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McPhail
@mcphail.uk
130 followers 120 following 890 posts
Photon flinger.

Stop male violence against women.
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mcphail.uk
McPhail @mcphail.uk · Jun 23
Looking to start #RetroGameDev for the ZX Spectrum, ZX81 or Spectrum Next? My devcontainer makes this easy on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Now available on GitHub!

github.com/mcphail/spec...
GitHub - mcphail/speccydev: Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next.
Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next. - mcphail/speccydev
github.com
Reposted by McPhail
mcphail.uk
My submission for the BASIC 10Liner competition is in. Can you do better? There's still lots of time to enter. I'm hoping to beat my previous result of "nearly last place".

bunsen.itch.io/dec-man-sinc...

#RetroComputing #RetroGameDev #ZXSpectrum
DEC-Man (Sinclair ZX Spectrum) by mcphail by BASIC 10Liner
[BASIC 10Liner 2026] [PUR-80]
bunsen.itch.io
February 9, 2026 at 7:09 PM
mcphail.uk
My submission for the BASIC 10Liner competition is in. Can you do better? There's still lots of time to enter. I'm hoping to beat my previous result of "nearly last place".

bunsen.itch.io/dec-man-sinc...

#RetroComputing #RetroGameDev #ZXSpectrum
DEC-Man (Sinclair ZX Spectrum) by mcphail by BASIC 10Liner
[BASIC 10Liner 2026] [PUR-80]
bunsen.itch.io
February 9, 2026 at 7:09 PM
mcphail.uk
My work-in-progress pacman clone for the BASIC 10Liner competition now has a more aggressive ghost and terror-inducing sound. I'm pretty happy with this, considering the code is limited to 10 lines of 80 characters and BASIC on the ZX Spectrum is pretty verbose.

#RetroComputing #RetroGameDev
February 8, 2026 at 4:14 PM
mcphail.uk
Working on an entry for this year's BASIC 10Liner competition in the strictest PUR-80 category: 10 lines of maximum 80 characters.

www.homeputerium.de

#RetroComputing #RetroGameDev #ZXSpectrum
February 7, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Reposted by McPhail
markgarlick.com
Gosh, I haven't done any new #paleoart in a very long time. So here's a scene I just finished, which I'm quite happy with. I modelled everything except the tress (in #Blender), then embellished it in Photoshop.

Please SHARE!

#sciart
A startled tyrannosaur surveys a desolate landscape, depicting a scene at the end of the Cretaceous period in Earth's history. A massive meteorite has impacted the Earth, causing catastrophic destruction on a global scale. Volcanic eruptions are just one example of the after-effects of the impact. They release poisonous gases that lace the atmosphere with toxins, suffocating wildlife. And wildfires, like those illustrated here, would have swept across the globe, prompted by infalling debris heating the atmosphere. It was probably the worse day in Earth's recorded history, although not the most devastating mass extinction.
February 3, 2026 at 2:30 PM
mcphail.uk
Hotfix release of my devcontainer for ZX Spectrum development, with the latest version of Boriel BASIC to restore builds for the Spectrum Next.

github.com/mcphail/spec...

#RetroGameDev #RetroComputing
GitHub - mcphail/speccydev: Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next.
Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next. - mcphail/speccydev
github.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:22 AM
mcphail.uk
Looking forward to another purchase from @libro.fm. Reviews of @gevemac.bsky.social's book are excellent.
Libro.fm purchase page of Eve MacDonald's "Carthage"
January 25, 2026 at 10:27 PM
mcphail.uk
I'm sitting in a fairly middle aged pub. The music on the jukebox is all coming from the late noughties. I'm currently being tortured by The Kooks. Is there no respite to the aging process?
January 24, 2026 at 1:46 PM
mcphail.uk
ZX Spectrum coders - a new version of my Speccydev devcontainer has been released, featuring the latest versions of Boriel BASIC and sjasmplus amongst many other goodies! Get it at github.com/mcphail/spec... .

#RetroComputing #RetroGameDev
January 19, 2026 at 9:28 AM
mcphail.uk
I hadn't realised I'd made it into the official documentation for Project Bluefin!

docs.projectbluefin.io/FAQ/#how-do-...
Frequently Asked Questions | Bluefin
The general FAQ on the website covers some of the most common questions. This section contains more specific questions:
docs.projectbluefin.io
January 18, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by McPhail
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
mcphail.uk
I had the strangest dream where I was flying through space shooting at multiple disembodied heads of @kevintoms.bsky.social who was firing footballs back at me whilst hurling insults in Dundonian Scots.

Or maybe it wasn't a dream...

Anyway, you should play Lumo 2.
January 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
mcphail.uk
Greenland is a distraction. Guyana is next.
January 7, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by McPhail
popey.me
The Bad People are repeatedly, successfully uploading crypto malware to the #Linux #snapcraft Snap Store today! Way more than usual. Most masquerade as basic apps, then upload their malware as an update.

snapscope.popey.com/
January 5, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by McPhail
popey.me
SnapScope now highlights malware in the snap store.

e.g. snapscope.popey.com/package/heal...

Also, listed on the front page
December 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM
mcphail.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Can we maybe, please, put this farce of an event in the bin once and for all?
TNT Sports replaces BBC as Commonwealth Games broadcaster
The subscription channel takes over from the BBC which had been the principal partner since 1954 and provided free-to-air coverage.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 12:33 PM
mcphail.uk
My life is just non stop rock n roll.
A 650 gram Charlie Barley black pudding, from the "on this day" section of a photos app, taken 6 years ago. It was delicious, btw
December 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM
mcphail.uk
Today's annoyance: audiobooks which are exclusive to Audible.

Hopefully @libro.fm will become a big enough market to make this a thing of the past.
December 10, 2025 at 6:44 PM
mcphail.uk
You too could write masterpieces like this one for your ZX Spectrum computer. Tell your parents you need the speccydev devcontainer for Christmas as it will be educational and help you with your school work!
December 8, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by McPhail
castrojo.bsky.social
In this interview with @michaeltunnell.bsky.social we talk about @bazzite.gg getaurora.dev and projectbluefin.io!

This was fun because it was Michael's first #KubeCon and #CloudNativeCon and we discuss how cloud native is solving problems for the linux desktop!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-G...
Bazzite Is Booming But Why? Exclusive Interview with Jorge Castro of Bazzite, Bluefin, & Aurora
YouTube video by Michael Tunnell
www.youtube.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:28 PM
mcphail.uk
Attention ZX Spectrum, ZX81 and Spectrum Next programming fans. I've released a new version of my speccydev dev container with the latest version of Boriel BASIC, and up to date versions of sjasmplus, z88dk, skoolkit, dezog, pasmo, zx0, inpaws and much more!

Get it at github.com/mcphail/spec...
GitHub - mcphail/speccydev: Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next.
Devcontainer for building programs for the ZX Spectrum and related 8-bit devices including ZX81 and Spectrum Next. - mcphail/speccydev
github.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:41 PM
mcphail.uk
"Fascinating" doesn't come close to describing this. Were hundreds of thousands of civilians murdered in Hiroshima and Nagasaki because an inept President was so far off his brief he didn't understand what was going to happen?

Wishlisted on @libro.fm.
The audiobook of "The Most Awful Responsibility" by Alex Wellerstein on the libro.fm app.
December 6, 2025 at 12:42 PM
mcphail.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The best of the best. Terrible news but what a legacy.
Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, dies aged 84
The musician was known for his work on hits including Green Onions and Otis Redding’s The Dock of the Bay.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 7:35 AM
mcphail.uk
In the spirit of this Thanksgiving vibe, whatever on earth that is...
mcphail.uk McPhail @mcphail.uk · Nov 1
I've made a blog post celebrating really great software

gld.mcphail.uk/posts/really...
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
mcphail.uk
It's been seven hours
And fifteen days
Pope Leo doing karaoke
November 23, 2025 at 11:13 AM