I've been here (Alaska, where I'm sitting right now) twice as long {Ed note: over 30 years} and have records to show I met Sarah Palin (for whom I've never voted and expect I never will) 5 times ten years ago, and needed those records to remind me of it, because she left such little impression that I don't remember it. Today I heard that the word among cancer docs (as a community, not his actual caretakers) is that McCain has a 30% chance of dying during a first term and 70% chance of dying during a second term. As the sign I made and carried at the Anchorage anti-Palin event last Saturday noted, as extraordinary a cheerleader as she is, she is not fit by any stretch to be president, as a V.P. should. To continue the cheerleader analogy, she kept the game's spirit up during the first half of her term as governor, but as it has entered the second half her team is faltering, but she left the stadium to take her act to the on the road arena.

I lived and worked in Alaska for 16 years, the last seven in Wasilla civic circles.  I have met Sarah Palin on several occasions and am very familiar with the workings of Alaska politics. First, let me say that Sarah Palin is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet and I have nothing but high regard for her personally. Having said that, it is ridiculous to think she is in anyway qualified for the White House. The receptionist at your doctor’s office can be a very special person but you would never want her operating on you. Your car mechanic can be pro-choice and pro-gun but that doesn’t mean you want him a heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States.
 
Let me give you a quick lesson in Alaska. Everyone wants to visit; very few people want to live there. The population is ½ that of Rhode Island in a state the size of the USA west of the Mississippi. This means that normally unqualified people advance way over their abilities because the competition is nonexistent. The other important fact is that the State of Alaska is almost completely funded by the revenue generated from oil. Alaska gets 1% of every barrel that leaves the state. The multi-billion dollar state budget is usually written based on the revenue generated by $25 a barrel. Ever since Sarah took office 20 months ago the state is swimming in excess money to the tune of billions of dollars due to the astronomical rise in oil prices. Every Alaskan man, woman and child received an extra $1300 check this year on top of the $2100 permanent fund due to the excess of state revenue. This did not even put a slight ding in the 11 billion dollar surplus that Sarah was so fortunate to inherit. This means that Sarah Palin has never had to give a thought to any budgetary issues except how to spend the extra money on the very small population.
 
Sarah, bless her heart, has just not had to deal with anything of any significance. As mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla, her biggest concerns were whether there was enough snow to run the Iditarod Sled Dog race and making sure moose stay out of people’s trash cans. She was only the second mayor the “city” has ever had, having only been a city since the 80’s. When she was on the city council, there was not even a mayor.  6,500 people live within the boundaries of Wasilla with only about 3,000 people leading a typical American existence. The other 3.500 live in what we Alaskans commonly refer to as the “bush”. Wasilla itself is nothing but a few strip malls with no distinct town center. In truth, Wasilla is built on a gravel pit trying very hard to pass itself off as a city. Wasilla has next to no livable wage jobs to speak of, with the exception of social services, so most residents drive 60 miles each day to Anchorage to work. The people willing to make the 120 mile round trip commute everyday do so because the housing in Wasilla is so much cheaper than Anchorage and for good reason.
 
As far Sarah getting elected governor, she ran in the Republican primary against the incumbent governor Frank Murkowski, former Alaska senator. Gov. Murkowski was by far the most unpopular governor in the history of Alaska and maybe even America. I’m sorry but the guy who keeps the pipes from freezing could have beat Frank. Then in the general election, she ran against former democratic Gov. Tony Knowles. Former Gov. Knowles did not even mount a campaign against Sarah because of her complete lack of governmental experience. To her credit, Sarah ran a good campaign and easily beat her non-existent opposition, to the shock of everyone who didn’t bother to vote. Sarah was elected governor because she was in the right place at the right time.
 
In truth, selecting Sarah Palin for vice president is very unfair to Sarah.  Sarah is so completely out of her experience level it’s ridiculous to even talk about it. She doesn’t even know what the Vice-President of the United States does let alone have the ability to do it. It's like asking a kindergartner to run the family business. To think that she would have a part in governing America let alone the possibility of her becoming the President of the United States is certifiably insane. In all honesty, I can’t even believe that I am having the discussion of Sarah Palin becoming the next Vice-President. I think she’s a wonderful person but she’s about a 1,000 people down on the list of real vice-presidential candidates.
 
The decision by John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his vice president is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever heard. Imagine if the mayor of Austin, TX (about the same amount of constituents as in Alaska) was picked to become the vice presidential candidate. That would have to give you great pause.  In the most important decision he has yet to make, John McCain chose a blatantly unqualified running mate, can you trust him to make any better decisions when it comes to America?

It encourages interesting ebbs and flows within a conversation or a person's thought patterns that you would not otherwise see if they had the ability to type free form.

A study at the University of Michigan suggests multitasking could actually be doing us more harm than good. People who spent time stopping and starting tasks took 2 to 4 times longer to complete them. In addition, brain scans showed juggling tasks reduces the brain power available for each. Over time, stress hormones from multitasking can damage memory centers in the brain. Focus on one task at a time for better efficiency and memory.

Apple's announcements this week highlight how far they have to go to really address the enterprise.