Daily Dose of BS March 13 drink specials

When I first moved to La Crosse in 1992 I was challenged to try to drink a beer at each of the bars on 3^rd street.  I thought challenge accepted.  For the record I didn’t make it.  I don’t recall how many of the bars I hit before I quit but there used to be a lot of bars.  Fast forward 25 years and guess what there are still lot of bars downtown and plenty of them have the Thursday wristband special pay a few bucks and drink all night.  City Council member Bob Seaquist wants to do away with the specials that promote too much drinking.  Adding that you can go out and have a good time without getting blind, puking drunk.  He also said that binge drinking is a public health crisis in the upper Midwest.  The proposal suggests that anyone who has a license issued under this chapter of the La Crosse Municipal code, it should be unlawful to sell an unlimited number of drinks for a fixed price or an all you can drink basis.  Huh why not just say no more all you can drink specials.  How do you fell about no more drink specials?

Daily Dose of BS March 10 disappearance

I didn’t know Thomas Olsen, but was concerned when he went missing.  I think that many were.  Thomas’s body was found in Lake Mead in Nevada.  About one thousand people end up going missing in Vegas a month.   I am sorry to hear that Thomas ended up being found dead but, I am guessing that the family is relieved to know what had happened to him.  Not knowing would be horrible while at the same time knowing would be bad.  In fact, in Wisconsin there are 1,000 missing person cases, according to the National Crime Information Center.  about 700 hundred of those are children and 300 are adults, and having missing people isn’t just confined to the big cities, in La Crosse County there are missing people as well.  Including one of La Cross’s most infamous cases Evelyn Hartley from the 50’s.  Those left behind are often times left wondering and hoping.  

Daily Dose of BS March 9 self driving cars

The concept of self-driving cars is cool.  Futuristic if you will I think that they are a great concept, I however don’t know if I would trust riding in one.  I don’t even like to be the passenger in some people’s cars, and these are people that I know.  About 54% of American drivers feel less safe with the prospect of sharing the road with a self-driving car.  I think about the what if situations and also think about the people intrigued by the prospect of the driving car and then they themselves are not paying attention to the road because they are too busy looking at the driverless car.  I know I for one would be looking at the car and watching it to see how it reacts in situations, what would it do if a deer were to run out in the road, do like most and swerve to avoid it, if that was the case wouldn’t the car then hit another?  What about getting hacked, we have people trying to get into our computers to mess with our lives what if they could really mess with us with our cars?  I am not sure if I am ready for a self-driving car.  Are you? 

Daily Dose of BS March 8 day without woman

Today is International Women’s Day, and it coincides with the National day without a woman.  Organizers are calling for women and their allies to come together for a “one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.”  I will tell you that I am one who loves the women in my life, all of them.  In fact, one of my favorite women in the world my Mom celebrated her birthday yesterday in California with my youngest brother, and another of my favorite women is my wife of almost 27 years.  I could not do what I do if not for these two great, strong women.  I never really got the feeling that women are lesser than a man, never.  All this talk of equal pay for equal jobs, I agree with that as well.  If you are doing the same the same job the pay should be the same.  

Daily Dose of BS March 7 stuff

A few things that have come up as of late.  A new republican health care program, the new American Health Care Act would allow health insurance companies to charge older people five times as much as they charge younger clients, and instead of subsidies, the plan provides tax credits for people making less than $75,000 a year.  Yesterday, President Trump signed a new executive order that bans immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, dropping Iraq, and reinstates a temporary blanket ban on all refugees. The new ban takes effect March 16.  Also all Sunday and yesterday we heard about how over the weekend President Trump made the explosive claim that his predecessor, President Barack Obama, wiretapped his phones during the 2016 campaign.  The FBI is denying this.  If the Obama team did do this do you think that we would ever know?  I don’t even know where to begin.  

Daily Dose of BS March 6 DOT

A new construction season brings talk of new construction on the south side of La Crosse.  I live on the south side of La Crosse and talk of construction on South Avenue brings mixed feelings, on one hand something needs to be done off of 16^th street at South Avenue, trying to get at any time of the day and head south brings up feelings of anger and disappointment, angry because you can’t get out and disappointed that you didn’t take the chance when you had it and also disappointed because people don’t move over to let you in.  Talk is for that stretch of road is slated for construction in 2022 and is expected to cost between 6 and 10 million dollars, my guess is that it will cost much more than that.  Trouble is once you get too many cooks in the kitchen no one can agree on what needs to be done.  And 9 times out of 10 people get mad over the choices made.  You are in luck the Wisconsin DOT will be presenting the latest tomorrow at Central High School at 5. 

Daily Dose of BS March 3 rides

We have come a long way in La Crosse from when I first moved here.  24 years ago seems like forever ago and like yesterday.  We have changed a bunch and not at all we are still a beautiful river community where for the most part are pretty safe.  The police and fire departments have done a great job keeping us safe.  We have the same problems that many in the county have with drugs and petty crimes.  The biggest change in the past few weeks are quite noticeable if you don’t have a car or if you want a safe ride home.  When I first moved to La Crosse I am not sure that we even had a cab company I just googled cabs in La Crosse Wisconsin and came up with 6 and within the past few weeks we got Lyft and I see that now Uber is making La Crosse home.  I have only taken about 20 cab rides in my life and none of them in La Crosse, and have never taken an Uber of a Lyft.  How has your experience been with any of these?  

Daily Dose of BS March 2 best of

As a community we have been hit with a few of these best of this and best of that surveys, the La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau has one the La Crosse Tribune now has one.  I am not a fan of these because only the businesses that they want to have listed are listed in their surveys.  I would like to hear what you think the best of the best are?  For example, I think that the best place to grab a beer is at Snuffy’s and the best bar burger is at the Barrel Inn.  We have many bests and my favorite isn’t necessarily your favorite.  What is your favorite and best of list for the area?  Best grocery store is Festival, and best pizza is South Lanes.  Of course these are mine.  My favorite dentist is Dr Uss.  For breakfast I got three favorites.  Rosie’s, Hungry Peddler and Marge’s.  Who is the best in your opinion and why?

Daily Dose of BS March 1 Trump

Seeing Donald Trump come out and look presidential was a welcome relief, I wasn’t sure if he could do it.  In watching the speech last night, I was surprised and happy to see that the president wasn’t the poppas egotistical man that most of us had seen up to this point.  I enjoyed listening to him, I like most found some to be on par and other parts not so much.  I had to google the meaning of all the white outfits that many of the democratic women were wearing it was for purity in case you were wondering.  I am wondering am I the only person who thinks that it is weird that some in Congress and in the Senate are asking the President for his autograph as he is walking by?  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 28 drinking in Minnesota

Growing up in Minnesota we had weird drinking laws, like you can only buy 3.2 beer at the grocery store and that you had to go to the liquor store to buy booze and any beer that wasn’t labeled 3.2 you also couldn’t buy beer or alcohol on a Sunday.  This is about to change thanks to Winona Senator Jeremy Miller.  I remember meeting family for a family outing a few years back when I got a call from my brother-in-law asking me to pick up some Spotted Cow on my way up to Duluth because they couldn’t get it up there and because it was a Sunday and they couldn’t buy beer there.  I told him to go to Superior to buy his beer then told him I was kidding and brought him his beer.  Do you think that more Minnesotans will be drinking now because of beer and alcohol sales on a Sunday?  I wonder also if opening this up will also open up car sales on a Sunday as well?  I guess that time will tell.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 27 line in the sand

Have you ever made that line in the sand and said I am not going to cross that line.  I promise myself I will never do..fill in the blank?  I have and I bet that you have as well.  I wonder if it is a sign of the times, of our society or that we are weak or maybe we are making lines in the sand that can’t possibly be kept.  There are some that are hard and fast rules that we should not do, but some do.  Every single day we hear of people who have killed someone or robbed a bank or even embezzled money from you name it work, club, church, school..the list is as long as my arm.  When I was young and would get disciplined by my Dad I remember saying I will never yell at my kids.  Guess what if you have kids sometimes you yell.  Does this make a failure?  No way.  Sometimes we make the “nevers” in our lives unattainable.  How do you set and stay with a goal?

Daily Dose of BS Feb 24 fake news

I know I am going to take some crap for this but do you think that the media sources out there are more about reporting the news or making the news?  We have been hearing lots about fake news and I too sometimes fall for the click bait to read a story about this or the 10 reasons why this that or the other things.  But do you really feel as though the media is out to report fake news?  if you can’t trust the media, who can you trust?  Now, hear me out, I chose a profession where integrity and honesty are key, I chose to work in the media.  I have been given crap from everyone from my Dad who loves me to my friends to people I don’t even know about the integrity of the media, calling us a bunch of liars and news fabricators.  I think that when some people have a real news story about them break that they don’t like or that they don’t get shown in the best light they are calling it fake news.  I agree that some stuff out there is fake but news from trusted sources isn’t. 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 23 nails

I have heard from a family friend in La Crosse that their house has been targeted by some group of people who apparently doesn’t like them.  Our friends house has had nails tossed on their driveway many times over the past 6 months or so.  I saw a picture of the nails that they have cleaned up and they have about enough to shingle a roof.  Not only has nails been tossed on their driveway but also put in the gutter by their house, and wine bottle and a pickle jar were also tossed in their yard.  Yesterday another friend sent me an article of someone putting nails face up on a running trail in North Carolina also on the same trail there have been nails put into tree roots so to hurt a runner.  To me both of these incidents are forms of bullying and at least one leaning towards domestic terrorism.  Here is the definition, acts of domestic terrorism are those which: "(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended – (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, sounds terroristic to me.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 22 advice

Yesterday my youngest son bought his first car, he doesn’t even have his permit yet.  While we were driving it around town, we were talking about things and how dangerous driving can be, I went over many of the driving rules, and mentioned as we were about to hit the highway that speed and inattentive driving kill.  We went on to talk about how texting and driving also is a deadly combination.  Our conversation made me think about the things or the words of wisdom that our parents pass on to us.  My Dad always used to say that a moment of laxity can cause an eternity of regret, and that the youth is wasted on the young, use your head for more than just a place for your glasses or hat.  My parents were also big on taking responsibility for what you have done.  What are some of the bits of advice that you have received over the years that you still live by today?  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 21 welcome

When you welcome someone into your home you try to show them the best of the best, you want them to feel welcome.  You greet them at the door you offer them a drink, as well as something to eat.  I wonder if we are doing this to our visitors to La Crosse, you get off on exit 3 to be welcomed by a few fast food places, a mall and some hotels, where is the welcome to our wonderful community sign, our hey this is a great place to visit placard or the welcoming committee letting our guests know that this a wonderful place to live.  We don’t really have this.  City planners are forming a plan that will outline a new vision for the northern entrance to the city of La Crosse, and I for one hope that it is much more welcoming than the look now.  There is talk of walkways, crosswalks and bike trails, as well as adding the pavers and decorative lighting.  I think all well spent money.  I just wish that some of the other river towns would take this idea and run with it for their small communities. 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 20 presidents day

I had to smile when I saw the headline not my president’s day.  So if the president isn’t your president and you work for a company or for the government who gives you the day off are you expected to work then?  That is the first thing that popped into my head when I read that.  Ok would someone please explain to me what is meant by that statement?  I really do not understand it.  The day is not honoring one president but all the people who have served as president.  Pick your favorite one, you have 45 select the one you like or the ones you like and celebrate them, and if you really have a beef with the system, work to change it.  We all have skin in the game many of us voted, many of us are unhappy but on the other hand there are still many who are happy.  And if this isn’t your president’s day and you can’t find one of the 45 to celebrate, maybe you just need to dig further, because I am pretty sure that they have all done something worth celebrating.   

Daily Dose of BS feb 17 paper

I am a loyal reader of the La Crosse Tribune, I have been a newspaper reader for my whole life, my love for the snap of the paper came as a young boy first for the comics, then for the money as a paperboy.  Newspapers have always been a part of my life.  Over the years we have seen changes in the way that people get their news, of course my career choice, the radio, tv, the newspaper and of course the new guy in the room, the internet.  Digital news has cut into the amount of people who enjoy all the “Old School” types of media.  We have all had to change the way that we do things.  We all have - from cut backs, to program and publication changes, we have all had to go with the ebb and flow.  With changes sometimes come costs, and with costs I would assume that a contract in place would be honored, I got a letter from the Tribune saying that effective February 2017 they will be implementing a subscription rate increase, and that this increase may accelerate the end of my current subscription period.  HUH?  I thought it was a paid in full contract. 

Daily Dose of BS feb 16 pop

Our pop machine at work had a 25% increase last week sometime I am not much of a pop drinker but every once in a while I will crack open a pop.  Is it pop or soda?  I grew up in Minnesota and I have always called it pop, when I moved around at the beginning of my career I ran into people that looked at me like I was a back woods hick, I assure you that I am not.  But back to the whole pop vs soda argument, most of the country calls it soda, some of us call it pop and in Georgia I heard that they call it all Coke.  What if you wanted a Mt Dew would you order a Mt Dew Coke?  I am not sure.  Anyway I am not sure how much longer we will be having this argument as the taxes for the cost of pop are going up at many locations and I am guessing that the government will someday step in and tell us no more pop.  What are your thoughts on the whole pop vs soda wars and are you still drinking the stuff?

Daily Dose of BS Feb 15 ash trees

A few years ago we were told that the city of La Crosse was going to be taking down trees in certain neighborhoods, they even closed Losey for a day a couple years ago to do it.  That was then, back when we got a public notice of trees coming down.  Over the past week or so the city has been silently thinning the herd.  They are dropping Ash left and right, in just the past 10 or so days in the 3 blocks of my street I think I counted that the city fell 13 trees.  I talked with one of my neighbors who had 4 trees taken from his boulevard 4 trees.  The city of La Crosse is eradicating the Ash Tree from the fabric of the city.  I am guessing by end of the spring that when we drive down any La Crosse neighborhood we will notice the clear cutting of the Ash trees.  Besides the loss of the trees we will be viewing the exposed stumps of the Ash trees that have been cut down in hopes of eradicating the Emerald Ash Borer.  It saddens me to think that all these trees will soon be gone from our beautiful city, and that our lovely canopy of leaves will for a long time be missing from the city streets.  We at one time had the designation of Tree City USA, what will the new designation be? 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 14 Valentines Day

I choo’choo’ choose you.  Best Simpsons episodes ever.  I used to feel like Ralph when I was a kid as we handed out store bought valentines cards and put conversation hearts into a little place baggie or cellophane cut into squares and synched together with a bit of ribbon. Valentine’s day is today, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  What do you get someone you have been married to for almost 27 years?  Flowers, a card, chocolates or other candies, I know candy conversation hearts, actually to me Valentine’s Day to me it is a made up holiday in order to sell cards and candy.  I know, call me Mr Romantic, 50 shades of blah, I am going to stimulate the local economy and take my wife out for dinner, and maybe a movie, if not it’s hot pockets and Netflix.  By the way what’s good on Netflix these days?