Daily Dose of BS April 19

The upside down triangle posted on some corners, are called yield signs.  I am pretty sure I know what they mean and how they are used, so I did a search on google of what the yield sign means and had a hard time finding the definition of a yield sign.  There is no good definition to what a yield sign means it is no wonder people don’t know what to do when they come to one.  On my way home yesterday I approached a yield sign and did as I was supposed to do I slowed down looked to the left then the right then the left again, I noticed a car approaching to my right so I stopped and waited for them to proceed through the intersection, they stopped and waved me through the sign and then turned to the left.  I don’t get it, this is not the first time that this has happened to me, when I brought it up this morning at work it has happened to others around the office as well.  According to page 15 of the Wisconsin Divers Book a yield sign means “Slow down.  Other cars on the road that you want to cross or enter have the right-of-way.  You must let them go first.  The yield sign is a triangle pointing down” HUH that is not a clear definition.  Ok here it is as I understand it when you get to a yield sign slow down look both ways if there is someone coming stop if not proceed with caution any questions ask, don’t look it up on google it will just confuse you more.  

Daily Dose of BS April 18

Shoes are something we all wear, we also have our favorites.  Some friends of mine posted this the other day on their facebook “Do you think it's rude for somebody to ask you to remove your shoes before you walk into their house?”  I responded “No, I think it is rude when people don't ask if they should remove their shoes.”  Half the people who posted on their comment “liked” what I said.  It made me think, when I was growing up I never had to take off my shoes at my parents’ house, now when I visit I have to at my Mom’s and don’t have to at my Dad’s, but do since that is what I do.  When my Mom comes for a visit she always takes off her shoes but my Dad never does, weird.  When did we become so obsessed with taking off our shoes?  I wear as my friends like to call them “potato shoes” they are really just slip on shoes for easy on and off.  I seldom wear socks, but I don’t feel weird walking bare footed around someone’s house, maybe it is a bit weird.  A couple of things at play here, are you a take your shoe off at the door person, if so why, and is it acceptable to go bare foot around someone else’s house?  I was able to walk around my folks house with shoes on as a kid but couldn’t sit on the nice furniture in the front room and had to use a coaster for my water glass, now the only coaster around my house is the kid who doesn’t pedal down the alley.  

Daily Dose of BS April 17

Procrastination.  We all do it, some better than others.  I for one am great at it, I have a list of things to do this long and it is growing by leaps and bounds daily.  I don’t know why everyone feeds into it from Moms, and Dads to bosses to the US Government.  The Government you ask, yes and here is why, I understand setting a date for filing our taxes, I get it that people will wait until the final possible minute to do their taxes, but if tax day were say on the 2^nd Tuesday or Wednesday of the month of April it would make more since that way there is no weekend or holiday in the way and no Tuesday or Wednesday holiday that I can think of since most of the date exclusive holidays are mostly religious holidays that we get in trouble for saying Happy this or Merry that to anyway.  I hope I don’t end up being bullied into not saying Happy or Merry holiday in the future, I don’t think I will.  You know I have to write these Daily Dose of BS’s every day, what was the point of this one?  I will have to let you know some other day.  Happy Tax Day.   

Daily Dose of BS April 16

Imagine yourself driving on a road no one in front of you and no one behind you cruzing at the speed limit, not a care in the world.  Up ahead you see a car gliding up to the stop sign, you are about a ¼ mile from that person, thinking in your head they won’t pull out in front of me, they will stop fully and wait the 3.2 seconds that it takes me to drive past them, and then they can pull out and be on their merry way.  Wouldn’t that be nice. It seems as if I encounter every-me-first-idiot on the road.  It usually happens to me on the highway to the cabin, where there is no passing for miles on end and the car that pulls out usually doesn’t have the power to go up to the speed limit or if they do they pull out like a bat out of hell and speed to the very next turn either right or left, causing me to slow down, tap the cruise if you will.  I just don’t understand why it is that people feel the need to do this, these kind of drivers cause accidents and road rage.  This type of encounter happened to me this morning on my way into work, a truck with Kansas license plates pulled out in front of me from the street just south of the McDonalds lot on the Northside and then proceeded to pull in to the McDonalds lot.  I gave this guy the benefit of the doubt since all the tornados that happened over the weekend in Kansas, and maybe just maybe his mind was there, if you are driving use your head for something more than just holding your hat. 

Daily Dose of BS April 13

My daily morning routine is down to a science, give or take a couple of minutes.  On my drive in to work I know by this time I should be here and by that time I need to be there on my way in.  Today I was running 3 minutes behind, I know this because I had a hiccup at home putting me back that much further, I was on West Avenue / Lang Drive through the marsh by Menards and was boxed in, the guy in the left lane was going under speed the guy in right lane was at speed and I was stuck behind it all.  The guy in the right lane finally passed the guy in left when the guy in left lane sped up to match the speed of the guy on the right in turn keeping me boxed in, as I mentioned a moment ago I was 3 minutes behind schedule, I had to do something, and had to do it quick, I saw my chance the guy in left slowed a moment, I hit it, riding the guy on the right, quick left turn signal then gas and go, I made it over and out of the box, at that exact moment, I saw the cherries, the dreaded red lights on top of the vehicle in my rear view mirror, my heart skipped a beat the bead of sweat on my brow dripped into my eye, I checked my speed only 5 over no worries, another check in the rear view mirror, it was an ambulance and not a cop, it was a whew moment for me, I hope for the same luck to the person that was transported in the ambulance.  Don’t get me started on the first day cluster on Hwy 35 heading north through Onalaska. 

Daily Dose of BS April 12

I remember my Mom telling me stories about when she was a kid that around Christmas mail was often delivered 2 x a day.  I also remember the old tag line of “We are mothers and fathers. And sons and daughters. Who every day go about our lives with duty, honor and pride. And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever.”  For many years I thought that, that saying was the Postal Service’s motto, did you know that the post office does not have a motto.  I am impressed that if I mail something in La Crosse that it will get to the Twin Cities in a day, two days at the most.  The letter carriers have a job that I would not want.  They know going in that they have Sundays and holidays off, but from there a rotating schedule of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc. off so really very rarely do they get two days off in a row.  The senate is talking about doing away with mail on Saturdays and offering mail delivery Monday – Friday, essentially cutting a day of mail delivery and all that goes with it.  I for one think I can do without the weekend mail delivery, and think about the money it would save us as taxpayers.  Also I think it would help the letter carriers have more of a normal schedule.  I don’t look at it as downsizing, but as budget cutting move.  Your thoughts? 

Daily Dose of BS April 11

So when you open your refrigerators is it nice and neat, are things where they need to be?  Fruit in the fruit crispers and the vegies in the climate controlled veggie drawer?   Ketchup is stored in the door next to the mustard and bbq sauce?  Milk also stored in the door leaving the bulk of the fridge for food, from what is for dinner later tonight to the luncheon meats for lunches and you can’t forget about the leftovers or in my case the planed overs for my lunches.  In a perfect world all would fit in to the refrigerator like a game of well played Tetris, with left over space for what is new.   I opened my fridge this morning to what looked like a poorly played game of Tetris, with this box here and that container there, a few Styrofoam boxes shoved into the top shelf with vengeance and a bottle of ketchup placed on the edge of the shelf so the air movement of opening up the fridge will knock it off to a fiery death below.   Ok maybe a bit exaggerated but pretty close to the truth.  Getting my lunch ready for the day often involves a bit of hunting around the fridge for the best mix of leftovers to fill the belly of the beast.  Today as I pulled one of the Styrofoam boxes out it caught the top of the ketchup bottle and splat the unbreakable plastic bottle didn’t break but the lid smashed into 20 pieces on the floor, the ketchup was oozing its red contents out all over the floor the only thing missing was the chalk line.   

Daily Dose of BS April 10

12 minutes, 12 long minutes.  In 12 minutes you could drive 12 miles; you could put together a meal, cook a burger on the grill, change the oil, do the dishes, or get a load of laundry done.  There are so many things you can do in 12 minutes.  For 12 minutes yesterday evening, I pushed myself.  I enrolled in the La Crosse Park and Rec 5k class and yesterday I ran a total of 12 minutes over a 2 ½ mile stretch.  Now I say run with a grain of salt, it is more like a brisk walking speed with arms moving but this is the most I have ever run in my life.  I had one stretch of running where I did 3 minutes in a row.  I know for you runners out there that this is not a big feat but for a 43 year old who never and I repeat never ever ran, this is a huge feat for me, a personal goal.  I am pushing toward the goal of a 5k in the beginning of May with the La Crosse Fitness Festival, I have been training 3x a week and have come a long way (and have a long way to go), as I mentioned here 3 weeks ago when this started that I ran a total of 90 seconds, last week I made it to 11 minutes.  I guess I look at it this way, if you set your mind on a goal and work toward that goal, nothing can stop you, nothing that is except for you.   

Daily Dose of BS April 9

I think I am wearing Magnetic shirts to work every day.  Not that they attract metal but they sure do attract coffee stains, and it seems the nicer the shirt the bigger and bolder the stain is.  I love a cup of coffee on the way to work in the morning, and then throughout the day.  I either warm up the leftover coffee from the day before or use the Kerig for a fresh brewed dark roast.  I use a travel mug for my daily caffeine intake, supposedly with a spill proof lid.  Amazing the amount of spillage that the so called spill proof lid allows by almost daily, the best way to not spill for me is to take the lid off and drink it without the lid, I would but when driving, that is just inviting a bigger problem, a stain can be taken off the shirt with a Tide pen once I get to work, a hot coffee burn, this is a string of swear words waiting to happen.  I suppose I could quit drinking coffee, but what would I mix my Baileys with when I am watching a hockey game?  

Daily Dose of BS April 5

Bananas, apples and oranges good food for thought, and a great way to start the day.  I try to start my mornings with a piece of fruit and a granola bar, nice to tide me over on my way into work every morning.  I eat my fruit and always toss my fruit wrapper, core, peel out the car window.  My kids asked me about this before since I am adamant about not littering, why is it ok for me to toss the food out the window, I say because it will break down and animals can eat it.  What is your thoughts on this, is this littering or is it ok to toss a fruit cast off out the window of a car?

Daily Dose of BS April 4

I have a flowering crab apple tree in my back yard; yesterday it was in full bloom, the smell was fantastic.  I love spring as the grass starts to green the trees start budding and the windows can be opened to let in fresh air.  This year we had a weird beginning of spring with the heat and record breaking temps of a few weeks ago.  The grass in my yard is already in need of cutting, and the weed whacking needs to be done also.   Spring also brings Easter and family. This year we are doing an Easter get together with most of my family at my brother’s house, and we are not having ham but lasagna and we are not doing Easter on Easter but on another day.  I am looking forward to the family get together, as they don’t happen nearly enough.  I watch my kids when they bicker and fight and say mean things to each other and think to how I would like to do that with my brothers in person and not just on the phone.  One lives in the Cities and the other in California, and we are all busy with life.  To be young again and realize the gift of family, sometimes it is not appreciated until later in life.  Another gift this time of the year is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, why is it that they taste so much better than a plain Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?  

Daily Dose of BS April 3

I talked about it the other day about how it is good to hire someone to do the jobs you don’t know how to or want to do.  This past weekend I put it to the test.  I needed some work done at the family cabin and hired Harter Trucking Inc. to move some earth.  Two of my boys came with for the trip and to watch the work being done.  I was amazed at the hard work and the skills of John, the guy who did the work.  As a man who likes to try new things I thought I can do that, and asked about driving the skid steer.  Reluctantly he allowed me to drive it after teaching the kids how to move the skid steer forward and backward.  I timed John and from load drop to going and grabbing the next load to drop, time of 1 minute 4 seconds.  When I did it total time 6 minutes and 59 seconds and my bucket wasn’t even full.  For the amount of earth moved if it was me doing the work, I would still be driving the machine and it wouldn’t be flat.  So again when it comes to getting work done by a professional, when it is a skill you are not too sure of or if it is something that you want to look good at the end, it is often cheaper and less stressful to hire a professional than to hire your buddies for beer.    

Daily Dose of BS April 2

I made it through the April Fool’s day debauchery again this year.  Not a single joke was played at the Schmidt household, and I didn’t even hear of any good jokes until I got to work this morning and saw that Mitt Romney’s campaign tricked him into thinking that no one showed up to his campaign stump speech in Milwaukee yesterday.   I remember when I was going to school for radio and they had a segment on April fools jokes and they talked about this crazy guy from La Crosse that talked people into putting bags over their phones so that the phone company could blow out the phone lines.  I never got the chance to work with Brucie Bumchuckles but have become friends with him over the years of being in the same business, and his prank on the people of La Crosse and area to this day is funny.  I am always happy when April 1^st comes around as it is the end of the joke perpetuated on the tax payers of the city of La Crosse, April 1^st means no more alternate side parking, well at least until November 1^st.  We had fewer than 10 snowfalls this past season and only 2 or 3 would have been affected by the parking.  I am guessing that the parking money helps to subsidies something, I am not sure what, as my taxes are still through the roof.   I wrote about the alternate side parking at the beginning of the season and wondered just how many parking tickets my 16 year old would get.  I am here to say the he got none, zero, zip, nada, that makes a dad proud.  

Daily Dose of BS March 30

Dream.  Two years ago the lottery was huge, not as huge as it is for the drawing tonight but at the time a record.  I was at a bar down by my cabin the night before the drawing and started talking to one of the locals about life and pretty soon conversation got to the lottery.  I told Glen that I am not a lottery player very often, that I only have bought when someone at work collected.  He pulled a stack of lottery tickets out of his pocket and set them on the bar.  He had ten tickets and he offered me one, I was hesitant, I asked him what if I win I suppose I gotta share it with ya then.  He answered no and continued on to tell me that he buys these tickets and hands them out as tips, and that one of them that he gave was worth a couple of thousand dollars.  I put the ticket in my pocket; our conversation shifted to something else and soon after I was on the road and back to the cabin.  That night when I went to bed I started thinking about that ticket and what if it is a winner, what if I woke up as a multimillionaire what would I do with all that money, my mind was racing, my heart was thumping what if I was a millionaire?  When I got home from the cabin I checked my ticket, not a single number matched, but for the 24 hours of dreams, it was worth it.  If you are going out to get a ticket remember that you have a better chance of hitting two holes in one during the same golf game than winning the lottery, but for a buck you have the same chance of winning as the next guy.  And also for the dollar the dream may be worth it.

Daily Dose of BS March 29

Hey could you do me a favor if you are reading this please “like” it I keep hearing from people saying that they read my Daily Dose of BS but never comment.  So if you’re reading this even if you don’t like it please “like” it.  The phenomenon of facebook is just that a phenomenon.  It is how people communicate, get their news, entertaining themselves and also kill time.   Facebook is the world’s biggest website and world’s largest collection of photos.  I spend way too much time updating this or uploading that.  It has also changed how we do our jobs, it has changed our views on things and how we perceive things, when I was growing up my parents taught me to not ask people to be your friends, if it was meant to be it will happen, but every day we get requests from this person and that person to be our friend on facebook.   I bet if you are on facebook that you have poked some people you don’t even know.  I know I have, and it isn’t even the 70’s.  The poking on facebook is harmless but what does it mean?  What does it mean to “poke” someone?  I am I going to get in trouble or get something broken?  Is it ok to poke a co-worker without getting written up, or can I poke a friend without getting in trouble from their spouse or significant other?  And what am I poking with?  Sometimes I am confused and think back to poking my brothers, with a stick.  That got me in trouble.  Has facebook changed your life or perception of life?  

Daily Dose of BS March 28

You are not the only one dealing with this problem.  I was talking with another father of boys and he told me I am not alone, pretty soon other parents where chiming in about their kids and I now realize that it is an epidemic.  Kids just don’t pick up after themselves and if they do it is half assed.  How many times have you heard yourself telling your children to pick up that plate or toss that wrapper in the trash only to either find that wrapper on the counter next to the garbage can or even worse how about finding the wrapper on the top of the garbage can lid?  How much extra effort is it to lift the lid and toss your piece of trash into the can?  And if the can is overflowing, take the bag out, put a new one in and set the bag outside, you don’t even need to take it out to the trash, the next person out will.  Kids do your parents a favor and look to see what needs to be done and do it without being asked, and do it right.  As a parent of 4 I do know that this too much to ask.

Daily Dose of BS March 27

I love a nap.  I get up at 4 weekdays for work, and I have four kids, so life happens after 5 quite often.  Every one of my kids is involved in some sort of extra curricular activities, from sports to ccd to work and life.  If I were to not nap I would need to go to bed by 9 every night so I could get my 7 hours of sleep, and if I was the person who needs 8 hours I would have to be in bed by 8, not going to happen as it is still light at 8 for part of the year.  With my life a 9 pm bed time is not possible.  There are days I go to bed by 9 and sometimes earlier but for the most part I push 10 maybe 11 and sometimes midnight.  Naps are important, without a good nap I would walk around in more of a daze than I already do, be zombie like if you will.  A good power nap will refresh and give you a new outlook on life.  I try to take between a 15-30 minute nap daily.  There are a few days that I miss, but for the most part, most of my days involve a nap.  Some are jealous, others think it is lazy, me, I am just glad I don’t have to go to bed at the same time as the neighbors 4 year old kid.   

Daily Dose of BS March 26

According to Wikipedia “abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gaining benefit.  Abuse can come in many forms not only physical or verbal, but injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, and many more forms.”  I write this with a heavy heart today as a friend of mine asked me to write about abuse as she is afraid that a friend of hers is being abused.  I have said many times that life is too short for _____ fill in the blank of anything that you don’t like to do.  When you are in an abusive relationship you think that you are alone and that no one out there knows what you are going through. They may not know your specific issues, but there are people out there that do understand and are ready to step in and help you and your kids out of the situation.   In the La Crosse area people from New Horizons Shelter and Women’s Center are available 24 hours a day by calling 608-791-2600 or 888-231-0066 there is information available http://www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/departments/da/docs/VictimWitness/RrcsVicDomViol.htm ( by googling abuse resources and the name of your city)  As we approach April, child abuse prevention awareness month remember you are better than being a verbal or physical punching bag, and there is help available.

Daily Dose of BS March 23

We are a society that buys things when we want them whether or not we need them.  If you don’t believe me look in your closet or your junk drawer or garage.  It seems like we are collectors of stuff, junk if you will.   I am just as bad as the next guy.  I remember Christmas when I was a kid, I was excited because of the great hints I dropped to my parents, and then made sure I told Santa, and 9 out of 10 times I would get at least some of what I asked for.  Fast forward 30 years and if I want something I go buy it so when it comes to surprises there really aren’t too many, because of that.  We are buyers, not if we need it but if we want it, this is why we are in the financial problems we are in as a country.  Credit is too readily available for people without the means to pay it back, look at our housing problems and the fact that there are record bankruptcies.  As I remember hearing many times as a kid if you understand interest you earn it if not you pay it.  

Daily Dose of BS March 22

The customer is always right.  I heard these words uttered by someone in the office as they were walking past my door.  This was the concept that I have always lived by, even if you thought the customer was wrong, they are right to their face, they could be wrong afterward but to their face they are always right.  I think that businesses often forget these words and the concept of the customer being right is out the door.  I would think as the almighty dollar gets more and more scarce that businesses out there would embrace those words and especially the concept.  I had a dealing with a big company the other day, I called the 800 number on the bill and got sent on a barrage of number pushing prompts, when I finally got to speak with someone, they spoke quiet and being a wearer of hearing aids, it was hard to hear, but the broken English made it all the harder to understand.  I had a question about my bill, it had doubled from the last time I remember seeing it, I am not the bill payer in my house, so when I saw the new double price for same service I was a little perturbed.  I tried to explain my issue and the person on the other end of the line they were rude and kept interrupting.  In my opinion if are taking phone calls for your business, once in a while double check the quality of the people to make sure that they are upholding the mission of your business.  And if you are not happy as a customer switch.