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Cool Pictures That I’m In or That I Took: “Just Because” Edition

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on April 26, 2023 by Dan WolfeApril 26, 2023

Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:

a.) I’m in the photo or…

b.) … I took the photo.

This was taken at the wedding reception of my classmate, Cassie Brewer, and her new husband. Seated to my left, classmate and close friend, Crystal Starks Daniel, and to my right, another classmate, Chris Kavanaugh. Crystal, Cassie, Chris, and I were all members of a multi-semester cybersecurity study group at Stark State College. This weekend, Cassie and I are on a cyber forensics team competing in a one-day hack-a-thon contest at the college. Cassie and I both graduate in less than a month!

This is a photo of Jeff Tobin, KC3NJE, and me, KN4FYR after we both passed our FCC License exams a couple of years ago. (Photo by Jeff’s wife, Laura)

Also from a few years ago, a group of Westminster College radio station WKPS alumni gathers at our local hot dog hangout, MP Coney Island, in New Castle, PA. Noteworthy is the presence of Mark Klinger III, our professor and faculty advisor who passed away recently at age 78. (Photo by WKPS’s Charlie “Pretzel Man” Weisel.)

A screen shot taken from an 8mm movie transferred to video, me as a freshman member of the East Pennsboro High School marching band in 1970, I believe, not too long before moving from Camp Hill, PA, back to Fostoria, Ohio.

Posted in Cool Photos, Ham Radio, Stuff | Leave a reply

A Graphic Birthday (and Other Lies)

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on March 5, 2023 by Dan WolfeMarch 7, 2023

Over the years, I’ve been asked to do some digital photography as part of my employment. Since I’m not a very good photographer, by necessity, I’ve learned to use Adobe Photoshop. As gag projects, I’ve created parody movie posters for Beth Geyer’s birthday and on occasion, for the rest of the family and others.

Below is a compilation of these posters. Click on the image to show the full-ish resolution version.

Click to see Nate with his favorite group of Friends.
This was created as a gift from Beth’s friend, Nisha, for her husband’s birthday.
This is the poster that started it all. And here is what started it.
Garrett as a cherub for
the Deadpool 2 poster.
Original photo of Tobin and Wolfe with the Space Shuttle Enterprise in the background.
Photoshopped photo of Tobin and Wolfe with the Starship Enterprise in the background.
Vazquez Rocks, CA, aka. the Gorn Planet from Star Trek: TOS. Frank Simons and me in photos taken 30 years apart.

Posted in Cool Photos, Stuff | Leave a reply

Cool Pictures That I’m In or That I Took: “So Yeah, This Blog Still Exists” Edition

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on October 9, 2022 by Dan WolfeOctober 28, 2022

Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:

a.) I’m in the photo or…

b.) … I took the photo.

Photo from Hamvention 2022, the world’s largest ham radio convention. From left, Chris Kavanaugh, Jeff Tobin (KC3NJE), me (KN4FYR), and Donovan Wheatley (KE8TKI).

Departing the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) Conference at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. From left, Glenn Goe, Ben Nash, Zander Thompson, Danielle Kulcsar, and me.

Here’s a remarkable birthday gift from sons Jon and Andy. It’s Bluetooth, it’s sturdy, and it’s a great gift! I love it!

Another birthday gift, this time from Jeff Tobin, KC3NJE. Jeff scored a vintage D-104 ham radio microphone like this one for himself some months ago and I’ve been crazy jealous. For my birthday and just before Hamvention, Jeff gifted me a D-104 of my very own! I was excited, humbled, and grateful for the magnificent gift.

View from my former front porch of the fireworks display, part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Week activities here in the Canton, Ohio area.

Posted in Ham Radio, Star Trek, Stuff, Technology | Leave a reply

We Have Landed!

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on February 18, 2021 by Dan WolfeFebruary 18, 2021

The post below was written June 12, 2020. At that point, the Perseverance Lander had not yet left Earth. It launched on July 30, 2020 and I’ve been following it ever since.

Today, it arrived safely on the Red Planet, and will start its science missions soon. Now, Nate, Garrett, Beth and I have our names on Mars, attached to the rover along with about 1.2 million of our closest friends who also have their names on the rover. The permanence of our family’s presence together on Mars is wonderful to know.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Mars-web-605x1024.jpg

Back in September of 2019, I stumbled across a NASA website describing the new Mars Lander scheduled for launch July 20 at 6:15 a.m. PDT (9:15 a.m. EDT).  NASA offered the chance to send your name aboard the Mars Perseverance Rover etched into a chip placed on the rover. 

I thought this was a terrific idea for the family, so I registered the four of us and, lo and behold, we four were among the 1.2 million names that made it.

NASA sent an electronic boarding pass for each of us verifying that our names would be making the 140-million-mile trip to the Red Planet, the average distance from Earth.  At its closest, Mars is roughly 38.6 million miles from Earth.  Since the path to Mars depends on many variables and is not a direct shot, I am not sure of the actual distance the Perseverance Rover will take to get to Mars. Edit: Turns out that the actual distance is printed on the boarding pass itself in the bottom right-hand corner. The Perseverance Rover will travel 313,586,649 miles on its journey from the Earth to Mars.

I thought the boarding passes looked really cool, and the rest of the family surprisingly agreed. I had intended to post them back then, but it didn’t happen.  However, today’s the day! Better late than never, huh?

Here’s more details about the mission from the NASA website:

“The Mars 2020 spacecraft with its Perseverance Rover will launch on an Atlas V-541 rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  The Atlas V is one of the largest rockets available for interplanetary flight.  This is the same type of rocket that launched the InSight and Curiosity to Mars.  The launch vehicle is provided by United Launch Alliance, Centennial Colorado.”

And here’s a mission fact sheet. You’ll need a PDF reader to see this one.

Here are our four boarding passes.  Nice to know that the family will be together for the duration, even if it is on another planet.

Many would likely agree that another planet would be just the right place for the four of us.  

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BoardingPass_MyNameOnMars2020-DW.png
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This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BoardingPass_MyNameOnMars2020-EG.png
Posted in Stuff | 4 Replies

The Apple, er… Cheese Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on December 4, 2020 by Dan WolfeDecember 4, 2020

Nate is spending a few days here and he likes to cook when he’s here. I try to help out and NOT be the nervous father when he lights multiple gas burners on the stove at once. Dude’s gotta learn, am I right?

Tonight’s recipe was macaroni and habanero cheese. Let that sink in a minute. Not just the plain ol’ Kraft Mac and Cheese. No, sir. Nate decided to go full-tilt with the habanero cheese he got at Giant Eagle last night.

Did it taste good? Yes. Was it hotter than hell? For me, yes. Mind you, I DO eat spicy food with some degree of regularity, but I’ve never crossed that line between the edible and any second-degree-burn-inducing cheese. And yes, I know there are lots of allegedly edible things that are far, far worse. I prefer not to think about. I already have nightmares and I certainly don’t need more.

He made a big bunch of it, too, so there’s leftovers. As George W. Bush would say, “Na Ga Da It!” (“Not gonna do it,” for the uneducated in historical Dana Carvey SNL bits or the extremely young.)

However, it DID remind me of an unfortunate encounter that Nate’s mom, Beth Geyer, had with habanero cheese back in June, 2016. Just thinking about her hilarious essay made me laugh all over again. I’m reprinting it below.

DW

Guest Blog – Evil Twin of the Sub Divine -or- Chernobyl on a Bun

by Beth Geyer

SubDivineFromHell

Allow me to introduce you to this little asshole. I’d apologize in advance for the language but it’s already too late for that and I refuse to use the backspace.

My family’s pizza shop had this magical oven-toasted sub aptly named the Sub Divine. It was a glorious gold standard for hot subs everywhere. I miss it and every now and then I crave it so much that I replicate it at home. Usually with rousing success. I have, after all, 14 yrs experience making them.

I dropped the ball today, though. As I type this, my nose is still running and I’m positive I’m working through a mild stroke. Bear with me.

I looooooove spicy food. Love it. Always have. But I knew that if I substituted the shredded cheddar for habanero cheese, I better tread lightly. I thought I sliced it up thin enough for both pieces of bread (I had no sub buns) that I could avoid feeling like I was biting on Satan’s hairy undercarriage but failed spectacularly. In the picture you’ll see the delicious sandwich before I wrapped it in foil and baked it. Do not be fooled by it’s innocent look; I still can’t feel the roof of my mouth.

I knew after the first bite that something was wrong. The pain was almost immediate and was soon followed by shaking. I breathed through each bite like I was in labor and powered through half of it with sheer will and the power of prayer. I’d spent too much time creating this masterpiece to give up like a little bitch.

Alas, after half of the sandwich disappeared, so did my will to live. It was me or the sandwich and I chose me.

My tongue isn’t currently working properly and after blowing my nose and washing my face with cold water, I was able to stumble outside for fresh air, mumbling “Nothing about me feels good about any of that”.

This mofo ended up just being a bunch of toppings encased wall-to-wall in pure hatred.

I couldn’t even tell you if it was good or not. I *think* I tasted banana peppers and pepperoni at first but it was short-lived. After that, all I could taste was hell fire and every mistake I’ve ever made in my life.

Probably the worst part of all of this is the fact that I’ll have to relive the pain all over again tomorrow.

Look at that sandwich…..it was a simpler time and I was but a 35 yr old girl full of hope and wonder. Now Satan himself is holding a Fight Club meeting in my stomach and no one is the winner.

The lovely and talented Beth Geyer posted this on Facebook [on June 9, 2016] and it had me laughing.  Well done, Beth!

Posted in Family, Stuff | Leave a reply

Don’t Ever Say Dogs Have No Feelings

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on November 1, 2020 by Dan WolfeNovember 1, 2020

So last Friday when I went to pick up Nate, Garrett beats him to the car. Garrett walked outside to check mail anyway and on his way, decides to come down to the car and give me a hug. It is very chilly out, probably in the mid 40s. Yet there he is in his bare feet with his favorite Batman throw blanket around his shoulders. I give him a hug and we talk for 10 or 15 seconds and I admonish him that he “… shouldn’t be out here in bare feet!” so I shoo him away and back into the house.

Next, I see Nate come out the door. He starts walking down tentatively and I can see why. He has Ginny in his arms. 

Many times I’ve asked Nate not to bring her down to see me because it was hard on Ginny and it was hard on me. But he insists on doing it anyway. So I dash up the hill in front of the house to meet him before he gets too far.

Ginny takes one look at me and her tail starts wagging a mile a minute like a flag in a tornado. Nate hands her to me and she licks my face, licks my face some more, and cuddles up against me — something she’s hasn’t done in a long, long time, if ever.  I talk to her and rub her tummy, gently scratching her, and tell her I love her.  She rests her head on my shoulder like a small, little Yorkie hug.  Then I give her back to Nate after one more scratch and a snuggle so that he could return Ginny to the house.

What is most charming about it was the sight of that little Yorkie tail start to thrash wildly back and forth as soon as she recognized me. She was so excited to see me! Of course, she couldn’t stay, but I really did want to take her home with me for a visit. She’s such a sweetie and I had no idea she would recognize me at a distance and get so excited to see me. 

It really warmed my heart to see Ginny so enthusiastic about my presence, especially after losing Katie, my cat in Virginia the same day.  It was a really, really sweet, adorable moment in what was otherwise a fairly lousy day.

Katie at 8 weeks-ish

Katie on Oct 30th, 2020

Posted in Cats, Dogs | Leave a reply

“Don’t Say I Never Did Nuthin’ For You.”

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on October 1, 2020 by Dan WolfeOctober 1, 2020

While this has already been posted to Facebook, I am reposting it here so that I can find it once Facebook has relegated it to the distant past.

This is the most remarkable thing.

Some weeks ago, Garrett was going through some Pokemon cards and came across this guy, Cresselia. Cresselia is described as “Those who sleep holding Cresselia’s feather are assured of joyful dreams.” Garrett read me the description and I said “I need one of those ’cause I don’t always have the most pleasant dreams.”

He took note of this.

This evening, he presented me with Cresselia in a protective plastic cover. He adorned Cresselia with graphics front and back. The back reads “You never did anything for me.”

Some background is in order here. When ever I did a favor for the boys, they’d thank me and I’d say “Don’t say I never did nuthin’ for you.” They’d respond in unison “You never did anything for me.” This became a nearly ten-year running gag between me and the boys. Garrett could not have chosen a more perfect phrase to include on the back. When I first read it, it was all I could do not to shed tears. Happy tears, of course.

Garrett gave me an incredibly thoughtful and personal gift with the perfect message. I am incredibly touched by this lovely gift and it’s going to be framed and placed in my bedroom to help keep my dreams pleasant.

I can’t thank you enough, Garrett.

Posted in Family | 1 Reply

On The Nineteenth Anniversary of 9/11

The "I Hate to Blog" Blog Posted on September 11, 2020 by Dan WolfeSeptember 11, 2020

Just like last year, I wasn’t sure that I could post this again today.

In the last few days, I started to see the 9/11 remembrance posts popup on Facebook. Most of me was convinced that I’d had far more than my share of sadness this year, so I avoided those posts, scrolling past them as fast as I could.

Another part of me felt exactly as I described in the first two italicized paragraphs just below this one, written on 9/11 in 2019. Yes, reading this essay is a far more difficult thing in the context of my really messed up 2020, but I really DO need to read this so that I don’t forget. So I can remember an America that was united if only for a relatively short time.

I almost didn’t re-post this.

Nearly every year, I have. It always refreshes my memory far too realistically and emotionally.  Just now, I re-read it and I realized that’s the whole reason I re-post this in the first place — so that I don’t forget how I felt that day.  So at the risk of being repetitive, here it is.  — Dan (2019)

I wrote this back in 2009 in response to all the “Where were you when 9/11 happened?” questions and recollections that were being circulated around the Internet.  I’ve reposted it many times in the hope that I’ll continue to recall not just the horrific facts of that day’s events, but the feelings with which I associate it.  To this day whenever I hear replays of the news broadcasts of that day, the feelings, anguish and anger can be nearly overwhelming.

Even though I wasn’t near any of the three places that were scarred forever by the acts of a few, 9/11/2001 changed my life in ways that I could not have imagined then and which I sometimes don’t believe even now.  Regardless, I will never shake the feelings that 9/11 evokes in me nor do I ever want to.  More importantly, I wish that all of us could share the unity, resolve and dedication to our nation and our common defense that we all felt in the days and weeks following that awful day in 2001.

Thanks for reading.

“So, do you think the Army’s going to call you up because of this?”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

That was the big question my supervisor at the E! Channel asked me on 9/11. While I did eventually get called up, I’d gladly give up all the financial and professional gains which resulted if it had never happened. But that’s not what these words are going to be about.

I was awakened that morning by a phone call from my mother-in-law who told us in frantic, disjointed words that something bad was happening. As a native New Yorker, she was understandably shaken at learning that Manhattan was under attack. The message was related to me by my spouse at the time who slammed into the bedroom and shook me awake and said “Wake up! The Pentagon’s under attack!”

I got up, rushed to the TV in a groggy stupor and saw the story as it was unfolding, still in chaos. Information was rolling into news agencies willy-nilly and much of what was heard and reported was unconfirmed. I dressed and hurried to work in the Wilshire District in LA, near the La Brea Tar Pits. The streets of Los Angeles were relatively deserted – not empty as they were during the LA riots in 1992. But it was clear that people were staying home. Businesses closed for the day and many more operated on essential staff only. Which is why I was going to work.

When I arrived at E!, I could see that many of the national cable networks which shared our satellite space had either gone dark or were carrying coverage from one of the big three networks. It was at that moment that the enormity and the immediate practical impact of this event on this Nation became apparent. Even broadcast commerce stopped for a time – shopping networks were carrying round the clock news coverage. Sports channels and others had full-screen graphics up telling people to tune to a network broadcast and follow the news.

One of the positive things about working at a TV network with all measure of high-tech TV equipment is that we could monitor as many TV stations as we had monitors. And we had plenty. CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC all raced to get pictures and firsthand accounts of the unfolding tragedy on the air. I flipped back and forth from moment to moment and channel to channel trying to find the best pictures. No one had a lock on the best, so it was back and forth from channel to channel.

As for what I was doing in between times, E! was trying to decide whether to take coverage from a major news network or stay with the on-air schedule without regard to the situation. My job was to design on-screen graphics in support of either option. Ultimately, E! chose to stay with their own programming rather than switch to one of the majors. I will not debate that decision, but I will observe on my own behalf that I had no interest in entertainment fluff at that point, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else feeling differently.

From the moment it sank in just what was going on, my heart was heavy, but my fists clenched in preparation. When my terrific boss, Ken Mason, asked me if I was going to get called up, not only did I hope so, but I was hoping it would be within the hour. For the rest of the day, most of us sat in network control going about our business with about as much feeling as the machines supporting us. It was quiet and the sounds of our air signal were mixed with the sounds of the coverage coming from ancillary equipment racks where the carnage of the day was being replayed over and over.

I would be many months before I actually got called up and reported here to Washington, D.C. in January, 2002. I spent the next 71 months assigned to the Pentagon in various assignments, some 9/11 related and others not.

A year after the attacks, our office moved into the rebuilt section of the Pentagon and shortly thereafter, the small indoor memorial and chapel was opened. Whenever I thought I was being unfairly put upon, I’d stroll the 30 seconds down the E-ring to the 9/11 memorial and stand for a minute or two.

It gave me perspective in two profound ways. It made me recognize that getting picked on that day wasn’t really so bad, and that any one of these people whose biography and photo were in one of two books would give anything to be in my predicament. Alive. Within reach of those about whom they cared. And it humbled me. Standing there for only a moment made me remember why I was there and that I had better do the best job I could.

Eight years have passed since the attack on our Nation. Today, while driving into my civilian job, I listened to replays of the coverage from that day and remember what it felt like that day. How shocked and horrified. How angry. How resolute. I suspect that will never change. I suspect that I’ll always feel the intense mix of emotions on this day. And I’ll fight back the tears on this day just as I did on this day eight years ago.

For many, the feelings we experienced that day have already escaped us, relegating the horror of the day to a collection of historical facts, figures and stately memorials to those who perished. It is right that we recall the facts and honor those who were murdered that day. However, it is my wish that somehow the shock, horror, anger and resolution I felt – that most everyone felt that morning – stay with us and unite us as it did on 9/11 and in the shadows of that day.

Eight years hence, we find ourselves a divided Nation when in truth, there’s so very much more about us that is alike than there are things which divide us.

I wish we weren’t so divided and I have no solution as to how to unite us. I just know that we have it in us. The days following September 11, 2001 were some of America’s finest.

Remember what that was like. Not just today on this horrific anniversary. But every day.

It would serve us all well.

Posted in 9/11, Army | 2 Replies

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