Friday, June 24, 2011
10 Jubeat Machines Ahoy!
Some places sure like to pack in as many of the same game as possible. It isn't often I see 10 of the same game except for some fighting games.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
So you want to be an Interpreter
As I have worked as a professional translator and interpreter on and off for a number of years, I thought I would share some of the common tips and tricks of the trade as shared within the groups of translators and interpreters I have dealt with over the years. This will be a kind of point form list but I'll expand on each. Some of these may seem obvious but the number of clients and executive staff that don't know or comprehend some of this is a bit concerning.
* Translators and Interpreters are usually noticeably better going from language A->B than the other way around. True fluency in two languages is very rare (to the point of understanding all the nuances/subtleties of both languages as a native speaker would)
* Interpretation in particular is very mentally exhausting. Ideally, for every hour of interpretation, you should take a 10 minute break to clear your mind, though also ideally, no one meeting should be more than an hour despite them sometimes being significantly longer.
* Take a memo pad and jot down key words/points as they are said so you don't get everything jumbled or lost in your mind
* Make sure you stop the speaker every couple sentences or so. The longer you wait between each translation/interpretation the harder it gets to keep it all straight and remember the details.
* Ask the speakers to speak up if you are having trouble hearing. You need to be able to hear what is going on.
* In a first meeting, it is common for specific company/industry only terminology to pop up. Odds are one side of the meeting will ask for clarification but you should pipe up and ask for clarification as soon as possible if nobody else asks for clarification first.
* On that note, make sure you clear up any ambiguous or hard to understand terminology or contents before you try to interpret them (and ask as soon as possible). Never try to BS your way through something, as it will come back to bite you sooner or later.
* Jokes and humor don't translate well and it usually isn't worth your time or trouble to try and convey it to the other party.
* Do not try to add personal interpretation to something. Keep things deadpan and have the other side clarify what they imply.
* However, if you belong to one side of the meeting (same company), feel free to subtly note to your side (perhaps during a break) anything that seems odd or out of place. Don't try to make it an issue in the meeting in front of everyone since your job is just to interpret, not make management, financial or business decisions.
* Do not participate in insults if things go awry, keep things neutral or tone down the insult to the basic point behind the insult if you are being forced to interpret
* People make mistakes and nobody is perfect, don't sweat any minor mistakes and don't take criticism from one side or the other to heart, especially if it is the case where you are the only one there capable of decent interpretation between two languages.
* Have a drink of water with you. Your throat will start to go dry, especially if it turns into a lengthy meeting. Losing your voice after several long meetings in a week is not unheard of.
(and on translation)
* As a side note, an average translator can handle about 8 to 10 pages of translation a day of decent quality assuming 250 words a page. If someone claims more than that, like 25, he/she is using machine translation aids and/or rushing the quality to the point of an error-filled inconsistent translation. Also, consider the fact you will need to go back and proofread your work. Don't let management schedule an impossible workload in a very short time, and remind them the translation will suffer the more the deadline is rushed.
* Translators and Interpreters are usually noticeably better going from language A->B than the other way around. True fluency in two languages is very rare (to the point of understanding all the nuances/subtleties of both languages as a native speaker would)
* Interpretation in particular is very mentally exhausting. Ideally, for every hour of interpretation, you should take a 10 minute break to clear your mind, though also ideally, no one meeting should be more than an hour despite them sometimes being significantly longer.
* Take a memo pad and jot down key words/points as they are said so you don't get everything jumbled or lost in your mind
* Make sure you stop the speaker every couple sentences or so. The longer you wait between each translation/interpretation the harder it gets to keep it all straight and remember the details.
* Ask the speakers to speak up if you are having trouble hearing. You need to be able to hear what is going on.
* In a first meeting, it is common for specific company/industry only terminology to pop up. Odds are one side of the meeting will ask for clarification but you should pipe up and ask for clarification as soon as possible if nobody else asks for clarification first.
* On that note, make sure you clear up any ambiguous or hard to understand terminology or contents before you try to interpret them (and ask as soon as possible). Never try to BS your way through something, as it will come back to bite you sooner or later.
* Jokes and humor don't translate well and it usually isn't worth your time or trouble to try and convey it to the other party.
* Do not try to add personal interpretation to something. Keep things deadpan and have the other side clarify what they imply.
* However, if you belong to one side of the meeting (same company), feel free to subtly note to your side (perhaps during a break) anything that seems odd or out of place. Don't try to make it an issue in the meeting in front of everyone since your job is just to interpret, not make management, financial or business decisions.
* Do not participate in insults if things go awry, keep things neutral or tone down the insult to the basic point behind the insult if you are being forced to interpret
* People make mistakes and nobody is perfect, don't sweat any minor mistakes and don't take criticism from one side or the other to heart, especially if it is the case where you are the only one there capable of decent interpretation between two languages.
* Have a drink of water with you. Your throat will start to go dry, especially if it turns into a lengthy meeting. Losing your voice after several long meetings in a week is not unheard of.
(and on translation)
* As a side note, an average translator can handle about 8 to 10 pages of translation a day of decent quality assuming 250 words a page. If someone claims more than that, like 25, he/she is using machine translation aids and/or rushing the quality to the point of an error-filled inconsistent translation. Also, consider the fact you will need to go back and proofread your work. Don't let management schedule an impossible workload in a very short time, and remind them the translation will suffer the more the deadline is rushed.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The 10 "K"s of Japanese IT
Originally, there were "3K" jobs referring to the ones cheap labor (stereotypically foreign labor) pulled off in place of native Japanese. The three Ks were "Kitsui" (Hard and in physical or demanding), "Kitanai" (Dirty) and "Kiken" (Dangerous)
In recent years, the IT industry has become a buyer's market and the employees have had to bear some heavy burdens. As a result, the IT industry doesn't have a very glamorous image, and this affects the industry because graduates are turned off the industry altogether in some cases because they do not wish a lifestyle like that of their fathers, a lifestyle that took their father from them at an early age, kept their father out of their family lives, etc. Although smaller and startup companies are less prone to these, this list summarizes the most common concerns and complaints among Japanese "salarymen" workers. This started at around 5 but keeps getting more added to it (as people find more to complain about)
1. Kitsui (Demanding workload)
2. Kaerenai (Can't go home (on time/at the end of the work day))
3. Kyuuryo ga hikui (Low salary)
4. Kisoku ga kibishii (Stringent company/industry rules)
5. Kyuukei ga torenai (Can't take a break)
6. Keshou ga noranai (Can't get time to put on makeup (Women only))
7. Kekkon dekinai (Can't get married)
8. Koi mo dekinai (Can't find love)
9. Kinyoubi nomini ikenai (Can't go out/relax on a Friday night)
10. Kaachann (fukumu yome) ni moushiwakenai (lit. Apologies to mother/wife (for interruptions in social plans, unable to make/plan/attend family events). It can also mean regret for disappointing your mother/wife (for perceiving oneself as a failure or disappointment))
Other ones I've come across
11. Karoshi (Death from overwork)
12. Karojisatsu (Suicide brought on from overwork)
13. Kodomo mo dekinai (Can't have children)
...
And the list goes on
If industry "experts" and recruiting firms are wondering why people aren't so thrilled to work in IT, maybe improving the working conditions would help...
It's too bad there are companies that are proud to operate to make employees miserable to such a degree
In recent years, the IT industry has become a buyer's market and the employees have had to bear some heavy burdens. As a result, the IT industry doesn't have a very glamorous image, and this affects the industry because graduates are turned off the industry altogether in some cases because they do not wish a lifestyle like that of their fathers, a lifestyle that took their father from them at an early age, kept their father out of their family lives, etc. Although smaller and startup companies are less prone to these, this list summarizes the most common concerns and complaints among Japanese "salarymen" workers. This started at around 5 but keeps getting more added to it (as people find more to complain about)
1. Kitsui (Demanding workload)
2. Kaerenai (Can't go home (on time/at the end of the work day))
3. Kyuuryo ga hikui (Low salary)
4. Kisoku ga kibishii (Stringent company/industry rules)
5. Kyuukei ga torenai (Can't take a break)
6. Keshou ga noranai (Can't get time to put on makeup (Women only))
7. Kekkon dekinai (Can't get married)
8. Koi mo dekinai (Can't find love)
9. Kinyoubi nomini ikenai (Can't go out/relax on a Friday night)
10. Kaachann (fukumu yome) ni moushiwakenai (lit. Apologies to mother/wife (for interruptions in social plans, unable to make/plan/attend family events). It can also mean regret for disappointing your mother/wife (for perceiving oneself as a failure or disappointment))
Other ones I've come across
11. Karoshi (Death from overwork)
12. Karojisatsu (Suicide brought on from overwork)
13. Kodomo mo dekinai (Can't have children)
...
And the list goes on
If industry "experts" and recruiting firms are wondering why people aren't so thrilled to work in IT, maybe improving the working conditions would help...
It's too bad there are companies that are proud to operate to make employees miserable to such a degree
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Happy BDay to Me + Book Photos
Yay, I'm another year older (June 2)
Also, pics of my book (The only difference between the proof copy I have and the real thing is the thickness of the paper inside which is marginally better in the final copy):
Also, pics of my book (The only difference between the proof copy I have and the real thing is the thickness of the paper inside which is marginally better in the final copy):
Sunday, May 29, 2011
HR and Candidates Debasing Themselves
This isn't anything particularly new, but in the economic crunch of recent years, I have witnessed just how much people will sacrifice their beliefs, time and money just to land a job originally advertised with much better conditions.
Yes, back when I was unemployed and looking through some of the job posting at the government employment agency "Hello Work", I found some particularly bad jobs (trilingual full-time translator (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese) making minimum wage - highest possible income only reached after a few years with the company - yes, I checked into this - but in reality I wouldn't expect the salary to increase any)
These are not the ones I'm talking about. Some people need the money and I don't hold it against them for trying to get anything out there in times of need. If a job is advertised with low pay and/or long hours, at least you know up front what they are asking of you.
The problem is when an employer lays out a decent job with decent conditions/pay and then pulls the rug out from your feet at a group interview just to see how cheaply he can land a slave.
It almost seems criminal for some of these employers to cram 30+ people in a room and cutting people out of the running if they won't budge on hours, conditions or salary (it is a Battle Royale, with the HR staff reducing the offer gradually and seeing who is left at the end). I know it is real tough landing a job here, but you aren't doing yourself a favor by taking on a mountain of responsibilities with long hours for peanuts. It just leads to depression and anxiety, and the worst thing is that you have set a precedent that your boss (thinks) he can just easily find another slave for peanuts if you dare complain. If you have a family to support or even live in a decent apartment alone, you may very well not be able to support yourself/family. (Working Poor, as it is known)
I know it is an employer's market out there, but it would be nice if the labor board of Japan wasn't so toothless. In a few of the interviews I have been given I have been asked some outrageous things.
* Will I work 300 hours a month?
* Will I work for minimum wage (as a Unix Sysadmin) just to land the job?
* Do I have a problem paying transportation costs to/from clients offices around Japan at my own expense (for a job that doesn't pay that well to start with)
* Would you pay for an apartment close to the office (at your own expense) so you can work longer hours instead of wasting it on the trains home?
I could go on, but why isn't this sort of questioning and behavior illegal? Even when I have phoned the labor board on some of these people, very little comes from it, almost like it were just a slap on the wrist. And to make matters worse, as long as candidates think that the only way to get a job is by debasing themselves to the point of slavery/poverty, things won't improve.
I'm happy for those out there that have decent paying jobs at fair conditions. They say it is all about what you know but the smarter ones of them will say it is all about who you know. When you don't have that option, the rat race is an...interesting place, indeed.
Yes, back when I was unemployed and looking through some of the job posting at the government employment agency "Hello Work", I found some particularly bad jobs (trilingual full-time translator (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese) making minimum wage - highest possible income only reached after a few years with the company - yes, I checked into this - but in reality I wouldn't expect the salary to increase any)
These are not the ones I'm talking about. Some people need the money and I don't hold it against them for trying to get anything out there in times of need. If a job is advertised with low pay and/or long hours, at least you know up front what they are asking of you.
The problem is when an employer lays out a decent job with decent conditions/pay and then pulls the rug out from your feet at a group interview just to see how cheaply he can land a slave.
It almost seems criminal for some of these employers to cram 30+ people in a room and cutting people out of the running if they won't budge on hours, conditions or salary (it is a Battle Royale, with the HR staff reducing the offer gradually and seeing who is left at the end). I know it is real tough landing a job here, but you aren't doing yourself a favor by taking on a mountain of responsibilities with long hours for peanuts. It just leads to depression and anxiety, and the worst thing is that you have set a precedent that your boss (thinks) he can just easily find another slave for peanuts if you dare complain. If you have a family to support or even live in a decent apartment alone, you may very well not be able to support yourself/family. (Working Poor, as it is known)
I know it is an employer's market out there, but it would be nice if the labor board of Japan wasn't so toothless. In a few of the interviews I have been given I have been asked some outrageous things.
* Will I work 300 hours a month?
* Will I work for minimum wage (as a Unix Sysadmin) just to land the job?
* Do I have a problem paying transportation costs to/from clients offices around Japan at my own expense (for a job that doesn't pay that well to start with)
* Would you pay for an apartment close to the office (at your own expense) so you can work longer hours instead of wasting it on the trains home?
I could go on, but why isn't this sort of questioning and behavior illegal? Even when I have phoned the labor board on some of these people, very little comes from it, almost like it were just a slap on the wrist. And to make matters worse, as long as candidates think that the only way to get a job is by debasing themselves to the point of slavery/poverty, things won't improve.
I'm happy for those out there that have decent paying jobs at fair conditions. They say it is all about what you know but the smarter ones of them will say it is all about who you know. When you don't have that option, the rat race is an...interesting place, indeed.
Friday, May 27, 2011
After many revisions and updates, I think I am finally happy (mostly) with the content so it is now in print over on lulu.com.
Here is a link to the book over at lulu.com - $8.18 US (Shipping Extra)
I can only release this book at cost legally due to copyright issues and such (educational purposes only, not to be used for a profit, etc. according to US Fair Use laws).
However, I will also make all the PDFs available too in case you wish to print it off yourself at Kinko's or wherever. Note that the print edition uses B&W (greyscale) prints inside to keep the cost down (the cover is in full color). A full color book through them of this size is over $20 US. If there is demand, I can make one available, however.
Book Cover (front/back - color)
http://aaronin.jp/ddrbook_cover.pdf
Inside 184 pages (Black and White)
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR_book_bw.pdf
Inside 184 pages (Color)
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR_book.pdf
Original A4 sized book contents:
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR.pdf
Yes, there may still be a few slight errors in this, but I can always revise the contents on lulu should I need to/make another revision. I'm just happy to finally get it out there.
However, I will also make all the PDFs available too in case you wish to print it off yourself at Kinko's or wherever. Note that the print edition uses B&W (greyscale) prints inside to keep the cost down (the cover is in full color). A full color book through them of this size is over $20 US. If there is demand, I can make one available, however.
Book Cover (front/back - color)
http://aaronin.jp/ddrbook_cover.pdf
Inside 184 pages (Black and White)
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR_book_bw.pdf
Inside 184 pages (Color)
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR_book.pdf
Original A4 sized book contents:
http://aaronin.jp/JDDR.pdf
Yes, there may still be a few slight errors in this, but I can always revise the contents on lulu should I need to/make another revision. I'm just happy to finally get it out there.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
From the "What's he been doing all this time?" dept.
Well, after a few years of only sparse contact, I finally managed to hook up with an old friend/DDR legend Yasu
Some players of the day might remember Yasu from this picture.
It turns out he has been up to quite a bit since we last met. Even though he doesn't play DDR quite a much as he used to, he still does the Max 300 AAA thing, though less so these days.
Of more interesting news is the fact he is getting married. I never would have imagined that, but then again he was just as shocked when he found out I had a son..
I mention this because for years, he achieved some surprising "success" in the forms of recognition, a small fan base and even invitations to events in Japan and abroad all because he was good at a video game (specifically, a perfect score on a once-considered incredibly difficult song). As time passed, though, a number of other players were able to perform the same accomplishments and more. Yasu couldn't get by just being Yasu anymore, and that is when he seemed to lose his direction in life, not having any particular interest in anything else.
His brother ended up working in the IT industry and still plays music games as a hobby but it was troubling to him and the rest of his family and friends to see Yasu seemingly lost in life with no clear goals or ambitions.
It took a few years but he got his act together. He's an office worker right now but he has managed to have some interest in *a* job that isn't convenience store work, his girlfriend (now fiancee) is supportive and he can actually speak with some kind of recognizable grammar and diction, which is a *huge* improvement in communication from what his friends (including me) tried to decipher years ago.
This all might not seem too interesting to some, but it was something I wanted to share since he did make quite a splash years ago and I had closer contact with him than most, so it was something special to be able to hook up with him again after all these years to find out what happened with him..
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