Last night I had an interesting experience which I hope to have more of. We were visiting friends for a dutch oven dinner with plentiful wine and vodka, and I was admiring my friend's collection of skins, pickled snakes and antlers as he showed me various interesting old books on hunting topics published in the German Democratic Republic. Such books weren't easy to come by in the n70's and 80's if you didn't have connections, and in his case the connection was an aunt who operated a bookstore and brought her young nephew books on nature topics that interested him. These obviously made an impression, because as a man in his 40's, he lives to camp and hike with his dog, a magnificent mastiff with a very peaceful nature. (The hunting license is still planned for the future - these things aren't cheap in Germany.)
One book in his collection interested me in particular: the 4th edition of Alojz Herczeg's Das Weidwerk in Bildern, which was translated into German from Slovakian. The book itself is quite a comprehensive treatise on central European hunting practices in the old East Block, with excellent illustrations, and the German edition is beautifully written. My friend explained that it was a translated work, and when he looked at the page with credits noted that the translator lived in our town. My spine tingled as I asked "Was it Oskar Kasperl?" Indeed it was. I had been telling him about Oskar only an hour before, an amazing man who translated the subjects of agricultural and forestry (and probably others) from a large number of Slavic languages. There are very few people whose competence and presence inspire awe in me, but Oskar is one of them. I first got to know him as the old man who stubbornly tended his yard, raking every leaf and keeping all in perfect order despite walking with two canes. His daughter, a degreed interpreter for German/English/Bengali was one of the first friends I made after moving to Hohen Neuendorf, and she used to tell me wonderful stories of her amazing father and his exploits as a translator and hunter. He was in his 80's but continued to work in the profession he loved. I had heard quite a lot about him before I realized that this was the fellow who kept his yard in better order than anyone else on the street. My yard is a mess and I have about 8 fewer working languages than he does, so I am very much in awe of him, and his main working areas and other interests are ones that I share. If I had to pick one translator whom I would consider an inspiration and a good role model (not that I'm really in need of one at my age), he would be at the top of my list.
But aside from Oskar's intimidating qualifications, the biggest delight for me was to discover that the wonderful book I was reading in the company of friends was in fact a masterpiece translated by someone I know and like who lived just around the corner from me. The world is indeed a small place, and serendipitous evenings like this delight me.
Showing posts with label off-topic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label off-topic. Show all posts
Aug 30, 2009
Jun 5, 2009
Clearing the air
This morning I came down to the office and made the same unpleasant discovery as the day before: my sick dog Ajax, who sleeps in a box next to my desk, had fouled the box again. After reminding myself that it's time to write some invoices so I can afford to set up a proper kennel for such times in the back yard, I went about the unhappy task of cleaning his sleeping quarters, a task which fortunately went quickly. However, there was still a rather foul stench in the air, which was not conducive to rescue.
That's where my Pro-Aqua PA03 came to the rescue again. It's a vacuum/blower system that uses water instead of filters and produces an entirely different atmosphere while cleaning. I won't go into all the details, because I'm a scientist and a translator, not a vacuum cleaner salesman, but after discovering this piece of equipment at a dog show last year, I decided that it would be a good addition to our office cleaning arsenal.
No filters or bags may sound like a convenient selling point, but my experience tells me something different. It's important to clean the water chamber in the device after use (the next day you'll have a very nasty brew in it if you don't!), and dumping it into the toilet once or twice a day (we vacuum a lot, because I haven't put grass in the yard yet and a lot of dreck gets tracked in) is a nuisance where I wonder how my pipes will deal with all the sand. Swapping bags in the old Miele vacuum cleaner is a breeze by comparison. So why do I put up with the nuisance? Because it gives me a cleaner, more pleasant working environment and improves the room humidity on dry days (which counteracts the static electricity). As a vacuum cleaner, the system cleans well, and it blows humidified air out its exhaust which is free of the particulate I get from the other vacuum cleaners in the house. (A white paper towel over the exhaust grid is revealing.) It's quiet - the material being cleaned up does not pass directly through rotors, so mechanical wear is limited. But the best part for me is that the room smells nice: the air is exchanged, and most odors remain bound in the awful soup in the water chamber. In the time it has taken to write this, my office smells good again without opening the windows more than a crack. On days when the dogs are afraid to approach us, because they'll get a static shock (days that are possibly a hazard to the sensitive electronic equipment most of us depend on), we run it to humidify the air and eliminate the shocks.
A room humidifier and ionizing air filter would probably do a lot of what I like about this machine and do it more quietly, but I haven't gotten around to getting one of the former and we can't get replacements for the filters for the latter device, which was bought in Oxford a number of years ago to help my partner survive her hay fever. If the German market offers small units of this type I haven't been able to find them in nearly a decade of searching. One occasionally finds "XINJI" brand ionizers advertised through eBay pages or reads woolly-headed articles in crackpot health pages that babble on about negative ions, yin and yang, energy balancing and other questionable stuff, but none of them point me to a shop where I can walk in and plop down 50 euros for a device to get rid of the dust, pollen and pet flatulence in my office. In England I could do just that. My great-aunt had one of the things in California in the 1980's, and I could sit at the same table with her while she smoked, and I experienced no discomfort. So why can't I find one of these here in Germany? No idea. All I have found is arguments about how they are unnecessary or unheard of. Like they say here, "gut Ding braucht Weil".
That's where my Pro-Aqua PA03 came to the rescue again. It's a vacuum/blower system that uses water instead of filters and produces an entirely different atmosphere while cleaning. I won't go into all the details, because I'm a scientist and a translator, not a vacuum cleaner salesman, but after discovering this piece of equipment at a dog show last year, I decided that it would be a good addition to our office cleaning arsenal.
No filters or bags may sound like a convenient selling point, but my experience tells me something different. It's important to clean the water chamber in the device after use (the next day you'll have a very nasty brew in it if you don't!), and dumping it into the toilet once or twice a day (we vacuum a lot, because I haven't put grass in the yard yet and a lot of dreck gets tracked in) is a nuisance where I wonder how my pipes will deal with all the sand. Swapping bags in the old Miele vacuum cleaner is a breeze by comparison. So why do I put up with the nuisance? Because it gives me a cleaner, more pleasant working environment and improves the room humidity on dry days (which counteracts the static electricity). As a vacuum cleaner, the system cleans well, and it blows humidified air out its exhaust which is free of the particulate I get from the other vacuum cleaners in the house. (A white paper towel over the exhaust grid is revealing.) It's quiet - the material being cleaned up does not pass directly through rotors, so mechanical wear is limited. But the best part for me is that the room smells nice: the air is exchanged, and most odors remain bound in the awful soup in the water chamber. In the time it has taken to write this, my office smells good again without opening the windows more than a crack. On days when the dogs are afraid to approach us, because they'll get a static shock (days that are possibly a hazard to the sensitive electronic equipment most of us depend on), we run it to humidify the air and eliminate the shocks.
A room humidifier and ionizing air filter would probably do a lot of what I like about this machine and do it more quietly, but I haven't gotten around to getting one of the former and we can't get replacements for the filters for the latter device, which was bought in Oxford a number of years ago to help my partner survive her hay fever. If the German market offers small units of this type I haven't been able to find them in nearly a decade of searching. One occasionally finds "XINJI" brand ionizers advertised through eBay pages or reads woolly-headed articles in crackpot health pages that babble on about negative ions, yin and yang, energy balancing and other questionable stuff, but none of them point me to a shop where I can walk in and plop down 50 euros for a device to get rid of the dust, pollen and pet flatulence in my office. In England I could do just that. My great-aunt had one of the things in California in the 1980's, and I could sit at the same table with her while she smoked, and I experienced no discomfort. So why can't I find one of these here in Germany? No idea. All I have found is arguments about how they are unnecessary or unheard of. Like they say here, "gut Ding braucht Weil".
May 17, 2009
Spring is here again!
... and with it in corporate speeches and newsletters throughout Germany the inevitable quotations from Eduard Mörike's old poem:
After surveying the online poetic world for a historic, out-of-copyright version of that famous poem, I finally gave up in disgust and wrote my own bad version:
A bit of Google searching turns up many efforts. Here are some of the links I found:
Frühling läßt sein blaues BandEfforts to translate this poem are, in my opinion, decidedly mixed; some are truly awful. Some of the English texts published on the Internet clearly betray their authors as not being native speakers of English and don't work well no matter how "singable" they may be or whatever other virtues they may possess. Some are quite interesting interpretations.
Wieder flattern durch die Lüfte;
Süße, wohlbekannte Düfte
Streifen ahnungsvoll das Land.
Veilchen träumen schon,
Wollen balde kommen.
Horch, von fern ein leiser Harfenton!
Frühling, ja du bist's!
Dich hab ich vernommen!
After surveying the online poetic world for a historic, out-of-copyright version of that famous poem, I finally gave up in disgust and wrote my own bad version:
Spring sets free her ribbon bluePlease note the copyright and that honor will compel me to pursue you to the Gates of Hell if you even dream of quoting this without permission ;-) You'll be paying license fees and contributions to the German artists' social insurance fund to the end of your days.
to flutter in the skies again.
Sweet, familiar fragrance drifts
full of promise o’er the land.
Violets do dream,
desire to burst forth soon.
Hark! the harp sounds softly from afar!
Yes, Spring, it is you!
It is you I have heard!
Translation (c) 2009 Kevin Lossner
A bit of Google searching turns up many efforts. Here are some of the links I found:
- A translation by George Bird and Richard Stokes
- One by Emily Ezust
- Another by Walter A. Aue
- Bertram Kottmann's attempt
- & another one for which I'm not sure of the translator
Apr 26, 2009
Goodbye to Budapest
My flight back to Berlin will leave in a few hours, and I'm relaxing in the top floor café of the Alexandra bookstore, one block away from the בית הכנסת הגדול של בודפשט (how cool - the blog's text editor is bidirectional!). This is a great place to hang out, drink coffee and get work done in a cheery skylit room with lots of comfortable seating. And there's a fine wine shop on the ground floor of the bookstore. Very classy.
Before leaving, I had a look at the double rooms at the Danube Guest House where I stayed: very nice I think. It's a great place for single travellers or couples looking for budget accommodations that are spotless and offer friendly, first-class value. But I didn't choose the place for it's price. The location is hard to beat. I'm five minutes walking distance from the metro station where lines 1, 2 and 3 (yellow, red and blue) intersect. Getting around doesn't get much easier.
It's been a fantastic week, not only because I met a lot of great people and learned a lot about technologies which I think will play an important role in the language industry in the coming years, but also because I've been able to discover a new favorite city. I'll be back.
Before leaving, I had a look at the double rooms at the Danube Guest House where I stayed: very nice I think. It's a great place for single travellers or couples looking for budget accommodations that are spotless and offer friendly, first-class value. But I didn't choose the place for it's price. The location is hard to beat. I'm five minutes walking distance from the metro station where lines 1, 2 and 3 (yellow, red and blue) intersect. Getting around doesn't get much easier.
It's been a fantastic week, not only because I met a lot of great people and learned a lot about technologies which I think will play an important role in the language industry in the coming years, but also because I've been able to discover a new favorite city. I'll be back.
Apr 25, 2009
E Pluribus Unicum
Out of more than 40 different herbs the Hungarian bitter Unicum is produced, and while the claims of toxicity from the Time Out guide review are wildly exaggerated, I did finally figure out that the sinus headache I've had for the last few days has little to do with my sinuses. Having survived more of that wonderful concoction at the MemoQ Fest party Thursday night than I'll ever publicly admit, I figure there's not much that can kill me in the range of consumables.
Last night after the official program ended, most of those who didn't have to travel home immediately got together for one last dinner. Like every other event this week, it was enormously fun. One thing I appreciate a lot about the Kilgray crowd: this young company has top-notch technology that is now being copied by more "established" market players, and now that it's quite clear that they may very soon be a force to be reckoned with in the industry, with a response to come from some of the competition that should probably not be expected to be gentle, but rather more like heavy artillery. But some of the big SDL guns may be trained back on the perhaps-not-to-remain market leader: I was very surprised to see some of the top trainers and marketing people who used to be part of the SDL Trados world in Germany here at the conference taking a strong interest in promoting and supporting MemoQ. Among them were Claudia Fricke, the head of marketing responsible for Passolo from its beginnings and Angelika Zerfass, a trainer and language technology consultant who needs no introduction in the German-speaking Trados world. Jost Zetzsche, a noted independent consultant and reviewer of translation technologies whose work is highly valued by far more people that the 15,000 or so who subscribe to his Tool Kit newsletter came all the way out from Oregon - not something one would do for a technology that does not seem poised to play a major role in the industry. There were others of equal stature whom I don't know personally, but overall it's clear that the course Kilgray has set is winning the kind of valuable allies needed for success.
This morning (Saturday), a number of conference attendees gathered again at the hotel venue and set off on a walking tour of Budapest lasting more than five hours and competently guided by Kilgray's COO István Lengyel. I was suspicious about what a good job he was doing taking us around and explaining everything, and when cornered with a question, he admitted that he was also a trained tour guide. A damned good one too I think, though I hope he sticks to the good job he is doing promoting his company's products. Still, I really appreciated him showing us the Buda Castle district (especially the statues of the dogs) and other wonderful sights in the city. Gábor Ugray also kindly pointed out the bronze statue of Hadik András, mounted on a horse whose testicles generations of Hungarian students have polished for luck before their exams. I was particularly fascinated by the majolica tiled roofs of many of the buildings in the castle district.
Afterward I had the good fortune to meet the owner of the CSŐVÁRBERKI Magyar Vizsla Kennel where the mother of my dog Aristos comes from and where the grandparents of his Danish mate Wagga live. I met a lot of wonderful dogs and had the opportunity to observe a lesson in the field for a "problem dog" that the Ms. Noveczki was retraining for a local hunter over the past two months. It was quite interesting talking to her about her training methods and her diploma thesis on Wire-haired Vizslas for her degree in Hunting Engineering (yes, there is such a thing - I was surprised). I hope she will get it translated into German or English; it would probably be a valuable expansion of the information on those dogs available outside of Hungary.
At the end of this very long day I dragged myself back to the hotel, then went out again for dinner at a delightful Italian restaurant in the neighborhood: Osteria at Dohány utca 5 (www.osteria.hu). The service by the waiter, Kereskényi Csaba, was absolutely superb, and the food (cream of pumpkin soup, goose liver risotto, an excellent wine, chocolate mousse) was absolutely first class and surprisingly inexpensive. Things are actually not cheap here in Budapest, but are very much on part with the cost of living in Berlin in most respects (so the translators here obviously should not be asked to work for peanuts!), but I really would have paid twice as much in Berlin for the same quality, except at one little French place I was lucky to discover. The total bill including tip was less than 22 euros (and included several things I didn't bother to mention).
Whether you come to Budapest on the excuse of checking out MemoQ or Kilgray's other products (a good idea) or come because it's probably the finest city in Europe doesn't matter. Just come, you won't regret it.
Last night after the official program ended, most of those who didn't have to travel home immediately got together for one last dinner. Like every other event this week, it was enormously fun. One thing I appreciate a lot about the Kilgray crowd: this young company has top-notch technology that is now being copied by more "established" market players, and now that it's quite clear that they may very soon be a force to be reckoned with in the industry, with a response to come from some of the competition that should probably not be expected to be gentle, but rather more like heavy artillery. But some of the big SDL guns may be trained back on the perhaps-not-to-remain market leader: I was very surprised to see some of the top trainers and marketing people who used to be part of the SDL Trados world in Germany here at the conference taking a strong interest in promoting and supporting MemoQ. Among them were Claudia Fricke, the head of marketing responsible for Passolo from its beginnings and Angelika Zerfass, a trainer and language technology consultant who needs no introduction in the German-speaking Trados world. Jost Zetzsche, a noted independent consultant and reviewer of translation technologies whose work is highly valued by far more people that the 15,000 or so who subscribe to his Tool Kit newsletter came all the way out from Oregon - not something one would do for a technology that does not seem poised to play a major role in the industry. There were others of equal stature whom I don't know personally, but overall it's clear that the course Kilgray has set is winning the kind of valuable allies needed for success.
This morning (Saturday), a number of conference attendees gathered again at the hotel venue and set off on a walking tour of Budapest lasting more than five hours and competently guided by Kilgray's COO István Lengyel. I was suspicious about what a good job he was doing taking us around and explaining everything, and when cornered with a question, he admitted that he was also a trained tour guide. A damned good one too I think, though I hope he sticks to the good job he is doing promoting his company's products. Still, I really appreciated him showing us the Buda Castle district (especially the statues of the dogs) and other wonderful sights in the city. Gábor Ugray also kindly pointed out the bronze statue of Hadik András, mounted on a horse whose testicles generations of Hungarian students have polished for luck before their exams. I was particularly fascinated by the majolica tiled roofs of many of the buildings in the castle district.
Afterward I had the good fortune to meet the owner of the CSŐVÁRBERKI Magyar Vizsla Kennel where the mother of my dog Aristos comes from and where the grandparents of his Danish mate Wagga live. I met a lot of wonderful dogs and had the opportunity to observe a lesson in the field for a "problem dog" that the Ms. Noveczki was retraining for a local hunter over the past two months. It was quite interesting talking to her about her training methods and her diploma thesis on Wire-haired Vizslas for her degree in Hunting Engineering (yes, there is such a thing - I was surprised). I hope she will get it translated into German or English; it would probably be a valuable expansion of the information on those dogs available outside of Hungary.
At the end of this very long day I dragged myself back to the hotel, then went out again for dinner at a delightful Italian restaurant in the neighborhood: Osteria at Dohány utca 5 (www.osteria.hu). The service by the waiter, Kereskényi Csaba, was absolutely superb, and the food (cream of pumpkin soup, goose liver risotto, an excellent wine, chocolate mousse) was absolutely first class and surprisingly inexpensive. Things are actually not cheap here in Budapest, but are very much on part with the cost of living in Berlin in most respects (so the translators here obviously should not be asked to work for peanuts!), but I really would have paid twice as much in Berlin for the same quality, except at one little French place I was lucky to discover. The total bill including tip was less than 22 euros (and included several things I didn't bother to mention).
Whether you come to Budapest on the excuse of checking out MemoQ or Kilgray's other products (a good idea) or come because it's probably the finest city in Europe doesn't matter. Just come, you won't regret it.
Apr 22, 2009
Live from Budapest: MemoQ Fest 2009
Budapest is without a doubt the most beautiful city I have ever visited. It's a good thing I never visited the place in the 1980's - I might have defected, and life was strange enough with East/West politics back then. The two day Kilgray conference focusing on their rapidly developing translation solutions begins tomorrow; today there were various workshops offered which I did not attend for lack of time. Instead I chose to orient myself a bit in the city, catch up on translations and enjoy the evening social program with dinner and a short boat cruise.
I think most of the conference attendees are staying at the event venue (Hotel Benczúr), but I wanted to pinch a few pennies and stay closer to the city center, so I've chosen to stay at a little place that my partner researched for me: the Danube Guest House. What a great find - superb value, spotless and close to lots of great sights. The hosts, Zoltan and Bob are very kind and helpful, and I felt instantly at home here. My room is about the size of a monastic cell, but it is super-clean, has a comfortable bed, a working shelf/desk and WLAN. I'm a 5 minute walk from the synagogue, great book shops (including a second hand English bookstore I discovered, where I found a nice dictionary of Scots English) and a lot of other things that matter to me personally. The material pampering at the Danube Guest House is modest, but that's the way I like it most of the time. I feel very comfortable here, and I look forward to the opportunity to return for business or pleasure.
The dinner before the cruise was quite interesting and enjoyable. Waiting in a square for various conference participants to show up, I finally had the opportunity to meet one of my customers from Berlin, whom I recognized from the picture in his XING profile. It's funny that we're so close but had to come to Budapest to meet. He's the guy that suggested I have a look at MemoQ more than a year ago. The improvement I have seen in the product since then has been impressive, but I am still waiting for certain features that will allow me to work in certain ways that right now are possibly only with DVX external RTF table views, but there are strong hints that the wait will not be in vain. Given Kilgray's record so far, I'll be surprised if they don't deliver. One fellow in the dinner discussion has a few ideas that might offer a shortcut now, and I am very curious to see if he's right. If he is, there will be a very excited blog post to follow, and Kilgray will get an order for two MemoQ licenses.
I think most of the conference attendees are staying at the event venue (Hotel Benczúr), but I wanted to pinch a few pennies and stay closer to the city center, so I've chosen to stay at a little place that my partner researched for me: the Danube Guest House. What a great find - superb value, spotless and close to lots of great sights. The hosts, Zoltan and Bob are very kind and helpful, and I felt instantly at home here. My room is about the size of a monastic cell, but it is super-clean, has a comfortable bed, a working shelf/desk and WLAN. I'm a 5 minute walk from the synagogue, great book shops (including a second hand English bookstore I discovered, where I found a nice dictionary of Scots English) and a lot of other things that matter to me personally. The material pampering at the Danube Guest House is modest, but that's the way I like it most of the time. I feel very comfortable here, and I look forward to the opportunity to return for business or pleasure.
The dinner before the cruise was quite interesting and enjoyable. Waiting in a square for various conference participants to show up, I finally had the opportunity to meet one of my customers from Berlin, whom I recognized from the picture in his XING profile. It's funny that we're so close but had to come to Budapest to meet. He's the guy that suggested I have a look at MemoQ more than a year ago. The improvement I have seen in the product since then has been impressive, but I am still waiting for certain features that will allow me to work in certain ways that right now are possibly only with DVX external RTF table views, but there are strong hints that the wait will not be in vain. Given Kilgray's record so far, I'll be surprised if they don't deliver. One fellow in the dinner discussion has a few ideas that might offer a shortcut now, and I am very curious to see if he's right. If he is, there will be a very excited blog post to follow, and Kilgray will get an order for two MemoQ licenses.
Apr 19, 2009
Dogs in Translation
As some of you may have noticed, dogs play a pretty big role in my daily routine. When I'm not translating stacks of technical documentation, patents, etc. I'm often off in the woods with my dog doing tracking exercises, watching him play with other dogs or running off to a training session. It's a fairly international preoccupation too, as we try to glean the information we need from sources in many countries around the world. For the past week we've been in Denmark for a breeding appointment set up by a Dutch enthusiast, next week I hope to visit a Hungarian kennel after the MemoQ Fest is over and much of the week I've been trying to digest training literature and information in five languages (which gives me indigestion, as I've only mastered two of them).
As a way of keeping track of all the useful multilingual and international information we've been gathering for our hunting dogs, my partner and I have launched another blog focusing on our dog-related activities. It uses Wordpress, so this is also a good excuse for me to practice with that tool for a possible migration of this blog in the future or the launching of a possible German translation blog later this year. A few months ago I set up an account in Germany with the provider ALL-INKL.COM after it was recommended by some BDÜ colleagues. I have been using a domain there to test a new template for a relaunch of our business site, and I have been very pleased with the service. Today I was even more pleased when the new domain for the dog blog was up and running in less than ten minutes. I was quite shocked at how efficiently everything worked. And the Wordpress software is so straightforward that I don't think I'll have to provide much technical support to my other half for administration, which pleases me enormously.
In any case, I am very grateful to those who recommended ALL-INKL.COM. I really couldn't ask for better hosting service, and I gladly endorse it for anyone in Germany who is looking for a good place to host a business or personal web site.
As a way of keeping track of all the useful multilingual and international information we've been gathering for our hunting dogs, my partner and I have launched another blog focusing on our dog-related activities. It uses Wordpress, so this is also a good excuse for me to practice with that tool for a possible migration of this blog in the future or the launching of a possible German translation blog later this year. A few months ago I set up an account in Germany with the provider ALL-INKL.COM after it was recommended by some BDÜ colleagues. I have been using a domain there to test a new template for a relaunch of our business site, and I have been very pleased with the service. Today I was even more pleased when the new domain for the dog blog was up and running in less than ten minutes. I was quite shocked at how efficiently everything worked. And the Wordpress software is so straightforward that I don't think I'll have to provide much technical support to my other half for administration, which pleases me enormously.
In any case, I am very grateful to those who recommended ALL-INKL.COM. I really couldn't ask for better hosting service, and I gladly endorse it for anyone in Germany who is looking for a good place to host a business or personal web site.
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