Jonathan Bromley
@bromleyj.bsky.social
Lapsed physicist, retired nerd, choral music fanboy, drools over wilderness landscapes. Prone to extreme grumpiness in the presence of scientific illiteracy. Husband and fond supporter of a stellar Parkinson's advocate.
I'm on taxi duty for Mrs B later this evening, so it's Dry January 20th for me.
Am I doing this right?
Am I doing this right?
January 20, 2026 at 7:27 PM
I'm on taxi duty for Mrs B later this evening, so it's Dry January 20th for me.
Am I doing this right?
Am I doing this right?
Chatting with Mrs B about a walking route through Oxford. It turns out that "across Gloucester Green" is quite the tongue-twister.
a man in a suit and tie is giving a speech
Alt: Newsreader blabbering
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Chatting with Mrs B about a walking route through Oxford. It turns out that "across Gloucester Green" is quite the tongue-twister.
Big shout-out to the poor bugger whose phone number is only different in one digit from Specsavers' but who still managed to explain the wrong number courteously. His world-weary tone can very easily be forgiven.
January 19, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Big shout-out to the poor bugger whose phone number is only different in one digit from Specsavers' but who still managed to explain the wrong number courteously. His world-weary tone can very easily be forgiven.
RANT TIME: Adobe, WTF is going on with free Reader? In what normal world do you need 1.1GB for a PDF reader app?
Oh, and it doesn't properly work. Some weird collision with the graphics driver means its menubar and title bar aren't rendered.
<stomps off grumpily in search of alternatives>
Oh, and it doesn't properly work. Some weird collision with the graphics driver means its menubar and title bar aren't rendered.
<stomps off grumpily in search of alternatives>
January 19, 2026 at 3:17 PM
RANT TIME: Adobe, WTF is going on with free Reader? In what normal world do you need 1.1GB for a PDF reader app?
Oh, and it doesn't properly work. Some weird collision with the graphics driver means its menubar and title bar aren't rendered.
<stomps off grumpily in search of alternatives>
Oh, and it doesn't properly work. Some weird collision with the graphics driver means its menubar and title bar aren't rendered.
<stomps off grumpily in search of alternatives>
My biggest hill to die on: there is **absolutely no pressing reason** for any domestic infrastructure to be managed in the cloud. Not security, not entertainment, not HVAC. Cloud as an option, maybe, but if there's no option for strictly on-premises management I won't buy it.
I'm a bit less paranoid about this (though tbf I don't live in the increasingly insane US) but nonetheless this is one reason I'm shifting away from a cloud doorbell to Unifi
So, if you ever wondered why people who understand surveillance are salty about video cameras on doorbells...
It's only a matter of time before they get co-opted into mass surveillance. And if the regime you live under changes that's you spying on your neighbours.
It's only a matter of time before they get co-opted into mass surveillance. And if the regime you live under changes that's you spying on your neighbours.
January 19, 2026 at 11:51 AM
My biggest hill to die on: there is **absolutely no pressing reason** for any domestic infrastructure to be managed in the cloud. Not security, not entertainment, not HVAC. Cloud as an option, maybe, but if there's no option for strictly on-premises management I won't buy it.
Petition to create a new word for anyone who continues to support or enable Trump after today:
psychophant
psychophant
January 19, 2026 at 9:03 AM
Petition to create a new word for anyone who continues to support or enable Trump after today:
psychophant
psychophant
Headlines I never expected I might see, #1:
- Overweight octogenarian golfer picks a fight with Vikings.
- Overweight octogenarian golfer picks a fight with Vikings.
January 17, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Headlines I never expected I might see, #1:
- Overweight octogenarian golfer picks a fight with Vikings.
- Overweight octogenarian golfer picks a fight with Vikings.
Midweek treat: a glass of nice Macon and #diggingForBritain
January 14, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Midweek treat: a glass of nice Macon and #diggingForBritain
NOW I know why they're called "water bears".
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking across a microscope slide. 🫧🐻🧪
January 14, 2026 at 10:14 AM
NOW I know why they're called "water bears".
Among all the noise around Trump's absurd but scary posturing over Greenland, I haven't seen any mention of the risk to all the important climate science (ice cores!) that goes on there - work that would almost certainly be obstructed or obliterated if Trump were to take over.
January 13, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Among all the noise around Trump's absurd but scary posturing over Greenland, I haven't seen any mention of the risk to all the important climate science (ice cores!) that goes on there - work that would almost certainly be obstructed or obliterated if Trump were to take over.
de mortuis nihil nisi bonum, so I shall say nothing about the passing of Erich von Däniken.
January 13, 2026 at 12:54 AM
de mortuis nihil nisi bonum, so I shall say nothing about the passing of Erich von Däniken.
It is the season.
2026 breakfasts sorted.
2026 breakfasts sorted.
January 12, 2026 at 4:52 PM
It is the season.
2026 breakfasts sorted.
2026 breakfasts sorted.
A thread for those who have never heard of Melba Toast.
If someone tells you to cut a slice of bread in half how do you do it. I ask because An Event occurred and it's the sort of thing no one will believe
January 11, 2026 at 9:59 PM
A thread for those who have never heard of Melba Toast.
Reposted by Jonathan Bromley
Hypocaust Fans of BlueSky unite!
The wonderful Brading Roman Villa's underfloor heating system is officially *at risk*. 😢
Can we help them? Ideas?
www.iwradio.co.uk/news-post/br...
The wonderful Brading Roman Villa's underfloor heating system is officially *at risk*. 😢
Can we help them? Ideas?
www.iwradio.co.uk/news-post/br...
January 9, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Hypocaust Fans of BlueSky unite!
The wonderful Brading Roman Villa's underfloor heating system is officially *at risk*. 😢
Can we help them? Ideas?
www.iwradio.co.uk/news-post/br...
The wonderful Brading Roman Villa's underfloor heating system is officially *at risk*. 😢
Can we help them? Ideas?
www.iwradio.co.uk/news-post/br...
If anyone with a bigger social media presence than mine would like to amplify this, it would be a Good Thing. TIA.
Clarion news: We’re leaving Twitter (’X’). We can’t condone the objectionable content it now promotes, which goes against everything we believe and the Clarion tradition. Our live posting is now here on Bluesky, with all this plus much more in our email newsletter twice a week.
January 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
If anyone with a bigger social media presence than mine would like to amplify this, it would be a Good Thing. TIA.
Just watched the #diggingForBritain piece on the Kelvin Wheelies and it was one of the loveliest things I've seen in years. @profaliceroberts.bsky.social and the enlarged team on top form.
January 7, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Just watched the #diggingForBritain piece on the Kelvin Wheelies and it was one of the loveliest things I've seen in years. @profaliceroberts.bsky.social and the enlarged team on top form.
Cancellation of Christmas chez Bromley has now been completed, just in time for cocktails.
January 5, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Cancellation of Christmas chez Bromley has now been completed, just in time for cocktails.
Gill Sans.
What's your favourite thing that's been made by an absolute cunt?
January 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Gill Sans.
Bright and chilly out on the meadow yesterday. It's a funny thing: not one of those people was plotting to kidnap a foreign dictator or annex a sovereign nation, as far as I could tell. Yet they all seemed to be having a good time.
January 5, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Bright and chilly out on the meadow yesterday. It's a funny thing: not one of those people was plotting to kidnap a foreign dictator or annex a sovereign nation, as far as I could tell. Yet they all seemed to be having a good time.
Where are the gongs for Clarion staff? That's what I want to know.
(Unless, of course, the Rector of Lincoln has a well-concealed journalistic side hustle...)
(Unless, of course, the Rector of Lincoln has a well-concealed journalistic side hustle...)
Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds has been appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List. Her citation reads: “Bringing a breadth of policy expertise to Parliament, she has taken leading roles in financial service regulation and taxation.”
December 30, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Where are the gongs for Clarion staff? That's what I want to know.
(Unless, of course, the Rector of Lincoln has a well-concealed journalistic side hustle...)
(Unless, of course, the Rector of Lincoln has a well-concealed journalistic side hustle...)
Our street WhatsApp group is the very best. Neighbour's car was the target of petty thieves overnight. Thanking folk for their concern, she adds:
"They also ate all the M&S strong mints out of the tin, but left the polos - very selective. ‘This is not just thieving, it’s M&S thieving.’"
"They also ate all the M&S strong mints out of the tin, but left the polos - very selective. ‘This is not just thieving, it’s M&S thieving.’"
December 30, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Our street WhatsApp group is the very best. Neighbour's car was the target of petty thieves overnight. Thanking folk for their concern, she adds:
"They also ate all the M&S strong mints out of the tin, but left the polos - very selective. ‘This is not just thieving, it’s M&S thieving.’"
"They also ate all the M&S strong mints out of the tin, but left the polos - very selective. ‘This is not just thieving, it’s M&S thieving.’"
Household chores such as bin-emptying and laundry can be remarkably appealing when there is real, thought-requiring, somewhat overdue work to be done.
#coding #procrastination
#coding #procrastination
December 30, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Household chores such as bin-emptying and laundry can be remarkably appealing when there is real, thought-requiring, somewhat overdue work to be done.
#coding #procrastination
#coding #procrastination
Popped into town to buy a few casual shirts in Walters' sale. Mrs B inspects the loot, and delivers the most agonizingly excoriating insult imaginable: "Your mother would have liked that one."
December 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Popped into town to buy a few casual shirts in Walters' sale. Mrs B inspects the loot, and delivers the most agonizingly excoriating insult imaginable: "Your mother would have liked that one."
And there was great rejoicing.
December 29, 2025 at 12:12 PM
And there was great rejoicing.
Reposted by Jonathan Bromley
One thing that gets me every time this comes up is when somebody turns evil and people act like they were evil their whole life. No.
Children are not born evil or hateful or bigoted. That behaviour is learned and people learn it at different points in their lives.
Children are not born evil or hateful or bigoted. That behaviour is learned and people learn it at different points in their lives.
December 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM
One thing that gets me every time this comes up is when somebody turns evil and people act like they were evil their whole life. No.
Children are not born evil or hateful or bigoted. That behaviour is learned and people learn it at different points in their lives.
Children are not born evil or hateful or bigoted. That behaviour is learned and people learn it at different points in their lives.