tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123101382025-11-22T10:28:41.707-06:00This is where Ben Dash publishes the questions and answers that he get asked for free, yes he'll help you for free, that's gratis. If you have a question that you'd like answered please send an email to ben.dash@gmail.comBen Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-87520882297335798092014-11-23T23:04:00.001-06:002014-11-23T23:04:11.419-06:00

Now that Best Buy is selling their great value DigiLand DS7 tablet for just $39 on Black Friday someone asked me what the best case for it is. This UniGrip case looks like it is perfect to me; it is a super cheap case for a super cheap tablet. Why spend more than the price of the tablet just to get a case. This isn't an iPad and so this case would be ideal: This DigiLand DS7 Android tablet

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-21165759807514324902014-11-23T22:51:00.003-06:002014-11-23T22:51:41.075-06:00

Someone asked me what the biggest TV that would fit into a 28.7 inch wide entertainment center was. It's a very tight fit but there are a few 32 inch 1080p TVs that will fit within that small space. The TV with the safest bet seems to be the 31.5 inch Phillips 32PFL5708/F7 with dimensions of 28.6 x 7.1 x 19 inches: If you want to risk the even tighter fitting 32 inch options then the VIZIO

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-33600763909669737432014-11-23T08:47:00.004-06:002014-11-23T09:04:39.140-06:00

Someone asked me what the smallest virtual machine home host server is. If you're using containerized virtualization, as I described in my previous answer here (Cheapest Virtual Machine Host Server), then you do not need to worry about using a CPU that includes hardware virtualization features like VT-x or AMD-V. If you're just needing container-based virtualization like OpenVZ, LXC, VServer or

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-13941573025453143762014-11-23T07:37:00.002-06:002014-11-23T08:53:07.872-06:00

Someone asked me what the best flushable cat litter is. I really dislike scooping the cat litter but a couple of years ago we ran across a brand of flushable cat litter which dramatically improved the chore. Unlike the litter we had previously used this one is made out of discarded corn kernel cores and so you don't have to throw it in the trash when it's used; you can flush it or compost it

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-85751631046747695472014-11-22T21:59:00.000-06:002014-11-23T07:23:36.825-06:00

Someone asked me what the cheapest virtual machine host home server PC is, and what virtual machine hosting software to use. Anyone who knows me knows that I REALLY like to save money! When it comes to virtual machines, there's basically 3 types in order of fastest to slowest and least flexible to most flexible: 1 - Ones which run on the same kernel as the host operating system (Containerized

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-40633327066209165812010-02-04T22:57:00.002-06:002010-02-04T23:12:30.591-06:00

Someone asked me if there's a rodent bait that is safe to use around domestic animals including dogs and cats.It looks like Rode-trol may be the solution:"Manufactured from All-Natural and Environmentally-Safe Products! Rode-trol®, Ro-Con™ and Ro-cide™ are made from all natural, food-grade, corn byproducts. Finely milled and pelleted; molasses and corn oil concentrate are then added as an

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-13028989812574354942010-02-04T22:50:00.000-06:002010-02-04T22:57:00.584-06:00

Someone asked me if a marriage license with an error, e.g. their husband's birth date indicating that he was only 7 years old, is legally valid.If you want to get the error corrected then there should be no problem with filing a new marriage license and the cost is minimal.If you are trying to escape a marriage using a technicality then I recommend that you talk to a lawyer, which I am not.If you

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-72277648211160267142007-07-16T22:31:00.000-05:002007-07-16T22:45:20.110-05:00

Someone asked if Cicada Killer Wasps ever sting or bite people and if they are a danger to people or pets.Apparently the Cicada Killer rarely stings unless they are disturbed. Although males are aggressive and territorial they have no sting. Females are difficult to provoke, but may sting if provoked. The sting descriptions range from mild, and dissipating within an hour, to medium, and

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-30895949310525416732007-07-11T21:34:00.000-05:002007-07-11T21:46:43.745-05:00

Someone asked me if their pet toad will hibernate if kept in a garage during the cold winter months.If the garage is uninsulated and unheated then the temperature in the garage will be quite close to the outside temperature, although it would be a bit warmer, and so the toad will probably go into hibernation. Just ensure that it has plenty of food before hibernation time so it can make it

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-62631686023958987022007-07-10T22:50:00.000-05:002007-07-10T23:03:01.538-05:00

Someone asked what the difference between Katydids and Cicadas is. A Katydid is in the same general family (Tettigoniidae) as grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts. A Cicada is in an entirely different family (Cicadoidea).Here are some pictures of Katydids:Katydids in google imagesKatydids in FlickrHere are some pictures of Cicadas:Cicadas in google imagesCicadas in FlickrIf you have any comments

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-69950863531830845622007-06-17T16:36:00.000-05:002007-06-17T17:01:56.329-05:00

Someone asked me what the purpose of the red Beafeater, Yeoman Warder, uniforms is as opposed to the black uniform. They also wondered why Beafeaters carry an axe and what their duties are.The red ceremonial uniform is reserved for special/official occasions and the black undress uniform is the everyday version.The Yeoman Warders carry a pike, a long spear, the Chief Warder carries a staff

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-36176335015888108422007-03-12T22:12:00.000-05:002007-03-12T22:44:11.305-05:00

Someone asked me if music is bad for your mind; like anything else, it depends ;-)The creators of the Baby Einstein and Little Einsteins obviously believe that music is very beneficial to the brain and there was an article in Scientific American that was referenced by wikipedia that claims significantly beneficial brain differences caused by music, although there is an opposing side that may

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1159586250391802442006-09-29T21:41:00.000-05:002006-09-29T22:18:26.910-05:00

Someone asked me how they would use boolean statements in OpenOffice's Spreadsheet application, Calc.In my previous example showing how to calculate the number of days between 2 dates I set cells A1 and B1 to be dates and set C1 to be a formula that used the "DAYS" function to calculate the number of days between the two dates.If you wanted to only output the calculation if A1 and B1 were greater

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1159536954775786152006-09-29T08:31:00.000-05:002006-09-29T08:35:54.790-05:00

Someone asked me how they could calculate the number of days between two dates using OpenOffice's Spreadsheet application, Calc.The answer is to use the "DAYS" function.Type a date in cell A1, set the format of the cell to be a date, type another date in cell B1, set that cells format to also be a date, then enter the following in cell C1:=DAYS(A1;B1)Cell C1 will now contain a number signifying

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1159501142406316192006-09-28T22:34:00.000-05:002006-09-28T22:43:08.590-05:00

Someone just asked me how do performers make a clothes change so quickly on stage?Simple answer; Velcro.All those buttons are just for show, underneath it's just Velcro.If you have any comments please let me know and if you have any other questions which you'd like me to answer for free please send them to Ben Dash at ben.dash@gmail.com

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1159500516305822442006-09-28T22:06:00.000-05:002006-09-28T22:32:29.603-05:00

Someone just asked me a few more cicada questions:1. What year will the cyclical cicada occur here in Illinois?2. Do both the annual and the cyclical occur at the same time?3. If the cyclical cicada egg takes 13/17 years to become a larva and emerge, how long is the annual underground? Is it a year?The answers are:1. Broods III, XIII, XIX, and XXIII will emerge in 2014, 2007, 2011, and 2015

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1158929306368832192006-09-22T07:42:00.000-05:002014-11-23T07:47:32.405-06:00

Someone asked me if I knew of a really small, tiny, PC that could be used as a MythTV frontend. The eBox III 3800 has an 800mhz CPU and 256MB RAM so it should be adequate for a standard definition mythfrontend PC. It can boot from the LAN using PXE, which is great for a frontend, so the lack of hard drive shouldn't be an issue.You don't get much smaller than that, or do you?If you have any

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1144185751197579162006-04-04T16:14:00.000-05:002006-04-04T16:22:31.233-05:00

Someone just asked me what they are doing that sometimes causes all their text in MS Notepad to become right justified and, more importantly, how do they change it back to being left justified?What's actually happening is windows is being told, by certain hotkeys being pressed, to switch from the typical Western left-to-right text orientation to a right-to-left text orientation used in Arabic and

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1141788953756384332006-03-07T21:09:00.000-06:002006-03-07T21:37:03.393-06:00

Someone asked me if it was normal for their pet toad to curl up and remain completely still at the onset of winter. "Is the toad dead?"Most likely not. Most toads hibernate in the winter and will often appear to be dead only to reanimate in the spring as the weather warms up. The best thing to do is to leave the toad alone and see what happens, hopefully your pet will awaken refreshed and

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1130343639333026392005-10-26T11:10:00.000-05:002005-10-26T11:27:48.246-05:00

Someone asked me if I knew how they could find a window which they'd lost in Windows XP. What happened was that they had been using their laptop in dual screen mode and then went to another location where they only had a single screen. When they ran one particular application it restored its window to the second, now non-existent, screen. Consequently, the window was not visible.The solution is

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1129953298114293702005-10-21T20:10:00.000-05:002005-10-22T13:39:48.250-05:00

Someone asked if poisoned rats are dangerous to cats and dogs and, if so, how to ensure that cats and dogs do not eat the poisoned rats. This is a followup question to an earlier answer about rat repellant:http://bensqanda.blogspot.com/2005/06/rat-repellent.htmlRat poison can certainly be very dangerous to domestic animals who eat the dead rats.Rat poisons come in 3 varieties:1) Anticoagulant

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1129149260570526032005-10-12T15:31:00.000-05:002005-10-12T16:19:33.853-05:00

Someone asked me if I knew of a device which would allow them to transport video which they recorded using MythTV and then play that video on a TV screen.It's possible to transport your audio and video media between PCs using a USB external Hard Disk Drive, however, if you want to display your media on a TV screen then the MediaGate MG-25 is what you need, available from Amazon here:The MediaGate

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1128433650860809302005-10-04T08:37:00.000-05:002005-10-04T08:47:30.863-05:00

Someone asked me if I knew of an external battery for use with the WL-HDD 2.5 WiFi external hard drive.Do you know how some things are just meant to go together? Well I just found the Tekkeon myPower universal battery which just happens to be not only exactly the same size, shape and colour as the Asus WL-HDD 2.5 external WiFi hard drive enclosure, but it also provides the correct voltage to

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1126278518868732522005-09-09T10:04:00.000-05:002005-09-09T10:08:38.876-05:00

Someone asked if there was a way to make an old PC boot from a CD even though the BIOS only recognised floppy drive, A: or B: etc., and hard disk bootable drives.The answer is yes you can. The tool which allows you to boot from a CD, or indeed many other types of device, is Smart Boot Manager. More information and the download is available here:http://btmgr.webframe.org/I hope that that answers

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12310138.post-1126014191517291092005-09-06T08:30:00.000-05:002005-09-06T09:02:27.483-05:00

Someone asked me if it was possible to disable HTML form auto complete and if so how it is done.It is possible to disable HTML form auto complete, and it's very easy to do with no need for any complex javascript.Simply change:<form name="myForm">...</form>To:<form name="myForm" autocomplete="off">...</form>You can also set autocomplete using

Ben Dashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07590056908916910245noreply@blogger.com1