Author: Dave Farquhar

Fix slimy plastic

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Fix slimy plastic

Rubberized plastic has a tendency to degrade and get slimy as it ages. So what was once a nice input device becomes too gross to use right about the time it gets retro enough to be cool again. Fortunately you can fix it. Here’s how to fix slimy plastic.

Read more

Model Products Corporation, or MPC

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Model Products Corporation, or MPC

Model Products Corporation was a leading brand of plastic model kits from the 1950s to 2011. It frequently went by the acronym MPC. It should not be confused with another contemporary toy company, Multiple Products Company, which was a leading maker of plastic army men from 1954 to about 1979. This company also went by MPC.

In the context of Lionel, “MPC” refers to this company, Model Products Corporation, that was also owned by General Mills in the 1970s and 1980s. General Mills merged the two company operations, hoping for synergy.

Read more

How to burn a BIOS

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
How to burn a BIOS

Burning a BIOS isn’t as hard as it sounds. Here’s how to burn a BIOS and what to use to do it.

Read more

How much did VHS tapes cost in the 80s?

Dave Farquhar 1980s
How much did VHS tapes cost in the 80s?

How much did VHS tapes cost in the 1980s? How much did VHS movies cost? A lot more than they should, at least in the case of pre-recorded movies. The concept of VHS tapes can be hard to wrap your mind around if you didn’t grow up in that era. And companies had a hard time for a while figuring out how to price them. So the first VHS tapes were surprisingly expensive in the 1970s and into the 1980s.

Read more

Fighter Jets on Chouteau Avenue, St Louis

Dave Farquhar St. Louis
Fighter Jets on Chouteau Avenue, St Louis

At the intersection of Chouteau and Cardinal avenues, near downtown St. Louis, there is a curious sight. Sitting outside the Bissell Auto and Body Company is a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. And if you look behind it, you can see the hulks of numerous other airplanes and helicopters, in varying states of (in)completeness.

The airplanes on Chouteau Avenue near downtown St. Louis aren’t an airplane graveyard. They are the private collection of Dan Bissell, the owner of the garage whose lot they occupy.

Read more

Standard Gauge and Wide Gauge toy trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Standard Gauge and Wide Gauge toy trains

What is standard gauge and wide gauge? The difference between standard gauge and wide gauge depends on whether we are talking real trains or model trains. Because the two things can either be the same or opposites depending on which you are talking about. In toy trains, it was a marketing solution to an engineering problem.

Read more

Can you put a computer on carpet? Yes, with caveats

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Can you put a computer on carpet? Yes, with caveats

Can you put a computer on carpet? Yes you can, with caveats. But the biggest issue with putting your computer on carpet probably isn’t what you think.

Putting a computer on carpet is one of those weird questions I get, like putting a computer on its side. It’s one of those things that might have been a bad idea at one time, but doesn’t make much difference today.

Read more

What happened to Eat-Rite Diner

Dave Farquhar St. Louis
What happened to Eat-Rite Diner

Eat-Rite Diner, the 516-square feet flagship of a greasy spoon empire, sat on Route 66 for decades in St. Louis, at the intersection of Chouteau and Seventh street. Today it’s gone, but not forgotten. Here’s what happened to Eat-Rite Diner, the icon that struggled to make it into the 21st century.

The Eat Rite Diner at 622 Chouteau in St. Louis operated under that name from 1970 to 2020, with one interruption in 2017-2018. Today Fleur STL, an upscale take on traditional diner food, lives on at the old Eat Rite flagship location.

Read more

Who was Roy Cohn?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Who was Roy Cohn?

Roy Cohn is a polarizing figure in 20th century American history, with some spillover into the 21st. He is best known as a lawyer, but he was also chairman of the board of Lionel, the maker of electric trains, during the 1960s. I will assume that’s why you’re here, before getting into the other things Roy Cohn was known for.

Roy Cohn didn’t think his involvement with Lionel Corporation, the famous toymaker, warranted even a footnote when he was writing his autobiography. But the infamous lawyer and political operative wasn’t just a lawyer, he was also a corporate raider, even if he wasn’t a particularly talented or successful one.

Read more

Should I buy a used office chair?

Dave Farquhar Health
Should I buy a used office chair?

On the advice of a work from home veteran, I bought a used office chair recently. It was the best advice I’ve received in a long time. Should I buy a used office chair? Should you? Yes, and here’s why.

Read more