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pomfob.bsky.social
@pomfob.bsky.social
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pomfob.bsky.social
A cheery wave to you all, especially anyone who was intrigued by the cow tools yesterday. I'm rarely that sophisticated, but I am conscientious. Today is tridi 3 Pluviôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Today, for no reason other than I feel like it, we're celebrating fridge magnets.
A photo of some fridge magnets on a white background. That'll be our fridge then. From left to right, the magnets are Rectangular black of Flying Nun Records' mascot, Fuzzy Rectangular pink with the Louise Bourgeois quote, Art is a guaranty of sanity. Round blue Kraftwerk Autobahn logo, with the words at top and bottom. Text & logo in white. This one also doubles as a bottle opener. Hello Alex! Small round white with a kaleidoscope branch effect in grey, the logo of the band Sinnen. Hi Darren! Square with a drawing of an olde worlde shop on sandy ground against a blue sky. There's a round sign above the door, but it's too small to work out what it says.
January 22, 2026 at 1:19 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Good afternoon. It’s duodi 2 Pluviôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Today’s celebration is a multi layered affair about the excellent Bluesky account Cow Tools Daily, @cowtoolsdaily.bsky.social. In fact it’s so sophisticated, I’ll stop here and put a half arsed explanation in the alt text.
The picture is the Cow Tools cartoon by Gary Larson for his series, The Far Side. It’s a one panel black and white cartoon depicting a cow standing on its hind legs at a table, with a barn in the background. The cow is drawn so it appears to be looking at the reader through narrowed eyes, daring anyone to criticise the tools on the table in front of them. The tools are from left to right the lump, the lump with a handle, a stick with some prongs that has come to be known as the prongler, and a crude hand saw. The caption beneath the cartoon simply reads "Cow tools". Today’s celebration of Cow Tools Daily was inspired by the recent news about Veronika the Austrian cow having learned how to use a stick to scratch her back, the first time a cow has been observed using tools. Cow Tools the cartoon caused such consternation among readers that many wrote to the papers the cartoon was published in demanding an explanation. They didn’t think it was funny that a cow would make tools lacking something in sophistication. Confused? There's a Wikipedia page for it, but it won't help much.
January 21, 2026 at 12:36 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
We begin another month in the French Republican Calendar. Today is primidi 1 Pluviôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Pluviôse is the month of rains, don't you know. Let's celebrate a home of great art, the Prado in Madrid. Last Meninas by Velasquez, loads of Goya, loads more but I've run out.
A photo of the Prado in Madrid on an overcast day. A brick red and stone grey building with some green space in front of it, steps leading up to the entrance. People walking in the plaza below the entrance. There's a couple of big posters over the doors, presumably for an exhibition, but I can't make out what they're for. It's not that imposing a building, but it has some of the finest seventeenth and eighteenth century art in the world. A must for goths, the Prado has Goya's Black Paintings. Ooh, I should do a celebration for Goya, shouldn't I? Yes Pom, you should.
January 20, 2026 at 7:28 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Well then. We've reached the end of the month of snows on décadi 30 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Might as well keep going. In tribute to the original French Republican Calendar's tendency to celebrate things at seasonally inappropriate times, I declare today the day of the barbecue.
A photo of a barbecue stood on a lawn. It's a chunky black cabinet on wheels, lid, shelves on the side, silver handles. Must be a new one since it's clean. As an aside, it was hard to find a picture of a barbecue that wasn't just a photo of a load of meat. I'm a veggie, not keen on that sort of muck.
January 19, 2026 at 8:26 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Yo ho comrades. It's nonidi 29 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. I've been meaning to celebrate birds more in the revised calendar, since the original didn't unless you could eat them. A grimly utilitarian attitude, so to correct that, here's a very user unfriendly bird, the fulmar.
A photo of a fulmar, sat on the edge of a grassy cliff, grey sky behind it. A fulmar is a type of gull, white with grey wings. Its distinguishing feature is a short, chunky beak with a small tube on top of it. That's the fulmar's defence mechanism, get too close and it launches a stream of unpleasantness from the tube.
January 18, 2026 at 8:47 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Wotcha all. It's octidi 28 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Today let's celebrate the foghorn. They were very important for marine safety at one time, but are becoming redundant with advances in technology. There's a book about it, The Foghorns Lament by Jennifer Lucy Allan. Sad honk.
A photograph of a foghorn on top of a building. There are two horns, big black metal things. The building is a white painted oblong, housing the machinery to operate the horns. The window ledges and a band at the bottom of the building is painted green, as is the door. This is standard for Trinity House, who are in charge of lighthouses in England and Wales. The paint is peeling, so it's probably not used much any more. There's a patch of grass in front of the foghorn building, and blue skies above it, so it wouldn't have been required anyhow.
January 17, 2026 at 10:10 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Would you believe it? Today is septidi 27 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Also, would you believe it? Yesterday was the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Ivor Cutler. He told strange, unsettling and funny stories and he didn't like things being loud. There should be monuments to him.
A photo of Ivor Cutler. Head only really, you can make out he's wearing a white shirt and a bright red jacket. He's also wearing a dark red velvet cap or hat. Ivor has round glasses. He was probably in his seventies when the photo was taken. He doesn't look very happy. The vibe is either a disappointed sorcerer or a headmaster being told a joke in poor taste.
January 16, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Reposted
depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Afternoon to you all on sextidi 26 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Sorry about the late post, last minute change of plan. Ask me about it later. Anyway, something that makes me happy and I could do with a bowl of right now. Let's celebrate tasty couscous. Yum!
A photo of a bowl of couscous. It's in a black bowl on a white tablecloth. There's a couple of forks and a napkin on the right of the picture. The couscous has some nuts, fruit and parsley in it. The couscous itself looks golden and delicious and I'm really hungry now.
January 15, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted
cheeseford.bsky.social
I have never used ChatGPT.
angeloslh.bsky.social Sarah Ford 🐍🎨🖥️ Time Zone Era @angeloslh.bsky.social · 9d
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
January 14, 2026 at 1:11 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
How do on quintidi 25 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. I know we did snow ploughs recently, but I think we need to celebrate the phenomenon of named Scottish gritter lorries for bringing joy to the world with terrible puns.
A photograph of a big orange lorry with a snow scoop on the front. It's on a forecourt about to set off in a wintery landscape. It's a Scottish road gritting lorry, called Yes Sir, Ice Can Boogie.
January 14, 2026 at 11:22 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
You could buy the entire worriedaboutsatan for £20, or you could buy stuff from the back catalogue regularly. Or possibly sign up for the worriedaboutsatan Patreon.

I'm not being paid by Gavin to promote the worriedaboutsatan brand, honest.
worriedaboutsatan.bsky.social Gavin Miller @worriedaboutsatan.bsky.social · 9d
If you missed this earlier, you can now buy my entire life's work for, I dunno, a couple of pints?
worriedaboutsatan.bsky.social Gavin Miller @worriedaboutsatan.bsky.social · 9d
As I'm nice and there's some new stuff on the horizon, I've reduced the full discography on Bandcamp down 80% to just £20 for the next few days. So get 20 years(!) worth of stuff for £20. Bargain! worriedaboutsatan.bandcamp.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:36 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Bonjour mes braves. Time for our daily dose of the entirely subjective (made up by me) modern take on the French Republican Calendar. It's quartidi 24 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Today, I'd like us to celebrate downloads. It's something we all do all the time & don't think about.
An illustration representing a download. It's an orange triangle angled so it points to the right like a Play symbol. There's most of a yellow circle over the top of the triangle. A segment has been cut off by the triangle's lower edge. Inside the yellow circle is a smaller circle. It's a full circle and a paler orange than the triangle. Inside the orange circle is a white musical note. Ok smartypants, how would you illustrate a download?
January 13, 2026 at 8:50 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Good morning Bluesky. Let's get going on tridi 23 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Continuing from the tin can yesterday, we're going to celebrate the tin opener today. Invented several years after the tin can, but as I read on here once, it would be weirder if the opener came first.
A photo of an old school tin opener on a white background. The type with a sort of butterfly to move it around the lid of a can. One slim tubular arm, one wider flat arm with a twist halfway along and a bottle opener at the end. This one looks like it's been around a while, with spots of corrosion all over it.
January 12, 2026 at 8:56 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Ooh, I went to the Thursday & Saturday of that. I think that's where this photo of me looking like a leader of a cult comes from.
A photo of your pal Pom at the Heineken free festival in Roundhay Park, Leeds, summer 1995. Back then I had hair on my head AND my face. I had long chestnut brown hair, though you can see it was receding already. Amos Brierly sideys. Well, it was Yorkshire. Laughing Cavalier beard. I'm wearing an Amphetamine Reptile Ugly American Overkill Tour t shirt, because I was a hipster twat. I'm looking wistfully towards the stage. Possibly at Marijne Van Vugt of Salad. Over my shoulder, a woman is looking rather wistfully towards me. No idea what that was about. Probably the photographer was cute.
January 11, 2026 at 5:19 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Post a pic of the venue where you saw your first concert and the band or artist.

Achingly cool or what?
A photo of the Cornwall Coliseum at Carlyon Bay, near St Austell. The sea is in the background, trees in the front. The Coliseum was a hall that put gigs on, one of the biggest in the South West of England, the biggest in Cornwall I think. I say was because it closed a long time ago, fell into rack and ruin and has now been demolished. The photo comes from its ruin phase. Most of the building doesn't have a roof. A photo of Toyah Wilcox live on stage against a black background, gripping the microphone stand and looking off to one side. Hee expression says, 'what's the next fucking line?' This is in her early 1980s pomp. She's wearing a black, possibly leather, jerkin. Toyah has a massive spiky mullet hairdo, henna red in colour. There are also some symbols painted on her arm. They surely can't be tattoos? It's two rows of black triangles over a black line and then just above her elbow, a black ankh cross. Anyway, about the time this photo was taken, Toyah was the first gig I went to, at the Cornwall Coliseum. See previous photo for that. The Changeling tour I think.
January 11, 2026 at 4:29 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Afternoon amigx on duodi 22 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Continuing our odyssey updating the French Republican Calendar with things that weren't common or even invented at the time of the Revolution, but are now integral to daily life, let's hear it for tin cans.
A photo of some tin cans on a white background. Some of the cans have labels, most don't. All have been given a good scrub so they look their best for the class photo.
January 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Reposted
ghiblipictures.bsky.social
"I strongly feel that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an insult to life itself."

--- Hayao Miyazaki
November 21, 2024 at 10:15 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Ahoy there me hearties. It's primidi 21 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Let's reflect on the dire music scene at the time of the Revolution, seeing as the only instrument celebrated was the crumhorn. Hardly going to get the goths dancing. We'll correct that & celebrate the cello.
A photo of two views of a cello. Left face on, right from the side. Wooden, four strings, neck topped by tuning pegs. If it wasn't for the stand at the bottom it could be mistaken for a violin by the uninitiated.
January 10, 2026 at 12:46 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
Would you believe it? Today is décadi 20 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. The month of snow finally lives up to its name. Seeing as it's cold, grey and gloomy, let's celebrate the finest of all genres of music & fashion. I might have been one. So might you. And I mean proper goths.
A photo of three proper goths, taken from the collection of the museum of youth culture. Here's a link https://www.museumofyouthculture.com/goth/ The picture is of three goths in a wintery town centre. The one on the left is in a black dinner suit and has long, dyed blonde crimped hair. In the middle is the classic Robert Smith goth look, dyed black backcombed birdsnest hair, black trousers, black t shirt, purple jacket, white make up. Slightly spoiled by the cut of denim jacket, the bullet belt and the extra long key chains. Maybe they were transitioning from a metaller. The lad on the right is the kind of goth I most identify with. He's had a go at backcombing his hair, but it's still a natural brown colour. He's wearing black trousers and a black leather jacket, matched with a nice grey jumper. These are proper goths that you rarely see any more and it's a shame. They're not the Victorian cosplay silly hat look at me steampunk brigade who wouldn't know one Bauhaus LP from another.
January 9, 2026 at 9:43 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Heads up! It's nonidi 19 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Today we're going to celebrate the mundane, something the original French Republican Calendar did all the time. Salute the Garden Warbler, a little bird with the distinguishing feature of having no distinguishing features.
A photo of a Garden Warbler on a branch. The Garden Warbler is the quintessential Little Brown Job of the birding world in that it is both little and brown and nothing else. Nice song though.
January 8, 2026 at 9:27 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Good afternoon one & all. A very good octidi 18 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV to you all. Today is the day that we should celebrate a device not available to the revolutionaries 230 years ago, but makes our lives a whole lot easier. And less smelly. Hooray for the washing machine.
A face on photo of a washing machine. My washing machine actually. White, made by Indesit, a little scuffed. Sees a lot of action.
January 7, 2026 at 3:05 PM
pomfob.bsky.social
It's very good of you to come by on septidi 17 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. We'll turn to the animal kingdom for our celebration today. Time to cheer for the harmless, drifting vegetarians of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Let's hear it for manatees. Not too loud though.
A photo of an adult and juvenile manatee floating along through some seagrass. Big grey sea mammals, they look like over inflated seals. They were once called sea cows. Adult on the left, juvenile on the right, and they're looking rather expectant.
January 6, 2026 at 10:03 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
A very good morning to you comrades. Today is sextidi 16 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. It's a cold & snowy one round here. Let's celebrate an essential when it comes to keeping us warm, but they were missed out of the original calendar. I'm talking about socks. Simple but brilliant.
A photo of a pair of feet in a pair of comfortable looking socks. From the angle of the feet, whoever is wearing the socks is probably sat or laying down, by the looks of it on a sandy beach. The socks are the colour of a ginger cat, which enhances the appearance of being very comfortable.
January 5, 2026 at 9:41 AM
pomfob.bsky.social
Alright then, how are you all? It's quintidi 15 Nivôse in the year of the Republic CCXXXIV. Do you like fish? Do you like other marine creatures? Do you like seeing them swimming about without getting wet? Then let's celebrate aquariums. Those doing science, not the circuses that harm the animals.
A photo of two people stood in front of a large tank in an aquarium, with fish swimming around . This is in the National Marine Aquarium. One of the few reasons to visit Plymouth.
January 4, 2026 at 10:26 AM