Divide By Zero

Rants, Gadgetry & Boring Ole Philosophy

How Strategic Voting Subverts Democracy

Written By: Tyler Style - Apr• 19•12

I've been participating in an interesting comment thread on Reddit's /r/Edmonton regarding a blog post encouraging people to vote strategically in the upcoming Alberta elections.  (If you go to read the post and the reddit discussion, you should know that the post originally had the Progressive Conservative video FUD "I never thought I'd vote PC" embedded)  While the author is obviously well intentioned in that he's trying to encourage people to get out and vote, I have serious problems with the fact that he's simultaneously promoting strategic voting.  I strongly believe that strategic voting subverts the democratic process and is hugely counter productive in the long run.

Continue reading “How Strategic Voting Subverts Democracy” »

Posted in Canada, Politics , , | 2 Comments »

Response to Vic Toews’ Email re Bill C-30 Privacy Concerns

Written By: Tyler Style - Feb• 22•12

I recently sent an email of protest concerning the Internet privacy Bill C-30 via OpenMedia.ca. Interestingly, I got a automated reply back from the Honourable Vic Toews addressing the issues in the email. Unfortunately, the email raises a lot more questions than it answers, for me. Here is my response, with the text of the original email following afterward: Continue reading “Response to Vic Toews’ Email re Bill C-30 Privacy Concerns” »

Posted in Canada, Telecommunications , , | 2 Comments »

One Million Moms protests sexuality of JC Penny’s new spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres

Written By: Tyler Style - Feb• 03•12

One Million Moms (part of the conservative/Christian pressure group the American Family Association) has come out saying that JC Penny ditch Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson because she’s gay.  The mind boggles at anyone thinking that this is somehow corrupting their children.  Exactly how does Ellen saying “buy this JCP stuff!” in a commercial promote the mythical homosexual agenda?  I mean, it’s not exactly as if she’s snogging her girlfriend while pink unicorns sodomize each other in the background to disco music.

Anyway, I gave the two post on their website a read, and found enough basic English and debating errors that I thought it would be edutaining to blog about them.  Yes, Virgina, I *am* feeling a teensie bit petty this morning, but them’s the breaks!  If you’re gonna pass yourself off as a serious organization, I’m gonna take you to task for really basic mistakes like the ones to follow. Continue reading “One Million Moms protests sexuality of JC Penny’s new spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres” »

Posted in Politics, Religion, USA | No Comments »

Review: Samsung Sidekick 4G From T-Mobile

Written By: Tyler Style - Jan• 15•12

I was in the market for a new mobile phone last year, after having more or less worn out my OG Droid.  Seeing I use my phone a lot for mobile IT work, so a good dedicated keyboard was hugely important for me.  After some research, Samsung’s Sidekick 4G (model SGH-T839) stood out head and shoulders above the crowd for it’s five row keyboard – very similar to the original HTC Dream / G1 keyboard.  The hardware specs are middling, but my needs are also middling so this wasn’t a tragedy.  I would have liked a larger screen and a camera flash, but unfortunately if a good keyboard is your main criteria, the field is pretty sparse.  So here’s my take on the good, the bad and the ugly after using it for 9 months: Continue reading “Review: Samsung Sidekick 4G From T-Mobile” »

Posted in Android, Mobile Phone | No Comments »

GoDaddy’s Stance On SOPA Shows Off Their Ignorance In More Ways Than One!

Written By: Tyler Style - Dec• 22•11

Normally I am not a grammar nazi or troll, but given GoDaddy’s recent blog post supporting SOPA I felt that a judicious poke at their obvious ignorance was well justified. Check this out! Continue reading “GoDaddy’s Stance On SOPA Shows Off Their Ignorance In More Ways Than One!” »

Posted in Humour, Internet | 1 Comment »

Android 472% Malware Increase Scare Is Sensationalist

Written By: Tyler Style - Nov• 17•11

Today I’m seeing a huge number of articles screaming “Android Malware Surges Nearly Five-Fold Since July” (PC Magazine) and “Android malware has jumped up 472%” (Apple Insider).  Well, percentages and other stats are very nice, but it’s easy to manipulate numbers like that to get scary looking figures.  Always look at the hard data backing the stats to get the real story!  As Benjamin Disraeli said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  As it is, the actual numbers tell a much less alarmist tale. Continue reading “Android 472% Malware Increase Scare Is Sensationalist” »

Posted in Android, Mobile Phone, Technology, Telecommunications , , , | 7 Comments »

Fix VSFTPD Slow Directory Listings & Timeouts

Written By: Tyler Style - Oct• 07•11

I’ve always had trouble with vsftpd and slow directory listings or timeouts, so I’ve generally avoided it.  With a little dedicated digging I finally managed to unearth how to get this working properly on a CentOS box. Continue reading “Fix VSFTPD Slow Directory Listings & Timeouts” »

Posted in Linux , | No Comments »

Tablet Computing: Apple Only?

Written By: Tyler Style - Aug• 23•11

For those that don’t know, HP decided to ditch it’s tablet computing division last week and let the remaining Touchpad stock go at fire sale prices.  This has led some to proclaim that the tablet market is Apple’s, and only Apple’s – the one true tablet! Balderdash, of course, but sensationalism sells.  However, Apple does have a pretty solid hold on the tablet market that it in effect created – why shouldn’t it continue to do so?  Well, there are a few reasons for it’s current lock, and unfortunately for Apple they are self limiting in exactly the same way the iPhone market dominance was and why it’s been losing ground steadily to Android in the smart phone arena. Continue reading “Tablet Computing: Apple Only?” »

Posted in Android, Technology , , | No Comments »

Linux Tip: Permanently Disable NumPad Mouse Keys

Written By: Tyler Style - Aug• 07•11

I’ve been using Ubuntu with GNOME for my desktop Linux distro for a few years now.  Every so often I found myself sometimes triggering the most annoying keybinding in the world: SHIFT + NUMLOCK.  This turns on Mouse Keys in the Keyboard Preferences, rendering your numeric keypad completely useless.  This is not the most obvious keybinding in the world… and if you do it by accident, you may NEVER figure out how to get it back.  I’ve done it enough accidentally to go to the trouble of disabling it permanently. Continue reading “Linux Tip: Permanently Disable NumPad Mouse Keys” »

Posted in Linux , | No Comments »

Google Music releases Linux Music Manager!

Written By: Tyler Style - Jul• 22•11

Hurrah, the Google overlords have heard my whining and deigned to answer my prayers – Google Music Manager is now available for Linux.  I’m pleased that Google is considering it’s Linux user base, especially since they make one of the most popular Linux distros of all time for devices – Android :)

Posted in Software, Technology , , | 1 Comment »
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