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NORTHEAST OHIO CHAPTER
SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

An official chapter of the Society for Technical Communication

Lines and Letters

Volume 24, Issue 4, December 2007

Contents
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Monthly seminar: Content Management

Presented by Sacha Fedier from STAR Group in Switzerland. Sacha is the STAR Group's Director of European Sales. Based at STAR’s Swiss headquarters, Sacha began his career at the Union Bank of Switzerland, where he became increasingly aware of the huge and growing need for clarifying corporate product information life-cycle strategies.

Today, Sacha is a leading authority on the most mature and robust semantically structured, single-source information management system currently available on the market.

Date

Thursday, January 10, 2008.

Time

6:00 — 8:00 p.m.

Place

Jimmy Daddona’s in Solon.

Please note: The chapter is billed per registration. If you register but do not attend, you will be billed for the meeting and meal.

Watch your mail for details!

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Upcoming events

  • 12/12/07: Networking lunch: The Winking Lizard, 511 E. Aurora Rd., Macedonia. See calendar for detail.
     
  • 12/13/07: Chapter Holiday Party at Hoggy's in Valley View.
     
  • 12/19/07: Webinar: Thinking Strategically about Your Technical Communications Team.* See www.stc.org/webinars/webinars.aspx for detail.
     
  • 1/1/08: Deadline for payment of 2008 membership dues.
     
  • 1/10/08: Monthly seminar: Content Management
     
  • 01/12/08: Software Saturday: Developing for XML/DITA. See Developing for XML/DITA.
     
  • 1/30/08: Webinar: eDiscovery, The Law and You: Expanding Your Sphere of Influence.* See www.stc.org/webinars/webinars.aspx for detail.
     
  • 2/13/08: Webinar: Converting Captivate Demonstrations into Simulations.* See www.stc.org/webinars/webinars.aspx for detail.
     
  • 3/28/08: Spectrum 2008, held by the Rochester (NY) chapter. See the Rochester Chapter STC Web site http://www.stcrochester.org/ for detail.
     
  • 6/1 to 6/4/08: Technical Communication Summit.
     

* Note that the chapter is not sponsoring this Webinar. If you would like to host a seminar, please e-mail us.

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Adding more Webinar value

By Renee Murray zimrood@yahoo.com

NEO STC recognizes the society-level Web-based seminars as a premium member value. In order to continue offering these sessions and retain value in each session, NEO STC added a small fee to cover the registration cost. The goal is to expand the availability of the Webinars.

By charging a registration price to members, we can offer more Webinars than the number originally designated by the chapter budget, and also offer each Webinar at multiple host sites across the northeast Ohio area. The chapter pays the STC registration price of $79 for each on-site session. NEO STC registration cost for members is $10, and $25 for non-members (students will be charged the member price). The small member fee helps offset the incurred chapter registration and allows us to offer more sessions throughout the year.

We hope you will gain great value in each Webinar that is offered through STC this next year. Members love to hear responses to how technical communication careers have benefited from the sessions you have attended. Feel free to write an article on your experience in the NEO STC Lines and Letters newsletter (contact Barb Philbrick at caslon@alltel.net), or write an e-mail note to the chapter through the STC listserv (sign up at www.neostc.org/official/listserv.htm).

Please note other Webinar registration facts:

  • FREE! The NEO STC member who hosts a Webinar will receive free registration.
  • A minimum of 6 NEO STC members must be registered and attend the webinar for the chapter to sponsor the session. If this number is not met, or a host site is not offered, the chapter will not be able to sponsor the event.
  • NEO STC members retain the right to first come-first serve registration. If a non-member wishes to attend, they will be placed on a waiting list to reserve room for chapter members as we are offering the webinars as a NEO STC member-value.
  • DISCOUNT! If a host-site wishes to invite other department employees (non-members), they may register at the member price of $10. However, this is based on space availability. The host-site non-members will be placed on the non-member waiting list to guarantee room for all NEO STC members who wish to participate in the session.

For further details on the upcoming STC webinars, refer to http://www.stc.org/edu/seminars01.asp.

The next webinar, Thinking Strategically about Your Technical Communication Team is on December 19, 2007.

If you wish to host an upcoming webinar session, are interested in attending a session, or have questions about the offered webinars, please contact Education committee representative, Renee Murray, at zimrood@yahoo.com.

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Software Saturday: Time change

Here are a few odds and ends about Developing for XML/DITA, which will take place on January 12:

  • The start and end times have changed. The training session will now begin at 9:30 and end at 3:45 to accommodate a change in the presenter’s flight schedule. The lunch hour will be shortened so that there will be enough time to cover everything.
  • Please remember to e-mail me at anne@paczula.com when you register so that I can e-mail more information as the date of the session approaches.
  • I can use a few volunteers at the site on January 12. When you email me to register, please let me know if you will be able to help.
  • Here a few more reasons not to miss this event! Our presenter, Bernard Aschwanden, is offering a free pass to Bright Path Solution’s annual Framemaker Chautauqua, which will take place February 14-15, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The winner will be selected by drawing during the training on January 12. The Chautauqua brings together Framemaker users for education and networking. More information on the Chautauqua is available at http://www.brightpathsolutions.com/pages/conf/2008chaut/index.html. In addition, Adobe is generously providing some door prizes and other materials. Adobe has also provided list of upcoming online training events. To see the list, click here.

For class details and registration information, see http://www.neostc.org/calendar/20080112.html.

Pressco Technology Inc. supports NEO STC educational programs

Pressco Technology Inc. of Solon has generously donated $1,000 towards NEO STC educational programs! Our executive board allocated the funds toward increasing our Academic Relations Scholarship and enhancing our Software Saturday programs.

Pressco engineers and manufactures high-speed vision inspection systems for the global food, beverage, and container industries. Learn more at www.pressco.com.

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Welcome new members and congratulations to new senior members!

Please welcome Eric Ryan and Adrienna Frazer. We look forward to seeing you at future events!

And please congratulate our new crop of senior members!

  • Denise Smith: Member since 09/05/02
  • Michelle Higgins: Member since 10/25/02
  • Valerie Santia: Member since 10/25/02
  • Nicole Derr: Member since 11/06/02
  • Sherri Henkin: Member since 12/17/02
  • Frank Daloisio: Member since 12/19/02

Thank you for your continued membership.

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President’s column December 2007: Celebrating the season

By Tricia Spayer (tspayer@yahoo.com)

It’s a favorite time of year for me. I truly enjoy celebrating Christmas and New Year’s. For me, it starts a few weeks before Halloween, listening to Christmas tunes in preparation for my sisters’ and my yearly shopping trip early in November. I enjoy putting up all my decorations, and celebrating with my family and friends. I know we have a diverse membership, and I'm not pushing any of my beliefs on you. Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful season.

At our December 13 meeting at Hoggy’s, you will have the chance to celebrate with us. We will be honoring our Crucial Communicator Conference volunteers, some of whom spent more than a year preparing for this very successful event.

At the December meeting, we will also be taking donations toward the Cleveland Foodbank. We encourage you to bring either a check payable to Cleveland Foodbank, or a few cans of food, and we will make sure it is taken to the Foodbank. The Foodbank supplies a majority of the food used in local soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries. In addition, they provide food to child-care centers, group homes, and programs for the elderly. The Foodbank works closely with the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, the Catholic Hunger and Shelter Network, and the Salvation Army, among others. Every $1 you give provides up to four meals. Please help us show how much NEO STC cares about our community. To donate online, click here: http://www.clevelandfoodbank.org.

A reminder: RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!! NEO STC would not be the same without you. This is a great community with plenty of expertise, enthusiasm for the profession, and a desire to learn more. We have many wonderful programs, networking opportunities, and learning experiences awaiting you in the coming year. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of such an excellent community. The deadline to renew is January 1, 2008. Visit http://www.stc.org.

Finally, we have a few volunteer opportunities available:

  1. PR committee: Sending announcements to media
  2. Education committee: Help arrange Software Saturdays
  3. Programs committee: Help arrange monthly meetings

If you are interested in helping with these tasks, or want to be notified when something else comes up, let me know!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

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Handy hint: Tips for configuring how Mozilla Firefox opens links

By Lisa Mileusnich (lmileusnich@parker.com)

The Mozilla Firefox browser has an interface with tabs, so you can have multiple Web sites open at the same time in one browser window.

Some Web sites have links that automatically open in new windows, but you can configure Firefox to open these links in a new tab instead.

  1. In Firefox, click Tools > Options.
  2. Click Tabs in the Options dialog box.
  3. Select Force links that open new windows to open in.
  4. Select the radio button for the option you prefer: the same tab/window as the link, or a new tab.
  5. Click OK.

You can also configure Firefox to open links from other applications such as PDFs, Word documents, or e-mails in a new window or a new tab.

  1. In Firefox, click Tools > Options.
  2. Click Tabs in the Options dialog box.
  3. Under “Open links from other applications in,” select the radio button for the option you prefer: a new window, a new tab, or the most recent tab/window.

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Member profile: Julianne Forsythe

By Jeanette Evans (jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net)

Julianne Forsythe currently works at Rockwell Automation as a content management specialist. Supporting several current initiatives and special projects at Rockwell, Julianne works on database publishing, XML, and content management strategies. She was involved in a pilot team at Rockwell that looked at structured authoring, content reuse, and content management in light of leveraging technical content as a business asset.

The team’s mission was to look at developing a methodology for structuring and chunking content for reuse, including trying out new technical communicator roles and researching technology requirements to support the new methodologies. During the pilot, the team created draft versions of information product models, content models, reuse maps, metadata requirements, and structured authoring guidelines. Since the pilot, Julianne has been leading an effort to explore DITA and XML to support structured authoring at Rockwell. The technical communication group supports a company that is a supplier of industrial automation control and information solutions. The group provides print publications and online help in multiple languages.

Before working in her current position, Julianne was a contractor and technical writer at Rockwell. She has also worked in marketing communication as well as positions in employee communication and investor communication. She is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in business administration.

When not at work, Julianne enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, who is a senior at Nordonia High School. Julianne and her family live in Sagamore Hills. During the summer, they enjoy boating in the Sandusky-Lake Erie Islands area. Julianne is also active with her family in Venture Scouts, a co-ed scouting organization for teens and young adults.

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Book review: The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage without Apostrophes!

By Sherri Henkin (shenkin@amtrust.com)

ISBN 0399247068

The author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves brings us another book that is delightful, charming, whimsical — and educational! What a fun way to learn grammar. Lynne Truss and Bonnie Timmons present a grammar lesson in an engaging and clear style.

The primary audience for this book is 9 to 12-year-old children and the playful illustrations appeal to that audience. To emphasize the punctuation, the apostrophes are bright red — easy to identify. The adult audience is also addressed throughout the book. In fact, I think that some of comments in the book are intended for adults who may be reading to children. For example, in the library scene, there are witty labels on the bookshelves: “Not very interesting stories (that only teachers like)” and “Stories that really need telling — but never more than once.” An interesting concept: A library with humorous signs in strategic places.

For those out there who really want a grammar tutorial, the author and illustrator provide it. The formal instructive lessons are there — hidden away at the end of the book. There are two pages that depict the illustrations in miniature with commentary comparing each pair of pictures.

The subtitle is “You really can’t manage without apostrophes.” You can’t. “Giant kids’ playground” is a large playground for many children. This is quite different from “Giant kid’s playground,” where the child is giant-sized on the playground. The apostrophe does make a difference.

So go ahead — treat yourself! Pick up a copy of The Girl's Like Spaghetti — for yourself! Enjoy!

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Around the Society: Interesting articles from other community newsletters

“Using Enhance for Adobe FrameMaker” by Lance-Robert, Programs VP, STC San Diego. In Techniscribe, the Orange County STC newsletter, at www.ocstc.org/pdf/ts122007.pdf

“Building an Online Portfolio,” by Ann Gordon, IDL SIG Member and Owner, Gordon Computer LLC. From the IDeaL: Design for Learning newsletter. The article is on page 9 of http://www.stcidlsig.org/cms/IDeaLv4i2_Fall07.pdf

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Job news

For a great job resource, check out the NEO STC Web site at www.neostc.org/jobs/openings.php!

Employers: Job listings on the NEO STC Web site are free and reach a targeted audience! See neostc.org/jobs/

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NEO STC listserv

The NEO STC listserv is another way to stay connected with other NEO STC members. It's easy and it does not generate gobs of e-mail!

For information on subscribing, see www.neostc.org/official/listserv.htm

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Lines & Letters editors

Managing Editor: Barbara Philbrick (caslon@alltel.net)

Co-Editors:

Love it? Hate it? Let us know! Contact us: newsletter@neostc.org

See something interesting? Tell us about it!

Many of our NEO STC members are also members of another STC community or SIG. If you receive a newsletter and find an interesting article, please consider passing it on to the Lines and Letters editors at newsletter@neostc.org.

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Lines & Letters archives

www.neostc.org/lines/Archives/index.html. Archives include PDF and HTML versions of the newsletter from 2000 to last month’s issue.

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