Daily Dose of BS Sept 24 wednesdays

We are at the half way of the work week.  Good old Wednesday, a downhill slide to the weekend if you will.  I personally like Wednesday because it is a half-way point, and at our house it is CCD night.  Productive I read a stat that said Wednesday is the 3^rd most productive day of the week it goes like this Tuesday is the big day with 51% feeling productive, followed by Monday then good old Wednesday at 15%.  For me Wednesday is my longest day at the office I have to stick around for a brainstorm meeting then off to take on the day.  It is funny that Friday has only 1% of the population being motivated, for me I am pretty motivated on Fridays too, motivated to get my stuff done and get out of work that is.  

Daily Dose of BS September 23 ageing

Ageing is not for the faint at heart.  Those that used to know me knew I used to have lots of hair, natural curly black hair and a baby face.  For many years I shaved my head bald on a daily basis, and would grow it back every year or two just to prove to myself that I am not getting old.  Guess what the last few times I grew my hair back the male pattern baldness was there but not too big, the bright spot was that my hair wasn’t greying but my younger brothers hair was, both of my brothers heads of hair was speckled with grey hair, but not mine.  Well not mine until September 1^st when I decided to grow my hair out for my annual old man check.  What the heck happened?  I used to have long natural curly hair, no bald spot and only distinguished grey hair in my beard, now I got greys creeping in to what few hairs I have left.  I think I will blame the kids as I never had grey hair before children.  I also didn’t used to have bags under my eyes.  I guess I found the secret of getting old, it’s the kids fault.  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 22 parade season

Well it has begun.  The parade week has begun with the King Apple Parade yesterday, had the chance to with the rest of the La Crosse Radio Group and Bauer’s Market hand out thousands of apples.  Up next lighting up the vehicles on Thursday night for the Torchlight Parade on the North Side of La Crosse kicking off Oktoberfest 2014.  The Edelweiss Parade is Friday morning leading to the tapping of the Golden Keg, then the gran-daddy of all parades begins on Saturday Morning with the Mapleleaf Parade.  Rumor is that almost 250,000 people line the streets of La Crosse for the Mapleleaf.  I like our celebrations of fall for the area with Applefest and Oktoberfest, what are your favorite memories of fest?  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 19 driving

When you have a vehicle that you drive with your work info plastered all over it you tend to drive more cautiously because your contact info is all over the place.  Yesterday afternoon I was driving the radio station Scion Ion, and yes I do fit in it, to a remote to sell Oktoberfest tickets, when I needed to switch lanes, I looked around there were a few car lengths in between the truck in front and the car behind that I wanted to slip in between, I put on my blinker to move over then did.  Waved to the guy behind me to say thanks, and he flipped me off.  I did the shrug shoulders thing he did it back, and then flipped me off again this time while on the horn.   I then had to turn into where I was going to be doing my remote and the guy followed right behind me, I am thinking ooh ooh I am in my station car and really can’t do much, thank goodness he continued on, as I glanced to make sure he was going away I noticed a bumper sticker from another radio station holding his bumper together, maybe he was just saying hi.  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 18 live for today

There is a new poll that was just released that asked which decade of the 20th century people would most like to go back to, the one most people pick is the 1950s. It was an age of stay-at-home wives, novel household appliances, and suburbs.  Most people surveyed seem to yearn for their youth. Over 50% of those over 65-plus want to revisit the 1950s or 1960s, while those 45-to-64 look towards the 80s.  It makes sense to me as when I think of the good old days I yearn for the 80’s a time in my life where things were much simpler, a time when I didn’t have to worry about life as it was run by my folks.  I really don’t miss those days but look back to them as a simpler time.  I try to live in the moment and not live in the past.  It is funny that my 16 year old said that to me last night when we were discussing some issues from his past.  Live in the moment and do not dwell in the past, Dad.  I guess we can learn by listening. 

Daily Dose of BS Sept 17 nlf in news again

The NFL in the news again for abuse, this time Adrian Peterson suspended from the Vikings for using a tree branch when disciplining his 4 year old child.  The Vikings have now reversed course on its handling of their star running back now putting him on the exempt commissioner’s permission list, this means he is suspended indefinitely from all team activities while the running back’s child-abuse case is under investigation.  I wonder if he was suspended because of the pulling of advertising dollars that the Vikings pulled their star running back?  I think it is pretty sad that the team didn’t just say when it happened that they would cut ties until all these issues are worked out.   I said it a few weeks ago and will say it again today, it is not ok to hit.  Men, women, children and animals are not a punching bag, if you are looking to punch someone or beat someone up join a boxing gym. 

Daily Dose of BS Sept 16 be on time

In sales I think it is important to be on time early in fact but not too early.  Being on the radio I am used to being at a place on time.  If I am not here to push the buttons or hit the top of the hour there is a problem.  In most businesses schedule it important, why is it that medical is different?  I am not busting the chops of all in medical but very rarely is an 8:30 appointment started at 8:30.  I was scheduled for a health assessment for 5 this morning so that way I could get on with my radio day, I got there at 4:50 tried the doors, walked over to another building, walked back tried the doors, sat in my car listened to the top of the hour news rechecked the doors and had to abort my appointment cause as I mentioned before I got a schedule to keep.  I know that this isn’t the end of the world or anything, but it is a start to the day with an irritant plus I am now going to have to do another 12 hour fast, and for a big guy that isn’t the most fun thing.  I think I just figured out why the magazines at the clinics are so old they are on a different time than the rest of us.  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 15 binge tv

When I was a kid binge tv watching was pretending to be sick to stay home and watching “The Price is Right” then catching the reruns of “Gilligan’s Island” and “I Love Lucy”.   DVR’s have changed that so has Netflix.  My wife and I started watching Dexter a few months ago kind of on and off, in the past two weeks we have watched two seasons.  That isn’t the binge part on Friday night we sat in front of the boob tube and watched 5 episodes of Dexter.  Thanks Netflix that is five hours of time I will never get back.  Then on Saturday we sat down and watched 2 more.  At least yesterday there was no binge tv watching oh yea it was Sunday and with Sundays this time of the year it means football, at least the weather is getting cooler. 

Daily Dose of BS Sept 12 credit cards

Another big box store with another credit breach.  I also heard that hackers got access to over 5 million gmail account passwords.  What can be done?  What can we as consumers do so that way we are not taken advantage of by these crooks?   Reports say that the latest data breach at the Home Depot could end up being one of the largest ever for a retailer and could affect consumers as far back as April.  Last year when we heard about the breach at Target we were shocked as it was the first of the big boys that got hacked now it is just getting to be common place.  I want to know what happens to these numbers once they are hacked?  Does someone end up using these for evil?  Are wars paid for by the stolen credit cards?  When the Target hack was announced we got a new credit card because we used it at Target getting ready for Christmas last year, with this hack, I am not sure if I used Home Depot since April of this year?  Are we ever going to be totally credit safe?   Is this just something that we are going to have to learn to live with?  Can you live without your credit card?  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 11

We will never forget.  We will never forget.  How often have we heard those words, how often do we reflect on what it is that we will never forget?  I think that with each passing day we tend to forget a bit more about what happened on that Morning of September 11, 2001.  Here it is 13 years since that day, at first we were all patriotic then as the calendar pages turned the patriotism waved and today we are back to the complacent ways that we had prior to September 11.  I think on this day we should reflect and think about the freedoms we have as Americans and not about the hassles that we now have to go through to keep ourselves safe since that day.  September 11th will always be a day of remembrance, and a day of reflection for me.  

Daily Dose of BS Sept 9 NFL

It is never ever, ever, ever ok to hit a woman.  Ever!  I think that the NLF finally got it right by indefinitely suspending Ray Rice from the game.  When I first heard that Rice was suspended for two games for knocking out his then girlfriend I was appalled at the NFL.  A man should never hit a woman and this man is a professional athlete so he works out for a living.  The NFL should have jumped on at least a full year at least suspension to begin with, then went from there.  I feel often that the professional athletes and those that are famous live by different rules than the rest of us.  People often want to be around those that are famous and tend to look the other way too often, I think that that the famous need to be held to a higher set of standards than us common fold.  Way to go NFL but it is a bit late, it feels like you caved to the pressure.  Remember it is never ok to hit a woman or a man.  Let’s stop domestic violence. 

Daily Dose of BS Sept 8 parking

I just got back from vacation.  I had both the big city and the quiet not bothered by anything vacation.  I started off in Chicago for a few days of sightseeing and over paying for parking, I then went to my favorite place in the whole world my cabin, in the middle of nowhere, no running water but peaceful, got a lot of work done, ah but back to reality.  When in LaCrosse you take parking for granted, you want to park by a store you go in you shop you leave, maybe just maybe you pay a few cents for parking.  In Chicago you see where you want to go you see a parking garage, it is either full or priced right out of your budget.  I saw a few places that had 20 dollars an hour for parking, 20 dollars.  I am happy to live in my small town where I only get charged for parking if I am in the lot for over 2 hours then what is it 50 cents an hour?   For parking we have it pretty easy in LaCrosse.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 28 Labor Day Travel

Over 34 million people will be traveling this weekend according to AAA.  I don’t get it, why travel on a holiday weekend especially when we live in God’s Country.  In my mind since we are living in the upper Midwest we are lucky, there are 4 seasons, bluff or coulees, trees, grass, rivers and lakes.  I think we have it all, including high taxes but that is a different topic.  I can understand when people from other parts of the country travel to here, but for us to go elsewhere on a holiday weekend, that is crazy, as everyone is on the road, as I mentioned earlier 34 million people are going to be on the road, I can’t imagine having to deal with idiot drivers from not only here but from across the states rushing to get to their cabin or lake home faster than everyone else, going that extra 15 mph to add an extra hour of drinking time.  If you are one of the millions on the road this weekend please travel safe, slow it down and enjoy what you got.  And if you’re a kid that starts school on Tuesday enjoy your last few days of freedom. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 29 birthday

The more things change the more that they stay the same.  Today marks the beginning of my 47 year on earth.  I am now 46 years old, it has been 7 years since I smoked a cigarette, 19 years since I have become a father, 26 since I have been on my own and 28 since I have been in high school.  Age to me is a state of mind as when you are young you think that 40 is old and now I have many friends who are 50 and even 60 years old.  I saw the Beloit College mindset list, the list that shows what todays college freshmen have known as fact.  I was surprised by what these kids know as fact.  Students heading into their first year of college this year were generally born in 1996. Things that this group of college freshmen know  “Press pound” on the phone is now translated as “hit hashtag.”,  The water cooler is no longer the workplace social center; it’s the place to fill your water bottle. “Good feedback” means getting 30 likes on your last Facebook post in a single afternoon.  Their collection of U.S. quarters has always celebrated the individual states.  I don’t know if things are better or worse off now-a-days but I am interested to see what happens to the world in my next 46 years.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 27 words

Words are important they can make you stop or go, laugh or cry.  Words are what we speak and what we understand.  George Carlin once had a bit of the words you can’t say on television and for the most part I agree with that.  I do find myself saying words on that list too often.  Even though words are powerful they still are only words and we have to power to be offended or to not be offended by what people say.  I think that words have cut deep for most of us but the way we choose to react is what makes us who we are.  Some go over the top to try to prove what you said was wrong or at least partly wrong, some blow it off others try to out talk you or get you to dig yourself into a hole however you respond to words, good for you.  Because after all they are the we communicate.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 25 breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I am a big fan of it and breakfast foods in general.  I have been eating yogurt most weekdays since the beginning of the year and it has made a difference I am down about 25 pounds.  As I mentioned I like a good breakfast and will wander out on weekends to try new and bigger better breakfasts but then back to the healthy yogurt during the week.  If you live in La Crosse you know about the Unk’s mess at Marge’s on Rose it is about five pounds of potatoes with ham, onions, peppers and eggs, enough for a family, and I have fed the family on it.  In Mindoro there is Top Dawg and their Dawg Pile, which is very similar to what they have in the Unk’s Mess.  In Algoma Wisconsin they have a Hash Brown Sandwich at Dean’s Dairy inn.  Yesterday my buddy Tom and I road tripped to Pork’s Bar in Desoto Wisconsin for me to attempt the Pork’s Challenge it consisted of a pancake, four pieces of Texas Toast, 5 biscuits,  4 sausage links, 4 eggs, American Fries, and all smothered in sausage gravy.  I finished about a quarter of it before I tossed in the towel.  Where is your favorite big breakfast?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 26 Burger King

Does having Burger King talking about moving to Canada make you not want to shop there?  I was thinking about this over the past 24 hours, as a not so often burger fast food eater I came to the conclusion that if Burger King moves its headquarters and in return their corporate tax base to Canada I will no longer shop there.  Not that my few bucks a year will make a difference but every dollar counts, right?  I heard of some other companies are doing this as well like a drug company from the twin cities that was looking to do the same thing.  We as a country are working to heal and to see businesses want to pull out and move to another country is counterproductive.  If they are still working on keeping their brand strong in America I think that they should re-think this decision.   I am betting I am not the only red blooded American to think this. 

Daily Dose of BS Aug 21 internet

It is amazing how much we use internet technology in such an old school job.  Our national programming on our talk radio station comes over the internet, all five of our radio stations get special programming and commercials sent over the internet.  News, sports, weather and more - all internet.  So when our internet goes down here there are issues, I also believe that some of our phones are internet based also.  Its kinda scary that when internet is down our show prep goes down also, plus when the internet goes down we can’t check emails, or go on facebook.  Plus how are we supposed to watch cat videos?

Daily Dose of BS Aug 20 Ferguson

Ferguson Missouri is in the national media yet again today.   This protesting is continuing and is reminiscent to me of the Rodney King riots.   I am not sure I get the mob mentality that is going on here; I think that I am getting to old.  When I am unhappy something I work to try to fix the problem not to add to the problem by rioting and pillaging.  I guess I am lucky that I have a soap box to stand on to share my opinions, to share my ideas and thoughts.  Oh wait we all do it is called social media, more specifically facebook and twitter.  Let’s work on starting to mend what ails us and stop trying to drive that wedge deeper than it already is.  In the words of Rodney King, can’t we all just get along?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 19 payday

I heard this morning that payday is a killer of the 18-35 year old age group.  I tried finding that story to grab info for my daily dose but couldn’t find anything.  Weird I thought immediately about drugs and alcohol but it also said that more young people used payday for more life experiences.  I have always hated payday, don’t get me wrong I like money but I hate the day, cause it shows or actually is written proof that you are not making enough.  Plus I hate going to the bank.