I Know, I Know - ENOUGH with the Kindle Already

I know the recent deluge of posts regarding e-book readers (Kindle & Nook) might be getting annoying. I'm aware this blog isn't Gizmodo. The thing is that I love to share tech stories and tips and sometimes the geek in me takes over and says MUST BLOG REGARDING TECHNOLOGY and honestly the geeky part of my brain is scrappy, so I have to back down and do what it says. I do promise that this will most likely be the last post about e-readers for a bit -- barring any crazy exciting announcements. All of that lead in for the small but super cool new detail about the Kindle -- there will be a Kindle application for the PC coming soon! Click here to read all the awesome details.

Be Inspired By Others

If you haven't seen the trailer for Avatar, the upcoming opus from James Cameron, you should check it out. It might not be your cup of tea and the jury is still out if it's totally up my alley, but I'm certainly intrigued enough to see it. He has made some cool movies over the years, but the one lesson that is a great take away from him is that he always tries to do something a bit different in terms of story or utilizing a new technology (Avatar is in 3D). It's inspiring to see someone keep changing and trying to keep things fresh. If you are spending time creating something you should keep this in mind and try to bring your unique voice and/or a new take to it to get people interested.

Organization How I Love Thee Redux

People often ask me about being organized at work and to start them off I often send them this extensive post I did about organization when I started this blog. I thought I would post it again for new readers to the blog and to motivate some current readers. Enjoy!

Duck, It's A Marshmallow Flying Towards Your Head

Yes, the Executive Marshmallow Blaster is a frivolous gift, but it sounds kind of fun to use. Wouldn't you love to shoot a few marshmallows at your boss or some assistant that's making your life miserable at work? If you would, it's not available for a few weeks, but it looks like you can pre-order it now.

The Gift To Get For The Gadget Lover Who Has Everything

I'm a geek, but even a non-geek would have to agree that these glasses from Vuzix that allow you to watch video from a variety of sources (iPhone, etc.) from inside them are pretty awesome. They aren't cheap, but for the right gadget lover who already has everything they are an outstanding idea for a present.

A Soup To Cure All That Ails You

Spoonful of Comfort is a website that sells homemade chicken soup. It's packaged really cute and looks tasty. They focused on one thing and did it well. Sometimes that is the key to success. I'm looking forward to finding an excuse to send this to someone.

Nook Tears

WAHHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay, I'm kinda annoyed. I'm not really crying, but almost. I just got a Kindle DX as a gift and it's AWESOME. I'm so grateful to have it and I've already read books on it. I can't believe though that just as I got it, Barnes & Noble made their e-reader, The Nook, available for pre-order and described some of what it will be able to do. The Nook is able to share books and I really hope that the Kindle will eventually have that feature. It also can read PDFs and is at a lower price point. Your best bet if you want an e-reader is to compare to Nook to the Kindle and choose for yourself.

Comments & Google Maps Tip

Someone left a comment on the blog alerting me to the fact that Google Maps now also offers the ability to add notes to a map before you print it just like Mapquest. I hope I don't lose my geek card over this. I didn't know either one of them did it when I posted about Mapquest last week, but I'm excited to know Google has it because Mapquest is annoying and I'm a Google Girl anyway.

By the way, comments are great. I wish more people left them. It makes me feel like more people are reading my little blog. Sometimes I feel like a shopkeeper (oy what am I 90) who has a small general store on a main street that has great inventory and useful stuff that everyone wants, but only a decent handful of people in the town know about it and shop there. Trust me, I'm grateful for any reader and I can't believe anyone gives a hoot (yes still 90) about the knowledge I have to share, but when I read today about another first time scribe selling a script, I thought WHY NOT ME, but then I got over it. Anyway, I'm working on an original tv spec that I actually feel great about and I'm getting some good feedback on, so who knows what might happen someday.

Valuable Lesson About Writing

I have just about a minute to blog today, so here's a quick link to a great article by Junot Diaz about his struggles with writing. It's helpful to realize that even Diaz (who won a Pulitzer for The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) has had his moments of insecurity. It should give hope to everyone who wants to follow a creative path.

An Innovative Way To Keep Your Business Cards Organized

It's more than likely that you often just add the info from business cards directly into contacts and I do the same thing, but I often keep the cards for a bit just to be safe (usually in an envelope or something simple). I just discovered this mini filing cabinet for business cards at Think Geek that can sit on your desk and I love it. It's useful, adorable and easy on the wallet. I'm getting one - if you have a ton of business cards you might want to think about getting one as well.

Ballontastic

If you are an assistant, an exec or an event planner in San Francisco, Balloons Equal Fun seems like a fun & unique vendor. If you are throwing a party in San Francisco, you might want to try them out.

Conversation Piece

What should you or your boss buy for the person that has everything? One good idea is a custom designed pair of Converse or a gift certificate to create a pair themselves. It's not that pricey and a very original and fun gift.

Never Send An Email To The Wrong Person Again

This new Gmail feature (you can turn on it on the labs section) that helps to make sure you never e-mail the wrong Bob, etc. in your contacts if you have a few, seems very cool and useful. If you have a minute, read all about it here.

Restaurant Tip Tuesday

If you're looking for a great lunch or dinner location for you or your boss, I just tried a new place that was pretty delish. It's been open about a year I think, so I didn't discover it, but Cecconi's Restaurant in West Hollywood has really great Italian food and isn't insanely expensive (your boss probably doesn't care, but you might). When I went recently, I had an incredible pasta with lobster and a light tomato sauce that I highly recommended. It's a bit trendy for my taste and at times is full of MAWs (model, actress, whatevers), but it's worth sucking that up for the food. Also, even with all of the fancy cars pulling into the valet, they weren't snotty and honored our reservation on time.

Be A Sponge

One of the best things you can do as an assistant (or really in any position) is to constantly be curious about the work you do and try to learn how you can do it more effectively. I'm sure any anyone that reads this blog does it to learn how to be better at their job, a better gift giver, etc. In life, staying static and thinking that you know enough already = death for your career and your life being interesting. I read last year about a book I wish I had when I started as an assistant in this business called The Hollywood Assistants Handbook.
One of the authors is actually a writer on Grey's Anatomy, so he worked hard and actually made the leap others dream about. The handbook seems like a great tool and if you can keep searching out resources like this and keep learning -- it will benefit you now and in the future. I'm still trying to make my dream of being a writer come true, but even when I do, I intend to stay curious and seek out ways to be better at that as well.

An Oldie But A Cookie

I have been sending people Snookies Cookies for years. The cookies taste amazing and they will delivery all over LA. One great option they offer is to have milk come with the cookies and people get a big kick out of that because it reminds them of childhood. The price point is really reasonable, so the next time you want to send a sweet treat for you or your boss, give Snookies a shot.

How To Charge Your Gadgets & Stay Warm At The Same Time

Okay, seriously - this jacket I just read about is genius. It's a must have item if your boss travels to the cold or if you do. The jacket provides continuous heat and allows you to charge your gadgets. If I ever get the chance to go to Sundance, I'm for sure buying this jacket to take with me. If it interests you check out the video review of it below.

Quick Little Mapquest Tip

I pride myself a bit on what a tech geek I can be, but I found out something yesterday that I didn't know. After you get directions on Mapquest and go to print them you will get a little text box at the top where you can add notes to your map/directions. I love that idea for adding the telephone number of where your boss might be going or just a note about the location to help them find it. I know it's a simple tip, but it is actually very useful. I don't think I should lose my tech cred for this one though because a big reason why I don't know this is that I use Google Maps.

Way To Eat Well On Assistant Slave Wages

Many assistants are truly being paid wages that one can barely live on for all their hard work. Sign up for Blackboard Eats if you're an assistant in LA and you will get codes that will reduce the price of your meal or give you a free app at various restaurants around town.

Not A New Gift Idea, But An Awesome One

I just opened the new Kindle DX that my grandmother got me a bit early for my birthday and there are no words to describe just how awesome it is. If someone told me I could just have one gadget, I would still probably pick my iPhone, but it would be tough choice. I know getting someone a Kindle isn't a new gift idea, but if you have the cash it truly is an incredible gift for someone who loves to read and an even better gift for someone who is a big reader and also travels, so they don't have to schlep a ton of books around. The other great thing about this new one is that it can also read a pdf. I'm ending this post, so I can go buy a book for it, but if you have the dough and a person you really want to impress, I implore you to check it out.

Extra Mushrooms, Sausage & Frosting??

If you or your boss wants to send someone a really inventive sweet treat, I love these cakes that look just like pizza. You have to pay for shipping, but they aren't that crazy expensive, so it might be worth it for the right person.

iGlasses

Here's a quick tip that might be helpful to iPhone owners. If you lose your glasses or your boss forgets to bring their glasses to work, you can suggest they buy an app called Eye Glasses that utilizes the camera in your iPhone to help read small text or more clearly display imagery. If you are interested read more about it here.