There’s been a similar feature since XP to share connections, but this required you to use two different NIC’s and only supported peer-to-peer network. This software fixes both issues.

Software: Virtual Router – Wifi Hot Spot for Windows 7 – 2008 R2

Info: Share Wireless Internet Connection In Windows 7 Without Ad Hoc

One tip that held me up at first.  The device gets power from USB, but must need more power then a powered USB hub can provide, as it didn’t work properly until I plugged it directly into the laptop USB.

From the scripture of Mark Douglas in The Disciplined Trader:

As a result, I sincerely feel that success in trading is 80 percent psychological and 20 percent one’s methodology, be it fundamental or technical. For example, you can have a mediocre knowledge of fundamental and technical information, and if you are in psychological control, you can make money. Conversely, you may have a great system, one that you have tested and has performed well for a long period of time, yet if the psychological control is not there, you will be the loser.

Steps I’ve recently taken to increase my mental control (since we all seem to default to focusing on technique):

• Meditation, both “empty your mind” and “visioning”.  I took a quick $7 lesson from a local mind+body shop.  Still working at implementing it daily.
• Monitor/schedule my sleep.  A Tim Ferriss trick is to use a timer rather then alarm for sleeping so I am focusing on my sleep deposit/debt.  This works better if I don’t have a required wake time for a job (I don’t).  Lack of sleep causes me to be more moody and thus more emotional.  Goal is eight hours, so I often start “going to bed” at T minus nine hours.
• Monitor/schedule my eating.  Food is the most powerful drug we take multiple times a day (unless you live in a hospital I guess).  Smaller meals more often keeps my blood sugar (the brain’s food) more level and thus my mood (emotional state).  I also stay away from sugar and manufactured carbs which spike the blood sugar (but not yet conquered caffeine).  The theory and application of this is found in The Zone Diet, which is designed to keep the body/mind “in the zone” of optimum energy by controlling what you eat.
• Don’t trade when I’m focused on finances.  If I need to pay next months bills with my "planned winnings” then I’ll trade from emotion, rather then if the money has no near-term impact on my lifestyle.  Even once trading becomes my only income my plan has me withdrawing once-for-the-next-six-months and eventually to once-for-the-next-year so my lifestyle is unaffected by my day to day market success.
• Plan, plan, and more sticking to the plan.  How many times will I trade a month?  How many times will I practice in a month?  How much cash will I use each time?  How many trades in a row loss will cause a “real money hold” period? What charts will I use? What stocks will I use?  When do I get out of the trade “when it’s not working” and “when it’s working”?  What do I consider “it’s not working”… and on and on.  The more details I have documented and the more I review it… the more I tend to be less emotional on entry and exit of a trade.

Image used with Creative Commons License from Jeff Power’s on Flickr

Even I loose data sometimes.  I had a Excel file that I accidently overwrote, and the local Windows 7 Previous Versions didn’t capture the changes I needed, but SugarSync did!  My savior.  It backs up changes as I save files, quickly and quietly in the background.

I’ve used lots of backup and file sync technologies over the years to keep data in more then one place. Sometimes for backups (disaster recovery), sometimes for convenience, sometimes for collaboration.  No product until SugarSync did it all for a reasonable price.  After 6 months of using it across 3+ computers, two iPhones, etc. I can say it’s worth the monthly subscription (2GB plan is FREE).  Here’s my favorite features:

• Sync files between computers
• chose which folders to back up (not just one root folder)
• Keep a copy in the cloud
• Instantly backed up after saving changes. (not ‘schedule based’)
• Keep 5 versions of the files online for recovery
• Access them all from web browser or mobile client
• Chose to make files public or post pics on Facebook from the webapp
• get a single-click public link to send your friend for downloading that 500MB file you need to send!
• edit files on the web
• stream your synced music from web and on iPhone (whaaat?  awesome)

Feature List and Comparison Chart

I used Carbonite for years for computer backup, but that’s ALL it did, for $50+ a year.  I used Live Mesh to sync files between computers and the cloud, but I couldn’t buy more storage and it didn’t have a iPhone client.  I’ve used SyncToy for years but it’s only a LAN client and not easy to automate.  Mozy, Box.net, DropBox, some Amazon storage clients, and more…. none of them could do 1/2 of what SugarSync does.

Check it out buy using this referral link to get extra free storage.

1. Install the .NET Framework 3.5.1 feature
2. Download the SQL SP1 service pack
3. Expand the service pack by using 7zip or the command SQLServer2008SP1-KB968369-x64-ENU.exe /x:C:\SP1
4. Install the SQL Setup Support files from the SP1 download C:\SP1\x64\setup\1033\sqlsupport.msi
5. Now run the SQL Setup.exe from DVD or network and point setup to where SP1 is Setup.exe /PCUSource=C:\SP1

Note the long term best method is “Procedure 2: create a merged drop” but the above is great for the 1 or 2 installs.

Problem: when you send a link from Communicator client to another, the link isn’t clickable, has a _ (underbar) in front of it, or both.  Results may be different on different computers. It’ll look like this

_http://www.google.com

Solution:  Two things are happening here that are not related.  The first is the OCS Server (and Edge Server) have the URL Filter enabled, which are adding the _ underbar to all links.  Also called “Intelligent IM Filter”.  You need to tone that filter down or disable all together to your liking.  If users are coming in through an Edge Server, they will follow the Filter settings of the Edge Server they are using, which seams to supersede the Front End Server (my guess is the most restrictive wins).  So be sure to set it on both servers separately.  Results were instant in new IM’s.

The other issue is the lack of a clickable hyperlink.  If you disable the URL Filters above, the underbar goes away but links are still not blue and underlined.  To fix this you need to apply a GPO or set a local registry setting to allow Communicator to make hyperlinks clickable:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Communicator\
new DWORD EnableURL=1

After that exit and restart Communicator.

In both of these cases they are secure by default, which is great; but even years after this features release over several versions their use and configuration are still a mystery to most starting out.

I could go on all night about how maybe we never learned the lesson; about how this could be caused by an over-reactive government that won’t let people and business fail en masse, in order to teach our society a lesson we need to re-learn,.. but I won’t for now. 

It’s interesting that the article I read this in wasn’t really about the still shockingly high amount of Macy’s shoppers that are buying on store credit (all this during non-holiday months).  As an American, I say YES to this federal proposal that you must prove you can pay before you borrow for clothing, furniture, and electronics. 

And on that point, why can I get a retail store card without proof of income but there is no store credit at the grocery store?

Imagine spending your time doing all the things “you always wanted to do” but didn’t have the time, money, or energy to do?  What if the belief that a job is the safe way and retirement at 65+ is the only way… is actually a lie?

In 2003 I started asking myself these questions, and have found the answers.

I’ve learned in the last 5 years that this is indeed possible and first has to start with  believing it can happen.  I mostly did this with books, some classes, and support from my Wife.  Without any skills in either real estate or the stock market we are quickly coming to a turning point in our mindset and abilities that will allow us to do just that.  I imagine this blog will change along with me, since I am quitting my job and phasing out my technology career.  I’ve had people tell me this can’t be done, at the same time I’m doing it.  I’ve had many moments I thought it was moving too slow and would never happen, or that I didn’t have the magic skills to make it work.  But for the moments that it seems to take forever, I’ve had moments (like now) that a huge leap forward has taken place and now realize within a year we’ll both be living the way we started to dream 6 years ago with one simple book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad.  It may not be the perfect book, but it lit a spark of hope, and after reading that book we had only one rule we weren’t willing to break:  once we started to act on these dreams, we would never give up… never.

please log in access was denied 0×85010002

In the ISA Monitoring you would see a denied connection on your ActiveSync rule with this status:

12239 The server requires authorization to fulfill the request. Access to the Web server is denied. Contact the server administrator.

I tested with Windows Mobile Emulator from outside the firewall and was able to reproduce the error within hours (just letting it sit there).

I first thought this was the HTTP session timeout that changed with a Exchange 2003  service pack when Direct Push came out back in 2005.  I remembered that setting and looked under the ISA Web Listener for ActiveSync on the Connections tab>Advanced>“connection timeout”.  The wizard had correctly set it to 1800 seconds (30 minutes). No dice.

I poked around the web listener settings some more and noticed the timeout settings for forms authentication were set (this same web listener was used for OWA).  ISA is supposed to be smart enough to not apply any of the forms auth settings to clients that don’t support it (falling back to basic auth as with ActiveSync).

Tom and the forums at isaserver.org confirmed my suspicion.  The forms auth timeout was indeed affecting ActiveSync.  To find it, look for the web listener of your ActiveSync rule, go to properties>Forms tab>Advanced> and make sure “apply session timeout to non-browser clients” is unchecked. 

Failed to configure the service NETLOGON as requested “the wait operation timed out.”

The root problem was that this domain controller had a DNS entry to another domain controller that no longer existed.  It was trying to contact it but couldn’t.  Removing that entry and running dcpromo.exe again solved it.