[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes the findings that the LISA Pathfinder satellite was impacted by hypervelocity comet fragments.


• Centauri Dreams reports on what we have learned about interstellar comet Borisov.


• Bruce Dorminey notes the ESA's Matisse instrument, capable of detecting nanodiamonds orbiting distant stars.


• Gizmodo reports a new study of the great auk, now extinct, suggesting that humans were wholly responsible for this extinction with their hunting.


• The Island Review links to articles noting the existential vulnerability of islands like Venice and Orkney to climate change.


• Joe. My. God. reports on the claim of Tucker Carlson--perhaps not believably retracted by him--to be supporting Russia versus Ukraine.


• Language Hat reports on the new Indigemoji, emoji created to reflect the culture and knowledge of Aboriginal groups in Australia.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes one of the sad consequences of the American president being a liar.


• James Butler at the LRB Blog writes about the optimism of the spending plans of Labour in the UK, a revived Keynesianism.


• Marginal Revolution notes the exceptional cost of apartments built for homeless people in San Francisco.


• Strange Maps looks at some remarkable gravity anomalies in parts of the US Midwest.


• Towleroad notes the support of Jamie Lee Curtis for outing LGBTQ people who are homophobic politicians.


• Understanding Society looks at organizations from the perspective of them as open systems.


• Whatever's John Scalzi gives a generally positive review of the Pixel 4.


• Arnold Zwicky notes the irony of sex pills at an outpost of British discount chain Poundland.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links

• A beautiful Toronto would be nice, but this goal will take planning. The Toronto Star reports.


• Sean Marshall writes about the sad ironies of suburban neighbourhoods in Toronto unsafe for pedestrians.


• Jamie Bradburn takes a look at Davenport Road in the past, here.


• Transit Toronto notes the arrival tomorrow in the GTA of the Holiday Trains of the CPR, part of a fundraising campaign for foodbanks.


• Spacing shares an essay considering the idea of a map of Toronto according to runnability.


• Sidekick West, a new comic shop in the Junction Triangle, has unfortunately closed down. blogTO reports.


• Toronto Life breaks down the references in the massive 10-story mural painted by BirdO at Yonge and St. Clair.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Gatineau, Montréal, Halifax, wild turkey and parakeets, Venice, Kamza

• The city of Gatineau is going to take land with constructions devastated by flooding and make it into a buffer zone. CBC reports.


• There is controversy around the idea of naming a REM station in Montréal's Griffintown neighbourhood after Bernard Landry. Global News reports.


• Halifax has a third heritage district. Global News reports.


• The wild turkey is now thriving in many American cities, in New Jersey's Toms River and even in Washington D.C. CityLab reports.


• The monk parakeet is thriving in European cities like Madrid and London. CityLab reports.


• The Conversation suggests that Venice may yet benefit from the attention brought to its problems by the recent flooding.


• Guardian Cities looks at the remarkably rapid construction of the city in Albania of Kamza, driven by (among other factors) remittances from emigrants.

[NEWS] Seven science links

• Climate change is playing a major role in the wildfires of California. Are we now in the Fire Age? Global News considers.


• The new normal of the Arctic Ocean is to be ice-free. Global News reports.


• Plants first reached land through unexpected horizontal gene transfers. CBC reports.


• Zebra mussels have made it to the Lake of the Woods. Global News reports.


• An artificial leaf that turns carbon dioxide into usable fuel is a remarkable technology. Universe Today reports.


• Earth once hosted nine human species; now it has one. What happened? National Pot considers.


• Thanks to better medical care and preventative measures, people have longer healthy lifespans than ever before. Global News reports.