Gary Schafer
@jesternofool.bsky.social
I herd photons and electrons. Now-retired electrical engineer from the National Security Agency (NSA). Background in technical security.
If social media is equivalent to radiation, then we need to treat it as such: time as low as possible, keep your distance, introduce some shielding, and remember ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable).
You know those dosimeter badges that measure your cumulative dose of radiation for occupational safety? They need that for social media exposure.
January 9, 2026 at 9:33 PM
If social media is equivalent to radiation, then we need to treat it as such: time as low as possible, keep your distance, introduce some shielding, and remember ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable).
Out for my daily walk & came upon this.
Those of you with pets, give them an extra scritch in honor of Jackson Ray.
Those of you with pets, give them an extra scritch in honor of Jackson Ray.
January 8, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Out for my daily walk & came upon this.
Those of you with pets, give them an extra scritch in honor of Jackson Ray.
Those of you with pets, give them an extra scritch in honor of Jackson Ray.
Absolutely heard this in Michael Palin's voice from "Monty Python & The Holy Grail".
Fitting, really.
Fitting, really.
What a strange person
January 7, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Absolutely heard this in Michael Palin's voice from "Monty Python & The Holy Grail".
Fitting, really.
Fitting, really.
As a Purdue alum (Boilermaker), which is the arch-rival of IU, even I will say: "This is the way."
Long ago I attended an Army tech school in Indianapolis. At a base that no longer exists. That's the full extent of my connections to Indiana.
But seeing this school - nay, ANY school overlooked until recently - whip these whiny and cocky Bama Boys?
Warms my cockles, it does.
#Sportsball #RoseBowl
But seeing this school - nay, ANY school overlooked until recently - whip these whiny and cocky Bama Boys?
Warms my cockles, it does.
#Sportsball #RoseBowl
January 1, 2026 at 11:41 PM
As a Purdue alum (Boilermaker), which is the arch-rival of IU, even I will say: "This is the way."
Holy shnikes, this is cool!
Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.
January 1, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Holy shnikes, this is cool!
Assholes in my neighborhood are setting off fireworks.
Unrelated, is John Wick available? Have a job for him.
Unrelated, is John Wick available? Have a job for him.
January 1, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Assholes in my neighborhood are setting off fireworks.
Unrelated, is John Wick available? Have a job for him.
Unrelated, is John Wick available? Have a job for him.
I'll have what he's having.
All I wanted for Christmas was software that does what I need it to do, doesn't bloat my system, and is preferably open-source.
And NEVER turns perfectly good porridge into drunken gruel by slipping "AI" into it.
And NEVER turns perfectly good porridge into drunken gruel by slipping "AI" into it.
Memory is running out, and so are excuses for software bloat
December 30, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I'll have what he's having.
You definitely need a logarithmic scale, that's for certain. A linear scale would not do it justice.
It’s impossible to overstate the scale of Donald Trump’s stupidity.
December 29, 2025 at 12:27 AM
You definitely need a logarithmic scale, that's for certain. A linear scale would not do it justice.
if you see this, post a random fact about yourself
Gloria Steinem once almost plowed into me as she was coming off of an elevator that I was waiting for. (In all honesty, I should have not stood in the doorway when the doors opened.)
Gloria Steinem once almost plowed into me as she was coming off of an elevator that I was waiting for. (In all honesty, I should have not stood in the doorway when the doors opened.)
if you see this, post a random fact about yourself
I once met Rosa Parks!
I once met Rosa Parks!
if you see this, post a random fact about yourself
I’m left handed but I play drums and use my tools at work right handed
I’m left handed but I play drums and use my tools at work right handed
December 28, 2025 at 10:24 PM
if you see this, post a random fact about yourself
Gloria Steinem once almost plowed into me as she was coming off of an elevator that I was waiting for. (In all honesty, I should have not stood in the doorway when the doors opened.)
Gloria Steinem once almost plowed into me as she was coming off of an elevator that I was waiting for. (In all honesty, I should have not stood in the doorway when the doors opened.)
Reposted by Gary Schafer
I did a test to see if I could remember all the Roman numerals, but I forgot 1, 1000, 51, 6 and 500.
IM LIVID!
IM LIVID!
December 28, 2025 at 2:57 AM
I did a test to see if I could remember all the Roman numerals, but I forgot 1, 1000, 51, 6 and 500.
IM LIVID!
IM LIVID!
Make a Bond movie academic
Thunderball: The Physics Inside the "Pit" After Nuclear Detonation
Thunderball: The Physics Inside the "Pit" After Nuclear Detonation
Make a Bond movie academic
Casino Royale: On the Monte Carlo Method as a Means of Nuclear Weapons Knowledge Production
Casino Royale: On the Monte Carlo Method as a Means of Nuclear Weapons Knowledge Production
Make a Bond movie academic
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
December 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Make a Bond movie academic
Thunderball: The Physics Inside the "Pit" After Nuclear Detonation
Thunderball: The Physics Inside the "Pit" After Nuclear Detonation
I wholeheartedly concur with this post. Skills *should* outweigh grades after a certain time. But I went late for my masters, and was initially declined due to my poor undergrad grades *despite the fact that I had 19 years of work experience* when I applied.
None of that work experience mattered.
None of that work experience mattered.
Skills>grades. Even when we do grad school admissions, basically every other variable carries more weight than GPA
December 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I wholeheartedly concur with this post. Skills *should* outweigh grades after a certain time. But I went late for my masters, and was initially declined due to my poor undergrad grades *despite the fact that I had 19 years of work experience* when I applied.
None of that work experience mattered.
None of that work experience mattered.
I was raised on Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione, just to name a few. The bands of this thread more than hold their own with those just mentioned.
To paraphrase Robin Williams, "Each and every member of these bands is a bad mother in their own right." 👏
To paraphrase Robin Williams, "Each and every member of these bands is a bad mother in their own right." 👏
It's the season of the year where the only thing keeping me from succumbing to the solstice darkness is weapons-grade city pop and jazz fusion, so please enjoy 3 choice cuts to stave off winter madness. Listen to the horns and bass line on this one! youtu.be/XJWqHmY-g9U
Junko Ohashi (大橋純子) - Telephone Number
YouTube video by Junko Ohashi 大橋純子
youtu.be
December 27, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I was raised on Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione, just to name a few. The bands of this thread more than hold their own with those just mentioned.
To paraphrase Robin Williams, "Each and every member of these bands is a bad mother in their own right." 👏
To paraphrase Robin Williams, "Each and every member of these bands is a bad mother in their own right." 👏
Make a Bond movie academic
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
Make a Bond movie academic
Goldfinger: Bitcoin & the Semiotics of Digital Goldbugs
Goldfinger: Bitcoin & the Semiotics of Digital Goldbugs
Make a Bond movie academic
The World Is Not Enough: Oil, Empire, and Infrastructure in the Post-Soviet Caucasuses
The World Is Not Enough: Oil, Empire, and Infrastructure in the Post-Soviet Caucasuses
December 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Make a Bond movie academic
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding the Metaphysics of Time
I actually LOLed at this!
And Tiny Tim, who did not die, took a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
Put his hands on his hips
And brought his knees in tight
And then a step to the right
Put his hands on his hips
And brought his knees in tight
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
December 26, 2025 at 4:11 AM
I actually LOLed at this!
Reposted by Gary Schafer
Introducing HELLO CODE, displays that cycle two 20 x 4 LCD screens through random sections of the Internal Revenue Code. Suitable for any home or office decor. 1/4
December 25, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Introducing HELLO CODE, displays that cycle two 20 x 4 LCD screens through random sections of the Internal Revenue Code. Suitable for any home or office decor. 1/4
I see Jenkins has his work cut out for him.
December 25, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I see Jenkins has his work cut out for him.
I did this again.
Only this time to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana".
The extended version.
My arms are very tired now, but I regret nothing.
Only this time to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana".
The extended version.
My arms are very tired now, but I regret nothing.
The wife asked me to shake a can of condensed milk for a pie she's making.
So I did. To the tune of "Sway" by Rosemary Clooney and the Perez Prado Orchestra.
The can was completely clean when she emptied it. Which means I did a good job of shaking it.
It's the small things.
So I did. To the tune of "Sway" by Rosemary Clooney and the Perez Prado Orchestra.
The can was completely clean when she emptied it. Which means I did a good job of shaking it.
It's the small things.
December 24, 2025 at 9:13 PM
I did this again.
Only this time to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana".
The extended version.
My arms are very tired now, but I regret nothing.
Only this time to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana".
The extended version.
My arms are very tired now, but I regret nothing.
Again, this is a big, bubbling, smelly, nasty, funky crock of bullshit.
Burgum claims "national security concerns" created by wind turbines are detailed in a "classified report" & pertain to "radar interference," adding that "if you wanted to attack a population center on the east coast our country, you would send a swarm of drones right through one of these wind farms"
December 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Again, this is a big, bubbling, smelly, nasty, funky crock of bullshit.
What Jake said.
Only louder.
Only louder.
I'm at a point in my life where if you need me in person overseas, you're paying for business class travel.
If you can't pay for business class travel, then you don't need me on site. It's just that simple.
If you can't pay for business class travel, then you don't need me on site. It's just that simple.
December 23, 2025 at 1:57 PM
What Jake said.
Only louder.
Only louder.
"Clean Slate" was (and is) a refreshment for the soul.
Shout out to this shout out from Them. Please watch me actin'a fool and lovin' unconditionally and whatnot on "Clean Slate".
December 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
"Clean Slate" was (and is) a refreshment for the soul.
Damn onions.
December 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Damn onions.
Rhys Ifans is truly a BASF actor ("Makes everything he's in better."), and his line, "You daft PRICK!" in his Welsh accent is killer.
Tonight's December Comfort Watch: Notting Hill, in which Julia Roberts, the most famous woman in the world at the time, plays Anna Scott, the most famous woman in the world at the time. Yes, it's typecasting, and yes, it absolutely works:
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/22/t...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/22/t...
The December Comfort Watches 2025, Day Twenty-Two: Notting Hill
So, a story. More than a decade ago, I was having lunch with Tom Hanks, because he read my work and was a fan, and since I was in town on tour, he asked if he could meet me and I said, sure (actual…
whatever.scalzi.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Rhys Ifans is truly a BASF actor ("Makes everything he's in better."), and his line, "You daft PRICK!" in his Welsh accent is killer.