I recently gave a Marx 591 clockwork locomotive a low key restoration. I thought I would document the process I followed in case it might be helpful to anyone.
A simple restoration of a Marx 591 windup
What a netbook is
What is a netbook? Maybe it would be a more appropriate to ask what was a netbook, because the product category is pretty much extinct at this point. But for a few years, it was a fast-growing product category.
CVE-2023-36739 Microsoft 3D Viewer Remote Code Execution remediation
If you’re dealing with CVE-2023-36739, CVE-2023-36740, and CVE-2023-36760 Microsoft 3D Viewer Code Execution remediation, the best way to do it, assuming you’re not using the app, is to uninstall it. Here’s why this is OK to do, and how to do it. Fixing Windows Store vulnerabilities is hard. And Microsoft 3D Viewer has a history of high severity vulnerabilities dating back to October 2020, so uninstalling it can save you future remediation work.
I get a fair number of questions about vulnerabilities in Microsoft Store apps in my day job, so I share my notes and observations in case they’ll help other people as well.
Why Steve Garvey isn’t in the Hall of Fame
Steve Garvey was one of the highest profile baseball stars of the 1970s and early 1980s. He was a smooth fielding first baseman with moderate power who hit for good batting average, and had a likable personality. But even though he was one of the biggest stars of his time, he didn’t make the Hall of Fame. Here’s why.
A life hack to keep cables organized
We all have a supply of cables that we aren’t using at the moment, but don’t want to discard because we might have a use for them again at some point. And some people will tell you you shouldn’t do that, because the cables will just turn into a tangled mess and you won’t be able to find what you need anyway. Here is a life hack to help you keep those cables organized and keep them from becoming a tangled mess–using something that you would otherwise throw in the trash.
What size screwdriver for electrical work
Electrical outlets and light switches are designed to take no fewer than three different types of screws, and a pinch, any screwdriver that fits can work. But there are specific sizes you can use that minimize your chances problems. In this blog post, I will cover what size screwdriver for electrical work, as well as the three types.
Marx Happi-Time 9635 train set
Marx train set 9635 was an electric train set Marx that Sears sold in 1952. You may also hear collectors refer to it as Happi-Time train set 9635, because that’s what Marx printed on the box. It featured Marx’s best locomotive pulling 3/16 scale metal cars.
Is it time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes?
I saw a YouTube video the other day saying it was time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes, and he advocated building a new PC based on an AMD Ryzen 5 instead. But is it really as cut and dry as that? In this blog post, I will look at both options.
Whitelist vs blacklist
I’m not a big fan of the whitelist and blacklist terminology. The language is potentially harmful, but besides the racial implications, it’s also unclear. In this blog post, I’ll go over the traditional meaning of whitelist vs blacklist, and you’ll see why I say the alternative, dare I say progressive, terminology is also much more clear.
Should you buy an IBM PS/2?
At the dawn of October 1988, the IBM PS/2 was looking like a success. As it closed out its third quarter of 1988, IBM announced the PS/2 had sold 3 million units in its first year and a half on the market. The pace of 2 million units a year made it one of the best-selling machines in the world at the time. But it ultimately proved to be IBM’s downfall in the PC market. So it’s historically significant, however you feel about IBM. But should you buy an IBM PS/2? Is an IBM PS/2 a good retro computer?