Tech Writer News (Elephant)

Photos from the 6th Annual Techshoret Convention

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:45:00 +0200

Nadina Rosentuler and Sharon Mink posted some nice photos at http://elephant.org.il/elephant_event_photos/techshoret_conference/

Resilience Tip - Road Runner and Communicating in Present

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:17:00 +0200

Remember the Road Runner cartoons where Road Runner would suddenly change direction from what Wile E. Coyote expected, and Wile E. Coyote would go plunging off into some danger? And just in case you are unfamiliar with this American cultural icon, remember a time when you were meeting up with someone and then slipped as you

Mike Altman to represent Elephant at Techshoret Convention in Jerusalem

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:26:11 +0200

If you will be at the convention, look for Mike. In addition to enjoying the convention, he will be there to answer questions about the Elephant organization and help members.

Suite Solutions Extends Discount to Elephant Members for DITA Quick Start Workshop

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:07:00 +0200

Suite Solutions announced that it will extend a 10% discount to its upcoming DITA Quick Start Workshop (April 13-15). This workshop is now being offered in Israel after a number of successful engagements in the U.S. For more information listed on the Elephant site, click here.

Resilience Tip - When Knowledge Can Hurt

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:25:00 +0200

"It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning." (Claude Bernard) Curiosity is one of the characteristics of highly resilient people. Sometimes it is relatively

Translatable but Debatable: גיבוש, לגבש

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0200

At the convention, when someone at the microphone remarked on the overuse of "crystallize" as a translation for gibush, a British-accented shout came from somewhere in the audience, “Formulate!”

Notes from the Israel Translators Association conference, 2010

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:30:00 +0200

As a technical writer and translator, I find that when either of the two professions holds a conference, there are always several “How I Do My Stuff” lectures. Sometimes they can drive you crazy. Then along comes a “How I Do My Stuff” lecture where the lecturer’s stuff resembles your stuff. That kind of lecture, in contrast, is fascinating.

Resilience Tip - Breathing Deeply

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:08:00 +0200

Many of us have defaulted to "shallow" breathing, or chest breathing. Consciously shifting to "deep" breathing, or belly breathing, even for brief periods during our day, can be extremely

Resilience Tip - Emotions as Communication

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:08:00 +0200

A critical characteristic of resilience is flexible thinking. For effective problem-solving we want to be able to see the issue from different perspectives and

Translatable but Debatable: מול

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:00:00 +0200

I think that vis-à-vis often expresses מול better than any alternative would. Unfortunately, vis-à-vis is not an expression that endures repetition well. You can write מול five or six times on a page, but vis-à-vis that many times would look peculiar.

Reporting for the Salary and Rate Survey

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:18:39 +0200

The reporting period has started for the salary and rate surveys for technical writers, marcom writers and copy editors. Links to each survey are located in the right column. You must be logged in to participate. If you do not have a username and password, you can create one for free at http://elephant.org.il/register . This is the most accurate survey of salaries and freelance rates for technical writers, marcom writers and copy editors working in Israel.

Translatable but Debatable מערך

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:35:53 +0200

A conscientious company had appointed a safety warden for each department, it considered them collectively a מערך in Hebrew, and it needed a translation. The dictionaries offer “disposition” and “formation,” but those words lean too much toward the positioning and not enough toward the people and their mission.

Resilience Tip - Mind Reading

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Resilience is the ability to cope well with difficulties and to bounce back from setbacks. While some people are naturally more resilient than others, resiliency can also be intentionally developed.

Translatable but Debatable גורם

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0200

I was in the office of a hi-tech CEO some time ago when a phone call came in from a vendor of translation software. The CEO listened only a few seconds before interrupting the vendor: “How does it translate הגורם המבצע?” he asked. I was impressed that he had such a challenge at the ready.

Being Proactive - Finding Freelance Technical Writing and Editing Opportunities

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:56:27 +0200

Professional conferences and workshops are great opportunities for freelance technical writers and copy editors. The presenters often need your professional services and

Resilience Tip - Control, Where is it always possible?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:16:00 +0200

Having a sense of control is a critical part of responding resiliently. Humans tend not to like the feeling of being blown around by the winds of chance

Job Fair - Date moved to December

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:57:28 +0200

People & Computers’ annual job fair for Israeli High Tech Professionals will be held at Airport City on December 8th 2009. This is useful for anyone looking for a high tech job in Israel, in particular people who are in:

Call for Papers (SwSTE 2010 IEEE Conference)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:29:52 +0200

SwSTE 2010 is a biennial International IEEE Conference held in Israel (Herzelia on June 15+16 2010). It is a very professional and prestige conference, which interests and draws approximately 300 participants from the Israeli Hi-Tech industry. Click here to download Call for Papers...

Translatable but Debatable ביצוע, לבצע

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:17:02 +0200

As the champion high-jumper clears the bar, the sportscaster cries out: איזה ביצוע! — which is to say, what a thing-doing. The English language has some theoretically fine translations for ביצוע, but connotations are a problem. You could say what an accomplishment, but that would express the connotation that he did something difficult, not that he did it well or elegantly. This series of columns will be presenting one hard-to-translate Hebrew word at a time for discussion, and we’ll start with ביצוע (or לבצע). You’re encouraged to add your comments at the end of the column, but please stick to the word currently under discussion. One word will likely remind you of another, but if you’d like to discuss another word, please write to me at Elephant — whystyle@elephant.org.il — and I’ll present it with due credit in a future column. That way, we can not only conduct a nicely focused discussion but also leave behind a useful archive for future reference, one word at a time.

Promoting Your Business

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:58:38 +0200

According to Hillel Porath of Gavoah Marketing, "attracting clients is probably one of the hardest aspects in running a small business". For many of us, he is right. With his permission I've uploaded a copy of his 11 page list of recommendations that I think is worth reading. Click here to download...