If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. - Vannevar Bush

And that, my friends, is the basis behind qualitative sociology.

Apparently, the Wii won’t accept an SD card larger then 2 GB, so you can’t use the newer, larger, 4 GB cards. Or so everyone thought.

What you actually can’t do is have an SD card with more than 2 GB of free space - an entirely different kettle of fish.

Hackzine’s got a post on how you can use a card greater than 2 GB in size. Basically, you chuck a bunch of junk data on the card until it only has like 1.9 GB of free space. Then, as you add data to the card, you delete the junk data.

Tada! 4 GB of save files and downloaded games.

So, I was looking through the terms and conditions for a gift card (because I’m cool like that…) and noticed this:

This card has no expiry date and no activation, non-usage, service or other fees will apply unless permitted by law

So… there are no fees, unless such fees are permitted by law. That’s a pretty interesting way of phrasing that. That makes that clause entirely uninformative, and requires you the consumer to go searching for relevant legislation in order to determine whether or not, in fact, there are fees for the card. The way they said it is just incredible.

“Terms and Conditions” usually have some real gems in them - I read most of the Bell Cell Phone terms and conditions over the summer (god it’s a long document). If you’re signed up with a three year contract, written into the contract is that they have the right to change ANY ASPECT of a plan, with the sole exception of the number of voice minutes. So, that ultra-deluxe plan with the unlimited data, text messaging, free ring tones, and the girl who gives you the free massage once a week? They could take that all away and it would be ENTIRELY PERMITTED within the contract. Of course, the real kicker is that the contract remains binding upon you - if they change something and turn the plan into crap, you’re still locked in for the entire duration of the contract and subject to early termination fees. It’s just incredible!

I know, at this point it’s like beating up a one-legged dog.

Your name will be entered in a draw for the chance to win an Xbox and Rockband or an iTouch. The draw will take place Friday, October 24 and the winners will be notified by email.

No, residence people - it’s an “iPod Touch” and an “iPhone”. “iTouch” just leads to “iSlap” or “iKids”.

They also only let me pick one Don to rate, which seems kind of stupid (especially since they obviously customized the survey, since I rated our co-ordinator as well). Why not let me rate both Dons?

… get iTSfv.

It basically has everything a power-user expects iTunes to have.

For example, iTunes stores all rating and playcount information in their own proprietary little file with absolute links to your music - if that file gets hosed, or if your music changes its location, you’re just screwed, you’ll not be able to get your ratings and playcount back. iTSfv can write your playcount and ratings to the IDv3 tags of the individual MP3s - so all of a sudden the MP3 file itself knows how much you like it. This is awesome, and is a major load off my mind, since I’ve spent a fair amount of time trying to rate my music so that smart playlists can be useful.

That’s just one feature that it’s got - it can do a whole ton of neat stuff to manage and standardize your music library, solving my biggest complaints about iTunes limitations.

Here’s some video from Friday’s adventure; the first bit is from me, then there’s an interview with Andrew:

Just before the interview, I saw a bus get towed: