Front Page News

It looks like Vietnam Supply Chain Insight magazine is going to re-launch after a brief hiatus. This is the magazine that I write a column for.

I also noticed that they have updated their website. Instead of the static starter site they previously had up, this one is content rich.

But imagine my surprise when I found my article front and center, very prominent at the top of the page. I'm going to be famous someday!

Of course, the only way I knew my article was so prominently displayed is because I spotted my name. The magazine is written in Vietnamese, and my articles are translated when I send them in. But being the curious type, I wondered if I could view the site in English. The site doesn't have an English language version, but I tried Google Translation.

So Google isn't the best translator, but you can sort of get the gist of my article (and the others). Check out the translated version here.

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!

OK, so the Russians aren't coming (that's the title of a movie from the 1960's), but I'm coming to Russia. Via my book, that is. My book, The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit, has been translated into Russian and is being published by a Russian publisher (Grevstov Publisher). How cool is that?

I received a couple of copies of the Russian edition a couple of days ago. I can't read a word of it, but it looks good. Actually, the quality of the book itself is much higher than the U.S. edition. It's very well done, and I'm impressed. I'm waiting for someone to send me a plane ticket to Moscow for a book signing and seminar tour. Hey, I can dream, can't I? I'd love to go to Russia. I love to travel and visit new places.

So here's a picture of the book. I haven't received a photo quality copy of the cover yet, so I just scanned this in. That's my name in Russian up in the top left corner.

Now if only my publisher would lower the price of the U.S. edition (hint, hint), this valuable tome would get into the hands of the masses.

Oh, and I'll get back into regular posting on this blog. I've been extremely busy lately, so have been lax. As to whether I've actually been accomplishing anything, that's another matter.

Translation

I've added a translator to the blog. I see that people from around the world occasionally happen upon this blog, so I thought I'd add the translator and see if anyone takes advantage of it. I know Jim in Japan is a regular reader, so try it out for me and let me know how well it works. Anybody else who tries it out, please let me know how it works.

I know I use a lot of "American-isms" when I write, so let me know how much of an issue that is. I'm working on finishing up my next book, and I write the same way in the book. I'm wondering about translations for distribution outside the U.S., but I can't change the way I write, so hopefully I can be translated.

On a related note, I've tried to learn different languages, but I've never had any luck. I probably need an immersion program where I have to learn how to speak the language if I want eat. I took German in college, because there was a language requirement, but I took it pass/fail since I had difficulty. I took some Hungarian classes because I've been to Hungry and have relatives there. When I was in Hungary I got to the point where I could understand a lot of what people were saying, but I couldn't really respond. I took Spanish through the night, adult education program, because living in New Mexico for 12 years I should have picked up some Spanish (but didn't). And most recently I took Mandarin classes. I want to go to China, as I haven't been there yet, so I thought Mandarin would be interesting. Of course, with my track record I should know better. But I really enjoyed the classes. I took the same class several times then my teacher convinced me to take the next level. The teacher was great. I would often go visit her at the cafe that she and her husband owned. I never got very far with learning Mandarin, but I understand a few words when I hear people speaking it, and I enjoyed all the cultural things that the teacher threw in. I still occasionally listen to my Mandarin CD's. I should take the class again just for fun.

The thing is, with me, the problem is I simply can't remember the words. With Mandarin, I could get the sentence structure, and I had no trouble whatsoever with the tones (which cause many people much difficulty), but I just can't remember the words. That's why the immersion would be good for me. I'd have to remember them.

Well, adios, caio, see 'ya...