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garius.bsky.social
John Bull
@garius.bsky.social
29K followers 1.1K following 24K posts
He/Him. Author. Historian (inc of obscure Military Holy Orders). Strategy streamer. Tech/Transport Strategist. Editor of @lonrec. Orient fan. Business/Writing: [email protected]. Agent: @pastpreservers.bsky.social
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · Mar 10
The latest in my history of home computers is live. Covers the era of Commodore, Atari and Jack Tramiel.

He was a brutal manager. But also an Auschwitz survivor, and that shaped him, and his legit drive to build a better world.

This warning from him hit home, right now.

every.to/the-crazy-on...
One day in 1982, Michael Tomczyk, who had led the project to develop the Commodore 64, found himself sitting in Jack Tramiel’s office. Tomcyzk had just returned from a trade show in Hanover, Germany. During the course of their conversation, Tomczyk mentioned how impressed he’d been with the Autobahn highway network on the way there. "I built that road," Tramiel told him matter-of-factly. “Jack went on to explain that during World War II as a teenager he had been selected to work on the road gangs,” Tomczyk remembered. “He said that it was one way to survive, because they had to feed the people that did that kind of hard labor, or they wouldn't work. ‘We built good roads,’ he said.” Tramiel had never hidden the horrors in his past. He was proud that he had helped build a better future through Commodore and Atari. However, the longer he lived, the more concerned he became that people would forget what that future had cost. And that which is forgotten can be repeated. "You know," Tramiel said once, "it's hard to believe it really happened. But it can happen again. In America. Americans like to make rules, and that scares me. If you have too many rules you get locked in a system. It's the system that says this one dies and that one doesn't, not the people. That's why I don't hate the German people. Individuals, yes. Rules, yes. But not all Germans.
Reposted by John Bull
garius.bsky.social
NERD CHALLENGE!

Name the man, AND the episode he's working on #doctorWho #whovians
a man with proper seventies hair working on models for a dr who episode.
February 7, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by John Bull
garius.bsky.social
#lifeGoals
Bob Symes riding a small steam train in his garden
February 7, 2026 at 10:32 AM
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garius.bsky.social
"there was no autism in my day" etc. etc.
bob symes perched next to his model railway controlling it with a radio controller
February 7, 2026 at 10:30 AM
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garius.bsky.social
Find someone who looks at you the way Bob Symes looks at a see-saw signal.
bob symes, looking imperiously beardy, gazing lovingly at model railways furniture.
February 7, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by John Bull
garius.bsky.social
"This is an MG from 1947. I had a car like this, and I wish I still had it. Unfortunately I wrote mine off at Silverstone, some time ago."

Bob Symes. Absolute boss.

Immediately after this, he fucks off behind the country house to play with radio controlled cars.
Robert Symes, looking every inch the affable old English gentlement, by a bright red 1940s convertable sports car.
February 7, 2026 at 10:18 AM
garius.bsky.social
Your Saturday viewing.
1979: The Model World of Robert Symes | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
www.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:58 AM
garius.bsky.social
Roll to detect traps
Long staircase that may or may not have a tortie on it
February 7, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by John Bull
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
And more on the collaboration with the Glasgow School of Art research and digital reconstruction here. #Skystorians
February 7, 2026 at 8:58 AM
garius.bsky.social
Napoleon's two white toes. Happy #caturday
Black kitty's legs, with two very white toes.
February 7, 2026 at 9:32 AM
garius.bsky.social
He looks like a man about to offer more of a comment than a question
worldsofdrwho.bsky.social The Amazing Worlds of Doctor Who @worldsofdrwho.bsky.social · 17h
"The Master" c/o the 1971 Kellogg's Sugar Smacks "Doctor Who" badge promotion. #DoctorWho
February 7, 2026 at 9:28 AM
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abadonx13.bsky.social
Be sure to watch the very first @mysterywrestling.bsky.social where I take on @cecilnyx.bsky.social

youtu.be/2JVVP7OBzwc?...
FULL EVENT: Mystery Wrestling 1 | Falls Count Anywhere, Grayson vs. Angels, Wheeler Yuta, Abadon
YouTube video by Evil Uno presents Mystery Wrestling
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by John Bull
dinahrose.bsky.social
A big crowd gathering in the Magdalen auditorium for our Lord of the Rings marathon. All three movies, extended versions, with hobbit meals and a special.mystery guest...
Real sense of anticipation.
Not sure how I'll feel by 10pm.
Crowd in an auditoroum. Theres a buzz of conversation.
February 7, 2026 at 8:20 AM
garius.bsky.social
A note for fellow Londoners: this stuff is great, and Ork's Nest often stocks it if you like giving your money to physical stores.
February 7, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by John Bull
jerijerod14.bsky.social
If you are still following my Naval attacks in the Dardanelles series here is the next part…

jerijerod14.substack.com/p/send-in-th...

The first landings of the Royal Marines and how well that went.

#ww1 #history #navalhistory
Send in the Marines
The Dardanelles attacks of 4-5 March
jerijerod14.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:55 AM
garius.bsky.social
Was going to stay in bed all day but then remembered there's a cold slice of takeaway pizza in the fridge.
February 7, 2026 at 9:05 AM
garius.bsky.social
To be fair, Fan Thomas is a londoner and to us everything outside the M25 is either The North, Peterborough or Wales.

Bath would fall into the Wales category.
February 7, 2026 at 9:01 AM
garius.bsky.social
Today i will base about 25 miniatures that i have been avoiding basing for ages. Because basing.
February 7, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by John Bull
amutepiggy.bsky.social
it's not just that Mamdani is charming af (he is), it's that he is normalizing the idea that children are full members of society that we all share a collective responsibility for
lizrummy.bsky.social Emoji Caresser @lizrummy.bsky.social · 20h
From @acyn.bsky.social (posted on X)

"Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal?

Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…

Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.

Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake."
February 6, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by John Bull
blaft.bsky.social
Receiving lots of queries from international buyers about how to get Pooja Saxena's INDIA STREET LETTERING outside of India.

We'll be supplying stores in Europe, the USA, Sri Lanka & Singapore soon. But in the meantime, we ship worldwide from our website!

www.blaft.com/products/ind...
Pooja with her book! A stack of copies of India Street Lettering! Art Life: An image from the book showing a Kolkata Sign Aazaad Band: An image from the book showing a Lucknow band trolley
February 7, 2026 at 3:49 AM
Reposted by John Bull
funranium.bsky.social
Awwwww yeah, the fuck naan.
February 7, 2026 at 4:14 AM
garius.bsky.social
He woke me up specifically so i could witness him grumpily, and performatively, lying down out of reach and facing away from me.

Apparently i have missed some important drama that he is not happy about.
Sulky cat lying on bed
February 7, 2026 at 8:42 AM
garius.bsky.social
The Teams version of accidentally calling your teacher 'mum'
katie.bzky.team Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 12h
getting an accidental ❤️ react instead of a 👍 in teams from my boss will literally never fail to make me laugh
February 7, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by John Bull
parsnip.bsky.social
i love european olympics opening ceremonies. the second the ioc names a european host city the prime minister calls the culture minister into their office and says "find me your strangest homosexuals. give each of them a period of our great nation's history, a kilo of cocaine, and Ten Million Euros"
February 7, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Reposted by John Bull
sky.skymarchini.net
still one of the most incredible videos of all time. wellness influencers doing woo encountering an indigenous shaman in the jungles of ecuador and he's like "I need your medicine, the tiger balm" and the guy is just like "no you need to get fucking penicillin moron"
www.youtube.com/shorts/ecOsp...
Indigenous jungle shaman tells us we need antibiotics…?!
YouTube video by Xiaomanyc 小马在纽约
www.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Reposted by John Bull
carloscisco.bsky.social
I think the mostly humbling and salient truth I was ever given about working in television is “Remember, we’re here to sell bleach first.”
smittermeier.bsky.social Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier @smittermeier.bsky.social · 14h
I feel like too many Trekkies - the white cis male kind in particular - read Star Trek like the Bible instead of like a franchise or TV shows aka consumer capitalist products with specific audiences in specific production contexts.
February 7, 2026 at 1:40 AM