[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Charlie Stross at Antipope notes the many problems appearing already with 2019, starting with Brexit.


• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait examines the mysterious AT2018cow event. What was it?


• blogTO notes that the Ontario government seems to be preparing for a new round of amalgamation, this time involving Toronto neighbours.


• The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly writes about her strategies for minimizing her personal waste, including buying expensive durables.


• D-Brief shares Chang'e-4 photos taken on the far side of the Moon.


• Bruce Dorminey notes an innovative design for a steam-powered asteroid hopper.


• Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about verstehen, the process of coming to an understanding of a subject, as demonstrated in the Arlene Stein study Unbound about trans men.


• Gizmodo looks at the remarkably complex nascent planetary system of the quarternary star system HD 98800.


• Imageo shares a visualization of the terrifyingly rapid spread of the Camp Fire.


• JSTOR Daily debunks the myth of Wilson's unconditional support for the Fourteen Points.


• Language Hat notes a new study that claims to provide solid grounds for distinguishing dialects from languages.


• Language Log looks at what David Bowie had to say about the Internet in 1999, and how he said it.


• Christine Gordon Manley writes about her identity as a Newfoundlander.


• Marginal Revolution notes the very variable definitions of urbanization in different states of India as well as nationally.


• Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog shares a few more images of Ultima Thule.


• Drew Rowsome reviews a new Toronto production of Iphegenia and the Furies.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes how a fifth dimension might make the instantaneous spore drive of Discovery possible.


• Window on Eurasia links to an article examining eight misconceptions of Russians about Belarus.