Well, power back on through most of GTA but life will not return to normal until we get through the weekend. Thank goodness for battery power, both CHUM Radio and CBC did good jobs trying to keep us appraised of what was going on through the late afternoon, evening, overnight. Lots of little flashing LED lights this morning as my fresh ground coffee drips through...

Regular phones were working, even if some electrical phonesets themselves were out of commission. Cells were working sporatically, though I was getting calls from folks in BC between 4 and 6pm who hadn't heard the news.

Inspite of it all, everyone's spirits were high and good natured, even from the reports we were getting from YYZ -- what more could go wrong for AC this week?! CBC was reporting that downtown hotels were handling lots of stranded folks, and one report had the Royal York renting rooms at the Friends and Family rate, which is the staff family one. No reports of price gouging.

I was walking into my local Dominion to buy a few things when the lights went out shortly after 4pm. My pocket radio also went dead for a few minutes, then CBC came back on the air. But a quick look showed traffic lights out, streetcars along King Street frozen in their tracks. [Sorry davistev, but I didn't quite make it to the post office with your tape...]

I mixed a cranberry martini and sat on the balcony watching the evening unfold through most of the evening, listening to radio reports, and having a chicken dinner which I had started roasting at 2pm, and which came out of the warm oven nicely cooked when I returned home at 4:30pm. [Used to live on the 19th foor in Edmonton, but thankfully I only had to climb eight floors here.]

First reports out of NYC had Bloomberg put the blame on Canada! [So what else is new?] No word from Premier or Mayor here until 2-1/2 hours after the whole thing started.

I am sure the full details will start to come clear through the day.

Yes, it was tough not being able to communicate any news to the rest of the FT community. Cable modems down, of course. Also missed the AMAZING RACE last night, so I hope the episode run of OUTDOOR LIVING CHANNEL over the weekend is the current one.

[This message has been edited by Shareholder (edited 08-15-2003).]