Dear Colleagues: Peter asked how things are going, so I thought I would mention what I know. As you all know, eastern Ontario and Quebec were hit by a massive ice storm: Montreal island was particularly badly hit. Downtown Montreal is apparently in very bad shape, with large areas still without power. The island was cut-off physically (all the bridges were down) for several days, and many downtown hotels are now without power. Many streets still have downed power-lines, and it is unsafe in some cases to walk near trees, buildings, or powerlines because of falling ice. Triples (and McGill) is down, so there is no e-mail contact for now. In terms of individuals, I have spoken to many of the categorists and everyone is ok although several people (Barr, Prakash,...) are without heat and power in their homes. They are either staying with friends or rigged-up some kind of power line from neighbours with electricity at least to run a heater. But basically Montreal and nearby communities are a disaster area. the entire South Shore off Montreal has lost its power grid (i.e. transmission towers twisted like pretzels because of ice); the same happened in parts of Eastern Ontario as far as Kingston, with disastrous effects on dairy farmers, etc. Here in Ottawa, the situation was bad, although not quite as disastrous as Montreal. Forty percent of the trees in Ottawa are damaged, and parts of Ottawa are still without power (for example, my house since Thursday!). But downtown is getting back in shape, and Carleton and University of Ottawa have managed to keep heat. I am still camping-out here in my office for the near future... Keep warm-- Phil Scott