{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Micro.blog - Martin McCallion","home_page_url":"https://micro.blog","feed_url":"https://micro.blog/posts/devilgate","_microblog":{"about":"https://micro.blog/about/api","id":"424","username":"devilgate","bio":"Writer. Software developer.","pronouns":"","is_following":false,"is_you":false,"following_count":263,"discover_count":0},"author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2022/424.jpg"},"items":[{"id":"91037386","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Seemed to work.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/91037386","date_published":"2026-05-27T21:42:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 21:42","date_timestamp":1779918141,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91021494","content_html":"<p>We are in strange times when the Pope makes more sense about technology than Richard Dawkins. From Pope Leo’s encyclical, <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/05/safeguarding-the-human-person-in-the-time-of-artificial-intelligence\">as quoted by Kottke</a>:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It is not possible to provide a single, comprehensive definition of AI. What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings. These systems merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>While Dawkins seems to have fallen completely into a vat of kool-aid:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I gave Claude the text of a novel I am writing. He took a few seconds to read it and then showed, in subsequent...</p>\n</blockquote> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/27/we-are-in-strange-times/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/27/we-are-in-strange-times/","date_published":"2026-05-27T18:00:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 18:00","date_timestamp":1779904842,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91020924","content_html":"<p>📚 Books 2026, 13: Keep the Giraffe Burning, by John Sladek: <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/26/finished-reading-keep-the-giraffe/\">devilgate.org</a></p>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/26/finished-reading-keep-the-giraffe/","date_published":"2026-05-27T17:45:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 17:45","date_timestamp":1779903957,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90993327","content_html":"<p><span class=\"h-card\"><a href=\"https://micro.blog/johnnydecimal@hachyderm.io\" class=\"u-url mention\">@johnnydecimal</a></span> How do you tell if a website is vibe-coded?</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90993327","date_published":"2026-05-27T07:38:25+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 07:38","date_timestamp":1779867505,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90889141","content_html":"<p>@acct:imyke@myke.social I’m looking forward to listening to this one. But I’ve also realised: I’m kind of missing CGP Grey.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90889141","date_published":"2026-05-25T18:00:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-25 18:00","date_timestamp":1779732048,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90785165","content_html":"<img src=\"https://micro.blog/photos/100x/https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw154%2Fv9niLQWVzVPB1cP1ThNdEaLZG1Q.jpg\" class=\"mini_cover\"><p>More nonsense and more ‘Naked Gun’ fun last night: <a href=\"https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/37137\">The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear</a> 🎥. I couldn’t honestly tell whether I’d seen this before or not. I think I <em>probably</em> saw it back in the day, but the jokes are so spot-on and predictable (and the plot matters so little) it’s hard to be sure. Just what you...</p> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/23/more-nonsense-and-more-naked/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/23/more-nonsense-and-more-naked/","date_published":"2026-05-23T18:31:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 18:31","date_timestamp":1779561097,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90783539","content_html":"<p>I just discovered a feature in Apple Music for iOS. I had lyrics scrolling and I touched the screen to dismiss them. The song jumped back to the point in the lyrics I touched.</p>\n<p>Could be useful when you want it, though it’s mildly annoying by accident. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it before.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/23/i-just-discovered-a-feature/","date_published":"2026-05-23T17:57:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 17:57","date_timestamp":1779559039,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90782986","content_html":"<img src=\"https://micro.blog/photos/100x/https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw154%2F8ziUp2q71vCmMgYY2MRCwI3mSs5.jpg\" class=\"mini_cover\"><p><a href=\"https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/628917\">An American Pickle</a> 🎥 is a strange, daft, fun wee movie, in which Seth Rogen plays Herschel Greenbaum, a refugee from a Polish <em>stetl</em> in the 1920s. A freak accident at a pickling factory means he is pickled for 100 years. Waking up in 2020s Brooklyn, he meets his great-grandson Ben (also played by Rogen).</p>\n<p>But...</p> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/23/an-american-pickle-is-a/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/23/an-american-pickle-is-a/","date_published":"2026-05-23T17:39:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 17:39","date_timestamp":1779557954,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90643517","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> My memory! And searching. It was used in a TV ad in the UK maybe ten, fifteen years back, focusing on the shapely rear end of the car. ‘I see you baby, shaking that ass’!</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogaKNjqExsU\">YouTube link</a>. Also <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/may/27/advertising\">people complained</a>, according to The Guardian.</p>\n<p>Which can’t <em>possibly</em> be right, because it says it was 23 years ago. I remember my daughter singing along with it, and she wasn’t doing that when she was 2!</p>\n<p>I guess maybe they revived it? Anyway, that’s what I was talking about, so I’m playing &lt;cite&gt;Vertigo&lt;/cite&gt; now.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90643517","date_published":"2026-05-21T16:07:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-21 16:07","date_timestamp":1779379657,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90617627","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> I meant the ass-shaking one that was advertised with the Groove Armada track. Which turns out to be the Renault Megane.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90617627","date_published":"2026-05-21T07:46:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-21 07:46","date_timestamp":1779349615,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90583288","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/manton\">@manton</a> I hate to say this, but I found a typo! The ‘Penn Station’ chapter starts with a quote that refers to the ‘Qual d’Orsay’ in Paris. It should of course be the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quai_d%27Orsay\">Quai d’Orsay</a>.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90583288","date_published":"2026-05-20T19:21:45+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-20 19:21","date_timestamp":1779304905,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90478195","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> I see what you did there (shaking that ass). Couldn’t tell you what car it was advertising, though.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90478195","date_published":"2026-05-19T11:46:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-19 11:46","date_timestamp":1779191208,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90359974","content_html":"<p><a href=\"http://andrewhickey.500songs.com\">@andrewhickey.500songs.com</a> Just trying to understand this. So the hyphenated form with the capital ‘S’ is the dog whistle version? Two questions, then: why? And who is being whistled at or to?</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90359974","date_published":"2026-05-17T16:37:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-17 16:37","date_timestamp":1779035838,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90316799","content_html":"<p>What’s with this ‘You can vote ten times’ nonsense? Is it even a vote, then?</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/whats-with-this-you-can/","date_published":"2026-05-16T21:29:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 21:29","date_timestamp":1778966953,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90315227","content_html":"<p>This isn’t going to work, I’ve got three tens already (Finland joining the UK and France).</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/this-isnt-going-to-work/","date_published":"2026-05-16T20:42:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 20:42","date_timestamp":1778964179,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90314599","content_html":"<p>And then France go and better it!</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/and-then-france-go-and/","date_published":"2026-05-16T20:28:10+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 20:28","date_timestamp":1778963290,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90314504","content_html":"<p>Best song we’ve sent from the UK in decades! My fave of the night so far.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/best-song-weve-sent-from/","date_published":"2026-05-16T20:25:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 20:25","date_timestamp":1778963113,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90314170","content_html":"<p>I mean, it’s the Eurovision <em>Song</em> Contest, not the Eurovision Dance and Dramatic Staging Contest.</p>\n<p>Maybe I should listen to it on the Radio.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/i-mean-its-the-eurovision/","date_published":"2026-05-16T20:16:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 20:16","date_timestamp":1778962564,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90312518","content_html":"<p>I sometimes think, with Eurovision, they should have to perform standing on a plain stage, with no fancy stuff. I mean Greece, tonight!</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/16/i-sometimes-think-with-eurovision/","date_published":"2026-05-16T19:48:23+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 19:48","date_timestamp":1778960903,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90207884","content_html":"<p>📚Books 2026, 12: Just One Damned Thing After Another, by Jodi Taylor: <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/14/finished-reading-just-one-damned/\">devilgate.org</a></p>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/14/finished-reading-just-one-damned/","date_published":"2026-05-14T15:26:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-14 15:26","date_timestamp":1778772361,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90163276","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/manton\">@manton</a> I hope you’re able to fix the paragraph breaks in descriptions. That’s always been slightly annoying.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/90163276","date_published":"2026-05-14T15:22:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-14 15:22","date_timestamp":1778772126,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90163227","content_html":"<p>How did I not know till today that the vocals on Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ are by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins?</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/14/how-did-i-not-know/","date_published":"2026-05-14T15:21:07+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-14 15:21","date_timestamp":1778772067,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89910879","content_html":"<p>📚 Books 2026, 11: Bright LIghts Big City, by Jay McInerney: <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/11/books-bright-lights-big-city/\">devilgate.org</a></p>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/11/books-bright-lights-big-city/","date_published":"2026-05-11T06:31:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-11 06:31","date_timestamp":1778481102,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89881327","content_html":"<p>The security at this rally says something about the state of Britain today: metal detectors, bag searches… the police are being lovely, though.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/10/the-security-at-this-rally/","date_published":"2026-05-10T11:37:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-10 11:37","date_timestamp":1778413023,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89879127","content_html":"<p>Off into Central London for the <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/10/downing-street-rally-asks-silent-majority-to-fight-antisemitism\">rally against antisemitism</a>.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/10/off-into-central-london-for/","date_published":"2026-05-10T10:14:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-10 10:14","date_timestamp":1778408074,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89864727","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/mmetcalfe\">@mmetcalfe</a> Mostly Lea Bridge, where we live. That’s a good analysis.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89864727","date_published":"2026-05-09T22:14:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-09 22:14","date_timestamp":1778364897,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89864688","content_html":"<img src=\"https://micro.blog/photos/100x/https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw154%2FxT15D124pyoq3HWDpuhoJTqLfFM.jpg\" class=\"mini_cover\"><p>Watched <a href=\"https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/34388\">Funeral in Berlin</a> 🎥 last weekend.</p>\n<p>After <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2025/04/01/the-ipcress-file/\">enjoying The Ipcress File a year ago</a> (where <em>does</em> the time go?) it was good to see more of what Harry Palmer was up to back in the Cold War.</p>\n<p>In this he’s sent on a slightly confusing mission to West Berlin — and, inevitably, into the East — to get out a...</p> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/09/watched-funeral-in-berlin-last/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/09/watched-funeral-in-berlin-last/","date_published":"2026-05-09T22:13:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-09 22:13","date_timestamp":1778364785,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89864461","content_html":"<p>There is a petition to parliament asking for UK civil service software to be made open source by default. This comes after (and at least partly in response to) a move by the NHS to make the opposite move: to make all their existing open-source repositories closed-source.</p>\n<p>Please <a href=\"https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/766230\">sign it here</a> if you can....</p> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/09/there-is-a-petition-to/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/09/there-is-a-petition-to/","date_published":"2026-05-09T22:04:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-09 22:04","date_timestamp":1778364261,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89844900","content_html":"<img src=\"https://micro.blog/books/9781408889398/cover.jpg\" class=\"mini_cover\">\n<p>📚 You are reading <a href=\"https://micro.blog/books/9781408889398\">Bright Lights, Big City</a> by Jay McInerney. You are finding it hilarious. This book was published when you were 20: why have you not read it till now?</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/09/you-are-reading-bright-lights/","date_published":"2026-05-09T11:27:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-09 11:27","date_timestamp":1778326049,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89842349","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/mmetcalfe\">@mmetcalfe</a> I’m not sure I do. From what my partner was hearing on the doorstep, the main reason for the swing to the Greens was, ‘Gaza’. Which, well… what the fuck has it got to do with the Mayor of Hackney? Or Hackney council?</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89842349","date_published":"2026-05-09T09:52:36+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-09 09:52","date_timestamp":1778320356,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89771583","content_html":"<p>I used to wonder if the Greens had any policies other than the environment. Now I see they have no policies at all. Not <em>even</em> the environment. (Based on literature I’ve seen for the local elections, and the fact they’re <em>still</em> opposed to nuclear power.)</p>\n<p>And some of them are showing distinctly worrying...</p> <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/07/i-used-to-wonder-if/\">devilgate.org</a>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/07/i-used-to-wonder-if/","date_published":"2026-05-07T16:30:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-07 16:30","date_timestamp":1778171428,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89771204","content_html":"<p>Voting day today, for most of us in the UK. All those local councils and mayors aren’t going to elect themselves (luckily).</p>\n<p>Vote for the ones who are going to make sure the bins get collected, the schools are good, social housing gets built… OK, Labour, I mean vote Labour.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/07/voting-day-today-for-most/","date_published":"2026-05-07T16:20:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-07 16:20","date_timestamp":1778170856,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89602054","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Right. I saw a banner on one of your recent posts saying ‘Created by a human in Scotland.’ But maybe that was a screengrab of something you were quoting? Hard to tell sometimes.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89602054","date_published":"2026-05-04T22:59:58+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-04 22:59","date_timestamp":1777935598,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89601194","content_html":"<p>📚 Books 2026, 10: The Lost World, by Arthur Conan Doyle: <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/04/finished-reading-the-lost-world/\">devilgate.org</a></p>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/04/finished-reading-the-lost-world/","date_published":"2026-05-04T22:21:31+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-04 22:21","date_timestamp":1777933291,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89551746","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Are you in Scotland now? Whereabouts? Weren’t you in New Zealand?</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89551746","date_published":"2026-05-04T08:30:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-04 08:30","date_timestamp":1777883441,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89533635","content_html":"<p>Crucial Track for 03 May 2026: (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais\" by The Clash: <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/04/crucial-track-for-may/\">devilgate.org</a></p>","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/05/04/crucial-track-for-may/","date_published":"2026-05-03T23:22:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-03 23:22","date_timestamp":1777850538,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89345242","content_html":"<p>Must be time to link to Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files again. The <a href=\"https://www.theredhandfiles.com/40-questions-no-6/\">latest episode</a> had me laughing aloud many times, both from Nick’s answers and his questioners' questions.</p>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/04/30/must-be-time-to-link/","date_published":"2026-04-30T21:30:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-30 21:30","date_timestamp":1777584619,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89256149","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/tribunaltweets/status/1750117804693451000\">Here’s a tweet with the basics</a>. The X-man has broken Twitter so you can’t see the thread without the app, it seems, but the whole context is on <a href=\"https://archive.is/2024.01.24-114623/https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1750093233370112299.html\">this page</a>, I believe. It’s from Tribunal Tweets, citizen journalists who live-tweet employment tribunals.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89256149","date_published":"2026-04-29T17:12:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-29 17:12","date_timestamp":1777482768,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89182176","content_html":"<p><a href=\"http://ass.golf\">@ass.golf</a> Hell, yes, it sure does.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89182176","date_published":"2026-04-28T16:35:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-28 16:35","date_timestamp":1777394159,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89167132","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Absolutely! I’m not a <em>speaker</em>, but I know enough to know that, and have also heard it was once asked and answered in a court. That may be apocryphal, though.</p>\n<p>Anyway, you could make an argument that it depends on the <em>sex</em> of the person, rather than their gender.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/89167132","date_published":"2026-04-28T12:54:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-28 12:54","date_timestamp":1777380872,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88974209","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/mmetcalfe\">@mmetcalfe</a> Oh no, that sounds very bad. Hope you’re getting the help you need.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88974209","date_published":"2026-04-25T07:11:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-25 07:11","date_timestamp":1777101102,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88848352","content_html":"<p><a href=\"http://bugshaw.bsky.social\">@bugshaw.bsky.social</a> That was fortuitous!</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88848352","date_published":"2026-04-23T12:14:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-23 12:14","date_timestamp":1776946497,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88832700","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a>  <a href=\"https://micro.blog/bradleyandroos\">@bradleyandroos</a> According to Websters Bituminous is an adjective, meaning ‘Having the qualities of bitumen’. Which is what I understood it as. I’ve never heard of ‘bitumous’, which does sound more like a noun. But I can’t find a reference to that spelling anywhere.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88832700","date_published":"2026-04-23T06:18:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-23 06:18","date_timestamp":1776925080,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88799218","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/manton\">@manton</a> Ha! You know, I get mildly annoyed on the odd occasion I want to do something book-related on iOS and it’s not there. I have to go to the web. <em>Completely forgot</em> Epilogue is right over there!</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88799218","date_published":"2026-04-22T18:40:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-22 18:40","date_timestamp":1776883213,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88798923","content_html":"<p>I suspect <a href=\"https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/64c7cbc4-6aa9-42aa-970c-7bde5fd0403d\">this StoryGraph review</a> of the book I just posted <a href=\"https://devilgate.org/2026/04/22/finished-reading-disappear-doppelgnger-disappear/\">my own thoughts on</a> captures what’s going on:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>… a character who has agency but really doesn’t, which subverts the western idea of conflict that pivots around a main character always having to make the choice, do the thing, that runs the story. Here, no matter what Matt Kim does, the world affects him, does whatever it wants to him. Disappear him even. The ‘looseness’ of the story, as in, ‘I don’t get this book’, is imo holding up eastern cultural expectations of writing …</p>\n</blockquote>\n","summary":"","url":"https://devilgate.org/2026/04/22/i-suspect-this-storygraph-review/","date_published":"2026-04-22T18:30:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-22 18:30","date_timestamp":1776882644,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"88688444","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/canion\">@canion</a> Utter bollocks, to my mind. At best it feels like an act of surrender to the machines. And it looks ugly and would be annoying to write (‘a thought am- a parenthetical thought am- and back’). And when you render your text in another typeface, what then?</p>\n<p>It suddenly occurs to me that the whole thing is a joke.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88688444","date_published":"2026-04-21T07:44:36+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-21 07:44","date_timestamp":1776757476,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88655558","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> “Piqued”. Unless your interest has reached its highest possible level!</p>\n<p>(Sorry, call me a pedant if you will, but I sometimes fear we’re in danger of losing words.)</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88655558","date_published":"2026-04-20T19:25:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-20 19:25","date_timestamp":1776713102,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88598623","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Or why not drop the silly cluttering hyphens and just use spaces?</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88598623","date_published":"2026-04-19T22:07:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-19 22:07","date_timestamp":1776636470,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88184869","content_html":"<p><span class=\"h-card\"><a href=\"https://micro.blog/siracusa@mastodon.social\" class=\"u-url mention\">@siracusa</a></span> <span class=\"h-card\"><a href=\"https://micro.blog/jonschwenn@hachyderm.io\" class=\"u-url mention\">@jonschwenn</a></span></p>\n<p>Same for me.  Been like that for a few weeks, on different networks.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88184869","date_published":"2026-04-13T19:37:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-13 19:37","date_timestamp":1776109076,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88064888","content_html":"<p><a href=\"https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin\">@JohnPhilpin</a> Thanks. I could, of course, have googled if myself, but I thought it was more fun to speculate.</p>\n","url":"https://micro.blog/devilgate/88064888","date_published":"2026-04-11T19:48:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Martin McCallion","url":"https://devilgate.org/","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F424.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"devilgate"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-11 19:48","date_timestamp":1775936882,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}