I heard it through the grapevine!

Two independent - or perhaps not - sources indicate that the campaign might be delayed by some as-yet unspecified period of time. This, of course, thrills me beyond all human ability to comprehend, especially if I take into account the rather inconsiderable influence I have over the situation. So, until I hear some kind of official "go/no-go" from Someone In Charge™, I am going to assiduously pay no more heed to such rumor and innuendo as I would to the latest, greatest skinny on what's going on in Hollyweird these days (i.e., little past the effort required to understand the words).

Dinner last night was at the kids' place and went well. Shannon had put together a turkey burger mix that included mushrooms, and the finished product almost made me regret having brought over some steak for the grill. Dessert went well, and I read (and "sight translated") one of the two short Russian children's books I'd gotten for Huntür in Moscow. On a curious note, the kid seemed to really get wired after eating a piece of chocolate cake, either because sugar well and truly does put the child into overdrive, or there is some other dynamic at work here. Either way, while the result - while not ugly - does fall short of the way one imagines things ought to be.

Before departing for the store this morning, I sat down and scribbled a few to-dos for the day. By the time I'd finished, I had quite a number of such items! I am glad to report that most of them have been done, and that I've just gotten another translation assignment (8 pp, due tomorrow around noon). In preparation - and because I feel pretty tired - I think I will go take a nap.

Cheers...

Case study: Tracking the wily acronym

I've gotten about halfway through the translation due tomorrow. I decided to call it a night early, because I was feeling tired, and the trigger for packing it in was running across a paragraph that referred to Soyuz flight procedure books designated as "В/С," "О/П," and "С/М."

From my days working the Execute Package, I was immediately certain the first one stood for "выведение/спуск" ("ascent/descent"), which are procedures that are used during the two phases cited. From the context, I had a feeling the second was the abbreviation for "орбитальный полет" ("orbital flight"), though the solidus between the letters bothered me: In "В/С" it makes sense, since it separates two opposites; what purpose does it serve in "О/П"? Several of minutes of staring at "С/М" brought no bright ideas to mind, especially when I found myself coping with the same question ("Why the slash?").

What to do?

Well, recalling my experience with Execute Package translations, I used Sleuthhound Pro to search my fairly extensive archives for references to operations that are associated with the procedures in my translation. In the case of the "О/П," it was an operation involving the removal of a local switching device for thermal sensors, called an ЛКТ. My approach was successful: it turns out that the Soyuz procedure associated with this operation is the orbital flight procedure.

I used the same technique to determine the meaning of "С/М," by tracking down any procedure name associated with the removal of the "Kurs," which is an electronics package package used during Soyuz rendezvous. I hit paydirt again, finding a document that spoke of the Soyuz "reference materials" document, the words for which in Russian are "справочные материалы," which mesh quite nicely with "С/М."

So, not only did I find the information I needed, I did so in what appears to be an indirect manner.

Whatever works, right?

In retrospect, it would appear that my calling it quits for the night is probably a good idea, since under more rested circumstances, I think the right answer to "С/М" would've occurred on me almost immediately. I'm at a good stopping point, at any rate, about 3 paragraphs from the commencement of tables that go to the end of the document. I just need to make sure I get the last 1000 words finished by mid-morning.

Cheers...