Author: Dave Farquhar

The decline and fall of system administration

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking , , , , , , , , , ,

Infoworld’s Paul Venizia stirred up a controversy, asking what happened to sysadmins who can fix things, as opposed to just rebuilding machines any time something went wrong.

The definition changed, mostly. At least that’s what I think.

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On content farms

Dave Farquhar Journalism, net.culture , , , , , , ,

It looks like Google has taken action against content farms, low-quality sites that publish articles about anything and everything quickly, and try to make money from the ads.

I can’t tell yet if this has really affected my traffic any–my traffic can drop or jump 20 percent on a daily basis for no apparent reason. But I support the change.
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Tornadoes, round 2 for 2011

Dave Farquhar Personal, St. Louis

I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard the sirens.

I flipped on the TV, and yes, there were tornadoes on the way.

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Building a Tamiya model kit

Dave Farquhar Model Building

A coworker called me in a panic on Valentine’s Day. He’d bought some Tamiya model kits for his son, and quickly found they were in over their head. Would I build them for them?

I finally got started today.

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Keep paper models from warping

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , ,

I use a lot of miniature paper buildings on my train layout. The usual knock on paper as a modeling material is that it’s prone to warp. But there’s a simple solution for that, and seven years of St. Louis summers hasn’t made it fail on me yet. Here’s how I keep paper models from warping.

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Scripting Windows sysadmin tasks

Dave Farquhar Windows , , , ,

I mentioned a couple of days ago a coworker’s philosophy about sysadmins and scripts that automate most tasks.

Here’s a site that has a lot of useful one-liners. http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ntadmincommands.php
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Windows 7 SP1 is out

Dave Farquhar Windows , , , , , ,

Windows 7 SP1 is out, and showing up in Windows Update now. I won’t be installing it right away, as my system has actually worked for the last couple of weeks or so. If you’re not having problems, waiting a month or so isn’t a bad idea.

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Using old transformers with new

Dave Farquhar Toy trains ,

I’ve covered phasing transformers before, which allows you to use more than one transformer on a layout. But I read something today that reminded me of an old question: Can you safely use a modern Lionel transformer, such as a CW-80 or new ZW, with postwar transformers?

Unfortunately, changes between new and old make it difficult. You can use one to power trains and one to power accessories, but you shouldn’t mix them on the same loop of track. Read on to see why.
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Taming Robocopy

Dave Farquhar Software, Windows

A prolific commenter mentioned yesterday how much he dislikes Robocopy. Perhaps worse than I dislike Windows 7. And the nightmare scenario he describes sounds plausible. I’ve trashed directories with errant copy and xcopy commands, and I know I’m not the only one. And those are comparatively very simple.

I suppose one could put training wheels on a tool like Robocopy, but to me, that defeats much of its purpose. When I play the Robocopy card, it’s generally because I have a copy task that potentially will take several hours–if not days–and it’s going to run into errors, and I want it to just do the best it can, without asking me any questions, so I can walk away and let it chew on the problem for however long it takes.

I won’t say Robocopy is one of those things that can make or break a career, but it’s certainly allowed me to swoop in and save the day on several occasions, and that’s always good. So here’s how.
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Installing trucks on junker train cars

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , ,

Sometimes a train car breaks, and sometimes you get a good deal on a train car that’s missing its running gear. Whatever the reason, sooner or later most hobbyists find themselves needing to attach trucks to the underside of their train cars, and if they’re like me, they soon find that using a regular nut and bolt doesn’t cut it–the nut works itself loose after a few times around the track, which leads to wobbly running, which leads to derailments.

There’s a solution other than expensive riveting tools, if you’re just interested in making cars run well, rather than restorations that are as historically accurate as possible. For about 15 bucks, you can get enough parts to do 50 cars.

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