Daily Dose of BS April 18 vandals

At 10^th and State Street there is a fenced in piece of property that has been kicked in and beaten down for many years.  You drive by once and it is in great shape like every fence should be then you go by a week or two later, usually after a weekend and there are fence boards missing off the fence.  I have seen this going on and off for the past handful of years, and honestly the more I see it get wrecked the more I get mad about the situation.  I really don’t understand why people have to wreck other people’s property?  It isn’t theirs, it doesn’t belong to them, they don’t maintain it, it has no sentimental value to them, yet people think it is ok to wreck other people’s property.  I just don’t get it.  If you’re a vandal, shame on you. 

Daily Dose of BS April 15 buy American

You hear the chat of buy American, pride for America, but do show that pride with your dollars?  Are you going out of your way to make sure that the products you buy are built in the good old USA?  I am not sure that I have ever looked to see if something that I was buying is made here or globally.  I take that back I will look where my canned mushrooms come from, and I don’t even know why I do but once I saw the can I was buying say that they came from China and that kind of seemed weird to me, and I don’t even know why it was, maybe I was thinking how did they get here, and why are they from China, do they really grow mushrooms that are that much better than the ones grown here, where are they really growing?  Anyway back to the topic at hand, do you search to see where your products are made, and do you buy based on that?  

Daily Dose of BS April 11 positive thinking

I have talked about the power of being positive many times on this show, and that if you are you are goal oriented, optimistic and enthusiastic that people want to be around you.  Research shows that this is exactly right with those that are self-made millionaires.  Most people like to spend time with likeminded people looking for success, and the majority of people enjoy long term success when they have a positive mental outlook.  Looks like what I have told my kids to be true that negativity will derail you from pursuing success, because optimists attract optimists and pessimists just repel. 

Daily Dose of BS April 8 comfort foods

I heard yesterday that we have comfort foods based on who made them and how we felt around that person.  What’s your favorite comfort food?  I have a food and a meal my comfort meal it is meatloaf, baked potato and acorn squash.  I remember as a kid we got to pick our favorite meal for supper on our birthday and that is what I picked and still would today if offered any meal prepared for me by my Mom.  If I just need a quick fix I love a good english muffin with butter not margarine, then smothered in peanut butter and drizzled with honey.  Yum.  I also have a new comfort food of banana bread toasted in the toaster and then slathered in butter.  What is your favorite comfort food?

Daily Dose of BS April 7 complaint log

I have a school project of writing down things that I complain about or make me mad for the day.  I have started a list a few times but let it go after I had about a page and it was only noon.  Well I let it slide and it is due today.  So yesterday I was thinking that it is due I am just going to have happy thoughts and not let anything bug me for the day so I can legitimately say that nothing bugged me.  Bahaha, I had complaining thoughts in the shower as my razor wouldn’t clean quickly, my internet wasn’t fast enough, I had to put on my stupid hearing aids, my glasses needed washing, my socks were tight, there was nothing quick to grab for breakfast, my radio was too loud when I got in the car, the road was bumpy, an idiot pulled out in front of me on a green light sped up then slammed on his breaks – that one got me mad, then he pulled off and sped away.  I got to work and my studio was warm, I am sure I have forgotten a few and I have only been up for a couple of hours.  If this stuff is the worst of the day, then it is going to be a terrific day, I am going to try to find the good in today and not sweat the small stuff and I suggest that you do the same, it isn’t like my stuff is life and death, heck it is just first world problems.  Have a terrific day.  

Daily Dose of BS April 5 road construction

On your Mark get set go, then stop, then go again now stop, ok change lanes, change back, slow down, pick up speed now stop.  Welcome to construction season.  We are only a few days into the new season and already I am sick of the disruption to my life.  Every year we get bombarded with road work.  It seems as though there are construction projects planned just to slow us down.  Have you ever driven from here to Chicago, has there ever been anytime when there wasn’t snow on the ground that there hasn’t been any road construction?  And with the construction around La Crosse almost every direction that you head out of town there is some sort of road work being done.  Here is a novel idea, let’s work to finish one job then work on the next so we don’t have construction all around us. 

Daily Dose of BS April 5 primary

In case you didn’t know, today is primary election day in Wisconsin.  In case you hadn’t noticed, Wisconsin is the national spotlight for the wannabe presidential candidates, as well as lots of local races.  In case you cared, we hadn’t been a state that mattered for the presidential primary for a long, long time.  In case you forgot this election you need to have your photo id with you when you vote.  If you live in La Crosse you may have a new polling place, mine got moved now for the second time in the past handful of year.  I lived walking distance to my last two polling places, not the case this time.  The nice thing about the primary being now is that it gives us a little break from all the political BS between now and November.  After a little time off though we better strap in and enjoy the ride, it is a long time to November.  Please don’t forget to vote. 

Daily Dose of BS April 4 phone

Here is the setup, last week there was a home invasion on the North Side of La Crosse, and within the past few weeks someone has broken into my neighbor’s house and taken her purse, as far as I know the police are still looking into both of these cases.  I bring this up because last week someone knocked on my door at 8:45pm stumping for one of the presidential candidates, when is too late to knock on someone’s door when they are not expecting you?  Back in the olden days as my kids would call my childhood we had unwritten rules like no phone calls between the hours of 9pm and 9am, that you shouldn’t go to someone’s house before 9am and that you should not knock on doors after the sun goes down.  What are your thoughts on phone calls and doorbells?  I think I still agree with the doorbell rule but with phones, who hasn’t made a phone call after 9pm?    

Daily Dose of BS April1 april fools day

Today is don’t trust your family and co-worker day, April fool’s Day.  I have had the typical goofy pranks pulled on me like you dropped your pocket or an extra hole poked in a pop can so it dribbles on me.  I think that having a day that we celebrate foolery and silliness is good, it helps our kids to understand that life doesn’t always need to be serious, it also teaches planning and execution.  To have a super April fool’s Day prank really work you need to have a plan and find a way to execute.  Funny about this day the trust factor isn’t really there is it?  But I am always happy when April 1st comes around as it is the end of the joke perpetuated on the tax payers of the city of La Crosse, April 1st means no more alternate side parking, well at least until November 1st.  Enjoy your next 7 months of parking on either side of the street. 

Daily Dose of BS March 31 naps

Every afternoon about 2 I am ready for a nap.  It doesn’t matter if it is a weekday or a weekend.  If I woke at 4 or 8 that morning, I am ready for a nap at 2.  I have come to cherish my 20 minute siesta as a quick revitalization of my mind and my body.  I have a few friends who never ever take naps and I know many, most of them are fellow radio people who take a nap daily.  I find myself craving my quiet alone time and as the time ticks down to 2 I can feel myself falling into a lull.  Are you a napper or not?  If not I suggest you grab a blanket and a comfortable chair and give it a try. 

Daily Dose of BS March 30 service organizations

One of the things my parents instilled in my brothers and I, was to give back either monetarily or with time. I chose to work in radio so I have more time than money. There are tons great organizations out there that are in need of your time, and your money. Find one and help when you can. Today is Kiwanis radio day so as you pop around to the different radio stations in the La Crosse Market you will hear lots of different unfamiliar voices, talking about the benefits of being in the Kiwanis. The best thing about being a part of a service group is that if you are active in the group you are pretty much guaranteed to make some good lifelong friends, I am still friends with some of the guys I was in Boy Scouts with and my best friends are people that I was in the Jaycees with. My suggestion to you is be active within our community and let us all work to make our great communities an even better place to live.

Daily Dose of BS March 29 politics

With the Wisconsin presidential primary one week from today we are seeing the candidates crisscrossing across Wisconsin making empty promises and saying what we want to hear.  I wonder if once the primary is finished if they will even think of Wisconsin until the last couple of weeks before the general election come November.  My guess is nope.  These men and women running for president are just making their stump speech with their forced smiles and vacant assurances.  I am so ready for the hate in all the politics to be set aside and for us to start working on some solutions to some real problems.  

Daily Dose of BS March 28 expectations

Have we become a nation of people who expect mediocre, I think that we have, because if we ever have anything meets or comes close to what we expect we are happy.  Have your expectations ever been exceeded?  This past weekend my family joined another family for a mini vacation in Milwaukee we made it to a Bucks game and didn’t really have any other plans except for have fun.  I had seen a picture of a huge Bloody Mary, one that had all the fixings including a whole chicken, it was called the Beast, and it lived up to and exceeded its name.  I think that it is amusing that when we have good service or have something that is superior to what we expected we are blown away, but with the Bloody from Sobelman’s we were blown away.  Have you ever had something that far exceeded your expectations?  If so what was it?  

Daily Dose of BS March 25 Love

I ran across an article yesterday that had a list of things you should do for your kids every day.  Pretty far down on the list was the say I love you.  To me that was shocking.  I would have thought that you would say I love you regardless to your children.  I have been a dad for coming up on 21 years and a son for 47 years and I have said to my children every day that I love them, and every time that my folks and I end a conversation we pass on our feelings of love.  It was funny even when I was a kid and things didn’t go my way and I would have a fit yelling at my Mom and Dad that I don’t love them, I can still hear them saying back I don’t love the way you are acting but love you.  With Easter coming up on Sunday and families getting together, if you didn’t have the chance to say it in the past, there is no time like the present to say or show I love you. 

Daily Dose of BS March 24 small world

We live in a small world.  Yesterday I had the chance to interview the Governor of Guam an American territory and during conversation I mentioned to him that I didn’t know anything about Guam except that my cousin lived there, he asked his name I asked if he knew David, and he said that everyone knew David, to my shock, he really did know him.  Which made me think of the other people that I have run into that I either knew or knew someone I knew.  I was in Madison and ran into Morrie Enders after he moved away, I have ridden an elevator with someone I knew long ago in Milwaukee and while at a concert in the Twin Cities I ran into high school class mates.  Who have you run into in weird spots?

Daily Dose of BS March 23 sidwalks

In our couple of weeks of reprieve between snowfalls, lots of people have literary taken to the streets in all forms.  I have seen more people out and about walking, running, skating and biking in the past couple weeks than I ever recall.  I am glad to see people out moving, which brings me to my concern.  We were out walking yesterday enjoying the afternoon before the expected snowfall later today and a woman came running up behind us, then passed us on the grass but at the same time as she passed she shot my wife and I a dirty look, my wife apologized and that apology changed our conversation, we then started talking about the rights of the sidewalk, and the passing of people.  The woman jogging didn’t say to your right or left, she just assumed we had eyes in the back of our heads and were to be on the lookout for her, so we could move and give her the right of way, um sorry - not.  I guess what I am trying to say today it to look out for everyone one the road even the ones not looking out for themselves. 

Daily Dose of BS March 22 drugs

A couple of local police departments are looking at a new approach to the addiction problem.  The agencies in Campbell and Holmen are looking at a program that has had success in Massachusetts that helps an addict kick the habit, by offering treatment rather than jail time.  I am all for this, as we are seeing more people headed to court for possession of heroin and other drugs but only having them turned back to the streets.  I really think that something needs to be done and done sooner rather than later.  My wife and I have been going for walks lately and taking different routes to mix it up, we have been down just about every street and alley in our neighborhood in the past few weeks and there are lots of discarded syringes laying on the streets and alleys of La Crosse.  I have even seen them in a couple of the business parking lots.  With the amount of needles that have been handed out I guess I am not surprised that there are so many unattended needles. 

Daily Dose of BS March 21 voting

The smart phone companies announce in plenty of time that they are going to be releasing a new phone, the tease the new features, they bring out the pomp and circumstance and many are fighting to be first in line to be the first consumers to have the new widget.  I wish that people were as pumped up about voting.  It is funny that even though there are a million people posting each and every day that this candidate and that candidate are the best, they bad mouth these people and talk up these, there are still going to be people who even though they are waving the flag loudly for a particular candidate I will bet that they don’t get to the polling place to vote.  I used to know a person like that, she would wave the flag and then not vote.  I don’t get it.  Back to the phone thing I guess that Apple is introducing something today, I can hardly wait – just kidding I really I don’t care. 

Daily Dose of BS March 18 trees

The landscape at Riverside Park is a bit sparse.  The city of La Crosse eradicated 12 of the Ash Trees from the fabric of Riverside Park.  I am guessing that there will be a feeling of sadness and emptiness when we drive through Riverside this spring and summer, and of course the trees will be missed at Rotary Lights.  It saddens me to think that all these trees are gone from our beautiful city, and that our lovely canopy of leaves will for a long time be missing from the park.  I grew up in the Twin Cities and remember when Dutch Elm hit that area and the landscapes of the older neighborhoods changed.  I hope that something can be done to bring back some trees to Riverside Park.

Daily Dose of BS March 17 parking

A couple of years ago the city of La Crosse was talking about alternate side parking year round. I’m glad that that fell by the wayside. On Tuesday, La Crosse Councilman Gary Padesky proposed legislation that would end alternate-side parking on March 1 rather than April 1, and for many in La Crosse that is a welcomed relief. This really doesn’t affect me because we have off street parking but it is the principle of the thing in my mind. The fines aren’t enough to kill ya but at 10 bucks each and double then double again over time just for parking in front of your house for the season is enough to make a dent in your life’s savings. Looking back to last year the City of La Crosse Police Department issued 13,095 alternate-side parking tickets that at ten bucks a pop generated a minimum of $130,950, and that is if they were paid on time. To me it seems like a money grab, where does that money go to?