Author: Dave Farquhar

Is DD-WRT safe?

Dave Farquhar DD-WRT, security
Is DD-WRT safe?

As a security professional, “is DD-WRT safe?” is a question I hear a lot. While there are options that I think are safer, I’m perfectly fine with admitting I use DD-WRT myself. I know a lot of other people like me do as well.

One thing is almost certain: DD-WRT is safer than what shipped on your router from the factory.

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Boot a Lenovo Ideapad 100 from USB

Dave Farquhar Hardware ,
Boot a Lenovo Ideapad 100 from USB

If you need to boot a Lenovo Ideapad 100 from USB, there’s an easy way to do it. Here’s how.

The Lenovo boot menu appears when you hit the Novo button on the side of the machine. Here’s how to find the Novo button and how to push it, since it’s usually recessed.

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Hipwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , ,
Hipwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh

The Hipwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh was the inventor of the single-cell battery and a venerable producer of flashlights. As recently as 2002, Hipwell produced 2 million flashlights in the United States.

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Tin buildings for train layouts

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , , ,
Tin buildings for train layouts

When it comes to trains, I prefer older ones made of tin, rather than plastic. And I like tin buildings too. Any time I open a magazine featuring someone’s train layouts, the buildings all look the same. I want something a little different, so I look for tin buildings to go with my tin trains.

Many companies through the years made food containers with printing on them that look like buildings. The tins tend to be about six inches wide, around 8 inches tall, and two inches deep. They tend to resemble the two-story commercial buildings you used to see in downtowns, with a storefront on the first story and offices or apartments on the second floor.

You can use these tins to put together a very timeless commercial district for your train layout. If you know what to look for, you can find coffee shops, bakeries, candy stores, florists, and plenty of other stores to make your town a nice place to live and work. And the buildings usually aren’t terribly expensive, either.

In this post, I’ll cover buildings made after 1970. For pre-1970 buildings, see Vintage Tin Litho Buildings.

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Vintage tin litho buildings

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , , , ,
Vintage tin litho buildings

Years ago, I decided I wanted to take a different approach with my trains. I heard about a guy in Springfield who has a traditional toy train layout with no plastic on it. I wanted to see if I could do something similar.

At the time, information about this approach was rare. So I’ve collected here what I know about tin buildings made prior to 1970 (the approximate end of the postwar era). You won’t find everything you want in pre-1970 buildings, so if you need something more modern to fill in the gaps, see my other post tin buildings for train layouts.

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How to grade baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball

I frequently get asked how to grade baseball cards. I really think this is a job best left to a professional, but I’ve collected the guidelines below that professionals use.

Some people assign numeric values to these grades, and sometimes you’ll find mid grades. For example, if a card is a little too good for one grade but falls just short of the next grade up, a grader might add a plus to the grade, grading it EX-MT+.

Note that printing and cutting quality go into the grade, not just wear. Even if it’s not the owner’s fault, many cards fall short of mint.

Also keep in mind there’s no kind of curve. Even if the card is from 1889, if it has flaws, it’s not mint. Even if the card is brand new out of the pack, if it has flaws, it’s not mint.

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Lenovo Ideapad 100 laptop won’t turn on? Fix it

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , ,

If your Lenovo Ideapad 100 won’t turn on, you’re in good company. I have a friend who has that problem with his Ideapad 100 laptop a lot. Incredibly, nobody I know of documented this fix before. Here’s the secret.

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Buying used computer parts

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , ,

Someone asked me the other day about buying used computer parts. I recommend it actually, although I more frequently buy the whole computer. But you can save a lot of money and get higher quality by buying used computer parts.

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LOAD “$”,8,1 – what it means

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
LOAD “$”,8,1 – what it means

I’ve been seeing some references to LOAD “$”,8,1 lately. I think this is due to Commodore 64s making appearances in pop culture. If you’re wondering what this curious command means, I’ll explain it.

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Asuswrt-Merlin vs Cisco

Dave Farquhar security, Servers and Networking , , , ,

I recently saw advice to buy a Cisco RV130W instead of buying an Asus router such as an RT-AC66U and souping it up with Asuswrt-Merlin. I can see both sides of the argument but in the end I favor the Asus solution when I consider Asuswrt-Merlin vs Cisco. Here’s why.

Now, if you’re arguing business vs personal use, there’s no contest. In a business setting, buy the Cisco.

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