Kansas City Archives - The Silicon Underground

WAR in baseball statistics

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 11:00:07 +0000

One of the new-school baseball statistics goes by the curious acronym of WAR. Here’s what WAR in baseball statistics means. Essentially, WAR is an attempt to measure the value of a player more completely than traditional statistics. It’s more thorough

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Central Hardware, St. Louis history

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:00:54 +0000

St. Louis-based Central Hardware was one of the first big-box home improvement chains. It peaked in 1993 at 39 stores in six states in the midwest, employing 3,700 people. It was once the 19th largest hardware retailer in the United

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Least valuable baseball cards

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 11:00:33 +0000

I’ve talked about the most valuable baseball cards of the 1970s and 1980s. But what about the least valuable baseball cards? What does it take to be on that list? What is the Kmart blue-light special of baseball cards? If

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Most valuable baseball cards of the 1970s

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 11:00:13 +0000

Although the 1970s may not have been quite the golden era for baseball that, say, the 1950s were, the decade produced a good number of stars. An important thing to consider, too, is that many players Generation X grew up

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Where to buy vintage computers

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:00:13 +0000

Collecting vintage computers can be fun. I also personally think it’s great that people are interested in preserving that history. Where to buy vintage computers hasn’t changed much over the years. It just may take a bit more work than

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The old Montgomery Ward building in Kansas City

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 11:00:05 +0000

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

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Estimating the value of a Marx train

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 12:00:40 +0000

One of the most frequent questions I see or receive directly about Marx trains is what a Marx train is worth, or the value of a Marx train. Of course without seeing the train, it’s nearly impossible to give a

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Dave Farquhar, lunch ninja

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 11:00:12 +0000

My boss doesn’t think I’m human. His proof: He asks anyone who knows me if he or she has ever seen me eat. No one has. They’ve seen evidence of me eating. But actually taking a bite? No. Not even

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This one hurts.

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 04:36:41 +0000

I tried to write the day it happened. I couldn’t write anything that made any sense. Mostly I sat and stared. I told myself when the Royals made the Wild Card, I’d be happy with whatever happened, because it was

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Attention St. Louis: Two shock jocks don’t speak for Kansas City, or for the Royals

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 04:10:01 +0000

I noticed a lot of St. Louisans were rooting for the Royals, then, suddenly, they turned into die-hard Orioles fans. That’s odd, especially considering the Orioles used to be the St. Louis Browns, who left town in 1953. That’s like Kansas

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