February 21, 2006

Chinese keyboards

I've always wondered what a chinese keyboard looks like, and Slate explains it nicely. The input method editor actually sounds a lot like the method court reporters use to transcribe testimony. The stenography machines I've seen aren't full keyboards but have abbreviated keyboards. The reporters I've talked to say they can type out the sounds of certain words even if they can't write out the entire word. And they can also assign certain words and letter combinations to certain keys. Half the time I can barely peck out what I want to say using a full QWERTY keyboard, so I don't know how they can keep up with that.

Posted by Kitty at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

Back in the Swing

Seeing the 2006 Jazzfest lineup is a sure sign that things are getting back to "normal" around here (thanks to Ray for the tip). I'm ready to check out Elvis Costello, Ani DiFranco, Rebirth, Paul Simon, Klezmer Allstars (mostly because one of their members is a local lawyer I know) and Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, who aren't on the official lineup, but always play. And advance tickets are cheap!

Posted by Kitty at 08:26 AM | Comments (1)

February 13, 2006

Food Changes

These Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974 are seriously nasty (I found them on Sheila's website).

It always amazes me how much our food changes -- well, not so much our food as what we eat. These dishes sound disgusting to me, but maybe in 30 years spinach and artichoke dip will sound equally gross. It makes me think of when I was growing up, how every restaurant I went to had a salad bar, and now you only find salad bars at Steak & Ale. Although, come to think of it, it's possible that the nice places when I was growing up were salad bar-less and I only got to go to the dives.

Posted by Kitty at 05:28 PM | Comments (1)

February 05, 2006

The Meme of Fours

I've seen this meme at a number of blogs recently, most recently at Minor Wisdom. Although most people hate being tapped to do memes, I don't mind them and could use the material these days, anyway.

Four Jobs I've Had:


  • Sales girl at the now-closed Limited Express in Highland Park Village in Dallas
  • Same at the now-closed Lord & Taylor department store in Dallas (I'm beginning to think that my employment at a company doesn't spell anything good for their financial future)
  • Same at the now-closed Accessory Lady in Dallas (see what I mean?)
  • Working in the Admissions Office of my (still existing) alma mater

Four movies I can watch over and over:


  • Clue
  • High Fidelity
  • I can't think of any others. I'm not much of a movie watcher.

Four Places I've Lived:


  • Dallas, Texas
  • Memphis, TN
  • New Orleans, LA
  • I lived in Washington, D.C. for a summer in college

Four Places I've Vacationed:


  • San Francisco, CA (on our honeymoon)
  • Hawaii (age 11)
  • Alaska (in college)
  • Destin, Florida (as an adult)

Four of my Favorite Dishes:


  • crawfish enchiladas at Prejean's
  • shrimp and green chili grits cakes at Herbsaint
  • goat cheese crouton at Bayona
  • any dessert at Commander's Palace

Four sites I visit daily (other than this one):

Four Places I'd Rather Be: