Connect to iPhone without network?

I've found myself telling a few people how to either sync applications on the iPhone or SSH into your iPhone without an existing WiFi network.

I have two things that I regularly need to do and often they happen when I'm not near a wifi network (and I don't know how to connect in a network-sense to the iPhone via USB cable):

1. I need to SSH or SFTP to my iPhone to mod something or put something on it.
2. I need to sync certain applications (like PasswordWallet) between the iPhone and my computer.

The simple but, I suppose, not obvious answer is to use the Mac to set up an ad-hoc network... that is, have the Mac act as a base station for a brief period of time. Here's what you do:

1. Turn your AirPort on in the menu bar if not already.
2. From the drop-down menu in the AirPort menu, click "Create a Network..."
3. Choose a name for the network and a password.
4. Click "OK".

Your mac will then set up an ad-hoc network that your iPhone can see.