My day started and ended with great food. Maya offered to prepare french toast for me and added some theatrics to the preparation. The family enjoyed dinner together at Za’s in Arlington where we celebrated Jeanine’s birthday before Kyle’s return to Santa Clara tomorrow. The middle of the day was entirely distasteful, spent preparing our income tax filings. If I thought that our state and federal government was operating with even a modicum of efficiency it would depress me less to turn over 32 cents of every dollar I earned. The tax code itself is a perfect example of something that has been made so insanely complex that it leaves my head throbbing after trying to comprehend the special provisions of the alternative minimum tax. RANT ON: I would vote for any politician who could deliver a progressive tax system with zero loop holes. I’d offer to write the instructions myself (multiply your income and earnings by X% and pay this amount). Did you know that 23% of the taxes we pay is spent to comply with the federal tax code which contains over 10 million words. No kidding. My system requires just 11 words and would save $384 billion dollars a year by eliminating 90% of the IRS. RANT OFF