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Friday, April 24, 2015
Post-debate polls suggest Wildrose slipping, but what about the NDP?
One poll done just after the debate concluded, by Mainstreet Technologies, showed a big win for the NDP's Rachel Notley, with the Tories' Jim Prentice in second. That fit with the consensus view. But a voting intentions poll done by Mainstreet released this afternoon suggests that the NDP has not had a boost, though Wildrose has taken a hit.
A poll by Forum Research, done on April 22 and 23 (so before and after the debate), showed a similar slip for Wildrose. But the Tories dropped as well, and the NDP surged into first place. Is it an outlier, or a sign of things to come?
The projection, as always, takes the middle road. The NDP is now first in the vote projection with 35%, enough to give the party 26 to 45 seats. That flirts with a majority, but is mostly in minority territory.
Or Official Opposition territory, as with 32% Wildrose can win between 25 and 42 seats. That is down from the 35% the party had in the last update.
The position of the PCs has improved slightly, with 25% and five to 31 seats. That no longer puts them only in third place. They could still potentially finish in second, at least in regards to the likely averages.
At 5% and one to three seats, the Liberals can hope for the balance of power but nothing more.
Forum's poll, reported by the Edmonton Journal, put the NDP up 10 points from their previous survey of April 7-9. They led with 38%, followed by Wildrose at 25% (-5) and the Progressive Conservatives at 20% (-7).
Mainstreet's poll in the Calgary Herald showed Wildrose down three points since the poll of April 20, but still narrowly ahead with 32%. The NDP was unchanged at 31%, while the Tories were up one point to 26%.
These are opposing trends, though the margin of error in the Forum poll (+/- 3%, with Mainstreet's at +/- 1.5%) could explain much of the divergence.
The two agree on Wildrose being down, which is a believable result considering Brian Jean's middling performance last night. But they disagree on the trends for the NDP and the PCs. Mainstreet has the Tories still very much in the race. Forum has the NDP at almost double the PCs' support.
Part of that may be one of the oddities of the Forum poll. In total, Mainstreet gave the Liberals and Alberta Party 12% support. Adding the 'others' to that number, we get to 18% for Forum. Considering the slate of candidates these three categories include, that is just not plausible. The Liberal score may only be slightly inflated, but for the Alberta Party to have 4% to 6% support, they would need to average about 10% to 14% in each of the 36 ridings where they are running candidates. That just isn't very likely.
And what of the 5% Forum awarded to other parties? That will have to go somewhere, and is nowhere to be seen in Mainstreet's estimations (which do not include the option).
These polls are in some serious disagreement, but that discord might not be as dramatic as it seems considering the margin of error. The broader trends are still relevant - the New Democrats doing historically well, Wildrose polling just under its 2012 support but high enough to win a large number of seats, and the PCs in third. We will need some more polling, and particularly some polls done once the debate can sink in a little more (and perhaps fade from memory) to get a better idea of the precise state of the race.
But we shouldn't be too shocked at these results. The electorate is extremely volatile in Alberta, and for the last two weeks we have only heard from Mainstreet. Sooner or later, another voice was going to get involved and muddle things.
88 comments:
Alberta about to make the biggest mistake in its history if these polls are right. We're still reeling from what the NDP did here in NS.ReplyDeleteReplies
Dexter implemented centrist to right of centre fiscal policies to try to balance the budget. The Liberals are basically doing a shuffled version of that, and they're about to become just as unpopular.Delete
Every party that has been in power provincially has had a horrendous government somewhere. Grant Devine and Mike Harris destroyed their provinces.
Otoh independent economic organisations have consistently rated NDP provincial governments, overall, the best fiscal managers of the three.
What are you talking about? Dexter's NDP government was the first in Nova Scotia in a generation to balance the budget.Delete
Not the same people. Dexter was always centre-right.Delete
Right, because the liberals and conservatives in NS have done so much better.Delete
Your attitude is hypocritical at best, condemning an entire party for the actions of one government is stupid. By your logic once a party is voted out of power they never should be voted for again.
With that attitude no party in should ever be elected.
All politics are local. The NDP are still in Alberta and won't go that far left. They understand that easily, and Notley's platform looks a lot like Lauheed's and Bill Davis's first term. No doubt the PC's need to lose for the province's and their own good, and Mr. Jean looked terrible in leadership debate and not ready to lead. I think an NDP win would be good to shake up Alberta, and certainly would bring Canada closer together. And I say that as a tradition PC voter.Delete
- Anonymous24 April, 2015 23:06
I beg to differ; the NDP varies dramatically by province; in Saskatchewan they took over after the Grant Devine government imploded (with 7 of its cabinet members ending up in jail!) and balanced the budget.Delete
The PCs squandered Alberta's wealth during the province's long period of prosperity.Delete
I'm sure four years of a center-left NDP government will not be the biggest mistake in Alberta.
Give me a break.Delete
The biggest mistake in AB history would be to kick out the party which has been in power for close to half a century and who has saved virtually zero dollars after decades of pumping oil?Delete
The AB NDP are also just that, an "Alberta" style of NDP. They're no Marxists. Under Notley, a two-income household would stay at the lowest provincial income tax bracket up to a salary of $125,000 per person, potentially a quarter million dollars per household, before being bumped up to the next highest rate above 10%. So "socialist" or "communist" (choose your favourite descriptor) of them.
Imagine - they might even do something as crazy as increasing royalty rates from their now rock-bottom levels (compared to global royalty levels) or even introduce some environmental protections! The nerve!
But wait - all taxes are bad - all of them - vote WR!
Compared to what the liberals are doing now? I'd take Dexter back in a heartbeatDelete
Dr. Hamm's and Rodney MacDonald's government balanced the budget in 2001 and kept the province in the black for 9 years only to fall back into deficit 4/5 years the NDP was in power.Delete
You do know there was a world wide recession...Delete
Context = Important
Times weren't easy when Hamm and MacDonald were premier but, they made tough decisions to balance the books, even while transfer payments were declining because of Chretien and Martin. Dexter and Steele simply didn't have a commitment to balance the books-there's nothing wrong with that-it's a choice.Delete
I know and worked with Darrell Dexter and I am pretty sure he would not describe himself as "centre-right".
This is why you consider my writing authoritative but, your own writing is not!
I'm not interested in how Dexter would (inevitably self-servingly) describe himself. Tony Blair wouldn't describe himself as right-wing either, much evidence to the contrary. Public figures' self-descriptions are the least reliable sources for political analysis.Delete
Your writing is more ideological than analytical.
You certainly cared when I described you as a New Democrat! You are intellectually inconsistent and have no right to describe Mr. Dexter, whom you do not know, as "centre-right", if you would not want others to ascribe political leanings to you!Delete
I don't actually believe you knew Dexter, but again, it doesn't matter. I can judge Dexter's politics by his actions (far more important than his statements).Delete
Also as a side note, I think it is a huge mistake for so many mainstream polling organisations to be sitting out this election instead of pouring out the polls, experimenting with their methodologies, and trying to prepare and improve the for the general election in fall.ReplyDelete
With the new aggregate, my simulators (modified/original) give:ReplyDelete
Interesting to note that the WR still wins the election in my model, even if they are trailing in voting intentions. The less populous rural ridings is giving them the advantage here.
For the two polls, using only my modified model, the results are (Forum/Mainstreet):
That is one huge difference! One has the NDP with a solid majority, the other has a slim WR majority. Give it to Alberta to have a majority government! The PC, one way or the other, seems to be out of the running.
Hey Eric, are the riding-specific polls from Abingdon Research eligible for inclusion?ReplyDelete
I'll never count the PCs out. The ground game for both the NDP and Wildrose simply isn't there in enough places.ReplyDeleteReplies
The ground game won the 2012 election for the PCs and the lack of one cost WR victory. At this point one wonders if their ground game will be enough?Delete
Several things should be considered with this poll:ReplyDelete
First, this poll may be an outlier (especially in Edmonton, where the sample size is so low, only 736 surveyed). So these numbers are not exactly reliable.
Second, the seating projection can change wildly with these results. The biggest problem is the number of seats which are too close to call (they can go any way, especially Calgary). PC seat spread is 42, Wildrose is 39 and NDP is 33. This means the actual results are extremely unpredictable.
Third, these polls may cause the the right to rally behind one party (either Wildrose or PC). I doubt whether Albertans are prepared to accept NDP government.
I still think this is a massive joke/trolling by Alberta voters. Tell pollsters NDP or WR are going to win for their headlines, might all switch to Liberal in last few days to really throw them off. PC's are going to win a sizable majority. I say this as a life long NDP voter.ReplyDelete
The real wildcard here is Nenshi. If the NDP can win big in Calgary, they can easily form a majority government. No doubt an NDP government would be very good for Nenshi and Calgary, and would free up a lot of much needed funds for him and the city. At the same time, it would political suicide for Nenshi to come right out and support the NDP right now. He would make a lot of unnecessary enemies from both moderate PC's and Liberals of all stripes that could come back to haunt him in the future. Look for him to do exactly what he did last night. Though his tweet seemed to go after all candidates, it really made Mr. Jean look bad, without at all going directly at him. Look for lots of indirect posts like that going after the PC's and Wildrose, while not coming right out and supporting Notley. This will endear him greatly to left of centre Liberals and position him perfectly if Mr. Trudeau falters in the next election.ReplyDelete
At this point it appears pretty clear that, barring some terrible gaffe, the NDP will carry a huge chunk of the vote. And whether or not it actually happens, the perception is what's really important: the sense from the post-debate polls and punditry that an NDP victory is possible and perhaps even imminent. But as a result, fear of vote-splitting is likely to lead voters on the centre-right to coalesce on a single choice, such that the NDP's strength, rather than benefiting themselves, instead pushes us to a question of which of Prentice and Jean can make the better case as the alternative. These are majority government stakes, I wager, because there'll be a huge positive feedback effect for whoever starts to pull away and because the NDP vote is just so darn inefficient.ReplyDelete
From his behaviour in the debate, and his comments after, it's clear that Prentice knows this. He's completely sidelining Jean, trying to use his incumbency to make himself the natural choice for the centre-right. As some commenters here predicted, the end result is the inverse of 2012, a ploy in the same spirit as the rallying cry of "Stop Danielle!". When I first read comments suggesting this possibility, I dismissed them, saying "Nah, won't work, because everyone knows that the NDP can't actually win." No longer.
That's the brilliance of Prentice's debate strategy. He's gotten a lot of flak for focusing exclusively on Notley, with many saying that it made it her seem that much more legitimate. It did, but it's a Trojan Horse: by setting Notley up as a feasible bogeyman, Prentice has refound his lost path to a majority government. As such, it comes down to whether Jean can prevent a Wildrose exodus. As someone who thinks that 44 years is long enough, thank you, I very much hope that he can. But neither his debate performance nor these initial polls are as promising as I would like, and Prentice has proven himself quite clever. So.
I think one has to go with the Mainstreet poll over Forum-the sheer difference in sample size makes me think Forum's may be a rogue poll. MoE may explain a good deal of the divergence but, I think 25% at this point for WR is far too low and well outside what other polls have shown us.ReplyDelete
Anything could happen in this election but, for my money I'll bet on a Wildrose majority!
10 days to go and it's still anybody's game. Hopefully this close race spurs a higher voter turnout as Alberta provincial politics is notorious for its low turnout. The competitive Alberta elections of 1993 and 2012 resulted in a higher than average turnout than the other elections where the election result was a foregone conclusion.ReplyDelete
What's unusual is that despite the Wildrose generally leading, nobody is taking Brian Jean seriously. The media nor the PCs/NDP are attempting to dissect the Wildrose platform. It's as if the Wildrose is polling a distant third.
Another interesting tidbit is that the Forum poll shows 38% of former PC voters are supporting the NDP while only 18% are supporting Wildrose. This shows why Prentice decided to focus on Notley rather than Jean during the debate.Replies
Your last point is absolutely essential. Only people with a vested political interest have avoided mentioning it.Delete
Very fair point.Delete
Re: the 18/38 thing. It's unclear to me where those numbers come from but if it's "voted PC in 2012" then it makes perfect sense. Because most of the 2012 PC vote came from people who are more comfortable voting further left, but felt very threatened by the Wildrose. But they pretty much blew their shot at getting those votes again by little different from a WRP government.
Maybe the PCs could find a way to re-stoke that fear to get those voters back, but as long as they're polling third, it's pretty hard to market themselves as the defensive vote to either side of the spectrum.
Here's what I find really interesting: if the NDP do not win a majority, it seems far likelier that Wildrose and PC would be able to form a larger minority than NDP/Libs with the Libs virtually out of contention. So we are really balancing on the edge of seeing the election of an NDP majority, or a minority led by Wildrose. The dynamics of a Wildrose/PC minority are not at all clear, and it would be a tough thing to swallow for the PCs... and maybe for the Wildrose. Should be fascinating either way, and to those who seem to fear that electing NDP is the same thing as electing Lenin... well.ReplyDelete
I think the vote distribution will tell he tale. The Wildrose is strongest in central & southern rural Alberta, including in the smaller cities like Red Deer; they less dominant in northern rural, where the PCs have had a lock for generations. The NDP are becoming dominant in Edmonton, and Calgary seems to be in flux. The NDP also has opportunities in a couple of smaller centres, like Lethbridge.ReplyDelete
So we could see a highly regionalized, minority legislature after May 5th. How a stable government emerges from that will be something to see. I have my doubts.
What kind of polling is there for the area known as "The rest of Alberta"?ReplyDelete
Hi, Eric. Here's something to another poll I found today to add to your calculations:ReplyDelete
Wow, where the heck did that poll come from? Not one media outlet has picked it up, even though it confirms Forum's poll of an NDP lead, and is much more thorough. It at least gets rid of the dreaded "rest of Alberta" moniker and divides the North and the South, with the NDP surprisingly surging in the south.Delete
It's another survey that confirms that Notley was way ahead of Prentice before the debate, yet so many still expect the PC's to win.
What will be interesting is how the debate effects the numbers. Notley was already so far ahead, and ahead of any ceiling predicted, so how high is her max now? Will many Reformers change their vote from Wildrose to PC after Mr. Jean's debate performance, and to keep the NDP out? Or will they strategically vote which actually could guarantee the NDP can't get a majority.
The big question: Why is a survey this big and this comprehensive being totally ignored by the media, when it's coming from a reputable polling company?
11matt11, why do you think this to be a reputable polling company? I had not heard of them before just recently, and their website has almost no information. I have sent them an email asking about them but have yet to receive anything.Delete
Eric, I too agree the veracity of this poll and m.o. of this polling organization need more investigation.Delete
Until then, I will treat Mainstreet Technologies with caution and their poll results as an outlier.
Keep up the good work.Cheers.
Mainstreet is not the firm I was referring to, but rather Pantheon.Delete
They've done polling for the City of Calgary... I know that doesn't impart reputability, but it can't hurt.
The interesting thing about the Forum and Pantheon polls (if we take the latter seriously: it claims to be a formed-this-year Calgary based organization but has a barely existent website at pantheonresearch.ca) is that they get basically the same results as the 1ABvote people. Pantheon may be a sock puppet, 1ABvote is explicitly a campaign, but Forum is (whatever criticisms anyone may have) well established. That they're showing common results suggests those results are available to be found. Which doesn't make them "the truth", much less how things will pan out in the election, but it does make them interesting!ReplyDelete
On Pantheon Research, pantheonresearch.ca and pantheondata.ca go to the same placeholder landing page. But the site to look at is http://justinbumstead.ca. Apparently a recent geography graduate from U of C, @jbumstead87 is actually a real person and carrying on an extensive twitter conversations with @quito_maggi (Mainstreet). FYI.ReplyDelete
This is fun to watch. The impossible might just happen and we'll see an NDP government in Alberta. Still a long ways to go but this is a lot of fun to watch from Ontario where we had the same thing happen but out of the blue in 1990 - I don't recall anyone saying the NDP might actually win it that year. Wonder what will happen if the NDP has the most seats in a minority situation - would the PC's and Wildrose work together to run the province and totally mess up Harper's arguments come the fall should he get the most seats and the Libs & NDP work together. That would be fun.ReplyDeleteReplies
Prentice will have the opportunity to meet the House unless he resigns. So, a PC-WR working arrangement is possible.Delete
Harper will also have the opportunity to meet the House in the Autumn. The reason why the coalition was unconstitutional in 2008 was because the Government was not defeated on a confidence motion and had won a vote on the Throne Speech demonstrating Harper had the confidence of the House and hence the right to advise on the use of the Royal Prerogatives.
Layton, Dion and Duceppe, wanted nothing less than to re-write the rules of responsible government so that a ministry could be appointed without; 1. defeating the Government on a confidence motion, 2. without winning a vote demonstrating they held the confidence of the House, 3, Against the standard advice of the Lascelles principles that a request for a dissolution could be ignored if a general election would damage the national economy, The parliament was viable and a PM could be found who is able to govern for a reasonable period.
In the case of the coalition Dion had already resigned as Liberal leader and could not be expected to govern for a reasonable period; a general election would do far less damage to the economy than a Government propped up by the BQ; Therefore, the Parliament was not viable since, the NDP and Liberals did not even control a plurality of seats nor could they rely on the BQ in any meaningful sense to pass their legislation.
THE 2008 COALITION WAS NOT IN ANYWAY UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!!Delete
How many times does this have to be said before you right-wing propagandist stop using that canard. You are completely misrepresenting events and facts to suit your right-wing agenda, and you twisting of how our government works is insulting.
Once again;
the 2008 coalition, was not, is not and never will be unconstitutional and you can ask Opposition Leader Harper since he was ok with it had the NDP been ok with forming one with him against Martin.
It's true that the 2008 coalition had not yet defeated the government in the house, but they were clearly planning to. They said as much.Delete
They just didn't get the chance because of prorogation. That prorogation worked shows clearly that the coalition wasn't doing anything unconstitutional.
It was a bit cheap that they voted for the throne speech, and then decided to defeat the government on its budget which conformed almost exactly to the throne speech. The only substantive difference was the elimination of the per-vote subsidy - if that's what they were defeating, they should have been open about that.
The way Layton and Brian Topp thought they could go about and become government was unconstitutional, illegal and borders on treachery. They gave the Governor general unconstitutional advice, that if followed, would have damaged the monarchy, Parliament and democracy in Canada itself (responsible government)! The fact the advice was not followed demonstrates it was improper!
Layton, Dion and Duceppe advocated the appointment of a coalition government that had not defeated the Government on a confidence motion-such an act would have been unconstitutional! They then proposed the installation of a coalition government that had not won a confidence motion demonstrating they held the confidence of the House or won election-such an appointment would have been unconstitutional! They proposed the Governor General dismiss the prime minister who had recently won a confidence motion-the Throne Speech! Without just cause the Governor General's action in such regards would have appeared to be unconstitutional even if technically they were legal.
As Ira mentions, the cabal was planning to defeat the Government, but, planning and doing are two separate things. The Crown can not act on plans they must see results. Responsible government is the convention that the Government is held accountable to the House through the mechanism of votes! So a vote is absolutely essential in order to change the Government. That prorogation worked clearly shows that Harper held the confidence of the House and the Crown since, he had not yet been defeated. It also demonstrates that a change-over of ministries can not be accomplished without a vote of confidence- something the cabal, had not achieved.
Coalitions in and of themselves are not unconstitutional, however, they way in which Layton, Topp, Dion and Duceppe tried to become Government without first defeating the Government on a confidence motion by providing unsolicited and improper advice to the Crown was an unconstitutional attempt to become Government-one that if followed would have re-written the convention and rules of responsible government, damaged the Monarchy and made Parliament irrelevant.
New democrats should be ashamed and really should ask for blood because of Topp's poor planning. If they had kept their mouths shut they may have pulled it off but, Layton couldn't keep a secret and started crowing about how smart he was. That gave Harper the time and opportunity to use the Royal Prerogative and shows that Dippers can't be trusted with state secrets.
The Harper 2004 coalition with Layton was constitutional since, it presumed Martin would first be defeated on a confidence motion in the Commons. That's the difference: Dion, Layton and Duceppe wasnted to be appointed Government without first defeating the Government-Harper understood how government formation, the Constitution and responsible government work and acknowledged the Government must first be defeated on a confidence motion. Layton wanted nothing less than to usurp the Constitution for his own egomaniaical means.Delete
You've used this line before, it's as false now as ever and you know it.
The manner in which the coalition was formed and would have been implemented are 100% legal and justifiable. There is no argument or speculation to the contrary, this is fact.
The notion that the coalition partners were planning to harm our government institution, conventions, constitution or the monarchy is complete lunacy. They announced their intention to form a coalition and defeat the government at the next opportunity. Parliament was prorogued without need by the government to save itself, that is the only legally gray area.
If the partners are guilty of anything it was not acting fast enough and going to the GG with their intention right after the presser, thus stopping the Tories from closing down parliament.
A lot of debating stuff that was done 6 years ago. The Libs/NDP/BQ could've taken Harper down easily had they just had patience. Make an agreement then wait until Harper finally runs out of tricks and vote him out. Dion though was a disaster - and his party refused to act professionally as I figure the 2 groups who felt they should've been running things (Ignatieff & Rae) I suspect were doing whatever they could to mess things up figuring they'd get their shot in a year or two. Very dumb, and short sighted. The biggest issue for destroying Canadians confidence in our system was Harpers prorogation as it was obvious he was just trying to hold power as long as possible hoping the other 3 would blow it like they did.Delete
This election will be interesting - to see if Harper doesn't get a majority, how he reacts should the Libs/NDP/Greens appear ready to boot him out.
Think about it DCMOJY,Delete
If the advice Layton gave was proper and constitutional why did Michaelle Jean, appointed by a Liberal and whose political beliefs and opinions as far as the common man or woman can tell lean to the left, not follow constitutional, legal and proper advice from Dion and Layton?
The answer that is painfully obvious is the advice had major constitutional flaws.
Don't Count Me Out Just Yet,Delete
I am very sorry you don't understand how our constitution works! If you try and become government without a vote in the Commons whereby the sitting Government is defeated your methods are unconstitutional and illegal! Dion and Layton should and probably did know better but, Jack was power hungry and I suppose so was Dion. Sad really because it means both are not true democrats.
Your second paragraph is complete falsehood; the coalition was not formed so it could not have been "100% legal". The fact Her Excellency felt harper's advice was correct helps demonstrates that the Crown had reservations about the cabal of Layton, Duceppe and Dion.
The fact is had the GG acquiesced to unsolicited and improper advice by Layton the effect would have hurt the Monarchy, because such action would have been seen as illegitimate by many Canadians, hurt Parliament because it means the Crown-without the approval of the House of Commons may appoint a Ministry and by doing so change the convention of responsible government since, the Crown approves the Government unilaterally.
You need to read the letter Mr. Dion, Layton and Duceppe sent to Her Excellency, it does not mention they would defeat the Conservatives at "the next opportunity" it states Mr. Dion holds the confidence of the Commons which was, at the time of writing, untrue and unproven since, no vote had taken place.
Therefore, what Mr. Dion advised was not only untruthful but, unconstitutional since, his proposal would have meant the Crown would have unilaterally dismissed a sitting PM who held the confidence of the House, through the passage of the Throne Speech and had not yet lost a vote. Furthermore, it would have imposed a ministry that was neither elected by the people nor had won a confidence motion-such actions are a complete rebuke of the convention of responsible government! The Crown has not taken such action since the mid-1840's. You call yourself a "New Democrat" instead of what you really are a; "New Absolute Monarchist"!
Such rhetoric doesn't alter the Constutition Acts. From Section 12, "with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of or in conjunction with the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, or any Members thereof, or by the Governor General individually", the GG can act alone or on advice from Members of the Privy Council. Furthermore, while customary to first defeat a sitting government in a vote of confidence, it is not explicitly stated in our Constitution Acts.Delete
I would imagine that most posters on this site would agree that this Alberta election is definitely a STOP someone vote.
From the get-go, it seemed that Prentice had been too clever by half in welcoming Danielle and Company into the PC fold. I thought the PCs would likely lose power because of that.
But now, with the NDP running ahead of the other parties -- that strikes me as a blessing for the PC Machine. The emphasis could very well shift from stopping Prentice to blocking Notley from forming a government.
Under such scenario, soft supporters of Wildrose might shift back to Prentice rather than vice-versa, to keep the NDP out of government.
I would call it a potential Prentice redemption and it might just win the day once the smoke clears.Replies
Well that's an interesting opinion but there's no evidence to show that the Albertans are Voting to stop someone. While it's true Mr. Prentice has so far fumbled the election, it's been Smith and Co. who paid the price with their political careers.Delete
As for the people shifting they votes to stop the NDP or WR voters moving to the PC there's nothing that shows that. Fact is the NDP has been running high in the polls the whole election since day one and only getting stronger day by day and poll by poll. If people were going to switch we would see it already but the trend line it rising for the NDP and falling for the right-wing parties.
Now knowing Alberta, it's entirely possible the there could be a major vote shift a la 2012 but well have to see on election day if the polls continue to show the NDP on the rise.
Other then that what you're suggesting is wishful thinking not represented in the polls.
There is a "STOP someone vote" happening, and its going to the NDP at the expense (primarily) of the PCs. With, as Forum found, 38% of past PC voters now supporting the NDP and, remarkably, 12% of past WR voters also now supporting the NDP. Those people who most fear the NDP getting into power are already in the PC and Wildrose camps, but the movement has been going in the other direction.Delete
Well, I am an example of a "conservative" and PCAA member who is voting NDP this time. My vote is not an anti-Prentice or pro-Notley vote. No, my vote is a straight-out vote to get rid of Mandel, who I detest as a politician. Further, it is my opinion that voting NDP in Edmonton is most likely a vote for a Rosie government since it will deny PCs seats. I have no problem with that. In fact, even the unlikely possibility that the NDP forms a government doesn't really phase me. The income tax proposal of the NDP is only marginally more taxing to me than the PCs (with the healthcare premium factored in ... and I am a 1%-er). Moreover, I agree that if personal income tax rates must go up, so should corporate tax rates. Shared shouldering of the solution requires no less! (By the way my preferred solution to the revenue stabilization issue is to keep the income tax rate flat and to introduce a 5% PST harmonized with the GST.) The bottom line is that the reality of the modern democratic capitalist state in a globally interconnected economy within the contest of export dependent province with its need for large foreign investment capital will inevitably force any NDP government to restrain its more exuberant tendencies in any event.Delete
Prentice only becomes a reasonable option to help stop one side or the other if Albertans don't believe the polls, of if they're trying to stop both the NDP and Wildrose.Delete
The latter appears impossible given the polls.
The former should appear absurd to the voters, given the polls. However, the polls themselves suggest that Albertans don't trust the polls, so that might just work.
Random aside: I was polled on the Alberta Election yesterday by ROI. Fairly simple poll (didn't ask me for much in the way of demographic info (age/sex/income etc. etc.) just if I rented or owned... other then that just the standard Voting Intention, Issue Importance, Leader impressions, and Prior Voting.ReplyDelete
It's worth noting that when it comes to fundraising, the NDP is second behind the Progressive Conservatives. Furthermore, the bulk of donations to the PCs is corporate (80% of donations above $250), while donations to the NDP are overwhlemingly from individuals.ReplyDelete
So if the NDP wins and wants to screw over the PC's they'll pull a Harper and change the fundraising rules ASAP. No more corporate/union donations only from individuals with a low cap.Delete
Of course, that requires the NDP to win first. Wonder how it will affect things if the NDP gets a majority purely on Edmonton/Calgary - is that possible?
A majority of 44 seats would require winning every single one in Edmonton and Calgary. So it's a possible-but-unlikely result, particularly since they haven't picked up a seat in Calgary at all since the '80s. Add in the two from Lethbridge and 2 more from Red Deer, and an all-urban majority becomes a little more likely, but would still be a shocking outcome.Delete
In a realistic result, to win a majority the NDP would have an urban-focused power, but still pick up a few rural seats.
WR would also benefit from those campaign finance restrictions. I would expect any outcome other than a PC majority to result in prompt campaign finance reforms.Delete
John, it was Chrétien Liberals who outlawed corporate funding at the federal level, shooting themselves in the foot.Delete
Shooting Martin in the foot, presumably intentionally.Delete
In the 1990s, when I worked for the Reform Party, the big advantage the Liberals and PCs has was that they got mountains of corporate cash. We tracked it, donor by donor. Generally speaking, big corporations would give equivalent donations to each. So, if a bank gave the Liberals $20,000, they'd also give the Tories $20,000. They were currying favour.
Campaign finance reform dramatically improved the Canadian political landscape, and prevented us from forever being locked into the same two parties (the way the Americans are).
Yes Yannick and a giant step forward towards real democracy. Sadly removed at a later date !!Delete
It wasn't removed. The restrictions still exist. Corporate and union donations are still prohibited, and individual donations are capped annually.Delete
The change Harper did was making it a lower limit and tighter rules iirc. He did it during a Liberal Leadership contest affecting how they could raise money then blasted them after for not raising enough to pay their bills. Sneaky but effective.Delete
The per vote subsidy was the fairest - all the parties had to do was get votes and what else do we want them to do? I'd have like an inbetween election addition though - on your income tax you'd be able to pick a party and have your $2 directed to that party. Thus they need to keep earning voters favour between elections or go broke.
I didn't like the per-vote subsidy. All that did was create a disadvantage for new parties.Delete
Elections are not productive activity. We should want less resources spent on them, not more.
Ira, I have to disagree about the per-vote subsidy. New parties don't have the advantage of the Conservatives and Liberals (and to a far lesser degree, the NDP) of receiving funds from corporate (or union) and wealthy individual donors. The per-vote subsidy was a way to comparatively level the playing field and put the emphasis back on political ideas and platforms rather than contacts and big money.Delete
Oh, and of course, the federal Conservatives have been using an awful lot of taxpayers' money to promote their cause - another thing the per-vote subsidy could have mitigated.Delete
That's why the prohibition of corporate and union donations, and the per-individual limit is important.Delete
A wealthy donor cannot give the CPC $10,000. It's not permitted.
Ira, the question of if elections are productive activity is two-fold. First, they are productive in change that depending on what side of the debate you are alternatives between good and bad. Second, they are a form of accountability. Quality Control isn't a productive activity in and of itself, but it does lead to higher productivity on the whole.Delete
So we should have them, and regularly, but we should do so as efficiently as possible.Delete
I completely agree, but the devil is in the details. I personally would like to see online voting that combined CRA-style login identification with Bitcoin blockchain verification. There are three main problems with online voting: user-interface security, data security in-transit and in-repository, and voter impersonation.Delete
If anyone wants a quick laugh, take a look at the 1abvote poll which shows the NDP leading by 24 points.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yeah, thats laughable. Even more laughable is in their summery they state (in reference to the NDP) "we can estimate that they are currently 6 to 10 seats behind the PCs"... okey so your "poll" say that the NDP lead 24 points overall (and by varying amounts in every region of the province) but their still behind the Tories?... riiiight. Does not compute.Delete
I think they're ahead right now overall but not nearly by that margin and not in every area of the province.
Personally, out of 50 or so people in Calgary I know who voted PC in the last election, not one single one is voting PC this time. Some used to knock on doors for the PCs no less. There's something huge brewing here, and those who are outside the PC camp know it, even if they haven't chosen a party yet. I think the 1abvote analysis is just very odd, but a 15 - 20 point lead or so for the NDP could very easily be the case at this point. But as we learned from the last election, 6 days is long time to go before election day. I just don't see what Prentice can do, because most people have made up their mind about him, bad or good, so anything he says will be seen through those opinionated glasses.Delete
the site is a joke. i checked out the 'take the survey' link and when given options of who to vote for, the PCs weren't even listed.Delete
then they ask for contact info so they can remind you to vote on e-day. so essentially it's a get out the vote operation for the NDP posing as a source of polling data.
Well the only sure thing I can say is; however E-day turns out there's going to be a lot of crow on the menu if the comments here are any indication.Delete
you misunderstand the point of the site. It is meant to unify the opposition in each riding to turf out the PC. Hence no option to select PC.Delete
Perhaps so but, that makes Bryan's comment correct: "essentially it's a get out the vote operation for the NDP posing as a source of polling data".
Before the election season heated up, wasn't it WR that was expected to be the main opposition to the PC outside Edmonton? They explicitly say it's an anti-PC site, so I'm not sure why the NDP would get blamed for "posing".Delete
Eric, did you see the 1abvote poll\? What do you think of it? I've never heard of "neighbour" voting pattern. Is this a common statistical method?ReplyDelete
Jim Prentice "Having spoken to Albertans, I've become convinced that I should have stuck with the fixed election period, so, I'm cancelling this election."ReplyDelete
(OK, he didn't actually say that)
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I laughed out loud when I read Vaughn Palmer's joke with Shirley Bond about career choices.
The cabinet minister was explaining the governing Liberals' plan for higher education, which would involve socially engineering our world class universities — three make the top 500 list and one, UBC, ranks 40th — to make them better farm teams for business.
The plan would serve the same lazy industries that protest taxes, high wages and skills shortages, but which expect taxpayers to foot the bill for training their future employees.
"I was thinking of shifting to a career with a future and becoming a welder," Palmer quipped.
Bond, apparently oblivious to the irony that studying those soft, useless humanities had actually prepared both Palmer and herself for two of the more interesting jobs to be obtained, bit with the gusto of a great northern pike.
"They make $58 an hour," said the cabinet minister. "Maybe I should give it a try, as well."
Um, looking at cabinet ministers' pay, Bond currently earns about $80 an hour — not to mention all those additional perks in the form of tax free indemnities, car allowances and pension plans — which considering the dexterity the job demands seems fair.
And, if I recall, her educational preparation involved studying arts and sciences at the College of New Caledonia and the University of Northern B.C.
MLAs wrestle with the meatball argument that too many kids study useless frills like literature, history, writing, drama, law or geography while not enough study job-ticket necessities like engineering, medicine or skilled trades and so on.
But wait, first year enrolment in medical schools has increased dramatically. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the supply of physicians is now growing three times faster than the Canadian population — in rural Canada it's five times faster.
And as for engineering, here's the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers from last year: "Research is showing us that, over the past two decades, our economy has not been generating enough engineering jobs to absorb the supply of new graduates."
Not only that, the engineers say: "According to Statistics Canada, nearly two out of three people who hold engineering degrees in Ontario no longer work in 'traditional' engineering jobs."
Perhaps those studies emphasizing communication skills, critical and lateral thinking, pattern analysis and contextualization — the skills that make people adaptable — aren't so useless after all.
Meanwhile, a quick scan of educational credentials listed by our MLAs shows that the preponderance of our fretful leaders prepared for their highly successful careers studying, ahem, the arts and humanities.
Some didn't think educational credentials worth listing in official biographies, but of the many that did, the majority by a large margin studied the arts.
The legislature is adorned with historians, literature scholars, students of religion, geographers, journalism grads, educators, modern languages students, musicians, sociologists, political scientists and a student of traditional Japanese ink painting.
Premier Christy Clark studied religion and political science. Soon-to-be-opposition leader John Horgan earned both graduate and undergraduate arts degrees. The irascible Bill Bennett, that pragmatic redneck voice of the Interior, has an honours BA in English. Nicholas Simon plays the cello at a high level.
Well, that tells us as much as we need to know about the hypocrisy of this scheme by which it is proposed to divert universities' arts and humanities funding in order to steer them in the direction of specialized trade marts for lazy business.
In 2007, a study of why Canada suffers a steady erosion of global competitiveness discovered that it's not because kids study subjects at university like Greek drama instead of robotics, it's because of the abysmal job business does in training employees in the skills specific to their industries — increasingly a necessity for engineers, too.
Four out of 10 Canadians presently working don't have the requisite skills for the emerging knowledge economy, the study found, but investments by employers in essential skills training accounts for only 2.2 per cent of all training spending.
Yet the value of the investment is a no brainer. The payback for industry-specific in-job training is immediate. For every five-per-cent increase in the number of workers trained on the job, the increase in productivity is four per cent.
In Canada, fewer than 30 per cent of employed adult workers get job-related education. In the U.S. — not exactly leader of the pack compared to the Swiss, Germans and Australians — it's 45 per cent. American firms spend 50 per cent more on training per employee than Canadians do.
The B.C. government plan seems driven by lousy information, misapprehensions and stereotypes. Why the assumption that somebody who wants to be a welder is disinterested in history or art? Remember, for example, that our public library system was built by blue collar workers who liked reading but couldn't afford leather bound books with gilt-edged pages.
What's most troubling is the stench of anti-intellectual prejudice that wafts from the policy.
As for Bond, she'd probably make a fine welder — and her education has left her adaptable enough to take it on — if she doesn't mind the pay cut.

subset: commoncrawl


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Eyefi unveils new cloud serviceEyefi has just announced a useful new service that allows you to instantly share your photos across various devices (PC, smartphone, tablet, or even a smart TV), with their new Eyefi Cloud. This is made possible with their newer Eyefi Mobi wireless SD cards, which will instantly start the upload process once you've captured an image. Once on the cloud, you can instantly view your photos from any compatible device, with free apps for both iOS and Android platforms.
To learn more, check out Eyefi's official press release below.
Eyefi Connects Digital Cameras to the Power of the Cloud
Newly captured photos now instantly available on smartphone, tablet, PC or smart TV
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 17, 2014 - Eyefi (www.eyefi.com), the global leader in digital camera connectivity, today unveiled Eyefi Cloud, a private photo-centric cloud service that makes newly captured photos instantly available on a smartphone, tablet, PC or smart TV. Eyefi Cloud was designed for photo enthusiasts who require the superior image quality provided by digital cameras but are frustrated with the time-consuming processes required to enjoy those photos on multiple devices. Eyefi Cloud, along with the Eyefi Mobi wireless SD card and Eyefi Mobi apps, makes every picture taken organized and instantly accessible, anytime anywhere--to enjoy, curate and share securely and privately.
In June 2013, Eyefi pioneered simple, instant image transfer from digital cameras to mobile devices with the launch of Eyefi Mobi wireless SD memory card. Now Eyefi adds a new cloud service, Eyefi Cloud, as well as all new mobile apps for iOS and Android based smartphones and tablets. When used together, Eyefi's product line-up combines camera quality and mobile convenience with the power of the cloud for the over 500 million digital camera owners throughout the world. Until now, digital camera owners had to manually transfer photos to see them on their smartphone or tablet. With Eyefi, the highest quality images are as accessible as photos captured using a smartphone and can be shared and enjoyed on the preferred viewing device.
"Photo lovers know that life's most important moments should be captured using a digital camera but it's difficult to access those shots until long after the images are taken," said Matt DiMaria, chief executive officer of Eyefi. "Eyefi Cloud makes those highest-quality shots available within seconds of them being captured, so photographers can immediately enjoy quality images on the beautiful displays of their smartphone, tablet, PC or smart TV."
The Eyefi Mobi SD memory card begins the image transfer process within milliseconds of a photo being captured on a digital camera. Images are automatically and securely transferred to Eyefi's new mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Eyefi apps intelligently organize and transfer the images, in full-resolution, to Eyefi Cloud. Now, any device with the Eyefi apps or with a browser-enabled device can be used to view, share and manage the entire photo collection.
The new Eyefi offerings include a full range of photo related services including:
· Transfer - Add wireless functionality to any digital camera, and easily send images from camera to mobile device or desktop.
· Organize - Sort and tag images as they are taken, so they are easy to find later - for sharing, printing, and all the other wonderful ways photos are used.
· Sync - Automatically synchronize photos to all devices so that users can view, edit, and manipulate photos both on and offline, anytime, anywhere.
· Share - Invite friends and family to view photos and albums without requiring registration. Photo collections are "live", so any additions to an existing collection will generate a notice to recipients that new images have been added.
For photographers with multiple cameras, Eyefi Cloud automatically merges their photos into a single, well-organized collection where they can be enjoyed together and further curated. The entire collection is then available on all the user's devices.
For customers that do not wish to transfer images over the Internet, Eyefi also introduced Eyefi Desktop Transfer apps for the PC and Mac platforms. Eyefi Desktop transfer sends images directly from a digital camera equipped with Eyefi Mobi SD memory card to a PC or Mac without the need for a physical cable. Transferred images are stored on the user's PC or Mac in a file location of their choice where they can be enjoyed, edited or archived.
Along with Eyefi Cloud, the company today unveils a new logo, aligned to the sleek simplicity of its products.
Eyefi Mobi wireless SD memory card pricing begins at $49 for the 8GB edition. Customers will find the new Eyefi Mobi apps in the Apple app store, Google Play app store and Amazon Kindle app store. Included with the new apps, is a three-month membership to the Eyefi Cloud once they activate a new account. Existing Eyefi Mobi card customers can simply download the new apps and will also receive a three-month membership. Twelve-month memberships start at $49 for an unlimited number of photos. Find out more at www.eyefi.com.
About Eyefi
At Eyefi we are passionate about photography. We build products and services that help photographers experience the beauty and clarity of life's moments anytime, anywhere. We are dedicated to creating products and services that enable consumers to enjoy a secure, magical experience beginning the moment they take a picture and extending to anywhere they wish those images to go. Our pioneering, patented, technology and products provide the only way to get high quality pictures from any digital camera to any Internet enabled display device, instantly. Eyefi products have transferred over 1 billion images from digital cameras to the Internet, mobile devices and PCs.
Eyefi's headquarters is in Mountain View, California and our products are available throughout the world. Our investors include NTT Docomo, Opus Capital, Shasta Ventures and TransLink Capital. Eyefi was founded in 2005.
For more information about eyefi, please visit www.eyefi.com.


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TV: The problem with being right
I've often thought that for science fiction and fantasy to go mainstream, especially on television, would just result in a lot of bad science fiction and fantasy. The new fall television season, which is dotted with series that loosely fall into the genres, has proven me right, I'm afraid.
The bleak rundown for SF&F fans goes like this:
- The Bionic Woman: This remake of a '70s-vintage spinoff is getting a lot of good buzz, largely because it's helmed by David Eick, 50% of the same team that turned another '70s cheesefest, Battlestar Galactica, into such a serious, classy drama that it once was possible to say the Emmys had unfairly snubbed it with a straight face. Unfortunately, The Bionic Woman substitutes flash for class and completely lacks the focus and sense of purpose that made Galactica so compelling.
The Bionic Woman is a mish-mash of elements that don't fit well together, like a powerful operative working for a secret organization bent on saving the world who has to be home early every evening for her baby sister. The shadowy agency pulling heroine Jaime Summers' strings is so all over the map that it's impossible to tell whether they're good guys or bad, government minions or mad scientists--they seem to be all and none of the above. Is the show about Jaime's problems with her bionics (there are multiple hints that the implants may drive her mad), her issues with her intolerably bratty little sister, saving the world through bionics, the tragic back-story of the previous bionic woman or...what?
Lead actress Michelle Ryan has all the necessary physical moves to pull off the obligatory weekly fight scenes, but her acting is marred by what looks like discomfort with her American accent (she's British). She frequently seems to pause while mouthing the unpersuasive dialogue, as if she's really having to think about the sounds coming out of her mouth. It's quite distracting, actually--I keep finding myself thinking "is there any reason Jaime absolutely had to be an American?"
Bottom line, Jaime is a lot less fun to watch than her apparent nemesis, another bionic woman previously thought to be dead (and I'm rather enjoying watching Katee Sackhoff chew some carpet). But that's kind of a telling point, isn't it? If Jaime were all that interesting, they wouldn't need a second bionic woman, would they? Unless you really can't get through the week without a chickfight, there's not much here. Grade: C-
- Chuck: A computer geek becomes a super spy when a huge repository of spy stuff gets downloaded into his head. The last time I had a problem with my computer, I had to take it to Geek Squad five times, and the tech who fixed it didn't realize he had--he was still telling me to send it back to the manufacturer. So I'm having trouble suspending disbelief for Chuck, which in any case makes the old Jake 2.0 look a lot better than it really was. At least that didn't require us to endure subplots about the woes of stereotypical low-wage workers in a big-box retail store. Seriously, anybody as smart as Chuck is supposed to be can figure out how to get a real job. Grade: D
- Journeyman: I confess I haven't been able to sit through a complete episode of this series about a guy who somehow gets transported back in time to change something in history. The character is just not half as entertaining as Quantum Leap's Sam Beckett, and individual plot lines are tame by comparison. The series devotes an enormous amount of time to bickering between the time traveler and his wife, who seems to be seriously cheesed off that his contact in the past is an old girlfriend. Grade: F
- Moonlight: First we had the vampire cop with a conscience (Forever Knight) and then the vampire detective with a soul (Angel). Now we have Mick St. John, another vampire detective who's motivated primarily by desire to watch over a young woman he saved as a child from another vampire. Pretty low stakes, and the writing suffers by comparison with its predecessors. The only good news is that Alex O'Loughlin is mighty easy on the eyes--but he's essentially wasted here. Call your agent, Alex. Grade: D
- Pushing Daisies: The most intriguing concept of the season features a protagonist with the miraculous ability to bring the dead back to life for 10 seconds--and only 10 seconds. I really wanted to like it, but it's rendered in such an annoying style it's essentially unwatchable. The producers of this show really should be forced to rewatch The Princess Bride over and over until they understand how to mix fantasy and comedy--and how to use a narrative voiceover--without letting the style become the story. Grade: D-
- Reaper: Sorry, but I need my weekly dose of House, so I haven't seen it. What was the CW thinking when it chose this timeslot? And it just sounds like Brimstone Lite. Grade: Incomplete
Notice the common thread? With the exception of Pushing Daisies, all these series are pale imitations of something else. That's what usually happens when you mix science fiction and/or fantasy with major broadcast networks. The way you get a series on a major broadcast network is by convincing a network exec that the series has a lot in common with something that already aired successfully on some other network. The few exceptions to that rule, like Heroes or Lost, strike me as accidents--I suspect the network exec who greenlighted them didn't get it. (And thank God for that.)
The best science fiction is all about originality. Even when science fiction borrows from itself, as in the case of Battlestar Galactica, it works best when it shifts the focus and takes off in a new direction. That just doesn't happen much with mainstream television, and personally, I think that if the big networks can't get it right, they should just not do it. They're wasting a lot of money and trying their viewers' patience.


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Started this discussion. Last reply by Sarah Rose Aug 24, 2012. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Hello fellow bloggers,I wanted to see if anyone is willing to do a weekly blog hop. My scores have gone up and in having the weekly blog hop it will not only help lower all of our Alexa scores, but…Continue
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Marcy Emero has not received any gifts yet
Hi Marcy,
Following you on twitter and your blog!
Here are my links if interested:
Blog: http://cmsfamilyblog.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Live-And-Look-Healthy/109257605793108
Twitter: https://twitter.com/organicngreen
Hi Marcy, just visted your blog. Hope you are still walking.
Hi Marcy,
Just subscribed to your blog via RSS and liked your FB page. I also commented on your weight loss post.
Don't be a stranger :-)
HI! I would love for you to stop by my blog and follow GFC. Going to check out your blog and give you a follow right now! Thanks
Hi. I'm Lisa I wanted to say Welcome :)
Your going to love the Mom Blogger's Club!
There are a ton of cool things here let me know if I can help at all :)
I write a blog called http://www. Mompreneur Mogul
It's a blog about my new daughter Matilda, our dogs, My Vegas life some cool blogging tips to help get followers and some awesome resources I've found along the way :) I love finding cools ways to do things for our blogs for free so I've found some great resources.
Soon I'll be hosting a super cool blog hop you can click subscribe via my blog to find out more under the GET FAMOUS I give away a free resource for blogging tips here- Just click the link below Quick & Powerful Tips To A Super Star Blog
If you don't know what a blog hop is you can click here for my tutorial it's really easy :)
It's a great way to find new followers and friends as well as get to know more of your fellow mom bloggers.
Be sure to leave a message let me know you visited you can find FB, Blog Frog ( I'll tell you about that too it's pretty cool and everything else via my site :)
Have a great day and enjoy this site!! I'm looking forward to learning more about you and your cool blog :)
Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you with anything :)
Hi there and welcome from The Girlz Korner in upstate New York where you'll find light, witty and rather entertaining articles on every topic imaginable from beauty, health, fashion, parenting, sex and everything else in between. So if you get a chance to kick back and exhale, if only for a brief moment, we'd love to have you. Hope you enjoy your stay :) http://www.thegirlzkorner.com
Hello, welcome to Mom Bloggers. This is a wonderful community where you can meet other interesting moms.
I am Nekky from Reflexions, a fun loving mom of two who like to meet people, make friends and share opinions. I have some weekly blog hops: GET CONNECTED TUESDAY BLOG HOPand WELCOME TO WEEKEND BLOG HOP. Always feel free to link up every week as this will enable you gain some new followers and make new blogger friends.
Hope you enjoy your stay here. Happy Connections.
Welcome to MBC! We are glad to have you here. We look forward connecting more with you here. I'm a Super Mama who has a family friendly blog, i also have a weekday blog hop called Exposure 99%. This weekday blog hop helps you get more dedicated readers and blog followers. Hope you link up weekly. If you have any questions about how to link up do not hesitate to let me know.
Here is another great site to join: http://www.cyberconnect.ning.com
Here is my personal blog: http://nzeremm.blogspot.com


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15 Elis Will Compete Against the Best of the East
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's track and field team will send a select contingent of qualifying athletes to compete at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Championships at Princeton this weekend. The IC4A is a super-conference administered by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and consisting of teams from across New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Nine Elis have qualified for the meet individually, along with all three of Yale's regular relay teams.
Senior Matthew Bieszard will lead the Bulldogs in the sprints, having qualified individually in three different events. The captain has met the qualifying standards in the 100-meter dash (10.85), 200-meter dash (21.35) and 400-meter dash (46.92). He ran the latter two times in a phenomenal performance last weekend at Heps, and holds the sixteenth-best 400-meter time among IC4A competitors.
Bieszard will also anchor the Elis' sprint relays. Yale's All-East 4x400-meter relay has met and exceeded the qualifying standard multiple times this year, but ran its best time at the indoor IC4A Championships (3:14.06). Along with Bieszard, the team will consist of freshman Dylan Hurley, freshman Mario Kranjac and sophomore Nnamdi Udeh. Meanwhile, the 4x100-meter relay team of Bieszard, Hurley, sophomore Daniel Jones and Udeh posted its best time of the year (41.90) at Heps last weekend.
Also at Heps, the Bulldogs put together an outstanding time in the 4x800-meter relay in the only time they have run the race this year. The team of sophomore James Shirvell, junior Timothy Hillas and seniors Charlie Jaeger and John Van Deventer ran a time of 7:25.64, which ranks them seventh in the IC4A. Shirvell has also qualified individually in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.14, also run at Heps.
The Elis have competed on Princeton's track several times already this season, and it has been particularly kind to its distance and middle distance runners. Three Bulldogs qualified for IC4As in the 1500-meter run in a single race at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Hillas led the way (3:48.12), followed by freshmen John McGowan (3:49.37) and Jacob Sandry (3:50.96). Two weeks previously, juniors Kevin Lunn (30:53.35) and Matthew Thwaites (31:02.14) made the mark in the 10,000-meter run at the Sam Howell Invitational, as did senior Nathan Richards (9:05.08) in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Junior Mike Levine, fresh off a successful Ivy League title defense in the discus last weekend, will compete in both the discus and hammer throw. Levine seems to be peaking at just the right time, throwing season bests in the discus in each of the past two weeks. His current mark of 53.79m (176'06") is fifth in the IC4A, while his best hammer throw distance of 58.71m (192'07") is sixteenth.
The meet begins Friday afternoon and runs through Sunday. A full schedule of events is available here, and results will be available afterwards on www.lancertiming.com and www.yalebulldogs.com.
Report by Eian Katz '13, Yale Sports Publicity


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I hear you. About to jump ships for this issue.
Are you sane?
Back in the days before science and modern medicine made their contributions to the field of mental health, sanity was a pretty arbitrary thing. Even in those dark days, though, it was useful to have a test for sanity, so you could determine if someone reached the minimum threshold of mental competence to be allowed to manage their own affairs. Here's one test. Would you pass?
One test for sanity involved giving subjects a mop and bucket and then sending them into a room where the sink was plugged and the tap had been left running. If they turned off the tap, they were sane. If they just started in mopping as the sink continued to overflow, they would be judged "not competent."
I expect most of you will agree with me that modern mental health care is to be preferred over this sort of rough-and-ready division between sane and not. And yet, I think there's a certain value to this test. In your own life, are you careful to turn off the tap before you start mopping?
I've seen plenty of (metaphorical) mopping in the face of an overflowing sink, usually in one of three situations:
There are times when the source of the leak is hidden, so a wet floor is the only symptom. For example, if the "wet floor" is a difficulty in paying your bills, I'm sure that Wise Bread readers would immediately know that the "open tap" is an excess of spending over income. But someone who has just begun to manage a household for the first time ever can perhaps be forgiven for failing to recognize this as quickly as a more experienced person would.
Sometimes the problem is not so much ignorance as it is denial. You see somebody mopping away, but when you suggest that they turn off the tap, they assure you that tap is already off and go on mopping.
Lack of authority
This is a different situation from ignorance and denial. it's quite common to see employees mopping away under an overflowing sink. If you point out that the tap is open, they respond with a heartfelt "Duh!" If you suggest that they might turn off the tap, they shrug and say, "I'm not allowed to do that. My job is to mop."
I list the sources of insanity in order of increasing level of difficulty to solve.
Someone who is merely ignorant can be educated. Depending on the exact circumstances, they may learn the lesson quickly enough on their own, once they realize that continuing to mop isn't going to solve the problem--although there'll always be some people who's first impulse will be to get a better mop.
If the problem is denial, the solution has to be different. Rather than education, they need something more akin to counseling. Personally, I'm inclined to refer them to a professional immediately, as I've rarely had much success in helping someone who's in denial.
I leave "lack of authority" for the last, because it's really a special case--there are two people who need help here.
There's a person in authority who's either ignorant of the problem or else in denial about it--and can be helped as above. (In practice, they'll usually turn out to be aware of the problem, and will claim that the mopping is just a temporary stopgap until a plumber can be called. Sometimes that's even the truth.)
It's harder to help the person doing the mopping. They usually have either a long story of futile efforts to convince management to turn off the tap, or else a short story of management so stupid that there's no point in making the effort. Either way, they finish up by shrugging and saying that, as long as the manager wants to pay them to mop, they're willing to keep mopping.
I've spent my share of time mopping under an overflowing sink for no better reason than because someone was paying me to do it. It's frustrating, humiliating, and eventually soul-destroying behavior. Don't do it. If efforts to educate management fail, find another job. Insane behavior doesn't become sane, just because someone's willing to pay you to do it.
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I knew a guy who was in the Navy for a couple years. He told me about a guy who was a barely functioning idiot, but got promoted quickly because he did what he was told.... Exactly what he was told.
Bathrooms are known as heads (I don't know why, but I've heard it many times) to military types. One day the CO told my buddy's friend to "go paint the head". So, the guy got some gun metal grey paint, and proceeded to paint his own head. To some, this guy was a great employee because he unquestioningly did as he was told. To others, he was merely a source of ridicule because he gave the appearance of not being able to think for himself.
He would be mopping away, even if he was going to drown.
It seems like many rich individuals do have mental health problems. They have no social life besides what they do because this is what they love.
I sometimes feel like the mop in your analogy. I do feel like I need to start rationing things a little differently at work. If anything it would make me feel a little bit better if I am able to take more responsibility.
The problem is that for some people it's hard to leave what they know. For example, this system administrator in San Francisco who has been driven insane is still trying to keep his job by locking out everyone else: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4350711...
There is always the fear of having nothing to live on. So we put up with insane bosses and become more crazy in the process.
I well understand the temptation to behave like a crazy person, if there's someone who will pay you large amounts of money to do so. (In fact, even small amounts of money can be very tempting, if that's what it takes to make the difference between getting by and not.)
It took me years to realize just how much harm it does to go along with that, which is one reason I try to talk about this--maybe I can save other people a few years of suffering.
A great analogy. I think more people would be willing to walk away from futility and madness in a job if they had more resources. Having enough savings to get you through a long job search and medical insurance separate from your job would be highly useful but most don't have that. I think job freedom is probably one of the best motivators for not living paycheck to paycheck. Having savings also cushions the blow from a layoff.
and that it becomes a moneymaker for the doctors(creating more definitions of mild illnesses that expensive therapy or drugs can mitigate! not better social communication ties or better herbal supplements to promote mental health?)
and pharmaceutical companies in making sure we are medicated than to address our social ills from social isolation, overwork for barely maintained living , media inspired stress for never ending want/consumption of exaggerated living standards, jobs and activities that inspire no self worth nor allow time to follow spiritual growth and worth building endeavors. That's my opinion.
It is so true that the situations at work combined with societal stress to have, buy and gain status creates some of our medical and mental problems. Then people spend huge amounts of money on drugs and care to try to plug the sinking ship. That big monthly drug bill and even more dependence on insurance leads to even more need to put up with the employer and stay there.
This is a real eye opener along the same lines.
I can totally relate to the mopping situation with the sink overflowing, since recently I went through such a situation at work, in a project where all the instructions seemed wrong and out of place, yet we had to keep mopping, enduring offensive attitudes from both the client and our boss, long-hours that included weekends with no extra pay, yet most of the team kept going for the stupidity of a paycheck and those who could go by without the paycheck were hypnotized with "commitment" to your job.....definitely having savings and a debt free lifestyle are the best and sure way to allow freedom from a mopping job....
Boy, haven't we all seen our share of overflowing sinks? Then again, I think it's inherent in the inefficiency of human endeavor. People aren't machines, and it seems like whenever you get a number of them together and bureaucracy grows, then more sinks will overflow. We just can't seem to overcome the flaws of human nature.
And I agree that denial is virtually impossible to overcome, not to mention frustrating to no end.
Mandatory work-world references (especially for those, like Philip, involved with computers): Mythical Man-Month, Peopleware.
I love this quote from the comments: Having enough savings to get you through a long job search and medical insurance separate from your job would be highly useful but most don't have that.
I'd like to extend the thought and state that "mobility mentality" and the cost of mobility are almost forgotten factors in the way people design their lives. The problem isn't just paying the mortgage, it's having to work close to the house on which I'm paying the mortgage.
Ever met anyone who turned down a job for lack of similar jobs nearby?
Philip, I'd love to see a follow-up talking about ways to identify and resolve work-level "mopping" behavior. Stuff off the top of my head:
- Don't "make work", there should already be enough work: identify and prioritize
- Couple delegation with empowerment
- Generate "deliverables" not "desirables"
- Know your numbers (revenue vs. your salary)
I think the concept of "turning off the tap" = "solving problems" is a great analogy for the work-world.
Nice post.
I believe almost every job has some amount of mopping vs. value adding productivity. Unless you have a job that you truly love 100% of the time, some amount of mopping is required.


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Check Out Designer Marissa Webb's Knockout Debut Collection
When an acclaimed J.Crew alum decides to carve out her own path in the design world, we expect nothing less than stellar results. That's why we were thrilled when Marissa Webb, who served as J.Crew's former Vice President of Womenswear Design for over a decade, debuted her eponymous line for S/S 13. The designer recently launched an e-commerce site showcasing her first collection, a mélange of structured jackets and pretty silk blouses (bonus: the site exclusively retails an assortment of her sleek, sophisticated footwear too). The line's a clever mix of feminine and masculine elements: expertly tailored clothes and edgy leather pieces balanced out by stunning prints and playful sequined items. Read on for our Q&A with Webb and some of our favourite picks, and shop the rest of Webb's spring essentials on her site or at Barneys New York.
1. Skyler Sequin Top ($525)
Your go-to top for a night out: a bright sequin shell. Toughen it up with leather pants for a glamorous spin on downtown style.
2. Delphine Watermark Plaid Swirl Skirt ($595)
A subtle watercolor plaid motif softens up this pencil skirt. It pairs perfectly with a button-down top for the office, and teamed with a cropped moto jacket, the skirt works well for after-hours drinks too.
3. Willa Pointy Toe Heels ($498) in Neon Yellow
A playful pop of neon is quick way to energize your outfit. Slip on these pointy-toe stunners with a pair of slim, cropped trousers, the better to showcase the cool buckled ankle-strap. They're also available in a black and white combo, green, black, and a bright orange-red.
Designer Q& A with Marissa Webb
When did you start your line?
The doors to the studio officially opened on January 16th, but as we all know, it takes a while to set up a company, so I had a few months working from home.
Describe the Marissa Webb muse.
I honestly do not have just one person I would consider the Marissa Webb muse. It's every strong, confident woman that enjoys life, taking risks, and loves expressing herself through her style.
What was the inspiration behind the S/S 13 collection?
The inspiration was the mix of soft and hard. I love the architecture and concrete of the city, but love the flow, softness, and motion of nature. It was the two elements playing off of each other. It's the DNA of the label and will continue throughout the seasons. I'm enjoying evolving as an independent designer and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes up next.
What's one piece in your wardrobe you can't live without?
That's like asking which of my three dogs I love the most! I guess if I had to pick one, it would be an irreplaceable item like my vintage 1950s Chanel dress.
Who would you love to see wearing your designs and why?
I would love to see any woman striding down the street feeling confident in a Marissa Webb design. But if I had to pick one famous face, it would be my girl crush Cate Blanchett. She's so elegant and that beautiful smile just wins me over every time.


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Posted on Sep 05, 2013
Honoring Labor Day and Seniors Do Best with Care Provided in their Homes
Labor Day is considered the unofficial last day of summer and the beginning of a new fall season. The weather starts to feel a bit cooler and the smells of autumn start to surround us. Labor Day means cookouts, pool parties, beach trips, relaxing and taking it easy with friends and family. This leaves one to wonder is that what the holiday is really about? Labor Day honors the social and economic achievements of American workers. Who do you know who has worked harder in their lives to get ahead than your parents and grandparents? Celebrate your aging loved ones' achievements this year and remind them of their greatest accomplishments.
If you want to find a simple way to thank your aging loved one for their hard work in life, you can get them a thoughtful card. Cards are an inexpensive way to show them how much you care and are appreciative for all they have done for the family. Get a card for your aging loved one to thank them for all of their hard work.
There is a saying that a way to a person's heart is through their stomach. Another way to show your aging loved one that you are care is to prepare a special treat for them. Make their favorite meal or bake them a special dessert. If you are not much of a cook, it's okay to purchase this from your local bakery. It truly is the thought that counts. Make sure to remind them that you are preparing this special treat or meal in honor of their work.
One way to thank your senior loved one is to spend time with them and talk to them about their past. Try to discover something new about them through stories as they relive old memories. You can help to stir up these memories with pictures and diaries they may have kept. Ask your aging loved one about their work history, what they did for a living, what their boss was like and learn more about their past work life. You may hear some humorous stories about work mishaps or learn from their stories of sweat and tears as they worked to get ahead in life and provide for their family. Work ethic can tell a lot about how a person operates and you may be surprised at what you learn about your aging loved one through their stories of their work history. Just saying thank you is more than enough at times.
Labor Day was created to honor the achievements of American workers. This Labor Day, take the time to honor your elderly loved one and their past work achievements. A simple thank you and spending time with your senior loved one is often all that is necessary to show your appreciation.
If you would like to learn more about in home senior care and in home dementia and Alzheimer's care, call Senior Helpers of Burnsville to speak to a senior care specialist today 952-892-8403! Seniors do best with care provided in their homes. Senior Helpers of Burnsville provides a wide range of services including Alzheimer's and dementia care, personal assistance, companionship, and so much more to all areas of Burnsville, West St. Paul, South St. Paul, St. Paul, Apple Valley, Eagan, Lakeville, Minnesota.


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a state of such physical and mental overload one stands an equal chance of either falling into a coma or vomiting one's socks up.
After my niece spent 5 minutes shaking the spider around in the jar, she decided it was still alive, but "dizzausted."
by TrennaTheSecond May 12, 2009
buy the domain for your recipe blog


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Low Cost Instock Carpet Flooring Mohawk Avenger Woodland. We sell and provide carpet flooring installations. Most of these products are available for next day installation. We are located in Woodland Hills and serve the Los Angeles area with Carpet flooring needs. We have all types of carpet flooring. please call us for a free estimate for carpet floors. We do carpet repairs, re-strech, carpet installations on steps and more.


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Melbourne Guitar Concerts: Electric, Acoustic, Classical
Thomas Lorenzo , Composer and Producer releases New CD: Memories de Barcelona.
Thomas Lorenzo, composer and guitarist releases on ITunes his latest track: Bailas, featuring the Wominjika Vocal Quartet. Label: DreamLand Music. 2014.
Thomas has teamed up with the Wominjika Vocal Quartet to bring to Melbourne Guitar Concerts his passion for vocal harmonies and the Spanish Guitar. His choice of guitar in this recording is a handcrafted Flamenco Guitar Hermanos CONDE 2008.
Bailas represents one of his latest compositions where vocals are featured as solo and background instruments. All instruments in his arrangements , guitar , bass, piano, and vocals explore equal predominance throughout the composition. They continuously exchange roles as solo and background instruments. His style of composition is of a minimalistic nature creating a constant trance in a extreme spacial context.
Bailas is one of the 10 tracks to be released in 2015 in his new Album: Memories de Barcelona. Thomas has lived in Barcelona for over 34 years as a predominant musician educator composer an producer of contemporary Catalan Culture . At present he is based in Melbourne as Director of Dream Land Music which produces live and recorded unique musical products that reflect the urban cultural Australian diversity satisfying the demands for niche cultural entertainment. Please visit his website for more information on his Melbourne guitar concerts
Please visit this other website and discover his unique educational method allowing students to explore their potential as performers and composers on the guitars. The Creative Guitar school delivers structured music courses: 10 week courses, in 10 consecutive hours for beginners intermediate and advanced students to achieve different levels of proficiency. All these levels have the common outcome: to shine through uniqueness and creativity
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Melbourne Acoustic Duo. Live Bands. Covers and More. Weddings and Event Entertainment
Check out his website for latests Melbourne Concerts


text: I'm just going to get this out of the way and say it: Sue Shefman is my hero. If you don't know her by now, you will soon: the weekend edition of ABC's World News Tonight featured a piece on Suefman and her extreme love of the hippopotamus and odds are high that TLC is already banging down this woman's door to give her a reality show. Here's why: the woman is not only obsessed with anything hippo-related (trinkets, clothes, figurines) but has an SUV that's been given eyes, a mouth, and a tail so that it looks like an actual hippo. She may be the first hippo hoarder we've ever heard of, but she also seems to be a good person. Think about it: who else would drive around town in a hippo-mobile around town and uses her remote control to whistle and wink at random people walking down the street? Of this, she says, "I'm not a doctor, I don't do anything like that to help people. But I make people smile." Indeed you do, Sue Shefman, indeed you do.


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How to Kick the Sugar Habit…for Good
Maylin Rodriguez-Paez, RN
If you've read our previous blog posts and magazine articles, you're probably well-aware of the fact that excess sugar is not exactly good for you.
In fact, it's linked to a variety of health problems such as dyslipidemia and diabetes,1 heart disease,2 dementia,3 and even cancer.4
But rather than just rehash this information, we're going to focus on how to kick your sugar habit for good today.
Why? Because if you want to be healthy, you need to kick sugar out of your diet.
Step One: Acknowledge "The Addiction"If you think you have a "sugar addiction," you're probably onto something. There's evidence showing that this can be a real problem for certain people.
In lab studies, rats that binge on sugar show two key elements of addiction: craving and relapse. And when they're denied sugar, they actually display withdrawal symptoms like anxiety.5
Why? Because sugar produces profound changes in their brains, similar to what happens when they're given drugs like cocaine and morphine.5 And it's not much different for humans either.
Research shows that people who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely to have a "sweet tooth." In fact, eating sugar may cause the release of endorphins and dopamine,6 which may also happen during drug abuse.
Overall, the biological pathways of "sugar addiction" involve similar receptors and brain regions as for drug addiction. So it's no wonder that slice of cake makes you feel good and keeps you coming back for more.
Step 2: Get Rid of Obvious and Hidden Sources of SugarIf you're going to remove sugar from your diet, you need to do it wholeheartedly. Take a good look at all of your food labels at home and look for hidden sources of sugar. Even your so called "health foods" may contain plenty of it.
Here is a list of some common "hidden sugar" offenders to avoid:
|Whole grain bread
|Whole grain cereals
|Salad dressings
|Whole wheat breads
|Mixed drinks
|Store bought sauces (Asian, tomato, BBQ, etc.)
|Plain yogurt
|Trail mix
|Dried fruits
|Granola bars
|Protein bars
|Protein drinks
|Frozen dinners
|Health drinks
|Bottled teas
And don't forget the "white offenders" too (white bread, white pasta, potatoes, white rice, etc.). They may not have added sugars, but they're just as addictive. Avoid these as well!
Step 3: Know sugar by its different namesIn a semi-clever attempt to disguise sugar, food manufacturers use fancy names on their food labels to mask it. Surprised?
For this reason, you should be familiar with (and avoid) these as well:
|Barley malt
|Sorghum syrup
|Carob syrup
|Refiner's syrup
|Corn syrup solids
|Brown rice syrup
By the way, if you want to make it easier for yourself, avoid all prepackaged foods and simply don't eat out at restaurants. This way you'll be able to fully control what goes into your food and ultimately your body.
Step 4: Get Nutritional SupportKicking the sugar habit is tough. When starting out, you may very well feel moody, tired, and just plain miserable.
This is because you're lacking the neurotransmitter boosts you're used to getting from sugary foods. The solution is to balance your brain chemistry to help even out your moods and cravings.
Saffron extracts and L-tryptophan, for example, help to balance neurotransmitters. Saffron appears to boost, and L-tryptophan supports the production of serotonin,7, 8 a feel-good chemical that increases when you eat sugary foods.
Saffron also boosts dopamine7 and has even been shown to decrease carb cravings.9
And lastly, you don't have to do this cold turkey. Cut back on your guilty pleasures, slowly. For example, rather than have one can of soda a day, drink half. And with time, you'll feel repulsed by the sweetness of soda.
It may sound odd now, but give it a shot — you may just be surprised by how your body responds!
The Bottom LineIf you want to be healthy, you must kick sugar out of your diet as best as you can. And to do that you need to seriously familiarize yourself with the foods you eat.
Have you kicked sugar out of your diet entirely? If so, has your overall health improved? Please share in the comments!
- Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Apr;65(4):1027-33.
- J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Aug;65(8):809-14.
- J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 Nov 21;104(22):1702-11.
- Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(1):20-39.
- J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 Jun;42(2):147-51.
- BMC Complement Altern Med. 2004 Sep 2;4:12.
- J Nutr. 2012 Dec;142(12):2236S-2244S.
- Nutraveris; 2006. Unpublished study.


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Wednesdays at 2pm and Sundays at 11am
2:00 - 3:00pm Save to calendar
Cost: $15 Adult
$10 Concession & Children
1800 813 153
Step back into our Golden Era and experience one of the most remarkable boom time buildings in Victoria. Bendigo Town Hall features a stunning interior with elaborate plaster work, extensive hand painted decoration and delicate gold leafing. A family ticket includes 2 adults and up to 4 children under the age of 15 years.
Bookings essential through the Bendigo Visitor Centre. Regular tour times are Wednesday at 2pm and Sunday at 11am.


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May 13, 2008
Fullerton, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton volleyball team announced Tuesday that Vinh Nguyen has been hired as an assistant coach replacing Traci Dahl who vacated her spot to become head coach at Indiana State.
Nguyen comes to Fullerton with an extensive coaching resume that dates back more than 20 years. For the past 12 season, Nguyen, has been an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona where he helped Head Coach Rosie Wegrich lift the Broncos to six seasons with at least 18 wins and a program-best 24-3 mark in 2005. That same year, Pomona won its first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship since 1990.
Nguyen was the Broncos summer camp director for the past nine years and taught as a kinesiology professor on campus as well.
In 2007, Nguyen was hired by the USA Men's National Team as an assistant coach to help the team prepare for its run at World League, Pan-Am Cup, Americas Cup and Norceca Cup championships, which resulted in two gold medals, a silver and a bronze.
Prior to his work at Cal Poly Pomona, Nguyen coached at five Southern California high schools (Hoover, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Alhambra and La Habra) and worked with the San Gabriel, Magnum and Power Volleyball Clubs.
In 1996, Nguyen co-founded the Top Gun Volleyball Club, one of Southern California's most respected youth volleyball programs which has trained more than 800 athletes since its inception.
In 2005, under the guidance of USA Volleyball, Nguyen was named head coach and led the Southern California Youth National Team to a sixth-place finish in the USA High Performance Championships in Austin, Texas. A year later, his Top Gun 18 Red club team won a gold medal at the USA Junior Olympic Invitational in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Nguyen played at Mt. San Antonio College and Long Beach City College before transferring into the Big West Conference with Long Beach State. He finished his schooling and graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2000 with a degree in kinesiology.
Information courtesy of Cal Poly Pomona's Athletic Media Relations office


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Sun deals Xeon server line to Intel for Solaris ad
The chip deal that isn't
Server buffs have spent years wondering when Sun and Intel would finally bury their hatchets in each other's back and form a partnership. Now the deal is done, but it wants for excitement, controversy . . . anything.
The Sun/Intel question was interesting back when Sun dominated the server game on a SPARC-only stance. It waffled a bit toward Intel after the $2bn Cobalt purchase, but no one paid much mind. Then came Sun's firm Opteron squeeze, effectively quashing what used to be of curiosity on the x86 front.
Today, we find Sun simply adding another chip supplier. It will ship one-, two- and four-socket Xeon-based servers by midyear along with a line of workstations. Sun also intends to craft an eight-socket Xeon box one day. Sun's CEO Jonathan Schwartz announced all this during a press conference in San Francisco on a shared stage with Intel CEO Paul Otellini.
Otellini appreciated Sun's end to the Opteron-only stance so much that he mentioned the Solaris operating system again and again.
"At the highest level this is about Intel endorsing and embracing Solaris, and Sun endorsing and embracing Xeon," Otellini said.
What the heck could Intel's endorsement of Solaris possibly mean?
Apparently, Intel's engineers will team with Sun's engineers to make sure Solaris x86 runs well on Xeon-based systems. In addition, "Intel has signed a Solaris OEM agreement enabling Intel to distribute and support the Solaris OS to its customers as market opportunities may arise and consistent with Intel's product strategies."
Sure, Intel moves a few white boxes here and there, but this isn't the OEM agreement dreams are made of. Maybe Otellini can get on the horn with his pal Michael Dell and explain why Solaris is so cool.
"This is not just a chip deal," Otellini reminded the crowd.
The older readers out there will remember the days when Sun fought the likes of Microsoft and Intel with vigor - sometimes for no other reason than to be different. Now Solaris stands as Sun's only means of going against the crowd, and it wants the crowd to love Solaris. My how un-fun $2bn anti-trust settlements and multiple processor suppliers have become.
According to the two executives, it only took one bottle of nice wine for them to feel the love. A lovely dinner sealed the deal.
Now all the Xeon can't scale rhetoric has been replaced with "We're driving Xeon to eight-socket country." And Wintel has gone Soltel or Sintel Inside, if you're an adolescent.
With Sun now shipping Intel boxes and Dell moving AMD gear, order has been
restored in the server universe. Customers have never had it so good.
It may just be that customer win that does in fact make this more than just a chip deal. But, really, we're still kind of bored. ®