Author: Dave Farquhar

Does peel and stick tile last?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Does peel and stick tile last?

Peel and stick tiles certainly offer attractive pricing. But you may be wondering, does peel and stick tile last? That’s a wise question to ask, because a floor that costs 38 cents per square foot isn’t much of a bargain if you have to replace it a lot.

I’m a landlord, so I use a lot of peel and stick tile. You might be glad to know that I see a lot of old peel and stick tile too.

Read more

Rarest baseball cards – the Big Three

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Rarest baseball cards – the Big Three

In baseball card circles, you sometimes hear about the “Big Three.” The Big Three aren’t necessarily the rarest baseball cards in existence, but they are exceedingly rare and they are part of extremely popular sets. This increases demand, since set collectors can’t have complete sets without these. There just aren’t enough of the Big Three to go around.

In addition, each of the Big Three have a great story behind them, often shrouded in some mystery.

Read more

Are Lionel trains worth anything?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Are Lionel trains worth anything?

When people hear what my hobby is, sometimes they ask me, “Are Lionel trains worth anything?”

That’s a fair question. After all, television says they are. But there’s something else you ought to know. Back in 2003, if someone asked me that question, I could tell them to go to the library to find out what those trains are worth. Today, my public library doesn’t have a current Lionel price guide. There’s a reason for that. Lionel trains aren’t worth as much as they were in 2003, and people aren’t checking those books out anymore.

Read more

How to cut vinyl tile around door jambs

Dave Farquhar DIY
How to cut vinyl tile around door jambs

Cutting vinyl tile to fit around obstacles can be tricky. It’s easy to end up with an unsightly gap. Here’s how to cut vinyl tile around door jambs and how to cut vinyl tile to fit around a toilet, around a corner, or other obstacles.

With a couple of tricks and a fair bit of patience, you can get nice results.

Read more

DD-WRT advantages

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT
DD-WRT advantages

DD-WRT is a popular aftermarket firmware for consumer routers. For more than a decade, it’s been the go-to for people who want to turn a sub-$100 router into a so-called “super router.” Here’s a look at the most noteworthy DD-WRT advantages.

Read more

Advantages and disadvantages of MS-DOS

Dave Farquhar DOS, Retro Computing
Advantages and disadvantages of MS-DOS

MS-DOS was the dominant computer operating system of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was the operating system most people loved to hate, yet it remained a bestseller. It formed the foundation of Microsoft’s market dominance of the 1990s and beyond. What were the advantages and disadvantages of MS-DOS?

MS-DOS stood for Microsoft Disk Operating System. It also licensed it to IBM, who branded it PC DOS, for Personal Computer Disk Operating System. The differences between the two were relatively minor and they are more or less interchangeable, especially at versions 5.0 and lower.

Read more

1933 Goudey baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball
1933 Goudey baseball cards

1933 Goudey baseball cards are immensely popular with collectors. They weren’t the first baseball cards sold with gum, but the 240-card set was a landmark. It featured an attractive design, tons of star players, a size close to that of modern cards, and some big challenges.

It’s not hard to see why generations of collectors loved the set, and continue to do so. Collecting 1933 Goudey baseball cards takes money, patience, and imagination. Or at least two of the three. Yes, collectors of modest means who have patience and imagination can still collect Goudey, one of the most venerable of baseball card brands.

Read more

Where to buy Lionel trains in St. Louis

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , , ,
Where to buy Lionel trains in St. Louis

If you want to know where to buy Lionel trains in St. Louis, you have a lot of choices. It’s more than possible to make a day of train shopping in St. Louis.

I’ve never seen a comprehensive list of shops, so I made my own. If you know of any place I missed, I apologize. Please leave a comment and I will add it.

Read more

Can’t afford furniture? Here are some ideas.

Dave Farquhar Saving money ,
Can’t afford furniture? Here are some ideas.

When you can’t afford furniture, believe it or not, you have options. It’s also a more common problem than you may think. Here are some offbeat options to help you find furniture until you can afford something better. It’s entirely possible to furnish your home inexpensively if you need to.

Read more

How to use a Commodore 64

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , ,
How to use a Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is rather unlike modern computers. It has a CPU and memory like a modern computer does, but the operating system and overall user experience is alien to someone used to computers that run Windows or Mac OS. So to modern eyes, it’s not completely obvious how to use a Commodore 64.

Commodore had a dominance of the market in the 1980s that would have made Apple jealous at any point in its history, but ultimately Commodore lost, so the Commodore 64’s bloodline is extinct.

Read more