Upcoming Chapter Events

by Peter Szabo, Program Manager

Here I am entering my third month as Program Manager and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I hope I'm choosing a wide enough variety of general meeting and seminar topics to give you reasons to gather with your fellow technical communicators, and add some more skills and tools to your toolkit.

This month I hope to see our reasonably large contingent of Guelph STC members turn out for our general meeting at the University of Guelph. And I for one know nothing about technical writing for the sciences, so I expect to have my eyes opened to a whole new world in communication. Many thanks to Deb Maskens, by the way, for coordinating the speaker and meeting room. In the spring I hope to have another chapter road trip for a general meeting, but I'm still working on the details.

In the meantime, here's a list of confirmed events that are coming up this month, and a sneak peek at a December event. As usual, more details about any event can be found on our chapter's calendar.

November 2, 2004 (General Meeting)
Science Writing: Making the Complex Understandable

While science writing is often perceived as being thick and gooey, it doesn't have to be that way. Applying tried and true journalistic techniques can help you sort it out, and make your writing clearer than ever. Join us for this special general meeting at the University of Guelph, where Owen Roberts will show you the "magical-paragraph approach," and answer your 5W's and H about science writing.

Time: Meeting begins at 7:00 p.m., but doors open for networking at 6:30 p.m.

Location: University of Guelph (U of G), University Centre, Room 442 [Guelph map and directions].

Cost: FREE

About the Speaker: Owen Roberts

Owen Roberts is the director of research communications for the University of Guelph, and teaches agricultural communications in the Ontario Agricultural College. He maintains an active journalistic career as a columnist for the Guelph Mercury and for various other agri-food publications.

November 10, 2004 (STC Remote Seminar)
Introducing Windows 'Longhorn' Help

Host: Char James-Tanny

The next generation of the Microsoft Windows operating system, code-named "Longhorn", is due for release in 2006. Longhorn's dramatically new help environment uses a structured authoring model that is built around an XML format called MAML (Microsoft Assistance Markup Language), which is designed to address users' issues. This seminar will introduce you to this exciting and innovative new help system.

Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT (Doors open at 12:30 for networking)

Location: CheckFree i-Solutions, 455 Phillip Street, Waterloo (for both seminars) [455 Phillip Street, Waterloo].

Cost: FREE for members and $35 for non-members.

November 10, 2004 (Networking Meeting)

Host: Opal Gamble

Here's a great opportunity to meet other technical communicators and just chat. It's an informal gathering, so there are no RSVPs. Just wander in and say hello.

Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: Duke of Wellington in Waterloo

November 16, 2004 (Council Meeting)

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Location: CheckFree i-Solutions, 455 Phillip Street, Waterloo

All members are welcome. Help your chapter by becoming a volunteer!

RSVP to Opal Gamble by November 15, 2004.

SNEAK PEEK - December 7, 2004 (General Meeting)
Marketing Writing:  Is it Real Technical Writing or is it Memorex?

If you have ever considered writing marketing materials or thought that writing for marketing isn't really technical writing, think again. We'll have a panel of technical writers to discuss whether marketing communications is indeed technical communication. You'll also have a chance to ask the panel about what it takes to write in both worlds.

Location: University of Waterloo

More details will be available once the meeting gets closer.

For More Information

To get details and updates about meetings and other upcoming events, check the calendar page of our STC chapter Web site.

If you have any questions about upcoming chapter events, or if you have a suggestion for a meeting topic, feel free to e-mail Peter Szabo (Program Manager).

About Peter Szabo

Peter has been a technical writer in one form or another for ten years. For the past five years, Peter has worked for CheckFree i-Solutions, a software firm in Waterloo, and is currently the Manager of Technical Publications. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Peter moved to Guelph in 1997, where he currently lives with his wife, Irene, and six-year-old son, Taylor. He is working on his first feature-length screenplay.