David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
Tomorrow is election day. When you vote, use a paper ballot. Paper ballots aren’t flawless either, but they are the less flawed of the two options we have.
So remember two things tomorrow. Go vote. And ask for paper.
I remember the old Montgomery Ward building in Kansas City. I spent plenty of time in the sprawling complex at 6200 St. John Avenue in Kansas City near the intersection of Belmont Boulevard.
When I was growing up, the three most dreaded words in my (and my cousin’s) vocabulary were “Ward’s over town.” That was what our family called the monstrosity, which was home to a regional distribution center, an outlet store, a catalog store, and corporate offices in a mere 2 million square feet.
When we were eight years old, this store was where Saturdays went to die. I don’t know how many of its 2 million square feet were open to my mom, aunt, and grandmother to look for bargains, but there was plenty of room for bargains to hide, and if there was ever anyone willing to spend the whole day in that store stretching a dollar just as far as it could go, it was my aunt. Read more
“What’s the permanence of super glue?” someone asked me the other day. It’s an interesting question and unfortunately, the answer is, it depends.
Department 56 vs Lemax is a battle between the two biggest names in holiday villages. There are a lot of similarities between the two brands, but the differences may matter to you. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering one or the other.
It’s not as easy to find DD-WRT compatible routers as it should be. Or maybe I should say it’s not as easy to find out if a particular router is compatible with DD-WRT as it could be. Here’s the trick.
A longtime reader asked last week how to strip insulation from thin wires–really thin wires. That’s a great question. I used to use wire wrap wire to build my own computer circuits, and garden-variety wire strippers don’t do the job. Here are four options you can use when you’re repairing electronics with fine wire.
Sometimes wire insulation gets damaged. The wire will still work, but exposed metal increases the risk of short circuit, electrical shock, or even fire. When you come across damaged insulation, you really need to fix it. Here’s how to repair wire insulation.
Occasionally someone asks me to recommend an HO scale holiday village or HO scale Christmas village. The big-name villages are too big for HO scale trains, generally speaking, so I understand. There’s no big-name HO scale holiday village but there is a very affordable one.
I recommend Cobblestone Corners, available at Dollar Tree. Old stock is easy to find on Ebay as well.
Is fast food considered retail? Only if you spin it. If you’re asking the question, that’s probably what you need to do. Here’s how to do just that if you’re looking for a change.
“Will baseball cards ever be valuable again?” someone asked me recently. The answer is that it depends. Not all cards were valuable in the first place.
Part of the problem is there was a time when 90% of boys collected cards. Now they don’t. Prices dropped due to simple supply and demand.