2011 Bobr Cup Brief

Visit the Sports section for a short 2011 Bob Cup report.

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Do you take small jobs from new companies?

The problem is simple – I have been contacted by new clients every second day with requests for a few lines or even a few words to be translated. The question stands, whether to take such jobs without actual hope to get a few Euros hoping for (mostly unlikely) long-term cooperation, or to reject such requests are non-profitable. Continue reading

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Preparing for Norseman 2011 – Total Training Volumes

The race is actually over and to keep the figures, I decided to publish a simple statistics of my training efforts towards 2011 Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. Continue reading

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Norseman ? June & July 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the June & July 2011 training summary.

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Quality Assurance – How do you check your own work?

All translators have been facing it recently – the quality demands of our clients (both direct customers and translation agencies) are on the rise. Quality assurance plays increasingly important role in our everyday work and we have to concentrate on these issues to keep our clients happy. In this article, I would like to share a few points that I regularly apply when checking my own translations as well as work of other colleagues that I proofread.

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Norseman ? May 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the May 2011 training summary.

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Archiving Own Translations

It would probably be useless to ask any responsible translator, whether he or she keeps all the data archived. Data generated, received, or created when working on translation projects are the most valuable assets of any translator. In this article, I would like to share my approach to data archiving. Continue reading

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Norseman ? April 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the April 2011 training summary.

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Norseman training ? 55 km run to Ebino Plateau (Japan)

Visit the Norseman section to read a new article: Norseman training – 55 km run to Ebino Plateau (Japan) in March 2011. The article features some pictures from Japan that might be interesting for you.

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Translating PDFs including layout and graphics

Many customers provide PDFs with complex formatting and graphics for translation and expect to get back a perfectly formatted file. In this article, I will briefly describe how I handle such requests and give a few thoughts, whether a translator should charge this, or give it as a free service. Continue reading

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Norseman ? March 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the March 2011 training summary and some comments.

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Norseman ? New Article – Kobayashi: Training Under the Smoking Volcano

Visit the Norseman section for the new article about training under exploding Mt. Shinmoedake volcano including spectacular pictures.

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Nice font = quicker translation?

Just like any other computer user, I have some favorite fonts, I consider some fonts to be “neutral” and I have a few ones that I quite dislike (one of them being the “Courier New”). Is there any connection between selected font and the speed of translation process? Continue reading

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Norseman ? February 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the February 2011 training summary and some news.

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Proofreader’s Dilemma – Preferential Changes

There were times when I was reluctant to take proofreading projects. I considered proofreading a time-consuming work at a low price. In the course of time, I learned that this was a mistake. Indeed, proofreading is a good job – however, provided that you refrain from working with low-quality translators. Fortunately, I am currently interacting just with this kind of people. Regardless of quality, there are always differences between translators. And here comes the dilemma – to perform preferential changes or to leave the stylistic things “I do not like” as they are? Continue reading

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Norseman – January 2011 Summary

Visit the Norseman section to read the January 2011 training summary and some comments. Now published from Kobayashi in Kyushu, Japan.

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Will you make an extra effort to keep your existing clients happy even if not paid for?

It goes without saying that good clients are invaluable. While getting a new and well-paying customer is very difficult in the current highly competitive environment, losing one is very easy unfortunately. Read what kind of approach I apply to keep the existing and get customers. Continue reading

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Leaving for Japan…

I am leaving for Japan tomorrow morning to reunite with my family after four months of separation. I will stay in Kobayashi, Kyushu until April 4, when I return with my family back to the Czech Republic.

While in Japan, I will be working normally, so if you are an existing or new customer, please do not hesitate to contact me any time.

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Norseman – New articles

I have recently posted some new articles in the Norseman section.
Stay tuned to my Norseman 2011 Xtreme Triathlon event efforts!

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Trados 2007 or Studio 2009?

The new generation of Trados, SDL Trados Studio 2009, has been around for some time. I have been using both tools on a daily basis and acquired some good insight into the processes connected with the Studio that differ from Trados 2007 experience. Has the time already come for Trados 2007 users to buy a new version, or the “old” version is still good enough? Continue reading

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