Category Archives: Anything

Accidentally disabled HP Elite book touchpad

February 13, 2013 No comments

image

I found this out the hard way. If you double click the little dot in the top left hand corner of your touch pad, you’ll switch between enabling and disabling your touch pad. It’s a quick fix, but kind of confusing the first time you have to try to turn it back on.

I’ve attached a picture of the dot on my laptop so maybe you’ll notice yours.

Rooting & Install Custom ROM on HTC Droid Incredible 2

January 30, 2013 No comments

There’s a lot of different guides out there and they’re all kind of confusing. Make sure all your stuff is saved somewhere else, because this will wipe all your app data.

I followed this guide to root. Make sure you installed the ClockWorkMod Recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751796

I had a couple problems with an endless rebooting loop once it was rooted. I had to put it in recovery mode by:

  1. Turning off the phone
  2. Pressing the On button and Volume down button at the same time

Then I went into Recovery (use the volume up down to navigate, the power button is enter).

This opens the ClockworkMod Recovery, which you can use to install a custom ROM from your phone’s SD card.

Basically, you’re going to want to pull the SD card out of your phone and drop the zip files for the ROM and GApps file that you can download from here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1561816 (This is for CM9, which is the Cyanogen Ice Cream Sandwich release)

Put the SD card back into your phone, and then have the Recovery software install from Zip.

Wipe Data, Cache, and system from the Recovery program.

Now install the ROM from the zip file, and then install the GApps file.

 

Rooted Incredible 2 running CM9 will not update or download from Google Play

January 26, 2013 No comments

After waiting what seems like a year for Android ICS to get an official roll out  I decided to jump the gun and install Cyanogen 9 on my phone. For some reason, my Google Play store stopped working. I could search for apps, but when I tried to download or update I would get an endless downloading status bar.

Well, I found this tip a couple places on the internet and this did the trick.

Open up the terminal app– mine was called Terminal Emulator, and follow these steps.

  1. Type: su
  2. Hit Enter, and a prompt will pop up asking for you to allow super user permissions for the terminal app. Make sure you say yes.
  3. Type: killall drmserver
  4. Hit Enter, and now your Play store might work.

Screenshot_2013-01-26-19-26-27

I still have no idea what was actually wrong, but at least my apps are updating.

[Revenge] Who is Emily Thorne?

November 2, 2011 No comments

image

Alias: Amanda Clarke

Personality Traits: Cunning, opportunistic, methodical, loyal, goal oriented

Counterpart in the Count of Monte Cristo : The Count of Monte Cristo, but not necessarily Dantes.

Bio: Emily Thorne (born Amanda Clarke) was raised by her father with whom she spent the summers in the Hamptons—presumably they lived in New York City for the rest of the year.  There has not been very much information about her mother, but it seems as though her father had been trying to groom Victoria Grayson into becoming Amanda’s step-mother, before the betrayal. After the betrayal of her father, by their once close friends the Graysons, Emily was institutionalized in solitary confinement by a request from Victoria Grayson, who also bribed the psychologist at the juvenile detention center.

Nolan Ross was the first person of her previous life to bring her out of center once her term there was over and gave to her a chest from her father detailing the betrayal of him.  In the time after her release, Emily began to build the platform for her revenge. For years, she spied on her targets through social events, organizations and using some spy-quality sleuthing skills. This also built up her reputation, so that she seemed more legitimate facet of the New York elite. This summer, her plans began to unfold.

The story so far

So far she has been picking off her father’s opponents one by one.  I can only wonder if she’s going to run out of people who betrayed her family.

Revenge taken on:

  1. Lydia for being a false witness
  2. Bill Harmon for being a false witness and framing her father
  3. Tom Kingsley for prosecuted her father
  4. Dr. Michelle Banks for institutionalizing her as a child
  5. Frank for getting in the way and being a Grayson henchmen.

Each revenge increases the risk that she’s going to be found out, as all of a sudden this strange new woman appears and everyone in the conspiracy is getting knocked out.  Frank is starting to pick up on the trail that Lydia ran in to, so we will see how Emily decides to finally take care of him.

On the flip side, you can kind of see her wavering focus on revenge as she escalates her relationship with Daniel.  Is their relationship one more cornerstone on her path to revenge? Or is it a convenient break from the scheming and planning? I think that it seems genuine. If it turns out to be a ploy, Emily’s character is going to so much hard to empathize with, since weaponizing love into a form of revenge almost seems wrong.

Then add in the strong relationships she has with other males like with Nolan and Jack.  The friendship with Nolan, which has a side-kickesque feel to it, makes me feel like there’s something behind their bond that Nolan isn’t sharing. Her interactions with Jack Porter so far have been fairly detached, and the affection has been mostly one sided.  I’m kind of wondering how this is going to develop, since her relationship with Daniel seems kind of endearing.

End Game

Destroy Victoria Grayson… will she allow for collateral damage though?

Do It Yourself: Cardboard Smartphone Stand for Skype Video or TV

October 30, 2011 No comments

Why spend $10 on a plastic kick stand for your phone when you can make your own universal stand out of cardboard for free in minutes? It’s perfect for watching video, like on Hulu Plus Netflicks, or video chatting on Skype or Gtalk with friends.

This is what it looks like. I didn’t use scissors, so it’s a little extra ghettotastic. But if you want a classier version, you could break out a ruler, some wrapping paper, markers, and tape.

And this is basically how it’s constructed. Fold in the middle, and then 2 more folds on the ends in the same direction So basically the shape you’re trying to make is this: /_\_. The little tabs on the end help to keep the stand and your phone from sliding.

This is the stand from an angled side view:

This simple little stand is compatible with most Android and Apple smartphones that can lay horizontally on their sides. I think you might have some trouble with Blackberries, since it might be harder to balance them on their sides. Oh, and on the upside for you greenies out their this thing is 100% biodegradable, recyclable, and upcycled. :)

No Root Screenshot It: On the Incredible 2

October 22, 2011 6 comments

HTC Android screenshot of home screen

UPDATE:  The newest update from Verizon allows you to take screenshots by pressing the Power and Home buttons at the same time.

There is now an easy way to take screenshots on your HTC Droid Incredible 2 android phone, without having to root it.  It’s kind of an oversight that there isn’t an easy way to take screenshots. But, thanks to No Root Screenshot It there’s a kind of easy way to get your droid to take screenshots.

So basically, go over to the Android Market and buy No Root Screenshot It by Edward Kim. There’s a couple versions out there, but for an Incredible 2 that is not rooted you need to get the No Root version that sells for $5.

The instructions for installing the are great and walk you through the general steps, but I just wanted to share a couple tips that apply to the Incredible 2.

The instructions tell you go download the USB drivers for your phone at this URL:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/oem-usb.html

It redirects you to HTC’s website, and then you need to find your phone, the link to the Incredible 2′s diver is here: http://www.htc.com/us/support/incredible2-verizon/downloads/

Download HTC SYNC for the Incredible 2, and the USB driver will be installed with it.

And then here’s the link to the Desktop installer for Screenshot It, which enables your phone to take screenshots: http://www.lindylabs.com/screenshot_it/

The app’s not perfect. It seems like when I try to use the shake feature, it fails the first time. But, I really can’t complain until Android builds something into the software.

 

Gayest States in America

October 9, 2011 No comments

Based on data from the 2010 US census, the states with the highest percentage of partnered same-sex households are:

  1. Massachusetts: 1.92%
  2. Vermont: 1.89%
  3. New Mexico: 1.84%
  4. New York: 1.77%
  5. California: 1.76%

With an honorable mention to the District of Columbia with a fabulous 6.5%.

And the lowest:

  1. North Dakota: 0.72%
  2. South Dakota: 0.76%
  3. Wyoming: 0.87%
  4. Idaho: 0.91%
  5. Nebraska: 0.91%

I think the moral of this story is that gay people do settle down, just not in the frozen plains.

Note: These numbers are of a percentage of partnered households (same-sex and opposite-sex, regardless of marriage status), so single households and other types of households are excluded.

Here’s a little map to help you see trends. The darker the purple, the more same-sex couples there are as a percentage of the number of partnered households.

Find your state:

CategorySame Sex HouseholdsOpposite Sex Households
Alabama1.14%98.86%
Alaska1.24%98.76%
Arizona1.57%98.43%
Arkansas1.11%98.89%
California1.76%98.24%
Colorado1.47%98.53%
Connecticut1.41%98.59%
Delaware1.76%98.24%
District of Columbia6.50%93.50%
Florida1.64%98.36%
Georgia1.55%98.45%
Hawaii1.61%98.39%
Idaho0.91%99.09%
Illinois1.23%98.77%
Indiana1.16%98.84%
Iowa0.92%99.08%
Kansas0.98%99.02%
Kentucky1.21%98.79%
Louisiana1.37%98.63%
Maine1.68%98.32%
Maryland1.46%98.54%
Massachusetts1.92%98.08%
Michigan1.04%98.96%
Minnesota1.14%98.86%
Mississippi1.10%98.90%
Missouri1.16%98.84%
Montana1.00%99.00%
Nebraska0.91%99.09%
Nevada1.70%98.30%
New Hampshire1.48%98.52%
New Jersey1.31%98.69%
New Mexico1.84%98.16%
New York1.77%98.23%
North Carolina1.34%98.66%
North Dakota0.72%99.28%
Ohio1.15%98.85%
Oklahoma1.21%98.79%
Oregon1.75%98.25%
Pennsylvania1.22%98.78%
Puerto Rico0.93%99.07%
Rhode Island1.70%98.30%
South Carolina1.20%98.80%
South Dakota0.76%99.24%
Tennessee1.20%98.80%
Texas1.34%98.66%
Utah1.01%98.99%
Vermont1.89%98.11%
Virginia1.20%98.80%
Washington1.63%98.37%
West Virginia1.22%98.78%
Wisconsin1.05%98.95%
Wyoming0.87%99.13%

In the interest of transparency, here’s the original data table from the US 2010 Census with the numbers of how many same-sex, opposite-sex, and single households there were in the USA in 2010: DEC_10_SF1_PCT15
If you’d like to pull it directly from the Census website search for table PCT15.

Top 50 US Metro Areas by Gross Metropolitan Production (Economic Output)

September 25, 2011 No comments
  • An interesting thing to note is that the when you sort by the highest per capita GDP the top 9 metro areas are coastal regions.  And while, there is a lot of East Coast vs West Coast, some of the cities aren’t exactly the ones that you would think would appear.
  • Detroit Metro area seems to be doing better than all the stories would make you think. Sure it’s towards the bottom, but it’s no where near the post apocalyptic vision that people make it out to be.

Note: the data is from the Census Bureau’s 2010 results and the US Treasury

Metro areaGross metropolitan product (2010)PopulationPer Capital GMP
Salt Lake City, UT$66,456,000,000 1,124,197.00 $59,114.19
Birmingham-Hoover, AL$53,834,000,000 1,128,047.00 $47,723.19
Raleigh-Cary, NC$57,278,000,000 1,130,490.00 $50,666.53
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA$71,476,000,000 1,167,764.00 $61,207.57
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT$87,963,000,000 1,212,381.00 $72,553.92
Oklahoma City, OK$58,339,000,000 1,252,987.00 $46,559.94
Richmond, VA$64,321,000,000 1,258,251.00 $51,119.37
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN$58,572,000,000 1,307,647.00 $44,791.90
Memphis, TN-MS-AR$65,025,000,000 1,316,100.00 $49,407.34
Jacksonville, FL$60,303,000,000 1,345,596.00 $44,815.09
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI$84,574,000,000 1,555,908.00 $54,356.68
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN$80,898,000,000 1,589,934.00 $50,881.36
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA$66,334,000,000 1,600,852.00 $41,436.68
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC$80,518,000,000 1,671,683.00 $48,165.83
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$86,029,000,000 1,716,289.00 $50,125.01
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN$105,163,000,000 1,756,241.00 $59,879.60
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC$113,568,000,000 1,758,038.00 $64,599.29
Columbus, OH$93,353,000,000 1,836,536.00 $50,831.02
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$168,517,000,000 1,836,911.00 $91,739.34
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV$89,799,000,000 1,951,269.00 $46,020.82
Kansas City, MO-KS$105,968,000,000 2,035,334.00 $52,064.18
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH$105,625,000,000 2,077,240.00 $50,848.72
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN$100,594,000,000 2,130,151.00 $47,223.88
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL$104,107,000,000 2,134,411.00 $48,775.52
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX$82,036,000,000 2,142,508.00 $38,289.71
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA$92,873,000,000 2,149,127.00 $43,214.29
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$124,683,000,000 2,226,009.00 $56,011.90
Pittsburgh, PA$115,752,000,000 2,356,285.00 $49,124.79
Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO$157,567,000,000 2,543,482.00 $61,949.33
Baltimore-Towson, MD$144,789,000,000 2,710,489.00 $53,418.04
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL$113,702,000,000 2,783,243.00 $40,852.34
St. Louis, MO-IL$129,734,000,000 2,812,896.00 $46,121.15
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA$171,568,000,000 3,095,313.00 $55,428.32
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$199,596,000,000 3,279,833.00 $60,855.54
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$231,221,000,000 3,439,809.00 $67,219.14
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ$190,601,000,000 4,192,887.00 $45,458.18
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$109,818,000,000 4,224,851.00 $25,993.34
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI$197,773,000,000 4,296,250.00 $46,033.87
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$325,927,000,000 4,335,391.00 $75,178.22
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH$313,690,000,000 4,552,402.00 $68,906.48
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA$272,362,000,000 5,268,860.00 $51,692.78
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL$257,560,000,000 5,564,635.00 $46,285.16
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$425,167,000,000 5,582,170.00 $76,165.18
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX$384,603,000,000 5,946,800.00 $64,673.94
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$346,932,000,000 5,965,343.00 $58,157.93
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$374,081,000,000 6,371,773.00 $58,709.09
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI$532,331,000,000 9,461,105.00 $56,265.20
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA$735,743,000,000 12,828,837.00 $57,350.72
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA$1,280,517,000,000 18,897,109.00 $67,762.59
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT$84,882,000,000 916,829.00 $92,582.15

[Layoffs] How many jobs equals $1.5 billion in quarterly savings?

September 10, 2011 No comments

Apparently that number is around 40,000 jobs, per the WSJ’s article on Bank of America.

What does that work out to on a per job basis by quarter?

$1,500,000,000 savings = [Quarterly Cost per Job] * 40,000 people losing their jobs

$37,500 = [Quarterly Cost per Job]

4 quarters in a year * $37,500 = 4 quarters in a year * [Quarterly Cost per Job]

$150,000 = [Annual Cost per Job]

$150,000?!?! That seems a bit high, but they’re probably building in a lot of money to account for tighter budgets (no more company picnics), buildings they’re going to be closing, and contracted support staff who will also be laid off.

How to video chat on a Verizon Droid Incredible 2

September 9, 2011 No comments

This got way easier since we don’t have to use leaked apk’s anymore. Go to Android market and download the Skype Mobile app, not the Skype Mobile for Verizon app. Then open it up go to settings and enable video chat.

And that’s it! The only downside is that the video doesn’t rotate with the phone, but it works great besides that. Oh the Skype Mobile app and the version for Verizon don’t conflict. So I use  Skype Mobile for video chat and the Verizon version for voice chat, since the Skype for Verizon version supports Bluetooth headsets.