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How to leave an expansion gap

Dave Farquhar DIY August 15, 2019July 28, 2019

A reader asked me how to leave an expansion gap when installing laminate floor or any other type of floating fllor. That’s an important question. With the right tools it’s really easy. Without the right tools, it’s incredibly frustrating.

The trick to leaving an expansion gap is to place some type of spacer of uniform thickness between your flooring and the wall on all four sides of the room. You can either use commercially produced spacers or make some yourself from thin plywood or other scrap wood.

What a buffer overflow looks like

Dave Farquhar security August 14, 2019July 21, 2025

Once you know what to look for, a buffer overflow is almost as easy to spot as it is to understand. So here’s what a buffer overflow looks like, whether you’re looking at suspicious network traffic or a suspicious file on disk.

A buffer overflow is a long sequence of NOP operations followed by machine code. The long sequence of NOPs is a tell-tale sign, but disassembling the data that follows will verify it–if it doesn’t disassemble to gibberish, you found a buffer overflow.

PC DOS vs MS-DOS

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 13, 2019May 7, 2024

DOS was a bit of an oddity, in that you could buy it from either Microsoft or IBM. The two were never quite identical, but were always mostly interchangeable. The differences grew larger at version 6, but they were still more alike than different. Let’s take a look at PC DOS vs MS-DOS.

IBM and Microsoft collaborated on DOS, and both had the right to market it. IBM sold its version as PC DOS, while Microsoft sold its version as MS-DOS. And for a time, IBM was happy just to sell PC DOS to owners of true-blue IBM PCs. But in 1993 it changed.

Lionel CW-40 vs CW-80 transformers

Dave Farquhar Toy trains August 9, 2019August 4, 2019

The Lionel CW-40, also known as the Powermax Plus, looks just like the CW-80, at least if you’re looking from the front. But it has significant differences from its bigger brother. Let’s look at the Lionel CW-40 vs CW-80 and whether those differences matter to you.

Neither the CW-40 or CW-80 are high-end transformers. But if you’re doing anything more ambitious than running a simple loop of track, you’ll probably be happier with a CW-80.

What is retro in computers?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 8, 2019July 26, 2019

What is retro in computers? It’s a fair question, because there’s a fine line between junk and treasure when it comes to old computers. And the answer definitely depends on who you ask. It means the computer is old enough to be collectible, but there’s no universal standard for “old enough.”

As a general rule, if it’s obsolete and no longer being made, someone considers it retro. But not necessarily everyone will, so there certainly are degrees of retro when it comes to computers.

Is a 4GB 32-bit computer OK for web browsing and word processing?

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 7, 2019August 5, 2019

I got a great question last week. Is a 4GB 32-bit computer OK for simple tasks like web browsing and word processing today? Or are 32-bit computers obsolete? The answer, of course, is that it depends.

A 32-bit computer with 4 GB of RAM can handle simple computing tasks, but at the cost of speed. If you’re willing to not multitask a lot, you may be able to get by with a 32-bit machine.

Are Blu phones good? Are Blu phones safe?

Dave Farquhar Android August 6, 2019July 28, 2022

If you need a cheap smartphone, you’ve probably seen Blu. And the price probably makes you wonder. Are Blu phones good? And are Blu phones safe? Those are good questions to be asking. Here’s my family’s experience with Blu phones.

Blu phones had a spotty security track record but haven’t had a major security issue since 2017. As far as quality, they’re fine for the money, as long as you don’t expect them to perform with a phone that costs twice as much.

Refurbish a toilet with vinegar

Dave Farquhar DIY August 5, 2019September 5, 2019

Some nasty mineral deposits can build up in toilets over time, which leads some people to replace them. But you don’t have to. Here’s how to refurbish a toilet with vinegar.

Ugly mineral deposits in a toilet can be a turnoff. Fortunately you can fix them with less than $2 worth of vinegar and a little time, by pouring a cup of vinegar into the toilet and letting it sit.

Dinky 1:48 vehicles for O scale

Dave Farquhar model railroading August 2, 2019July 27, 2019

There’s a bit of myth around Dinky vehicles. 1:43 vehicles are the standard size, the story goes, because Meccano made Dinky-brand 1:43 vehicles to go with its Hornby-brand trains. But that’s part of the story. Dinky models of American vehicles were 1:48, to go with American O scale trains.

Dinky produced 1:48 diecast models of American cars from the late 1940s well into the 1960s. While they can be expensive, they hold their value well. Model railroaders who don’t want to pay collector prices can buy beat-up Dinky models and paint and detail them as they like.

Atari ST vs Amiga

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 1, 2019June 20, 2025

When it comes to Atari ST vs Amiga, there are more similarities than differences from today’s perspective. But the two machines had significant differences that led them to be incompatible even though the hardware differences look minor today. Here’s a look at the two machines and why they were such fierce rivals in the late 1980s.