Notes from my terminal

Converting iTunes playlists

I just remembered that I wanted to blog that XSLT code to convert iTunes playlist (again in that dreaded PLIST format Apple is so fond of using for everything). However, this entry in Kimbro Staken's blog helped a lot: In fact, my solution is just a little modification of what he came up with. It makes use of exsl:node-set, but since this is a part of the "common, basic extension elements and functions" defined in EXSLT, it should be a part of every modern XSLT implementation by now.

Traces of ancient Rome in modern Bonn

Tomb of a released slave
Originally uploaded by johl.

I recently moved inside Bonn, from the "Altstadt" (Old Town) to the even older part of Bonn-Kastell. The name stems from Latin "Castellum" or little castle. It was here that Drusus Germanicus had the idea of building a military camp for the Roman army at the banks of the river Rhine on their way to Colonia Agrippina or Cologne, as we now call it. Relicts of the Romans are abundant here. In fact, city officials often don't know where to put all the stuff, so they leave them in place, like this tombstone of a former slave which is now in front of the supermarket in our neighbourhood. Click on the photo to read a translation of the inscription

Posted by johl from Flickr.

Playing in iTunes, playing with XSLT

The new Party Shuffle feature in Apple's iTunes really fascinates me. Not only will it give you a chance to re-discover your music collection in a new light, it also seems to pick songs that go together well. Want an example? Well, this is what iTunes came up with the other day:

• Tosca: Ocean Beat
• Bjork: Frosti
• Joy Division: These Days
• Yonderboi: The Severance
• Bran Van 3000: Forest
• Barbara Morgenstern: Is
• Thievery Corporation: Interlude
• Tosca: Fuck Dub (Baby Mammoth Mix Nr. 3)
• Fatboy Slim: The Rockafeller Skank
• 2raumwohnung: Wirklich Sein
• Aphex Twin: Une Femme N'est Pas Un Homme (Aphex Twin Mix)
• Autechre: Eidetic Casein
• Tabla Vin: Dayz Trippers (Destination Mix)
• Morcheeba: The Sea
• Cinematic Orchestra: Melody
• Willie Bobo: Fried Neckbones And Some Home Fries (Dan The Automator Remix)
• The Velvet Underground: Sister Ray
• Welle:Erdball: 23... (C=64er Version)

The playlist-to-HTML conversion was done with a XSLT stylesheet that deserves an entry of its own.

The beauty of Japanese lunch-boxes

This moblob by a Japanese mother shows extremely mouth-watering pictures of the bento or Japanese lunch-boxes she prepares for her children every day. Taken with a camera phone before blogging. An insightful article on the cutlural relevance of bento can also be found.
[via sofa. rites de passage]

Another brick in the wall

Click here:
http://www.google.com/blog/
Your guess is as good as mine...