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Opinion: Inflation Isn't The Answer
Americas columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady on why inflation is back in vogue as the way to solve our nation's economic woes. Photo: Harvard.edu
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... I ... the ... the reserve of little less than an hour from our studios their latest policy statement and I assume they're going to tell us that the uptrend presses are still running Mary Anastasia O'Grady thanks for joining us ... I'm sure there's can be a lot of news today but really the news the larger news you've been tracking is that inflation which Americans learn baking in the seventies is ... making a comeback at least its ... intellectual of supporters ... write an academic circles it seems like now there are more in our arguments for ... I in him for not keeping the price level constant ... as a way to ... help ... juice the economy to bring down unemployment and so forth and of course the leader of this ... on intellectual movement is can grow bathrooms and ... a professor of economics professor at Harvard ... on he's been reading since two thousand ate ... anything say I'm good dose of a burst ... of high inflation would be good for the economy and of course what we know from ... on the matter of public says that if you have that I'm ... a big debt overhang ... and you have a burst of inflation that helps debtors because what they borrowed his last words last week as adopted in the currency is inside de valued the ... business ... we think of this is a failed nineteen seventies experiment in Ohio in the United States but obviously ... covering the Americans is you do ... this is been tried a lot of time since then and then I think it's ... fair to say the record is of blemish by success ... well the difference I think here is that well off actually believes that you can ... choose an inflation level that is not too high and not too low and in you can target and that you know you can you can get there you can get rid of the debt overhang you have ... any people happily on your way and I think in as much as the installation itself on redistributes wealth and punishing savers and investors ... the other thing that it that this is our dear thing that we should be worrying about with his plan is what happens if the Fed can control one in the record is ... that ... because monetary policy ... I'm ... a and the effects of monetary policy have long and variable axed ... by the time and then ... guys who are working the letters trend figure out that there's an inflation probably take some a long time to catch up so ... the idea that you can targets a six percent inflation which is what he likes ... I think is I'm not been proven by any body but just emphasize the point you're making about how long this is ... seen as a way to get rid of debt overhang another witness at the end of this he said is redistributing wealth from people love to lend money to people who are aware that leads to the ... fixed rate ... right money he what I think you would argue that that's the least painful way to get out of the broader economic problem but ... he admits that either something unfair about that ... on the also admits that dot inflation could spin out of control when you may need the brunt of twenty or thirty percent but don't worry we can discern of ... using the tools that the Fed Haim bring in right back and there's also such an evidence for it for that offsets also I guess we'll go but it's also funny growth write a mean what's to stop the printing presses the ... assets on some fronts come back to earth ... eventually you have to add you know taken up the money supply and that usually puts you also backed into a ... another recession so aam ... it ... it ... did in Salter from short term but it creates a lot about other problems and problems that are very I'm just the people who have played with animals okay well maybe eventually the politicians will give us


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The Infiniti QX4 is a luxury SUV crossover manufactured by Infiniti from 1997 to 2003. A redesign for the 2004 model year led to it being renamed the QX56. To cut to the chase, this is basically a fancier version of the Nissan Pathfinder. This model marries Infiniti's luxury principles and the utility off-road capabilities of the Pathfinder. With four-wheel drive and over eight inches of ground clearance, the QX4 can handle rough duties but still offers the interior comfort and luxury that Infiniti vehicles are known for.
The release of the QX4 allows Infiniti to compete with sport utility vehicles such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus RX 300, and Mercedes-Benz M-Class. It represents Infiniti's first entry into the SUV market that would become so popular and competitive in the early 2000s. The QX4 does not cost much more than the Pathfinder, but then again it has very few differences. Ads tout, ""Everything you want in a luxury sport sedan plus everything you want in an SUV."" Most find that to be over-selling.
This car does have a respectable interior, maybe not quite the level of luxury that would distinguish the SUV market in later years, but nice just the same. Only one major redesign occurred in 2001, when Infiniti brought the QX4 into the luxury SUV market with changes that finally helped separate it from the Pathfinder.
The Infiniti QX4 is really just a more expensive Pathfinder. Yet most consider the extra price worthwhile only because it means service can be done at an Infiniti dealer instead of a Nissan dealer. That means shorter lines and less waiting.
The QX4 offers features that make it feel like it doesn't belong in the Infiniti line of vehicles. A cheap faux-wood steering wheel, a loose and wobbly ride, drum brakes, and lack of back-seat comfort all cause complaints. The features are respectable, especially with options, but not as impressive as other models by this carmaker.
Like many vehicles in this crowded class, the QX4 strives for more than it can be. The crossover SUV market includes vehicles that provide a great degree of luxury. At some point in the production run for this vehicle, other makers decided (and buyers agreed) that an SUV could be just as audaciously luxurious as any European sport sedan. The QX4 didn't last long enough to ever truly embrace this idea. Instead of going in such a direction, Infiniti decided to redo the QX4 and turn it into the QX56, so the QX4 never became what many SUVs did: grocery getters capable of escaping a lava flow down the side of a volcano, while transporting a youth soccer team, all the while felling like the vehicle is riding on a newly paved road.
This vehicle is no longer in production, but the QX56 is the two generations removed descendent of the QX4 and serves the same market goals for Infiniti that the QX4 once tried to handle. Check out the QX56 to see what became of the QX4.
From 1997 to 2000 the QX4 remained mostly unchanged. It shares the Pathfinder's relatively low output, 168 horsepower engine. In 2001, a major redesign occurred, adding a new 240 horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 that appeared in the G35 and other models. It couples with a four-speed automatic transmission. Mechanically, the QX4 imitates the Pathfinder except for a more sophisticated drive system that can switch easily from rear-wheel drive to four-wheel drive. This is convenient and economical for highway driving and getting into four-wheel mode during bad weather or while driving off-road.
Aside from a front-end that has an appearance that declares, ""I will win all front-end collisions,"" the QX4 has a typical and almost plain SUV exterior. Only the base model exists, including a roof rack, running boards, and 16-inch alloy wheels standard, along with narrow back doors that incite complaints.
Throughout production the interior remained respectable, with standard features including leather upholstery, wood interior trim, automatic climate control, heated power mirrors, a Bose sound system with a cassette/CD player, and power front windows that have one-touch automatic up/down operation. An optional Premium Package adds a real wood steering wheel with audio controls, a driver's seat with memory, and 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels. Chrome alloy wheels are available separately.
The Infiniti Mobile Entertainment System can be added with either a DVD or video cassette player, and a flip-down ceiling-mounted 6.4-inch LCD screen. Other options include a power sliding glass sunroof with sunshade and the Infiniti Navigation System. QX4s with four-wheel drive can come equipped with a Heated Seats Package that includes a limited-slip differential. In 2002, Intelligent Cruise Control became available for four-wheel drive versions.
2003 Infiniti QX4
SUV, Utility/Offroad
The 2003 Infiniti QX4 turned things up a notch in an effort to appeal to the truck lovers and SUV fans out there.
2002 Infiniti QX4
In past years, the Infiniti QX4 was not worthy of the premium price commanded over its structural and mechanical double, the Nissan Pathfinder.
2001 Infiniti QX4
One of the first things drivers notice about the 2001 Infiniti QX4 is its powerful V-6 engine.


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The Volkswagen Tiguan is headed this way to compete in the highly competitive Compact SUV segment, which includes the likes of the Honda CR-V, RAV4 and Ford Escape. The sharp-looking SUV has a lot going for it, including the beloved turbocharged 2.0-Liter fourbanger found in a wide range of Audi and VW products. Unfortunately for VW, a weak dollar and features designed to meet the high expectations of the European market mean that the Tiguan is going to start at $23,850 and top out for $29,515 for the AWD version. That's about $1,700 more than the fully-equipped AWD Honda CR-V, the class leader. But VW has a plan for selling the thing: tie it to the popular VW GTI.
This isn't completely ludicrous as the GTI shares the same platform and drivetrain as the Tiguan, though exterior styling is dramatically different. We see this is as a positive for Tiguan drivers that want to feel better about buying an SUV, though we wonder if GTI owners might not appreciate the sentiment. Time will tell if this move allows VW to move the targeted 20-25K vehicles.
[AutoNews via Motive Forums]


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The instructions state, copy the contents of "upgrade" folder. There are some unanswered questions in regards to, what are the best practices.
- Does Traq automatically create a backup of my current db?
- If not, feature request?
- Wouldn't it be better to completely delete all files from my Traq folder before copying in the new ones? If so, which folder(s) should be untouched?
- This helps remove deprecated PHP files no longer being referenced.
- And, are there any known issues with upgrading?
Thank you,


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The ratings for this World Series, which has been compelling, are down but should pick up by Game 6, which is a certainty. I'm betting on a Game 7, the game's ultimate gem.
But, that's not enough for Maj0r League Baseball because the East Coast giants aren't involved. With MLB's penchant for panic and knee jerk reaction, I am beginning to wonder what the response will be.
Tinkering has already done damage to the credibility of the regular season. With interleague play and the unbalanced schedule, not every team runs the same race to October, which had been a constant for nearly a century. I guess 100 years of a good thing is not enough.
Major League Baseball is seriously considering expanding the playoffs to create interest in more cities and to add extra gates. Another round in the postseason turns baseball into the NFL, the NBA and NHL, which rewards mediocrity.
What had been unique to baseball – and valuable to the sport's identity – was the difficulty in getting to the postseason. Every team facing the same obstacles gave value and integrity to the regular season. That has been diluted.
It's now a crapshoot where just about anybody can get in, and this year we have two teams that play the sport correctly, but don't attract a national audience. What MLB wants is for the playoffs to be expanded, but in the end have the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Dodgers somehow involved.
It doesn't work that way.
Ratings are down for a variety of reasons, beginning with conflicts from the NFL and college football, and so many other viewer options on cable and satellite. At one time, even when the Series started being played at night, baseball was the popular choice.
It's not that way anymore.
For years, MLB operated in a fashion to discourage growth from a young fan base by scheduling the playoffs later in primetime and its regular season pricing for tickets. It is more inconvenient for a young fan base – and also for the older fans who long supported the sport – to follow baseball. Those in their 70s and 80s who watched games in Ebbets Field and in dozens of parks that no longer exist, can't afford tickets and don't stay up as late. They have been shut out, just like the youth who are choosing other convenient options.
MLB needs to re-evaluate its marketing strategy to get back the fans who long supported the sport and attract its future fan base. Its not enough to get cities to build new stadiums and ride that enthusiasm, because eventually the thrill fades.
As those of us who are watching can see, it is still a remarkable, attractive sport that when played well is a joy to watch. We should savor what we are seeing and not regret those teams that aren't here.
MLB could start by starting the games an hour earlier as to not shut out the East Coast in the late innings. Start the telecast at 7:00 p.m., with first pitch a half hour later. I'd rather have a small West Coast following in the first two innings than lose the East at the end of the game where memories are made.
In doing so, MLB would sacrifice money in its TV deals now, but it will pay off in the future, and that's what's best for the game.


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Wednesday, October 21, 2015
First sifting through the results
Here's the latest episode of the Pollcast, and the last to deal directly with the results of the election. It's a good one. Joining me is the CBC's Catherine Cullen, Tom Parry, and James Cudmore. They were with the three campaigns in the final days, and we talk about what they were seeing.
Coming in the coming days (potentially into next week): a review of how the polls did, a review of how the projection did, and where we go from here.
Some initial thoughts, though. The polls ranged from a pretty good job to a terrific job, so I think they deserve full credit. Seat projections across the board, though, were off. And I think there is something to learn from that, as the vote results should not have delivered a majority government to the Liberals. Their vote came out disproportionately in seats they could win. I think that tells us something.
Covering this campaign with the CBC was one of the best experiences I've had. It was a fun campaign to cover. For regular readers of this site, I know it was different from how it has been in the past. But thanks for nevertheless coming to this site every day and leaving your comments.
Throughout the campaign, this site received 7.1 million hits. Suffice to say, that smashed the site's previous records set during the 2011 federal election campaign. I hope many of you will return to the site and stay with it as we turn our attention from the election campaign to the fate of this majority Liberal government. And until 2019, we should have some interesting leadership races and provincial campaigns to cover too.
63 comments:
Thanks, Éric. I, for one, will keep coming here. Good job.ReplyDelete
The seat model has some very interesting things to teach us, but I'm not sure what they are yet. A riding like Burnaby North-Seymour, which your projection had as Conservative blue all through the campaign, managed to be a complete Liberal runaway.
I worried about the seat projection for the Liberals when I saw how massive a lead you were giving Joyce Murray in Quadra, and there might be something to that. Support may have bled from riding to riding once victory was assured in some, thus evening out the numbers and making the vote more efficient.
No idea how to model that, though, and without a deeper look at the data it's just speculation at this point.Replies
Unless there is riding level polling I'd say its difficult if not impossible to model specific ridings...the swing model is doing what it is supposed to do and apply a broad brush over the region.Delete
There may have been a 'favourite son' (grandson) effect in British Columbia.Delete
Justin Trudeau lived & worked in B.C. for several years of his life and his Mother's side of the family is from there (and we learned his Grandfather Sinclair was an MP/Minister there in the 1940's-1950's).
To add to that, I look forward to seeing what distribution your model produces when you plug the actual vote results into it, and then we can examine the discrepancies.ReplyDelete
Taken together, ridings like Edmonton Mill Woods and Calgary Confederation offer an interesting challenge.
Also, I should acknowledge that my prediction of a record-low voter turnout was entirely incorrect.Replies
You might have underestimated Trudeau's ability to attract new voters, and Harper's ability to rally the anything but Harper vote to whatever party was best lined up to beat the Conservatives...in this case the Liberals. I know from your posts that you did not think the anything but Harper vote was going to hurt the conservatives, I mean directly it doesn't, but they did rally around one party in the end and sunk a good number of NDP candidates in the process.Delete
The ABH trend was a bit stronger (and less precise) than I expected. It just moved votes from the NDP to the Liberals, without regard for which candidate had the better shot at winning. I think ABH took some seats away from the NDP and handed them to the CPC (in the BC interior, specifically).Delete
I mentioned Calgary Confederation because Éric's model had that as a reasonably confident Liberal win, but the Tories held it. In ridings where the Liberals had a chance, they underperformed.
Only in the three unassailable Tory ridings in Calgary (Heritage, Midnapore, Shepard) did we see the Liberals exceed expectations. But in the ridings where the Liberals had even the slightest chance to win, it looks like there was an Anyone But Trudeau movement.
Ira, good analysis, but how did you think that it would be a record low turnout with there was such an extreme anti-Harper ferver throughout the country? I certainly have never seen anything like it. I met many people voting for the first time in a generation, and had conversations about the election almost every place I went. Are you in Alberta or Saskatchewan? When I was in Alberta last week, it felt like they were preparing for a funeral march - very much like the night Notley won. In the rest of the country, it was ridiculous. It mean the final vote totals were 68.5% in 2015, to 61.1% in 2011.Delete
The polling stations were deserted in Edmonton, yes, but I made the prediction weeks before the election.Delete
1. I expected the CPC ads to do a better job of suppressing turnout.
2. I expected the restrictions placed on Elections Canada's advertising would suppress voter turnout, particularly among first-time voters.
3. I saw three party leaders, each with significant flaws. Mulcair's foreign policy was recklessly naive. Harper was widely seen to be pure evil. Trudeau didn't seem to be able to describe an economic policy in any detail.
Admittedly, maybe the economic policy thing bothered me more than it would a typical voter. Look at Mulcair's cap and trade idea; there were no details about it in the NDP platform, when asked about it Mulcair said the details would be worked out later, but the platform confidently predicted it would generate $21 billion in revenue. How can you confidently predict revenue from a program whose characteristics you don't even know?
LOL, you're in Edmonton. Well that makes sense. I was in Alberta last week and I thought I was in the middle of a province wide wake. If you read the boards anywhere in the country you could see the ferver that Trudeau was producing. In Ontario it was intense. But what's very interesting, in Western Ontario, because of Wynne, it was very intense for the Conservatives. That's why I kept telling Eric that his Ontario projections were way off base, as Toronto and the urban 905 were going to go totally for the Liberals. Nobody in Quebec knew who would win, but most had a strong reason to vote. I got the same feeling when I was in BC. Out east the anti-Harper anger was most obvious, as it felt like a revolution. But you're right, in Alberta it felt like a morgue. That's why social media has become so important these days.Delete
My gut says there was big 'anyone but Harper' effect going on that led to unusually strong strategic voting.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yes and no. For a lot of the BC interior ridings (Cariboo-Prince George, Kamloops, Vernon) the polls showed the NDP in first place. Everyone said to vote NDP to keep out the Conservatives. But after the dust settled, the Cons won, and the NDP finished 3rd. Even in my riding of North Okanagan - Shuswap (Vernon area), All three polls done near the end of the campaign showed the Liberals in 3rd.Delete
The less than honest Leadnow group only showed two of them to their supporters because they showed the NDP way ahead of the Liberals, and in first. The third poll showed the NDP only 2 points up on the Liberals in a fight for 2nd place. Cons won for only 39% of the vote. Had the vote not been split, the Cons would have lost all three of these ridings.
- Anonymous22 October, 2015 08:11
In the end the ABH translated not to voting for the candidate from the left with most votes but in voting for the LPC everywhere. In this sense Ira is correct that it lost some ridings for the combined opposition, but across the board it won a majority for the liberals. I believe we would have seen the same effect in favour of the NDP had Mulcair been the one ahead in the polls by election day.Delete
I agree with Polstats' assessment entirely. Those voters were out to sink Harper and willing to sacrifice whatever party that was going to get in the way of that.Delete
Can you please update the CBC Poll Tracker with the final results (Liberals 39.5%, Conservatives 31.9%, NDP 19.7%, BQ 4.7%, Green 3.5%, Other 0.8%)? I'm so very curious to see what the model predicts in that scenario!!!ReplyDeleteReplies
The model should predict the seat results!Delete
Hey Eric,ReplyDelete
Going to listen to your 'casts in a moment but I wonder if you've looked at comparing the 1993 election to now, and then looking at the 1997 election and drawing some conclusions.
Some interesting parallels to me.
I ran a seat projection based on something Greg Lyle had mentioned. That the seat projection models, at least he felt, were underestimating Liberal seats, because they were based on swing from 2011. So I setup my projection model based on an average of 2006, 2008, and 2011. It spit out 172 seats for the Liberals. Still underestimated them but it called a majority, however narrow. Overall, called 61 ridings wrong, so not too bad. Aggregate absolute error for total party seats was was 42, or 8.4 per party.ReplyDeleteReplies
I've been thinking of seeing if something like that would do a better job.Delete
True, seat projections are great in many ways, but obviously one of their limitations is that they use the numbers from the previous election as their base.Delete
As Greg Lyle correctly predicted, 2011 was unusual because the Liberal vote fell below 20% fro the first time in its history. That affected the seat projections.
Good point Greg. Maybe that is the problem.Delete
- Anonymous21 October, 2015 15:09
I'm still hopeful that by the time of the next election, your site will be more accessible. In particular, I hope you will identify parties by more than just colour code, and present tables as real text, not image files. The current site is unnecessarily difficult or impossible to use for anyone with a visual disability, and fixing these issues would be easy.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous21 October, 2015 15:21
Today's Globe discusses 22 narrowly won ridings. The 2011 CPC majority was won by 3200 votes for the weaker opposition party in 13 seats.ReplyDelete
I have not yet run the numbers for this election, but we need to consider NDP voters who switched to LPC to defeat Harper.
A seat model needs to include the volatility of tight races, especially 3-way and 4-way contests where sub single percentage shifts can sway several seats.
If Trudeau brings in IRV (instant runoff voting), I would expect better predictability in seat models if polling measures 2nd choices.Replies
What's an NDP voter? I mean consider these numbers...Delete
and these numbers...
Those are the NDP vote and seat counts for the last 4 elections. I think it's reasonable to say that this years result looks a heck of a lot more like a standard NDP results then 2011's result and it would be more fair to say that the Liberal vote came home as opposed to the NDP vote moving anywhere.
The NDP had and has an English-Canada problem. They refuse to recognise the reality. The NDP's position against bicameralism for instance does not win them any votes. It may help solidify their base but, these people vote NDP in any case, opposition to bicameralism does nothing to excite Westerners or even most Ontarians and is anathema to many Quebeckers and French-Canadians in general. Dippers need to stop holding overly high opinions of themselves and listen to the people if they ever hope to be more than a third party.Delete
The NDP lost because of their "English Canada problem" IMO.Delete
Although they have been removed back to third place, I think we should all remember that today the NDP is in a much stronger position than early Spring 2011 with seats in Quebec or even the Autumn of 1988. With a sizable Quebec caucus and representation from most regions of the country.
Calling the NDP results an "English Canada problem" is insultingly obtuse. The NDP don't do as well in the Maritimes (18%) or Alberta (11%) as these are the traditional strong points of the Liberals and Conservatives. They don't do well in Ontario (16.6%) because of Bob Rae. They had over 25% support in SK and BC.Delete
You are "insultingly obtuse"-that is why I asked you some weeks ago to please refrain from commenting on my writing!
Still blaming Bob Rae for the NDP's failure to be competitive in Ontario is a rather "insultingly obtuse" attitude toward the electorate not to mention completely unfair to Mr. Rae who left the premier's chair 20 years ago-Canada has held seven general elections since, he stepped down!
"Some weeks ago" was Monday. It's been a week now. Sorry, but you don't get to choose who reads and replies to what you post in a public forum.Delete
The Ghost of Bob Rae is still strong in many middle aged Ontarian minds, and that memory has been relayed to the next generation in political conversations. His return to politics as a federal Liberal stirred up the old talking points.
There have been 6 federal elections and 5 Ontario elections since the end of Rae Days. However, that includes only two Ontario governments. When Bob Rae returned to politics in the 2006 election, the LPC dropped from 44.7% (75 seats) to 39.9% (54 seats) in Ontario. We can't break out what part of those numbers are due to Rae, but he still is relevant in Ontario, even if only as a boogieman.
Likewise, The Ghost of Mike Harris is plaguing the OPC. The Harper Conservatives were much more centralistic and able to overcome the handicap.
One reason I asked you not to comment on my writings are the frequent mistakes and factual errors contained in your prose: " There have been 6 federal elections": How do you figure? I count 7 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015-7 Seven, VII-!; "and 5 Ontario elections". Wow! 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2014!-WOW!- Addition not your strong suit eh!? 6 Ontario election six, 6, VI SIX!!!!!! Blaming Bob Rae for dropping the Grits seat count? Ridiculous, shameful and pathetic. Totally ignoring the reality of a unified Conservative party such a statement is vindictive and completely fanciful. Sadly, such outlandish statements demonstrate the NDP's inability to combat and correct what has long been successive poor election performances throughout English Canada. It is especially sad since, DIppers themselves are unwilling or perhaps unable to acknowledge the NDP's weakness throughout English Canada-that inability to acknowledge past mistakes all but, condemns the New Democratic Party to perennial also rans. They screwed up their one big chance, maybe in another 82 years they'll be competitive!!!
I will also point out "centralistic" (sic) is not a word, and reminds me of another problem I often have with your writing: it is difficult to understand at times, sometimes through poor spelling and grammar but, often due to incorrect or garbled sentence structure.
Ghost, please review your history. Bob Rae was involved in the 1995 Ontario election. The discussion is the impact of the ghost of Bob Rae on the 2015 election, so it wasn't included in my list.Delete
The unified CPC does account for their higher seat count in Ontario, but their combined vote count didn't change much. However, the LPC in Ontario had a string of lower than "normal" vote counts until 2015, when it and total voter turnout rose up.
The 2011 CPC win was a combination of many factors, first and foremost the combined base, but also LPC voter suppression (either by the CPC or unmotivated LPC supporters). Bob Rae has been a constant narrative in Ontario over the last two decades.
FYI, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/centralistic
"There have been 6 federal elections and 5 Ontario elections since the end of Rae Days".Delete
No. There have been 6 Ontario elections since the end of "Rae Days" since, Rae Days as opposed to Rae's days ended before the 1995 election.
Your writing is so sloppy it appears even you don't know what you have written!
I concede that pedantically "Rae Days" were applicable to only one year and that Bob Rae's final election and defeat as a member of the NDP occurred after that point. I'd assumed you were intelligent enough to understand the looser interpretation of "Rae Days" that since we were talking about the affect of Bob Rae on the NDP in Ontario since his departure from Ontario politics.Delete
You are insultingly obtuse. Please respect my wishes and stop commenting on my writing. I will no longer respond to your asinine posts.
I'm intelligent enough to understand English! You capitalised "Rae Days" thereby, writing something completely different than your latterly made up interpretation of your own writing! Your own writing imposes a stringent meaning upon Rae Days! You didn't write Rae's term, or time in office or Rae days, you were specific and assigned a unique historical context! You brought Bob Rae into this conversation not me so "we" were not talking about the affect (sic) of Bob Rae-Only Mapleson, was writing about the effect of Bob Rae on the NDP. I was writing about the NDP's English Canada problem-the party's inability to be competitive throughout most of English Canada.
If you want me to stop commenting, I suggest you stop writing. Otherwise, expect me to continue as I have since before you started using this pseudonym on 308. So long as Bob Rae comes up in a causal conversation about voting for the NDP within Ontario (provincially or federally), he is relavent to the issue.
The NDP doesn't have an "English Canada" problem as they are very distinct regional strengths and weaknesses. Ignoring this is tantamount to ignoring the regional differences of Quebec.
We need to wait for the release of breakdown by individual polling stations, but of the four NB districts with significant French-speaking populations, the NDP results were:
Acadie--Bathurst 39.4% vs 50.7% LPC
Beauséjour 15.1% vs 69.0% LPC
Madawaska--Restigouche 25.9% vs 55.7% LPC
Miramichi--Grand Lake 14.4% vs 47.3% LPC, 34.3% CPC
Éric, great work.ReplyDelete
Do you have any idea on how you'll approach modelling the next federal election? Are there any sources you can draw on for systems other than first past the post?
It's obviously years too early to actually start building a new model since nobody (starting with Justin Trudeau) knows what the 2019 voting system will be. This question is about how you even approach the problem.
Of course, the old model will be good for a few provincial campaigns yet.
aluchko I don't think any of the punditry or poll experts really know what the real level of this ABH is ?? Plus there is also an element of ABC in the results as well.ReplyDelete
With all do respect I think you overly "massage" the data with the weighting system, incumbent bonus etc...By late September a number of polls showed the Liberals at 40%or better in Ontario and a majority government was within reach. You do a good job, however, I think an evaluation of your methodology is probably in order.Replies
The incumbent bonus is based on historical election results. The weighting system, if anything doesn't discount old polls fast enough. Just because some individual polls had the Liberals at 40% or better in Ontario, doesn't mean that those polls reflected reality until after the fact.Delete
The results were within the prediction, so the methodology is sound, if in need of some further tweaking.
No Mapleson,Delete
That is the point. The polls did reflect reality at the time of their commission-showing a shift was in progress. The seat project should have reflected the changing attitudes of Canadians. The projection was not within the Low-High seat range for the Liberals, Conservatives or NDP! it was in the min-max range. So with all due respect, I disagree with your last paragraph and would add that the projection was simply wrong. Whether this is due to the slow responsiveness of the methodology is a strong possibility, but, it seems, to me human error must also be a consideration,
Perhaps you did not notice my comment was not addressed to you.
In fact the way polling works is that polls reflect the reality at the time of polling, polls are unable to reflect reality "after the fact"-what a bizarre comment. Unfortunately, Eric's projection was not within his low-high projection range for the Tories, Grits or Dippers only within the min-max range. I think any objective social scientist will always say: "improvements can be made". My understanding is that ideally seat projections should be in the low-High range depending on the party. Accordingly, 308 predicted: There was only an 8% chance the Tories would win 99 seats or less, a 20% chance the NDP would win below 51 seats, and a 12% chance the Grits would finish between 147-184 seats.
If you don't want anyone other than Eric to read and comment on your message, send an email.Delete
Without the actual election results, there is no proof that the polling was accurate to fall within the Margin of Error at a 95% confidence interval. The Min-Max range was added previously to fully cover the 95% confidence interval, while the Low-High range was a focused group within that.
If the election turned out to be a Conservative Majority, the polls would have been said to be a miss. There accuracy can only be determined after their usefulness is terminated. I agree improvements can be made, as the call was on the outer edge of the 19 in 20 prediction. Eric is now looking at how a historical average riding result would have changed things (instead of just 2011 as a basis). I'd be interested in removing the historical voting from the equation by using riding characteristics to set a baseline (i.e. rural and rich areas are more conservative, poor areas are more NDP, ethnic ridings are more liberal).
Other than ignoring the excluded 2.5% tails, your figures are correct on the probability of seat ranges. However, that doesn't make it a statistical miss. Just like the fact that rolling 7 on a pair of dice is most likely, any result 2 to 12 is possible. 3 to 11 would be within the 95% range, while 2 or 12 would be statically outliers. This election was 11 and not a 12.
Please refrain from commenting on my posts in future.
Thank you,
Please refrain from commenting in THE future.
Thank you.
"the vote results should not have delivered a majority government to the Liberals."ReplyDelete
-> But Eric, since the Liberals hit nearly 40%, isn't that right in line with the mathematical threshold of where Majority Governments are normally formed these days?
- Anonymous21 October, 2015 20:01
Post mortem:ReplyDelete
1. The Notley bump at the Federal NDP level was short lived.
2. Harper was really unpopular, around my circle of friends I couldn't find someone who liked it, but this seems to have held broadly across the country.
3. Harper went so negative for so long that he forgot to create a legacy and reasons why to vote for him.
4. As predicted the possibility of a close election brought people to the polls in higher numbers.
5. Strategic voting played a role. This was clear from the outset. The question was who was going to benefit the LPC or the NDP.
6. The Just not ready campaign was weak. In fact, this is 1 for 3 for negative ads: while there were negative ads against Stephane Dion, he pretty much did himself in regardless of the ads. They did work against Ignatieff.
7. The supposed anti-PETrudeau effect was nowhere to be seen in Quebec and Alberta. PET is the premier most people love to hate, but when it comes to it people knew he was a forced to be reckoned and always had the best interests of the country at heart, even if sometimes leading to the wrong decisions.
8. Separatism continues to look like yesterdays tired idea to a debate that was settled two decades ago (don't tell PKP though).
9. Mulcair for whatever reason couldn't connect with the voters. In early September this election was Mulcair's to lose and lost it he did.
10. People pay attention to the polls and adjust their opinions accordingly.
11. A message of hope won over a message of fear or despair. There is no reason why this has to be so, but in this case people chose the candidate with the positive message over the one with the negative one.
12. The last minute vote buying the day before the election was called was rather desperate. Was this a misguided effort to do some last minute vote buying or where the internal polls in the CPC campaign already reporting that people found nothing they liked about Harper and they were the CPC managers trying to do a last minute fix?
13. The niqab issue drove away immigrant vote in the GTA. No I do not have data to back this up other than the ridings lost there, but this is how it seems to me.
14. Careful you don't end up believing your own lies. Justin wasn't ready so need to worry about him right?Replies
- Anonymous22 October, 2015 13:03
15. The 2011 result in QC was a max not a min. A year ago, I described this result as a perfect storm and unlikely to be repeated in 2015. I didn't expect a sharp fall either, but it always looked like the confluence of circumstances in 2011 was overly favorable to the NDP.Delete
I like your analysis, and I would expand a little on why Just Not Ready didn't work. I think what did it in was another of Harper's strategies, the long campaign. He thought that the CPC's comparatively deep pockets would mean they could outlast the other parties. In fact, what it did was give Trudeau the opportunity to show that he was, in fact, ready. In a shorter campaign, JNR might have worked.Delete
Just Not Ready was guaranteed to stop working at some point. The implication that comes with Just Not Ready is that he's Just Not Ready yet. But one day he will be.Delete
What this means is that as soon as Trudeau starts to look ready, the CPC have nothing else to say about him.
They really should have kept the Not Ready ads to the pre-writ period, run a positive campaign to start, and then gone after his deficit plan as soon as he mentioned it.
- Anonymous23 October, 2015 14:06
Ira: we agree, running the "Just not ready" campaign for over a year was poor thinking.Delete
In terms of the deficit, I don't know if the attack would have worked. I grew up in a country that had a deep recession for many years. People personal cut expenditures and went into save-money-at-all-costs mode for quite a while. Eventually things started to get better and people started making once again long overdue purchases. At first they were all necessities, purchases that had to be made. After a year or so, the subject of holidays started coming up. Yes there were still other important purchases to be made, but no one had taken a holiday for over six years, and while fiscally and rationally no holidays might have been the safer course, people aren't machines and need downtime. So eventually, gingerly, people started going on short well-deserved three day holidays.
I believe similar underlying reasons are behind the embracing of Trudeau's small deficit proposal. We just had six rough years, finally things are starting to look better, and it looks like the economy might need a small boost. So while people like you and Paul Ward rightfully obsess about the fiscal implications, the average person on the street welcomes the proposal.
Before jumping to any conclusions about seat predictions, we need to see what your model would have predicted using the real election results.ReplyDelete
Its also worth plugging this data into your chart for how often the model correctly predicts a seat. If it turns out that you were wrong in a lot of 50-60% seats but accurate in most 80-90% seats then it suggests your model isn't actually so far off.
And on a side note, why does the model have a minimum percent of 50% for accurately guessing the winner? In some ridings the gap from first to third was quite small, suggesting an even smaller probability than 50% might be in order.
- Anonymous21 October, 2015 23:17
I am not so sure about the anything but Harper votes cost the NDP because that would suggest there was no fluidity in their voting intention in the first place meaning they were solid NDP votes but they were fluid and were not really NDP votes lost but rather undecided and there is a difference. Second I would be very interested in the results of vote splits - particularly in Quebec. With the rise in support to the Bloc I believe that this actually hurt the conservatives in some ridings as the split in the right wing vote may have allowed the Liberals to come up the middle, which likely they would not have been able to do without Harper waking up the separatist vote with the Niqab issue. Think he shot himself in the foot with that in Quebec.ReplyDeleteReplies
The CPC gained seats in Québec. I'd say whatever Harper said worked for him there.Delete
Ira can you say niquab ??Delete
I suspect a lot of the seats the CPC won in Quebec were the result of an incomplete shift in anti-Harper vote from the NDP to the BQ/Libs.Delete
The BQ lost support this election, but it was more efficient, so less votes and more seats.Delete
The seat gains in Quebec was caused by the exodus of NDP voters to other parties.Delete
I'm inclined to agree with the Ghost. The seat changes in Quebec are largely the result of the collapse of the NDP.Delete
Remember, the 2011 election result was genuinely odd. When the Bloc collapsed, that vote had to go somewhere, and it wasn't going to go to Harper or Ignatieff, so it went to Layton. But those were never really the NDP's votes.
That the Liberals managed to collect that vote this time is no less strange. The Liberals haven't won a majority of Québec's seats since the 1980 election.
I'm an observer of Canadian politics from across the river in the Detroit metro, as well as a number jockey in my past career, and I agree Eric did yeoman's work on this. I was absolutely addicted to Three Hundred Eight during the campaign. It would appear the ABH people were effective in tactical voting in the ridings where the LPC was the most viable alternative to the Conservatives. There might also have been some tactical voting in the opposite direction in the Windsor area, as the NDP were able to pick up Essex, which Eric had as a 71% probability of voting Conservative. I honestly don't know how one could model tactical voting to make the model a better predictor.ReplyDelete
Always enjoy and appreciate your thoughtful commentary regarding the polls and poll taking.ReplyDelete
Congratulations on the success of your site! I first came here for your analysis of the 2008 Quebec election and remember thinking how much effort you were going through for a blog that I thought only I and 6 other political nerds might read. I was as wrong about that as I was about the imminent swearing-in of Prime Minister Mulcair that I predicted two months ago.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous22 October, 2015 10:52
Vote Together is claiming some success in a number of ridings. Their efforts may have skewed the model.ReplyDelete
Excellent work! I'm very impressed by the work that you have done here and your ability to quantify your uncertainties. That first table which indicated the projected confidence and actual success rate of predicting those seats is a testament to your success. I'm guessing that there might be a little bit of tweaking to be done but as a scientist I applaud your excellent work and as a fan of the site I thank you for your efforts.ReplyDelete
COMMENT MODERATION POLICY - Please be respectful when commenting. If choosing to remain anonymous, please sign your comment with some sort of pseudonym to avoid confusion. Please do not use any derogatory terms for fellow commenters, parties, or politicians. Inflammatory and overly partisan comments will not be posted. PLEASE KEEP DISCUSSION ON TOPIC.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


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Close Up Linking Rings CHROME BLACK
These rings are of the highest quality. The amazing chrome black finish is a color between traditional silver and dark matte black. This chrome black finish is shiny and is our favorite finish. The plating is smooth and of the highest quality. It does not chip and is very hard wearing. These rings measure 4.5" outside diameter and 4.5mm thickness. They are the perfect weight and size. These rings are supplied with both the DVD and online video link for The Linking Rings - Quick Start Guide by Matthew Garrett. "The Material is powerful, and your instructions are very clear." - Jeff McBride Learn the Linking Rings Close Up, quickly! Follow along step by step. Exceptionally clear and easy to follow. DVD Contents:
Have a question about Close Up Linking Rings CHROME BLACK? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.
Steven asks: Do these get scratched over time? If so, does it expose silver underneath?
We ship to you directly from within the UK. While most other UK magic shops hide what happens behind the scenes, we want you to know exactly how things work. Here's the timeline:
Typically takes 2 - 3 days
We send UK orders in batch to the UK from our USA warehouse every day. This way you avoid expensive international shipping fees and taxes.
We keep our most popular products in stock in the UK so often this step is skipped.
We send packages out via MyHermes the same day that we receive them. This is a popular, secure, trackable courier service.
Typically takes 2 days
As soon as the package is dispatched you'll receive a link to track it on this page. While they don't offer any guarantees, MyHermes tend to deliver your order within two days.
At Vanishing Inc. Magic shop we're proud to produce great magic books, tricks, downloads and DVDs.
Every item is carefully selected under the watchful eye of cofounders, and professional magicians Joshua Jay and Andi Gladwin. We don't stock every magic trick released, but instead hand pick the best!
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text: Visterra is a biotechnology company that uses its proprietary Hierotope™ Platform to identify unique disease targets and design effective therapeutics. The company's technology is powered by computational tools and techniques, called Atomic Interaction Network (AIN) analysis, which uniquely identifies an area, or epitope, on the target site that is fundamental to its structure and function. This ideal epitope, or hierotope, becomes the target against which the company designs a novel therapeutic to effectively and durably combat the disease. The company is currently focused on therapeutics for infectious diseases and its lead antibody product candidate, VIS410, is a broad spectrum human monoclonal antibody for the prevention and treatment of both seasonal and pandemic influenza.


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Fill a large pot with oil halfway up the pot. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Preheat grill.
In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Slowly whisk in beer until thick, but not runny. Dredge fish in remaining flour first, then dunk in the batter. Fry in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper-toweled lined plate.
Meanwhile, grill tortillas on grill.
Serve fish in tortillas topped with Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber.
In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt. Add onions and cucumber and continue to cook a few minutes more. Remove from heat, add chile, and transfer to a bowl. Let cool slightly then chill covered, for at least 1 hour.
Toss in the tomato and cilantro, 5 minutes before serving.


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Keith Seim needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 59 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
Social Stork
It's your chance to design the cutest application on Facebook!
Social Stork is a new social moms Facebook application allowing moms to scrapbook their kids online, to share with friends, and to socialize with other moms.
Mothers, friends and family of mothers. Primarily US, but also globally.
Please see attached "Branding Brief" and "Wireframe"
=== Guidance ===
- Read the rules (listed below).
- Read more guidance in the "Page Details"
=== Rules ===
1. All designs should be submitted encapsulated by the Facebook theme for applications, example: http://apps.facebook.com/mousehunt/. Width of inner-content portion: 760px.
2. Review the wireframe PDF - note there's page 1 with a simple Wireframe, page 2 shows explainations for each of the page components.
3. To protect the intellectual property of each designer, we are not sharing designs publically. We will post public comments describing good / bad things done by designers.
6. Logo: You can use the placeholder shown in the wireframe if you want, or come up with your own concept. We're planning on hosting an additional logo design contest once the theme project is complete. However, if you submit a spectacular logo idea (either within a theme design, or separately within this contest) and we like it we will follow-up with you directly. We will consider the logo as separate from the theme design.
Please see attached wireframe, and read requirements carefully.
Take your creative inspiration from the Branding brief, but remember this is not an art display but a web application. Your creativity must fit with the Wireframe or else we can't use it.
We're fine with you using stock illustrations with appropriate licenses – simply cite the source. There's a ton of great baby-related stock illustrations out there, just make sure you keep the design clean.
Please see branding document


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Grand Expedition Yak Mount Preview
The Reins of the Grand Expedition Yak are sold for 60,000 gold before any discounts in a small village called The Grummle Bazaar, just outside of One Keg in Kun-Lai Summit. The mount is similar to the Reins of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth in that it can hold up to three people, but has two vendors when you summon it.
The Traveling Trader vendor will repair your gear and sell you food, water, a 14 slot bag, and campfire materials. The other vendor is an Arcane Reforger, which allows you to reforge your gear wherever you can mount! The animations aren't done yet, as there is no mountspecial or jumping animation, but you can get a general idea of how it moves in the video below.
Dragon Turtle Mount Preview
Beta has had several different types of mounts added since we last previewed the models, so tonight we will start with the Dragon Turtle mounts. These are the Pandaren mounts and will be sold by the vendors at the Pandaren camps in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
Water Strider Mount Preview
Moving on, we take a look at the Water Strider color variations. Currently, only the Reins of the Azure Water Strider is sold in game by the Anglers faction. It requires Exalted reputation and costs 5,000 gold before discounts.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Compromised Battle.net Accounts and the RMAH
Take note of this if you ever plan to use the Diablo III Real Money Auction House!
Arena Junkies Invitational Tournament Finals
Arena Junkies, together with help from Curse and Alienware, is running the first ever Arena Junkies Invitational Tournament, featuring eight of the best 3v3 teams. These players will battle it out for glory and a chance at $5,000!
The eight teams were broken into two groups of four and will play in a Round Robin format. The top two teams from each group have advanced to face each other and vie for the spot in the Finals. The Finals will take place on Saturday May 26th at 3 PM EST.
Fan Art Update
The World of Warcraft Fan Art Section has been updated with three new pieces of fan artwork.


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Exchange Add-Ons: Custom URL Tracking
The Custom URL Tracking Add-on is not available for individual purchase. It is included in the Exchange Pro Pack, Developer Suite or Toolkit.
The Custom URL Tracking add-on allows you to create a custom URL for your product and track how many times that particular link is viewed.
You'll find the Custom URLs options in the Advanced options of your products.
Once you enter your custom URL, you can then decide if you want the page to redirect to the original product URL (ex:
http://elise.internal.ithemes.com/product/codex/) or to use the URL you created.
Once you've add your custom URLs and updated your plugin, you'll now be able to track the different URLs and the views each has received.
This shows in the Custom URLs section of your Advanced options for each product.
See Also
- Introduction
- Exchange Add-ons on iThemes.com
- Free Add-Ons
- Premium Add-Ons
Quick Links
- Tutorials - Short video tutorials to help you become an Exchange expert.
- Get Basic Help - Get free help on some basics of Exchange.
- Get Premium Support - Get premium and priority support for Exchange.
Report & Request
- Report a Bug or Problem - Help us fix an issue that you have found in Exchange
- Request a Feature - Help us improve Exchange for everyone


text:
Trying to scale down your life in the upcoming year? Just running out of space in your kitchen? Then stop buying useless gadgets that serve no real purpose and get ones of the ones you have. Here are a few gadgets that no one actually needs in their kitchen.
Specialized Slicers
Whether for avocados, bananas, tomatoes, strawberries, eggs or any other specific food, specialized slicers are always a waste of time and space. You know what else makes a great slicer for these and other foods? A knife -and it will work on practically anything.
Asparagus Peeler
This asparagus peeler will skin your asparagus and clip off those hard tips at the end. That's handy when prepping asparagus. The only problem? Any other peeler and knife would do the same without taking up space in your kitchen for a vegetable that most people eat no more than once a month.
Strawberry Huller
Strawberries can be hulled in seconds with a knife. A plastic straw can also be used in a pinch. So why would you need this bulky huller just for this one particular job?
Ice Cream Sandwich Maker
What's so hard about filling two cookies with ice cream that you need a specific mold to do the job for you? Even if you're really concerned with making the thing look perfect -remember that this tool requires your cookies to be the exact right size to even work right.
Rainbow Cocktail Layering Tool
Layering ingredients in a cocktail can take practice, but it doesn't take a special tool and any bartender will tell you that all you need is a spoon and some patience to master this skill.
The Dipr
Oreos and milk really are a winning combination, but if you dip by hand, you either get your fingers wet or part of your cookie is left dry. The Dipr makes it easy to dip your Oreo and avoid this problem. The only problem is putting a fork through the middle of your Oreo can help you do the same thing and you'll actually use a fork for other things besides eating cookies.
Egg Cracker
There's a reason good products make people question how they lived without the item for so long. An egg cracker on the other hand is something you can live without for the rest of eternity. You know what else cracks eggs? Just about anything.
Perhaps the epitome of a totally useless kitchen gadget, all this strange device does is cook eggs into a tube form. It doesn't seem to cook any quicker than simply scrambling them and it presents the end result in a totally unappetizing shape. Oh, and according to the Amazon reviews, the thing breaks easily too.
Of course, we'll be the first to admit that some useless kitchen gadgets are just plain fun. Here is our round up of other gadgets you don't really need, but could probably enjoy playing with anyway.


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Women at SAP
The power to lead
We champion women
Global Business Women's Network (BWN)
Women's Professional Growth webinar series
Back-to-Work Program in Asia Pacific and Japan
Leadership Excellence Acceleration Program (LEAP)
Executive commitment
Women leaders at SAP
Carmen Krueger
Daniele Grossi
Satya Sreenivasan
Satya Sreenivasan, Developer at the SAP Innovation Center Network, leads a team of developers in Singapore working on SAP HANA projects including the award-winning SAP Medical Research Insights application. In this interview with SAP News, Sreenivasan talks about why she sees software development as artistry, and how the industry can attract more women.
Sindhu Gangadharan
Sindhu Gangadharan, Vice President and Head of Product Management for SAP HANA Cloud Integration at SAP, grew up in Bangalore, India and has spent almost 16 years working at SAP in Germany. She recently spoke with SAP News on what keeps her energized as she helps customers on their journey to cloud-based computing in the digital economy.
Yean Fee Ho
Yean Fee Ho, Vice President of Engineering at SAP, is at heart an inventive artist who has found the ideal environment at SAP, managing software development teams in Singapore and China designing the company's latest mobile innovations. Ho recently spoke with SAP News to share her thoughts on chasing her dream despite humble beginnings and why art and engineering are a natural fit.
Daniela Lange
Daniela Lange, Senior Director at SAP, leads Product Management for SAP payroll software. She joined the company fifteen years ago, after spending about five years in academic research ranging from astrophysics to life sciences. In this exclusive interview with SAP News, Lange shares her philosophy on what it means to have a high tech career.
Employer awards
Top 100 Companies for Millennial Women
Top 100 Companies with Remote Jobs
Excellence Award for Employee Benefit Initiatives
Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality
For the fourth year in a row, SAP earned a perfect score for its support for LGBT employees from the Human Rights Campaign, the largest organization dedicated to LGBT equality in the U.S.
EDGE Certification
SAP is the first multinational tech company to receive Global Gender Equality Certification, recognizing our global commitments and actions in achieving and sustaining gender diversity and equality in the workplace.
Best diversity & inclusion strategy
Employer of choice for gender equality
SAP Australia has been recognized as a top leader in ensuring gender equality, which is critical to our success and is viewed as a baseline feature of our organization.


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Platforms are powering the modern digital agenda. They are enabling new business models and the building of ecosystems around them. As a company on its own digital transformation journey, Accenture is embracing cloud-based, highly configurable and scalable platforms with inherent mobile capabilities. One area ready for change was Accenture's service management tools and capabilities.
Many of the service management applications from a variety of business areas had reached a point where they could not be easily upgraded or extended in line with company strategy. This situation led Accenture to assess marketplace platforms that were comprehensive, modern and secure to meet new and existing needs. Accenture needed to find a solution that met IT service management (ITSM) requirements and could quickly expand to support services across internal businesses such as HR, Marketing, Finance, Legal and Facilities services.
Accenture's platform assessment resulted in the selection of ServiceNow to capitalize on the solution's functionality, cloud-based architecture and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) strengths.
The migration of Accenture's legacy ITSM tools to the ServiceNow platform established the service management foundation for Accenture. Internal IT, partnering with Accenture's global ServiceNow practice and Accenture Technology, set out to use ServiceNow at hyper scale—establishing architectural standards and "guardrails," incorporating ServiceNow as a strategic "system of experience" in the ecosystem, and focusing on employee-centric service design.
The team executed a global consolidation of ITSM applications and processes to ServiceNow as its single system of action. The scope included incident, problem, change, release, service request and configuration management and resulted in the decommission of six legacy applications. To fully migrate and streamline IT service management across Accenture's 8,000-plus technology service personnel, the team transformed more than 5,000 configuration data elements, developed 21 integrations and established a central IT request and self-service portal across geographies. Given Accenture's size, the work was complex and challenging.
As the internal IT team addressed its IT service modernization needs, they learned increasingly more about the power of the ServiceNow platform and executed against an expanded strategy. They identified additional ways ServiceNow could bring value by streamlining and digitizing service management activities across the enterprise. Accenture looked at incremental functionalities—such as employee relations case management, financial and master data requests and automated fulfillment, background check management, and payroll and benefit services—and implemented them on the platform. Less than a year after Accenture's ITSM pilot on ServiceNow, the company had expanded the platform's footprint to include management of select HR, Finance, Legal and Facilities services as well.
Moving to this single platform for so many parts of the business led Accenture to introduce a new, cross-organizational governance model to support platform strategy, define cross-organizational priorities and drive transformational objectives.
Accenture continues its extension of ServiceNow to enhance employee experience and benefit all corners of the business by enabling consumer-like services. This transformation started by consolidating corporate function services through a ServiceNow system of experience. Accenture established its enterprise-wide central request management portal, Accenture Support, as the gateway for all employees', contractors' and alumni cross-organizational service needs. This eliminates the guessing game of which site to visit for help. And, with the ServiceNow support portal, Accenture employees can request and process service requests anytime, anywhere through their computer, mobile device or tablet.
Accenture continues to scale and enrich its support portal capabilities by packaging disparate, cross-organizational processes and systems of record—all of which an employee requires at certain points throughout their career—to present them in seamless and intuitive services. For example, Accenture recently architected a transformed leave of absence experience via Accenture Support. "Almost 40,000 employees take leave each year, and with around 6,000 people on a leave at any given point in time, it made sense to start with this process," explains Anne Doubet, Global Absence Experience Lead.
Accenture followed a service design approach to build an integrated employee and leave administration experience that smoothly connects all absence readiness and return-to-work activities. The solution wraps multiple disconnected platforms and functions into one integrated, end-to-end experience accessible via Accenture Support. It's a new way of approaching a solution. Accenture is not just designing a new tool, it is thinking about how to uncomplicate an employee's leave and return to work. Accenture is doing the same for employee travel and relocation services—bringing together policies, approvals, travel choice, booking and setup in one destination. Accenture continues to design similar services for new employee onboarding, laptop replacement and recruiting candidate experience.
ServiceNow advances Accenture's alignment to the platform economy by technically and functionally integrating with other enterprise platforms to optimize experience, leveraging reusable core capabilities and eliminating data duplication. As the primary platform for enabling cross-enterprise functions, ServiceNow provides process, technology and data to drive innovative business outcomes and numerous benefits to the business today and into the future:
Driven by business strategy and active collaboration with ServiceNow on its product road map, Accenture has charted a course for using more ServiceNow features over time. This direction includes shifting to a business service-based IT model with the exploration of IT operations management and IT business management. Other opportunities include leveraging ServiceNow to further Accenture's employee-centricity agenda and reduce custom and country-specific applications in the ecosystem, thereby improving user satisfaction and productivity.


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For a long time denim shorts have scared me, you see my thighs are not ideal for shorts in generally but certainly not bum-skimming denim ones, well that was until this summer when the high street finally added those extra few inches – yeah for everyone over a size 8!!!
They might be called Mom and Boyfriend shorts but I don't care, they cover my arse, thank god, they fit around my chunky thighs, and the best bit is that they are high-waisted, so cover a multitude of sins while still being summery. It is like all my previous years of hoping to find the perfect pair of denim shorts have finally been answered.
Asos have some beauties, as does Topshop and New Look **see below for my top 10**, but it seems that everyone else has gone crazy for this style that my size always seems to be out, so I snapped up these ripped boyfriend shorts from River Island when I saw them.
I did buy them for my honeymoon, did I mention I get married in 3 months – probably – sorry, but with the lovely weather we have been having I decided to give them a test run at our local kite festival. As they are the superhero of all denim shorts it seemed only fitting to pair them with my fun superhero T-shirt that I picked up at Primark, it seems I can't resist a statement tee and this one is perfect for a sunny afternoon.
Finishing off my look are my trusty Calvin Klein sunglasses, I love that they are so big, and my new Sorel festival-loving boots, they are just perfect for wandering across the rough terrain of the heath to see all the fabulous kites – the horse one was definitely my favourite.


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Initially, we will base our sample selection on invoice dollar thresholds. For example, if we establish a $250 threshold for sampling invoices, all invoices for disbursement requests equal to or below that threshold, and not included in the sample, will be systematically posted and the disbursement made; i.e., the warrant created. In this example, invoices greater than the threshold, invoices below the threshold and included in the sample, and invoices specifically requested to be submitted to this office will be preaudited by our staff.
Invoice dollar thresholds could vary by agency and/or voucher processing site, and the thresholds could be changed at any point in time. Agencies are encouraged to build sufficient flexibility into their procedures and systems to accommodate the revision of the thresholds for the agency as a whole, or for a particular processing site.
Prior to implementation of sampling, we will apprise each agency individually of the invoice dollar thresholds that will be applied to the voucher processing sites within the agency.
In the future, we plan to apply other sampling selection criteria. For example, object codes could be a basis for inclusion or exclusion from sampling of invoices.
Initially, contract payments and journal vouchers will not be subjected to sampling. Sampling could be implemented for these types of payments at a later date.
Coupled with the implementation of sampling, we will delegate to the agencies the responsibility to retain and store original vouchers and supporting documentation. This will include items included in the samples, items not included in the samples, contract vouchers, journal vouchers and all other types of payment requests submitted to this office.
In lieu of original documents, agencies will submit readable copies of the documentation for payment requests to this office. However, agencies will submit voucher schedules and copies of the supporting documentation to this office only for (1) invoices above the threshold; (2) invoices equal to or below the threshold that are included in the sample; and (3) invoices specifically requested to be submitted by this office. Agencies will not submit to this office copies of vouchers and documentation for invoices below the established threshold, unless the payment is included in the sample or is specifically requested by this office. Payment of invoices below the threshold and not selected for sampling will be systematically posted by the Voucher Audit System and the voucher schedule will contain the message "Disbursements Audited by Agency Only-Retain All Documentation" across the face of the voucher schedule. If the voucher schedule contains this message, the agency will not submit documentation to this office for the payment request. The voucher schedule and a copy of the supporting documentation should only be submitted to this office if the voucher schedule does not contain this message.
We set flags in the Voucher Audit System for certain vendors, object codes and other criteria. Payment requests for these flagged items generally require special review or handling by our staff. Vouchers and copies of supporting documentation for flagged items will continue to be submitted to this office, regardless of the dollar amount and regardless of whether the items are included the sample.
In the absence of original invoices, agencies should continue to follow Rule 3A-40.002, F.A.C., by marking the copies of the invoices and filing them in the same manner as original invoices.
We are currently reviewing the feasibility of accepting the voucher schedules and copies of invoices on electronic media. We are aware that some agencies have, or plan to acquire, scanning equipment for document imaging. We envision that submission of vouchers by electronic media will be the preferable method, and we encourage agencies to work with us to achieve a reduction in the use of paper documents. Members of our staff will be contacting agencies individually within the next few weeks to review current and planned document imaging capabilities.
We are working with the Department of State regarding records retention requirements that will be imposed on the agencies for the original vouchers and supporting documentation.
Please direct any questions to the Bureau of Auditing at 410-9194, Suncom 210-9194.


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Agedu is a great tool, as it doesn't only show you where the data is, but also how long ago it was last accessed. It's a bit sad that the tool is not as straight forward to use as it could be. But here's a guide.
Basically you first call agedu -s <somedir>, then agedu -w to start a webserver and then look at the webpage that the latter command tell you about.


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Beloved musical 'Les Miserables' performed Nov. 6-9
Janel Shoun-Smith |
|Annelise Kitching and Tyler Russell as Cosette and Marius.
Lipscomb University's Departments of Theatre and Music will present the international smash hit musical "Les Misérables," Nov. 6-9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Collins Alumni Auditorium. Lipscomb University's production, its largest production in years, will feature Broadway star Chuck Wagner, a Middle Tennessee native, as Jean Valjean, in all performances except for the Wednesday, Nov. 6, production.
A spectacle on Broadway and in London, "Les Misérables" is a powerful affirmation of the human spirit that has become a popular masterpiece. In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean is released from 19 years of unjust imprisonment, but finds nothing in store for him but mistrust and mistreatment. He breaks his parole in hopes of starting a new life, initiating a lifelong struggle for redemption even as he is relentlessly pursued by police inspector Javert, who refuses to believe Valjean can change his ways. Epic, grand and uplifting, "Les Misérables" packs an emotional wallop that has thrilled audiences all over the world.
Lipscomb Theatre Chair Mike Fernandez is director of the production and Justin Boccitto, co-founder of the Group Theatre Too in New York, is serving as assistant director.
Tickets cost $15 for individuals, $10 for university faculty and $5 for students of any age. Tickets can be purchased through the Lipscomb Box office at 615.966.7077 or by logging onto www.lipscomb.edu/theatre.
|Chuck Wagner as Jean Valjean
About Chuck Wagner
Chuck Wagner is a professional actor, singer, director and historian with a passion for Broadway musicals. He was born in Nashville, raised in Hartsville and graduated from Gallatin High School. Wagner went on to star in many Broadway shows including "Beauty and the Beast," "Into the Woods," "Dracula the Musical" and "Les Misérables," in which he played Javert. He has also performed in national touring productions of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Into the Woods," "Les Misérables" and most recently "Anything Goes."
Locally, he was seen as Horace Vandergelder in Studio Tenn's 2010 production of "Hello Dolly!" He has also served as ringmaster for two national tours of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus; has appeared on "As the World Turns" and "All My Children;" and in his youth was known for his sci-fi TV character "Automan."
Wagner will also serve as master of ceremonies and hold a master class for local high schoolers this spring at Lipscomb's Nashville High School Musical Awards concluding workshop and banquet.
Special Showings and Opportunities
Church group discounts: Lipscomb's Department of Theatre and Office of Church Services is offering a discount on tickets for church groups both young and old: $5 for students and church ministers and their family, and $10 for the general church population. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, $1 of every ticket sold for that performance will be donated to Youth Encouragement Services, an after-school enrichment program for inner-city youth in Nashville. Lipscomb will have discussion questions available for youth or small groups to later discuss this tale of grace and triumph over judgment.
Special school matinees: There will be 9:30 a.m. performances on Thursday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 8. Contact Mindy Fernandez at 615.966.7075 to register a school group for these performances.
Post-show talk-backs: Post-show talk-backs with the cast and crew will take place after each performance with a special focus on local high school students participating in Lipscomb's Nashville High School Musical Awards program, church groups and students. A short "making of" video by Lipscomb's film and creative media graduate program will precede the show.


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HONOLULU (Dec. 18, 2007) -- After a 22-hour adventure that took the squad from Syracuse to the Hawaiin islands, the ETSU men's basketball team has begun final preparations for first round action in the Rainbow Classic later this week.
The Bucs (4-5) will meet Southeastern Conference foe Georgia early Friday morning, with the tip scheduled for 12:30 a.m. (EST), which is 7:30 p.m. in the evening on Thursday for islanders.
ETSU is hoping to rebound from a disheartening 125-75 loss to the Orange, which marked the largest deficit for the Bucs since the Ed DeChellis-coached Bucs suffered a 97-47 loss to Southern Conference foe Davidson in 1997.
For more on the Bucs as they enter the Rainbow Classic, click on the game notes link above or read the game notes below. A link to the MSHA Buccaneer Sports Network's live radio coverage of the tournament can also be found above.
Buc Shots
A seven-time NCAA Tournament and two-time NIT participant, the ETSU Buccaneers ended the 2007-08 season coming off a regular season Atlantic Sun Conference championship with a 24-10 overall record, and a 16-2 league mark a year ago ... The Bucs return the 2006-07 A-Sun Player of the Year in junior guardCourtney Pigram (Memphis), as well as the A-Sun Coach of the Year Murry Bartow and All A-Sun Freshman team pick Mike Smith (Vandalia, Mo.) ... Along with returning players like Pigram and Smith, the Bucs also return significant contributors to last season's success such as senior post Andrew Reed (Port Richey, Fla.), sophomore point guard Dequan Twilley (Shelbyville), senior forward Kenyona Swader (Smyrna), and senior guard Travis Strong (Memphis) ... Newcomers for the Bucs that are expected to contribute early and often include junior college transfer Kevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.), who was the JuCo Division II National Player of the Year last season, and lightning quick JuCo point guard Jocolby Davis (Meridian, Miss.) ... Several Bucs are currently leading A-Sun statistical categories, see page 6 of this notebook for more information on those players and their rank ... In addition, see where the Bucs ranked as a team and individually on the NCAA charts last season on page 4.
The Bucs vs. the Rainbow Classic field
When ETSU begins play in the Rainbow Classic, they will face a field of teams with which they have little or no history ... Below is a breakdown of ETSU's results against the other seven teams battling in the tournament this week:
Team Record Last Meeting
Georgia 1-1 1984
Hawaii First meeting
Louisiana-Lafayette First meeting
Ohio 1-0 1969
St. John's First meeting
St. Mary's First meeting
Tulane First meeting
The Bucs at the Rainbow Classic
This will be ETSU's second trip to the Rainbow Classic in program history ... The last venture to the islands came in 2003, with the Buccaneers posting a 1-2 record ... ETSU fell to IUPUI in the first round 85-81, beat Lamar 75-62 in the second round, and then dropped a 71-66 contest to American in the consolation finals ... While the Bucs may not have been pleased with their trip to Hawaii in 2003, that tournament did refocus the squad for the rest of the season, as the Bucs won their next 16 games, and 19 of their final 20 to finish 27-5 with a conference regular season and tournament championship ... The 27 wins was the second best win total in school history and the Bucs made the program's seventh trip to the NCAAs.
Last time out at the Rainbow Classic
HONOLULU (Dec. 30, 2003)- Struggling through a poor shooting night and failing to capitalize on a late comeback attempt, the East Tennessee State University men's basketball team dropped the consolation championship of the Rainbow Classic to American University 71-66 at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii ... With the loss, the Buccaneers drop to 8-4 overall as they prepare to return to Southern Conference play next week with back-to-back road games at Furman (Jan. 5) and at UNC Greensboro (Jan. 10) ... At the Rainbow Classic, the Bucs finished 1-2, with a loss to IUPUI in the first round, and a win over Lamar in the first round of the consolation bracket ... The Bucs stumbled out of the gate, shooting just 30 percent from the floor in the first half, while American hit on 8-of-11 shots (73 percent) from 3-point-range. The Eagles' Linas Lekavicius led the assault with 17 points before the intermission on 6-of-9 shooting, helping American to a 15-point lead at the break, 40-25 ... After failing to make much of a challenge to the Eagles' lead early in the second half, the Bucs got a major spark from freshman guard Travis Strong (Memphis, Tenn.) at the 1:50 mark. Trailing 66-54, Strong nailed back-to-back 3-point shots and hit 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to 66-61 with 1:24 left ... However, from there the Eagles hit their foul shots and iced the game at the line. For American, Lekavicius led the way with 22 points, while Jernavis Draughn scored 20 points and Andre Ingram added 11 ... ETSU got a team-high 15 points from Tim Smith (Newport News, Va.), while James Anthony (Tampa, Fla.) added 11 and Strong collected 10. The Bucs shot just 37 percent from the floor, while American hit on 46 percent of their shots. In addition, the Eagles held a rebounding advantage of 45-31.
Strong enough?
With his play in recent games, it is obvious that senior guardTravis Strong (Memphis) has been trying to work his way into the starting lineup ... A starter in the past, Strong missed last season with a serious knee injury and had filled the role as first off the bench to backup the perimeter this season ... But against Tennessee Wesleyan, Strong was given a starting spot for the first time this season and responded with a game high 21 points, matching his career high with five 3-pointers ... In the three games prior to the Marshall game (12/4), Strong had eclipsed 20 points twice and has scored 59 points (19.7 ppg) ... Most recently, Strong finished with 19 points thanks to matching a career high with five 3-pointers against Syracuse (12/15) ... Currently, Strong stands at 789 points for his career for an average of 8.5 ppg.
Pigram eclipses 1,000 points
Beginning just his third season at ETSU, junior guardCourtney Pigram (Memphis) has already eclipsed the 1,000-point mark with a jump shot from the right corner at the 17:52 mark against Chattanooga (11/28) ... That basket gave Pigram 1,000 for his career and following the contest with the Mocs ... The junior now stands at 1,091 for his career ... The 6-1 shooting guard scored 325 points as a freshman and then netted a remarkable 614 as a sophomore ... His 614 points a year ago ranks 6th on the single season list.
Another championship banner
With a win against Stetson (2/22), the Bucs wrapped up an outright 2006-07 A-Sun regular season title and garnered the No. 1 seed in the week's league championship tournament ... For ETSU, it was the continuation of a recent string of success that dates back to the 2000-2001 season ... In all, the Bucs have captured championships in five of the last seven seasons, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips in 2002-03 and 2003-04, and a trip to the NIT in 2006-07 ... Here is the championship breakdown:
2000-2001-- Southern Conference North Division Championship
2001-2002 -- SoCon North Division championship
2002-2003 -- SoCon North Division championship; SoCon Tournament Championship
2003-2004 -- SoCon North Division championship, SoCon Regular Season Championship, SoCon Tournament Championship
2006-2007 -- Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship
Swader, Tiggs breaking out
Entering this season, a great deal was expected of both junior transferKevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.) and senior forward Kenyona Swader (Smyrna) ... Following eight games, the two are definitely meeting or surpassing those expections ... In the Bucs' win at UNCA, Tiggs scored the game winner with 1.7 seconds left and also picked up 20 points ... In the first Marshall game, Tiggs broke out with a game-high 26 points, and setting career marks in most every statistical category ... In all, Tiggs has scored at least 20 points in four of the Bucs' nine games, and currently stands tall on the Atlantic Sun stat sheets, ranking seventh in scoring, second in field goal percentage, and seventh in free throw percentage ... Meanwhile, Swader has provided an immediate offensive threat in his first six games, currently standing fifth on the team with 7.2 points per game ... Currently, Swader is second in the A-Sun with a 48 percent 3-point field goal percentage.
Foul issues
With 201 fouls in their first nine games -- an average of 22.3 a contest -- the Buccaneers are certainly hearing the whistle too much ... By comparison, ETSU opponents have committed just 166 fouls against the Bucs ... In particular, during the Bucs' first three losses of the season -- all on the road -- they were whistled 26 times (Dayton), 27 times (Marshall) and 30 times (Chattanooga) ... In all three games, the Bucs had multiple players leave the game with five fouls, including three players against UTC ... Against the Mocs, those 30 fouls led to a lop-sided foul shot differential, as the Mocs were 31-of-44 from the line compared to just 17-of-23 for ETSU.
Chilton's No. 42 comes out of retirement
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 31, 2007)- For many years, Tom Chilton's No. 42 has held a special place in ETSU basketball's history. Next season, fans will see that special number on the floor once again ... Chilton, who ranks first all-time with 26.1 points per game and fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,801, has agreed to allow junior transfer Kevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.) to wear his No. 42 jersey for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season. Chilton, who now makes his home in Madison, Ind., said he was honored a current player would want to wear his number ... "I wish him the best and I'm honored he wants to wear No. 42," said Chilton, whose 42 is the only retired number in ETSU's program history. "I hope he always considers that the number doesn't make the player, but the player makes the number. A lot of hard work and effort went into that number during my time there, but ETSU gave a lot back to me and I wouldn't be where I am today without that university, so I'm happy to allow the number to be worn again." ... ETSU head coach Murry Bartow said he was appreciative Chilton would allow the number to come out of retirement, and he reiterated that the number will go back into retirement two years from now ... "Tom Chilton was one of the finest players to ever wear an ETSU uniform, and his willingness to allow Kevin to wear the number shows he is still proud to be a part of our program's tradition," Bartow said. "It's our expectation that Kevin understand the importance of the number and the responsibility that goes with wearing it." ... Tiggs, the 2007 National Junior College Division II Player of the Year, said he certainly understood the history behind the number ... "Mr. Chilton was and is a legend here, so wearing his number comes with a great deal of responsibility," Tiggs said. "I just want to play in a way that would make him proud."
Non-conference home win streak at 15
Over the last three seasons, the Bucs have fared well against non-conference opponents within the confines of Memorial Center ... In fact, the Bucs have won 15 straight non-conference homes games since losing a 90-73 contest to Fresno State back on Nov. 27, 2004 ... ETSU has enjoyed wins over teams such as Marshall (2), Chattanooga, Central Michigan, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, UNC Asheville, Eastern Kentucky and Radford in that time frame.
Home Sweet Dome
Since the 1996-97 season, the Buccaneers are an amazing 110-36 inside Memorial Center, good for a winning percentage of 75 percent ... The Bucs ETSU had won five straight at Memorial Center during the 2006-07 season before a loss to Belmont (1/2) ... The Bucs then rattled off 10 straight at home to stand at 15-1 on the Memorial Center floor this season, but fell to Belmont in the final game of the year in the championship of the A-Sun Tournament.
Bucs leading the A-Sun in field goal
Currently, the Bucs sport four of the best shooters in the Atlantic Sun Conference, asKevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.), Andrew Reed (Port Richey, Fla.) and Travis Strong (Memphis) rank 2nd, 4th and 8th, respectively ... For a complete breakdown of the Bucs' standing in the Atlantic Sun Conference stat sheets, see the column on Page 6 of this notebook.
A great season in 2006-07
With 16 wins in its last 19 games a year ago, ETSU enjoyed a 2006-07 record of 24-10 overall, 16-2 in A-Sun play ... It was the best overall and conference record for the Bucs since the 2003-04 season ... That season, the Bucs were 27-6 and 15-1 in Southern Conference play, losing by three points to Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bucs on the Tube
Along with the new ASun.TV package which will video stream all ETSU men's and women's home games on the Internet, the Bucs will again have a significant presence on the television screen as well this year ... In fact, ETSU's trips to Oklahoma State (Dec. 8) and Syracuse (Dec. 15) both aired live locally, with the Oklahoma State game showing on WKPT (ABC) and the Syracuse contest airing on WJHL (CBS) ... The Bucs will also appear on regional cable through the Friday night CSS Atlantic Sun Game of the Week with the Jan. 25th trip to Jacksonville and the Feb. 1 home game against Mercer scheduled for air on CSS ... In addition, Charter Main Street will air its weekly ETSU replay on Charter 13 and Comcast 14 Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., with the weekly games beginning on Dec. 4th with the Tennessee-Wesleyan game ... For a complete schedule, visit ETSUBucs.com.
Bucs dominate Preseason All A-Sun Picks
Last season, ETSU won its first Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball title, but Belmont denied the Buccaneers the conference's automatic bid in the final of the General Shale Brick Men's Basketball Championship ... Entering the 2007-08 season, both the coaches and the media predict that the Buccaneers will again be battling the Bruins for conference supremacy ... Both chose ETSU as the favorite to win the conference and defend its regular-season title with Belmont second ... The Bucs were the clear choice by the media to win the tournament ... The Buccaneers, who have gone 28-10 in A-Sun play in their two years in the league, will continue to be led byCourtney Pigram (Memphis). The junior from Memphis, Tenn. was named the preseason Player of the Year following up his Player of the Year award for the 2006-07 season. As a sophomore, Pigram averaged 18.1 points per game, second-best in the conference and also ranked in the top 10 in steals (2nd, 2.62 SPG), 3-point field goals per game (3rd, 2.62 3-pt FG per game) and assists (7th, 3.74 APG). He turned in one the league's virtuoso performances of the season when he dished out a conference-record 18 assists against Mercer on February 24 to go along with 29 points and eight rebounds. The 18 assists set an A-Sun record, were one off the school record and were the second-highest single-game total in Division I in the last two seasons.
1,113 wins and counting
With a win Jan. 25 against Belmont, the Bucs collected the program's 1,100th win all-time ... In over 80 years of basketball, the Bucs are 1,113-891-27 all-time after dropping Marshall on Dec. 4.