international phonetics alphabet

ok, so......i ate lunch today at a little korean place on limestone with my eldest boy today....absolutely marvelous meal.....i had a ceramic pot sizzling with rice, vegetables and an egg on top that cooked as it was being brought to the table, with sides of kim chee and a fresh cucumber pickle made with the skinniest cucumbers i have ever seen....and a bowl of soup (miso?) that was superb......andrew had a clear sweet potato noodle dish with vegetables that was luscious.....according to the menu, the clear noodles were made from sweet potatoes......i could have eaten all of his meal, but was so distracted by conversation that i made do with my own food.....the best story told was about the russian feast being planned by the gaines folks....and how the girl whose sole job was to obtain vodka toasts in russian couldn't meet with the professor who knew such toasts....and how andrew went for her....and the professor did not have then written down....intended to simply teach them verbally....seems andrew knows the IPA....and simply wrote down each phonetic sound in this curious shorthand.....wow......who knew that such a thing existed let alone that my precious boy knows it...i am doubly impressed......cannot wait to go back to the korean place....just down from the indian place and right by cd central.....in the same building as the head shop.......