Get Android working with WPS router when WPS seems to fail

This is a quick hack for Android phones trying to connect to routers using WPS.

The built in Android software for this functionality seems quite unstable so in case you are having issues with connecting to a router like myself here is what I did to fix the issue. (this likely works with software that is not MS but I have not verified)

1. Connect using a laptop or other compatible device to the router.
2. View the connection properties and the security settings. The encryption type on my Windows 7 system indicates WPA-Personal Encryption type: TKIP.
3. Click "Show characters"
4. Connect to network WITHOUT WPS Available setting and enter password from step 3.

Good luck!

When tax cuts are a violation of the Constitution

First of all, I don't agree with the notion that government officials should get to establish their current or future compensation. So please take that as a grain of salt as I use the constitution as an argument against the Obama tax cuts. Yes, "Obama tax cuts". If Afghanistan is Obama's war then by the same logic Bush's tax cuts are now Obama's, I'll point you to a signature if you disagree.

I have a couple other quick suggestions to make so that I can claim to be constructive and not just a naysayer.

>>The salaries for the Executive and Legislative branches should be a reflection of the economic status of the country based on actual metrics such as GDP and/or median income.

>>The long term benefits of each member should also be a reflection of the growth or decline of the country during their tenure.

>>Lobbyists should be exempt from any current or pending benefits from the government. (It seems to makes sense that elected officials should lose benefits should they chose to exploit the connections established during public tenure. Such a policy would likely not be very effective for stopping revolving door issues between government and industry but at least it will slightly lower expenditures and establish a positive incentive structure. This should also help to protect against financial feedback loops between government officials and lobbyists.)

Now, with that said I think there is little doubt that the salaries of most elected officials are merely bread crumbs for the total incomes of such individuals (see http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/index.php). For example President Obama, Bush(s), Clinton, etc. are all millionaires as a direct result of their political endeavors, not the 400k they make per year as president. Be it a result of book deals, speaking events or less legal means such as: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/01/AR2008070103008.html or http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/washington/18dodd.html or http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/25/rangel.ethics/index.html?iref=allsearch or http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/us/politics/12boehner.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1294747825-bHxQvr6L60Dv4iPu9ON1kg

Note: I don't begrudge anyone for the amount of money they make so long as it is moral and legal.

Now to the meat of the post:

AMENDMENT XXVII
Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992.

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.


Total compensation is not just a measurement of income but also an offset from taxes. Therefore, tax cuts that (disproportionally) benefit Senators and Representatives violate the 27th Amendment in that they are laws that very the compensation of Senators and Representatives and these changes take effect within their own terms.

So is it any wonder that the Obama tax cuts passed (again)? Why would the legislature or Obama be against receiving a huge increase in income? These tax cuts were unconstitutional with Bush as president and still are with Obama.

Note: Now only the Republican side matters in this picture.

References:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/the_bush_tax_plan_vs_the_obama.html

House & Senate Salaries (Interesting note: In 1990 the Senator's pay began to outpace Representative's pay, this lasted until 1992)
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/97-1011.pdf
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

President's Salary
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/presidentialpay.htm
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/98-53.pdf
Random Note: While researching different resources on presidential salaries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) I noticed the following image:

Wikipedia for "Bush Tax Cuts"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_tax_cuts

A final note:

A picture really is worth a thousand words.

A general idea on how to establish your banking accounts in a relationship

5 of the Worst Movies I've ever seen

What the #$*! Do We Know!?
8MM
Crash
Signs
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

US GPD: A nearly perfect parabola

Is this graph just scaled against the US economy or does the US have nearly perfect economic growth?

I'm no economist so can someone explain why the US GPD behaves in a nearly perfect parabola? The line is too perfect, it reminds me of Madoff's performance vs. Possible Replications on page 4:

http://www.riskdata.com/files/news/Madoff_Bias_Ratio.pdf


It is interesting that the rest of the worlds economies show similar positive and negative trends over time indicating an
interdependence between the world economies. Nearly every  country suffers from shared global economic cycles with exception of the US? Even countries like Mexico and Canada follow world trends but not the US. Many countries also go negative many times relative to their own prices for longer periods than the US ever does even in years commonly accepted as US recessions.

Update: The good news is that the new numbers are in and they aim to prove me wrong. The bad news is that for the first time in recent history the US's GDP has significantly declined between 2007 and 2008.

Create a dynamic class in python and then use introspection to evalute each member of that class

>>> class Test():
...     pass
...
>>> a = Test()
>>> a.blah = 5
>>> dir(a)
['__doc__', '__module__', 'blah']
>>> for x in dir(a):
...     if "__" not in x:
...             print eval("a." +str(x))
...
5

Remove overdraft capability from your accounts to prevent fees

Have you ever been in a case where you got charged early for a bill or got double charged on accident leaving your checking account critically low on funds? Maybe, times are hard or payday is tomorrow and the balance on your checking account is just above water.

I'm sure many of us have been in this situation and often times to add insult to injury we get charged overdraft fees sometimes in excess of our purchases; this of couse does save us from the inconvenience of not getting that pack of gum or not needing to borrow a few dollars from a co-worker for lunch all for a hefty fee ($25 usually).

Well, that benefit is called "overdraft capability" and you can opt out! You can call your bank and tell them that you don't want overdraft capability if this sounds like a fee/benefit you don't want to be eligible for.  There are some caveats such as a gas station that doesn't charge the whole cost of your purchase up front, you will still get your gas and the bank will still charge you an overdraft fee. But I'm fine with that as long as I'm not stuck somewhere without gas, just don't charge me another fee when I walk into the store and buy a coffee while I'm filling up.

It is also worth noting that opting out of overdraft capability does not prevent you from setting up overdraft protection on your account, which I still recommend because you are still in danger of getting charged NSF fees from businesses you have written checks to or have pending payments to.