Daily Dose of BS November 11

Today is Veterans Day, a day to celebrate our freedoms, and the Men and Women who have given of themselves to keep us free.  Earlier this week, I posted on the Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker calling the Holiday Tree at the capital a Christmas Tree, and the uproar around that issue.  If not for the brave men and women who have fought for our Country we would not even be able to have this discussion.  We would have someone in our government telling us what we need to believe, and then force us to wave the flag of what they think.  We are able to have our own thoughts, our own beliefs, our own interests…and guess what, they are not all going to be the same, if they were how boring would life be?  If you know a veteran thank them, because without what they did we wouldn’t have what we have, from what I see, and what I know we are living in the greatest place on earth.  America.  I got to spend last evening with my favorite veteran, my Father.  My twins school had a veterans program today and invited my Dad to it, he was touched.  Kari Knutson from the LaCrosse Tribune had in an article this morning that started…Some saw combat.  Some were behind the scenes.  Some never returned.  Their stories are all different, but for the people who lived them, unforgettable.  This Veterans Day, we honor all those who've made sacrifices many of us can only imagine…If you are serving or have served, thank you and Happy Veterans Day. 

Daily Dose of BS November 10

It took till November 9^th to get our first snowfall of the season.  It didn’t last long but the havoc it brought was kind of comical.  I grew up in the Twin Cities and have lived in the Midwest most of my life, I know when it snows you slow down a bit, don’t use your cruise, give yourself extra time and to carry a scrapper in the car.  I saw bad examples of all of the above yesterday.  Good thing that we only had a little snow, with the idiocy that I saw yesterday…help us when we have real snow.  It is funny how we forget the simple things in life, like to say please and thank you, look people in the eye when talking to them and how to drive in the snow.  Next time there are some flakes and not just the weird people in your town, I’m talking snow here, remember how to drive in the snow.  It is not a race.

Daily Does of BS November 9

I don’t know about you but I used to look forward to the phone book being delivered.  I would grab it and look through it to see what new information was being offered this year.  I was a weird kid, and sure I am a bit weird now as well, that is ok as I am ok with who I am.  Back to the phone book thing, I would read about the city, the county and the state.  The information was right at my fingertips.  Plus I always checked to see if our listing was right, I would then check on my Grandparents numbers and my friends, I even remember looking for “famous” peoples phone numbers they were never in there.  The world at least my community was right at my fingertips.  I grew up in the Twin Cities so the phone book was lots bigger than the La Crosse phone book.  I remember going to look up the family’s information and finding another person with the same name as my dad who lived on the same block name and almost the same address for example they were on 1235 east Main Street when we were on 1234 west Main Street.  I am sure I wouldn’t find that now…because no one uses the phone book anymore, infact I don’t remember the last time I grabbed one.  Do you?  The reason I bring this up is there is about 72 phone books by the front desk at work, and only 2 or 3 have even been picked up.  It is even too small to use as a booster seat.  I like now that any info you need for the world is at your fingertips…on the internet.  

Daily Dose of BS November 8

I don’t care if you like Governor Scott Walker or not.  I really like that he is taking a stand on the Christmas tree thing.  He is calling the spruce that is decorated with ornaments and the star on top in the Capital Rotunda area a Christmas Tree.  He is standing up for what he believes in and not caving into what a few believe in.  The tree was always called a Christmas Tree in the State Capital from the time it was first displayed in 1916 up through 1985 when is was changed to the more generic holiday tree.  The Christmas Tree is on display from late November through Early January.   The group Freedom from Religion is not happy with this decision saying it would offend nonreligious people and give a government endorsement of Christianity.  Now the pictures that I have seen of this tree from past years, it is a work of art, it has beauty and a calming sense about it.  I don’t see how others even those who don’t believe in Christmas would find it offensive to look at a thing of beauty.  I am not Buddhist but am not offended by a Buddha statute; I am not Jewish and am not offended by the Menorah.  To quote Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”  What happened to the saying “Coexist” is it only coexist if you see things my way?

Daily Dose of BS November 7

Parts of Arizona, parts of Indiana, and all of Hawaii have it right…leave the time alone.  I hate daylight savings time…I hate changing the clocks, I hate that people say you have an extra hour of sleep, and as I am getting older I hate that my body doesn’t seem to cooperate with the change as it once did.  Lets address these three issues… 1- I hate changing my clocks, well La Crosse Technologies has helped with this, however, I finally got my microwave and stove to show the same time, now with the change and they are off again, and when I changed my watch, I changed the date by mistake (I have an old school analog watch). Number 2- you don’t get an extra hour of sleep, I for one am smart enough to listen to my body when tired I sleep and when my alarm rings I get up, I didn’t get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, and I am guessing you didn’t either.  Bringing me to my 3^rd issue that my body is not as elastic as it once was, I was up an hour before my alarm this morning…why..because that is how I trained my body the past 6 months or so.  Come next spring I am going to be tired an hour after my alarm rings.  Let’s all get together and ban the time change, or have a compromise the next time and switch it by 30 minutes and call it good.   

Daily Dose of BS November 4

It all started the other day…the alternate side parking law for LaCrosse began at 1am November 1^st, warnings were handed out the first 2 days.  The cost for parking on the wrong side of the street this year is $10 the same as last year, that is if you pay it within 10 days from there it goes up to 20 bucks then after 45 days it will cost you 40 bucks.  This year is different for me as I now have a teenage driver, and I am guessing he won’t be paying attention to the sides he parks on, although so far so good.  As a Dad I will help him out with one $10 ticket, after that he will be on his own.  I hope to not have to pay it at all.  Last year the La Crosse Police Department alternate side parking enforcement wrote out 17,660 tickets and took in $92,164 in fines.  That is a lot of $10 tickets.  BTW they took in less money last year by over $6,000 from the year before.  Is it that we are finally learning what alternate side parking is….I doubt it.   

Daily Dose of BS November 2

Getting kids involved in sports helps your child in so many ways from encouraging a healthy lifestyle, to promoting self esteem, to learning goal setting and teamwork, to making life long friends, but most importantly having fun! And how cool would it be to learn a new sport? River City Youth Hockey is inviting girls and boys aged four to nine years to Green Island Ice Arena this Saturday morning for a Try Hockey for Free clinic part of a program to introduce kids to hockey. It is also a great way for kids to have some fun on the ice, learn sportsmanship, and meet some new friends. Plus the first 40 kids to register and attend receive a free jersey. To register,http://www.aPublish Postctive.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1992509.