Musings from an overworked translator

Bonus TGIF: United breaks guitars July 10, 2009

I don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, but this is a very catchy tune. It’s gotten 900,000 hits on YouTube since it was uploaded on July 6. I saw it a couple days ago and can’t get the song out of my head (in German we call it an Ohrwurm).  As Dave Carroll explains:

In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise.

The video was shot in 12 hours with friends dressed up as flight attendants and musicians. Volunteer firemen played the baggage handlers who are shown playing catch with the guitar case and tossing it like a hammer throw. Since the clip started generating publicity online, his schedule has been packed with interviews and requests for the band to perform. Taylor Guitars in California called him and offered to see if it could repair the damaged guitar. They also promised him a discount on his next purchase. And now the happy ending – United has since bought the video from him (hopefully for lots more money than the initial claim) and will be using it “for training purposes to ensure all customers receive better service from us.”

Since we travel more than most average citizens I’m sure you have all experienced luggage hassles. I remember being forced to check my soft-sided carry-on, which contained a six-pack of Radeberger beer for my Dad, in Frankfurt. They slapped a Fragile sticker on it, and it made it safe through Chicago. But when it got thrown onto the luggage carousel in Cleveland I saw a shadow forming around it. Yes, the bottles had shattered – and the suitcase still faintly smells of beer nine years later. Feel free to share your luggage horror stories in the Comments.

TGIF: How to clean your computer July 10, 2009

I figure if you are overworked like me you tend to ignore your computer. When I am busy I tend to let the files accumulate in my Attach folder and My Documents. Ideally I would zip the files up and archive them away once I’ve invoiced the job, but that is easier said than done. I try to keep up with it, but tonight I found myself archiving files from the middle of June all the way up to now. I then ran Ccleaner (formerly known as Crap Cleaner) to get rid of lots of temp files and speed up my computer. I try to do that once a month. Tonight I cleared out 414 MB of temp files, cached files, cookies, links, etc.

You should also try to thoroughly clean your computer once a month. Since I have a dog who sheds really fine hair, my computers tend to accumulate lots of dust in all the vents and the fan. I thought it would be fun to find a funny video on how to clean your computer. That was easier said than done, so you’ll have to settle on this one. This little video was made by a system admin to tell his father how to clean his computer. It is painful at times when he is trying to be funny, but it is in fact informative. I thought it would be helpful to all of you who are afraid to dive into the computer and give it a good dusting. I know I used to be afraid of touching the inside of a computer. Hopefully this will teach you a lot. Have a great weekend!

TGIF: 4th of July fireworks July 3, 2009

I know most of you aren’t located in the United States, but I have fireworks on the brain. I have been busy the last couple days translating 6,000 words of cooking instructions and ingredient lists. The agency gave my client an extension, but I still wanted to get it done by Thursday night so that I could enjoy the holiday weekend. I didn’t manage to do that, because I was downtown last night listening to the Cleveland Orchestra and watching the fireworks afterward. The file is now delivered, and I’m heading out for the weekend. I hope you all have a great weekend. To those of you in Europe suffering from the 30°C heat – stay cool!

TGIF: Do you suffer from grammar obsessive disorder? July 3, 2009

Here is a cute little video on grammar obsessive disorder, in which the folks at Ragan Communications “look at the symptoms of this scourge of professional communicators and offer help on how you can cope with its virulent manifestations.” You know you have Grammar Obsessive Disorder when…