John Bull
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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.
garius.bsky.social
Oo-de-lally!
February 6, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by John Bull
oddthisday.bsky.social
If it’s 6 February, that must mean... yes, of course: the 899th anniversary of the night a monk saw THE DEVIL’S OWN SATANIC HORDES riding through the forest near, er... Peterborough 🧵
it was Sunday, 6th February – many men both saw and heard a great number of huntsmen hunting. The huntsmen were black, huge and hideous, and rode on black horses and he-goats, and their hounds were jet-black, with eyes like saucers and horrible. This was seen in the very deer-park of the town of Peterborough and in all the woods that stretch from that same town to Stamford [this was the great forest of the Bruneswald; Bromswold in modern place-names] and in the night the monks heard them sounding and winding their horns. Reliable witnesses, who kept watch in the night, declared that there might be as many as twenty or thirty of them winding their horns, as near as they might tell.
February 6, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by John Bull
clairebearart.bsky.social
I came across this Robin Hood concept art today in a book
February 6, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by John Bull
andycruns.bsky.social
OMG it’s Friday. Weird.

Anyway this week the theme is…spooky. Why? Just because.

So let’s see ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night.

As usual i’ll repost the lot and if you like something, share it!

#Nerdlings #FindFolkFriday
A bloodbowl ghost. Basically a sheet over a bit of washing line. He has a knife!
February 6, 2026 at 9:02 AM
garius.bsky.social
The forbidden gumi
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 3h
A little bear figurine carved out of amber some 6,000 years ago 🐻❤️

A hole runs through the bear’s torso suggesting it was threaded on a cord, perhaps worn or carried as a protective charm.

Found in a peat bog near Słupsk, Poland, in 1887.

📷 National Museum in Szczecin

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
Photo by G. Solecki/A. Piętak of a small figurine of a bear carved out of amber between 9600 and 4100 BC. The amber is a deep translucent orange. The display lighting makes it glow in places. The bear's head is carved to show ears, mouth, nostrils and eyes. A hole runs through the bear’s torso, suggesting it was threaded onto a cord. Dimensions: Length 10.2 cm, Height 4.2 It was discovered in Słupsk during peat mining in 1887. According to the museum catalogue ‘’Shortly after its discovery, the figure underwent conservation work to restore its original appearance as it was covered with a layer of dull patina from the exposure to the minerals contained in the peat. Already at that time, at the end of the 19th century, it was assumed the restoration had gone too far. The figure was stripped entirely of patina, the anatomical features of the animal were emphasised, the eyes and nostrils were sharply drawn, and the amber was carefully polished”. In 2013, a competition was organised by the Education Department of the National Museum in Szczecin, for children to choose a name for the bear. The winning name was ‘Słupcio’,
February 6, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by John Bull
jbf1755.bsky.social
Wow!
February 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by John Bull
matociquala.bsky.social
Context: this speech is from SIR THOMAS MORE, a history written, as near as scholars can tell, in the early 1600s by 6 or 7 people including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Shakespeare, and Munday.

It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
lalahaenzy.com Omg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.com · 23h
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by John Bull
wtalabi.com
Alright. As is now tradition, here are my 10 favorite African SFF stories from 2025 📖 📚

Featuring tales from: @fiyahlitmag.bsky.social @clarkesworldmagazine.com @omenanamag.bsky.social @giganotosaurus.bsky.social @zamashort.com @khoreo.bsky.social @willthisbeaproblem.bsky.social + more!
reactorsff.bsky.social Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 1d
2025 was another great year for African short fiction! Author @wtalabi.com recommends 10 highlights across science fiction, fantasy, and horror, from "magic-for-wealth schemes" to an unsettling religious organization (in space). And if there's some ties in there...? We're not complaining.
Ten(ish) of the Best African Speculative Short Fiction Stories of 2025 - Reactor
Here are some of the speculative fiction gems that may have flown under the radar in 2025...
reactormag.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by John Bull
lhaasis.bsky.social
Around 1650, Sweden’s ships sailed beyond the Baltic for the first time. Dutch captains and lieutenants in the Swedish navy guided this expansion. Join our online lecture on Monday, 1pm CET, in the Ships & Seafaring series: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
#earlymodern #maritimehistory #history
February 6, 2026 at 5:43 AM
Reposted by John Bull
clairewillett.bsky.social
the highest and best category of human, in my opinion, is “when stuck on a long flight behind a screaming baby, plays peek-a-boo and makes funny faces to entertain child rather than getting mad or blaming parents.” few elected officials belong in this category but I believe Zohran does
acyn.bsky.social Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 7h
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”

Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
February 6, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Reposted by John Bull
elizastein.bsky.social
I’m such a sucker for pop art crochet patterns www.etsy.com/listing/4369...
Giant do not eat silica gel packet crochet pillow by entrecrochetshop
February 6, 2026 at 4:38 AM
Reposted by John Bull
clairewillett.bsky.social
when I was in high school I had male teachers in their 30s who I totally thought I was adult peer friends with. when I was in my 30s and was a high school youth group leader I was like “those are not my friends, those are children.” that’s when I realized those men just had bad boundaries
dumplingmenace.bsky.social ak @dumplingmenace.bsky.social · 13h
when i was a 16yo girl i thought i was an adult. coaching 12-17yo girls as a 28yo really hammered home how much i was wrong about being an adult at 16 and how obvious it is to actual adults that a 16yo is not an adult. if they say they cannot tell they are lying because they are a creep.
February 6, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by John Bull
scalzi.com
Asimov's actions, and the tolerance-up-to-celebration of it, absolutely drove women out of field and out of fandom, and made it easier for others in the field, writers, editors and fans, to follow his lead for decades. Asimov pinching asses was not about his work. It kept women and their work out.
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by John Bull
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
And everyone can now read this piece on Softstar's Sword and Fairy 4, an admirably thoughtful RPG that dares to question and then challenge some important narrative pillars of the genre:

kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/02/06/s...
February 6, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Reposted by John Bull
rmac.bsky.social
While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot.

I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.
rmac.bsky.social Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 20h
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.

We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Mingled With Silicon Valley Start-Ups
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by John Bull
kennethwoods.net
It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/ch...
Change the law to fix music streaming
It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming!
www.megaphone.org.uk
February 5, 2026 at 11:49 PM
garius.bsky.social
So while you're all shocked we need to talk about Arthur C Clarke...
scalzi.com John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 12h
To everyone just now finding out Isaac Asimov was rather famously a sex pest: He's been gone 34 years now, you can handle this truth, I believe in you
February 6, 2026 at 12:21 AM
Reposted by John Bull
scalzi.com
To everyone just now finding out Isaac Asimov was rather famously a sex pest: He's been gone 34 years now, you can handle this truth, I believe in you
February 5, 2026 at 10:54 PM
garius.bsky.social
Oh no my fartcoins
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11h
There are drawdowns. And then there’s Melania Coin.
February 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by John Bull
katertot.bsky.social
I need everyone to know that on the crochet subreddit the mods made a big post about how they're taking a week off because there was too much fighting/political posts. so there's currently no mods on r/crochet and people are being absolutely insane
Post from r/crochet that says "mods are gone. All hail Mr. Nipples" and its a picture of the most disgusting crocheted doll/creature thats pink and has a creepy smile and horns and big pink nipples. It's truly horrifying
February 5, 2026 at 1:46 PM
garius.bsky.social
Adding "not a pedo" to my LinkedIn skills
February 5, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by John Bull
rosamundi.bsky.social
I thought this article was interesting, the way it laid out the difference between the reaction of the two captains.
BBC News - Silence and inaction - how audio helped prove captain guilty of North Sea tanker crash
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
North Sea tanker crash: The deafening silence that implicated Solong captain
The top detective investigating the tanker collision says there were early signs of gross negligence from Vladimir Motin
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by John Bull
scalzi.com
Folks outside SF/F don't know that Asimov was a sexual harasser because while he was alive fandom thought it was cute (up to and including Asimov being invited to give a lecture on "The Power of Positive Posterior Pinching" at Worldcon, which he, wisely, declined).

daily.jstor.org/asimovs-empi...
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 PM
garius.bsky.social
Ah. Tottenham Court Road McDonalds. My old nemesis. We meet again.
People queueing up for burgers in hell
February 5, 2026 at 11:29 PM
garius.bsky.social
"It's like watching a documentary about how Eva Braun feels sad about war, while in the background her husband is invading Poland."

youtu.be/DTyUni8dbkE?...
Mark Kermode reviews Melania
YouTube video by Kermode and Mayo's Take
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 5:42 PM