One of the most beautiful winter phenomena
is ice fog. It occurs in wind-still conditions when water droplets in the air become supercooled.
It can be dangerous for travelling but if you don’t have to go anywhere, it’s beautiful to see.
Winter’s greetings. 🙂
I took this photo of Great Slave Lake at 10:15 a.m just as the sun had finished its slow ponderous climb.
It was -36°C out, but I took my mitts off for this capture. I am learning the art of quick photography in these frigid temperatures.
I love the clear simplicity of this weather; its voice is smooth and crystalline in the still cold air.
A tone without noise.
Winter greetings from the north. 🙂
I was away from WP for a couple days last week, but not because I wanted to be.
I wasn’t able to log on. 😳
It all started on Saturday when I tried to access my WP app on my phone. A new screen popped up and I was asked for my password. I thought, yeah, okay. Many other sites do this every so often.
So I typed in my password. But … no dice. It was suggested that I change my password, a link was sent to my email, and I thought, yeah, okay. That password is quite old. I should change it.
This photo has nothing to do with technology. It’s just a nice photo of a local waterfall here in the Northwest Territories so that talk of technology issues doesn’t ratchet your blood pressure up too high.
So I changed my password. But … no dice. It was suggested that I change my password, a link was sent to my email, and I thought, yeah, this is getting irritating.
I tried again, and … no dice.
But I was able to access WP on my desktop. So until I got an answer from the WP “happiness” gurus, I went there, because normally I use my phone.
Until I couldn’t access my desktop either.
Somehow, I was signed out. It was suggested that I change my password, but … you know the drill.
Yikes. No access. At all.
So there was lots of emailing with WP, and with turnaround being anywhere from 12 to 24 hours, this took a while to sort.
The upshot is that I sent a screen shot of the password request loop that I was inhabiting; they came back with suggestions for a retrofit, and then everything started to work after I changed passwords once more and then tried logging in again.
The WP people were friendly and helpful.
But the whole thing got me thinking about our dependence on technology and the bugs that can infect it. In my work I rely heavily on technology, but every time I think about going completely paperless, something like this happens to remind me that it’s not a foolproof system and and then I think, yeah, maybe I’ll go paperless … at some nebulous point in the future.
So, there’s paper in my office. Lots of it. (Although a lot less than there used to be.) And I guess that makes me the worst sort of Luddite schmo because really, I’m worried that there’s going to be some sort of tech blow-up and I’m going to need it.
I also work in a part of the world that’s largely off-grid – the Northwest Territories is a massive land area with a relatively small population. Cellphones can quickly become useless up here and aircraft and vehicles need sat-phones (as well as survival kits) for emergency purposes.
Sometimes, we need to be aware of where we are and how quickly technology can abandon us.
What do you think? Have you gone completely paperless? Would you be able to survive without your cell? Do you worry about a technology collapse?
It’s December in the north.
When I stand in the cold to see this, I begin to get an inkling of how special it all is, and how privileged I am to be a part of it.
Greetings from the north’s best season.
Hello winter!
It’s cold, and pewter grey, with blue sky in glimpses and bits.
Lustrous lacy frost hangs on trees and grasses and in the very air itself.
Winter is here, and with it, its beauties and muffled quiet.
🙂
I wish our American friends and neighbours a Happy Thanksgiving, and especially a Happy Thanksgiving to all the lovely bloggers whom I’ve come to know through WP.
No matter which side of the border we are on, we have a terrific lot to be thankful for.
I hope you have a good day, whether you are enjoying a feast or just eating a sandwich.
🦃
To a Canadian, 
you need to be north of 60° N latitude to be “in the north.” Canadians understand when you say, “I’m going north of 60.”
To a far north northerner, though, that’s south. You can wear shorts until it’s -20. Not an exaggeration. I’ve actually seen this.
But, to anyone in the southern US, for instance, that’s where Pere Noel lives. Going outside is for polar bears and reindeer.
I am “north of 60,” but I’m too far south for polar bears and reindeer. They aren’t a part of my landscape. And to a far north northerner, I’m a weak little southerner.
It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
