"People who get nostalgic about childhood were obviously never children." - Bill Watterson

I read an article yesterday - I think it was on MSNBC.com but I can't find it now - about the 10 largest family owned companies. Number one was Walmart and ten was Mars - as in Mars bars and M&M's. For all ten of the vignettes they had a picture, in some cases a husband & wife and in others a more extended family. In each case they were wearing very expensive clothes and standing in very luxurious surroundings.
That's another reason I'm glad not to be rich. I don't want to work that hard on my wardrobe or our house. I was raised by a classy mother who was and is always "just so," but to her dismay it didn't rub off on #2 son. I much prefer clean casual. And living in the country with animals.

I think one can legitimately question the intellect of Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain and Rick Perry. I'm NOT saying they're stupid, but the pressure of the media spotlight seems to have demonstrated they also aren't outstandingly bright. And I want my President to be really, really smart. He (she) can be sneaky smart (cf. Reagan) but you can't have beauty queen moments and run the most powerful country in the world.

Whatever else he is, and I think there's a lot more than meets the eye, everybody agrees Newt is beyond smart. That's been his rep since his days in the House. Gingrich's command of details makes him a powerful debater and he always does well in front of the cameras. He nailed it this weekend with his comments about the OWS protesters. Let's see if he is just the latest anti-Mitt or a legitimate option.

This morning I adjusted Ilsa's brakes and the pedal travel is now what it should be.
I installed the trailer wiring harness on the Kia. It arrived in Saturday's mail. That took longer than it should have because the connection up underneath the Kia was well hidden and the cover was stuck. But it's all done.
Then one of my very most favorite jobs - pruning the larger of the two citrus trees in the back "yard." I hate that tree. Grammarians will tell you it's impossible to hate an object, only persons can be the recipients of that emotion. But when it comes to this tree the term fits. Alas, my wife really likes the hybrid oranges it bears. The good news: it shows signs of disease, maybe imminent death. I told her about the peeling bark so she can prepare to grieve appropriately.

This whole debt commission thing has me shaking my head. These 12 were supposed to represent the beset and brightest from the House and Senate and give us the best option for a resolution.
I didn't realize until just recently that the deep cuts to the military built into the legislation in the event the commission failed don't take effect until 2013. Would we have had a different outcome if they took effect on January 1, 2012? Methinks so. Anyone who's raised kids knows the importance of immediate response, whether it's reward or punishment. And this gives them too much time to find a way out of those cuts.

Are the cuts a bad thing? AZ Senator John McCain, sure thinks so. And I respect his perspective given his military career. But I also recall that Pres. Eisenhower, a 5-star general and WWII hero, in his last speech as President, warned about the dangers of "the military industrial complex" and its insatiable appetite for more. Sometimes I think a smaller military might cause us to think more carefully about military action and maintaining the bases we have all over the world. Do Germany and Japan really need our protection?

On Top Gear tonight they did a segment on the newest Rolls Royce, the Phantom. Maybe I should try out that business of being rich. Pretty cool car. The hubcaps don't go around with the wheels so the RR emblem is always upright. Suicide doors, and the back close from the inside with the press of a button.
Can I have chickens out back and a Rolls in the garage?