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Marx 897 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 5, 2019January 27, 2022

The Marx 897 was a tin lithographed steam locomotive produced prior to World War II. It depicts a much more common steam locomotive than the Commodore Vanderbilt or Canadian Pacific and came in both clockwork and electric variations.

The Marx 897 looks like what a classic Marx locomotive ought to look like, made of pressed tin with lithographed detail. But it only stayed on the market a few years because of World War II, and the emergence of newer technologies. But if you like tin lithography and you like Marx, you probably like the 897.

Mac doesn’t work with external monitors with the lid closed

Dave Farquhar Macintosh April 3, 2019October 26, 2022

If your Mac doesn’t work with external monitors with the lid closed, the fix is deceptively simple, even though it’s maddening.

Check your power connector. A Macbook or other portable Mac won’t work in closed-display mode without AC power.

Why making a table saw from a circular saw is dangerous

Dave Farquhar DIY April 2, 2019March 5, 2019

Table saws are extremely useful, but a good table saw is expensive. Even a cheap table saw can be rather expensive. So it’s very tempting to make your own, using a circular saw. But here’s why making a table saw from a circular saw is dangerous.

A homemade table saw lacks the safety features of even the most basic saw, including the riving knife, kickback pawls, and blade guard. Although frequently overlooked, kickback is the most common cause of injury from table saws, and building your own saw leaves you susceptible. It’s much safer to buy an inexpensive table saw.

Why did Apple fail in the 90s?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 1, 2019September 25, 2024

It’s hard to imagine now that Apple is a trillion-dollar company, but Apple very nearly went under in the 1990s. For a time, it seemed the company could do no right. So why did Apple fail in the 90s? And how did it manage to find its way?

Apple’s problems in the 90s were twofold: Its operating system was outdated and its products were expensive and uninspiring. Apple turned around when Steve Jobs changed the company’s message and took some chances with the design.

Buying trains at estate sales

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Toy trains March 29, 2019March 9, 2019

I think estate sales are an underrated place to buy trains. While some things have changed from 15 years ago when I started, there are still good finds out there. Here are my tips for buying trains at estate sales.

There are lots of places to find trains, including train stores, antique shops, train shows, and placing want ads. But buying trains straight out of people’s estates is surprisingly effective, and can be economical too.

How game cracking works

Dave Farquhar Software March 28, 2019June 8, 2024

Copying software is a problem as old as software itself. Software manufacturers immediately sought to prevent people from copying their products. And it’s been a game of cat and mouse ever since, as people figured out how to crack the software so they could copy it. Here’s how game cracking works.

Cracking games, or any other software, is a matter of making the software stop performing whatever checks the manufacturer put in place to defeat copying. It typically takes some knowledge of machine language, and sometimes encryption, to make it work. But once the check is circumvented, the software generally can be copied freely.

Which is bigger, 1:64 scale or 1:87 scale

Dave Farquhar Model Building March 27, 2019March 3, 2019

Scale can be a confusing concept to explain or to understand. So it’s very common to hear questions like which is bigger, 1:64 scale or 1:87 scale. I’ll try to explain it simply.

Scale is a ratio between the size of a model or toy and the real thing it represents. A 1:64 scale model is 1/64 the size of the real thing. A 1:87 model is 1/87 the size of the real thing. In scale, higher numbers are smaller.

When will baseball cards make a comeback?

Dave Farquhar Baseball March 26, 2019July 19, 2023

Anyone who collected baseball cards in the 1980s and 1990s knows how the hobby has changed. In the 80s and 90s, baseball card shops proliferated like vape shops, popping up anywhere there was empty real estate. New sets were released almost monthly. And then the bubble popped, leaving us to ask, when will baseball cards make a comeback?

I would argue that the parts of the hobby that are going to make a comeback already did. The reason 1980s and 1990s baseball cards aren’t coming back is complex, but there are several reasons why those cards probably will never be as valuable as they were at their peak.

Why did Microsoft beat Apple? And why Apple doesn’t care.

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing March 25, 2019November 3, 2025

In the personal computer market, Apple and Microsoft are effectively a duopoly. And for some reason, both companies seem to like it that way. Why did Microsoft beat Apple? And why doesn’t Apple seem to care? The answer is nuanced, but not super hard to understand.

Microsoft beat Apple in personal computer market share because Microsoft achieved critical mass first, with a cheaper, good-enough product. Apple learned from this, then did the same thing to Microsoft in the MP3 player, phone, and tablet markets.

Marx 1829 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 22, 2019March 3, 2019

The Marx 1829 was arguably the largest, nicest plastic steam locomotive of the postwar era. It was a plastic locomotive with a 4-6-4 Hudson configuration, a type of locomotive usually reserved for higher-end diecast models.

The 1829 wasn’t just a plastic Marx 333. The design of the casting differs from the diecast 333, and it used a different trailing truck, since the 333 was a 4-6-2 Pacific. The motor was similar, and like the 333, it came in both smoking and non-smoking versions.