Continuity: It's surprising that Joseph Sisko is still alive at this point in the series. In previous episodes, Ben seemed to imply his father was deceased. In "Emissary" and "Paradise", he said his father WAS a gourmet chef (which is still his current occupation in this episode). And in a conversation with Odo in "The Alternate", Ben told him of how his father had a severe illness that made him very weak and he was unable to help him in the end.