Author: Dave Farquhar

Linkedin connection requests from strangers

Dave Farquhar Careers
Linkedin connection requests from strangers

An interesting question came up on Twitter the other day. Do you accept Linkedin connection requests from strangers? I used to. Today I generally do not. Here’s why I used to, and why I changed my mind.

Whether you accepted connection requests from strangers really depends on what you’re trying to get out of Linkedin. If those connections don’t further your goals, simply don’t accept them.

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Replace or repair roof? Know when it’s time.

Dave Farquhar DIY

Roofs are expensive. So there’s every incentive to try to make it last as long as you can before replacing it. But sometimes you reach a point of diminishing returns with repairs. Here’s how to know whether to replace or repair your roof.

When a roof tends to leak and repeated repairs don’t clear the problem, that’s a sign the roof has hidden issues. I’ll try to repair a roof once, but repeated repairs that don’t solve the issue is just throwing money away.

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Typical benefits package for employees

Dave Farquhar Careers
Typical benefits package for employees

I was comparing notes on Twitter with some peers in the UK and Australia. The idea of benefits confused them. They asked what a typical benefits package for employees in the United States looked like, and if it explained the difference in pay between our countries. So let’s take a look.

A typical benefits package for employees in the United States includes health insurance coverage, paid vacation days, paid holidays, and some retirement. But the details can vary a bit.

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What is the difference between 1/64 and 1/87 visually?

Dave Farquhar model railroading
What is the difference between 1/64 and 1/87 visually?

One of the most common questions I get is regarding the difference between 1:64 and 1:87 scales. Someone asked me to show the difference visually. That’s easy enough to do.

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Eephus pitch in baseball

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Eephus pitch in baseball

An eephus pitch in baseball is a slow curveball thrown at an absurdly low speed, usually 60 miles per hour or less. Since it’s much slower than a typical baseball pitch, slower than even a knuckleball, it can catch a hitter off guard. However, if a major league hitter gets the timing right or the pitch doesn’t move like it should, it can be an easy pitch to hit.

The name eephus comes from a Hebrew word that means “nothing.” It’s a slow, junk pitch, something of a novelty, and generally better liked by fans and broadcasters than hitters.

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IEEE-488 and Commodore

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
IEEE-488 and Commodore

When Commodore introduced its PET line of personal computers in 1977, they needed a bus to connect peripherals. Rather than do something proprietary, they chose an industry standard, the IEEE-488 bus originally designed by HP. It suited Commodore’s needs at the time, even though it’s pretty obscure today.

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Commodore 8-inch floppy disk drives

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Commodore 8-inch floppy disk drives

We don’t typically associate the ginormous 8-inch floppy disks with Commodore. But Commodore produced no fewer than four different models of 8-inch floppy drive for its PET/CBM line of computers.

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Relating to a black male

Dave Farquhar Society
Relating to a black male

I don’t think it’s any secret that race relations in the United States are at a pretty low point right now. A Twitter post from a college professor who happens to be black hit home with me. So I’m going to relate his story to my own experience, in hopes this helps other white males like me gain a sense of understanding.

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What does Unisys do?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
What does Unisys do?

Unisys was once the second largest computer company in the world, and the name of one of its products, Univac, was briefly synonymous with the word “computer.” It’s no longer the force it once was, but Unisys survives today, in a slimmed-down form.

Unisys still produces computer hardware, including mainframes. But like its rival IBM, it makes most of its money in software, service, and integration.

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Shodan API Python example

Dave Farquhar security

I’ve advocated learning Python, and the best way to learn it is with a useful example. Here’s a very simple Python program that does something useful. It queries the Shodan API to tell you who owns an IP address.

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