How to pay off the national debt in less than 30 years

Dave Farquhar Society , , , ,

A couple of coworkers were talking about taxes, deficits and the national debt this week. One of them looked my direction and said, “I’ll bet Dave can figure out how to pay off the national debt.”

It’s actually not as hard as it sounds.

The biggest problem is that we’ve convinced ourselves that the national debt is impossible to pay. I believed this back in the mid-1990s, when it was around $4 trillion. Today, it’s right around $10 trillion. (Note: That was in 2008. In 2016 it’s about $19 trillion. So double any of the dollar figures you see from here on out.)

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DIY paper CD cases

Dave Farquhar General

I have no idea why I never found this sooner: papercdcase.com.

Type in an artist and album name (or publisher and software name) and a track list, and this thing generates a PDF that you can print and fold into a paper case/envelope, complete with spine.I printed a couple at work for discs I use frequently. I think it would take about 10 to really master the folding technique.

This is much cheaper than buying plastic jewel cases, the result is more useful, and you’d still have to print and cut out inserts to put in that jewel to make it useful anyway.

I’ve made these myself manually, but it’s much easier to just type the information into a web form and have a computer do the formatting for me.

On transitioning from high school to college

Dave Farquhar Personal

I took a phone call tonight from my old college fraternity. I’ve been trying to be nicer when they call asking for money. The organization and I see eye-to-eye on virtually nothing, but the poor pledges who have to make these phone calls every year have no control over any of that.

We actually ended up having a nice conversation about the transition from college to high school.I can’t say it’s something I’ve ever talked about, but the transition was a bit rough for me in some ways. I wasn’t valedictorian, but I generally took harder classes than many of the people who outpaced me in GPA. In some of my classes I was more like a teacher’s assistant than a student, because I knew the subject matter better than the teachers did, and they would readily admit it.

Frequently I was the smartest guy in the room, and I liked it that way.

In college, I was never the best at anything. I told him one of my classmates is now the beat writer covering the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That’s the caliber of person I found myself competing against.

It was hard to settle for being good, or very good, when I’d spent the previous 12 years being elite.

Yet, it wasn’t until I got over my ego that I actually managed to even be good. Considering my course load, my first-semester 2.8 GPA wasn’t all that bad, but it was a lot closer to average than I’d ever been. I never dropped below 3.0 the rest of the way, but I never approached my high school numbers.

I guess it was good preparation for adult life. There’ve been times when I was the smartest guy in the room again. But it doesn’t happen very often at work. But at work, the guys who are smarter than me who also have bigger egos than me also aren’t all that happy.

Give me a choice between being content and being the star, and I’ll take contentment every time.

I only talked to the 18-year-old pledge for about five minutes, so I didn’t go into this kind of depth. I don’t think he wanted to hear that kind of a lecture from a stranger 15 years older than him.

There are lots of other questions I would have liked to ask him, but I know the answers to all of those are the same as they were in 1993, and I can’t change any of that for him. I don’t know if that brief conversation that resulted from me asking how his studies were going helped him. But maybe it did. Or at least I didn’t make him feel any worse.

That’s David L. Farquhar, Security+ now

Dave Farquhar Personal ,

I got a few letters behind my name this afternoon. I passed the CompTIA Security+ exam with flying colors. And that means two things: I get to keep my job, and I was qualified to have the job in the first place, but now I have a certificate that says a third party agrees.My personal opinion on the test: You have to approach it like any other test. Another coworker took the test at the same time I did. He was joking around with other people and talking up a storm beforehand. Meanwhile, I was pacing, counting on my fingers and not talking to anyone. I had five things I needed to remember until the clock on the test started and I could scribble them down, so I was focused solely on those five things.

My coworker said he was worried about me because I appeared to be nervous. But that’s just how I am before tests. I review a few things up until the time I’m supposed to walk in, and I take any aid the system provides. If I can carry in an index card, I do that. In the case of CompTIA tests, you can ask for a pencil and piece of paper and scribble down whatever you want on it after the test starts. So I did.

I probably would have passed without that, but I didn’t want to score a 765 on the test (passing is either 764 or 765 out of a possible 900). I wanted an 899. For what it’s worth, my score was a lot closer to 899 than 765.

My coworker and I also both believe the test is designed to frustrate you. The first 30 or so questions were pretty easy. Then my coworker missed 18 questions in a row. He knew he missed them, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. I was pretty confident about my test, but most of my questionable questions came in bunches too. The real key is to not get bogged down in those rough stretches. It gets better.

Of the 100 questions on the test, only 85 count. The contents of the other 15 are anyone’s guess. Some are questions they’re considering to add to the test’s question pool, and based on how people answer them, they’ll decide if they’re fair or unfair. Some are just plain garbage. I had two questions, I think, that had no right answer out of the four options. I think those are control questions to thwart the companies who pay people to take the test and remember a few questions verbatim so they can build up a bank of test questions to sell. If, for example, you pay for some questions and see one asking where the password hashes are stored on a Linux system, and all four responses start with C:\, you’re going to lose confidence in that provider.

As for classes and books… CompTIA’s official class and book cover a lot of material, but there’s an awful lot of middle-management bull in the book and class that isn’t on the test. We had a manager take the test, and he knew the book forward and backward and paid attention in class, but he didn’t pass.

By the same token, every sysadmin who attended the same class and took the test has passed so far. Having lots of recent experience to draw on helps. I can harden Windows systems in my sleep because that’s been my job description for the last couple of years, and no week-long class can cover that kind of depth.

But the interesting thing is, I got very few questions about system hardening. I got a lot more questions about encryption and firewalls, where my knowledge is weaker. I don’t know if the test determines all of your questions at the start or if it uses the first few questions to figure out your weaker areas and then tries to concentrate on those, but I suspect it might be the latter.

But with Security+ out of the way, I’m thinking about other certifications. Network+ is supposed to be easy when Security+ is fresh in your mind. Given my hardware and operating systems background, A+ should be easy.

Cheap upgrades

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, during my weekly garage sale adventures, I bought some computer equipment. Among the haul: a Biostar Socket A motherboard with an AMD Sempron 2200+ CPU and 512MB of RAM. It’s not state of the art, but can hold its own against some of the stuff still on the market, and it’s a big upgrade over the 450 MHz Pentium II that’s been powering this web site since July 2002.I swapped the board into my 266 MHz Pentium II. That first-generation P2 was a useful machine for me for a while, but mostly it’s just been taking up space. I had to do some slight modifications to get the newer board to bolt in, but it fit without too much trouble and now some of the 11-year-old hardware is useful again. It reminded me a lot of my college days, when I used to drop 486 and Pentium boards into IBM PC/ATs.

Debian installed on the upgraded system with no complaints, but I quickly found my Linux command line skills are rusty. And there have been enough changes in the last six years that I can’t just copy over /var/www and /var/lib/mysql and expect it to run like it used to.

So I’ll apply my 15 minutes per day principle. My chances of finding a block of 2-3 hours to get it all done are near zero, but I should be able to find a few minutes each day. So one day I can move the databases, then I can move the HTML and PHP another day, convert to WordPress still another day, and maybe, just maybe, have a vastly improved site in about a week if it all goes well.

Adventures in flooring

Dave Farquhar Personal

My wife and I went shopping for a new kitchen floor tonight.

I think we may have found perfection.Everyone I’ve talked to who has linoleum floors loves them. They’re durable, water resistant, and easy to clean. I’ve read about linoleum floors in 100-year-old houses holding up just fine. I think 100 years sounds good to me–that’s more years than I have left. And it’s made from materials that grow in friendly countries, which is something we would do well to consider more often.

There’s even a company named Forbo making a product called Marmoleum Click, which is a linoleum floor that clicks together like laminate. So potentially I could rip out the old floor on a Saturday and spend Sunday afternoon and early evening putting down the new floor, and have it ready to go immediately. Or with some luck, I could finish the project in a day.

The problem is that Marmoleum (and linoleum in general) isn’t something you can run down to the local big-box store and buy. Forbo has exactly one dealer in St. Louis, but fortunately it’s a charming store not far from where my wife lived when we met. And supporting a small locally owned business appeals to me.

At $4.99 per square foot, the price is comparable to any other kind of floor worth having, if not lower. Plus I’ll save a bundle by being able to put it down myself, and it has a 25-year warranty, not to mention the track record of lasting 100 years or more. Stingy Scottish misers like me really like that aspect.

Buffer overflows explained

Dave Farquhar security , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffer overflows are a common topic on a Security+ exam. The textbook explanation of them is confusing, perhaps even wrong. I’ve never seen buffer overflows explained well.

So I’m going to give a simplified example and explanation of a buffer overflow, similar to the one I gave to the instructor, and then to the class.

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How to clean up your computer before you sell it

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , ,

I went to a huge garage sale this morning. I walked home with a 7-year-old Dell 15" LCD monitor. What I paid for it wouldn’t buy lunch for my wife and me. When I got it home and saw how well it worked, I felt guilty.

So if you’re thinking of selling some computer equipment, take my tips (as someone who attends literally thousands of garage sales every year) for getting decent money for it.The main reason I got this monitor for so little is because it looked like it sat in a dusty garage or attic for several years. It was filthy. I’ve seen identical monitors sell for 50 bucks as recently as June. Identical except for the dirt, that is.

I cleaned the monitor up using nothing more than an old dish towel and some all-surface biodegradable cleaner I buy at Costco. But dish detergent would work in a pinch. Dampen the towel, wring it out, add a bit of cleaner, and clean all the surfaces except for the screen. You’ll get more money if it looks like the unit was taken care of. You want it to look like you just bought its replacement yesterday.

You’ll also get more if you can demonstrate it works. Run an extension cable or two if necessary, and hook the stuff up so shoppers can see it in action. Many shoppers assume bargain-priced computer equipment at garage sales doesn’t work. In my experience, about half of it does. So I pay accordingly.

Finally, price realistically. These are the same people who get up at 4am the day after Thanksgiving to wait in line until Office Depot opens. I know because I do that too, and I see the same people I see every Saturday. So you’re competing with Black Friday’s prices, with used equipment.

That said, a working computer that runs Windows XP decently (and has a legal copy of XP on it) should fetch $75-$100, depending on its speed. A 1 GHz PC will run closer to $75, while a 2 GHz PC will fetch $100. And at that price, it should sell fairly quickly.

If a computer is decent but doesn’t work, it won’t sell for much. I’ve paid $10 for computers that need hard drives before, and I’ve passed on $10 computers that need hard drives. Sometimes I regret not buying that Pentium 4 that worked except for the hard drive, but my back hurt that day and I didn’t feel like lugging it home.

CRT monitors are hard to give away these days, but if you can demonstrate it works and it looks presentable, a 17-inch monitor is worth $10-$20. Your best bet for getting rid of one of those, though, is to bundle it with a working computer that runs Windows XP.

A working 15-inch LCD monitor should sell for $50 without any trouble.

Keyboards and mice are giveaways. I literally wish I had a dollar for every time someone’s tried to give me a keyboard. Anyone who wants one already has too many. The lone exception to this rule is an optical mouse. But a new, mid-range Microsoft optical mouse sells for $20-$25 on sale, so don’t expect to get more than $5-$10 for one. I paid $2 for one this year, and it didn’t work. I was willing to take a chance at that price, but no higher.

The death of Lyman Bostock

Dave Farquhar Baseball , , , , , , , , , ,
The death of Lyman Bostock

In September 1978, the death of Lyman Bostock rattled the California Angels’ heated division title race with the Kansas City Royals. The Angels’ star outfielder was murdered in Gary, Indiana at the age of 27.

ESPN has a tribute.

He’s the best baseball player you’ve never heard of, and quite possibly also the greatest human being you never heard of.

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So is a Costco membership worth it?

Dave Farquhar Saving money , ,

One gift my wife and I gave ourselves after paying off our mortgage was a Costco membership. We didn’t get one before we paid off that debt, just in case it wasn’t worth it. I’d carried a Sam’s membership for years but found I didn’t use it much. So is a Costco membership worth it?

I think Costco is worth it, with caveats.My wife and I eat whole-grain bread without trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. It’s hard to find anything that meets that criteria. At grocery stores, only a couple of national brands make the grade, and they cost $4 per loaf. We go through one a week, on average. Costco’s house brand makes the grade, and two loaves cost $4. So buying bread at Costco every other week saves us $104 a year, plus about $6 in sales tax. For us, that covers the $50 membership.

I recently read some advice from Andrew Tobias. Johnny Carson asked him what the best investment for $1,000 would be, and Tobias said non-perishable consumer staples. Everyone thought he was kidding, so he clarified. Buy $1,000 of nonperishable necessities (stuff like toilet paper, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, and the like) on sale, and the return on investment is tremendous.

And you beat inflation. Let’s say inflation continues at 10% annually for a couple of years, which seems likely. By that measure, a toothbrush that costs $3 today will cost $3.63 in 2010 if I’m doing the math right. So if I behave and use four toothbrushes a year, I automatically save $2.56 by buying them today instead of 2010.

Needless to say, I feel pretty good about getting that 10-pack of Oral B toothbrushes today for $9.99 minus a $2 coupon. I saved $20 over buying them one at a time at Kmart. And I got a 20% return on investment.

About those coupons: Costco sends out coupons every couple of weeks. They don’t make substitutions when a hot seller runs out, so get there early. Today we spent $122 and used $15 worth of coupons. We only bought things we knew we’d use: shampoo, baby wipes, coffee, toothbrushes, bar soap, and laundry detergent.

Looking at it from an investor’s viewpoint, $68 worth of the stuff we bought had coupons, so we saved 22%. Where else am I going to get a 22% return on a $68 investment?

So when the next batch of Costco coupons comes in, we’ll look them over and buy anything that we’ll be able to use. I don’t know if $15 is a typical savings over the course of two weeks, but that would be $390 a year if it is.

As for the savings of the regular prices over retail, I looked into that too. The toothbrushes cost $3 if purchased singly, but slightly less in larger quantities. The laundry detergent gives 110 loads for the price of 64 loads purchased most other places. The shampoo isn’t a great deal, basically giving you a name brand for the price of a generic on an ounce-for-ounce basis, but with a $2 coupon it’s a good deal. Coffee is in essentially the same boat, but when you can get Maxwell House for the same price per pound as Chase & Sanborn, do it. If you’ve never had it, Chase & Sanborn makes Folgers taste like your favorite $5-a-cup coffee.

I don’t remember the specifics on how baby wipes and bar soap compared, but the prices were favorable. Even without a coupon, I would have saved something.

The two things I don’t like about Costco is that if they run out of a product with an active coupon, they won’t substitute a similar product. I also don’t like the hard sells on the executive membership. As you wait in line at the register, an associate will hound you to upgrade to the executive membership, which costs $50 more per year. The benefit is a 5% rebate at the end of the year on your purchases. Once I heard them tell one person, “Well, you’ve already spent $3,000 here, so you would have paid for the executive membership three times over.”

I just publicly analyzed to death what I spent this week, so I guess I don’t care much if my line-mates know what I’ve spent at Costco this year, but I know some people will resent that. Personally I don’t resent that, but I do resent the tone I usually get. I’m careful with my money and I’d like to think I’m pretty good at handling it.

Right now I know we’re spending $100 a week there, but I don’t know how long that will last. This week we bought a 170-ounce bottle of laundry detergent. A couple of weeks ago we bought 250 ounces of dishwasher detergent. Once we have a Costco-sized quantity of everything like that, will we still spend $100 a week? Maybe. But it could just as easily drop to $35. I don’t think it would drop to $19, which is the point where the membership doesn’t pay for itself, but I don’t know that yet, and if I don’t know that, there’s no way a Costco employee can know that either.

What I do know is that it’s become pretty easy for us to justify the $50 membership. The key is to buy things only because you need them, not because it’s a good deal. It’s not a good deal if it spoils. And use the coupons they send you. So far, storing Costco-sized quantities of shampoo and toilet paper isn’t a problem, but maybe you should talk to me in a year about that.