L u k e n . O r g

Well that was quick. Call us the United States of Amnesia. First, we bail out GM and bondholders get wiped out, or had their money taken away from them and handed to the auto unions to pay off favors. Many folks had GM bonds in their retirement or investment portfolios somewhere, so we essentially were robbed.

GM provided subprime loans to finance the sale of vehicles, to people who probably shouldn’t have been purchasing new vehicles. Why buy a used car when you can get a new one, even if you really can’t afford it. Part of GM’s collapse was due to it’s financial arm’s lending, it definitely contributed to the problem. Now they are back in that same business, spending ~$3.5B to buy a subprime financier. Let’s see if Congress or the President will have anything to say about it. Probably not because the tap dance will be about job creation, never mind if we decide to repeat history.

General Motors Co. is getting back into subprime lending, a move that will give its dealers more options to lease and finance car sales but one which critics worry could drive the automaker into another financial pileup.GM said Thursday that it would purchase AmeriCredit Corp. in an all-cash transaction valued at about $3.5 billion, or $24.50 a share.The acquisition gives GM whats known as a “captive finance unit” or lending division that allows it more flexibility to offer lease and finance deals. It would fill the role once played by GMAC; the automaker sold all but a minority interest in that company in 2006.”Adding AmeriCredit to our team will improve our competitiveness in auto financing offerings, and I am very pleased to have them on board,” GM Chief Executive Edward E. Whitacre Jr. said.But the deal immediately drew fire from critics, who recalled how the Detroit automakers former addiction to providing easy credit and cut-rate financing contributed to GMs financial woes and eventually a federal bailout that cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

via GM deal to buy AmeriCredit gets it back into subprime lending – latimes.com.

I thing Barnes and Noble has a winner here. This is definitely a Kindle killer. It’s as though B&N looked at all the flaws and complaints of the Kindle and ran with it. The interesting feature that I like is that you can share your ebooks with other people, and every book in B&N’s catalog has a free preview. Now match this with the built-in Wifi and 3-ish-G from  AT&T for always being connected, you’ve got a winner. I think I’m sensing a birthday or Christmas gift for myself.

But nothing is without a few issues. First, being an Android device, I’m a bit surprised to the thickness of the product being a 1/2 inch. I guess I was looking more towards that highly thin tablet the Capt. Piccard used to carry, wafer thin. Next, with the always connected ability of the device, why no browser? Or did I miss that? It comes with an MP3 player, might as well throw in a browser, not chewing up much data with that, even AT&T can handle that.

Next, and it’s not their fault, is that being an electronic device, it’s not airplane friendly. I fly quite a bit and have given up trying to use the ebook reader on my iPhone because of outdated rules of electronic devices on planes. have to be turned off when the door closes, and since a lot of flights are delayed, they close the doors and pull away from the gate (so they can claim on-time departure) then sit there for 20 or so minutes. That’s a lot of reading time I loose. Next, you take off and can’t turn on your device until you’re past 10,000 feet. Why not 8634 feet? What’s so magical about 10,000? And the worst part, when you’re within 150 miles of your destination or 30 minutes out, all devices must be off. So I’ve been carrying old fashioned paperbacks with me, and I keep loosing my place in the books. Would love to be able to use an electronic e-reader from start to finish, from the moment I sit down on to the time I get up. I’ll just have to sit in a window seat and keep a look out for the flight attendant I guess.

But with a $259 price tag, is it worth it? I think it’s maybe a little too steep but hey, gotta help America get back on track (although it’s probably made overseas).

Ok, so a quick followup, the first major kink in the armor. Leave it to the content providers to find a way to rub off the polish on the Nook. How, apparently the lending feature is restricted to just one time and even that feature is by the publishers choice. If I buy a hardcopy book, I can lend it as much as I want.

Unfortunately, the “world’s most advanced e-book reader” limits the LendMe feature to one 14-day period per book, ever, and that’s only if the publisher gives permission. You also can’t read the title yourself during the loaner period.

Nook, eBook Reader, eBook Device – Barnes & Noble.

So some history, a few years ago, NC bent over backwards in attracting Dell to come to NC. All kinds of tax breaks and incentives were given to them. So now, the recession hit, they are closing the plant, 900 workers are gone and NC is out literally millions of dollars that they gave Dell. I’ve never liked the idea of a states bidding for business with lucrative incentives like tax breaks. They never work in the states or public good’s favor. Frankly, I think it should be illegal for states to gamble away tax payers money like that. A company should locate a facility based on the merits of the state, the available talent pool, utility costs, land costs, etc. Not by how much money a state can stuff in their pocket. It’s been an ongoing trend here in NC and I just think it’s worth the cost in the long term.

Dell Inc. DELL will close a North Carolina plant, putting some 905 employees out of work, as the personal-computer maker continues its restructuring.The company is in the midst of cutting $4 billion in costs the next two years as Dell deals with slumping profits and still-weak demand, especially among its key corporate customers.

via UPDATE: Dell To Close N.C. Plant, Affecting 905 Workers – WSJ.com.

So, here is the promised update on the switch from Time Warner Cable to AT&T’s uVerse. So goodbye to TWC. I got uVerse and then gave TWC that dreaded call. “Hello, I’m calling to cancel my service” Imagine the gasp of air by the operator to the sheer horror of my sentence. I explained to him that I was sorry that he ended up with my call and that there was nothing he could do to change my mind, and that I hope it didn’t hit his resolution quota too hard. He asked why I was terminating and I explained that I moved to AT&T uVerse. He says he wished I would have called earlier before I made the decision and that he would have been able to do something. I informed him that I called a couple of months ago when the cable was being laid, and I called again when I received the postcard with my availability. “I gave you guys many chances to do something”. So anyway, I cancelled.

So moving on to the AT&T installation and it’s service. I had an install date that was to be on a Monday. The previous Saturday a technician came out and spent an hour validating that my phone line was qualified. Then took another hour to determine that my phone line was connected to a different box than what they had on record. Two hours, understandably, it was CWA Union guy. Nothing is efficient with them. I spend the next 15 minutes with him hearing him complain about AT&T, how they want to cut his pay by $15 per hour to match the uVerse technicians who do the installations inside the home, and how it looks like in late August or September, there will be a strike. Which got me to thinking, just how much did this guy get for two hours worth of “work”, tracing and doing a signal test on a wire?

So moving on along to the installation. The Monday got moved to Tuesday and the uVerse guy came by. This guy had me up and running in less than 45 minutes, no installation problems or issues. Obviously he wasn’t a union guy. DVR’s up and running, programed, residential gateway configured and explained, just went smoothly.

So now on to the service itself. Wow, many more HD channels than TWC and as far as the broadband speed, I’m averaging over 16Mb/s down and almost of my 1.5Mb/s up. My Mozy backups finish in a couple of hours instead of the dreaded two day notification using TWC’s max upload of ~450K that I was getting.

No on to some sad news. Right now I’m doing this post via my wireless broadband because I’m suffering my first uVerse outage. That’s to be expected I guess. No TV or network, and so Vonage is down also. Calling AT&T is more of a challenge than calling TWC which surprised me. I get the impression that while TWC is just clumsy with their support and is not up to date, AT&T is up to date but just very efficient in trying not to provide service. Case in point, their endless looping of their voice response system.

And I learned something new which is troubling. I went to watch a recorded show but realized you can’t without the service fully working. Apparently, you have to have a connection even if you want to watch a recorded show. The system needs to connect to Skynet to notify them of what you are watching. I found a thread about that on DSLReports here. That’s really troubling, they are monitoring your every move, even when you watch your recorded shows.

At some point, I would love to drop TV altogether. Just an Internet connection and use Hulu, Netflix, and over the air broadcasts. But for now, we’ll see how it goes. It’s been rock solid for over a month, up until the last two hours anyway.

Alright, this one is just way too funny not to post. It’s a take from the movie Downfall, where Hitler goes ballistic because he finds out he’s loosing the war. But in this version, the subtitles are about Hitler blowing a gasket because he finds out Sarah Palin resigned and now had nobody for his fundraiser.

The best lines from this clip are “the GOP has lost itss balls and now its’ ovaries as well” and “that’s what Alaska gets for electing a MILF instead of a Stalin”.

via YouTube – Hitler Finds Out Sarah Palin Resigns.

Since getting on Facebook, I’ve found old friends and collegues dating back to elementary school. Today, through my friends network, I’ve learned about The East New York Project. This site documents the history of the neighborhood where I grew up, and the history dates back over 100 years. Simply Fascinating. It’s great to see and in this case, experience the power of the Internet as it connects and reconnects people long lost. In fact, my 1st grade class photo is on the site, guess which one is me

http://tapeshare.com/108/first_grade.jpg

The East New York Project is a multimedia archive of the history of my childhood neighborhood. In general, it is the area currently referred to as the Highland Park area in Brooklyn, bordered by Atlantic Avenue to the south, Elderts Lane to the East, and Broadway to the West. However we also feature pictures and history south of Atlantic as well. It is intended to be a collaborative effort, and contributions in the form of stories, pictures, and even video are welcome. Use the menu bar above to navigate to areas of interest.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius recently corrected three years of tax returns and paid more than $7,000 in back taxes after finding “unintentional errors”—the latest tax troubles for an Obama administration nominee. The Kansas governor explained the changes to senators in a letter dated Tuesday that the administration released. She said they involved charitable contributions, the sale of a home and business expenses.

Taxes are a necessity for the services that are provided, and its a good thing. I think most people’s reservations stem from the fraud and waste that they see, from still subsidizing helium production for dirigibles (that’s right) to trying to fund a multi-million dollar “bridge to nowhere”. People need to feel and see that their dollars are used wisely and for good purpose, and value. Next, the tax itself, 10, 15, 20%, and it should be adjustable twice a year, at the discretion of the Treasury, the CBO and GAO, with a plus and minus maximums of a percent or two. Just like the Fed with the short term lending rate to regulate the economy, this measure would help regulate the federal income.

With todays structure, you have people sheltering their money in tax havens and other trickery like for example, the Kennedys. They’re a clear example. Ted Kennedy was once quoted saying ”The estate tax is the most progressive of all federal taxes. It would be terribly unfair to tax work while giving inherited wealth a free ride” but in one year, the family only paid $137K on a $300 Million estate due to creative trust funds that were set up. Do as I say, not as I do. Pay what I say, not what I pay. But it’s more than that, there seems to be a culture amongst those that craft these tax laws. They seem to be above them. Lets level the playing field. Today, the top 5% of income earners bear almost 50% of the nation’s tax burden. And to say that because they are rich, they can afford to and should is not the correct answer. Remember that the 5% has an adjusted gross income of ~150K. So we’re not talking about just the Bill Gates here, but also the everyday person who from whatever means, be it luck, silver spoon, or just hard work, have entered into that space. Tax by class is not the answer it’s what creates malcontent and what drives people to pull these tax stunts, even by those who write the code. Tax equality and fairness is the correct answer. Note that if our President’s recommendations go through, almost 50% of eligible tax payers will not any tax burden at all. So who will shoulder all this? You can only tax the rich so much until hey kick in their influence and withhold political contributions. It will fall on the ever tightening middle class which doesn’t have the financial resources to reach their congressional representatives.

So in summation, flat tax, based on a percentage, allowing for a means test to reduce the burden on lower income earners and those at or below the poverty level.

via Sebelius admits errors, pays $7,000 in back taxes.

From an article by George Will, Perils of a Bright Idea.

“Clear people and pets from the room and open a window for at least 15 minutes if possible. Avoid vacuuming. Scoop up larger pieces with stiff paper or cardboard, pick up smaller residue with sticky tape, and wipe the area with a damp cloth. Put everything into a sealed plastic bag or sealed glass jar. In most cases, this can be put in the trash, but the EPA recommends checking local rules.”

What kind of horrid device in your home and around your children, would carry such a stern warning? An Easy Bake Oven – Anthrax Edition? What household item could this possibly be? A CFL, Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb. I never thought about how dangerous these things are. Now many people believe that using CFL’s is the way of the future to use less energy and cut carbon emissions. Maybe so, but at what cost? Health risks and injury? Now before you start getting all beady-eyed while reading this, note that I’m not against these bulbs, we have them throughout half the house. But we’ve notices some problems and I thought they were exclusive to me, based on my wife’s belief in karma and that I haven’t always been a good boy in my life. Bulbs going out way before the suggested 10,000 ours and taking a while to light up. Then I read this…

Although supposed to last 10,000 hours and save, the Times says, “as much as” $5.40 a year in electricity costs, some bulbs died within a few hours. Some experts, reports the Times, “blame the government for the quality problems,” saying its push to cut the bulbs’ prices prompted manufacturers to use inferior components. Furthermore, some experts have written a guide saying the new bulbs require “a little insight and planning.  ” The Times says that “may be an understatement. “The bulbs, says the Times, “do not do well in hot places with little airflow, like recessed ceiling fixtures,” and some do not work “with dimmers or three-way sockets.” And: “Be aware that compact fluorescents can take one to three minutes to reach full brightness. This is not a defect.” Well, if you say so. Because all fluorescents contain mercury, a toxic metal, they must never be put in the trash, so Home Depot and other chains offer bins for disposing of dangerous bulbs. Driving to one of these disposal points might not entirely nullify the bulbs’ environmental benefits. Besides, the Times summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency’s helpful suggestions for coping with the environmental dangers caused when one of these environment-saving bulbs breaks. Worrywarts wonder what will happen when a lazy or careless, say, 10 percent of 300 million Americans put their worn-out bulbs in the trash. Stop worrying. What do you think? That Congress, architect of the ethanol industry and designer of automobiles, does not think things through?

So in an effort to get these bulbs out, the government pushed companies to get prices down, and how do companies rapidly get pricing down? Use less quality components, doe less research and take short cuts. But I don’t recall that stern warning on the box, or it must be in real fine print that we all ignore. I’m not sure what the ordnance is in my town. I can imagine many people have just dumped them in the trash. And to think, after 2014, you won’t be able to purchase an incandescent light bulb, they are banned as of 2014, part of that recent energy bill.

When it comes to reducing the carbon footprint and greenhouse gases, one cannot simply mandate new technology until it’s fully proven and also  note that alternatives and additions to the problem must be considered. Items like increasing energy output with clean technology, and smart energy usage. We have these CFL’s in our family room which are recessed lights. They are not as bright, and do take the three or so minutes to get to full lumens. Frustrating to say the least. Well, unless that’s resolved and the labels clearly states, we fixed it, I’ll be sticking with the traditional recessed bulbs until 2014. The rest of the house can use the CFL’s, they’re working OK, unless I start noticing the actual reduced hours vs. what’s advertised. You know, for centuries people used candles. Hmmm….

via George Will : Perils of a Bright Idea – Townhall.com .

Back in the Day….the rebirth of MCI (after the bankruptcy) was launched with the new MCI Portal. This customer facing website was the face of MCI in all her renewed glory. HP servers, Cisco MDS directors and an EMC CLARiiON CX500 to the rescue. A complete Microsoft solution with SQL2K, IIS and messaging services. Software development by Accenture. Just goes to show what good integration with vendors and customers can accomplish. Racked and stacked, and implemented in a couple of days. I’ll tell ya’, it was COLD under that raised floor moving some copper and fiber cables. A good project and a lot was learned. My first major datacenter SAN implementation for storage, getting outside the campus based level. A lot of good folks chipped in to get this done and on time. Oh, and this was just one location….

Well, it finally happened. I lost the battle and we got a dog last week. Oh dad, we’ll take care of it says the 10 year old, but I know better. And the wife? That woman, you’d think she would be on my side…but nooo… OK then, at least lets get a man’s dog. Like a lab or something, even if it’s a terrier, a Jack Russell, something you can hang out with and be proud of. But noooo, what do we get? A Schnoodle. What the heck is a Schnoodle you ask? Why it’s a mix between a Poodle and a Schnauzer. You still laughing? Well I’m crying.  Well it’s been over a week and the little girl (that’s right, a girl dog) has grown on me so I guess she can stay. Especially since we (I) paid a load for it.

So how’s the responsibilities working out? Well during the whining stage of getting a dog, I was promised that I wouldn’t have to do anything. So why was I standing outside at almost midnight in the cold slushy snow that was falling down as the dog decided to just sit there looking at me? I have no idea but I could look up and see all the lights were out in the various bedrooms.

Crap,don’t you just hate when you like something that you insisted you would like and want? All I know is that I better NOT get an ugly tie for Fathers Day. They better come up with something really cool or I’m putting the whole family on eBay, dog and all

A great writeup on the state of Gaeta and a personal reminder as to why Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. Many folks assume that because it’s on the SciFi channel, and that it takes place in outerspace, that it’s a science fiction and nerd show. Nothing can be further from the truth. If you’re thinking of the original series, it is nothing of the same. Just the original story line to start, but then takes on a life of it’s own. To start, when I heard that Starbuck was recasted as a woman, and the same for Boomer, I was turned off before the series even started. But Starbuck can very well be the most dynamic character (after Adama) on the show, and I’m glad that switch was made.

The Cylons, not just your tin cans anymore.  For lack of a better understanding, they’re essentially just another race of people now that have evolved, look and act human and can now die since the Resurrection ship has been destroyed. And for the first time, a pure Cylon birth will take place. Also, with some Cylons not even knowing they’re Cylons until a switch goes off in them, and refusing to accept their roles as Cylons but to keep their “human” elements.  So the dynamics of this show envelope many scenarios of our society and ask many questions. Such as, with only 40,000 humans remaining, how can you not outlaw abortion? And when (then) Adama wanted to engage the Cylons after the massacre, in what would have surely been a lost effort at the time, her response was that “instead of fighting back right now, what we need to do is make babies”. Don’t remember the exact words but it was a powerful moment and statement. 

So where is the show now? Cylons have split, as there is a civil war going on with them. Some believe that the future is in reconciling with the humans, the others believe that humans should be destroyed. A mutiny has occurred within the fleet over the exact same issue.  New alliances, new enemies, not based on race (human vs. cylon), but based on ideals and beliefs. The remaining episodes of this fantastic show is going to be a nail biter over the next several weeks. 

Talk about the parallels to our world, this show runs the complete gamut of scenarios we face today as a society:

• a reluctant president who was not qualified to lead, but rose to the challenge, while later battling terminal cancer
• a chain smoking doctor, ‘nuf said
• the best strained father and son relationship ever put on screen, only to finally reconcile and understand
• a narcissistic genius scientist who was the everyday flaws of man, causes the fall of humanity
• a vice-president who’s a former terrorist (based on your point of view), based on the ideals of freedom and liberty
• an old fashioned commander that sticks to tradition, has his pilots land manually and never has his ship automated (which is what saves Galactica)
• an alcoholic who is second in command
• suspicions of everyone, who’s a Cylon, who’s not. 
• reconciliation with your enemies, forgiveness and understanding
• are Humans and Cylons that much different? Both grand and both with flaws, both wanting to be more 

And now that they have found earth, we learn that maybe Earth was once a thriving society of Cylons, then there was an attack. That hasn’t been explained yet, but I suspect it was a preemptive attack by humans after Cylons revolted and started their own society. Humans attacked with a scorched earth policy then left to the stars to form the colonies, and start over with new servants. It’s not beneath us in our own world, as history has shown.

So this is a culmination of a drama, medical, emergency and history show all wrapped into one. Then add the best graphics and tele-cinematography on television, and this show simply cannot be beat. I’m not sure what SciFi will do to follow up on this. I heard that there is a prequel in the works called Caprica or something, about life Caprica before the Cylon attack.

Last night’s Battlestar Galactica episode, “The Oath,” about a violent, tragic anti-cylon rebellion in the Fleet, was one of the series’ best. It was also a character study of how a good person goes bad.

Spoilers ahead!

In “The Oath,” a young tactical officer named Felix Gaeta lead a rebellion against Admiral Adama’s leadership, challenging the military government’s choice to ally with the Rebel cylon fleet. Though Gaeta has been living in an ethical gray area for a while, many were taken aback by his sudden flare-up of evil.

via Battlestar Galactica Review: Why Is Gaeta So Bad?.

Anyone want to fulfill their patriotic duty and assist me in reviving the economy? I need someone to help me write a justification so I can get some of that bailout money with no questions asked as to how I spend it. I promise it will be spent, and on American made products. That’s all that matters. This is about putting people first, getting people back to work. Don’t be concerned about what I’ll do with the money, ignore that man behind the curtain.

I’ve always wanted a supercomputer. Now Cray has an “affordable” deskside option, complete with sound dampening so you still can hear folks on conference calls while on a RPG. All we need now is for Handbrake to be recompiled to support multicore/multi-processor systems. I can backup all my movies in about two minutes each.

With the historic moment that’s about to happen in about an hour, I can find no better comparison using music than Gustav Holtz’s The Planets. Specifically, there are two songs. First, Mars – The Bringer of War. I will listen to that on my iPod around 11:45am. Then at noon, I will listen to Jupiter – The Bringer of Jollity. I think its a fair representation of the next two hours, as mushy as this may sound. But I also think its relevant.

If you’ve never heard The Planets, it definitely worth getting. It’s classical music, but with a lot of breath, and expansive use of different intruments at the turn of the 20th century that weren’t typical in most orchestras. Read more about it on Wikipedia. Listen to these two songs and then decide if they don’t reflect the summation of the Bush presidency and the hopes of the Obama presidency.

• calling it now, Pres. Laura Roslin is the the last of the final five #
• ready for BSG tonight, the best drama on TV #
• about to make custard for my apple pie, to watch 24 #
• really hoping Phuilly can do it this year #

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• just amazed that vpn on the iphone works #
• going for a quick walk while this resolution is still in effect #
• engaged in tiered storage platorms training #
• thinking about stimulating the economy with a new MacBook Pro #
• got my invitation for Quicken Financial Life for Mac beta…whoopie, day late and a dollar short #
• pondering the bliss if iTunes offered DRM free .FLAC format #
• preaching the concepts of storage tiering and service catalogs in a down economy #
• back to the basics with my customers in 2009, tiering and service catalogs #
• oops, make that $3.30 #
• Steve Jobs hormone cure valued at $.30 per share #
• looking forward to a new mac mini #
• @justisengard what about a Penn superbowl, Pitt vs. Philly in reply to justisengard #
• still reveling in the Eagles win #

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• flikr, mac gallery, picasaweb? oh the choices #
• integrating linkedin, wordpress, twitter and facebook. Am I missing anything? #
• adjusting my wordpress settings #
• calling family on new years day #

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Straight to the point. This is a very important lesson. This approach has served me and my close friends very well. And learn more about this type of culture.

YouTube – Why wait to climb the corporate ladder? TakeStairs.com.

So from Senator John McCain’s book, “Worth The Fighting For”, he candidly tells what for him anyway, running for president is all about. It’s also in audio book for, so you can hear in his own voice, what’s written below. In his own words and voice, he explains that it’s not about the American people, it’s all about him. I guess this explains why he’s abandoned his principles over the years and caved. It’s all about going to the White House, a personal triumph. 

 ”I didn’t decide to run for President to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president. I was sixty-two years old when I made the decision and I thought it was my one shot at the prize” 

YouTube – McCains Ambition: In His Own Words.

I just had this vision of Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat reading a bedtime story to children titled, “Palin Goes to the City”. Please SNL, bring back Eddie just to do that skit. And then another skit of Tina Fey playing Palin sitting at a school desk with just the teacher learning where the other major countries are. “No, No, this is Canada, not eastern Alaska” as he points over Calgary.

But anyway, Mrs. Palin is venturing to the big city, to go in a big building, with a lot of important people. What do you think she will do, children? Will she piss of the world community? Will she talk about her bridge to nowhere that she turned down? How about family values and starting families early.

BTW, Sarah, call me if you need directions to the U.N., even I’ve been there before. Oh, add that to my list of why I’m more qualified than you (see earlier post).  Add oddly enough, for some strange reason, the media was kept away as much as possible. For a V.P. candidate that is qualified to step in as president, they sure keep her under wraps, don’t they? I can’t wait for the VP debates. I’m actually looking forward to that more than Obama/McBush.

Talking Georgia With Kissinger | 4 p.m. Gov. Sarah Palin wrapped her first day of motorcade diplomacy with a 90-minute meeting with Henry Kissinger, where they spoke about Georgia.

Ms. Palin and Mr. Kissinger sat on blue couches, separated by an end table with photographs of President Nixon and President Reagan on it. As photographers were led in, Mr. Kissinger could be heard saying that he gave someone “a lot of credit for what he did in Georgia,” according to a reporter who was allowed to watch.

“Good, good,’’ Ms. Palin said. “And you’ll give me more insight on that, also, huh? Good.”

The photographers were ushered out. When Ms. Palin emerged from the building, a news producer asked her how it went, and she mouthed the words, “It was great.”

Palin in the City – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com.

Well, well, well. Not only is she not qualified to be the Vice President, she doesn’t even show up for her current job. We keep hearing “While I was in Alaska as governor….” Well, what exactly did you do with your 15% attendance record of going into the office. I’m sure the Flat Earth Society will quickly adopt 21st century ideas and jump on the telecommuting bandwagon. Yeah, that’s what she was doing, telecommuting. I mean come on, 15%? We’re talking about 15% in the office? And then she bills the state for expenses related to staying home 85% of the time. In a normal environment, as a normal employee, she would have been fired. But oh yeah, she’s qualified. And if you think about it, with that attendance record, she just may be because the White House has been vacant of any relevant common sense lately anyway.

She doesn’t even show up for her own initiatives, leaving her own party to ask, “where’s the Gov?” What’s really funny is that legislatures got so fed up with it that they even printed buttons saying, “Where’s Sarah” 

Let me guess, she was home preaching family values…

Despite all of the discussion of Sarah Palin’s performance as governor of Alaska, there has been little analysis of the simplest measure of performance: attendance. As Woody Allen said many years ago, “80 percent of success is just showing up.”

The Washington Post recently reported that, in her first 19 months as governor, Palin billed the state of Alaska per diem charges for 312 days she spent at her home in Wasilla. Palin’s staff has explained that it was appropriate to bill the state for expenses related to Palin staying in her own house because her “official duty station” was at the state capital of Juneau, where the governor’s official office and mansion are located. But that argument raises a different question: How much time did that leave for her to spend at her “official duty station”?

Nineteen months totals 578 days, but after subtracting weekends and holidays, it is only about 397 workdays. Assuming Palin did not routinely bill the state for staying in her own home on weekends and holidays, she would have spent no more than 85 workdays in the state capital over the course of her 19 months in office, even if she traveled nowhere else in Alaska or outside of the state. That compares with 168 days that the Alaska Legislature was in session during the same period.

Playing hooky pays off for Palin – Scott Lilly – Politico.com