Author: Dave Farquhar

I asked my wife what she wanted for her birthday. She said she’d think about it. Then she asked if she went to Ikea and brought some stuff home, if I’d put it together. I said I would. So, how hard is it to put Ikea furniture together? What tools do you need to put together Ikea furniture? I learned all of that and more.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

When you have an older home, eventually the question always comes up of what to do with the old countertops. It’s actually two questions. First, there’s the question of how best to replace them without turning your kitchen renovation into a nightmare that costs ruinous amounts of money. Second, there’s the question of what to do with the old countertops afterward. Let’s tackle both questions.

While methods do exist to resurface existing laminate countertops, it’s usually easier and cheaper to replace laminate countertops with new ones. The old countertops may have other uses around the house. And yes, I will deal mostly with laminate countertops here. Usually laminate seems to be the type people want to replace.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

I bought a TV wall mount, and then when I went to set it up, I couldn’t unfold it to attach it. It took some time but I figured out what to do. Here’s what to do when your TV wall mount won’t unfold.

TV wall mounts have to be very tight to support the mass of a TV, and without the mass of a TV on them, they can be difficult to unfold. You may have to get creative to reach the adjustment screws, and try turning them the opposite way you think. If you just can’t reach the screws, a little bit of disassembly may be necessary to get to them, but this isn’t terribly difficult to do.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

You can make a surprisingly good digital TV antenna out of a piece of unused coax cable. While not suitable for pulling in distant signals, inside a metro area, this homemade antenna you can make in 15 minutes pulls in dozens of HDTV channels.

You can make a simple TV antenna by stripping off the last six inches of insulation off a standard coax TV cable, folding back the shielding, and leaving six inches of bare copper wire. Where I live, 10 miles from the St. Louis city limit, this simple antenna pulls in 40 channels. If you live outside a major city, you’re better off with a Gray-Hoverman design.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

Which is better, Liquid Nails or wood glue? It depends on what you need to stick together. And there are times when Liquid Nails is more convenient, but wood glue will give a stronger bond, long-term. So let’s look at Liquid Nails vs wood glue.

Construction adhesives like Liquid Nails give a strong bond with quick grab, and they work well on dissimilar surfaces. But for some applications, wood glue is better, especially if you use a premium wood glue.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net