John Jaillet
Ever have one of those days when your eyes start burning for no apparent reason? The first of four new columns I want to welcome may give you the answer. Tips From the Cubicle contains helpful ideas that make the cubicle life a little more pleasant.
Hopefully, you will find Patricia Bartley’s article, Caring for Your Editing Eyes, helpful in reducing eyestrain and strengthening the muscles around the eyes. I am looking forward to receiving more columns from Patricia, but I want to encourage everyone to send in ideas on how you make your life as a cubicle dweller more enjoyable.
The second column takes us “Back to Basics.” Susan Price Harvey sent in a short refresher course on sentence structure that you can take to the author of any document. Do you remember what three elements a sentence must have? What an independent clause contains? If you’re a little rusty, check out Back to Basics: Sentence Structure.
The third column is Buzzword Babylon. John Baer is the host of this column. If you have any cool (and interesting or funny) buzzwords, e-mail them — along with an example of correct usage — to him at jbaer@vanteon.com.
The last new column I can relate to. Although they have not come up with a catchy column title, Jaime Fuhrman and Dr. Stephen Osborne’s introductory column, Join PAMPA Today, is quite humorous. Being a CRS tech in the CAF introduced me to many acronyms. Here is a hint to the question about REO. He created a flatbed truck, first built in the early 1900s, which was sometimes outfitted as a fire engine. He also went on to create the Oldsmobile.
Don’t forget about our “Ask the Editor” column. If you have quick, general-interest questions about editing that you’d like to appear in the newsletter, please e-mail them to Geoff Hart at geoff-h@mtl.feric.ca with the subject line “Ask the Editor.”
John retired from the Canadian Airforce in 1994 and presently is the technical editor for Northern Airborne Technology Ltd., a manufacturer of specialized avionics equipment for rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. He has been a member of the STC, Canada West Coast Chapter, for almost three years. John can be reached via e-mail at john.jaillet@home.com.