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garius.bsky.social
John Bull
@garius.bsky.social
27K followers 1.1K following 21K 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.
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Reposted by John Bull
garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 5h
The Tortie lives an entirely vibes based existence. Her vibes say this jumper is comfy. And also that if Max attacks her then Napoleon will beat him up.

She has no idea why the boys fight. It just happens. Boys are weird. They think about stuff too much.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 5h
The Tortie lives an entirely vibes based existence. Her vibes say this jumper is comfy. And also that if Max attacks her then Napoleon will beat him up.

She has no idea why the boys fight. It just happens. Boys are weird. They think about stuff too much.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 5h
Yes. The chaos is only suspended.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 5h
Chaos is suspended. Good night from her.
Tortie snoozing on a woolly jumper
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Reposted by John Bull
animeherald.com
Anime Herald @animeherald.com · 14h
From Anime to Transformers to Tabletop: How the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross Became an Icon in 3 Fandoms: Caelyn Ellis explores the history of the Valkyrie VF-1, and how it became an iconic, irreplaceable part of three distinct fandoms.

#macross #transformers #battletech
From Anime to Transformers to Tabletop: How the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross Became an Icon in 3 Fandoms
The end result of this massive tangle of licensing and legal kerfuffle is that, 42 years after it was created, there are now three distinct robots you can see on screens and buy figures of that are all, at heart, the VF-1S Super Valkyrie
hera.fyi
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 18h
uuuugh wait. it's just a reskin. that's so lazy.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 18h
NEW FRENCH PM JUST DROPPED

get them while you can. it's a limited pull.
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Reposted by John Bull
leytonlaureate.bsky.social
Leyton Laureate @leytonlaureate.bsky.social · 18h
ICYMI, check out my interview with Leyton Orient majority owner David Gandler, exclusively for @leytonorientear.com, where he talks about the new stadium plans, his first six months in charge and his vision for the club #LOFC
theleytonorientear.substack.com/p/i-have-a-t...
"I have a track record of never giving up"
O’s majority owner David Gandler speaks exclusively to the ‘Ear about his plans for a new stadium and his vision for Leyton Orient
theleytonorientear.substack.com
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 18h
The game of the ancient Mariners
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Reposted by John Bull
cortanav.bsky.social
Cortana 👻 @cortanav.bsky.social · 1d
When will my husband return from the Mariner’s game
Oil painting of a woman waiting by the sea
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Reposted by John Bull
willdalrymple.bsky.social
William Dalrymple @willdalrymple.bsky.social · 20h
Don't miss our new @EmpirePodUK double bill on:

OTTOMAN GAZA:

From Selim the Grim to Allenby & the WW1 Battles of Gaza
With the great Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford
podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/2...
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Reposted by John Bull
rarebutnobodycares.bsky.social
rbnc @rarebutnobodycares.bsky.social · 22h
You may be cool, but you'll never be as cool as having your Stratos delivered to you via helicopter.
#weirdcarbs #carsky #photography
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 19h
There's a cat in this photo. See if you can spot it.
Tortie badly concealed under the lip of a box
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Reposted by John Bull
twic.bsky.social
The Wildlife Information Centre @twic.bsky.social · 20h
Come see us at Apple Day at Woodside Walled Garden nr Ancrum! We'll be here 10am-4pm today and tomorrow. Free entrance and parking.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
But yeah. I guess if you're an established gaming group who already twitch or podcast and want a guest GM for a 5-ish session series then shout me. Every group should play the MLP rpg at least once.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
I'd GM a podcast or twitch campaign in a heartbeat. I just don't have an established gaming group who haven't played it already.

And part of the fun is watching/experiencing a gaming group play it for the very first time, and seeing them resist then embrace it.
attackmonkey.bsky.social
attackmonkey.bsky.social @attackmonkey.bsky.social · 20h
Having watched all of Friendship is Magic more times than I care to count with my daughter, it’s legit brilliant. Picked up the RPG after you mentioned it a while back and you’re right, it’s EXCELLENT.
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Reposted by John Bull
attackmonkey.bsky.social
attackmonkey.bsky.social @attackmonkey.bsky.social · 20h
Having watched all of Friendship is Magic more times than I care to count with my daughter, it’s legit brilliant. Picked up the RPG after you mentioned it a while back and you’re right, it’s EXCELLENT.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
No worries.

It's become my preferred ruleset for throwing together a short notice or one shot game.

Particularly for people unfamiliar with RPGs.

All you need are a bunch of D6 and something to use as friendship tokens.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
In MLP sessions that kind of thinking just becomes automatic.

Apparently friendship really IS magic. 😆
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
It's more that a GM can make it work within the ruleset as it's flexible enough.

Rules are about ten quid normally as a PDF on driveByRPG. Do give it a look if you like running slightly unexpected stuff.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
If anything the setting makes any moment of threat feel even MORE scary.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
(That was meant to be the session they found Rarity. But the emergent play just demanded a grand warrior entrance)
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
"I'm the only one that can fly! I can hold them for a round! GO!"

Bought them enough time to get through the gates.

I frantically rewrote it behind my screen so as she got beaten a flash of rainbow burst from the palace roof to land beside her.

Rainbow Dash, reawoken by her act of pure friendship
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h
And it leads to some wonderful emetgent moments.

In one game, players were outside the walls of a frozen ice palace when the Nullicorns caught them.

The only pegasus player, who was the quietest until then, immediately declared she was turning to fight them alone, to buy the others time to escape.
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garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 21h
The play style it encourages, and the ruleset, are relatively combat-lite.

Bit work SUPER well for an extended "hobbits being chased by greater powers, but being helped and helping everyone" campaign.

Young ponies pursued by Nazgul style undead alicorns feels like legit threat.
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