The kind that doesn't know how to get under your skin.
I imagine this means they also don't know "subdural."
--Patrick
I imagine this means they also don't know "subdural."
--Patrick
So we've been having problems with the kitchen sink leaking into the floor below about every 5th time we run the dishwasher. The sprayer I installed five years ago used to be great but it got all plugged up over time, and its replacement, though it was the exact same model, started leaking backwards through the trigger only a couple months after it was installed. So I capped off the sprayer with a piece of mylar (the cover from a yogurt cup, actually) to stop that leak... but we still kept getting cries from downstairs about being dripped on. Ok, so it's not the sprayer, it must be the whole faucet assembly. No huge surprise there since the spigot actually has a couple pinholes in it that weep while the dishwasher is running, there must be other pinholes we can't see, wife's father originally bought the faucet at a garage sale anyway... ok guess I need to bite the bullet and get a new faucet.
Finally find a place that has the model I want, buy it (about $150 ow ow) and have it shipped to me, I start working on it Wed night about 10p, finally finish about 12:30a. The old one is hella crusty & corroded, it definitely needed to be replaced. The new one is gleaming shiny and has ceramic cartridges that won't corrode, it looks beautiful, it works beautifully, and I didn't even mix up the hot/cold/sprayer hoses while I was putting it in. Go me. Even got a text while at work from the wife telling me how much time she spent polishing it because brand nooooohh & shiiiiny.
And then, that night, the flushing handle on the toilet breaks. Stupid, jealous toilet.
--Patrick
Finally find a place that has the model I want, buy it (about $150 ow ow) and have it shipped to me, I start working on it Wed night about 10p, finally finish about 12:30a. The old one is hella crusty & corroded, it definitely needed to be replaced. The new one is gleaming shiny and has ceramic cartridges that won't corrode, it looks beautiful, it works beautifully, and I didn't even mix up the hot/cold/sprayer hoses while I was putting it in. Go me. Even got a text while at work from the wife telling me how much time she spent polishing it because brand nooooohh & shiiiiny.
And then, that night, the flushing handle on the toilet breaks. Stupid, jealous toilet.
--Patrick
Because it’s 75 and sunny basically every day?
Jackin' for the Lord.I lived there for a time and I'd like to go back.
I went once as a kid. I remember thinking it was lovely.
The drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix on I-17 is absolutely gorgeous. I regret that I've only made it once.
Yearly reviews are coming out. A colleague of mine told me he got a 100% bonus, meaning roughly €3800 (100% of 1/12th of yearly wage, which does not equal monthly wages as there's vacation and end-of-year and whatever rolled into it).
I have no reason to believe my review will be any worse - the written comments I've received are nothing but positive. So most likely I'm looking at the exact same bonus. Neat!
So why in this thread? Ah, I'm Belgian. A €3800 gross bonus translates to, according to the union's website, approximately €1200 in my hands - of which I'll still pay a bit more end of year. Madness.
I have no reason to believe my review will be any worse - the written comments I've received are nothing but positive. So most likely I'm looking at the exact same bonus. Neat!
So why in this thread? Ah, I'm Belgian. A €3800 gross bonus translates to, according to the union's website, approximately €1200 in my hands - of which I'll still pay a bit more end of year. Madness.
There's a Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble right now. I really like the Criterion movies because they're super high quality, come with tons of special features, and are just really well designed. But they're also stupidly expensive so getting them on sale is the best option.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, B&N, while they say they ship to Canada, aren't delivering to Canada during the sale.
I'm half tempted to arrange to have them sent to an American friend who can then mail it to me (and I'd cover said costs). Not sure if I want to go to all that extra trouble, though.
It seems like getting Criterion movies on sale in Canada is extra difficult. When I ordered some directly from them earlier this year, it wound up being more expensive than I expected with the exchange rate, shipping, and an unexpected notification that I had to pay duty fees when it showed up at the border.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, B&N, while they say they ship to Canada, aren't delivering to Canada during the sale.
I'm half tempted to arrange to have them sent to an American friend who can then mail it to me (and I'd cover said costs). Not sure if I want to go to all that extra trouble, though.
It seems like getting Criterion movies on sale in Canada is extra difficult. When I ordered some directly from them earlier this year, it wound up being more expensive than I expected with the exchange rate, shipping, and an unexpected notification that I had to pay duty fees when it showed up at the border.
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The Bruce Lee Criterion Collection is glorious. If you've got some friends close to the border and it won't be too many $$$. do it.
Honestly, I'm not a big enough fan of kung fu movies to be interested. Though if I ever subscribe to the Criterion streaming service again, I might check them out on there.
In the meantime, I did some digging and discovered Unobstructed View is the (exclusive?) Canadian distributor for Criterion stuff. And they have a sale going on. Though the prices are, of course, a little higher with the exchange. But I think the exchange rate, shipping, and possible duty fees would balance out to about the same if I did order from the US.
We do a translation. The client comes back with angry feedback. "I had to stay up all night just to fix your terrible translation!"
I look at the client's version. There are errors everywhere. The quality of the translation is much worse than what we gave them. "Honestly, you should have just gone to bed."
I look at the client's version. There are errors everywhere. The quality of the translation is much worse than what we gave them. "Honestly, you should have just gone to bed."
I feel like this should become a Chinese idiom: 睡觉会带来更多的荣誉 or whatever the better version would be.
--Patrick
figmentPez
Staff member
There was a shooting one apartment complex over from mine on Monday. Two people argued over a parking space, and when police went to the man's apartment to talk to him, he opened fire. The officer survived because of his vest.
let's not cast stones...
Dave
Staff member
The place I get my car serviced changed hands. Used to be a cool place. Rock music, the usual magazines like Car & Driver or women’s stuff. TV set to an old show station. Now it’s gun magazines and the National Review. The TV is on Fox News and the music is new country.
Guess I’m not coming here any more.
Guess I’m not coming here any more.
The Taiwan government has been releasing a series of short videos on COVID prevention. The videos are all in Chinese, so they asked my company to translate them into English. Specifically, I was tasked with this case.
Then they'd take our translated version and dub over the videos. However, I just took a look at some of the dubbed videos, and I realized that someone made edits to my translation, and added a bunch of grammatical errors to the script. And then the voiceover person, who apparently was told to read what he's given even if it's Engrish on the level of All Your Base Are Belong To Us, happily read it out, and now the English versions of these videos have been released to the public.
Y'know, what bothers me most isn't that someone mangled my translation. What bothers me is that these videos will be watched by native English speakers, who will then mock these videos, and people will think this is the best that the Taiwanese government can offer when it comes to English resources.
Then they'd take our translated version and dub over the videos. However, I just took a look at some of the dubbed videos, and I realized that someone made edits to my translation, and added a bunch of grammatical errors to the script. And then the voiceover person, who apparently was told to read what he's given even if it's Engrish on the level of All Your Base Are Belong To Us, happily read it out, and now the English versions of these videos have been released to the public.
Y'know, what bothers me most isn't that someone mangled my translation. What bothers me is that these videos will be watched by native English speakers, who will then mock these videos, and people will think this is the best that the Taiwanese government can offer when it comes to English resources.
If you post these videos here I promise we won't mock them.
*Crosses fingers behind his back.*
Quite a few of your rants/whines/ are about how people started altering your translations after receiving them. I just don't understand that. I mean, if I ask an architect to design my house, I'm not going to doodle on the plans myself after they're finished, and pass them on to the construction crews with some "minor alterations". I can understand customers coming back to you and saying "I think it should be more something like X or Y because of Z" - and sometimes they might eve be right because of specific vernacular or implied things or convention or whatever. Just changing them and then continuing with the changed versions isn't just disrespectful, it's also plain stupid.
I sent out for translation on occasion and when I do, I let them know what our established translations are for key terms in case they need to choose between a few.
Other than proper nouns, I don’t change what they return.
Other than proper nouns, I don’t change what they return.
On behalf of my fellow translators everywhere, Squid, thank you. 
bham, I've been in that situation many, many times before (well, okay, not that EXACT situation, since my Chinese is, at BEST, non-existent). Fortunately, what we do here is keep the versions we send to the clients, so if people complain, we can look at the French they give us, nod sagely, and go "ah, see, you're right, this is crap, but it's also not what we gave you. HERE's what we gave you." That was a very satisfying moment in my professional life. Dude turned bright red, said "please send this to me directly, I know exactly who's to blame for this", apologized and left. Wish I could've seen the aftermath.
I don't know if that's an option where you work, but it at least ensures you're protected as a translator.
bham, I've been in that situation many, many times before (well, okay, not that EXACT situation, since my Chinese is, at BEST, non-existent). Fortunately, what we do here is keep the versions we send to the clients, so if people complain, we can look at the French they give us, nod sagely, and go "ah, see, you're right, this is crap, but it's also not what we gave you. HERE's what we gave you." That was a very satisfying moment in my professional life. Dude turned bright red, said "please send this to me directly, I know exactly who's to blame for this", apologized and left. Wish I could've seen the aftermath.
I don't know if that's an option where you work, but it at least ensures you're protected as a translator.
figmentPez
Staff member
Ordered new cargo shorts online. Listed size: 46 inches. Actual size: ~51 inches.
I fucking hate vanity sizing.
I fucking hate vanity sizing.
GasBandit
Staff member
I ordered a 3x shirt and had the opposite problem. It was tighter than 2x. Wtf.
Was it from China or Japan? I've gotten some excellent shirts, but had to upsize them dramatically because the sizes were not standard 'Merican.