Hi all,

I'm trying to solve a terminology problem: At our school (FIT CVUT), the
final examination ("statni zaverecna zkouska"), which anyone who wants
to finish their studies and get the degree must pass, has two parts.
First, the student presents and defends his/her thesis ("obhajoba"),
then the students has to answer two questions asking about something
from a pre-defined range of topics ("odborna zkouska").

Now, how would you call these in English? So far, we've come up with:
statni zaverecna zkouska = degree examination
obhajoba = (thesis) defence
odborna zkouska = speciality examination

I am particularly unhappy with the "speciality examination" because it
sounds like an examination that is focused on a very specific topic
(which the "odborna zkouska" is not, as the topics cover pretty much the
entire curriculum except for electives), and it may even sound like an
optional exam that the student can take to get an extra piece of paper
(e.g. all those Microsoft/Novell/Cisco/your-favorite-company
certifications). The "official" dictionary of our school suggests
"technical examination" which, IMHO, sounds like a car inspection by a
mechanic. But maybe my instincts are wrong.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Josef

If it's a zaverecna zkouska, then I think it should include "final" -
final examination, or final degree examination.

Re. odborna - I think this is one of those cases where "odborny" is more
widely used in Czech than English. It's not a special subject exam, as
you point out. If you want to keep some element of odborny in there, so
that people realise that it corresponds to odborna zkouska in Czech,
maybe specialist examination? After all, they are specialists in this
field, even if the exam is a general one that covers the whole
curriculum.

I have a feeling that English would focus on the form of the exam - oral
examination, or written examination. But that loses the correspondence
with odborna zkouska.

Valerie

On Sat, 2010-07-10 at 10:21 +0200, Josef Hlavac wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to solve a terminology problem: At our school (FIT CVUT),
> the
> final examination ("statni zaverecna zkouska"), which anyone who
> wants
> to finish their studies and get the degree must pass, has two parts.
> First, the student presents and defends his/her thesis ("obhajoba"),
> then the students has to answer two questions asking about something
> from a pre-defined range of topics ("odborna zkouska").
>
> Now, how would you call these in English? So far, we've come up with:
> statni zaverecna zkouska = degree examination
> obhajoba = (thesis) defence
> odborna zkouska = speciality examination
>
> I am particularly unhappy with the "speciality examination" because
> it
> sounds like an examination that is focused on a very specific topic
> (which the "odborna zkouska" is not, as the topics cover pretty much
> the
> entire curriculum except for electives), and it may even sound like
> an
> optional exam that the student can take to get an extra piece of
> paper
> (e.g. all those Microsoft/Novell/Cisco/your-favorite-company
> certifications). The "official" dictionary of our school suggests
> "technical examination" which, IMHO, sounds like a car inspection by
> a
> mechanic. But maybe my instincts are wrong.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Josef
>
>
>
>

Hi,

I am not sure about the term "defence" - how about thesis presentation?
And odborna zkouska could simply be an oral examinatin, as Valerie poited out.
If there is no other part of the exam I don't see the need to use any term for
odborna, it just makes it confusing.

Sometimes parts of exams are called "modules". You could then have thesis
presentation module and specialist module of final degree examination. What do
you think?

ZORA

--- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, Valerie Talacko <valerie@...> wrote:
>
> If it's a zaverecna zkouska, then I think it should include "final" -
> final examination, or final degree examination.
>
> Re. odborna - I think this is one of those cases where "odborny" is more
> widely used in Czech than English. It's not a special subject exam, as
> you point out. If you want to keep some element of odborny in there, so
> that people realise that it corresponds to odborna zkouska in Czech,
> maybe specialist examination? After all, they are specialists in this
> field, even if the exam is a general one that covers the whole
> curriculum.
>
> I have a feeling that English would focus on the form of the exam - oral
> examination, or written examination. But that loses the correspondence
> with odborna zkouska.
>
> Valerie
>
> On Sat, 2010-07-10 at 10:21 +0200, Josef Hlavac wrote:
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I'm trying to solve a terminology problem: At our school (FIT CVUT),
> > the
> > final examination ("statni zaverecna zkouska"), which anyone who
> > wants
> > to finish their studies and get the degree must pass, has two parts.
> > First, the student presents and defends his/her thesis ("obhajoba"),
> > then the students has to answer two questions asking about something
> > from a pre-defined range of topics ("odborna zkouska").
> >
> > Now, how would you call these in English? So far, we've come up with:
> > statni zaverecna zkouska = degree examination
> > obhajoba = (thesis) defence
> > odborna zkouska = speciality examination
> >
> > I am particularly unhappy with the "speciality examination" because
> > it
> > sounds like an examination that is focused on a very specific topic
> > (which the "odborna zkouska" is not, as the topics cover pretty much
> > the
> > entire curriculum except for electives), and it may even sound like
> > an
> > optional exam that the student can take to get an extra piece of
> > paper
> > (e.g. all those Microsoft/Novell/Cisco/your-favorite-company
> > certifications). The "official" dictionary of our school suggests
> > "technical examination" which, IMHO, sounds like a car inspection by
> > a
> > mechanic. But maybe my instincts are wrong.
> >
> > Any thoughts or suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Josef
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

The systems among the countries are different, and as Valerie said, in the
English-speaking countries we would be more likely to give the exams names that
focus on their form, more than on their content.

So you're not going to get equivalent terms without a good deal of distortion
and misrepresentation.

I'm all for making the terms as literal as possible, so that English speakers
would understand what they are.

For example, in my opinion "statni zaverecna zkouska" should be "state final
examination", because as far as I know, its content and standards are to some
degree set by the state.  This distinction is important, because just a "degree
examination" would not be so standardized, and the particular university or
department would set the content and standards, making it as challenging or as
Mickey Mouse as they want.

"Obhajoba" would be "thesis defense", never just "defense", because it's not a
martial arts exam or one on military tactics.  But thank you for saying "thesis"
and not "diploma work". :-)

If the "odborna zkouska" is technical, then I agree with calling it a "technical
examination".  It does not sound like what you think it does, because the
look-over that a mechanic gives a car is called a "technical INSPECTION", not a
"technical examination".

Your proposed translation of "odborna zkouska" also has a disadvantage in that
it runs into the problem of "speciality" versus "specialty".  It's hard to
explain to Europeans how absolutely hilarious "speciality" sounds to North
Americans, as opposed to "specialty".  (And don't forget that we're two-thirds
of the world's native speakers, so that means a lot of people will be laughing.)
If you use "speciality" examination, your professors and legions of students
will interact with the English-speaking world saying "spe-shee-a-li-ty", or even
worse, "spe-see-a-li-ty", which will make them sound to two-thirds of us like
circus ringmasters or funny chefs on cartoon shows.  I am very serious about
this.  It's the kind of pronunciation that makes people look at the speaker and
think, "Did he really say that?" and start listening to his language rather than
what he's saying. So at all costs, do avoid that "speciality".

Jamie

"Thesis presentation" doesn't work unless the student really doesn't have to
defend it.

I've never heard it called anything but a thesis defense, except when a student
from Ukraine who never learned to pronounce "th" called it her "feces defense".

Jamie

On Jul 10, 2010, at 7:51 AM, zora.jackman wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I am not sure about the term "defence" - how about thesis presentation?
> And odborna zkouska could simply be an oral examinatin, as Valerie poited out.
If there is no other part of the exam I don't see the need to use any term for
odborna, it just makes it confusing.
>
> Sometimes parts of exams are called "modules". You could then have thesis
presentation module and specialist module of final degree examination. What do
you think?
>
> ZORA
>
> --- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, Valerie Talacko <valerie@...> wrote:
> >
> > If it's a zaverecna zkouska, then I think it should include "final" -
> > final examination, or final degree examination.
> >
> > Re. odborna - I think this is one of those cases where "odborny" is more
> > widely used in Czech than English. It's not a special subject exam, as
> > you point out. If you want to keep some element of odborny in there, so
> > that people realise that it corresponds to odborna zkouska in Czech,
> > maybe specialist examination? After all, they are specialists in this
> > field, even if the exam is a general one that covers the whole
> > curriculum.
> >
> > I have a feeling that English would focus on the form of the exam - oral
> > examination, or written examination. But that loses the correspondence
> > with odborna zkouska.
> >
> > Valerie
> >
> > On Sat, 2010-07-10 at 10:21 +0200, Josef Hlavac wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > I'm trying to solve a terminology problem: At our school (FIT CVUT),
> > > the
> > > final examination ("statni zaverecna zkouska"), which anyone who
> > > wants
> > > to finish their studies and get the degree must pass, has two parts.
> > > First, the student presents and defends his/her thesis ("obhajoba"),
> > > then the students has to answer two questions asking about something
> > > from a pre-defined range of topics ("odborna zkouska").
> > >
> > > Now, how would you call these in English? So far, we've come up with:
> > > statni zaverecna zkouska = degree examination
> > > obhajoba = (thesis) defence
> > > odborna zkouska = speciality examination
> > >
> > > I am particularly unhappy with the "speciality examination" because
> > > it
> > > sounds like an examination that is focused on a very specific topic
> > > (which the "odborna zkouska" is not, as the topics cover pretty much
> > > the
> > > entire curriculum except for electives), and it may even sound like
> > > an
> > > optional exam that the student can take to get an extra piece of
> > > paper
> > > (e.g. all those Microsoft/Novell/Cisco/your-favorite-company
> > > certifications). The "official" dictionary of our school suggests
> > > "technical examination" which, IMHO, sounds like a car inspection by
> > > a
> > > mechanic. But maybe my instincts are wrong.
> > >
> > > Any thoughts or suggestions?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Josef
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I responded to an ad looking for translators at www.translationdirectory.com and
got very suspicious response. I informed the www.translationdirectory.com and I
want you to be aware of the new twist in Nigerian scam.

Read below:

> Hello  ,
>
> Thanks for contacting us for the job offer. Actually I am afraid if  you
> can handle this project. It involves high Government Organization  (The
> Conservatives, www.conservatives.com) here in the United Kingdom. I  got
> this project assigned to me through an in-law who is a top member of  the
> organization. I am only a consultant and this project values up to  One
> Million GBS and I am afraid I don't need any translator or  translating
> company that can mess it up as I have assured him that I will  deliver.
>
> To make everything clear to you, I will be a mediator between  you/your
> company and The Conservatives. Your rate per source word will  determine
> my
> confidence to proceed further being sure of my commission. We  have to
> agree on considerable rate per source word while it will be  influenced to
> a certain rate which will depend on me to work on it's  approval. I hope
> you understand me clearly. All communicating letter has to  be with your
> firm letter-headed document for authenticity. I will provide  all
> information you need and contact and introduce you as my partner.  The
> project documents has to be issued under your firm.
>
> We will need  to sign an agreement on our commission for legal backup. I
> will need all  confidence from your side to confirm that I can trust you.
> I
> will send you  my details and passport copy for your perusals and I will
> need an  identification from you as well.
>
> Project payment will be by bank to  bank transfer directly from The
> Conservatives to you who will receive it.  It is installment bases.
> Project
> will start after first installment. But I  need to make everything clear
> to
> you first before I can give further  insight. If we can reach a good
> agreement and sign, I can be sure to move  ahead with you on this project.
> Here is my number +447516302778 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting             
+447516302778      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +447516302778
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +447516302778     
end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype\
_highlighting
>
> Send  me your positive confirmation email with brief details of your
> experience  and capability to do this perfectly.
>
> I will be waiting for your  reply.
>
> Regards,
>
> Keith Jeffs.
> information@...

Feel free to email him (smile)
He responds quickly.

Sincerely

Radek Pletka

P.S. The 24thconsultant.com was registered last mongh only (smile) and info is
private (smile)

Diky za nazor.
Iveta


   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Kostas
   To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 9:43 PM
   Subject: [Czechlist] Re: Sluzby Sklik a AdWords



   Ja se celkem o tuto problematiku zajimam, ale prakticky mam vyzkouseny jen
adwords. Zadne zazracne vysledky jsem s tim ale nedosahnul. Muj nazor je ten, ze
aby to fungovalo, clovek se tomu musi hodne venovat a musi tomu hodne rozumet.
Neni to zadne "zadat si jen tak reklamu". Ale na druhe strane melo by to
fungovat, protoze treba adwords - to je vlastne uz dlouhodobe stezejni ne-li
hlavni prijem Google.

   Jsou na to specializovane agentury, ktere to delaji nebo firmy si na to skoli
vlastni lidi. Kdybych se do toho pustil sam, urcite bych si zaplatil skoleni, to
se mi zda nejefektivnejsi. Kdo ma zde v tomto hodne renome, je Marek Prokop,
lide si hodne chvali jeho skoleni. Ale zaklady bych se naucil sam z dostupnych
zdroju a zaplatil bych si skoleni pro pokrocile, kde uci ruzne konkretni figle,
jak tu reklamu delat efektivne, aby fungovala.

   K.

   --- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, "Prekladatelsky servis" <preklady@...>
wrote:
   >
   > Zdravim vsechny,
   > omlouvam se za dotaz, ktery tak uplne primo nesouvisi s preklady, ale nemate
nekdo zkusenost, tzn. nepouzivate, sluzbu Sklik na Seznamu popr. AdWords na
Google a, pokud ano, zaznamenali jste nejaky prinos z teto sluzby?
   >
   > Predem diky
   > Iveta
   >
   >
   >
   > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
   >





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Seems there were some technical problems with this message due to its length. I
cannot coax the Czechlist II system to resend it to Czechlist I, so I have cut
off its tail and I am resending manually.


Duvod:   Telo zpravy je prilis velike: 107751 bytu, kdezto limit je 40 KB.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Sarka Rubkova" <rubkova@...>
To: <czechlist@...>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 12:18:04 +0200 (Střední Evropa (letní čas))
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Re: Late delivery

Hi,

I read once more the whole string concerning the late delivery because I was amd
still am confused with whom you are dealing. In your first mail you wrote that
you were dealing with the Czech agency directly and in the second one that you
are dealing with your colleague.

In any case, I have several questions. Are you dealing directly with the agency
or only through your Austrian colleague-partner?

In one your mail you write "The agency doesn't even know that I made the
translation." If this is true, you were and are in no real bussines relations
with them, right? If this is true how did they really communicate with you? Via
your Austrian colleague? If it is so, they are in no bussines relation with you
but only with your collegue. Then, your colleague should do all the steps
against them, not you. They may also consider your collegue cheating by not
doing the translation herself. Maybe, she does not want to do any steps because
she has got good relations with them and because the translation was really
late.

But before doing anything you should ask her first because it was and is
primarily her business.

Sarka

Dear Czech colleagues in the Czech Republic,

The purpose of this posting was actually to hear success stories about how you
have enforced payments from Czech agency owners who tried to take unfair
advantage of you. This is about finding the answer to a general principle. My
current case may serve as an example.

@ Sarka: I know that I am in no direct relationship with the agency, but that
does not really matter. My Austrian colleague who passed the job on actually
wants to pay me from her own pocket, as it was her who instructed me to deliver
by 5 o'clock, and she wants to maintain our good relationship of many years.
However, I don't want her to suffer any financial damage, for the same reason.

In my colleague's most recent opinion, the whole misunderstanding about the
delivery time was her fault. She wanted to go through my translation between 5
and 8 in the morning, learn from it, edit it, whatever. She was supposed to
deliver by 8, the agency by 9. But whether you agree with my colleague or not
that it was her fault, it doesn't really matter. There is somebody taking
advantage of the work done: the end customer and the Czech agency are reaping
the benefits, and the agency does not want to pay the people who worked for it.
That's the fact which needs to be dealt with.

My Austrian colleague is not interested to work for this agency ever again, as
for her this was the first contact with those people, and it was negative in
every aspect. So, there is no damage on her side for "losing a customer". We
don't know anything about the relationship between the Czech agency and their
customer.

Being a newcomer in the translation industry, my colleague seems to be too shy
to step up against this agency and enforce this payment, as I would certainly
do, if the agency had assigned the job to me directly. My colleague keeps coming
up with arguments such as, "I don't even know whether I was allowed to pass it
on", and similar excuses. Another reason is that she has no connection to the
Czech language or culture, but I do. (BTW, the job was a contract translation
from English to German, a combination which both of us do.) So, by reading the
forwarded messages in the agency owner's really bad German, I feel I can
interpret better what the message meant to say, and so I feel I can help my
Austrian colleague (who, by the way, is a qualified but still young and
unexperienced lawyer) to word her claim. The major problem is that she hesitates
to contact this agency again, most probably for lack of self-esteem and for fear
of failure.

That's why I feel I need to encourage her and support her to getting her payment
from the agency in the first place. I hoped to get some material from you in the
form of example cases from your past experience.

Finally, the agency has received the product of my labour and their customers
are using it for their business. So, even if the collaboration was not 100%
satisfying, the outcome fulfils its purpose and must be paid for, and the money
has to be passed through the whole chain of mediators. By now, the agency has
not provided any proof that anybody has suffered any damage. They simply stated
in relation to my colleague that they won't pay her (at all) because of the late
delivery, and for them, that's it. They obviously want to keep the money from
the client and not pay the people who did the work. Or, they gave the product of
my, and my Austrian colleague's, time and effort away to the client for free, in
order to obtain some other advantage for themselves in the form of future jobs
from this client. In any case, the Czech agency wants to reap the benefits
without paying those who actually worked for it.

What I hoped to hear from you, my colleagues in the Czech Republic, were success
stories about how you have enforced payments from Czech agency owners who tried
to take unfair advantage of you!

Such stories could encourage my Austrian colleague to enforce her payment. I
definitely do not want her to suffer any damage. I may add that I have been in
the translation business for more than 25 years, as an agency owner as well as a
freelance translator, whereas my Austrian colleague is relatively new in this
industry and works for agencies only. In both my functions, I have experienced
similar cases before (but never with Czech agencies), and the end customers
always either paid their invoice in full (and then, it was their decision
whether they would place other orders with me again in future or not), or, if I
thought it would be smarter from my side to lower the price or to give them a
freebee, they always came back with more assignments.

Having clarified this, I hope to hear some more useful comments from you, not
just personal opinions.

Best regards,
Romana


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Sarka Rubkova" <rubkova@...>
To: <czechlist@...>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 12:18:04 +0200 (Středni Evropa (letni čas))
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Re: Late delivery

Hi,

I read once more the whole string concerning the late delivery because I was amd
still am confused with whom you are dealing. In your first mail you wrote that
you were dealing with the Czech agency directly and in the second one that you
are dealing with your colleague.

In any case, I have several questions. Are you dealing directly with the agency
or only through your Austrian colleague-partner?

In one your mail you write "The agency doesn't even know that I made the
translation." If this is true, you were and are in no real bussines relations
with them, right? If this is true how did they really communicate with you? Via
your Austrian colleague? If it is so, they are in no bussines relation with you
but only with your collegue. Then, your colleague should do all the steps
against them, not you. They may also consider your collegue cheating by not
doing the translation herself. Maybe, she does not want to do any steps because
she has got good relations with them and because the translation was really
late.

But before doing anything you should ask her first because it was and is
primarily her business.

Sarka

_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@...
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist



_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@...
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist

Hey Romana,

I am myself most sceptical about the option of trying to recover debts
through the legal system in the Czech Republic. I think that the amount at
issue is the primary factor in making such a decision in the first place.
The problem with the legal system in the Czech Republic is that it is
corrupted and unprofessional, at least from Austrian point of view, and that
includes lawyers you may hire.

You may want to consider using services of some debt recovery agencies, such
as www.cerd.cz, but I have no personal experience to provide a real
reference. Some people get afraid on just receiving a warning they would be
put on a debtor black list and make the payment. This CERD allows you to do
this via their website for free, so an email is posted to the debtor from
their domain. Do check out the website; you might get some inspiration
there.

Has your Austrian colleague made out an invoice in the first place? Also,
can you prove the translation is being made use of?

One way or another you may finally have to say goodbye to the money and just
learn the lesson that certain details should never be taken for granted and
it is better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate. It's also a common
wisdom to find out as much as possible about a new customer and start with a
relatively small job before you get paid at all.

The miscommunication that seems to have taken place between you and your
Austrian colleague may have simply produced a pretext for the customer
agency to decline payment but if they are not crooks, you should be able to
make a tradeoff deal with them. Some crooks are born from their own
desperation though and such ones may not be able to pay you even if they
wanted to.

Good luck...

Jirka

_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@...
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist

What about "dscipline examination" or "field of study examination"?
Dusan






TERM CS>EN: Odborna zkouska
Posted by: "Josef Hlavac" joe@...   nahovno
Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:21 am (PDT)



I'm trying to solve a terminology problem: At our school (FIT CVUT),
the
final examination ("statni zaverecna zkouska"), which anyone who wants

to finish their studies and get the degree must pass, has two parts.

First, the student presents and defends his/her thesis ("obhajoba"),

then the students has to answer two questions asking about something

from a pre-defined range of topics ("odborna zkouska").

Now, how would you call these in English? So far, we've come up with:
statni zaverecna zkouska = degree examination
obhajoba = (thesis) defence
odborna zkouska = speciality examination

Same here,

he offers the insanely high rate of EUR 0.09 per source word (EUR 0.19 for his
commission), estimates the project to a volume of more than 2 million words, and
really attaches a passport copy for "confidence and trust"  ;-)

The poor English already tells you that something can't be right.

Some info so Google will come up with more results reporting the scam:

Name: Keith Robert Jeffs
Tel.: +44 7516302778
Email: information@...
Emtpy domain, no actual website:  www.24thconsultant.com

Don't be fooled ;-)

The second email:

Hello x x,

My full name is Robert Keith Jeffs, from the United Kingdom, a British Citizen.
I have attached a copy of my passport for your perusals. My client is one of the
members of the United Kingdom House of Common under The Conservative Party.

To give you more details, this job is on journalism, legal and politics. It will
be needed in a years time, June 2011. It involved more than Two Million of
words. What I want is to introduce you to my client as the person to handle the
job. Note that he is also my in-law. Whatever the rate is, I need it to
influence the rate at EUR 0.19 because I have already given them my rate to be
EUR 0.19 and my source accepted it and pending approval of the project once a
quotation is presented. You can have your rate at the rate of EUR 0.09 as long
as we do this perfect.

I need you to prepare this quotation under your letter-headed paper stating your
capability to handle huge contract as such demanded. I am introducing you as my
partner. Inscribe it professionally and state clearly charges per each sourced
word as I have advised above and making an estimated calculation of 3,000,000
words. This would show the height of our professionalism. You don't need to get
worried of any problem at all while doing this.

After winning the highest number of votes (10,704,647)in the 2010 election, my
client and other members needs high profiled document translation and my in-law
asked me to get someone to handle it. Although their party should have their
press or company or individual who handle these translations for them but he
needs to use this avenue to compensate me for my assistance to him during their
campaign and ready to approve whatever quotation I present to him but he
promised me of a contract of a Million Pounds if they win. Due to the fact that
it has to do with their Party, it needs professionalism because it will be
reviewed by other Conservative members after it is finished. Once a perfect job
is done, no queries and the money is justified.

I hope you are able to understand it more clearly. The quotation should be
addressed to Mr. x x. I hope not to get any disappointment from you or double
cross besides he don't know you. I am counting on our partnership and will need
to get your ID as well as a sign of your trust for more confidence. I want you
also to prepare a deed of agreement that we both have to sign and have copies
each. I need you to get the agreement for you to be sure of my sincerity and
honesty towards this project. You can get your lawyer to do that for us.

Payment for contract will be released when proper quotation is presented under a
good and reliable capable company letter-headed paper. All payment will be
directed to you and into your account. Remember it is $0.19 per source word.

Get back to me as soon as you can. Do not keep me worried, update should be
constant.

Regards,

Keith Jeffs.


--- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, "Radek" <czechtranslation@...> wrote:
>
> I responded to an ad looking for translators at www.translationdirectory.com
and
> got very suspicious response. I informed the www.translationdirectory.com and
I
> want you to be aware of the new twist in Nigerian scam.
>
> Read below:
>
> > Hello  ,
> >
> > Thanks for contacting us for the job offer. Actually I am afraid if  you
> > can handle this project. It involves high Government Organization  (The
> > Conservatives, www.conservatives.com) here in the United Kingdom. I  got
> > this project assigned to me through an in-law who is a top member of  the
> > organization. I am only a consultant and this project values up to  One
> > Million GBS and I am afraid I don't need any translator or  translating
> > company that can mess it up as I have assured him that I will  deliver.
> >
> > To make everything clear to you, I will be a mediator between  you/your
> > company and The Conservatives. Your rate per source word will  determine
> > my
> > confidence to proceed further being sure of my commission. We  have to
> > agree on considerable rate per source word while it will be  influenced to
> > a certain rate which will depend on me to work on it's  approval. I hope
> > you understand me clearly. All communicating letter has to  be with your
> > firm letter-headed document for authenticity. I will provide  all
> > information you need and contact and introduce you as my partner.  The
> > project documents has to be issued under your firm.
> >
> > We will need  to sign an agreement on our commission for legal backup. I
> > will need all  confidence from your side to confirm that I can trust you.
> > I
> > will send you  my details and passport copy for your perusals and I will
> > need an  identification from you as well.
> >
> > Project payment will be by bank to  bank transfer directly from The
> > Conservatives to you who will receive it.  It is installment bases.
> > Project
> > will start after first installment. But I  need to make everything clear
> > to
> > you first before I can give further  insight. If we can reach a good
> > agreement and sign, I can be sure to move  ahead with you on this project.
> > Here is my number +447516302778
>      end_of_the_skype\
> _highlighting
> >
> > Send  me your positive confirmation email with brief details of your
> > experience  and capability to do this perfectly.
> >
> > I will be waiting for your  reply.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Keith Jeffs.
> > information@...
>
> Feel free to email him (smile)
> He responds quickly.
>
> Sincerely
>
> Radek Pletka
>
> P.S. The 24thconsultant.com was registered last mongh only (smile) and info is
private (smile)
>

What's insane about that?  That's what I usually make!

JK

On Jul 11, 2010, at 7:00 AM, sturmdrang88 wrote:

> he offers the insanely high rate of EUR 0.09 per source word



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I also don't think EUR 0.09 is that over the top, EUR 0.1/word being
pretty much standard across Europe, sadly not here..

Notice he says EUR 0.19 at the beginning and then $ 0.19 at the end, 2
mills at one place and then 3 mills at another...

It's a Nigerian letter, there's been countless variations, I had a
similar one from someone claimimg to be in Africa and wanting to buy a
wreck of an old car I advertised.. he clearly didn't know much about
them, I put "his" name into Google and it turned out he was contacting
people who advertised things like horses, classic cars etc. (probably
thinking they're all wealthy) all over the world, trying to do some
sort of scheme on them..

M

------ Original Message ------
From: "James Kirchner" <jpklists@...>
To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 11.7.2010 15:17:58
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Re: Suspicious Czech job posting
> What's insane about that? That's what I usually make!
>
>JK
>
>On Jul 11, 2010, at 7:00 AM, sturmdrang88 wrote:
>
>> he offers the insanely high rate of EUR 0.09 per source word
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yes, Jamie,

I also had to grin when I read about the "insanely high rate of 0.09 Euro
per word." J

Just recently, a German agency offered and paid me 1.10 Euro per word for a
job of about 50 pages - I didn't even have to ask for it. Most end customers
pay double that rate. However, I agree that for Czech agencies and many
"cheap" agencies in Germany, too, a rate of 0.05 per word or 0.5 per line is
more customary.  The only ones that dare to offer less than that are Indian
and Chinese agencies, and perhaps the Russians.

Cheers,

Romana





From: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Czechlist@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of James Kirchner
Sent: Sunday, 11 July 2010 10:48 PM
To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Re: Suspicious Czech job posting





What's insane about that? That's what I usually make!

JK

On Jul 11, 2010, at 7:00 AM, sturmdrang88 wrote:

> he offers the insanely high rate of EUR 0.09 per source word

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I still think that there is a problem (for the agency and for the
client) in receiving the work late... if it was so important that they
wanted it at 5 AM, it must have been a problem for them to get it
sometime during the day..

If they used it in the end and are using it, I would apologize and
explain and then politely inquire how much of a problem this was and
then offered a reasonable discount (they may have missed a presentation
at a particular event, but may then be using it for other purposes, for
example..)

In my experience, admitting your fault, apologising and trying to work
out a reasonable discountr always works... my Czech colleagues seem to
over-react just on hearing the word 'agency'.... agencies need us and
only the very worst are stupid enough to discourage good translators
from working for them (and you can usually tell those straight
away..).... But I still think you need to put yourself into their and
their clients' shoes just for a bit first to see what the problem is
for them.. of course your situation (being third down the line and the
second one not being sure) makes it difficult (the agency's conditions,
for example, may well be saying that the provider is not allowed to
sub-contract, they usually do..), but that doesn't change much.

Tell your colleague to apologise, explain, ask about damages (politely,
not in a challenging way) - probably better not to say she passed the
assignment on - and then try to offer a discount based on that... only
when the agency refuses to speak about anything she can tell them she's
posting details on Blue Boards and circulating them around the
translating community ...


M



------ Original Message ------
From: "Jirka Bolech" <jirka.bolech@...>
To: czechlist@...
Sent: 11.7.2010 8:52:06
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Late delivery - resend
> Hey Romana,
>
>I am myself most sceptical about the option of trying to recover debts
>through the legal system in the Czech Republic. I think that the
>amount at
>issue is the primary factor in making such a decision in the first
>place.
>The problem with the legal system in the Czech Republic is that it is
>corrupted and unprofessional, at least from Austrian point of view,
>and that
>includes lawyers you may hire.
>
>You may want to consider using services of some debt recovery
>agencies, such
>as www.cerd.cz, but I have no personal experience to provide a real
>reference. Some people get afraid on just receiving a warning they
>would be
>put on a debtor black list and make the payment. This CERD allows you
>to do
>this via their website for free, so an email is posted to the debtor
>from
>their domain. Do check out the website; you might get some inspiration
>there.
>
>Has your Austrian colleague made out an invoice in the first place?
>Also,
>can you prove the translation is being made use of?
>
>One way or another you may finally have to say goodbye to the money
>and just
>learn the lesson that certain details should never be taken for
>granted and
>it is better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate. It's also a
>common
>wisdom to find out as much as possible about a new customer and start
>with a
>relatively small job before you get paid at all.
>
>The miscommunication that seems to have taken place between you and
>your
>Austrian colleague may have simply produced a pretext for the customer
>agency to decline payment but if they are not crooks, you should be
>able to
>make a tradeoff deal with them. Some crooks are born from their own
>desperation though and such ones may not be able to pay you even if
>they
>wanted to.
>
>Good luck...
>
>Jirka
>
>_______________________________________________
>Czechlist mailing list
>mailto:Czechlist%40czechlist.org
>http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Good call, Matej. I think this has probably been the best answer on this topic
by now. Thank you.

Romana





From: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Czechlist@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Matej Klimes
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2010 4:05 PM
To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re[2]: [Czechlist] Late delivery - resend





I still think that there is a problem (for the agency and for the
client) in receiving the work late... if it was so important that they
wanted it at 5 AM, it must have been a problem for them to get it
sometime during the day..

If they used it in the end and are using it, I would apologize and
explain and then politely inquire how much of a problem this was and
then offered a reasonable discount (they may have missed a presentation
at a particular event, but may then be using it for other purposes, for
example..)

In my experience, admitting your fault, apologising and trying to work
out a reasonable discountr always works... my Czech colleagues seem to
over-react just on hearing the word 'agency'.... agencies need us and
only the very worst are stupid enough to discourage good translators
from working for them (and you can usually tell those straight
away..).... But I still think you need to put yourself into their and
their clients' shoes just for a bit first to see what the problem is
for them.. of course your situation (being third down the line and the
second one not being sure) makes it difficult (the agency's conditions,
for example, may well be saying that the provider is not allowed to
sub-contract, they usually do..), but that doesn't change much.

Tell your colleague to apologise, explain, ask about damages (politely,
not in a challenging way) - probably better not to say she passed the
assignment on - and then try to offer a discount based on that... only
when the agency refuses to speak about anything she can tell them she's
posting details on Blue Boards and circulating them around the
translating community ...


M





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

KOS used to be Kontrolni odposlechova sluzba (checking whether radio hams kept
to all ham traffic ruls and regulations), but I am afraid this organ had nothing
to do with paintings ...
Honza




   ----- Original Message -----
   From: James Kirchner
   To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 3:51 AM
   Subject: [Czechlist] KOS Hradec and...



   I've got some commie-era documents here where some people are evidently
arguing over the fact that a painting was transferred to he care of the Narodni
Galerie with out all the right commie organs being consulted.

   One commie organ referred to is "KOS Hradec".

   I've also got "advokatni porada", which is something I can imagine, but I
can't figure out what to call it in English.

   Can anyone help me with those?

   Thanks very much.

   Jamie





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Romana,

I'm missing the point now. If Matej's answer has been the best, as you say,
does it help solve the problem? I must agree with Matej but he simply
describes good civilized manners.

As you described the situation in your original post, two weeks ago, is was
obvious you had tried to negotiate with them. Does this mean that you were
not polite talking to the agency or that you didn't admit your fault? One
way or another, you either already acted along the lines Matej suggests or
you didn't but you asked about something different at the beginning of this
thread: what you can do when negotiations have failed: "They do not want to
pay me AT ALL!"...

Jirka Bolech


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear Jirka,

I've had no direct communication with the agency and I won't. I am acting only
as an advisor to the middle(wo)man in this case. My question to you all was
about the basic principle: "Is it considered *normal* that Czech entities may
use the product of somebody's hard labour for their purposes and to their
benefit, without paying for it AT ALL because there was a fault involved with
regards to the delivery? If so, how do you communicate with such an entity in a
smart way to make them pay?"
In the rest of the world, it is very unlikely that payment would be rejected
completely in such a case. Normally, in my part of the world, a reasonable
discount (up to 25%) will fix such a problem immediately. That's why I was
surprised about the Czech agency's behaviour. They most certainly overreacted.
I hope this clarifies the issue for you.

Best regards,
Romana


-----Original Message-----
From: czechlist-bounces@... [mailto:czechlist-bounces@...]
On Behalf Of Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2010 7:22 PM
To: czechlist@...
Subject: Re: [Czechlist]Late delivery - resend

Hi Romana,

I'm missing the point now. If Matej's answer has been the best, as you say,
does it help solve the problem? I must agree with Matej but he simply
describes good civilized manners.

As you described the situation in your original post, two weeks ago, is was
obvious you had tried to negotiate with them. Does this mean that you were
not polite talking to the agency or that you didn't admit your fault? One
way or another, you either already acted along the lines Matej suggests or
you didn't but you asked about something different at the beginning of this
thread: what you can do when negotiations have failed: "They do not want to
pay me AT ALL!"...

Jirka Bolech


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@...
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist



_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@...
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist

Romana, but it always depends on what the purpose of the translation is. If
the client needed it e.g. for a meeting and you delivered it late, your
translation might have been useless. You would not pay for a wedding cake if
it came "just a few hours" after your reception, would you?
I am not an advocate of Czech agencies, but I am not sure that you always
find fair treatment "in the rest of the world". Also, if I were you I would
take it as a sign to start working for agencies "in your part of the
world"... as I did a couple of months for similar reasons.
Good luck with future assignments
Lenka


-----Original Message-----
From: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Czechlist@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Romana
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 12:41 PM
To: czechlist@...
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] Late delivery - resend



Dear Jirka,

I've had no direct communication with the agency and I won't. I am acting
only as an advisor to the middle(wo)man in this case. My question to you all
was about the basic principle: "Is it considered *normal* that Czech
entities may use the product of somebody's hard labour for their purposes
and to their benefit, without paying for it AT ALL because there was a fault
involved with regards to the delivery? If so, how do you communicate with
such an entity in a smart way to make them pay?"
In the rest of the world, it is very unlikely that payment would be rejected
completely in such a case. Normally, in my part of the world, a reasonable
discount (up to 25%) will fix such a problem immediately. That's why I was
surprised about the Czech agency's behaviour. They most certainly
overreacted.
I hope this clarifies the issue for you.

Best regards,
Romana


-----Original Message-----
From: czechlist-bounces@...
<mailto:czechlist-bounces%40czechlist.org>
[mailto:czechlist-bounces@...
<mailto:czechlist-bounces%40czechlist.org> ] On Behalf Of
Czechlist@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Czechlist%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2010 7:22 PM
To: czechlist@... <mailto:czechlist%40czechlist.org>
Subject: Re: [Czechlist]Late delivery - resend

Hi Romana,

I'm missing the point now. If Matej's answer has been the best, as you say,
does it help solve the problem? I must agree with Matej but he simply
describes good civilized manners.

As you described the situation in your original post, two weeks ago, is was
obvious you had tried to negotiate with them. Does this mean that you were
not polite talking to the agency or that you didn't admit your fault? One
way or another, you either already acted along the lines Matej suggests or
you didn't but you asked about something different at the beginning of this
thread: what you can do when negotiations have failed: "They do not want to
pay me AT ALL!"...

Jirka Bolech

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@... <mailto:Czechlist%40czechlist.org>
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist

_______________________________________________
Czechlist mailing list
Czechlist@... <mailto:Czechlist%40czechlist.org>
http://www.czechlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/czechlist

"Trávník, jak známo, nevyroste tím, že za něj budeme tahat", former
President Václav Havel maintained at the end of last year when
receiving an honorary doctorate in Paris. Is this a familiar saying to
Czechs? Or does it (hopefully) derive from English?

TIA

Gerry




--
7 Old Shoreham Road
Brighton
Sussex
BN1 5DQ
U.K.

Tel/fax: ++ 44 01273208484

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

Don't think old 'Vaklav' would go as far as to use 'familiar sayings'
(or ones derived from English for that matter) - judging from the few
speeches/articles of his  I had the pleasure/misfortune to translate
(with the help of several people from this forum, thanks..)..

Doesn't sound like a standard/familiar saying by any count to me, I
guess the meaning is clear (one can't make grass/lawn grow just by
pulling??), [Brit] ENG should have plenty of sayings involving lawns
(for some reason the only one I can think of is 'step off my lawn')..
I'll let you figure out the rest, in any case context would be the key,
IMHO...

M

------ Original Message ------
From: "Gerald Turner" <turner.gerald@...>
To: "czechlist" <Czechlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 12.7.2010 23:18:43
Subject: [Czechlist] Czech saying...?
> "Trávník, jak známo, nevyroste tím, že za něj budeme tahat", former
>President Václav Havel maintained at the end of last year when
>receiving an honorary doctorate in Paris. Is this a familiar saying to
>Czechs? Or does it (hopefully) derive from English?
>
>TIA
>
>Gerry
>
>--
>7 Old Shoreham Road
>Brighton
>Sussex
>BN1 5DQ
>U.K.
>
>Tel/fax: ++ 44 01273208484
>
>To see a World in a Grain of Sand
>And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
>Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
>And Eternity in an hour.
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Nikdy jsem to neslysel. Petr A.
--- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, Gerald Turner <turner.gerald@...> wrote:
>
> "Trávník, jak známo, nevyroste tím, že za něj budeme tahat", former
> President Václav Havel maintained at the end of last year when
> receiving an honorary doctorate in Paris. Is this a familiar saying to
> Czechs? Or does it (hopefully) derive from English?
>
> TIA
>
> Gerry
>
>
>
>
> --
> 7 Old Shoreham Road
> Brighton
> Sussex
> BN1 5DQ
> U.K.
>
> Tel/fax: ++ 44 01273208484
>
> To see a World in a Grain of Sand
> And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
> Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
> And Eternity in an hour.
>

--- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, "Matej Klimes" <mklimes@...> wrote:
  [Brit] ENG should have plenty of sayings involving lawns
> (for some reason the only one I can think of is 'step off my lawn')..

Can't think of any specifically about lawns, but off the top of my head I can
think of:

"The grass is always greener on the other side"

"Don't let the grass grow under your feet"

"A snake in the grass"

As for "trávník nevyroste tím, že za něj budeme tahat", how about "you
won't get the grass to grow by pulling it" or a terse Yorkshireman version:
"pulling won't make grass grow"?

BR

M.

Nice, Melvyn - better than my own draft!

Thanks to everyone,

Gerry

On 13/07/2010, Melvyn <zehrovak@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  --- In Czechlist@yahoogroups.com, "Matej Klimes" <mklimes@...> wrote:
>  [Brit] ENG should have plenty of sayings involving lawns
>  > (for some reason the only one I can think of is 'step off my lawn')..
>
>  Can't think of any specifically about lawns, but off the top of my head I
> can think of:
>
>  "The grass is always greener on the other side"
>
>  "Don't let the grass grow under your feet"
>
>  "A snake in the grass"
>
>  As for "trávník nevyroste tím, že za něj budeme tahat", how
about "you
> won't get the grass to grow by pulling it" or a terse Yorkshireman version:
> "pulling won't make grass grow"?
>
>  BR
>
>  M.
>
>
>


--
7 Old Shoreham Road
Brighton
Sussex
BN1 5DQ
U.K.

Tel/fax: ++ 44 01273208484

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

Can I please ask your help with the following

1) Am I right in assuming that "blow" in the context below means cocaine?

...every presidential candidate should prove that they not only drank but smoked
weed and tried blow and had casual sex while in college...

2) What is "the whole nine yards" in the following description of a person:
... full beard, long hair, flannel shirt, scabby hands, the whole nine yards.

3) What kind of a radio show is "Mike and Mike in the Morning"?

4) Relating to the above, the author speaks of quote unquote ardent assholes
calling in whenever Mike and Mike take cellphone calls, and gives them the
following advice:
If you really cannot drive to work without finding out what an ex-lineman and a
nerdy little Jewish guy think about Brett Favre's ballsack, drive off the
highway and into a lake.
My question is, what nerdy little Jewish guy he is taking about and what's this
stuff about Brett Favre's ballsack about


Thanks a lot, Jiri

FWIW, blow je orál (Clinton - Lewinski)
Alena

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Pilucha, Jiri
   To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 3:55 PM
   Subject: [Czechlist] a few Americanisms (presumably)



   Can I please ask your help with the following

   1) Am I right in assuming that "blow" in the context below means cocaine?

   ...every presidential candidate should prove that they not only drank but
smoked weed and tried blow and had casual sex while in college...

   2) What is "the whole nine yards" in the following description of a person:
   ... full beard, long hair, flannel shirt, scabby hands, the whole nine yards.

   3) What kind of a radio show is "Mike and Mike in the Morning"?

   4) Relating to the above, the author speaks of quote unquote ardent assholes
calling in whenever Mike and Mike take cellphone calls, and gives them the
following advice:
   If you really cannot drive to work without finding out what an ex-lineman and
a nerdy little Jewish guy think about Brett Favre's ballsack, drive off the
highway and into a lake.
   My question is, what nerdy little Jewish guy he is taking about and what's
this stuff about Brett Favre's ballsack about

   Thanks a lot, Jiri




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am not sure in this context... the Urban Dictionary offers cocaine as one of
the options and I thought that it would fit in here much better
(Besides, it speaks of male presidential candidates, and if it were a blowjob,
the male would be the recipient whereas this context seems to imply an active
role

________________________________
From: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Czechlist@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Alena Rysková 2e
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 4:04 PM
To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Czechlist] a few Americanisms (presumably)



FWIW, blow je orál (Clinton - Lewinski)
Alena

----- Original Message -----
From: Pilucha, Jiri
To: Czechlist@yahoogroups.com<mailto:Czechlist%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 3:55 PM
Subject: [Czechlist] a few Americanisms (presumably)

Can I please ask your help with the following

1) Am I right in assuming that "blow" in the context below means cocaine?

...every presidential candidate should prove that they not only drank but smoked
weed and tried blow and had casual sex while in college...

2) What is "the whole nine yards" in the following description of a person:
... full beard, long hair, flannel shirt, scabby hands, the whole nine yards.

3) What kind of a radio show is "Mike and Mike in the Morning"?

4) Relating to the above, the author speaks of quote unquote ardent assholes
calling in whenever Mike and Mike take cellphone calls, and gives them the
following advice:
If you really cannot drive to work without finding out what an ex-lineman and a
nerdy little Jewish guy think about Brett Favre's ballsack, drive off the
highway and into a lake.
My question is, what nerdy little Jewish guy he is taking about and what's this
stuff about Brett Favre's ballsack about

Thanks a lot, Jiri

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Jul 13, 2010, at 9:55 AM, Pilucha, Jiri wrote:

> Can I please ask your help with the following
>
> 1) Am I right in assuming that "blow" in the context below means cocaine?
>
> ...every presidential candidate should prove that they not only drank but
smoked weed and tried blow and had casual sex while in college...

Yes, "blow" here means cocaine.

> 2) What is "the whole nine yards" in the following description of a person:
> ... full beard, long hair, flannel shirt, scabby hands, the whole nine yards.

"The whole nine yards" means "all of it", "the whole enchilada", everything you
could possibly expect.  Nobody really knows where this phrase came from, but it
dates from the early 1960s.

> 3) What kind of a radio show is "Mike and Mike in the Morning"?

Any radio show with two guys' names followed by "in the Morning" is a "drive
time" (i.e., rush hour on the way to work) chat show with two hosts.  This one
is unusual, because it focuses on sports instead of obscenity.  It's on ESPN
radio, and you can see more about it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=mikeandmike

ESPN is a 24-hour cable TV sports channel (actually they have several channels),
and they also have at least one satellite radio station and syndicate
programming to local broadcast stations.

> 4) Relating to the above, the author speaks of quote unquote ardent assholes
calling in whenever Mike and Mike take cellphone calls, and gives them the
following advice:
> If you really cannot drive to work without finding out what an ex-lineman and
a nerdy little Jewish guy think about Brett Favre's ballsack, drive off the
highway and into a lake.
> My question is, what nerdy little Jewish guy he is taking about and what's
this stuff about Brett Favre's ballsack about

They are talking about any little nerdy Jewish guy.  It's a stereotype.  The
ballsack here means the scrotum.  What they mean is that you've got washed-up
ex-football players (who probably only played in high school or college) or
nerdy little Jewish intellectuals giving their opinions on things as
insignificant as Brett Favre's scrotum.  It means that people whose expertise on
sports is nearly zero are giving their useless opinions on insignificant trivia
tangentially related to sports.  However, they are undoubtedly very passionate
about such stupid, insignificant things.

Jamie