I had a bad cold last week and had to miss my exercise classes and walks (I’ve given up jogging as it’s murder on my knees and too much like hard work). I’m a member of the gym at Glasgow University’s Garscube Complex and greatly enjoy the classes. It’s probably a combination of good instructors …
Author archives: Marian Dougan
How to be a good client (2)
I wrote a couple of days ago about how to be a good client – and how to get the best out of your translator (or copywriter, web/graphic designer, editor – delete or add to as applicable). The other good-client practice, of course, is to pay promptly and unflinchingly. Bearing in mind that if my …
How to be a good client (1)
I’m currently translating a speech for a government speech-writer who’s a delight to work with. Here’s why. First, he gave us advance warning (of about 10 days) that he’d be working on a speech to be delivered in mid-April. He asked if we could be on stand-by over the Easter period to translate it. So …
Easter, at last
Well, that’s the first quarter of 2010 out of the way and I for one am not sad to see it go. Not a week has gone by since 1 January (or so it has seemed) without news of friends, acquaintances and family members being affected by death, illness or accident. Culminating, just 3 weeks …
Let it snow
Wintry scenes from in and around our garden. Taken by my daughter, Olivia. Even blasé teenagers get enthusiastic about snow! By Marian Dougan
A blizzard of books (2)
I hadn’t checked the Peachpit Press web site for months, but I’ve found more titles to tempt me. So, not just the new titles by Robin Williams, but new books too by Steve Krug and by Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice of the Nielsen Norman Group. Steve’s book, a “do-it-yourself guide to finding and fixing usability …
A blizzard of books (1)
I don’t know whether to be delighted or dismayed. Peachpit Press has published new titles by Robin Williams. Dismayed, because I’m in the middle of a clear-out and decluttering exercise that involves tens if not hundreds of books that I’ve accumulated over many years. And I’ve just splashed out on cut-price books at Borders, so I …
The demise of Borders UK
I visited Borders UK’s Glasgow store a few days ago, feeling like a vulture as I filled my basket with cut-price books (TimeOut travel guides, IT (Mac) user-guides and English language reference books. Plus two novels by Elizabeth Jane Howard for my daughter).To my surprise I found myself feeling sad and nostalgic at the store’s …
Accessibility – why bother?
I’ve been focusing a lot this year on web design, content and usability. Mainly because I’ve been working on my new web site, with lots of help from the wonderful and infinitely patient Zoë Tucker of Rude Goose. I’ve also attended several usability workshops run by the Nielsen Norman Group (aka NN/g) – and if anything focuses …
Localisation, Kiwi style.
I received an email recently from BT encouraging me to sign up to the Terminate the Rate campaign. This aims to end the fee applied to landline calls to mobile phones, or to calls from mobiles to users on a different network. My first reaction was suspicion – a utilities company urging me to join …