Author: Dave Farquhar

Kenny Lofton’s Hall of Fame case

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Kenny Lofton’s Hall of Fame case

Kenny Lofton was a big star in the mid 1990s. He made five consecutive All Star teams and played a key role in Cleveland’s late ’90s resurgence. In between stents with Cleveland, he also helped Atlanta to a division title. So why isn’t Kenny Lofton in the Hall of Fame?

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Human after all 80s song lyric: Something About You

Dave Farquhar 1980s
Human after all 80s song lyric: Something About You

The iconic 80s song lyric “Human after all” appears in a couple of lines of “Something About You,” a New Wave hit for the British band Level 42 released in September 1985. It charted in the top 10 on three continents.

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When Marx sold trains at Radio Shack: The Hot Shot

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
When Marx sold trains at Radio Shack: The Hot Shot

Low budget electric trains and Radio Shack don’t necessarily seem like the most obvious pairing. Here’s why Marx and Radio Shack teamed up for an exclusive train set, and why it didn’t go as well as either of them hoped.

The Marx Hot Shot, set number 4378 and Radio Shack Catalog# 60-2106, was part of the Great American Railroads series. It was a Radio Shack exclusive, sold only in 1974.

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Five Alive juice: The taste of the 80s

Dave Farquhar 1980s
Five Alive juice: The taste of the 80s

What did the 1980s taste like? If we’re going to limit ourselves to something available then that you can’t get anymore, I would submit Five Alive juice for your consideration. Five Alive was a citrus beverage, containing orange, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, and lime juice. It was a product of the Minute Maid division of the Coca-Cola Company.

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Tandy MMS-10 under-monitor speakers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Tandy MMS-10 under-monitor speakers

The Tandy MMS-10 is a self contained speaker unit that sits under a monitor, providing external speakers for vintage computers. Radio Shack sold them for use with 1990s multimedia PCs. But the MMS-10 looks and works well with an Amiga computer too. And who would blame you for using one with a Tandy 1000?

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Tandy CM-5 monitor

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Tandy CM-5 monitor

The Tandy CM-5 monitor, introduced in 1987, was the less expensive CGA-compatible monitor from the Tandy 1000’s heyday. It was a very basic monitor and had a reputation for being reliable, but Tandy cut some corners on the picture tube.

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Marx 80982 and 30982 Wabash gondola

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx 80982 and 30982 Wabash gondola

The Marx 30982 and 80982 Wabash gondola is a colorful yellow gondola with lettering for a midwestern railroad. It was part of their short-lived 7-inch line, though it’s easy to convert to a 3/16 car if desired. The 30982 dates to 1949-1954, with the number switching to 80982 from 1955 to 1961. Read more

80s and 90s tight rolled jeans

Dave Farquhar 1980s
80s and 90s tight rolled jeans

Tight rolling jeans was a fad in the late 1980s that extended into the early 1990s. I remember cuffing jeans as a reaction to bell bottoms, but it was most likely driven by a combination of factors.

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Windows 7 retro gaming PC

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Windows 7 retro gaming PC

If you want a Windows 7 retro gaming PC, you have a lot of options. The dizzying number of options may make it more confusing. But it’s also part of the appeal. Let’s talk about how to select components and build one. As for the argument whether Windows 7 is retro: If you’re nostalgic for it, it’s retro.

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Reggie candy bar remembered

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Reggie candy bar remembered

Depending on who you ask, Reggie Jackson was neither the first nor the last baseball player to have a candy bar named after him. But for people of a certain age, the Reggie Candy bar, first available from 1978 to 1981, and then reintroduced in 1993 and 2023, is iconic. And when it’s not in production, the people who miss it miss it badly.

The story of the Reggie bar, of course, is intertwined with the story of its namesake. And it started with a well-publicized comment Jackson made in frustration.

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