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Mark Twain cinema, Sunset Hills

Dave Farquhar St. Louis July 12, 2023June 30, 2023

A sleek, modernist building with sharp angles stands on Lindbergh Boulevard, one door south of Gravois Road, with a prominent glass front and distinctive limestone walls. It stares down a Ford dealer across the street, flanked by an office building on one side and a vacant lot that used to be a gas station on the other, looking a bit out of place. It begs you to ask, what was this thing? Today, 4532 S Lindbergh is a union hall, as the sign says. But in its previous life, it was the Mark Twain Cinema. A 1960s movie theater. Read more

Micro League Baseball

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing July 11, 2023September 6, 2023

As far as I know, one photograph exists of me with my first computer, and it’s appropriate that I was playing Micro League Baseball. I probably spent more time playing that game than every other game I had for that computer combined. There were certainly earlier statistical baseball simulations than Micro League. And Earl Weaver Baseball from 1987 was definitely better. But for about 3 years, between 1984 and 1987, Micro League Baseball was perhaps the most popular and best statistical baseball simulation you could get.

Change mouse direction on monitor

Dave Farquhar Windows July 10, 2023July 4, 2023

If you have more than one monitor, sometimes when you move your mouse to the edge of one screen, the mouse jumps to the monitor on the other side. Here’s how to change the mouse direction on your monitor when you have a setup with more than one monitor.

When you have two monitors, there is exactly a 50% chance that your computer will guess correctly which way they are arranged. On the computer gets it wrong, you can fix it easily enough. You just have to know where to look and what the computer calls the setting. Whether you have a Mac or a Windows PC, there is no setting for mouse direction, but there is a setting for multiple monitors. That’s the one you want.

Marx 347100 gondola

Dave Farquhar Toy trains July 6, 2023July 6, 2023

The Marx 347100 gondola is an excellent example of what many hobbyists call a cheap classic. It’s been out of production for decades, but exists in such large quantities that it still remains readily available at low prices.

A retro style mechanical keyboard

Dave Farquhar Hardware July 5, 2023August 27, 2023

The resurgence in popularity of mechanical keyboards makes me happy. Today, you can get an affordable keyboard whose quality rivals those of the late 1980s and early 1990s but in a variety of sizes and styles and with a USB connection for a modern computer. But if you find the styling a bit over the top, you can retroize these newer keyboards. Here’s how I turned mine into a retro style mechanical keyboard.

IBM 5170 TEMPEST variant

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, security July 2, 2023March 18, 2025

I had an inquiry recently regarding the Tempest version of the IBM 5170, also known as the IBM 4459. The IBM 5170 Tempest variant was a version of the conventional IBM PC/AT designed for sensitive environments. It is more of a curiosity today, and there are good reasons why it is rare.

Having spent part of my career in the type of environment where this machine would have been used, I can elaborate on some of its design, and why it was built the way that it was. I may also be able to give some insight into why not many of these devices survive today.

What a shake-the-box kit is

Dave Farquhar Model Building, Toy trains June 29, 2023April 30, 2023

You will sometimes hear the phrase shake-the-box model kit on a modeling forum or a train forum. But what does the phrase shake the box kit mean? What does it refer to? Hint: It doesn’t refer to the noise it makes when you shake the box.

Notepad++ wrap text

Dave Farquhar Windows June 28, 2023June 17, 2023

Wrapping text is an essential feature in any text editor, but the feature may be hiding somewhere you aren’t looking for it. Here’s how to wrap text in Notepad++.

Why did people like Atari?

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming June 27, 2023June 17, 2023

I don’t know who needs to know, but I’m wearing my Atari t-shirt as I write this. I’m not sure if it was Steve Fulton or Jeff Fulton who said this and a podcast, or they may have said it in unison. But they said anyone much younger than them sums up Atari in one word: sucks. Yet their best selling console sold more than 20 million units, so somebody must have liked it. In this blog post, I’ll explore why people liked Atari.

Why Lou Whitaker isn’t in the Hall of Fame

Dave Farquhar Baseball June 26, 2023June 18, 2023

Lou Whitaker is frequently cited as a 1980s second baseman who isn’t in the Hall of Fame but should be. I have no reason to disagree. Here’s why Lou Whitaker isn’t in the Hall of Fame but should be.