Jonbu the baker

Thanks to the power of the internet (and the people on it) I finally got my itunes Genius to work. Here’s what solved my problem:

Download Validator and run it on your “iTunes Music Library.xml” file in the iTunes folder. It tells you where the parser fails. Mine failed with weird characters in a few tracks. Validator tells you the line number but doesn’t let you look at the file, so you go to that line with an editor and find out which track is causing the problem, and fix it. I just had to edit the tags within iTunes.

After that I deleted the *.itdb files and turned Genius on again so Genius would re-scan from scratch, and then it worked! A happy ending.

If that didn’t work there’s a few other things you can try in the Apple Discussions.

Dreamt about being stuck in an elevator, in a department store in Japan. I eventually got out. So it’s not some horrific nightmare.

The dream felt.. symbolic, so I looked it up.
Stuck Elevators = being stuck on something in life.
Location of the elevator = parts of life that you’re stuck at.

I’m not stuck on any Japan issues, so.. I’m stuck on shopping.
(don’t think I am) :/
Pretty useless information. Was hoping for something more revealing.

Above the Well Ramen, originally uploaded by jonbu.

Located in the Tsukiji Market. 650yen. Saw this on the travel book, and Shirley also mentioned it. When I arrived there was a mini lineup, but those guys work fast.

Relatively cheap for having 5 pieces of chashu, but getting there costs money because it’s only reachable via the subway.
When I had it I was smiling because it was so simple. The soup tastes like mild konbu, the chashu tastes like pork. I think these guys are famous because it’s delicate, good ramen, for cheap, and not some secret formula. I would go back again.

And it looks sloppy too, so the look contrasts the taste for more impact.

Between Otsuka and Ikebukuro, originally uploaded by jonbu.

Getting rid of the Tokyo Weather Widget. Gonna be a rainy weekend in Vancouver.

I think my jetlag was gone but I brought it back by staying up late last night eating instant noodle and watching the Olympics.

Panoramic view on Mt.Fuji, originally uploaded by jonbu.

Yay I made it to the top! It’s cool to see clouds beneath you.

Thanks to Larry for tagging along. He’s already been up there before, so he’s like a pro Mt.Fuji climber now.

We joined a local climbing tour full of Japanese people young and old (mostly young, which was a surprise to me). And it does get cold up there, so clothing was important. I didn’t have to relive the garbage-bag incident that happened 5 years ago with the Gifu gang, so in a way it’s a different type of experience.

Having a walking stick was so important too. If you don’t bring one, you’re either a ninja or you’re crazy.

I brought an iPod with me and put it on the moment we started climbing. It really extract you away from the experience, but I didn’t realize it until the moment I took it off.

One tip I’d offer is, bring a face mask for the downward trip. People in-front of you often knocks up volcanic dust that powders your whole body brown-red.

Also, I brought all my drinks with me on the way up, and it was quite heavy. The drinks they sell up there aren’t that expensive (500yen per 500ml at the top, cheaper along the way), so I might have planned on buying those instead if I had to do it again (but I won’t).

More pictures coming later on my flickr.