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How to mount a power strip

Dave Farquhar DIY October 28, 2020October 11, 2020

Power strips are a necessity when you don’t have enough outlets, but they can be unwieldy. One way to get them to stay where you want is to mount them to your wall, desk, workbench, or entertainment center to keep them out of the way. Here’s how to mount a power strip.

I used this trick to mount a power strip to my train table, my desk for my work computer, and to a monitor stand I made for one of my retro computers. It works well. This allows me to keep it where I want it, whether that means completely in reach in the case of a workbench, or out of sight but very easy to reach, in the case of my retro computer monitor stand.

Qualys severity vs CVSS

Dave Farquhar security October 27, 2020October 17, 2020

I’ve spent a little more time than I would like studying severity models in vulnerability scanners. One question that comes up occasionally is Qualys severity vs CVSS, or any of its competitors, for that matter. Let’s take a look at how Qualys severity compares against the industry standard.

Qualys’ severity score predates CVSS, which is now the industry standard. The two have similarities but there are various reasons for choosing one over the other.

DIY wood crate shelves

Dave Farquhar DIY October 26, 2020November 25, 2020

I needed some shelves for my office. Most of the ready made shelves I could find wouldn’t fit in the space I had. So I made some myself using cheap wooden crates. Here’s how I make DIY wood crate shelves that are attractive, functional, and reasonably durable.

You can buy three wooden crates for $36 and they will make a shelf that’s equivalent to a $40 particle board shelf in terms of storage space. But the crates give you more options in terms of versatility, both in the way they look and the way they work. And while I wouldn’t call them super strong, they’re at least as durable as particle board.

Why are some books so expensive on Amazon?

Dave Farquhar Saving money, scams October 22, 2020January 16, 2023

Books are expensive, but some books are a whole other universe of expensive. There are generally three reasons for that. I don’t think I’m giving away any deep, dark secrets, so I’ll explain why some books are so expensive on Amazon. Like, $800 expensive, sometimes. Better yet, I’ll also explain how to know if the book you’re looking at is overpriced, or if it typically does sell for those high prices.

Some books legitimately are extremely valuable and expensive. But sometimes low-demand books get caught up in price wars that drive prices up due to short supply.

What to look for in a surge protector

Dave Farquhar DIY October 21, 2020October 31, 2020

Surge protectors cost a lot less now than they did when I was a kid. That’s probably a good thing. But buying one today is no less confusing than it was in 1985. Here’s what to look for in a surge protector, so you’re getting the protection you think you are, and without sacrificing convenience.

A good surge protector offers an indicator light that tells you it’s working, enough plugs to be useful to you, and at least 1,000 joules of protection. Be sure to look for at least those three things.

Asymmetric attack examples

Dave Farquhar security October 20, 2020October 3, 2020

In security, we talk about asymmetric attacks all the time. If you don’t know what that means, here’s an easy definition and some examples from the real world. We have to be careful not to conduct asymmetric attacks on ourselves, because frequently we inadvertently do just that.

An asymmetric attack is an attack that’s substantially more expensive to protect against than to launch. This makes them a common challenge in security.

Can’t type in PyCharm? Try this first.

Dave Farquhar Software October 19, 2020September 12, 2023

PyCharm is a lifesaver for developing in Python, but it has a glitch. Sometimes, after you run a script, you lose the ability to type in the editor and make changes. Loads of web sites offer elaborate suggestions to fix the problem, when PyCharm doesn’t allow typing, but frequently, these complex solutions don’t work. Frequently they cause other problems. Try the easy solutions first.

The two easy solutions are to double-click on another file in your project, then double click on your script again. And if that doesn’t work, just exit PyCharm entirely and relaunch it.

Normal GPU temperature

Dave Farquhar Hardware October 15, 2020September 27, 2020

What’s a normal GPU temperature? That all depends on your GPU and how you use your system, but I can at least give you some guidelines.

Can you paint drywall without texture?

Dave Farquhar DIY October 14, 2020December 6, 2020

Can you paint drywall without texture? Absolutely you can. I think it’s easier to paint without texture, as long as you prime it first. But texture can save you time in the long run.

There’s no reason you have to texture drywall. Texture is for making the wall look more traditional or to cover flaws, not to make the paint work better.

Selling books on Amazon

Dave Farquhar Careers October 13, 2020October 30, 2021

I didn’t talk about it much, but I sold books on Amazon for extra money for a little over a decade. There’s a lot of hyperbole out there about selling on Amazon and online in general. Here’s some straight talk about selling books on Amazon from someone who did it.