Friday Fiver

1. We're getting gorgeous weather in Seattle. Wednesday night we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for dinner at the very much anticipated Four Swallows restaurant and it was delicious. The fourteen of us got an t-shaped table and the conversation never lagged once. It was a perfect day and was a great sight to see Bainbridge come into view and then on the return trip the city lights of Seattle dazzled us.

2. Great meeting, great time with fellow employees, and great to meet those who came in from London.

3. My bro comes in today for golf with hubby and to eat food, watch stupid television, and generally hang out. I can't wait.

4. Stayed at a swank hotel downtown. The first day I arrived I ran across the street to Seattle's Arundel Books and found an obscure Jacques Barzun book (1971) on writing for five dollars, which is a major score. In between meetings, dinners, talking, and sleeping, I managed to read a bit and I got inspired. More on that next week.

5. The novel challenge begins Monday and I'm ready to go! Will spend this weekend finishing up my notes on plot and once Monday's here, it is go time!

Happy weekend to all.

Gadget Girl Tuesday

I'm going to use the Gadget Girl heading until someone comes and takes it away by force. For those who are new, no, I don't claim this for myself specifically.

Anyway, do you use iTunes to listen to your music on your computer?

Check out the Mac OS X Hints article giving a"Perfect" setting featured on Merlin Mann's 43 Folders.

People have grabbed the screen shot and used the settings for their own iTunes. Interested?

Merlin also has the settings summarized with a link to the original article:

Open the equalizer, and from the pop-up menu, select “Make Preset.” Call it “Perfect,” because it is, and set the following levels, from left to right (skip the Preamp section):
db +3, +6, +9, +7, +6, +5, +7, +9, +11, +8 db

I'm off for a few days to a conference. Talk to you Friday.

Monday Book Rec

It's a classic, yes, and better if you can manage to attend one of his two-day seminars in LA or NYC, but Robert McKee's Story is one of those books that will inspire your writing even if you just read the first 75 pages.

A daunting book (just because the hardcover is thick), but a smooth read and one that enlightens you on each page. Ever wonder why some movies just don't do it for you? It's probably their plotting (archplot, miniplot, antiplot, or nonplot).

On the advice of a friend, I'm only reading this book before I plunge back into my novel work for the Novel Success Team Fall Writing Challenge that starts next week. I believe one can get too caught up in the how-to process and neglect the actual writing.

The sun is back out today in Seattle, the I-5 construction is complete, and teachers are back to school today readying their classrooms.

Happy Monday!