Gary Schafer
@jesternofool.bsky.social
I herd photons and electrons. Now-retired electrical engineer from the National Security Agency (NSA). Background in technical security.
Boosting because as someone who has a hell of a time creating alt text for technical images (spectral traces, time domain traces of signals, etc), this is also something I'm keenly interested in having answered.
It's not just art! It's everything we "see" and want to share!
It's not just art! It's everything we "see" and want to share!
Cross posting with the hope to reach folks who are knowledgeable about accessibility in art for visually impaired people!
I’m writing image descriptions for In This Moment (book project on Black Rochestarians). I think of each chapbook as an art object.
I’m writing image descriptions for In This Moment (book project on Black Rochestarians). I think of each chapbook as an art object.
February 14, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Boosting because as someone who has a hell of a time creating alt text for technical images (spectral traces, time domain traces of signals, etc), this is also something I'm keenly interested in having answered.
It's not just art! It's everything we "see" and want to share!
It's not just art! It's everything we "see" and want to share!
The fact that Johnson thinks this is a burn tells me everything about him and the Republican party.
RON JOHNSON: Did you ever encourage people to go out there and exercise their First Amendment rights?
KEITH ELLISON: I freely admit being in favor of the First Amendment
KEITH ELLISON: I freely admit being in favor of the First Amendment
February 12, 2026 at 3:51 PM
The fact that Johnson thinks this is a burn tells me everything about him and the Republican party.
There are lies, there are damn lies, then there is whatever-the-f*** this is.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 12, 2026 at 3:16 PM
There are lies, there are damn lies, then there is whatever-the-f*** this is.
"warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week"
Too bad it can't be today.
Too bad it can't be today.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.
Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democratic demands for ICE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Secu…
trib.al
February 5, 2026 at 10:39 PM
"warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week"
Too bad it can't be today.
Too bad it can't be today.
Reposted by Gary Schafer
New Rule: If a President cannot be personally sued while in office, then he also should not be allowed to file personal lawsuits.
January 30, 2026 at 5:29 PM
New Rule: If a President cannot be personally sued while in office, then he also should not be allowed to file personal lawsuits.
What? WHAT?!?!?
Gary? Gary.
Tom, you are actually living under fascism and we are running an experiment like a Vault to see how many times one man can have the same conversation every day before he goes insane.
January 27, 2026 at 4:00 AM
What? WHAT?!?!?
I'm currently about 5 levels below "Hostility / outrage".
January 26, 2026 at 5:23 PM
I'm currently about 5 levels below "Hostility / outrage".
Alex continues his unrivalled career as my muse.
It's bring your own bucket for popcorn day at Cinemark theaters. Perfect for the 4.5 hour extend edition of Return of the King!! 🙌
January 18, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Alex continues his unrivalled career as my muse.
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!