https://www.metafilter.com/ The past 24 hours of MetaFilter Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:48:44 GMT Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:48:44 GMT en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 Teddy the porcupine enjoying some pumpkins.

Previously (2014)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214686/Am-nam-nam-nam tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214686 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:48:44 GMT Lorc animals cute porcupine pumpkins slyt https://www.metafilter.com/214686/Am-nam-nam-nam/rss NASA to bump telescope back into space to avoid it falling to Earth. It didn't work. Why: An attempt to save NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from dropping out of orbit fell short, but the behind-the-scenes machinations required just to make a rescue possible deserve recognition, government and commercial space officials said in a recounting of the mission.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214685/Im-absolutely-gutted-we-werent-able-to-get-further tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214685 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:36:03 GMT ShooBoo astronomy failure nasa satellite space swift telescope https://www.metafilter.com/214685/Im-absolutely-gutted-we-werent-able-to-get-further/rss actively reclaiming their place in the local ecosystem, (The Review-Mirror as reported on Campus Community Radio at Queen's) as can be seen in growing local sightings. More eagle content:

- What Michigan's bald eagle comeback can teach us about saving other birds (WKAR Public Media) - Bald eagles Shadow and Kaydee share a peaceful morning (also about a memorial for Shadow's previous mate Jackie) (Popular Science) - Something is killing bald eagles in Northwestern Ontario. Deep Canadian cut: in Thunder Bay. (TBNewsWatch) And finally Being a bald eagle is hard. Being a human is, too (wbur)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214684/Eagles-talonback-prior-turf tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214684 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 19:20:56 GMT warriorqueen BaldEaglesBirdsOfPreyRaptorsWeGotTalons https://www.metafilter.com/214684/Eagles-talonback-prior-turf/rss Pike remained alive, thrashed her feet, complained of pain, and made loud snoring sounds behind closed curtains until the execution window expired and she was rushed to an off-site hospital. The victim's mother described the scene simply as "a mess." Pike's defense team had filed petitions before the execution requesting an alternative method: execution by an all-female firing squad. The botched attempt is the latest in a growing series of failed lethal injections across the US, raising renewed questions about state protocols, medical competency, and Eighth Amendment limits.

Lethal injections are increasingly prone to failure across the United States over the last decade, driven largely by pharmaceutical companies blocking the use of their products in executions and states relying on poorly trained staff or untested drug cocktails:

• Thomas Creech (Idaho, 2024): Executioners called off Creech's execution after attempting to establish an IV line in his arms and legs eight separate times over nearly an hour without success.
• Joe Nathan James Jr. (Alabama, 2022): Took over three hours to execute after correctional staff struggled continuously to establish IV access, marking the longest known completed execution in modern U.S. history.
• Kenneth Eugene Smith (Alabama, 2022): Survived an aborted four-hour lethal injection attempt in November 2022 due to collapsed veins; Alabama subsequently executed him in January 2024 using nitrogen gas.
• Alan Eugene Miller (Alabama, 2022): Had his lethal injection called off after executioners poked him for hours attempting to find a vein before his warrant expired; Alabama later executed him via nitrogen gas in September 2024.
• John Marion Grant (Oklahoma, 2021): Suffered severe convulsions and repeated vomiting during his execution after receiving midazolam—with autopsies indicating he suffered flash pulmonary edema while conscious—before ultimately dying on the gurney.
• Clayton Lockett (Oklahoma, 2014): Suffered a failed groin IV insertion that caused execution drugs to leak into surrounding tissue, causing him to regain consciousness and writhe before dying of a heart attack 45 minutes later.

]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214683/Nothing-about-today-was-normal tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214683 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 14:16:10 GMT DirtyOldTown CapitalPunishment ChristaPike execution LethalInjection Tennessee USPolitics https://www.metafilter.com/214683/Nothing-about-today-was-normal/rss Every border and coastline people have drawn playing Borderline games.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214682/The-map-and-the-territory tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214682 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:30:05 GMT chavenet Borders Countries Maps Outlines World https://www.metafilter.com/214682/The-map-and-the-territory/rss An amateur astronomer helps discover a mysterious decagon on Saturn's south pole, which he tracked from his homemade backyard observatory.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214681/Backyard-astronomer-contributes-to-world-first-Saturn-discovery tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214681 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:39:07 GMT chariot pulled by cassowaries Astronomy BackyardObservatories DecagonOnSaturnsSouthPole Saturn SaturnsSouthPole https://www.metafilter.com/214681/Backyard-astronomer-contributes-to-world-first-Saturn-discovery/rss Carter Church: "I used GPT-6 Astra to break an unsolved cipher to one of Napoleon's generals that had gone unread for 217 years."]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214680/Breaking-the-Marmont-Cipher tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214680 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 06:20:45 GMT russilwvong ai cipher codebreaking napoleon https://www.metafilter.com/214680/Breaking-the-Marmont-Cipher/rss Death Don't Have No Mercy performed by the Grateful Dead, with vocals by Alvin Chipmunk.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214679/No-Mercy tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214679 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 01:21:02 GMT Winnie the Proust AlvinAndTheChipmunks GratefulDead https://www.metafilter.com/214679/No-Mercy/rss Database thrillers are a subgenre of knowledge games/thinky games/metroidbranias where the primary mechanic involves searching through databases and other sources for information to solve a mystery. Tumblr user velteris has complied an extensive list of database thrillers and similar games, including The Roottrees Are Dead, Type Help (recently remastered as The Incident at Galley House), and Her Story. (note: the first link is originally in Korean but translated by the website itself into English using AI)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214678/Search-for-the-answers tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.214678 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:45:25 GMT creatrixtiara DatabaseThriller Deduction KnowledgeGames Metroidbranias Mystery ThinkyGames VideoGames https://www.metafilter.com/214678/Search-for-the-answers/rss