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Subject:Re: Courses to take From:"Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 11 Jul 1997 08:06:09 -0500
If you're looking for ways to stretch yourself, your hobbies might even
provide opportunities.
Example: I play chess. Along the way I picked up a book from a usually
reliable author entitled "Soviet Chess Conveyor." The title itself is a
good indicator of how badly translated it was (I'd call the editing bad,
but there's no indication that any had been done, and if it wasn't done,
it's hard to say it was done badly). "Conveyor" in the title is used in the
sense of conveying knowledge; how many of you had visions of a belt on
rollers in a factory (my hand goes up with the rest)? "Coach" or "Trainer"
would have been a better choice.
If nothing else, this book highlights the need for a good translator/editor
combination. Anyway, hidden within this mess is some good information. So,
I've been editing it on my own, in my spare(?) time.
It's fun, and has been proving a good learning experience, not only for
chess. Editing is editing, I hear you cry. But the audience for this book
is different from my usual audience, and therein lies the stretch. It's
easy to get yourself "in a rut," doing the same thing in the same way for
the same audience (those of you who freelance are less subject to this
danger than those of us who are full-time employees). Doing something like
this helps you break out of your box and exercise "muscles" that don't
ordinarily get much of a workout.
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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