Author: Dave Farquhar

Fast Ethernet vs Gigabit Ethernet

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking
Fast Ethernet vs Gigabit Ethernet

You may hear the words Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet thrown around a lot, and it can raise some questions. Which one is faster? Which is better? How can one compare Fast Ethernet vs Gigabit Ethernet? Despite the name, Gigabit Ethernet is faster than Fast Ethernet. Here’s why you need to care about the difference.

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Baseball error cards list

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Baseball error cards list

People make mistakes sometimes. People who work for baseball card companies are no exception. As a result, a baseball error cards appear from time to time. Some hobbyists enjoy collecting baseball error cards and even specialize in it, so here’s a list of some of the more famous or well-known error cards.

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How to fix loose outlets

Dave Farquhar DIY
How to fix loose outlets

Loose electrical outlets are annoying. They make it hard to plug stuff in and unplug it again. They cause cover plates to break, and can even cause the outlets themselves to break. In some cases, they are even a safety issue. Here’s how to fix loose outlets.

Sometimes you get lucky and this is a five-minute fix with no supplies. Even when it isn’t, you can fix this in less than 30 minutes using less than $5 worth of supplies in most cases. Sometimes you can fix it with junk you have laying around. And it’s worth doing, as loose outlets can lead to broken cover plates or, worse yet, arcs and burns.

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Vulnerability management best practices

Dave Farquhar security
Vulnerability management best practices

As a vulnerability management professional, I talk about vulnerability management best practices a lot. It comes up in sales presentations. I talk about it when my phone rings and a former colleague just needs to talk. But based on my experience, not many companies do vulnerability management well. If you’re not happy with your vulnerability management program, here are some best practices to help you get the results you want.

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Telecommuting pros and cons

Dave Farquhar Careers
Telecommuting pros and cons

Telecommuting isn’t all that new of an idea. I’ve been doing it to some extent since 2002 or 2003. And I’ve been telecommuting full time since 2016. Let’s take a look at some telecommuting pros and cons, as they can be significant.

I worked from home a significant part of the time from 2002-2009 and again from 2012-2014. Many of my colleagues did as well.

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How big is an HO scale train?

Dave Farquhar model railroading
How big is an HO scale train?

HO scale is the most popular scale for model railroading, partly because its size represents a good compromise. It’s small enough that you can fit a decent layout in a reasonable space without it taking over your basement. But it’s big enough that you can see it. But how big is HO scale? How big is an HO scale train?

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Hole too big for screw in wall

Dave Farquhar DIY
Hole too big for screw in wall

What should you do when you have a hole in the wall that’s too big for the screw you need to use? Fortunately, there are at least four things you can do to fix the problem of a hole too big for screw in wall relatively quickly and easily.

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VMware Fusion screen resolution too small

Dave Farquhar Windows

Is your VMware Fusion screen resolution too small? Mine was. When I pulled up my Windows VM, Windows came up looking like everything was a 4-point font. I know I’m not 25 anymore, but I don’t think I could have read that at 25, even. Fortunately the fix is pretty easy once you know where to look.

I’m not sure how well this works in operating systems other than Windows, but if you run Windows 10 in a VM like I do, this seems to fix it.

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Tenable competitors for vulnerability management

Dave Farquhar security
Tenable competitors for vulnerability management

Tenable is one of the biggest names in vulnerability management, partly due to its sponsorship of several popular security podcasts. But due diligence requires taking a look at multiple solutions. So here’s an overview of Tenable competitors and my notes on them, having used each of them in the field.

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What are thermal curtains?

Dave Farquhar DIY, Saving money
What are thermal curtains?

What are thermal curtains? Thermal curtains are thick curtains with multiple layers of fabric and a layer of foam to help block the flow of heat. This helps you save energy, while also having sound dampening effects.

Thermal curtains work similarly to blackout curtains. But since their intended purposes are slightly different, a thermal curtain might have some shortcomings as a blackout curtain, and vice versa. If you want a curtain to do both, make sure it actually states that it does both. Otherwise, I recommend getting dark-colored thermal curtains. A blackout curtain may not block as much heat as you would like. Similarly, a light-colored thermal curtain might let in more light than you like.

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