Daily Dose of BS April 20 graduating

At 5:45 last night a new chapter of my life began, as the pages of college closed with the taking of my final in Psychology so did the pages of the college chapter.  As I drove away from Western Technical College one last time as a student, I couldn’t help but feel a swelling of pride and accomplishment.  I got the opportunity to take the sales and sales management program at WTC through some grant money and because of hard work some scholarship dollars.  My college journey started after my son started with the program there, he really enjoyed it, and was asking questions about homework, he got me hooked.  This was a great experience, going back to school as an adult showed me that I could do it.  I even got to take a class with one of my sons and tomorrow I graduate with another of my sons.  I couldn’t be prouder of them.  I did learn a lot about myself with this schooling, I especially learned that I really enjoy learning and that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.  For a guy that was a strong C student 30 plus years ago in high school, I proved that if you do the work, read the chapters, and take the tests that you can be an A student.  Congratulations to all who are graduating this weekend and if you are thinking about going back to school, and you need the push to do it, please reach out.  It was worth it.  

Daily Dose of BS April 19th swearing

On average we utter our first swear word about 10:54 am.  They obviously don’t take into account early morning people or people who commute in for their job because I know for a fact that I do most of my swearing either in my car on the way to work or when something f’s up at work.  A study into everyday stresses and frustration of about 2,000 Americans say that most will drop a word that used to get your mouth washed out with soap by 11a while about 25% of us can’t get past 9am without some sort of vulgarity crossing our lips.  I am not sure if I swear because I am stressed or because I can.  But the survey went on to say that 56% of Americans are stressed over money, 36% over lack of sleep, 35% have health problems that they worry about and 30% are stressed by work.  9% are stressed by the environment, while 4% say that the national debt is what gets them.  One of my biggest stressors at home is when the internet is slow that will bring a few choice words, and I am not alone as that is enough to push 52% of us to let one slip.  What stresses you and causes you to swear?   

Daily Dose of BS April 18 safe flight

Every year for the past few years I have taken a vacation every 15 weeks, this year I decided not to, and I don’t know why we are halfway through week number 16 and I have nothing scheduled in the foreseeable future.  This week last year I was in Florida with some friends, that was the last time I took a flight and was the first time I got to sit in first class, a buddy of mine swapped seats with me so that I could have that experience, I have great friends.  Yesterday there was a plane that had engine problems where a piece of the engine broke apart at more than 30,000 feet, spraying metal pieces through the fuselage and forcing the jet to make an emergency landing.  Damn, this goes to show why we need to know our jobs and train and retrain until we can do it in our sleep or without thinking.  I don’t know anyone who was on that flight but I for one am thankful that that pilot knew what to do.  Speaking of vacations, have you ever made a trip off the beaten path to check out the world’s biggest fill in the blank?  

Daily Dose of BS April 17th taxes

Death and taxes the two guarantees in life.  Today is the day for one of those, taxes, you have until midnight tonight to send in your taxes.  Since 1955 tax day has been on April 15^th, with a few exceptions, if the 15^th falls on the weekend or if patriot day or emancipation day falls on the 15^th or the Monday after a weekend where the 15^th fell.  What started out as a simple thing, turned into a complicated pile of mess.  I am glad I have an awesome tax accountant and would suggest that everyone get someone that they trust to look at personal and business taxes.  If you cannot get your taxes done by today you should submit IRS Form 4868 so that you can get an automatic six-month filing extension, you can find that form and others at irs.gov.  As for the scammers and cheaters that are out there, shame on you there are lots of people depending on your money.  Happy Tax Day here’s for many happy returns.  Get it?

Daily Dose of BS April 16th snow

Obviously over the weekend snow fell, funny how soon we forget, I of course am talking about driving in the snow, I am sure I am not the only person that noticed that people do not remember how to drive in the snow, even though winter just finished a few weeks ago, prior to this latest snow. With the snow came some other events like shoveling and salting, and if you wanted to be young again snowball fights, forts and snowmen. Back to the business of snow.  If you shoveled your walk, great job! I commend everyone who got out and shoveled their walks in the past 24 hours. The road warriors who plow our streets should get medals. I think the majority of those who plow did a great job. But and I know you were waiting for the big but I saw a handful of occasions where a private person or business threw their snow into the city street. You can get ticketed for this, according to a friend of mine who is a cop one of his favorite tickets to write. So when you get your sidewalk or driveway plowed in with snow don’t toss the snow from your sidewalk or driveway back into the street because it is against the law. 

Daily Dose of BS April 13 fear of the day

The fear of something new and unknown those are the things that scare me, today’s date Friday the 13th, or triskaidekaphobia Try saying that word 5 x fast.  Heck try saying it once, it is a mouthful.  I am not sure what causes the fear of the 13th, the fear of black cats crossing the road, or any other fears or phobias.  Again, not scary.  For me it is speaking in public, which I am working on and new technology at work.  I really do try to embrace the things that scare me.  I think that they help you grow.  Those that listen to my radio show or watch some of my Facebook videos know that I am not a fan of snakes, I have had them in my studio before and the thermometer in the studio jumped by over one degree when they were in the studio but I embraced and even held a couple of them.  What are some strategies that you have used to overcome fear? 

Daily Dose of BS April 12 gun tshirts

When it comes to free speech is it all free?  Matthew Schoenecker a high school freshman at Markesan High School about an hour and a half from Milwaukee was told to change his shirt, or spend the day in an isolated cube, not for what he said, but for what he wore.  You see Matthew names his school in a lawsuit because he is trying to exercise his right to defend his First Amendment right to support the Second Amendment.  His T-shirt spells out the word love with the letters in LOVE formed by a handgun, grenade, two knives and an assault rifle.  Is this shirt appropriate to be wearing at a High School?  

Daily Dose of BS April 11 Facebook

I am a Facebook user, I use Facebook many times throughout the day, when I first wake up I look at it, I spend time on it while I am at work, I look at it when I get home from work and while I am watching tv at night.  I am a Facebook junky.  I use much of what I read and look at on Facebook to gather opinions from others and use the news feeds for gathering some of the news going on around in my community from why are the cops screaming down Losey Boulevard to where is that smoke coming from to what happened to Joe?  I use my Facebook account to keep up to date and to keep informed.  Yesterday while perusing Facebook, I came across the story of a manager of a mall store that fed a 16-year-old girl marijuana and booze then sexually assaulted her in the back room of a store.  That made me sick, but it also opened up dialog between my kids and I last night.  I agree that we spend too much time on Facebook but some of the time we spend on it can be helpful.

Daily Dose of BS April 10 overdoses

With an average of about one every other week it is not very promising, the La Crosse County Health Department released the number of drug overdoses last year totaling at least 26 people.  There were 16 men and 10 women between the ages of 21 and 73 who died from drug overdoses.  Of those who died 17 had prescription painkillers in their systems 14 had fentanyl, 7 had heroin, 7 had methamphetamine and fifteen of them had a combination of drugs in their system.  Totaling 26 deaths in 2017 or an average of one every other week.  So sad.  La Crosse County Health Department is now working on a way to combat these overdoses with a goal of 6 policies of programs in place by end of August.   The county’s new overdose death review team will be studying these cases to see if there was missed opportunities for intervention, and work toward developing strategies to reduce drug deaths. I wonder if we are all to blame because of the glamorization of the drug culture with shows like Breaking Bad?  I watched the show and rooted for Walter White.  

Daily Dose of BS April 9 buses

I am guessing that high school students and high school athletes travel millions of miles every year with going on field trips to traveling for games with other schools.   Over the past few days there have  been a couple of accidents that have made the international news.  First the bus that was carrying a Canadian Jr’s Hockey team.   Early this morning there was an accident of a coach bus and an overpass in New York.  A bus carrying about 38 kids coming back from spring break hit an overpass.  There was a bus accident last week, thankfully with no fatalities.  Are buses safe?  Should seat belts be worn in school buses?  Would they be used if they did install them, would they cause more harm than good?  Should there be more safety persuasions when it comes to both charter buses and school buses?  

Daily Dose of BS April 6 cameras

I saw what you did.  Have you ever looked around to see if someone was watching when you did something from adjusting yourself to when you tripped over the sidewalk or on the carpet at work?  I know when I do something like that I always look around to see if someone is watching or if someone saw what I did.  Sometimes you get lucky and there was no one around, but that is not being the case in today’s society.  There are cameras everywhere, and I mean everywhere, I read that on an average day we are on someone’s camera at least 75 times a day in the US and over 300 times per day in London.  I am guessing that, that number is a bit lower in our neck of the woods, but there are still cameras watching your every move…and if the camera misses it I am guessing that someone saw, and is watching, someone knows your secret.  As a matter of fact, dude in the red car driving down Jackson Street early last night, right before the sun went down…I saw what you were doing, next time grab a Kleenex.

Daily Dose of BS April 5 hatched baby art

When I was walking the hallways before finally settling into my studio this morning I heard conversation coming from one of them talking about the ugly baby.  I am hard of hearing and don’t usually notice background talk but stopped for a moment to eavesdrop if you will for a moment, I heard the ugly baby is now in front of city hall and something about seeing it on tv last night then my hearing went to normal mode and couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation.  I am assuming that the conversation was about the “Hatched Baby” statue since yesterday it was reborn on the lawn of city hall.  The 9-foot-tall statue was placed in its temporary home yesterday and will eventually be returned to Friedberg, Germany one of our sister cities.  I for one will be going down to city hall later today to enjoy this piece of art.  

Daily Dose of BS April 4 youtube shooter

Money will make you do strange things, remember the movie Indecent Proposal when a guy was offered a million dollars to sleep with his wife, he took it and then regretted it.  A woman from San Diego, California went in and began shooting up the YouTube.com headquarters yesterday afternoon after YouTube changed the way that they pay for content.  Apparently, the new algorithms changed the way that this lady got paid the ads on her YouTube channel stopped showing and she didn’t like it because here payments were stopped and she went to shoot up the headquarters.   Are content creators – podcasters, writers, photographers, video creators etc. being taken advantage of by the websites that deliver their content?  Should all content creators be paid?  

Daily Dose of BS April 3 Kiwanis Radio Day

I think that it is important to be involved in your community, from getting out and voting today as it is election day to getting involved in a civic organization or a church.  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, just another reminder that today is election day.  

Daily Dose of BS April 2 Amazon vs Trump

I read a few articles about how President Trump thinks that Amazon is bleeding the Postal Service dry by being the delivery service for much of the online shopping that is done through Amazon.  You could tell who the stories favored by the way they slant on the story.  One would say that the deal that Amazon struck with the United States Postal Service was a great deal and the other would say that it is a poor deal and can’t be sustained.  I feel as though this is a spat between Jeff Bezos from Amazon and owner of the Washington Post and President Trump.  What are your thoughts?  

Daily Dose of BS March 30 Easter

This Sunday is Easter a day for Christians to celebrate that Jesus has risen.  I believe in God and I pray every day, I try to do the right thing, and try to model the right behavior for my children to follow.  This Sunday will be no different.  We will be celebrating as a family by enjoying my second favorite holiday meal, second only to the Thanksgiving feast.  We will spend part of the day playing games and looking for the hidden eggs, as the kids have gotten older the goodies in the eggs have gotten better for sure.  One of the things that the kids will have to think about when grabbing eggs is has dad put things that aren’t supposed to be in the Easter eggs, in the Easter eggs, Sunday is also April Fool’s day.  Last time that Easter and April Fool’s day were the same was way back in 1956.  Have you ever been a part of an elaborate Aprils Fools Prank?  I never have, I have thought of some diabolical ideas, but never followed through with them.  What are some of the best April fool’s jokes that you have heard of?

Daily Dose of BS March 29 advice to yourself

The other day on Facebook a friend of mine posted what advice would you give to your 18-year-old self, I thought about it for a minute and said I would tell my 18-year-old self to quit smoking now, eat better, drink less and you don’t need to be drunk to be the life of the party.  We all have words to live by, things that we want to pass on to our kids.  My Dad always used to say that a moment of laxity can cause an eternity of regret, when I was younger I didn’t know what that meant, I do now.  We all have those bits of advice that we have heard from mentors, what are some that you have heard?  Some of my favorites include - Give at least one genuine compliment every day.  Take responsibility for what you did.  Promise to do better next time, and mean it.  Help people without expecting things in return. And finally try to see the good in people, including yourself.  What are some of the words that you live by, or words of wisdom that you would share with your 18-year-old self?

Daily Dose of BS March 28 free range parenting

Kids should be able to walk outside, walk to school, and stay home alone right?  A new law in Utah now allows for free range parenting.  What?  Isn’t this the goal of every parent everywhere?  The bill redefines "neglect" in Utah law so that kids can participate in some unsupervised activities without their parents being charged.  The official definition of neglect is failing to care for properly, the state or fact of being uncared for.  My goal as a parent is to nurture my kids, help them to grow and help them to become productive members of society.  I feel as though I have done those goal by allowing my kids to first of all be kids and feel safe at home, secondly by giving them the chance to go out and explore, sometimes on their own and sometimes by being tethered to either my wife or me.  I most certainly wouldn’t let my 3 or 4-year-old play at the park alone but may have let my 5-year-old have a little freedom to walk ahead of me on way to park, depending on the child.  My twins walked half way home from school to meet me by about 2^nd grade and could go to the park to play at about the same time.  They were 9 ½ to 10 when they felt comfortable with being home alone when there was a quick run to the store.  Letting go is part of the parenting process and now in Utah letting your kids be kids is on the books.  Maryland kids under 14 may not be out unsupervised.  

Daily Dose of BS March 27 traditional media

Ever thought of the question Is traditional media dead?  I am talking about the good old forms of broadcast media?  I am talking radio and tv, AM and FM radio and good old broadcast TV.  I spend hours a day with good old school media, from the time I wake up to my clock radio, tuned in to Today’s Talk 1490 so I get my news right off the bat, to my time at work on the radio to my drives home listening to music and talk.  From the radio to the television while sitting on my comfortable oversized overstuffed chair getting my screen time catching my favorite tv shows.  I think that the delivery system of both radio and tv have changed but the premise has not.  I now stream more of tv than ever before and my radio station both streams and podcasts our shows.  Heck, we even have an app (get it here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wlfnam.player ) We are changing and evolving but I don’t believe that we are dead, however, my station is the only “true” AM left in the market, the other two have gone to simulcast on FM.  I think we either need to keep up, reinvent or get out of the way.  How do you listen to the radio or watch tv?

Daily Dose of BS March 26 overdoing it

We are better than average again when it comes to drinking.  New study out shows that 1 in 4 Wisconsin residents are exceeding the national average of binge drinking by about 20 drinks per year, the average binge drinker in Wisconsin is having 490 drinks per year compared to the average binge drinker of 470.  The average number of drinks per week for the typical Wisconsin binge drinker is 9.43 drinks per week.  Or basically a lot of drinking.  Last year we had about 50 thousand drug overdoses right?  The average annual deaths caused by excessive alcohol use is about 88,000.  That is a lot more than the drug overdoses, yet we turn a blind eye to it since it is legal.  I think that we have an overconsumption problem in this country.  Food, Booze and Drugs.  

Daily Dose of BS March 23 sex

I am paraphrasing here but a buddy of mine posted on Facebook the other day who cares who the President slept with.  I would have to agree with that post.  I didn’t care or talk about it when it was Clinton and I am not going to speculate now that it is Trump.  If television tells me anything these days it is that sex is just that, sex.  According to a study the average amount of sexual partners that are acceptable in a survey of 2,000 adults are 7.6 different partners, any more you get the tag of promiscuous.  If you ask me, people are having sex are going to have sex and it isn’t anyone’s business except for the people involved.  I am not involved with the President on a personal level, and I really believe that neither are you, so why should it matter what he is doing?  I guess what I am asking, if you are not involved, in any way, does it really matter who is sleeping with who, President or not?  

Daily Dose of BS March 22 grateful

Ever just taken the time to think what you are grateful for in life?  I don’t think that I have ever really just stopped and thought about it, I mean really think about it.  I have to do a presentation on how being grateful helps to relieve stress, and was really thinking about the different way that it does, then it hit me the things that I am grateful for in life help me to not think of the extra things that are weighing me down on a regular basis.  Think about it, the things in your life that make you think, hey I have it pretty good are the stress relievers in your life.  For me when I am filled to the limit with the daily crap that gets me down I grab my phone and open the photo album, and scroll through the things that make me happy, the things that I am grateful for.  What are some ways that you have found to relieve stress in your life?  For me, it was talking through things, but now I think I am going to focus on the beauty around me and the things that I am grateful for.  

Daily Dose of BS March 21 stuff

I have a few things on my mind this morning.  First of all, I was thinking about how crazy things are here in the United States, we are not united at all.  We are tearing this country apart day by day.  What makes a kid bring a gun to school?  Why are we seeing so many of these types of crimes happening?  What pushes that kid to the edge?  Another shooting yesterday the third since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.  The awareness is at an all-time high yet kids are still being pushed to the brink by bringing firearms to school.  The second thing I was thinking about was the bombings in Texas what causes someone to become a serial bomber?  And why would someone want to harm innocent people?  Why?  I was also randomly thinking about a new technology that allows homes to be printed for under $4,000 and this home will take less than 24 hours to print, and when finished the homes would be between 6 and 800 square feet.  I thought if I ever could afford one of those machines that I would donate one to help end homelessness.  

Daily Dose of BS March 20 parking

Much ado about nothing.  The city of La Crosse leaders were worried about the effect of the shorter alternate side parking and what kind of effect that it would have on the bottom line.  Guess what the shortened alternate side parking season brought in even more tickets, that’s right more people got tickets in the shortened alternate side parking in the city.  In 2018 we had 31 days less of the pain in the ass trying to remember what side we were supposed to be on.  This past season consisted of the 120 days of November 15^th and March 15^th.  In those 120 days 14,719 citations were written or about 123 per night.  Not bad city of La Crosse at a minimum of $147,190 for people parking on the area in front of their homes that they already pay taxes on.  I say minimum because the tickets start out at 10 bucks each and go up from there.  For those of us that remembered to park on the right side of the road kudos to you, for those of you that didn’t, better luck with the parking lottery next year.  

Daily Dose of BS March 19 competition

I read a scenario about how a guy was golfing with his boss and the boss was losing, and getting mad that he was being beat by his subordinate.  The question was do you let up on play to let your boss win?  If I was a competitive person I wouldn’t let me boss win in that situation.  And not being a competitive person I would play to the best of my ability and try to win but not win at any cost.  I have never been a person who cared if I won or lost unless I am playing cards, and if you have played with me you would say that I don’t care if I win playing cards either.  I end up winning about 60% of the time, so in my mind I am winning, right.  Back to the not playing as hard in order to let your boss win, I believe is a mistake as you were probably hired for your drive or your creativity, and taking a knee isn’t what any good leader would want.  

Daily Dose of BS March 16 parking garage

There are a lot of things that make it on to social media as new some call it fake news I call a lot of them human interest stories.  I watched a video yesterday that had a young lady get out of a car and run through a parking lot only to save a spot in the lot.  A person driving a car and trying to get into that parking spot was insistent that the person without the car move so that they can have the parking spot the person who was in the slot refused to move it started escalating and then the video ended without resolution.  My question is who should get that slot?  The person who ran to get it or the person in the car, why did you pick what you picked?  

Daily Dose of BS March 15 toys r us

When I was a kid we had a toy store in town called Storkville and on special occasions such as after your birthday with your birthday money or before Christmas to beg Mom for the latest and greatest of toys.  There were also a few days throughout the year like when Grandma and Grandpa came into town or if we were good.  Those memories fade as you get older, you grow up, you have your own kids you move, you forget about the toy store.  Well today the toy store that was at one time the big dog in the toy store business announced that they will be closing all their stores in the United State, Toys R Us are closing the doors, and with that over 30 thousand people will lose their jobs.  I am not sure what the demise of the toy store, was it introduction of tablets, and other video devices or the prominence of online retailers such as Amazon.  Or could it be that toys have been being made cheaper and cheaper and that the now a day toys aren’t as fun as playing with tinker toys or Lincoln logs?  

Daily Dose of BS Mar 14 hs basketball star

Milwaukee Washington’s basketball standout Deontay Long is being allowed to play against La Crosse Central on Friday.  Long had been charged being party to an armed robber, a class C felony that carries up to a $100,000 fine and or 25 years in prison.  Long has admitted to being a there and taking part in the robberies.  The Milwaukee Public Schools athletic code states that “being charged in court of any act in violation of, or subject to, penalty under Wisconsin State Statutes, will result in suspension from athletes for 25% of the season."  They say as of now his college prospects are on hold.  During the plea hearing in January, the court gave Long permission to play at the state tournament the team made it that far.  The WIAA code of conduct reportedly has no restrictions on athletes who have been charged with crimes.  What are your thoughts on this?

Daily Dose of BS March 13 self check out

More and more stores are offering the self-checkout lanes, am I the only one who doesn’t like it?  These days we are responsible for finding our own items anyway.  The other day I was at a department store picking up something and thought about an ingredient that I needed for dinner and thought I would look in the limited food area, I didn’t find it nor did I see anyone who worked for the store to help.  I finally flagged down someone who told me that they didn’t know.  I ended up making a special trip to the grocery store to buy.  Btw at neither place did I use the self-checkout register, and if offered I use the lines where bagging is offered at the grocery store.  Here’s the thing, you can’t carry on conversations with the automated cashier, well you can but people look at you weirdly.  Plus, I feel if I am going to be checking myself out I should be eligible for the employee discount, and finally think of the jobs that it is taking away.

Daily Dose of BS Mar 12 run to school

It is pretty sad that a father has to defend his decision to make his son walk or jog to school after the kids was kicked of the bus.  I am not sure if you heard the story about the dad who made his son run to school after getting kicked off the school bus for bullying other kids.  Good to see that parenting is alive and well in Virginia.  Bryan Thornhill the father of the ten year old has faced backlash for his decision to make his son run to school.  I guess I am not sure I understand why he is taking so much backlash for a punishment that is going to be a life lesson.  I am guessing that his son will think twice about bullying the next time that he is presented with the chance to do so.  For the naysayer that don’t think that he should have make his son run what would you have suggest that he do?  Spank him?  Take away his phone, have him go without something?  I personally don’t think that the punishment was to harsh.  The dad followed him to school to make sure he made it, I would guess that it was just as hard for the dad as it was for the kid. 

Daily Dose of BS March 9 standard time

It’s the semi-annual mess with your sleep weekend.  Daylight saving time ends on Sunday morning at 2 am, and Standard time begins.  Notice I called it daylight saving time and not daylight savings time, it is singular as in a singular time change that disrupts my sleep for a few days.  Why oh why can’t we be like parts of Arizona, parts of Indiana, and all of Hawaii and leave the time alone.  I hate changing the clocks.  There I said it I hate messing with the clocks because when I can never get them exact.  I was contemplating on marching to my own drummer when it came to the time, but there are too many variables such as work and kids events.  TV is covered because I TiVo everything and really never watch that live.  Another thing that I dislike is that this weekend will be jipped, as this Saturday and Sunday will only consist of 47 hours, and I will get one less hour of sleep.  Ok that is a lie I am going to take a nap or two over the weekend.  I have asked both of my US Senators and my Congressman about doing away with the time change all together, one man isn’t going to make that change who will stand with me on doing away with the time change?  

Daily Dose of BS March 8 cigarette advertising

I don’t remember cigarettes advertising on tv or on the radio, I was too young to have noticed.  I am old enough to remember seeing them on billboards, and I do remember when it was the Winston Cup and many of the cigarette slogans still pop into my head from time to time.  I am a non-smoker, it took a while but I quit that habit for the 39^th birthday about 10 ½ years ago.  I plan on being a non-smoker for the rest of my life.  I do wonder why when cigarette ads are banned on billboards and other media types why they are allowed on the lighted signs outside of convenience stores?  I usually don’t have any desire to smoke but seeing that pop up on the signs rotation while sitting at a stop light makes me think of stopping in and grabbing a pack, I won’t do it but I wonder why that is ok but running the commercials on tv, radio and billboards is not allowed?  

Daily Dose of BS March 7 library fines

I was all ready to write about something else this morning but a story in the paper caught my eye and I thought how stupid.  The city of La Crosse Library system may soon quit charging late fees for books, the fees today are 15 cents per day per item for adult items, audiobooks, cds, etc and 5 cents per day for kids materials except for lucky day items which carry a 50 cent per day charge for being late, to me those don’t seem too lucky if you misplace those.  The new way to combat the not returning of books will be not to allow you to check out books without first returning the books you already checked out.  Hmm, shouldn’t it be like that already?  Research has shown apparently, that fines don’t actually prompt people to return books and that fines make the most vulnerable population from feeling comfortable and welcome in the library.  Here is a novel idea, check out a book, return the book, repeat.  If your book is late pay 15 cents a day.  In a worst-case scenario let’s say the book was a year overdue it would have a fine of $54.75.  How about instead of doing away with fines altogether have book amnesty day, or allow people who don’t want to pay not pay, maybe the power company would take note and have days like this too.  

Daily Dose of BS March 6 money

Not sure if you know what median household income means, it means that half the people make above that amount and half the people make below that amount.  For the United States, that number is $59,039.  For the state of Wisconsin, that number is a bit less being $55,638,  or about $26.75 per hour.  And people still complain about the amount of money that they have.  If you look at our median household income and compare it to the world we are much higher than the average the average is $18,000 per year or $8.65 or just a bit above minimum wage here in the United States.  The “average” person or middle class is sitting between $42,000 to $125,000 and if you are going to be considered upper middle class you have a salary of 3x the median household income of $59,039 or $177,117 I guess my radio salary has a long way to go.  Anybody want to buy a kidney?  

Daily Dose of BS March 5th 8th grader sex with teacher

I am not sure if you heard this story or not but I did over the weekend, there is a female science teacher in Florida that was charged with having sex with an 8^th grade student.  This 14-year-old boy would sneak out of his house at night to meet up with this teacher.  The report that I saw ended up interviewing a psychologist and I am paraphrasing what they said but this gist was that this teacher is lonely and needed to feel love.  I was shocked when I heard that and had to rewind to make sure that is what I heard, and it was.  If this were a male teacher and a female student would that have been said. No.  Are there gender inconsistencies when it comes to sex?  From the sounds of it there are, as a parent of both sexes, I don’t feel that there should be inconsistencies.  What happed to fairness, and protecting our children?  

Daily Dose of BS March 2 walkouts

The high school I graduated from in Roseville, Minnesota is going to be providing a safe space for a couple of walkout protests that are coming up, I think that the school is trying to take the wind away from the sail. If you're protesting something and you're doing it on school time or on company time the protest should be about the journey rather than the event. And along with protests comes responsibility. Allowing the students to get a pass on the day doesn't really measure up as a protest now does it? It makes it more of a school social event rather than what it was meant to be a protest. I know when I was a child they wouldn't have given us a free pass to do anything and I'm OK with that the things that I protest I have the Soap Box to speak from with my job. I get that others don't have the same luxury that I do in me saying what I want for the most part and are able to keep my job for it. With the job came sacrifice, for example, money in radio is horrible, you move around to find a job, I had to work all different shifts, including overnights and weekends. I'm not complaining about the job I have because I chose this job, I chose to do what I do for a living, I chose to have a soapbox if you will. I have paid my dues and fought for what I have and taken the punches at the same time. What they are doing by allowing the students this time as a "free" time I think is wrong.

Daily Dose of BS March 1 guns

Looks like both Walmart and Dicks Sporting goods will be limiting some of the guns that will be sold at their brick and mortar and their online stores.  Is this what needs to be done?  Will limiting the purchase of guns and ammo to those that are 21 and older stop the flow of guns from the stores?  I see how hard it is for a 17-year-old to get beer or whatever else they want to drink.  Heck even picking up drugs is hard right, it is illegal and there are no illegal drugs flowing in the veins of the typical city.  Oh, there are, I get that these stores are trying to help with the problem of guns making it into the hands of those that are younger but do you think that this symbolic gesture is just that a gesture that really has no merit?  I am not sure what needs to be done.  The only thing that I can think that would really work is for all of us to say something if we see or hear something, at least someone will then be able to help before the preverbal Schmidt hits the fan. 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 28 prices

Do you price shop?  Yesterday I needed a battery cable spice kit for replacing a battery in my car, I searched for what the product was then went to buy it.  I stopped at the auto store that was on my way home, figuring that the cost was going to be the same or about the same no matter where I went.  The cost of that part was 10 dollars higher at the place I stopped first.  I quickly got back into my car and drove to the other store to save 10 bucks.  Would I have just bought it if it was a buck or two difference, yes but would not have shopped there again, the price difference in between the two made the first place loose that sale and future sales, because I am not going to be stopping by there again.  I would think that similar stores, selling similar things would have prices that are similar, wouldn’t you?  Do you check prices?  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 27 cows lives matter

Cows lives matter that was the chant in a Madison Festival Foods Store.  Protesting the sale of steaks, roasts and burger.  The protester was playing guitar chanting loudly “murder” and “cows lives matter”.  This is the second time that this group protested this Festival Food Store last time was at Thanksgiving, chanting “turkeys lives matter.” The protesters blocked the isle and wouldn’t let customers make purchases.  I am assuming that since the protest was for meat that the protesters are vegetarian?  Maybe us carnivores should protest tofu, after all it is made of a bean curd made from mashed soybeans, and soy is actually one of the most commonly genetically modified foods in the world, plus soy bean doesn’t taste good on a grill with an ice cold beer.  Seems protestable to me.  Back to the whole cows lives matter, I am not sure that was a protest rather than a celebration, think about it without cows we wouldn’t have our delicious hamburgers, steaks, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream.  I guess cows lives do matter. 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 26 21 year olds

I was talking with someone yesterday at Family Fest and we ended up talking about the school shooting incident in Florida and how there are far too many of these happening around the country, this guy went on to say that the best way around this is to make it 21 to do anything.  From voting, to drinking, to joining the military to buying guns to driving a car.  I looked at him like you have a screw loose.  I don’t disagree on some but think that he was off base on others.  Let’s look at voting, I don’t agree with that one as I think that voting age should be lowered to 16 get the kids hooked on the process.  Drinking I think should be lowered to 19 for beer, and 21 for booze.  To join the military, I think that if a young adult wants to serve their country that they should be able to once they are an adult.  As a parent of 4 kids I can tell you that driving not only gives the kids freedom but also frees up Mom and Dad, as for owning guns, I think that certain guns should be able to be bought at 18 and have no problem with having some be owned at a later age.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 23 human powered vehicle

If you want to drive a hybrid or an electric car, by all means, be my guest, if you want to ride in a bus powered by solar energy go right ahead. If wind-powered transportation is your thing great, human-powered transportation wonderful.  But don’t tell me I can’t drive my car.  Mayor Tim Kabat has called upon federal and state government to address the climate change by denouncing the EPA’s plan to reverse the clean standards developed by the Obama administration.  Calling for automakers and consumers to reduce greenhouse gasses through fuel efficiency standards.  I am already driving a fuel-efficient car and don’t feel comfortable in a super small hybrid vehicle and I can’t afford a new one. 

Daily Dose of BS Feb 22 teachers armed

According to debate.org 60% think that teachers should not be armed.  In the state of Wisconsin state attorney general and a couple of legislators think that teachers should be able to pack heat.  I saw an infographic the other day saying that we guard the president and government officials with guns, celebrities, and other dignitaries who are looking to be safe.  As a father of 4 I think that my most valuable asset is my children, shouldn’t they also be allowed the same protection that heads of state are offered?  If the old saying is true that our children are our future, shouldn’t we protect our most valuable assets?  On the other hand, I do not feel as though every teacher should be armed, I think there must be training and back ground checks and more training and psych evaluations and more training.  But I think that our children’s lives are worth it.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 21 jobs

I heard an interview yesterday morning talking about how Wisconsin is having a hard time finding people to fill all the jobs that are here.  I guess we are seeing this first hand in Western Wisconsin, there are many jobs that are going unfilled from starting jobs, for example, Taco Bell, the one on West Avenue has been on and off open over the past few weeks, I have heard because they can’t find anyone to run the place.  I know of a few big companies looking to recruit talent, the job boards have jobs listed but there is a shortage of people either willing to jump ship from a job that they like or are unqualified because of made up requirements.  I have some friends who work at each of the hospitals and I have heard conversations from them about how many times employers are missing out on great employees that are already in the system because they want to have a certain degree or higher for the job, not considering the experience of the person or the loyalty that they have already shown.  What do you suggest that we do to build the talent pool for these businesses?  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 20 icy roads

Its icy in La Crosse and surrounding areas, however every road that I took in to work this morning was already salted as I live about a half a block from the main drag.  For me the drive in to work was ok but I am assuming that the side roads are skatable.   My walk in to work across the parking lot did take me about as long as my drive in to work today.  When the roads are as they are today it is so important to be extra careful, slow down, don’t rush, keep both hands on the wheel, you know all the things that you are supposed to do every day.  Also remember that your 4-wheel drive car doesn’t help when you are sliding on ice, you are still sliding on ice.  The icy roads didn’t hit La Crosse until much later that forecasted.  Would you rather hear of the possibility of bad weather or be surprised by it?  For me I appreciated what I heard yesterday, because it put me in the right frame of mind for today.  Remember slow down, and pay attention.  This isn’t the Olympics we are not in a race to get anywhere today, just make it there safely.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 19 cameras

Ever looked at old family photos, or some real old school pictures of people from the 1800’s?  I have often wondered why aren’t the smiling?  Why are most old pictures people just flat faced, no smile no cheer in the eyes and just cranky looking.  I remember my wedding day 8.3 million photos with the fake smile, I could see not smiling for many of these.  Nowadays people have more smiles on their faces, just look around and watch people have conversations, the smiles come more free, and why wouldn’t they, we have much better dental nowadays than they had the past and with the better dental comes better teeth, both whiter and straighter, plus we have access to cameras all the time, I challenge you to go a day outside of your home to not be caught on someone’s camera.  I was downtown over the weekend and I know there are a bunch of cameras placed around down there, guess what I didn’t look for them nor did I notice them, but you are damn sure I was walking around with a smile on my face.  I gotta keep them wondering what I am up to.

Daily Dose of BS Feb 16 drivers

I think that the universe is messing with me.  This morning I felt great, no headache, my back wasn’t sore, my vision was crystal clear.  Not that these things bug me often, because they don’t but I noticed them.  I felt like hey I feel great.  And I still do feel pretty good, however it started right after I backed up and pulled out of my alley, I drove through the first intersection no problem, got to the second one and when I was just about there a lady in a crappy car pulled right out in front of me, I honked and she continued to go slow so I went around here of course she turned into the alley a half a block up.  I am sick and tired of people who shouldn’t be driving, driving.  I hate the people who drive under the speed limit in the passing lane, if you are going speed limit or below move over.   That was the next idiot I encountered this morning.  How often does this happen to you? These people should be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic.  Please for my sanity and for the sanity of others who have a life, if you are driving under the speed limit or not keeping up with the person in the right lane…… Move over!

Daily Dose of BS Feb 15 school shootings

Who is to blame for all of these school shootings?  I heard an interesting take on it this morning while driving in to work.  I heard a security expert say that we are all to blame.  Me, you, the kids we all are.  With this latest shooting in Florida apparently the guys social media posts had things about hate and wanting to kill cops and wanting to kill a large amount of people.  Aren’t the people who saw these posts at least a little responsible for not saying something (and no I am not blaming the victims)?  We are not living in the same day and age of when we grew up that it is just “Johnny” blowing off steam, today we need to follow through with these kinds of threats, even if it is nothing, as there is a lot more access to weapons than there was before and a lot less regard to life than there ever was.  I really think that if we see something that we need to say something, it doesn’t matter if it is something small or large, if something is out of place or doesn’t seem right say something.

Daily Dose of BS Feb 14 Valentines day

Love is in the air, today is Valentine’s Day. Funny how guys think that this is the one time a year to be romantic, the one time a year to gift flowers, or something special the one time a year - to show our love.  Guys, we can be romantic and loving and still be men ya know. There is nothing wrong with going the extra mile anytime of the year to say something nice, drop off a little gift or just let your loved one know you love them - after all a year is 365 days long.  For those who are new to this way of thinking, you still have the weekend to get a special valentine treat, but remember you have 364 other days to show your love as well.  What is the most romantic gesture you have ever given or received?  This year, I am going to stimulate the local economy and take my wife out for dinner, and maybe a movie, if not its frozen pizza and Netflix.  By the way what’s good on Netflix these days?

Daily Dose of BS Feb 13 La Crosse St

The city of La Crosse wants to fix La Crosse Street, scratch that, needs to fix La Crosse Street and is willing to jump.  TO do it now.  With hopes of getting it paid back from the State of Wisconsin in the future.  The state says nope, we are not going to pay that.  The reason given is that the DOT leaders cited Wisconsin State Statutes as the reason, which says local roads that carry state highway traffic through cities can receive state aid when the road reaches the end of its life, but there is no statute letting municipalities bill the DOT for repairs made before that time.  Do you think that we should go ahead with the repair or should we wait until the state feels it is time to pay up.  

Daily Dose of BS Feb 12 tipping

I don’t know if you heard that a waitress from Outback Steakhouse got fired for complaining about a customer not leaving a tip.  When I read the headline, Waitress stiffed a tip on a $735 takeout order, then fired after she complained on Facebook. I miss read it as “Waitress stiffed a tip on a $735 order, then fired after she complained on Facebook” To me those are two different items.  If she were stiffed on a $735 order that she brought to the table that would have sucked, if she got stiffed on a $735 take out order, then, does she really deserve a tip?  When does the line of doing my job because it is my job change to I am only doing my job because I am doing it for a tip.  My kids work at a full service gas station and sometimes they get tips for checking air, washing windows, or pumping gas, most the time they don’t but every once in a while someone give a tip.  Do they do their jobs any less or any more based on if they get a tip, no.  They are doing their jobs because they are doing their jobs.  What is that line for tipping or not tipping?  When is doing your job doing your job?  Is our society going to a pay as you use society?