Gary Schafer
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jesternofool.bsky.social
Gary Schafer
@jesternofool.bsky.social
44 followers 180 following 300 posts
I herd photons and electrons. Now-retired electrical engineer from the National Security Agency (NSA). Background in technical security.
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jesternofool.bsky.social
Chesapeake City Bridge at night.
(Chesapeake City, MD)
Night photo showing a high bridge over a river. The bridge is reflected in the the river. Lights from buildings across the river create a horizontal line across the center of the image.
November 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Wait! Let me put on my hat...
Picture of the peak of a baseball with a nuclear radiation symbol and the words wrapped around the symbol saying, "Radiation Detection Unit".
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Bookshelves? This... is a good start, IMO.
View of a large library with shelves on two floors, chandeliers, & reading tables.
November 12, 2025 at 5:12 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Just a friendly reminder of the difference between two words that SOUND the same, but are COMPLETELY different things. (Image on left: Credit Wikipedia user "Fokiki33"; image on right: Credit US Navy.)
Two images side by side. On the left is a human navel with the word "navel" in the upper, lefthand corner. On the right is a column of battleships as seen from near the front looking back, and with the word "naval" in the upper, lefthand corner.
November 9, 2025 at 7:18 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
I've been reorganizing my bookshelves, so I cannot find my notebooks right now. I'll check again in the morning.
But this was the textbook:
Book cover showing a painting on the bottom that is a collage of people working. The title across the top says, "The Indiana Way: A State History".
November 6, 2025 at 4:23 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Let's talk about the monstrosity that Trump et al are creating. I'm going to start with this plaque that used be mounted on the outside of the East Wing (I believe on the northeast corner). I consider it a historic relic. I captured this image while on a tour in 2004. /1
Marble bas relief of the US eagle emblem. Underneath, carved into the marble, are the words, "Erected 1942 after the declaration of war". The eagle holds an olive branch in its right claw and arrows in its left claw. Unlike the current official US eagle emblem, the head of this eagle faces to the right, towards the claw holding the arrows. Rumor is that that was intentional due to the fact that the US had just declared war.
October 23, 2025 at 2:05 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
In 2004, I got a tour of the East Wing during Xmas time with all of the decorations up. It was magical. IIRC, this was mounted on the outside of the East Wing, just north of the main entrance. (NOTE: I would love if someone could confirm that that was where this was mounted.)
Marble bas relief of the US eagle emblem. Underneath, carved into the marble, are the words, "Erected 1942 after the declaration of war". The eagle holds an olive branch in its right claw and arrows in its left claw. Unlike the current official US eagle emblem, the head of this eagle faces to the right, towards the claw holding the arrows.
October 23, 2025 at 12:24 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
In case you want to know why I'm EXTREMELY hesitant to click on links to press articles, this is the screen of my phone when I clicked on an article for The Daily Boulder: /1
Smartphone screen ostensibly of a news article, but is so covered in ads that the article is completely swamped and no text is visible.
October 13, 2025 at 12:47 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Took this during a walk around my neighborhood.
These neighbors absolutely Get It.
A picture of a green lawn with fake grave headstones in a line from left to right. From the left, the headstones say "Rule of Law", "Free Speech", "Education", "DEI", "Healthcare" and "Clean Energy".
October 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
@thespaceshipper.com: Was cleaning out some old boxes of mementos, and tripped across a brochure. Thought you would appreciate it.
A movie bill with text at the top that states, "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. It is the 23rd Century. The Starship USS Enterprise is on a routing training mission when Admiral James T. Kirk receives an urgent communication from Space Laboratory Regula One. A top secret device "Project Genesis" has been appropriated by Khan, a brilliant renegade from the 20th century, who uses this universe-threatening device in a deadly game of revenge. Aided by his band of genetic supermen, Khan takes control of the Federation Starship "Reliant" and sets out in pursuit of the Enterprise, determined to let nothing stand in the way of his mission: even if it means universal Armaggedon." Below this text is a picture showing the original Star Trek actors (from left to right) George Takei, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, James Doohan and Leonard Nimoy. Also standing with the group is Kirstie Alley as Savik. Underneath this picture is the standard text for a movie, listing the name of the movie, the stars, musical composer, producers and directors. The very bottom line states, "Opens At a Theatre Near You June 4". A comet with text underneath that says, "At the end of the universe lies the beginning of vengeance." A poster with various pictures from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". Starting in the upper left and going clockwise, the images show the Starship Enterprise firing phasers, the bridge of the Enterprise with fire, smoke and damage showing, the Enterprise approaching a space station, a man in the middle of smoke and sparks, a man draped in a black robe with a shiny, metal face covering, two people with with sparks showing in the background, a group of people standing in the middle of a sandstorm, a man running towards the camera and the actor James Doohan just behind holding an airmask to his face, a man in a helmet screaming, and a young man holding a knife while kneeling over a body on the ground. All of these images surround colorful text with the name of the movie.
September 14, 2025 at 1:30 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Less than 2 minutes in and I've already spit Mt Dew all over my computer screen and keyboard...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT1v...
And this screenshot was the part that finally did me in!
Screenshot showing a hand carrying a neon sign with text overlaid that says, "Mehdi's Fixin' S#$@! Nobody Asking Him to Fix".
August 29, 2025 at 2:18 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
This is an old screenshot from the video game "Assassin's Creed III" and... no lies detected.
Screenshot from the video game "Assassin's Creed III", showing a US Colonial-period building on the left edge, with text along the center and right that says, "Old Corner Book Store. ... Authors like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, even Charles Dickens will all meet here. Of course, given the state of American education, it's possible you don't know who any of those people are. I could have said Minty Clitheroe and Pippy BoomBoom and you'd still have looked impressed."
August 26, 2025 at 4:15 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
The sunflowers are looking down upon you, judging you, and... they have questions.
Judgemental sunflowers in a field, watching you.
August 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
A picture on a sunny day of a large click on the left in a small planter. A building is in the background. A lush lawn around walkways goes off into the distance.
August 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Saw this on a Youtube video discussing nuclear power and nuclear safety and, honestly, I feel seen:
Comment on Youtube video written by "@BlackCoffeeComedy" and states, "As an introvert, this sounds like how I treat my interactions with the general public; time, distance, shielding, and as low as reasonably achievable."
August 9, 2025 at 5:16 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Good night from Maryland.
Picture of sunset over water. A small pire comes out of the bottom of the pucture.
August 4, 2025 at 1:15 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
From the other side (and sign), and with apologies that Martin is not in the photo, though he could have been standing behind me when I took it... :)
Sideview of a very large nuclear bomb. This is the Mk17 thermonuclear weapon. It's roughly 5 feet in diameter and 25 feet long, with yellow rings around the front and rear. The rear end also has yellow fins. Sign that says, "Mk17 Thermonuclear Weapon. The Mark 17 was the largest nuclear bomb deployed by the United States. It was one of the first thermonuclear weapons stockpiled. When the bomb shape was test-dropped, the plane would soar upwards a couple hundred feet. The pilots said it was as if the bomb had released the plane. The B-36 bomber, and the B-52, with modified bomb-bay doors, were the only planes capable of carrying the Mk17. The Mk17 used a series of special parachutes to help improve its accuracy and slow its descent. This allowed the delivery aircraft time to escape the effects of the blast. Type: Strategic. Yield: Megaton range Carrier: B-36, B-52 Options: Airburst Length: 24.8 feet Diameter: 61.4 inches Weight: 41,400 pounds Stockpiled: 1953 - 1957"
August 3, 2025 at 4:56 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Oh, good! The new toilet arriv... HEY!
Shipping box with a picture of a toilet on it, and the words "White" and "Gary" on it, with a check next to "Gary".
July 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
It's Friday!
June 20, 2025 at 11:16 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
For those of you old enough, remember this?
There's more here than meets the eye. The "campy" (as most people describe it) TV show premiered in 1966, always with the text "in color" just below the Batman logo. /1 🧵
Screenshot showing beginning of 1960s television show "Batman" stating "Batman in color".
June 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
The weekend has begun.
May 24, 2025 at 2:33 AM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Enter these two gentlemen, John Tukey (left) and Dick Garwin (right). Garwin was a scientist who was directly involved with, well, many things. Among them was the desire to convert the seismometer data to the frequency domain. /4
Face and upper torse image of a man, John Tukey, wearing a suite and tie and smiling into the camera. Side profile image of Richard Garwin, an elderly man, as he addressed a conference in Vienna. (By The Official CTBTO Photostream - CTBTO Science and Technology conference, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57463041)
May 10, 2025 at 10:12 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
What do the two images here have in common?
The image on the left is from the Mike Shot of Operation Ivy in 1952. The image on the right is both a spectrogram and spectral trace from a 802.11 (aka "Wifi") signal.
CC: @atomicanalyst.bsky.social, @nuclearanthro.bsky.social, @wellerstein.bsky.social /1
Side-by-side images showing a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb on the left, and a spectrogram and spectral trace of a RF signal on the right.
May 10, 2025 at 10:12 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
Has anyone seen this man? Might be pertinent. Has a fetish for a certain metal. Has servant who goes by the name of "Strange Work" or some such. Might want to check the area around Fort Knox...
Screen snapshot of actor Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond movie, "Goldfinger".
April 22, 2025 at 1:59 PM
jesternofool.bsky.social
For you, of course! I meant it with all humor!
Shadow is here to ensure I'm behaving myself.
Picture of a black cat sitting and staring at the camera.
March 29, 2025 at 11:06 PM