Great idea. Lets hand out loans to companies that want to build nuclear power plants in the U.S. Since we know that nuclear power generation is completely unprofitable, the odds of us ever getting this money back is pretty slim.

Now I know that those of you on the left will argue about the dirtiness of nuclear power and the waste that is generated and the danger of accidents which can irradiate whole tracts of land. Those on the right will proclaim how nuclear energy does not pollute the atmosphere with greenhouse gases (curiously, they don’t believe in global warming, but they still insist on making this point); and how nifty it is.

But the fact is simple economics. There hasn’t been a nuclear reactor built in the US since 1970. This is because running a nuke plant isn’t profitable. The cost to build, maintain, and dispose of the waste generated outweighs the potential income over the 40-year life of the reactor.

Now, the Obama plan seems to be to make nuclear power profitable by subsidizing it with government money. This would be a good idea if it would generate jobs in the US. Unfortunately, since the US hasn’t built a nuclear reactor since 1970, nobody in America knows how to build one. So everything. . . EVERYTHING. . . will have to be outsourced to overseas firms. Sure, the guys who run the place after it is built will have jobs — but it wouldn’t matter if they were building a coal plant or a nuke plant, those folks would still have jobs.

So, overall, even apart from the environmental and health concerns over nuclear power, this is a really bad idea.

I opened a bookstore.

Time to fix. Yay!

Don’t ask

So I had to restore a backup. Sadly the latest backup was from February 11th. This sucks on a number of levels.

Its nice to have a social life that doesn’t involve a computer.

Monday I quit smoking at 3:00pm. Original Cindy called me at work, and let me know that she had quit and was having a rough time of it. Being the great guy I am, I told her that I was quitting with her. . and so it began.

Its been 43 hours now. Its hard but I know that the first three days are the worst. That’s the time it takes for your body to physically get over its nicotine addiction. After that, its all psychological.

Yes, I’m a geek.

But this year, I filed my taxes electronically (of course) and my tax return got REJECTED! This had never happened before. It turns out that someone else had claimed our foster daughter Alaxis. Since Alaxis lived with us for the entire year last year, I knew that nobody else had a legal right to claim her on their taxes.

Perplexed, I called the IRS to figure out how to fix this:

(After a 25 minute wait and three transfers)
IRS Agent: Can I help you?

TJ: Yes. I e-filed my tax return and it was rejected – someone else claimed one of my dependents. What can. . .

IRS: You need to file a paper return.

TJ: That. . that will fix it, will it?

IRS: You can’t e-file. File a paper return and we’ll sort it out.

TJ: Should I attach any supporting documents, or. . .?

IRS: (getting frustrated) Just file a paper return like you normally would (Translated: “This solution is so obvious, you must be retarded to not see it.”)

TJ: (thinking: “Like I normally would? I wouldn’t normally file a paper return.”) Uh. . . and you’re sure that will fix it?

IRS: File a paper return and we’ll review it. Is there something else you need? (translated: “get off the phone!”)

TJ: No, I guess that’s . . .

IRS: Thank you for calling the IRS help line *click*

So, I have now printed up a physical copy of my tax return and will mail it to the IRS today. This is so 20th Century, its like I’m in a time machine. Now I need to go buy some of those little sticky squares you put on envelopes so the Post Office will deliver them.

Okay, this action figure is sold from Dragon in Dreams, and it DOES NOT come with the ninja swords and light saber. But with a few accessories from other action figures, you can make your own dream Obama action figure just like the ones pictured here.

Thats what my doggy looks like – shaved down with a cone over her head.

The surgery went well. They removed the fatty tumor on her leg and she is doing well. They took a biopsy so they can analyze it and see if it is malignant. For now, though, Purdy is uncomfortable but healthy and active.

Before surgery

After surgery