Daily Dose of BS Feb 3 smile

Ever heard smile and the whole world smiles with you?  My mom used to say that to my brothers and I, there is now some studies out there that support this.  These studies show that during conversation we tend to mimic those around us.  I guess that this makes sense as if you watch a salesperson they will nod and smile when you are talking with them, inviting you to sign on the dotted line.  It works with others as well, note when you are in a classroom setting or a work event heck even in your own home and someone is happy you want to smile with them, same goes the other way as well, if someone is in the room angry they tend to bring the rest of the group down, it guess what I am trying to say is turn that frown upside down, and make it a great day.

Daily Dose of BS Feb 2 snow day

Am I the only one that thinks it is weird to cancel school the night before for the threat of the shoe dropping?  I woke this morning to 25 degrees and no snow, the weird part is every school in our area is closed.  Today is ground hog day and I am wondering if kids want life to be like the movie and relive the no snow – snow day.  I haven’t seen that movie in a long time, I should find it to watch today with the kids.  Ever thought about the history of the first ground hogs day?  It dates back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries, however the first documented time in America is 1841.  I hope that the ground hog sees his shadow, or is it not sees his shadow.  Anyway I am hoping to enjoy a bit of ground hog at the Moose Lodge later today, the Lions Club is serving a Ground Hog dinner.  All I gotta say is it is yummy.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 1 trains

When I was a kid I always heard that if you put a penny on a train track that it could derail a train.  I am not going to lie, as a rebellious teenager I tried it.  As soon as we ran away the feeling of guilt overtook the thrill of doing something bad.  The sudden urge to run back toward the oncoming train to rescue the Lincoln from the oncoming train, only to be reminded of the almost certain decapitation of an arm or worse.  Thank goodness that the derailment didn’t happen, in fact a quick google search shows that it has never happened, but as an adventurous boy it could have.  Again, thank God that it didn’t happen.  With more trains moving through the country, there have been more and more derailments there has even been a couple close to home.  Shouldn’t the railroads be required to make the manifest public as soon as a train jumps the tracks, I for one would like to know.  Especially since there are tracks about 100 yards from where I work. 

Daily Dose of BS Jan 29 luck

I have heard all too many people say you are lucky.  I am not sure that I believe in luck do you?  I think that we make our own luck, sure great things happen to all of us, but does a 4 leaf clover, a fuzzy troll or a horseshoe make or break your day?  I think that those work because you think that they will work, I am not sure that some people are luckier than others.  Here is why I think that, the people that lots of people think are lucky have worked harder or longer on something, not making them lucky but just more versed.  I think that the same goes for bad luck, I get it that we have bad things that happen to all of us some of us choose to have that derail us others look at it as a step and others just look at it as the cost of doing business.  Which person are you?

Daily Dose of BS Jan 28 school

What an awesome email I got from Western Technical College the day before yesterday, I found out that I received two different scholarships for my schooling this year.  I am humbled by the fact that I received these.  When I was a student in High School and then in radio school I wasn’t the best student, I guess I really didn’t care about school so much, I had other things in life to do, like go out and hang out with friends.  As an adult I still have things to do, more things than I did as youngster, like support a family, go to work every day, run a small business, and hang out with friends, but now have the drive to succeed and find the way to make it happen.  Besides getting the scholarships I also made the Presidents List all three trimesters, ending up with 11 A’s and 1 B, not too shabby.  This past year of school has not been easy but I made it and also made some really great friends as well.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 27 debate

I guess if you don’t want to do something you don’t have to do it.  I get this from Donald Trump backing out of the debate in Iowa.  Whether you like him or not he is garnering tons of free publicity, and it seems as though he is getting the publicity for doing the unheard of standing up and being a bully.  I was bullied when I was a kid but I think that all of us were to some extent.  I decided quite a while ago that that wouldn’t put up with bullying.  We still have 10 months and honestly out of the candidates that we have running for President I am not sure that I like any of them.   As for the bullying and the child like behavior of not doing the debate because you don’t like the commentator, shame on you, if you are running for President you should be able to deal with something you don’t like.  

Daily Dose of BS Jan 26 sick

Seems as though just about everyone I know has a cold of some sorts.  I am hacking up a lung and feel run down, some of my fellow employees are doing the same, in fact yesterday it was like an echoing sneeze effect as I started it in the studio, it moved out to the front desk then I heard it ricochet right on down the building.  What are your opinions of calling in sick or coming to work?  I am not a fan of calling in sick and have done so only a few times in my whole career where some people have a hang nail and call.  Also are there any home remedies that work for you?  I am a fan of a hot totty made with brandy, water, honey and lemon, I am not sure if it helps but after a couple I really do sleep well.   

Daily Dose of BS Jan 25 snow

For the majority of my life I have lived in the upper Midwest.  I often complain about people not being able to drive, I am guessing that this is a common thread for most of the country.  The east coast got belted with snow this past weekend, and they basically shut everything down.  I recall a few big storms in the upper Midwest that slowed somethings down, and there were times when some of the roads were suggested not to drive on but, a few years ago I remember driving across the state of Wisconsin to get home from a hockey tournament when 20 plus inches of snow fell and there were drifts about 4 feet high on the sides of the road.  The thing is even when that much snow fell there were still stupid drivers on the roads, I guess including myself for risking it, but at the time I didn’t even think of it. I guess I am trying to say I am glad that the snow that fell in the east didn’t fall here, so we don’t have to deal with idiot drivers in the snow, just regular idiot drivers. 

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?