Author: Dave Farquhar

Advice for new bloggers

Dave Farquhar Writing
Advice for new bloggers

Someone asked me last week what advice I have for new bloggers. In theory I have a lot, but let me focus most on content. Because without content, you don’t have a blog. Then we’ll touch on other subjects like SEO and monetization. But mostly, let’s talk content.

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The Delmar Divide in St. Louis

Dave Farquhar St. Louis
The Delmar Divide in St. Louis

In St. Louis there isn’t a wrong side of the tracks so much as there’s a wrong side of Delmar. Delmar is an east-west drag in north-central St. Louis that separates the haves and have-nots, very visibly. The protests in St. Louis in 2020 brought this out very visibly, if unintentionally.

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Wrinkled traces on a Commodore 64 motherboard

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Wrinkled traces on a Commodore 64 motherboard

A frequent question that I see come up on vintage computer forums is whether wrinkled traces on a Commodore 64 motherboard cause problems. Not all boards have this so it’s easy to see why this could be concerning.

The wrinkled traces on old PCBs like Commodore 64 motherboards is an artifact of the manufacturing process. It’s normal and it rarely causes a problem.

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Imposter syndrome in tech and cyber security

Dave Farquhar security
Imposter syndrome in tech and cyber security

I’ve had lots of discussions about imposter syndrome in both tech in general and cyber security specifically. I have thoughts.

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History of Western Digital hard drives

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
History of Western Digital hard drives

Western Digital is one of only three hard drive manufacturers remaining in the computer industry. But their history didn’t start out with making hard drives themselves. Let’s take a look at the history of Western Digital hard drives and what led them from making accessories to making the drives too.

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Stack rank: An employee perspective

Dave Farquhar Careers
Stack rank: An employee perspective

I once worked for a company that used the stack rank system. It’s a method that Jack Welch pioneered at General Electric decades ago and it caught on elsewhere, but many companies, including famously Microsoft, moved away from it.

I’ve experienced firsthand what it does to people and what it does to teams. I’ll share my experience in hopes it drives progressive-thinking companies to seek alternatives.

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John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A review

Dave Farquhar Book reviews
John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A review

I read the entirety of John Bolton’s vast tome, The Room Where It Happened, so you don’t have to. Because you probably won’t want to read the whole thing. I’ll tell you where the highlights are. I haven’t been this tired after reading a book since reading the CISSP Common Book of Knowledge (which is as bad as it sounds) or the Christian Bible (which goes without saying). A political book doesn’t belong in the same league as those two.

The Room Where It Happened is not a tell-all book. It’s about two parts memoir and one part manifesto, and it’s John Bolton’s story, which just happens to include a lot about his boss.

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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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