Et encore...

Today's gig was pretty straightforward. I got "stuck" with the bulk of the work :^), since the weekly crew planning conference took place while I was the "hot" interpreter.

I should be out of here in about 15 minutes or so. Then it's off to home (maybe I'll stop briefly on the way, I haven't decided yet) to do some more translation, and get some kind of leg up on packing. I should probably call Galina and find out if she wants me to bring anything home (there was empty space allocated for this in my check-in bag on the way down here, methinks).

I'm a bleeding idiot for overcommitting on translation work, but my only excuse is the burned feeling I still have from the drought earlier this year (plus, if the Kazakhstan gig hadn't materialized while I was down here, you really couldn't say I've overcommitted). The checks for the good month I had in April are only now starting to come in, and I did manage, despite everything, to have a couple of restaurant meals and watch a first-run movie while I was down here.

(I get the feeling I started the preceding paragraph saying A, and spent the rest of the paragraph justifying not-A.)

LJ friend bandicoot notes that Henry Waxman, a Congresscritter from the Left Coast, recently made an interesting statement:

“That someone is so fearful that they’re going to start using their weapons to protect their rights, makes me very nervous that these people have these weapons at all!”

Mon Dieu! What astonishes me is my failure to be astonished. (If the quote makes sense to you—if you agree with Waxman—replace the word "weapon" with the word "vote" and let the result roll around on your tongue for a while.)

Time to split.

Cheers...

Working away...

While waiting for someone to say something on the air-to-ground loops, I printed one of the five files I received as background material for the Kazakhstan trip. I never did take a close look at it, but one section detailed a list of things one might consider taking on the trip.

I haven't seen such a list since going off to summer camp as a kid. Flashlight. Sun block. Lip balm. Soap. Shampoo. Slippers. Insect repellant.

In addition to the usual stuff, like clothes. Yikes!

I've never assumed the accommodations are similar to what we have here, but then again I didn't think I'm going on a two-week camping trip, either.

On the other hand, I am no wilting daisy; I won't pine for ketchup and can live without potato chips (even if a separate bullet point talks about packing some snack foods).

This post serves to test out the proposed fix to my ongoing problem with backdating. A few days ago, I used Natalie's machine to post to LJ, but that machine's calendar was set to some time in October. I deleted the post, but LJ still thinks my "latest" post is at that time, which means I have to check the "backdate entry" box to post things on a daily basis now.

On the way home, I stopped at the Starbucks at Bay Area and I-45 and tried to post via my Z, and failed, despite checking the "backdate entry" box (no doubt a peculiarity associated with the stripped down Opera browser that runs on the Z). The latest missive from LJ support suggested posting something after the October date (done) and then deleting it (done), which ought to clear up the problem.

We'll see what happens when I hit "Post entry."

Cheers...

It worked!

Well, that's one thing that won't bother me for a while...

I am wondering what kind of connectivity exists where I'm going. I'm sure I'll be able to connect to LJ from Moscow (heck, a bunch of people on my friends list do it all the time :^), but I am not so sure I'll be able to do it from Kazakhstan.

Not that we won't try, of course. :^)

* * *Without really thinking about it, I browsed the science fiction titles in the B&N, on the way out of the Starbucks (yeah, I know it's not on the way... so what?). I was disappointed not to see a paperback version of Eric Flint's 1633 (coauthored, I think, with David Weber and the sequel to 1632, which I have read and reread until the binding has fallen apart).

On the other hand, I was very happy to see the next volume of the Starfist series, as well as the second tome of the Demontech series, both of which I bought and plan to read in the future (those transatlantic flights are l-o-n-g ;^). I am looking forward to reading about how the Marines of the 25th century get out of the pickle the authors placed them in at the end of the last Starfist book.

Enough jawing. I would like to get another 800 words of translation done, after which I can go to sleep (or whatever) with a clear conscience. (Heck, I can do that now... but I'd like to get that section translated, as it will leave "only" the appendices.)

I sure hope Natalie made it to Pittsburgh safely.

Cheers...

Good news!

I just got an email from one of the interpreters working the Kazakhstan project! She is an acquaintance whom I have met from time to time, and who will be leaving the day I arrive to go Do Other Things (I'm probably her replacement).

She indicates that there is a (more or less convenient) way to call her on the phone, and her e-mail demonstrates that the Internet is accessible from there.

Boy, do I have a bunch of questions for her!

In other news, I cannot wrap my mind around those last 800 words, but I'll work for another half hour and then turn to a quick cleanup of the place. Tomorrow morning will be reserved for packing and traveling.

Cheers...

Sorry to be such a blabbermouth...

I am just bubbling with posts these past couple of days.

As a deliberate exercise in not being hard-headed about goals, I am leaving 287 words of my self-imposed quota for tomorrow morning, when I check my mail and stuff. The translation bag for the day will stand at a mere 5,670 words. :^)

Now, it's time to do a job on the kitchen (to foil those ants!), and then it's off to bed!

Cheers...