.
Photos in conference tweets |
I was especially interested in William Cassemiro’s talk on how a machine translation tool – he uses ProMT – can be integrated into CAT tools. I agree with William, who doesn’t view machine translation as an enemy, as many translators do, but rather as a mere tool.
The enthusiasm over his session was still palpable during our fringe dinner at Panis Café in the evening. I am always on the lookout for new ways of bringing more efficiency to my workflow, so I have made a mental note to definitely check out ProMT.
I would like to express a huge and heartfelt thank you to the conference organisers – and Anne de Freyman in particular – for making the ITI Conference 2015 such an efficiently organised, successful and memorable event!
Claire Cox, Jennifer Whiteley, Kim Sanderson, Oliver Lawrence, Ellen Worrell and YTI have also blogged about the conference:
- Claire Cox: Window on the Tyne – my view of the 2015 ITI Conference in Newcastle
- Jennifer Whiteley: Appreciating Bridges
- Kim Sanderson: When is a square not a square?
- Oliver Lawrence: Reflections on the 2015 ITI Conference
- Ellen Worrell: Review: ITI Conference 2015
- YTI: ITI Conference in Newcastle
Claire Cox has written another excellent conference blog post, which is entitled "An introvert's guide to avoiding conference overload". You can find it here.
Finally, you may also like to listen to this year's "Singing Translators".
Labels:
amazing translators,
interpreting,
ITI,
ITI conference,
machine translation,
memoQ,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
translation
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