[PHOTO] Hole in the wall, Dufferin station

I have no idea why this substantial hole was cut deep into the concrete wall on the eastbound platform at Dufferin station. I do know that it was an unmissable photo opportunity.

[PHOTO] Island Tel pay phone, Cavendish Boardwalk

I was very surprised to see on the Cavendish Boardwalk last month a pay phone with the insignia of Island Telecom. Since amalgamated into Bell Aliant, Island Tel was effectively the local telecommunications monopoly on the Island since 1885. (Dave Hunter's history of the telephone on Prince Edward Island is worth reading.) Previously, I mentioned it here when I linked Peter Rukavina's post on the early days of the Internet on Prince Edward Island.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Cody Delistraty links to an article of his at The Atlantic examining the connection between beauty and happiness.


• A Fistful of Euros' Edward Hugh looks at Abenomics in Japan and notes that Japan's econom change.


• On Tumblr, I Give In shares pictures of lady slipper flowers growing in abundance at CFB Gatetown.


• Joe. My God., Lawyers, Guns and Money, and Towleroad all share the news that Texas governor Rick Perry was indicted on multiple felony charges.


• Language Hat shares a paper suggesting that most languages above a certain size (35 thousand speakers) are not declining).


• Languages of the World's Asya Perelstvaig reposts her study of the correlation between ethnicity and political parties in Israel.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money traces the ongoing deterioration in Russian-Ukrainian relations to the point of open war.


• Marginal Revolution looks at the economy of Switzerland and wonders if deflation is a problem for the European economy.


• Spacing Toronto shares a photo of the view over the Bathurst bridge.


• Towleroad notes the struggles of gay Palestinians in Israel.


• The Volokh Conspiracy notes problems with regulating certain Jewish rites on sanitary grounds.

[NEWS] Some Saturday links

• Al Jazeera America argues that depending on cars will hurt Newark's urban renaissance, notes the emerging Indian-Israeli alliance and the import of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in sectarian communities in Northern Ireland, looks at the slowly reviving film industry of Côte d'Ivoire, chronicles the human rights issues of LGB Ukrainians and of Christian sects in the Caucasus, examines the legacies of German immigration in Brazil, and looks at the shantytowns of Mongolia.
  
• Al Jazeera examines Russia's Eurasianism, notes emergent water shortages in Syria, looks at the reaction of Sephardic Jews to a new Spanish citizenship law that would give them access to Spain, and chronicles the persecution of the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan.


• Bloomberg notes that sanctions on Russia may hurt the Greek economy, notes the collapse in wages for young people in southern Europe, and looks at Germany's serious impending demographic issues.


• BusinessWeek looks at Tinder's shabby treatment of a female co-founder, examines the stagnant economy of Thailand, looks at hospitals which mine credit card data to predict their future patients.


• CBC notes with disappearance of anonymous public WiFi in Russia, takes a look at the consequences of the shutdown of the McCain potato processing plant in Borden-Carleton, points out the ongoing collapse of a caribou herd on the Québec-Labrador border, shows the sad toll of the Air Algérie plane crash in Québec, and notes that Vancouver's aquarium can no longer breed cetaceans.


• Global News looks at the impact of Air Algérie's disaster in Montreal.


• MacLean's suggests Canada is not immune to an American-style housing crash, argues that the Canadian job market is weaker than it appears, and reports on the claims that restrictive American immigration policies could work to the benefit of Canada.


• National Geographic notes some surprisingly social cephalopod populations and looks at naming ceremonies for some gorillas in Rwanda.


• NPR reports that some big data firms claim Snowden's data release has given terrorists ideas as to how they can be quieter, and notes some Ivoirien cacao farmers who taste
  
• The New York Times notes the closure of an Upper East Side restaurant priced out by rising rents.


• Reuters observes the worsening demographics of Italy.


• Transitions Online takes a small-scale look on the effects of emigration in Uzbekistan.


• Universe Today looks at how some Martian canyons were formed by different water releases.


• Xinhua notes how emigration from Portugal has become mainstream.