I have viewed many methods for checking a string for specific characters on the Internets. While there are number of methods contained within .NET, none worked 100%. Regex wasn’t good enough for me, nor was GetInvalidFileNameChar() as each would miss some invalid characters. I needed a sure, quick easy way to check if a string entered into a Textbox was valid for a file name. Finally I had to devise a simple method that I could easily control. For those needing ideas, here is my code.
VB.NET Quick Tip – How To, Find Invalid Characters In A String
Posted: 18th October 2014 by Mike Trent in Blog, Computer, Hack, Programming, Quick Tip, Quick Tips, VB.NetTags: Blog, Hack, Hot, Programming, script, Tutorial, Vb.Net, VS2008, vs2010, vs2012, vs2013, XXX
Who Profits?
Posted: 30th August 2014 by Christopher Saikes in Commentary, Current Affairs, Economy, Finance, News, PoliticsTags: Capital Gains, democracy, Dividends, dollars, economy, Finance, GOP, IPO, justice, Oligarchy, Profits, Stocks, Taxes, vote

Christopher Saikes
What are stocks? Stocks are a share in a corporation. When you hold/own a stock, essentially you are a part owner in that company. Why is government and industry so interested in the stock market? The stock market is an indicator, but just one, of an economy’s health.
Would You Be Better Off In 1970?
Posted: 6th August 2014 by Christopher Saikes in Blog, Current Affairs, Economy, HistoryTags: Bankruptcy, democracy, dollars, economy, Finance, GOP, vote

Christopher Saikes
Here is a challenge, “Would You Be Better Off In 1970?” The debate over minimum wage is contentious, to say the least. Some economists argue that the minimum wage should be $16 an hour, but is that really true? A lot of numbers get tossed around, but what do they represent? How can the average person make an informed decision when the numbers we are to compare are so far apart?
The One Dollar A Month Campaign. How To Fix Our Political System.
Posted: 28th March 2014 by Christopher Saikes in Blog, Commentary, Current Affairs, General Comments, PoliticsTags: Campaign Financing, corporations, Corruption, DNC, Independent, Lobbing, News, Obama, Political, Politicians, Republican, RNC, Romney, vote, Voters, Voters Democrat, Wealthy Donors

Christopher Saikes
I am so tired of people complaining about how politicians are “OWNED” by the corporations because they take corporate money. It is true that they do get the majority of their money from the rich and powerful, but it is the voters fault.
Why do I blame the voter? Simple. I will spell it out in the simplest way possible. In 2012, both Obama and Romney forces spent just over $2.3 billion on the election1. No chump change here, right?
Here is another fact; At any one time there are about 72 million registered Democrats, 55 million registered Republicans, and 44 million registered Independent in any one year2.
That $2.3 billion is just for the presidential elections, which only come around once every four years. So here is where that $1 a month idea comes into play… 174 million voters giving $1 a month, or $12 a year is just under $2.09 BILLION ……. Times that by four years.
Still think that politicians taking corporate money is not the voters fault? How much did you give?
1. http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/
2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_registered_Democrats_are_there_in_the_US

