Daily Dose of BS Aug 28 no facebook

Social media and texting have been a big part of my life for the past I would guess 7 years.  I am going to attempt to do something I have never done before, on Monday when my vacation officially starts until Labor Day I am going to attempt to not text or not go on to facebook.  This is going to be tough for me as I have been tied to facebook for work and pleasure for many years, in fact my facebooking and texting have gotten so bad that I will miss parts of life because I am looking at the stupid screen on my phone.  Vacation this time around isn’t anything special just going to be taking a staycation hoping to get a few things done around the house, also plan on carrying on a tradition that my parents started when I was in school, on the first day of school I have always taken the kids out for breakfast, and don’t plan on disrupting that tradition.  I hope I can make it from August 31 – September 7^th without texting and facebooking, any ideas on how to do it?

Daily Dose of BS Aug 27 killing

Work place violence played out yesterday on live tv, kind of hits home to me and my coworkers.  We aren’t on tv but anyone in radio has been on location broadcasting and not really aware of all the surroundings when doing so.  When I heard the audio of the shooting yesterday I got goosebumps then later in the day I saw the tv news coverage unfold, and then seeing the shooters go pro video posted on his social media, this scares me.   What kind of copycat type killing are we going to see now?  What kind of demented, over the top things are we going to see next unfold live right in front of our eyes?   I guess to me hearing and seeing this play out in the same week that we had a murder in La Crosse makes me think that there are people with no regard for life all over the county, and that makes me sad.  Life is a gift we need to live it. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 26 preseason football

Do we really need preseason games in the NFL?  With Jordy Nelson out for the year, I scratch my head and wonder in disbelief and wonder what the reason behind having meaningless games in August.  The NFL expects their players to give it their all for the 16 regular season games, then up to 3 more for a couple of teams leading to the Championship game, the one you cannot say without getting in trouble from the NFL.  Now there are 4 preseason games added to that giving up to 23 weeks’ worth of hurt that could be thrust upon these players.  Most of the time the preseason games are a couple plays with the players that everyone wants to see and then 3 plus quarters of the second and third string players that won’t be around for the whole season.  I guess I look it as have maybe one or two preseason games, then let’s get on with the games that matter. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 25 stocks

I am not a financial planner nor do I play one on the radio, however my dad is one and I have many friends who are.  On Monday the market opened then immediately lost over a thousand points.  What does this mean to the typical person?  Well in my understanding is that if you were to sell your shares of stock when your shares were down, then you lose some money, however if you were to buy stocks when the market was down, it would be like buying those stocks on sale.  When the market has big swings you don’t really lose money or make money unless you decide to make a sale on that day at that time.  My dad once explained it to me if you buy a stock for 100 dollars and you lose 50% you are down to 50 bucks but if you gain 50% you are only at 75 dollars.  I guess the way I look at it for me, is that I don’t need my stocks today, so I am going to just let the shares ride, so no loss, except for on paper.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 24 community

On Friday we had our first murder in La Crosse in almost 2 years.  With all the crazy stuff going on nationally all the anti-cop rhetoric and the whole you shouldn’t talk to the police sentiment that is being preached to youngsters.  There is a fear that is setting in, a kind of challenging fear, one that is almost a fight or flight mentality.  I have heard some say that we as a community are close to a breaking point, some say that the police have no idea what they are doing and others like myself that applaud the local police department for what they are doing.  I had the chance over the weekend to talk to a few people who live in the neighborhood where the shootings have taken place, in fact one of the women I spoke with owned a home right next to the apartment where Randall was finally captured.  And she said her neighborhood has been slipping into the toilet for years.  Are you ready to fight for our community or roll over and play possum?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 20 weather

I am guessing that you have heard the old saying wait 15 minutes and the weather will change, right?  I saw a report the other day that said that this year we should expect a snowy winter.  Big woo we live in Wisconsin and that what winter is around here.  Funny thing about the weather we all complain about it but there is nothing we can do about it.  My buddy Bill Graul has said many times that with the forecast we always hear what we want for example if the weather guy says we could see a trace to an inch or rain we edit the forecast to benefit our day if you really wanted to go and do something outside and you needed to sell it to someone you would say there is only a trace chance of rain however if you didn’t want to do the outdoor activity you would say that we are getting an inch of rain I heard the weather person say so.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 19 waste

About every eight days I have the same problem the bar of soap is too small to use, I have tried morphing the smaller sliver of soap into the bigger new bar of Irish Spring and you end up with a lump on one side of the soap.  What are we supposed to do with those little slivers of perfectly good soap?  Think about the wastes that go on in the bathroom alone.  Let’s say you’re on the thorn you look at the paper and damn there are about 3 squares left for you to finish your job, three squares are not going to make a dent.  What do you do with those 3 extra squares?  I don’t know, I leave them for the next guy, not really, but sometimes I do.  Think of tooth paste, if you squeeze from the middle you miss lots at bottom and sides,  I squeeze from the bottom then about half way done I start the roll of the tube, then try to get the last drop out, but there is still the bit at the top that you can't get.  Which leaves me with the deodorant pack, if you make it down toward the end of the deodorant you will either break the piece off at the bottom or you will hit the sides of the container with your armpit.  Bathrooms truly are a place full of waste.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 17 shooting

I moved to the 900 block of 5th ave 23 years ago when I first moved into LaCrosse, it wasn’t the nicest neighborhoods, but it was home for a couple years. I never felt unsafe, I never had anything stolen or in the case of this past weekend, I never got shot at nor did my house ever get shot at. What is our city becoming? Our family had discussion at dinner last night about the multiple shootings in the city over the weekend, and my youngest asked if there were shootings everyday like we had in bigger cities like Chicago? I told him unfortunately yes there are shootings in big cities all the time, in which he responded why. That is a dang good question, why? I read a blog yesterday that said if we rode our bikes more and had more green space that this wouldn’t happen. I hope for humanities sake that they were only kidding.

Daily Dose of BS Aug 14 wi dot

Houses didn’t used to have flair and inviting look that they have now, when you go to build a house now or go to remodel an older home you want your home to have a certain look, you want it to be individual and to have the style that the homeowner likes, right?  Sometimes the general contractor makes the look of the home the way they want it, and not taking in the account of the people that are going to be living there.  I kind of feel that is how an entrance to a city should be also, don’t you?  The city of LaCrosse is facing this same type of thing with the exit 3 work that will be going on over the next several years.  The Mayor wanted the city council to reject the Wisconsin DOT plan for rebuild, the city council doesn’t want to spend the money to even have it looked at.  Where were these folks when the plans were being drawn up?  Didn’t they attend the meetings to give their ideas for the planning?  Do you think the city should pony up the cash to make the changes to the exit?

Daily Dose of BS Aug 13 bathroom spray

I am not and have never been a fan of the spray.  I am talking about the masking scent that lots of people spray in the bathroom after destroying a toilet.  Almost every place that has a can sitting there has someone who likes to press the button, and pressing the button is fine for a moment, the goal of having the cover up there is not to see how much of the can you can empty into a little room.  I am not sure why I don’t care for the stuff.  I just know that it doesn’t make the room smell like flowers.  I also don’t care for the natural smell either, but that is what the fan is for.  Speaking of bathrooms, I think that the public restrooms are learning after many use the paper towel to open that door, putting the garbage can by the door- that is a brilliant move.  You know what would be even smarter don’t you, have the doors push out. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 12 forgotten kids

I saw a campaign on facebook to leave your phone in the backseat when your baby is in the car, not so you don’t text and drive but so you don’t forget your baby in the car.  Huh?  Did I read that right, unfortunately I did read that right.  How in the hell can you leave your baby in the car?  I just don’t get it.  When I was a kid we stopped to have dinner at a McDonalds and my brother wouldn’t get into the car, after my parents pleaded with him to hop in, he didn’t so my dad drove around the block and came back to pick him up.  Now days you would probably go to jail for that stunt, which brings me to the family from France who drove 90 miles before realizing that they left their 3 year old daughter at a rest area.  As a dad myself, don’t you check the car seats or look in the mirrors at your kids while you are driving?  This phenomenon of parents forgetting their kids happens so often it has a name it’s called Forgotten Baby Syndrome.  Here’s some advice, look before you get out of your car, and look before you take off.

Daily Dose of BS Aug 11 neighbors

They say that 12 % of people hate their neighbors.  How are yours?  At one time I was living in the neighborhood that I had always dreamed of, great neighbors who care about their lawns, we took care of the elderly that lived close by helping with window washing and lawn mowing.  I still know most of my neighbors but not all, at one time I knew every single family that lived on my side of the block and about half of those across the street.  With our society as it is with it being so fluid, people have moved in and out of the neighborhood, and I don’t know if I just got lazy and content with my space, but the friendships that I once had with lots of neighbors has whittled down to the few of the neighbors who I’ve become good friends with.  Do you reach out to know your neighbors, or not?  

Daily Dose of BS toys

Remember growing up and the boys got GI Joes and the girls got Barbie’s?  I never had sisters so we never had the traditional girl’s toys at our house.  The toys at the Schmidt house were always gender specific towards boys, my brothers and I used to play also with Legos, and cars and trucks.  Target is now going to be removing the boy and girl label from most of their children’s department toys, after complaints from some shoppers.  For quite a while retailers have been moving away from boy and girl type of label on toys, and quite honestly having 3 boys and a girl at my house, while my kids were growing up, I often wondered why some of the things were labeled with either sex.  I thought the more creative items were always labeled with the girl label and more the cars and trucks with the boy label.  My kids played with both until they got to the age where they started to notice that this is a girl toy or a boy toy.  I get it with some of the toys, but really.  Who cares, as long as a toy or activity can help with the developmental growth of a child, let them play. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 7 staycation

Often times our own backyards are overlooked.  I am talking about taking a vacationing at home or a staycation.  My buddy Smiley from Nebraska and his family are coming to La Crosse for a visit, and I want to show them the best of our area.  They have been here a handful of times over the past 23 years, and we have done the bluff, gone on the river, walked the marsh and had ice cream at a couple places, hit the bars downtown the places that we think of first.  If you were showing off our city where would you take your guests?  I am proud of where we live and don’t want to miss out on that overlooked gem of Western Wisconsin.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 6 forgetful

My memory is not what it used to be.  I forget the most basic of things, for example this morning I was trying to remember to bring a um…thing this morning.  I got about to work and I swore to myself for forgetting my um thing.  My dad tells a joke where one of his clients stopped halfway on the staircase and called out to his wife, honey, um do you remember if I was heading up or down.  That makes you smirk because we have all felt like that at times, forgetting the most basic things.  How often have you set your keys down and forgot where they were, or didn’t grab your phone or watch as you headed out the door?  What about your car in a parking lot.  We have all forgotten things, but as I am getting older it seems to me that those forgetful moments are coming more often.  You?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 5 to many

Is it to early to care?  I am thinking about the 23 declared candidates for President.  There are 18 on the Republican side and 5 on the Democratic side.  Are we focusing too early on who these people are?   I find it weird that FOX picked the top 10 republicans for debate, while the other 8 have a different slot to fill.  I wonder if the earlier slot for these candidates is because of the equal time rule.  I do know that the primary is an important vote as you get to help to whittle down the amount of candidates from 23 to two.  Even though I think it is way too early to even be thinking of this stuff, we do need to pay attention and be informed on what policies are important to us. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 3 facts

I find this odd more than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.  I found that stat over the weekend, then I started to do the math in my head, ok most under let’s say 3 have never made or received a phone call, then what?  I like these kind of stats if they can be backed up.  The internet spews out lots of useless knowledge and lots of people who think that they are experts, heck anyone can write a book and claim expert status.  What are some of the weird facts that you have found that you know to be true?  I know that A 2 X 4 is really 1-1/2 by 3-1/2, and that each king in a deck of cards represents a king from history.  What strange facts do you know?