Daily Dose of BS Jan 22 friends

Back in August I proved to myself that I could step away from Facebook for a week, I made it 9 days.  I took the app off my phone and it is still not back there.  I do however look at Facebook on my phone online, but there are more steps to it than the app.  I read today that even though there are tons of people with tons of friends on their “friends” list that we really only have about 4 friends.  Do you know who your four are?  I do but it is funny even though we are friends we really don’t flaunt our friendships on Facebook.  From the 4 real friends we have about 15 we can confide in and about 50 who are close from there we go to our casual friends and then acquaintances tops out at about 500.  Do you who all your friends are? 

Daily Dose of BS Jan 21 school

It is funny the difference between a child starting school and an adult starting a new year of school.  As the college students head back to LaCrosse and college classes starting all over the country, myself included.  Yesterday I started year number two as a student at Western Technical College, working toward my Associates Degree in sales and sales management.  While driving to class last night I was laughing to myself as I thought about the pomp and circumstance that goes into a child’s first day of school you get a new backpack, have new clothes, maybe Mom and Dad will take you out for breakfast, you most likely will be measured with your back up against a door jam.  At least that is the way it is for my kids on the first day of school, and it didn’t matter if it was the first day of kindergarten or your senior year, every year the same routine.  I guess when you start college the second year you get none of that, come to think of it I didn’t get any of it last year either I guess.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 19 not fast sandwiches

You need a password for just about everything these days, long gone are the days when you can use the word password as your password.  In fact they are now suggesting that we use 12 characters to keep our things safe, using symbols and numbers and caps.  As we are moving toward a more person-less and paperless society with more and more businesses offering apps for us to order, in fact I used a sandwich ordering app yesterday to show my kids I am hip, and know how to use my phone, we ordered sandwiches online, drove to the store, told the people working we were there to pick up the sandwiches, watched 4 other customers come in and order and pick up their sandwiches, and wonder in amazement how that could be freaklishly fast.  It wasn’t, on top of having to wait we got a wrong sandwich and I now have to remember another user name and password to order a sandwich that was proven I could order there, and pay for it in about a third the time.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 18 cold

As I drove in this morning I was worried what if I get a flat tire, or what the freezing point of rubber is, what if my tires hit a pot hole and just blow out. Then I thought nah it won’t happen, guess what it didn’t. It is weird how our minds sometimes start building up scenarios in our heads then we end up convincing ourselves that that may happen. I knew in the back of my mind that there was no way that this would happen but there was the shadow of doubt that it may. I guess what I am trying to say that even though it is 10 below outside that my mind is still active and being active on a day like today is great. Get up and do something, inside, it is way too cold outside to do anything.  By the way do you warm your car on a cold winter’s day?  I do for about 15 seconds.  Stay warm.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 15 customer service

All this talk nationally about Zulily and how they told a customer to give their wrongly ordered item to someone who needs it is all good and gives me hope for customer service into the future, but we didn’t have to go nationally to hear a story like this.  My friend Kenny’s wife had the same issue happen to her, she accidentally ordered three extra items from Zulily. When she called to return the items, the customer rep said, "No problem, we will credit your account and please give the extra ordered items to someone who could use them or donate." I find this to be outstanding customer service.  I have also had super customer from Amazon, and quite often the customer service at many of the big box stores is great as well.  Now not everyone has great customer service, but I believe in order for companies to grow, great customer service needs to be present.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 14 lottery

Imagine my surprise this morning when I didn’t win the lottery.  I am not much of a lottery player and I thought that the guys that never plays wins, sure- I throw in my two bucks every time that work has a buy, just so I am not left out when everyone else gets to quit.  But yesterday I asked my wife to do something that she had never done in her life, I asked her to pick up a few lottery tickets.  During dinner last night we talked about how our lives would change if we did win.  Funny how the first thing that the majority of the family said we would move.  I love where I live and don’t think I would have moved from the city, I don’t even think I would quit my job.  Any way it was fun to dream for a few hours and it actually influenced my dreams last night.  I didn’t win and neither did you, so off to work.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 13 sportsmanship

Poor sportsmanship was the theme of an email that went out to all WIAA schools last week. April Gehl a student at Hilbert High School had an opinion of her own about the email that said the schools need to step back up in enforcing what the WIAA sees as disrespectful fan chatter.  Aprils response was “Eat shit WIAA” and she was subsequently suspended by her school for 5 games, the same amount of suspension as a player caught drinking or smoking pot.  The email suggested that the typical banter that is commonly heard at games is detrimental to the players of the opposing teams - chatter such as “You can’t do that,” “Fundamentals,” “Air ball,” “There’s a net there,” “We can’t hear you,” “scoreboard,” ‘Warm up the bus’” and “season’s over” during tournament play.  I am all for respect of all players and teams but suspending a player for her right to freedom of speech is, in my opinion, BS.

Daily Dose of BS Jan 12 pet peeve

I am sure I have my faults, and I do things that annoy others, there are days that I feel as though I do some of these things just to do them.  Sometimes though they just happen, like forgetting to close the cupboard after getting a plate, or not hanging up my coat in the closet when I get home, I am sure that my wife can come up with hundreds of things that I do wrong, or that she finds annoying.  None of us are without our faults, not a single one of us.  What is your biggest pet peeve?  I have a couple, when someone leaves the roll without toilet paper and when there is only a little bit of coffee left in the pot, because someone can’t be bothered to make more.  When someone annoys you do you point it out or are you Teflon and don’t let it bug you?  For me it depends on where I am, and who I am with.   

Daily Dose of BS Jan 11 sneezing

God bless you, gesundheit, bless you or don’t acknowledge it.  What do you do when some sneezes?  I have always said either God bless you or just bless you.  It is funny but I think that there is some sort of protocol for saying something after a sneeze.  I think it is weird when someone doesn’t say anything, for example have you ever been in a group of people and someone sneezes, my first inkling is to blurt out the quick blessing, but time has shown me that you must give the person that that person is with ample time to give their blessing, if you don’t then you have committed an improper sneeze etiquette, or a sneeze foul.  And no one wants to have that on their permeant record, now do they.  I guess what I am trying to say is if someone sneezes give the proper amount of time before acknowledging it however you acknowledge it.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 8 credit cards

My folks always used to say those that understand interest make it and those that don’t pay it.  According to polls 71% of us have credit cards.  When I was younger I thought I was rich I got a credit card with a large limit, and I spent it, and spent it, I was maxed out by 21 and it sucked.  I took out a loan paid it off and have been a smart credit user since.  When my bill comes I pay it and at most only carry a little balance.  That brings us to Walter Cavananagh otherwise known as Mr Plastic Fantastic he has 1,497 valid credit cards, with a line of credit at 1.7 million dollars.  I have 3 cards myself one reward card, my business card and one issued by our bank.  In your mind how many cards are to many?

Daily Dose of BS Jan 7 Netflix documentary

I have not watched the Netflix series “Making a Murderer”, well not yet.  It seems as though every person out there has an opinion on the series.  My dad told me when I was a kid a couple of different things about opinions first of all that everybody has got one, and a couple times I was told that my opinion was wrong, that is a story for another day.  Back to this series, the thing about this “documentary” is that it casts doubt yet again on the media and the media that covered the story in the first place.  As with many documentaries the makers have an agenda, and I am guessing that the film maker of this piece also has an agenda that they want to push.  Think about it this way, anyone can go in after the fact and twist things to fit into the framework of what they want.  How many times were you able to explain away something that you did? 

Daily Dose of BS Jan 6 e-cig

I used to be a smoker, I look back at it now on it and wonder why.  I see many young kids picking up the habit and think the same thing, why.  I heard the other day that smokes are going to be even closer to ten bucks a pack real soon. One of the smarter things I have done was to quit.  I have a few friends who still partake in the habit but for the most part they have all quit as well.  I have been seeing the e-cigarettes more and more and in the weirdest places, like while walking through the grocery store and in the movie theater.  I am now hearing that these are causing cancer similar to regular cigarettes.  Why is it ok to smoke these in public but not a regular cigarette?  I understand that these are only water vapor or steam but I don’t want to smell it.  I get offended when I see someone walking through the grocery store puffing away at their vape pen.  You don’t like walking through my sneeze do you?

Daily Dose of BS Jan 5

Too many people have the entitlement mentality, the I deserve it, and the you owe it to me mentality.  How do we break free of that?  We have the affluenza teen, the kid that has had everything handed to him and he doesn’t know right from wrong.  Whatever happened to teaching your kids right from wrong, whatever happened to the stand up and fight for yourself, what happened to take responsibility for yourself?  I am not sure I like the way that the world is going, and I am sure that my kids are looking at me the way I looked at my parents when they said that, but I really do believe that we are growing a bunch of kids with the sense of entitlement, and it doesn’t make me happy.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 4 fight for it

As we settle in to work in the New Year, and think about the up and coming year, get our goals set and our budgets ready.  We think about the things that we want to change and the things that we did pretty well over the past while, it is the time for us to reset our priorities.  I read an article over the weekend that hits on this exactly an article that invites us to look at it in a different way, rather than what do we want for the New Year but to ask ourselves what would we fight for?   This is a whole different way of looking at the same ol same ol.  Maybe a chance for us to reexamine our life and existence.  I know what I want out of life but do I know what I am willing to fight for?  That is question I have been pondering since I read that article.  In 2016 ask yourself what are you willing to fight for?

Daily Dose of BS Dec 31 end of year

This time of year gives many the chance to reflect and remember.  As we wrap up 2015 and begin our journey of 2016 I just want to hit a few highlights of my 2015, my wife and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary, I was a full time student at Western Technical College, earning a total of 11 A’s and 1 B, in my 1 year of college I achieved better grades than my whole career in High School.  My favorite memory of my family was trumped every Sunday when we all got together and laughed and loved, but if I had to pick one it would have been Father’s Day, just because of the laughter and good times.  My job is awesome and I wouldn’t trade it for the world but I did get to do the coolest thing I have ever got to do as a radio personality, I got to climb down and go inside of the I-90 bridge during the construction phase.  Here is to the memories of 2015 and also to the unpublished pages of 2016, may they be the best ever.  Happy New Year.  

Daily Dose of BS Dec 30 pizza

Everyone who eats pizza has a favorite.  Either frozen or fresh.  I have a couple of favorites in the area, but don’t have a favorite La Crosse pizza.  I like Pizza Coral in Holmen and Great River Roadhouse in Desoto, but haven’t found the perfect place to get a pie in La Crosse.  When it comes to frozen I love the Sweet Home Chicago from Lloyd’s Pizza and am really beginning to like most of the Lotsa Motza pizzas that are out there, lots of cheese and a pretty good ratio of toppings to bite.  My question today is what is your favorite restaurant pizza and frozen pizza?

Daily Dose of BS Dec 28 phone

I have had a cell phone for about 15 years give or take, not sure exactly when I ended up with one but I am sure I can count on two hands how many times I have forgotten it at home.  And two of those times were in the past 3 days, and I actually left the home yesterday forgetting my phone and then recalled that it was forgotten before I even hit the garage, so it could have been three for three.  I wonder how often this happens to people when they forget their phones and then obsess about it for the day?  This morning I was about 3 blocks from home when I realized I had forgotten it and thought the heck with it I am going to leave it home.  The weird thing is that it is habit and even though I don’t make many phone calls or text lots it is a security blanket, it will be missed.  I kind of feel naked without it.

Daily Dose of BS Dec 24 Christmas

It’s the day before Christmas and no presents are bought. 

You are feeling quite down, real sad and distraught

What kind of gifts can you buy now and not look real bad

Some last minute presents cause feelings of sad

There are things that can be bought and wrapped or downloaded and shared

And also items that showed that you cared

The trick to shopping last minute is easy

Is to not look like you waited, don’t make it look cheesy

As Boy Scouts have taught me to look all prepared

And when going to buy last minute gifts don’t look scared.

From BS with Bob and crew that work here.

Merry Christmas to all and have a great year. 

Daily Dose of BS Dec 21 pageants

By now I am sure that you heard about Steve Harvey’s Miss Universe flub.  If not he basically read the wrong name, he read the runner up rather than the winner’s name.  Ok it was a mistake, let’s move on.  I get it working in the public when we make a mistake people know, the outcomes are different than those who make mistakes in the privacy of your office cube or the walls of your home.  Steve’s mistake isn’t going to ever make anything that you do any different than what it is was.  Time to let it go and honestly who cares.  With that being should we even have beauty contests anymore?  I can honestly say I have never seen one, and couldn’t tell you who any of the Miss Americas have been with the exception of Vanessa Williams and the only reason I know that name is because of the controversy she was in.  For Steve Harvey I get it man it is tough to mess up in front of people but move on and don’t let this be the defining moment of your career and for the promoters of the Miss contests is it time to hang up the crown?  

Daily Dose of BS Dec 17 economy

The Fed is working on trying to get the economy back to normal.  After 7 years of about 0% interest the Fed is now going to be hiking up the interest rates by a whopping .25% in hopes of stabilizing the economy.  I hope that it works.  The decision to move the rate up reflected the federal officials’ faith in the resilience of the nation’s financial recovery and with the announcement stocks surged.  The biggest change for most of us will be a higher interest rate on our credit cards and our loans that we have outstanding, it will be a long, long time I think until the banks will start paying interest for the savors of the group.