| Shortcuts and Grapefruit |
[Dec. 14th, 2005|11:57 pm]
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Marsha sent me two emails with the news that Chris Matthews, host of Hardball on MSNBC, had worked for the Carter administration (and told me again went I went by to see her). But the big news is that she was able to enter her own shortcuts into the TypeIt4Me program on her Mac. (TypeIt4Me expands abbreviations, or shortcuts. You type a shortcut like pzb, then a space, and TypeIt4Me replaces the pzb with potrzebie). I'd shown her how to do that last night without much expectation, since I'd shown her several times before and it hadn't stuck. It's definitely a pain -- you have to select the Finder, pull down a menu, select "Edit Shortcuts", click New, put in the expansion (e.g. potrzebie), click Save, then replace the default abbreviation (untitled743 for some value of 743) with pzb, then click the little red Mac close bubble on the upper left to dismiss the shortcut editor.
It's all made more torturous for Marsha by her extreme lack of manual dexterity, but a year ago I'd have expected her to learn it as a matter of course. A month ago I wouldn't have -- last night I wouldn't have, and didn't. But today she sent me an email titled read me,I I am bragging about how she'd put in two shortcuts, and tonight said she'd put in a bunch more. So part of her memory is getting better even as other parts are getting worse.
When Marsha's friend Esther came to visit earlier this year she brought some Texas grapefruit from a place that also sells them on the Internet. I was too late to order before the season ended, but I ordered some in early November, which finally came today. She ate almost a whole grapefruit, and there are three more in the fridge. Thanks, Esther! |
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