Daily Dose of BS March 31 parking

We did it. The Schmidt family made it through without a fine in the lets raise money for the city with an alternative side parking season. The fines aren’t enough to kill ya but at 10 bucks each and double then double again over time your parking only in front of your house for the season is enough to make a dent in your life’s savings. A couple years ago the La Crosse Police Department alternate side parking enforcement wrote out 17,660 tickets and took in $92,164 in fines. That is a lot of $10 tickets, also makes me think where did the 4$ come from. I wonder what the total brought in this year will be? So does it make you happy you can now park on either side of the street at least until November 1st.

Daily Dose of BS March 28 emerald ash borer

I grew up in the Twin Cities and remember when Dutch Elm hit that area and the landscapes of the older neighborhoods changed. May 22, 2011 the landscape of the South Side of La Crosse changed when the tornado ripped through the area. Now in 2014 we are seeing the landscape of most of La Crosse County changing again because of the cutting down of the Ash tree. I was thinking that my drives through the city looked different and I wrote it off to the snow then the melting of snow then it was reviled what I have been missing once the snow melted a bit more and exposed the stumps of the hundreds of Ash trees that have been cut down in hopes of eradicating the Emerald Ash Borer. It saddens me to see all these trees gone, our lovely canopy of leaves will for a long time be missing from the city streets.

Daily Dose of BS March 26 deadlines

March 31 is this coming Monday; this coming Monday is the next deadline for the Affordable Care Act. Guess what another deadline extension has been given, aren’t we just enabling people to keep pushing past these deadlines? I don’t get it. If your divers license is due on your birthday, you make damn sure you make it to the d-o-t in order to obtain your drivers license. We all know that April 15th is tax day, if you are late in getting your taxes in you know you are going to be fined. Same as other dates that we know come and go, for example if you have an anniversary and you miss it or a birthday or any other day that you know you have to do something and you don’t get it done there are consequences, why then do they and by they I mean the Government keep pushing the date for Affordable Care?

Daily Dose of BS March 25 toilet paper

I know I have talked about this in the past but it is important. We all use it some more than others but we average 46 squares of the stuff everyday. I am talking about toilet paper, I am guessing that we will never get everyone on the same page on which way it goes on the roll, if you are asking me it goes over not behind but that is another story, I want to talk today about the best of the best. When it comes to being a frugal person I do not think that skimping on your derrière paper is the place to do it. In fact I am a big fan of the ultra-strong Charmin, and really why wouldn’t you be? It is soft and strong. What I don’t get is these weird package sizes the packages say 12=24 or 12=36, unless this some new math that I really don’t get 12=12 right? Quit trying to fool us, tell us how my sheets are on the roll and enough with the funny math.

Daily Dose of BS March 24 first job

We have all had that first job, some stick with it some do not, but we have all either mowed a lawn, shoveled a walk, walked a dog, or babysat. I was thinking about this over the weekend, as my daughter branched out from the neighborhood with her babysitting business. Just watching her head out to work with her confidence and hoping that lessons learned from earlier gigs filled her learning bank. With babysitting and every other first job you learn valuable lessons in life, like to hope that things will all go right but to be ready for anything. Also no one really cares that you are having a bad day, you are there to do a job and to do it well, so always work your hardest. Do the job to the best of your ability and to not complain, also have a smile on your face. One of the best lessons I learned when I was a kid is to put away a little for a rainy day.

Daily Dose of BS March 21 bad fork

97% of the time I get it. 97% of the time, this percentage is great if getting it meant getting what someone says. But in my particular situation I am talking about getting the messed up fork, it doesn’t matter who I go to lunch or dinner with, 97% of the time I get the fork, the one that should have been tossed or sent to the silversmith to reform into a fork. It has gotten to be such a thing that my friends are always quick to point it out and ready to laugh at my expense. The number drops to about 17% when we are talking about spoons unless I visit my mom’s house, then the number goes up, for some reason when I visit I get the spoon that was dropped into the garbage disposal and isn’t quite rounded. I am not sure if I ever shared this milk fact with you but when I was a kid and lived at home every single day something would get dropped into my milk-every single day. But that is another story.

Daily Dose of BS March 19 pee in pool

Just saw the stat. Quit peeing in the pool. They say that one in 5 have done it and it is making us sick. Think about it one in 5 or 20% of Americans are peeing where they swim, or where they sit if in a hot tub. I think this is gross, besides being disgusting now they say this is what is making us sick. I got a way for this to stop from happening – stop peeing in the pool.

Daily Dose of BS March 18 driving

I took my son driving yesterday.  First time I have had the chance, not only was he scared, but I was as well.  He did fine, it is funny when his brother started driving a few years ago, I recall being more scared, but I am guessing that it will be easier when my other kids start driving in the future, it is funny how with something’s they get easier when you do them often, and other things go in fazes and still others never get easier.  I talk for a living, yet I still get frightened every time and I mean every single time I talk in front of a group, not that I do a bad job, but I am aware of everything when I am up doing my thing.  I don’t know if I will ever like talking in a group, but I am getting better at being a teaching passenger in the car.

Daily Dose of BS March 17 st patricks day

They say that 11 percent of all Americans claim some Irish ancestry, which is about seven times the size of Ireland. Surveys also say that about 50% of Americans will wear green today. I was thinking about St Patrick’s Day and the parallels with the state of Wisconsin, the two things that most people associate with Saint Patty’s Day is Beer and Whiskey drinking which we in Wisconsin do at just about more of a rate than any other state. And wearing of the Green, show me a true Wisconsinite that doesn’t have a Green Bay Packer shirt or hat, also if you think of it on St Patrick’s Day there is green beer sold, and regular beer is gold you put the two next to each other and what do you have? That is correct Packer colors, while we may not all be Irish or have Irish ancestry, today as a Wisconsinite we are all Irish. So top of the morning to ya.

Daily Dose of BS March 14 phones

My kids say I am addicted to my phone.  I admit I am in the constant quest for more information but addicted?  I don’t think so I can put it away, for a few hours at a time.  I am sure that it is out more than I think it is.  It is funny there are about 5 aps I use all the time including google to check things, my texting to of course text, my facebook ap, the calculator, the gps, music while at the gym,  and oh yea the phone.  Funny how this small computer that most of us carry around is also a phone, I think we often forget that this is the function of why we have it but use it for so many more things.  I forgot to plug mine in last night before bed waking up to a dead phone.  I don’t like it I started feeling panicky but soon got to work and got it plugged in.  

Daily Dose of BS March 13 romance

When I think of romantic places in the country my mind goes to the coasts at least big communities within the heartland. Never have I in my 22 years in La Crosse did I ever think of La Crosse Wisconsin as one of the most romantic places in this great country. A buddy of mine sent me a link to an article from a few years ago the according to Redbox that of the 52 thousand people in La Crosse that apparently we rent more romantic movies than anywhere else in the country, thus earning us the title of most lovey dovey. Do you agree? Do you think that deep within the walls of the colleges or on 3rd street lies the most romantic person ever? What brings out the romance? Is it the bitterly cold weather, maybe we are all just looking for someone to cuddle up with and to try to keep warm. What do you think is the most romantic city you’ve ever been to? Is it La Crosse?

Daily Dose of BS March 12 jb

I think that Justin Bieber is a spoiled rotten punk. There I said it and it feels good to get it off my chest. I work on a station that plays his music and I don’t like him. He is disrespectful to those around him he feels as though we owe him something, we don’t. I would think that if you are on top of your game that you are to be grateful, or at least have some sort of respect for people around you and some respect for yourself. From the police videos I have seen of this punk lately he comes across as a I am better than you piece of dog waste. I hope that this latest bit of trouble opens the eyes of those that put him on a pedestal.

Daily Dose of BS March 10 flight

How can an airplane just disappear? Cars now a days have Onstar wouldn’t you think that an airplane would have something similar? I feel bad for the families that have loved ones on that Malaysian Flight that disappeared. As a very infrequent flyer I guess I thought that they were tracked. I was 27 by the time I took my first flight as an adult. Since then I have flown maybe for a dozen trips, with each trip a bit braver, I was a basket case the first flight I ever took. You never really know what to expect when you fly, who you will sit next to, if the crew is having a good day or not, what weather will be like when you land and if you have the right credit card for the drink cart.

Daily Dose of BS March 7 tv

I used to have the first tv that my dad had as a kid, he lugged it around from place to place till he settled down, we had it as a basement tv. When it finally died my brothers and I took out the tv and just used the cherry wood box for a chest. This old tv was a piece of furniture, a family heirloom. I remember changing the channel having to click thru each and every channel and back in those days there were only 4 channels, fast forward 35 years and tv’s are throwaways when was the last time you used a fixit person for anything? Most of the society today is throwaway, from tv’s to beds, to washers and dryers to –the sky is the limit. That is almost everything, the remote control is the one thing when it stops working we go into a panic, we don’t know what to do, we look at it, we push all the buttons, we take off the back, we roll the batteries in the back if that works we are relieved, if not we take the batteries out, switch sides then try again if that doesn’t work we replace the batteries. Thank goodness for batteries right, cause I don’t think I could go back to changing the channel by getting up and going to the tv to do it.

Daily Dose of BS March 6 food

We all have favorites. When it comes to food, I have many from donuts to pizza to beer. I had a meeting last night and one of the guys there said I had a Bloedow doughnut this morning. Now if you don’t live in or have never been to Winona Minnesota you have no idea what a Bloedow doughnut even is, I suggest you find one and have one. They are tops. For burgers, I am partial to a Barrel Inn Mushroom Swiss or the big burger from The Swing Inn. Pizza has me wanting a pie, when it comes to frozen za, I live the Lloyds Sweet Home Chicago, for thin it has to be the Great River Road House, and Thick crust has me driving to Holmen to The Pizza Corral. Breakfasts now there are lots of great choices there, depending on the mood. What is your favorite foods, and places?

Daily Dose of BS March 5 school

I used to work with a guy who was in his 40’s and lived at home with his parents, he always used ot say if my mom and dad didn’t want the responsibility of having kids they shouldn’t have had sex. As a young man I laughed at that, as an adult, I look back and cringe that that. I am sure you heard about the 18 year old from New Jersey who didn’t want to live by her parents rule; she moved out and is now suing them for college and living costs. You heard of this right. An 18 year old in New Jersey was trying to sue her parents for room board and education. The judge said no. Good for the judge, why is it that she feels as though she is owed this education. She isn’t, she should work for it.

Daily Dose of BS March 4 changes

A couple of big changes in the Schmidt house, my oldest is moving out with some friends. I will see now if all the lessons have stuck. He is moving only about 5 blocks from home so he’ll be close enough for lunches or dinners. The other big change is my middle son just got his permit yesterday, kinda fitting that he gets his permit and the gas prices go up, the last time I remember gas being under a dollar were for a few days around when he was born. Now the prices are creeping up again, this morning in La Crosse the prices are 3.54 per gallon, this sucks. I filled up the Tahoe on Saturday and did a little math only to find out I am only averaging 11.35 miles per gallon.

Daily Dose of BS March 3 reuse

Who says you have to use things for what they are intended for. For example when I have a sticky zipper I rub a candle on it, same goes for a keyed lock, if it is sticking I run a candle on the key and open it up. Having baked potatoes on the grill and wrap them in tin foil? Save the foil and rub on the grill to clean it. If you’re camping and need to start a fire and can’t find kindling use Doritos they light on fire. Our lives are full of these little cheats that make our lives easier, what are some that you have found?