function get_updates(div) {
  // var feedpointer = new google.feeds.Feed('http://plusfeed.appspot.com/108694322269563399860');
  var feedpointer = new google.feeds.Feed('https://joindiaspora.com/public/brianwisti.atom');
  var output = "";
  feedpointer.setNumEntries(5);
  feedpointer.load(function(result) {

    if (!result.error) {
      var converter = new Showdown.converter();
      output = "<ul>";
      var thefeeds = result.feed.entries;
      for (var i = 0; i < thefeeds.length; i++)  {
        var feed = thefeeds[i];
        var url = feed.link;
        var publishedDate = feed.publishedDate;
        // https://joindiaspora.com/tags/ruby
        var content = feed.content;
        content = content.replace(/#(\w+)/g, "[#$1](https://joindiaspora.com/tags/$1)");
        var formatted = converter.makeHtml(content);
        var link = $('<p class="published"><a href="' + url + '">' + publishedDate + '</a></p>');
        var feedDiv = $('<div></div>');
        feedDiv.addClass('news-item');
        feedDiv.append(link);
        feedDiv.append(formatted);
        $(div).append(feedDiv);
      };
    } else {
      return false;
    }
  });
}