Daily Dose of BS Nov 9 trains

Little old Alma Wisconsin made national news. 18,500 gallons of denatured alcohol spilled from tanker cars into our beloved Mississippi. The train was heading south bound, isn’t La Crosse south of Alma? I know that having the double tracks in La Crosse now means that more trains are moving through our community but do you ever really wonder what is being run through our town? This ethanol that spilled into the river could have serious implications to the habitat in the Mississippi, and all the water ways south. I kind of find it ironic that the day after the Keystone XL pipeline was vetoed by the President that 2 tankers end up in the ol Miss.

Daily Dose of BS Nov 10 cam

Before the game on Sunday between the then 6 -1 Green Bay Packers and 7 – 0 Carolina Panthers NFL quarterback Cam Newton took a banner down that said North Carolina Cheesehead, with a Packer Logo over the state. Newton claimed that it was disrespect in the home of the Panthers, I don’t disagree that it was disrespect but isn’t that what sports has become? Disrespecting the other teams? I am all for the friendly rooting for your team, wear your team colors and show the pride of your team but you shouldn’t be worried that someone will take your sign. Especially a multi-millionaire prima donna quarterback. I would be willing to bet if it was a fan that took the sign down that the fan would have been tossed out of the stadium and also be criminally charged. I guess I would like to know if you think that it is wrong for a fan to show support for their team when in the house of another team? Did Cam Newton do wrong? I think that he should man up and pay the guy for the sign, and apologize.

Daily Dose of BS Nov 11 veterans day

Some in the service saw combat.  Some of the veterans were behind the scenes.  Some of the brave never returned.  Each and every one of the stories are different, but for the men and women who lived them, their time serving was unforgettable.  Today is Veterans Day, a day to celebrate our freedoms, and the Men and Women who have given of themselves to keep us free.  This Veterans Day, we honor all those who've made sacrifices many of us can only imagine - If you are serving or have served, thank you, if anyone in your family is or has served, thanks to you as well, because with that service came sacrifice to your family.  When you see a Veteran today or ever thank them for their service to our country.  God Bless America, and remember that our freedom is not free; someone paid the price for your freedom.  

Daily Dose of BS November 6 crowdfunding

It seems as though more and more are turning to crowd funding these days.  From people looking to fund movies, to those that are trying to get an idea off the ground to those that are trying to beautify a neighborhood, to those looking to fund their college education.  When is enough – enough?  Are we going to keep going to the well looking for more and more funds for things that in the old days you would either have to go to the bank of friends and family or a true bank?  Last year there was a guy who used kickstarter to try to raise ten dollars to learn how to make potato salad, he ended up making $55,492.  Come to think of it, I would like to learn how to make a killer coleslaw, any ideas?  

Daily Dose of BS Nov 3 music

The way we add music to our libraries has changed.  I used to have 8 tracks, cassettes, albums including 45’s and cd’s.  Now I don’t even have a player for any of those mediums at my house.  I have a cd and cassette player in my cars, but none of the others.  I used to be a big fan of the Sony Walkman and then the Discman, now most of my non radio music comes from either my phone or a radio I bought a while ago that accepts SD cards.  Where our music used to be tangible now it is just a bunch of zeros and ones.  Movies the same thing, we just don’t have the collections of audio and video that we once had. 

Daily Dose of BS Oct 29 parking

The one thing you hear people complain about most in La Crosse is parking and that will soon be at the top of minds when alternate side parking is implemented next month.  We always have alternate side parking November 1st through April 1st if there is snow or no snow.  151 days to try to get it right. I like to look at it like a game you can’t win. I am lucky enough to have garage parking but my son isn’t as lucky. He gets to park behind the house, at least it isn’t on the street.  I personally dislike the alternate side parking law.  I have been living in LaCrosse for 23 but have only had 2 tickets for parking on the wrong side of the street.  With all this fine money collected, I wonder where it all goes? 

Daily Dose of BS Oct 28 not my job

I can’t be the only one who notices when signs are messed up can I? For about the past week and perhaps even longer the sign for Highway 35 / Great River Road at the curve on George street right in front of Kwik Trip is upside down.  This isn’t the first time that I have talked about a sign in the city that is messed up.  These types of noticed bug me because I wait a few days to see if it gets fixed before I mention it, and I know I am not.  Speaking of signs there is a sign on the Western La Crosse Sign that someone scrawled the F word.  I know I am not perfect nor do I claim to be but I do try my best and if I notice something within my personal or work space I try to take care of it.  I guess that today’s lesson is open your eyes and notice things around you.

Daily Dose of BS Oct 26 mustard

There are those who do and those who don’t.   Which type of person are you?  Personally I am one who doesn’t, well let me clarify that, I don’t most of the time.  I will occasionally use, but only in a rare case.  There are many out there that are using every day.  They are putting the stuff on everything from fries to sandwiches and bananas, I have even heard of some putting it in their hair.  Really the only time I ever use mayo is when making egg salad, tuna salad or a blt.  Now for me I am of the other camp, I love a good hardy mustard.  There are many flavors of the yellow stuff out there, but I prefer either a whole grain mustard, a stone ground, regular or horseradish mustard but not a honey mustard, yuck to sweet.  Which is weird because I love peanut butter and honey.  Anyway which camp are you a mayo, or mustard person, or the rare bird, both?

Daily Dose of BS October 23 ethical question

An ethical question was raised yesterday in class.  If you were a engineering a train and on the track ahead of you were 5 workers and they couldn’t get out your way and would die if you continued down that track, and on another track that you noticed had only one worker that would die if you switched tracks at the last second what would you do?  I spoke first and said I would let the train continue to go down the first track instead of switching to the other track because the original track was something that I had no control of, if I were to switch tracks I would be the one who killed that one person.  After I explained my logic I had a handful of classmates agree with my way of thinking.  If you were in that situation what would you do?  

Daily Dose of BS Oct 22 CMNH

Today marks the start of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals radioathon in La Crosse. With a goal of over one hundred thousand dollars to help families with kids, those kids facing health challenges. Last year over 8,000 local kids were helped by the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and each and every child served has a story of courage and perseverance. Please dig deep in your pockets, your seat cushions and piggy banks and help the La Crosse Radio Group reach this goal to help thousands of children and their families this year. The phones are manned 6a-6p today and tomorrow and 8a-3p on Saturday. Help the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals radioathon. The number to help is toll free 800-853-6889. Please put your money where the miracles are.

Daily Dose of BS Oct 21 guns

There is a letter to the editor today in the La Crosse Tribune that suggests that there be a plain clothed defender assigned to each school that could be a familiar face in the school and be trained to protect the innocent.  I like this idea.  I was at a store yesterday and they had the posted no weapons allowed sign hanging on the door.  I thought to myself if I was up to no good and had a gun to bring in, would a sign stop me.  The answer to that is no way.  But if I was up to no good and I knew that the possibility of someone within the walls of where it was posted no weapons had a weapon, I think I would rethink going in to that place.  I think that ideas like this have merit, don’t you?  

Daily Dose of BS October 20 skateboarding

Yesterday was such a beautiful day.  How did you spend it?  I raked, and played outside with my kids.  When the kids got home from school we BS’ed for a few minutes then I asked who wanted to play catch, neither did, but they wanted to play a little basketball, I have got to be the worst hoops player in the world after taking about 50 shots and missing almost all of them I was about ready to hang it up and head inside with my head held low.  My daughter then pulled out the long board and asked if I would pull her around the block, I did, then told her I used to skateboard when I was her age.  She didn’t believe me, I then very nervously mounted the board and did something that I haven’t done in probably 33 years, I skate boarded, slow at first, then a bit faster, and it felt awesome.  I guess that the lesson today is don’t be afraid to try something again for the first time. 

Daily Dose of BS Oct 19 playboy

I heard over the weekend that Playboy magazine is going nude free in the future.  Starting with the issue in March of 2016 there will be no more nude pictures in the magazine.  I guess all those times when people said that they were reading it for the articles really were true.  As a young man it was always a rite of passage for you to sneak a peak of the magazine.  I guess that went away when people stopped buying magazines.  Speaking of change, I am not a fan of the throwback jerseys that the NFL have forced down our throats these past few years, watching the Packers game yesterday brought the comments from more than one that it doesn’t look like they are wearing pants.  To me it is just another way for the NFL to take more money from us fans.  

Daily Dose of BS Oct 16 freedom honor flight

I was never in the Military, I do however respect all those who have chosen that path.  Some real important people in my life have gone in the service from my Grandpa Schmidt, to my Dad, to many of my buddies, and more.  We all have special people in our lives who put Country first, many have come back from serving only to not get the thanks that they have deserved, which makes me sad.  If not for the sacrifice of their time and efforts we would not be free as we are today.  The reason I bring this up today rather than on a Veteran’s holiday is that my good friend Lloyd is making the trip tomorrow to Washington DC as a Hero, on board the Freedom Honor Flight.  From the first flight in 2008 FreedomHonorFlight.org has been making this a special day for our Veteran.   To my good friend Lloyd and to the others on the trip, thank you for your service. 

Daily Dose of BS Oct 15 overdose

Why is it news when a celebrity overdoses or is on the verge of death when they brought it on themselves?  There are thousands of cases of regular old people who are struggling with addiction each and every day.  I will bet that you are close with someone who is or is recovering from substance abuse.  When the national media glorifies the fact that this celebrity has gone in to a coma or that celebrity has died I think it takes away from the local problem that we have right here, in our own back yard.  I am sorry that these celebrities have issues, and cannot deal with the celebrity machine that they have built, but it was something that has been done by them, as it is when it happens here with someone you love.  All we can do is reach out and offer a hand, and an ear.  And let them know that there is help.  Let’s stop glorifying drug use and abuse.

Daily Dose of BS Oct 14 phone

I did the software update in my phone sometime in the past two weeks, and my phone has been acting up ever since.  I went in yesterday to ask why my phone was telling me that I had no space left, I don’t have anything on my phone but a few hundred pictures and a handful of songs.  With the update my phone started propagating contact info from all my accounts and it didn’t know when to stop, my contacts ended up eating up over half my phones memory.  I got that fixed.  Ever given much thought to how things change?  Life is what happens in between your planned events.  I got a call from my Dad yesterday afternoon saying I will be there in about 90 minutes we are just outside the Dells.  I had no idea what he was talking about as apparently I wasn’t getting texts because of my phone issue, I am glad that I got to spend some time with my father.  

Daily Dose of BS Oct 13 capx

The landscape has changed.  You used to be able to drive about anywhere and see wooden utility poles, now the rural landscape is peppered with monster rusted metal poles holding powerlines high above the terrain.  The CapX power line is done and there is a dedication ceremony today to celebrate the fact that they finished ahead of time.  At a cost of 2.2 billion dollars the cost of these power moving lines will be shared over the 16 states that are receiving service from these lines.  I personally think that they are ugly, and an eye sore.  I do think that it was pretty cool though watching what construction I was able to watch, but that doesn’t change the fact that they look like rusted out dead trees peppered on the roadsides of the Midwest.  

Daily Dose of BS Oct 12 dine and dash

Well it took me till 47 years old to dine and dash.  My son and I headed up to the cities over the weekend to hang out with my brothers, and it just happened to be a get together of some of my high school classmates.  My brothers and I headed out to meet up with them to get together to BS about life.  We had a few beers and then left to head back to my brother’s house.  I didn’t think anything of it, till I heard from one of my friends the next day telling me I left without paying.  I honestly thought that my brother was picking up the drinks.  I was wrong.  Needless to say I owe someone 20 bucks because one of my classmates picked up my tab.  My brothers and I also hit up a bar that our Dad and Grandpa’s drank at one time.  Besides forgetting to pay for my beers at the one place it was a pretty awesome weekend.  

Daily Dose of BS money Oct 9

I read sometime in the past week that is costs about 2 cents to make a penny and about a dime to make a nickel.  It got me wondering, are we at a point where we don’t need to make these pieces of money any more, or should we find a better more efficient way of making them?  I for one would bet that if we dropped either or both of these iconic money pieces that prices would go up to the closest dime rather than drop to the closest multiple of ten.  I also thought if the cost is higher than the value isn’t that for the first time use then with each use after we split that cost, and eventually it would be insignificant, right?  I also wonder if the cost of the metal to make the coins is higher than the value of the coin, won’t that cause hording of the money for the value of the metal.  Oh the things I wonder.

Daily Dose of BS texting Oct 8

You know that texting and driving is against the law right?  Daily I look at the people around me the others that are sharing the road with me and my family and friends.  Daily I see distracted drivers plowing through their lives eyes down on a phone or other device while they should be paying attention to the stuff going on around them.  Daily I see a distracted parent texting while in the car with their most precious of cargo in the back seat.  I have even seen senior citizens looking down at a phone while driving.  This is a problem, a serious problem that not only is affecting us, but affecting people all over the country.  The laws have been written to keep people from texting and driving but that hasn’t helped.  The police in La Crosse for 5 days this month will be cracking down on distracted driving including stopping those who are texting and driving.  Remember that whomever you are texting can wait.