I didn't take this photo. I know it's probably obvious, but I decided when I started the blog that I'd try to stick to posting only my own photography. I'll make an exception for Thomas Hasson, appearing to the right.

He's my great-grandfather. He spent most of his life living in what is now Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

Although sometimes I wonder about those distant relatives to the North, I'm proud to be of Canadian heritage. I was even prouder back in August, when I learned the story of "Smoky" Smith, a Canadian World War II veteran.

It turns out that a distant cousin of mine [another decendant of Thomas Hasson] was good friends with Smoky, and had traveled to Europe with him a few times -- "...he was a character and he really did love that Scotch."

And while Canada might be the Great White North, Alaska is giving me a crash course on the meaning of the word winter. It might only be the first week of November, but it's down below zero at night here in Anchorage. I don't know how low the temperature gauge in my car will go; I do know that it'll make it down to at least -6°F. That's what it read at 0630 this morning.

Tonight's forecast calls for lows of -10°F [that's -23°C for those rioting en France]. That's just plain cold.