  These notes are a record of lectures given in the Workshop on Connections
Between Algebra and Geometry at the University of Regina, May 29--June 1, 2012.
The lectures were meant as an introduction to current research problems related
to fat points for an audience that was not expected to have much background in
commutative algebra or algebraic geometry (although sections 8 and 9 of these
notes demand somewhat more background than earlier sections).
