https://www.metafilter.com/ The past 24 hours of MetaFilter Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:06:36 GMT Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:06:36 GMT en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 that shows an insecure white guy named Kyle using Copilot to steal a black colleague's work.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215036/Kyle-can-be-a-verb-too tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215036 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:06:36 GMT autopilot ai copilot llm microsoft https://www.metafilter.com/215036/Kyle-can-be-a-verb-too/rss Wallabies, being much shorter, more compact, and more densely-furred than kangaroos are much poorer swimmers than kangaroos.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215035/Boater-rescues-tired-wallaby-swimming-out-to-sea tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215035 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:31:14 GMT chariot pulled by cassowaries AquaticMarsupials Wallabies https://www.metafilter.com/215035/Boater-rescues-tired-wallaby-swimming-out-to-sea/rss Lucy is an intelligent, sociable, and active middle-aged woman from Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, despite never committing a crime, she's had to live almost entirely in solitary confinement since the age of two, in Edmonton, Canada, of all places. She was permitted one companion who was relocated away from her in 2007 - and it seems unlikely she'll be allowed to move someone more hospitable or ever have another companion.

Lucy is one of the approximately 23 African and Asian elephants still kept in captivity in Canada in 2026. She is held at the Edmonton Valley Zoo (link to the official zoo webpage for Lucy). Aside from Lucy, there are three African elephants (Sarah, Thandi, and Tutume) at the Zoo de Granby in Granby, Quebec, and a herd of about nineteen at the privately owned African Lion Safari safari park near Hamilton in southern Ontario. African and Asian elephants are the two major genuses in the Elephantidae family. While they differ in various ways, all elephants are highly intelligent and sensitive herbivores that live in complex social arrangements, primarily matriarch-led herds. They have had a complex and often tragic history with humanity, being hunted for sport, used in manual labor, and killed for their ivory tusks. Fortunately, the world has made great progress on preserving and protecting these noble creatures. The larger debate now revolves around if and under what circumstances should elephants be kept in captivity at all. Great progress has been made in removing animals, particularly elephants, from circuses and other displays of entertainment, although comprehensive legislation banning animals in circuses has yet to be passed in North America. In 2017, the Ringling Bros Barnum and Bailey circus shut down after 146 years and ended its animal performances (it has since been resurrected as an animal-free circus). Unlike events where elephants perform for human entertainment, zoos and safari parks are much more complicated environments. This 2006 article from BioScience lays out many of the major arguments for and against. The destruction of elephants' natural habitats and the risk of poaching has led many to argue that these animals safer in captivity than in the wild. Nevertheless, particular attention must be paid to whether elephants can thrive properly and receive proper medical care when kept in captivity - and when you have animals evolved to live in the African savannahs and South Asian tropical forests living in famously wintry and cold Canada, the amount of environmental modifications needed is extreme. Canada has a very chequered history with the mistreatment and exploitation of highly intelligent herd animals, specifically orcas kept in the disgraceful environment of the now shuttered Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls (which I posted about on Metafilter in 2023). Outrage at the Marineland ownership helped pressure the provincial and federal governments in Ontario and Canada to permanently ban keeping whales and dolphins in captivity as a result. Fortunately, the Marineland park is now completely closed and all the remaining dolphins and beluga whales have been relocated in the largest transfer of captive whales in history. Sadly, many of these belugas have since died due to stress and dislocation of the transfer or from preexisting medical conditions from their time in the Marineland park. Returning to elephants, critically, I do not want to imply the environments and treatment of the 23 elephants in Edmonton, Granby or even African Lion Safari is comparable to the horrors that the last orca and whales experienced at Marineland. Even the for-profit safari park at least maintains a working herd of elephants so that they are not deprived of companionship. And certainly, there is every indication that public and scientific consensus is firmly against the introduction of more elephants into captivity in Canada. However, the reason for this post today was that in 2023, with the support of the late animals rights advocate Jane Goodall, renowned Canadian Senator Murray Sinclair introduced federal legislation, known as Bill S-15 or the Jane Goodall Act, to ban zoos and other establishments from importing and exporting great apes and elephants and breeding them, unless it was for the purpose of conservation, welfare or scientific research, rather than entertainment or commercial trade. This bill passed its third reading in the Canadian Senate in December 2024, but died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025 in the leadup to the election of Mark Carney as Liberal Party leader and then Prime Minister that April. Sadly, it appears from this morning's CBC story that reviving and passing this bill is not a priority for the Canadian federal government. Obviously, the Carney administration has got bigger issues on its hands, like a massive trade war with the United States. However, I have been thrilled over my lifetime to see attitudes shift towards the exploitation and harm caused to some of the most intelligent, noble, and fascinating members of the animal kingdom in Canada, and given the huge multi-nation rescue operation to save the last remaining cetaceans in Canadian captivity, I would love to see the same level of publicity and awareness brought to some of their equivalents on land. While there may be serious arguments against relocating the existing elephants still held - although animal rights activists have pointed out that the Edmonton Zoo's arguments do not hold water - I believe the Canadian goverment should put the weight of federal legislation behind public opinion. So that it's not all seriousness, I'll finish off with a three and half minutes of adorable baby elephant videos.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215034/Meet-Lucy tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215034 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:16:40 GMT fortitude25 animal canada cruelty elephants legislation https://www.metafilter.com/215034/Meet-Lucy/rss Juan Atkins, Techno Music Pioneer, Dead at 64 Born in the Motor City and raised in nearby Belleville, Michigan, Atkins became synonymous with techno music alongside fellow classmates Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, the "Belleville Three" who are credited as the architects of Detroit Techno, which fused the house music playing in Chicago and the electronic music of bands like Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

The history.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215033/The-beat-goes-on tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215033 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:20:09 GMT Smedly, Butlerian jihadi edm ElectronicDanceMusic History HouseMusic Music Techno https://www.metafilter.com/215033/The-beat-goes-on/rss Diwali, Tar Barrels, Guy Fawkes/bonfire night, the Day of the Dead, US Thanksgiving, and many others. Are you celebrating or marking or participating in one or more? If so, what are you doing? Or how was your Halloween or other recent celebration or event? Or talk about you, and what's happening, as this is Your Free Thread.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215032/Happy-Diwali-Guy-Fawkes-Day-of-the-Dead-US-ThanksgivingFree-Thread tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215032 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 11:44:36 GMT Wordshore Autumn Barrel celebration DayOfTheDead Devon Diwali event Fire Free FreeThread Halloween MeFite November Ottery Samhain TarBarrel Thanksgiving Thread Winter https://www.metafilter.com/215032/Happy-Diwali-Guy-Fawkes-Day-of-the-Dead-US-ThanksgivingFree-Thread/rss that we have moved into territory that demands new understanding.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215031/The-trouble-with-tribology tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215031 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 11:11:00 GMT chavenet Friction Industry Innovation Progress Resistance Tribology https://www.metafilter.com/215031/The-trouble-with-tribology/rss Reelizer is a curated collection of movie art. Click on the individual panels to explore posters, screenprints, paintings and illustrations etc.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215030/Every-Picture-Tells-A-Movie tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215030 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 06:53:12 GMT storybored movieArt movies posters reelizer screenprints https://www.metafilter.com/215030/Every-Picture-Tells-A-Movie/rss In Vancouver, a city-led (and research-backed) initiative is converting chunks of park land into wilder ecosystems.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215029/The-city-turning-lawns-into-pollinator-meadows tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215029 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 04:26:37 GMT chariot pulled by cassowaries PollinatorMeadows Pollinators https://www.metafilter.com/215029/The-city-turning-lawns-into-pollinator-meadows/rss This looked like a spicy way to introduce Ancient Americas to y'all. Most of the channel's videos are about particular peoples, region(s), & time periods covering ancient South, North, and Mesoamerica. Archaeology, language, oral histories, artifacts, and always images of what's being talked about. Many of those make good context for deep dives on subjects that connect across regions and times, such as potatoes, the Mesoamerican calendar or ballgame, or now, peppers!. Come to learn about ornithochory! (Capsicum spread fairly recently in evolutionary terms, via birds — immune to capsaicin — before we continued their spread around the globe.) Stay for the spicy chocolate beverage recipes (19:40). inevitable chocolate video]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215028/Chili-peppers-multiple-domestications-and-spread-in-only-40-minutes tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215028 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:21:54 GMT johnabbe Americas archaeology food history language https://www.metafilter.com/215028/Chili-peppers-multiple-domestications-and-spread-in-only-40-minutes/rss Ink Spill is Micheal Maslin's site about New Yorker Cartoonists: News, History, and Events. He should know; since 1978 he's been one of them. He blogs about the current issue but his site has an index of all their cartoon artists, plus an amazing library of all their book covers, and much more.^* Maybe start with his Bio page to see where he's coming from.

*If you're reading 1930s New Yorkers via David O's site I mentioned previously you may have encountered one of George Price's perplexing Floating Man cartoons; a Tuesday Spill from 2022 brings them all together.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215027/the-sources-of-a-century-of-cartoons-in-the-New-Yorker tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215027 Sun, 01 Nov 2026 23:41:13 GMT Rash MichaelMaslin theNewYorker theNewYorkerCartoonists theNewYorkerCartoons https://www.metafilter.com/215027/the-sources-of-a-century-of-cartoons-in-the-New-Yorker/rss fiancée announcing he will vote for Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan senate race, Democratic primary loser Haley Stevens has endorsed Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215026/Haley-Stevens-Endorses-Mike-Rogers tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215026 Sun, 01 Nov 2026 19:34:26 GMT Headfullofair Haley Michigan Senate Stephens USpolitics https://www.metafilter.com/215026/Haley-Stevens-Endorses-Mike-Rogers/rss Gulliver's Travels at 300 A new online exhibition
Video: How to Make Iron Gall Ink A recipe from a 16th-century "Booke of Secrets."
Breaking the Mould – cleaning mould from video, audio tape and films
Recipes of the Month: Tomato Canapé (1928) and Raspberry Delight (1927)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215025/Whats-New-in-Old-Books tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215025 Sun, 01 Nov 2026 19:10:21 GMT Horace Rumpole Conservation Cooking Ink Libraries RareBooks Recipes SpecialCollections https://www.metafilter.com/215025/Whats-New-in-Old-Books/rss Sir Patrick Stewart, icon of the stage and screen. A decade ago, Stewart (then 75) appeared at Montreal's Just For Laughs festival and gave his own eulogy, specifying exactly what he wanted to be said when his time came. No mention of Star Trek or X-Men, but surprisingly heavy on his secret life as an objectophile. (YT, and potentially NSFW.)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215024/Sir-Patrick-Stewart-wanted-his-eulogy-done-right tag:metafilter.com,2026:site.215024 Sun, 01 Nov 2026 17:55:28 GMT Ursula Hitler eulogy justforlaughs objectophilia PatrickStewart https://www.metafilter.com/215024/Sir-Patrick-Stewart-wanted-his-eulogy-done-right/rss