If you know one Romance language...

It's kind of funny, I was surfing just now and ran across the following:

Un dottore al suo paziente obeso: "Se fai 10 chilometri al giorno per un anno arriverai al tuo pesoforma".

Un anno dopo il paziente telefona al dottore. "Dottore ho perso forma, ma ho un problema".

"E qual'è il problema?".

"Sono a 3650 Km da casa"

...and understood it with hardly any problem, after a few moments, even with a possible typo in the text (is it "persoforma," or "perso forma," or are both okay, or should it be something else entirely? The term(s) are unknown to me, as I don't speak Italian!)

In any event, the process involved filling in the words I knew (most of them cognates), and then making intelligent guesses on the blanks in between based on context. (Then again, it doesn't hurt to have grown up hearing ads that go "'Ronzoni sono buoni' means 'Ronzoni is so good!'")

BTW, the comprehension came easily for the following, but for a different reason:

Lo sai che differenza c'è fra l'ignoranza e l'indifferenza?.

No e non me ne frega niente!

In the second case, I sort of did a "back translation" from what amounts the same line in English ("Do you know the difference between ignorance and apathy? No, and I don't care!")

Hmmm.

Cheers...

Found!

Slowly, I've been putting effort into placing items - mostly software related - into a filing system, so that I might find them later if I need them.

(I know, what a concept!)

Well, it's paid off twice in the past couple of days.

First, I wanted to install the software that came with my Olympus DS-330 voice recorder, so I could unload some recorded items. My first impulse in such situations is to hit the company's web site, but in this case, it turns out Olympus wants $24.99 to download the software. Fortunately, I was able to find the install CD (with the license code to boot) without too much trouble, so that's out of the way.

That reminded me of my problem installing my Strobe XP100 when in Kazakhstan. Part of the installation process is calibration of the scanner, and I recall searching the web fruitlessly for a file that might have a PDF image of the calibration sheet, because I certainly hadn't taken the blessed thing with me to Baikonur. It turns out the sheet is available, for a price, from the manufacturer.

Anyway, I was thumbing through some files I unloaded from Pagosa a few minutes ago and... bingo! I found the calibration sheet (along with the rest of the paperwork that came with the scanner). The only detour in this case was having to uninstall PaperPort and reinstall it so as to trigger the calibration routine, but in the end, everything worked the way it was supposed to.

Today's training was not as attention-grabbing or as straightforward as yesterday's session, but it was pretty intense. The session had to do with using a display & control module (DCM) in conjunction with some equipment mounted in the airlock (e.g., the ATU and UIA) to check out of the primary life support system (PLSS) unit, which is worn on the back of the spacesuit assembly (SSA) during an EVA.

I think I experienced an abbreviation overdose as a result of the session, YKWIM?

In any event, I figure a large part of the complexity of many devices used in the business has to do with the "VCR programming" phenomenon, where circumstances force designers to shoehorn incredible amounts of functionality behind a very rudimentary interface. (In the case of a spacesuited astronaut, that interface consists of a one-line multisegment display and one three-position switch (set up so that releasing the switch after moving it up or down returns it to a neutral position; this switch is used for scrolling the display, selecting submenus, and signaling 'yes' and 'no' choices).

One thing that's crossed my mind is whether these training sessions can count toward the ATA "continuing education" requirement. I suppose I should ask.

Another thing on my "to ask" list is when our letter of credit to the USPS might be returned now that we've settled accounts with them? I have a queasy feeling about this, knowing how bureaucracies work. Still...

Anyway, it's back to the "usual" level of support tomorow, which will suit me just fine. Hopefully, the level of work will pick up, too.

Cheers...