“I’m still showing a PR of 1 for 14 of the 18 data centers.”
Google has a few dozen datacenters. A few are always slower than the rest to update, likely being held in reserve in case of a major screwup with the new data.”
“Needless to say, I’m confused and somewhat angered by what has happened.”
Confused is okay, but a good rule to consider is to not get angry about something you aren’t understanding.
“So much for the ‘new site PR boost’ theory.”
That is a nonsensical idea. PR is just the result of an equation that calculates the number/quality of your links. New versus old doesn’t enter into it (although their is some evidence Google is not properly valuing some page’s PR until their second pass at it).
“I’m also confused as to how some new sites can go from 0 immediately up to 4, right off the bat.”
It’s just links. A new page could go to PR9 or even PR10 right off the bat if it was linked from the Adobe or Yahoo main page.
“In the other PR thread, a few people shared their PR numbers, and I was surprised at the good, quick results they achieved.”
A single link from a PR5 page can basically instantly make you PR4.
“What else can I do to increase my PR?”
Buy an add on a page that has decent PR; do a press release; write an article for an established domain and only charge a link as payment, etc.