Daily Dose of BS Aug 30 problems

There was a study done on what millennials find to be the most troubling things facing the world and surprisingly it has some well thought out issues.  On the list is lack of economic opportunity, safety issues, lack of education, food and water security, government accountability, religious conflicts, poverty, inequality, wars, and climate change.     I agree that many of these are problems, large problems.  But some of the biggest problems I feel we are dealing with are terrorism, dishonest politicians, lying media, people not being able to work together, addiction (all kinds from heroin, to alcohol, to technology) laziness and greed.  What do you feel are the biggest troubles facing the world today?

Daily Dose of BS Aug 28 hurricane

After seeing some of the pictures and videos of Hurricane Harvey and the torrential rains that hit Texas over the past couple of days, it brings me to 20 years ago when the banks of the Red River flooded and my wife’s family home in East Grand Forks Minnesota had 4 feet of water on the main floor of their family home.  One thing that I do know about people is that we are resilient and do overcome the obstacles that are thrown at us.  Every time that we hear of some community taken to the brink of obscurity we see the town and the surrounding people pull together and team up to fix what is the problem, look at what Hurricane Katrina did 12 years ago in New Orleans and how that community pulled together to rebuild.  I look at Grand Forks and how they rebuilt.  Even though there is devastation in Houston Texas, they too will overcome, rebuild and come together.  I have faith.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 25 amazon

There is a new list of Kmart stores that are closing, and quite honestly, I am not surprised.  I was thinking about shopping and the future of shopping the other day.  I had purchased a hammock from Amazon during Amazon Prime day I got the set up for about half price.  It was a super comfortable hammock, in fact it was napped on many times.  In between uses I took the fabric part of the hammock in and put it in the garage.  Well mice had got into the garage and had chewed a hole in the fabric, I wasn’t happy but thought ok it on the foot side, what harm can come of that, I laid on my hammock and the thing ripped right in half, down to the ground I went with a thud, my son laughed but then helped me up, I contacted Amazon explained my story I got a new one about 24 hours after I spoke with the company.  No questions asked.  No hoops to jump though just good customer service.  Why can’t we see more of that with the brick and mortar stores?  If this keeps Amazon will rule the world.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 24 didnt win the 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 did something that I have only done a handful of times in my life, I bought 6 lottery tickets.  The last time I bought tickets I dreamt that I won the lottery, I didn’t dream that last night.  In the past when my family and I talked about the lottery and if we won we talked of moving, I don’t think we would move out of the area, I love it here it is after all God’s Country.  A lot of people say that they wouldn’t quit their jobs, I am not sure I buy that one, but then I didn’t win and neither did you, so off to work.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 22 Trumps Speech

A 16 year war will be an even longer war after last night.  President Donald Trump spoke to the country in prime time last night  saying “Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition. — attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge. We will ask our NATO allies and global partners to support our new strategy, with additional troop and funding increases in line with our own. We are confident they will,” “Ultimately, it is up to the people of Afghanistan to take ownership of their future, to govern their society, and to achieve an everlasting peace. We are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live or how to govern their own complex society. We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists,”  The US has about 8,400 forces in Afghanistan now.

Daily Dose of BS Aug 21 eclipse

Many millions of people will have their heads tilted away from their cell phones later this afternoon.  About 1:11 is when the eclipse will be at its peak in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  I remember when the eclipse of 1979 got us out of class and in the playground at Falcon Heights elementary school with our homemade solar projectors.  What a cool memory.  It really irritates me that there are scammers out there selling fake eclipse glasses.  But you can always go old school and poke a hole in a note card then grab another note card as the screen and line them up in order to see the eclipse.  In La Crosse, Wisconsin, we will get about an 85% covering and from what I have seen from the National Weather Service that we will have a 42% cloud cover.  The DOT also reminds us that motorists should also be prepared, and spend time focusing on the road, in fact some DOT dynamic message signs in Wisconsin are flashing this message: Don't Have an Eclipse in Judgment. Drive Safely.

Daily Dose of BS Aug 18 buy local

I have been noticing a disturbing trend with work being done around the city.  There are a lot of out of town and out of state work trucks working on local projects such as roads, water and parks.  The other day I was watching the work being done at the new ball field at Houska Park.  I didn’t even know there was a new field going in over there, it looks great, but I noticed that there was a Winona business doing the landscaping.  I am guessing that there are a lot of La Crosse based businesses that pay taxes right here in La Crosse that would have loved to do that job.  I get that some of the other work that is farmed out to other businesses from other communities and states because you have to be competitive but for a smaller business that is putting in trees, and doing beautifying an area, wouldn’t you think that even within a range that giving the job to a local person that will be spending money locally would make more sense?  I haven’t noticed for a while but a few years ago the police cars came from a dealership in Eau Clarie again, wouldn’t it be better to buy from a local dealership?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 17 Burzinski

Roger Burzinski the man who was shot and killed by the La Crosse Police Department on Sunday evening wasn’t a stranger to breaking the law.  Burzinski was a career felon, with an extensive arrest record which includes convictions for possession of a firearm by a felon, second-degree sexual assault of a child, battery to police, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, fleeing police and armed robbery.  And if I recall correctly his brother also tried killing a La Crosse cop by swinging a knife at him.  It is too bad that Burzinski’s actions ended his life the way that they did, but it is also crappy that he put the child in danger that was in the car that he hijacked and the stress that he put on the parents of that 1 year old child and the stress that the shooting has now put on the 2 police officers that were involved in the shooting and also the stress to the families of all involved.  Was the right action taken?    

Daily Dose of BS August 16 statues

Racist? Villain? Hero? You cannot change history.  You can’t, I know many have tried with their own, but what we have done are things that we have done.  I don’t know my family’s history when it comes to slavery, I hope that we never had any slaves, I am not sure if my family has ever been involved in the creation of any positives in the world either.  I only know what I know.  If we were involved in any wrong doings that I haven’t been a part of there is really nothing I can do about it at this time.  Sure, I can say that I don’t agree with what they did but there is not a thing I can do to change it.  I get that there are statues up all over the country honoring the memory of this person or that person, but how many of the statues are really seen?  I just spent a week in Washington DC where there is a statue on just about every corner, and I really couldn’t tell you what statues I saw or where they are or who they honored. Maybe it is just me but if there is a statue that you don’t like or don’t agree with, isn’t it just as easy to ignore it or not search it out than to bring it down and try to change the past?  We can’t deny that it happened, we can only try to not let it happen again.    

Daily Dose of BS August 14 shootings in La Crosse

More gun violence in La Crosse, last week there was a home invader shot, yesterday there was an armed carjacker that was shot and killed by the police.  Whatever happened to La Crosse being a quiet community with everything swept under the carpet?  Isn’t that the way it used to be?  If there was a problem we looked the other way?  Now it seems that the world has different glasses on instead of looking the other way we are looking at another way to make everything a problem, I don’t feel that either of these ways of looking at things are the right way to look at the world.  I think that political bias and political correction has snuck into every aspect of our lives and that because of that we are not able to get things done.  Are things spiraling out of control because we offer too many breaks, a slap on the wrist instead of sentencing worthy of a crime?  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 3 shopping carts

I once heard someone say you never see a successful person leave a shopping cart in the parking lot.  Ever since I heard that I have tried to put my cart away.  Not that I didn’t put my cart away before but there have been times I am sure in the past where I have left it to do what it wants.  No more.  When you put away your cart it kind of makes you a servant leader, you see others first and the big picture, it also shows that you have discipline, you see it is the simple things that add up to the big things, if you put away your shopping cart you have a goal, when you finish that goal you have simple success, with that success you have a feeling of accomplishment, with that accomplishment, you have the feeling as though you can do the next big thing, you set another bigger goal and go through the same steps, the snowball effect is amazing.  And to think that it all starts with putting away your shopping cart.  If you are not a cart returner, I grant you a clean slate, move forward putting away carts, remember it is the simple things.  

Daily Dose of BS Aug 2 Right NOW

Simple question today.  Do you trust the government?  Any government?  I remember the Van Halen song Right Now and on the video there is an animation of someone pushing someone over with the words “Right Now, our government is doing things that we think only other countries do” Those words have stuck with me since that video has come out.  Now we see all the turmoil in Washington DC and even in our states, it makes me think that they weren’t really that far off.   In the news today Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. Wants Dialogue With North Korea at 'Some Point'.  What do you suppose that this means?  There are 3 Americans being held there.  Are we going to negotiate with them?  

Daily Dose of BS August 1 waking up

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed seems like a stupid thing to say, I get up every morning on the same side of the bed, if I were to get up on the wrong side I would have to crawl over my wife and that I am sure would go over like a lead balloon.  Most mornings I feel as though my attitude first thing in the morning is going to dictate where my day goes, if I start off with a crappy attitude then the day seems to go the way I thought it would go, therefore I try to have a good attitude for the day.  I read an article awhile back touting Purpose, Control, and Optimism.  If you feel a sense purpose, and control and you are optimistic you can tackle anything.  So when your day is derailed from the start, look at reigning it back in by refocusing your day and start with purpose, control and optimism. 

Daily Dose of BS July 28 buying time

The old Jimmy Soul song “If you want to be happy” Starts off with if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife, so from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you.  This doesn’t really hold true these days, firstly because there are no ugly people we all have redeeming qualities, secondly because studies say that money can’t buy happiness but at sure can buy you free time and that is what makes people happy.  In our 24 hour a day world the thing that makes us most happy is time.  A study published from the National Academy of Science, found that people who spent money on time-saving investments like having things delivered or hiring someone to do your yard instead of tending to the yard themselves, or paying for a cleaning person to come in a couple times a month makes for greater life satisfaction. That wasn’t only true for only the rich, but everybody benefited from buying time.  What time savor can you not live without?  For me it is the Tivo, dishwasher and when the kids mow the lawn. 

Daily dose of BS July 27 transgender

I have to admit I was kind of shocked when I heard the tweet storm from the President yesterday regarding the ban on transgendered people from being in the military.  His 3 tweets said this “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow ... Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming ... victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you,” his decision reverses a decision from former President Obama and caught the Pentagon off guard.  I wonder what happens to the already enlisted men and women in our military that are struggling with their identity.  I read one report that one soldier felt fired.  The Pentagon hasn’t released data on how many transgender troops there are, however the Human Rights Campaign says the military the “largest employer of transgender people in America.”

Daily Dose of BS July 26 rfid

I don’t think my employer could pay me enough to implant a chip into my body.  Employees at Three Square Market a vending company out of River Falls will starting next month be implanting RFID chips in the hands of employees.  The chip will allow the employees the chance to long in to office tools like copiers, unlock doors and pay for items in the vending machines.  I have nothing to hide but there is no way on Gods Green Earth that I would want my employer or anyone for that matter to know where I am all the time.  I don’t like that Google tracks my everything don’t believe me check out this link.  https://www.google.com/maps/timeline  Google knows where we were, who we saw, I am guessing that Big Brother knows what we bought.  So the those who own companies and want to start chipping your employees, you better look past this guy, or start paying a whole lot more.  

Daily Dose of BS July 25 war eagle

Sure, I think that the war eagle on the side of the old meat market looks cool.  Does it mean anything to me?  Nope.  Will its destruction make me lose any sleep?  Nope.  Is the building kind of an eye sore?  Yep.  In the 25 years that I have lived in La Crosse sure I have seen that painting on the side of the crappy building, do I know anything about it?  Nope, I didn’t even know it was on the old Weagel Schubert Meat Market until I read it in the paper.  Come to think of it I am not even sure what the meaning or history of the old painting is.  I know it looks cool, and after they were talking about taking down the building and the historic effort to try to save it came out, I have been thinking that there has to be a way to save the painting, not that I think that it should be but because there has to be a way and I like to figure stuff out.  The nomination of the building to be an historic landmark by someone who doesn’t own it, I don’t think is right.  If the building’s owner wanted to look into it I think that is a whole different story.  Thoughts on someone else trying to push an agenda?  

Daily Dose of BS July 24 class reunion

Some I knew some, I didn’t, all of us had something in common, we all graduated 30 years ago.  Over the weekend, I drove to the cites on a mission, not quite a mission from God but it was a self-discovery if you will.  I really enjoyed getting together and talking with these familiar strangers, familiar because we all had the joy and the burden of being the first graduating class of Roseville Area High School.   And strangers because our lives have taken us to different places, we have all experienced different paths in our lives and yet somehow even though 30 years ago we were basically made to be classmates, 30 years later we came together on our own to enjoy the stories that have made us, us.  Funny I heard from a few there, that the word was be careful what you say to Bob as it would end up on the radio on Monday.  Sorry to disappoint, but what happened at the 30 reunion will stay at the reunion, not because it was a code, but because I had so many conversations that I forgot what details go with what story.  If you have the chance to go to your reunion, please go, you will be surprised that as you get older the playing field levels.  

Daily Dose of BS July 21 juice

Do you remember June 17, 1994?  I bet the date doesn’t ring a bell but if I say slow speed chase featuring a white bronco, I bet you immediately recall the OJ Simpson chase through LA.  I remember being glued to the television and then watched the OJ Simpson trial, then the shock when OJ was found not guilty for the murders of his wife Nicole and her friend Ron.  Fast forward a few years when the juice was in trouble with the law again, and by this time I believe that he thought that he was Teflon, was jailed in 2007 for conspiracy to commit a crime, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, two counts of first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.  Yesterday we heard that the Juice will be loose.  Did he pay the price for his crimes? 

Daily Dose of BS July 20 weather

Even though we think we are we are not in control, let me repeat that, we are not in control.  If you have ever been through a storm you begin to realize this.  I was sleeping like a baby after last nights storm, I ended up heading out and about to check out the local damage after it stopped raining last night as to have something to talk about this morning, as I mentioned I was sleeping like a baby when my wife’s phone went off this morning at 2:20 saying a flash flood warning I just laid there in bed listing to the rain come down in sheets and when I finally was able to reach the point of sleep again there were loud thunder boom.  In this latest round of stroms to hit La Crosse, I have seen a blue cooler overturned on the street, manhole covers moved, down trees, a few cars where they shouldn’t be, neighborhoods without power, water over the roads, mud on the highway and a tipped over outhouse.  Be careful in your travels, also be aware of changing road conditions and remember to not try driving though flooded streets.  

Daily Dose of BS July 19 shooting

For the second time in about a year there was a cop that shot a civilian in Minnesota, this time it was an unarmed Australian woman dressed in her pajamas, last time if you recall it was broadcast all over Facebook live by the girlfriend of the victim.  Last time there was up roar over the shooting, this time it took a few days for the news to trickle out of Minnesota to hit the national news.  I am not sure what the difference in the shootings was except that the one victim was black and American and one was white and Australian.  I am going to start by saying that black lives matter, I agree with that statement, but I also think that all lives matter.  Nobody’s life is more important than anyone’s else’s nobody’s.  I feel as though there is a double standard when it comes to protesting of unfortunate killings of anyone.  What happened to justice for all, or is it justice for some?   

Daily Dose of BS July 18 legal weed

I know I am going to take some crap on this but I think it is a good idea, Wisconsin State Representative Melissa Sargent introduced bill LRB-2457 a bill to legalize both medicinal and recreational use of marijuana in Wisconsin.  I have said it before and will say it again, I think that legalizing marijuana will help with the high taxes that we have in Wisconsin and some of the money could be funneled back into the problem issues that we have here like infrastructure.  I was at a large outdoor concert the past weekend and it seemed as though many were already enjoying the bud, and I am not talking the king of beers.  Of course, if legalized some of the money needs to be set aside for treatment for those that would like to stop, but I feel that legalizing it would help with state budget and would take some of the drug trafficking and sales off the street.  

Daily Dose of BS July 17 when to retire

The rock and roll lifestyle took its toll in one of the two classic rockers I had the experience of seeing over the weekend.  On Friday I headed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for Rock USA featuring Ozzy Osborne, and I was pumped to see him as it was the first concert I had ever seen back when Motley Crue opened for him in the early 80’s.  Fast forward to last Friday, life has taken its toll, he was out of it and I am pretty sure he didn’t know where he was.  There were times that I believe he forgot the words to his own songs.  Flip the calendar to last Saturday and Freedomfest at UWL, I got to see the artist who guided me through my teenaged years, John Fogerty rocked, and I mean rocked Veterans Memorial Stadium, there wasn’t a butt on the seat during his 90+ minute concert, covering most of the great CCR songs that we loved and a couple of the classic Fogerty tunes.  I am glad I had the chance to see Ozzy again but I believe he should retire and I really loved seeing John Fogerty.  How was your weekend?  

Daily Dose of BS July 14 brown bag

When I think brown bag special I think a sandwich, some chips, an apple, a juice and a napkin.  The brown bag special offered by the Citgo in La Crosse has a new meaning to brown bagging it.  According to an article in the La Crosse Tribune when you order a brown bag at this store you get a small paper bag with a copper scrubber and a glass tube with the components of a ball point pen.  The talk is that this kit is used for drug consumption, I think we may be looking at it wrong, this may be a brilliant way of getting kids to either do dishes with the copper scrubby or maybe it is a do it yourself science kit since it comes with the items to build a ball point pen.  Seriously though the paper goes on to say that the owner of the store said that the items when used together are for smoking tobacco, umm, I used to smoke tobacco and I have never once smoked it out of a glass pipe.  Do you think that the owner was lying and these make shift pipes are used for smoking meth, cocaine and heroin?  

Daily Dose of BS July 13 lazy

A study by Stanford University researchers that used step-counters installed in most smartphones to track the walking activity of about 700,000 people in 46 countries around the world.  Found that the least lazy, according to the step tracking study are the Chinese, where people averaged 6,880 a steps a day.  The worst nation was nearby Indonesia, where people walked nearly half as much, averaging 3,513 steps a day. The worldwide average is 4,961 steps, with Americans averaging 4,774.  Many of us have counters on our wrists and our phones, mine track me and yours track you.  I know we are supposed to strive for 10,000 steps a day and I very rarely hit that mark.  For me it used to be a game, I tried to beat the day before, like I said it used to be a game, I like many other Americans have become complacent with my step tracker.  Ever since I got it I have wore it 24 hours a day as to track my steps and my sleep.  All it has really shown me is that I am lazy and that I don’t get enough sleep.  

Daily Dose of BS July 11 firearms in school

I read an article last week about the state of Wisconsin thinking about allowing guns in schools.  Before a gasket is blown the bill, I read about would allow high schools offer a gun safety class.  I for one am happy to hear this.  I think the more that people are comfortable with the workings of a gun the safer we will all be.  Hear me out.  Of the gun violence that we hear about how many of the perpetrators are trained in gun usage?  I am guessing not too high.  Also, if you have young adults comfortable around guns you are to do away with the mystery.  The younger person will realize that guns are not play things and learn a respect for the fire arm.  Proper training, proper handling and proper cleaning will teach respect for the fire arm.

Daily Dose of BS July 10 tipping

You’ve heard the saying “Tipping is not just a city in China.”  Guess what it really isn’t.  There is no city in China called Tipping.  I have been called frugal at times, by more than one person.  I like to hang on to my money and there is nothing wrong with that.  I do however tip well (at least 20% for a meal, not as much for just beers), I get embarrassed when I go out with someone and I offer to pick up the check and they offer to leave the tip and they don’t tip well, leaving only 10% or so.  I guess if you are getting good service and service with a smile, drinks topped off, and the little glimpse into the life of the person serving you, it’s gotta be worth something, right.  I have been out with people that pull the tip card out of their wallet to figure out the tip.  How hard is it to figure out a tip?  Move the decimal point over to the left one, if you have a $23.45 bill and you want to leave a 10% tip it is $2.35, a 20% tip is $4.70, the ten percent tip doubled, and for a 15% tip spilt the difference.  Not rocket science, its rent, a car payment, groceries, etc.   BTW a new study shows that men, Republicans, and residents of the northeast are the best tippers.  How good a tipper are you?

Daily Dose of BS July 7 stores closing

Yesterday my daughter and I spent the afternoon together she needed to get a few things for her room and for her bike and I drive.  It started off rough, but soon was filled with laughter and some good-natured ribbing.  We went to a handful of stores to get the stuff we needed and stopped by two that had some pretty bare shelves.  Kmart, we know is closing, and Gordy’s grocery.  Let’s start with Kmart, if they had as many people working there when they were open, they wouldn’t be closing.  I saw more employees and more shoppers in that store than I have ever have I think, I don’t get why when a store is closing that the prices get jacked up only to be discounted and people flock to the shelves like flies on let’s say Schmidt.  The other store is Gordy’s.  I have heard some rumors about this store and wanted to see myself, the shelves were bare, the beer coolers were empty and the frozen food coolers were vacant.  I asked at the checkout if they were closing, the lady responded we are on a budget, and that they have 2 years left on their lease.  I am on a budget and I have food on my shelves at home.  Anyway, was a great afternoon with my daughter, we laughed, we had fun but most importantly we spent time together.  

Daily Dose of BS July 6 parking

Hey La Crosse city council here is a great idea, lets rebuild downtown, open up new and better spaces, revitalize if you will, like the field of dreams if you build it they will come.  Get things completely turned around.  Let’s say we add a few new parking ramps giving people plenty of places to park, add a few new hotels, spend some serious money on the downtown area.  We could add cameras to help with criminal activity and we could put in parklets on the streets allowing busy shoppers the chance to rest their tired feet after hiking up and down the busy streets of La Crosse.  Then when we get all that done here is a great idea, lets add parking meters, what a grand idea.  I think we should add them everywhere, in the city of La Crosse, on side streets, in neighborhoods, on the alleys, then we should drop the speed limits on all roads leading out of La Crosse to 15 miles per hour because then at least people will be here for a little bit, right.  Really, parking meters?  This tax payer says no. 

Daily Dose of BS June 30 5 years tomorrow

Five years ago tomorrow we started with a new radio station, Today’s Talk 1490.  I was hired as the morning guy and charged with making a show.  Here it is five years later and I still love doing it.  I have got to do some pretty awesome things, like go inside of the I 90 bridge and peer down at the river below, broadcast from the Lock and Dam, then tour all the behind the scenes things.  I also interviewed thousands of people.  I got to talk with politicians, business leaders, and rock stars including some of my favorite.  I have made some friends and some enemies.  Every single day is a new adventure. This job can also be humbling, as this year I was nominated as one of the best of Morning Dj’s and Best Radio Personality.   I often wonder when I talk with my friends who don’t like their jobs, why not look for a new one?  Why work a job you hate?  Like is short, we all have only so many breaths on this earth, so why be miserable?  I lucked out and have the best job for me.  I couldn’t imagine being shackled to a desk or have the noose of a tie around my neck day in and day out.  Plus I get to wear tee shirts and flip flops. 

Daily Dose of BS June 29 rude drivers

I’ve driven in many states, however most of my driving is confined to the Upper Midwest, as I have lived here the majority of my life.  I have seen some great drivers, ones who signal even in a parking lot to the worst of the worst.  I got an email yesterday from kars for kids that highlighted where the rude drivers are and the new survey shows that Wisconsin drivers are among the rudest in the nation. Huh?  What has happened to Midwest Nice?  The survey was done as part of our summer driving awareness campaign to promote courteous driving and guess what, Wisconsin was rated as the 5th rudest state in the country, with many of our friends and neighbors openly admitting that they would steal someone’s parking space, which is weird since we have pretty decent parking around here, but that is a whole other story.  One of the other questions that was asked in this survey is will you let someone merge, and apparently we won’t this stat doesn’t surprise me because I always hate when the me first people zoom to try to get ahead.  Do you think that Wisconsin drivers are among the worst?  Or at least the rudest?  Did these surveys check out Minneapolis, Chicago, New York or my least favorite place to drive Boston?  

Daily Dose of BS June 28 answering machines

Are you as irritated as I am when you call a business to talk to someone and they come on with a recorded voice saying we are trying to make it easier on you by streamlining the process by automating?  I call BS I do not recall a single time in my life that the automated phone answerer has made my life or anyone’s life easier.  How can listening to an answering machine telling me to listen as our options have changed possibly make it easier for me to get my job done?  I called a big business that everyone of you have heard of the other day a number that I had memorized as I have talked to these people for many years, only to end up 7 minutes later still trying to navigate their stupid time saver, the only saver of time that was saved was the person on their end of the line answering the phone and putting me thru to the person that I wanted to talk to.  This reminds me of another Midwest business that has a generic number out there, and the listing for you to talk to this department push this etc and I thought I would beat the system and push zero to get the operator, guess what that just repeated the message and then I was on a mission to find the operator number so that I could voice my opinion on how I loved the system, it was a double digit number and when I hit it I was transferred to a full mailbox and hung up on.  Needless to say I voiced my opinion next time I visited the store; their voice mail, however, is still the same.  Damn.

Daily Dose of BS June 27 sponsorships

Well, the state of Wisconsin has done it again.  By it, I mean making news for doing something absurd.  The Wisconsin DOT has sold corporate sponsorship of the DOT’s roadside assistance to State Farm and will be renamed the “Wisconsin DOT State Farm Safety Patrol.”  I am guessing that pretty soon we will have the Miller/Coors DWI Patrol and the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway speed control.  And if you get arrested you could stay at the Hilton Inn and Suites Jailhouse branch.  Don’t forget that hunting season this year will be sponsored by two sponsors, of course, you could be rocking the hot new orange vest and hat from the designers at Farm and Fleet and the harvest of deer brought to you by Remington.  Come on Wisconsin we are better than this, at least if you are going to get something sponsored get the potholes sponsored by a dry cleaner so we can get something for our troubles.  

Daily Dose of BS June 26 speed limit

So, the speed limit changed on Friday, the signs went up on Losey Boulevard and I avoided it like the plague on Friday and Saturday.  Sunday rolled around and my wife and I went to the mall area so we had to take Losey.  Before I noticed my speed, I saw a cop with someone pulled over I looked down and by then I was going 37.  OOPS!  Dropped the speed to 25 as I was passing the cop, set the speedometer to 25 and just watched as people passed me.  Every single car passed me and I got a few one finger salutes.  I really didn’t mind the cars and bikes going faster than me but when the lady with the walker passed on the left, I was a bit disappointed.  Having the cruise on helped me to regulate my speed on Losey but didn’t help when I approached the hill on Losey and Mississippi, I swear I started rolling backward by the time I hit the peak.  One thing I did notice on Losey besides all the new 25 miles per hour signs, is that no one drives the speed limit, no one, except for me when my cruise is set.  

Daily Dose of BS June 23 phones

Every single one of us has seen someone texting and driving, and I am guessing that many of us have also broken the 2009 law and have texted and driven.  I know I have, I try not to but I have.  Last year federal court deemed a law similar to our texting and driving law unenforceable because it implied texting only and there are so many other things to do while on your phone.  You could message, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, email, and the list goes on, and on and on.  A new bill would seek to ban smartphone usage while driving, so basically not using a device to enter, transmit or access data while driving.  That would encompass most of what people are doing while driving.  The bill would allow you to use your phone and your smartphones navigation program but that is it.  The new fines would jump from $20 up to $100, with a max of $400.  I am not sure that the fine would make much of a difference, but if the cop could confiscate the phone, then we would see more compliance. 

Daily Dose of BS June 22 roundabouts

As we keep adding roundabouts around La Crosse, it reminds me of the game Frogger.  I used to love playing that game trying to get the frog across the street, and over the logs on the river, pretty soon we are going to be able to play the game of Frogger for real on South Avenue.  How so you ask?  Well, the city and the state will acquire land and then build up to 4 roundabouts between Green Bay Street and Ward Avenue.  And for sure we will be jumping or at least running out of the way of cars.  Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone and put a parklet in.  Here is something else to think about, If we keep adding roundabouts and collecting property we won’t have any more houses on South Avenue, then the city and state could do what they want.   

Daily Dose of BS June 21 more roundabouts

Here’s a big shocker the city of La Crosse has hired a consultant to look at South Avenue.  The most shocking part of the hire is that they not only back the DOT’s plan for roundabouts but they think that another roundabout could be added in the mile stretch of road between East Avenue and West Avenue.  WHAT? Another roundabout?  They would like the 4^th added for the people living on South Avenue so that they wouldn’t be forced to drive convoluted routes through their neighborhood to access South Avenue.  Again, What!  If we keep adding roundabouts and collecting property we won’t have any more houses on South Avenue, then the city and state could do what they want, make the whole thing a gigantic roundabout make the speed 5 miles an hour that way bikes, cars, dogs, cats, goldfish, and pedestrians can all share the road, not allowing anyone to get anywhere faster than the next, it would fair that way for everyone.  Give me a break. 

Daily Dose of BS June 20 being a dad

Father’s Day was the other day and 22 years ago today I began my journey as a father.  Weird to think about it, you are a part of adding to the population of the earth.  Just because you were a part of the creation of that baby doesn’t make you a Dad, in my mind.  Being a Dad is being there, helping out when you can, the easy stuff that is no problem, but the tough love that is what separates.  Hanging in there and not giving up.  Being a Dad isn’t always the easiest or the job to do but it is the most rewarding job I have ever had.  Happy Birthday to my 22 year old son, Hayden Schmidt.  You have irritated me, pushed me, angered me, loved me, made me happy, proven to me time and time again that I am wrong, brought me joy, smiles, and lots of love.  I am so proud of you and proud of the person you have become.  I look forward to seeing your continued growth as a Man.

Daily Dose of BS June 19 baseball

Actions speak louder than words.  We say that winning isn’t everything but our actions show that yes winning is everything.  My son’s baseball team had a tournament over the weekend, and they brought down a handful of kids from the next group up.  I know that my kids are never going to be professional athletes but they give it all, they show up to practice, they go to the games, they are suited up and ready to give 110% of their ability.  They are part of the team, and the coaches are always on the kids to be a team.  When they bring in other kids, ringers if you will in order to win a tournament, isn’t that defeating the purpose of team work?  Isn’t that showing the kids that their effort, and contribution to the team aren’t worth anything?  Doesn’t it show the kids that in fact winning is the only thing.  The thing that irritates me the most about this is that the coach, when confronted by my son as to why he didn’t play was told that they tried to get all kids in.  I call BS there were 3 games and 5 kids that didn’t play a single bit of baseball over the weekend and the 5 kids that were called down played the entire tournament, and they still didn’t win it.  This type of coaching not only pisses off the parents and the kids but shows the kids that it is all about winning.  I hate to say it but when I go to a little league game sure I like seeing all the team play, but really most of us go for the chance to see our kid play.  Let kids be kids. 

Daily Dose of BS June 16

Back in 1993 Prince changed his name to the symbol of love an unpronounceable symbol.  In a court battle that started a year ago Portland resident Jamie Shupe became the first legally non-binary person — identifying as neither male nor female.  The option, which will be available starting July 3, this year will make a difference for non-binary and transgender people using an ID marked “M” or “F”.  I have a friend who is transgender, in fact I had lunch a few weeks ago with him.  When we were talking, I said that when we first got to know each other I was full of questions of why, and how, but as the relationship became friendship I found that we didn’t even talk about that anymore.  I opened up on how being friends opened my eyes to the struggle that they have to go through with everything on how people looked at them to what bathroom to use.  A horrible situation to be in, could you imagine not knowing where to go to use the bathroom.  While I don’t know the daily struggles that they are going through, I do have more of an understanding.   

Daily Dose of BS June 15 french fries

Big shocker here, fried foods are on the increase, obesity is on the rise across the globe with America leading the way and French fries have been found to cause a higher mortality rate.  According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who eat fried potatoes two or more times a week double their risk of an early death compared to those who avoid them.  I am wondering if the risk factor isn’t the fried potatoes but all the stuff that goes with that fried food?  Speaking of fried food, some buddies and I went out for some wings last night and we didn’t have any French fries so we should be fine, but who do you think has the best wing around?  

Daily Dose of BS June 14 Amber Alerts

I don’t know about you but my phone got 2 Amber Alerts on Saturday.  Two alerts after many years of none.  Sure I looked at it after the first one, then thought I am far enough away, and I am not out driving, then put my phone away.  About an hour later there it goes again with another glance at the phone think to myself what the heck, and for a brief moment I thought why am I getting this alert when I am over two hours away.  Then as soon as that thought came and went, I thought those poor parents and shame on me for thinking this way.  I bet that many of you thought the same thing, a quick thought of why am I getting this to immediate regret for thinking that.  I thought what if it were my kids that were in danger I would want everyone and their sister to help.  Wouldn’t you?  Do you think that services such as the Amber Alert help or make us less sensitive to that around us and the more of them we get the more deaf we get to the system?  

Daily Dose of BS June 13 times are a changin

With no disrespect to Bob Dylan but -The line it is drawn, The curse it is cast, The order is rapidly fading, And the first one now will later be last, For the times they are a-changin'.  Look around at our community.  Look at the buildings, the roads, the people.   I hate to sound like my dad but things are changing, and I wonder if they are changing for the better?  I drive from the Southside of La Crosse everyday winding my way through the streets of La Crosse, and then through Onalaska to get to work.  Every day there is progress being made on our streets, in our neighborhoods and with the residents - we are evolving but evolving into what?   The buildings that were once part of the skyline are now reduced to rubble, the roads that moved people through the community are now being built for more people but at a slower speed, and many of the people don’t even look up from their phones to check the progress.  Yes the times are a changin but are they changin for the better?  

Daily Dose of BS June 12 hot and humid

As hot  and humid as it was over the weekend, thank God for Air Conditioning.  I must admit that the air is on at my house and will be for the next few days.  I do like to be able to fall asleep and not wake up in a pool of sweat.  I miss the old days when my kids were younger as with yesterdays heat, it would have brought out the sprinkler and a second hose for a water slide.  Instead of playing in the back yard 4 of us went to the La Crosse Loggers game, at least we got to see a win and a walk off homerun. Try to keep cool today, what are some of your favorite ways to beat the heat? 

Daily Dose of BS June 7 Kmart

Not sure if you heard yesterday afternoon or not but the Kmart on the south side of La Crosse is set to close on September 3.  I must say I am not surprised.  The last time I was there the store had a smell, the customer service was atrocious and the shelves were not stocked.  When I was a kid we used to call it came apart, and I am not even sure why, I grew up in Roseville, Minnesota where the first Target store was, and Target was the store we used to shop.  When I moved for my radio career I ended up in communities where Walmart was king, and then shopped there.  Now I try to shop with the local business, but how many local businesses, and I mean locally owned businesses sell toilet paper, not that many.  While I am sorry to hear that the Kmart will be closing, it won’t really change my shopping.  

Daily Dose of BS June 6 lemonade stand

Entrepreneurship often starts at an early age, don’t believe it look to the streets, yesterday I saw 2 lemonade stands.  I was only able to stop at one of them.  I try to make it a habit to stop and support the dreams of the children.  It truly makes the day of a child when someone stops and buys the Kool-Aid.  My youngest son was in the car and he asked why do I always stop at these, I said did you see the faces of the young entrepreneurs when we bought?  He did, I said that is why.   I like seeing kids have these dreams, and then work towards them, you never really know when one of these young lemonade sellers will become the next million-dollar philanthropist.  

Daily Dose of BS June 5 fridge

When you open your refrigerators is it nice and neat, are things where they need to be?  Fruit in the fruit crispers and the vegies in the climate controlled veggie drawer?   Ketchup is stored in the door next to the mustard and bbq sauce?  Milk also stored in the door leaving the bulk of the fridge for food, from what is for dinner later tonight to the luncheon meats for lunches and you can’t forget about the leftovers or in my case the planed overs for my lunches.  In a perfect world all would fit in to the refrigerator like a game of well played Tetris, with left over space for what is new.   I opened my fridge this morning to what looked like a poorly played game of Tetris, with this box here and that container there, a few Styrofoam boxes shoved into the top shelf with vengeance and a bottle of ketchup placed on the edge of the shelf so the air movement of opening up the fridge will knock it off to a fiery death below.   Ok maybe a bit exaggerated but pretty close to the truth.  Somedays getting the family dinner together often involves a bit of hunting around the fridge for the best mix of leftovers to fill the bellies of the beasts.  The other day as I pulled one of the Styrofoam boxes out it caught the top of the ketchup bottle and splat the unbreakable plastic bottle didn’t break but the lid smashed into 20 pieces on the floor, the ketchup was oozing its red contents out all over the floor the only thing missing was the chalk line.   

Daily Dose of BS June 2 cell phone

I have an addiction and it is getting worse.  Hi I’m Bob and I am addicted to my cell phone.  I constantly am checking it for information.  From my emails, to my facebook to what news is breaking locally, to using my camera to the maps and gps.  There is so much that the phone has become that I feel naked if I am without it.  When I got my first watch for my first communion, I started wearing it and have been a watch wearer ever since, when I got my first job, I started carrying my wallet, most of the time it is empty but always is in the right hip pocket, when I started driving my keys were always close at hand and now the phone is teetered to me constantly.  It is like an accessory that gives back tenfold, what other carry with do you have that gives you so much.  From the ability to go online, look up information, text, among other things, like a calendar and an alarm.  Oh yea you can also use it to make and receive calls.  

Daily Dose of BS June 1 politics

Saying crooked Hillary was annoying when Trump was a candidate for President but saying it as a sitting President I don’t think is very Presidential.  The tweet went out last night after Hillary spoke about who else is to blame about her not winning the Presidential race.  Clinton said “I take responsibility for every decision I made, but that’s not why I lost,” She went on to say several factors as the reason she lost, including fake news on Facebook and troubles at the Democratic National Committee.   How about start that at home, start off by saying that you are the reason that you didn’t win, and take personal responsibility.  Speaking of responsibility is it responsible for the sitting President to make fun and name call.  I think not.  But I guess that we are to blame since it was low voter turnout that allowed these two to even make it through the primary.  

Daily Dose of BS May 31 spelling

I have never been much of a speller or if you read my daily dose much of a writer either.  I think that this all started back when I was in grade school.  I never had the desire to learn much about English, I figured that we speak it how much should I really need to know, I bet on the wrong horse.  You need to know how to read, write and communicate in order to get anything done.  I really wish that google was around when I was a kid because as I mentioned I was a horrible writer and an even worse speller.  If google would have been around it would have saved me many hours of being frustrated as a young student.  Heck now if I don’t know how to spell something I use voice to text to come up with the correct spelling of the word.  As I am typing this up I notice a lot of squiggly lines all over the page, because I can’t spell.  I wonder if today I will get lucky and have all my misspelled words at least recognized.  There are times when there are no suggestions.  Which brings me to the reason for writing this, at least I know how to spell Wisconsin.  There are many in this state that do not.  BTW Minnesotans don’t know how to spell beautiful, and I also got that one right.  What words are difficult for you to spell?