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Regulatory Boards

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I received a letter from the governor last week informing me that I had been appointed to a state regulatory board involving my profession. I feel quite honored by the appointment.   I hope I can do a good job.

The first thing I had to do was find a notary and swear  in front of them that I promised to uphold the constitutions of both the US and my State.  The notary happened to be one of my support staff at work, and she was pretty amused by the whole episode. (I have a Canadian friend who did an internship in Texas, and they had to figure out how she could be allowed to participate in the program without swearing allegiance to the State of Texas. I think they got the Canadian Consul involved to negotiate that one.)  I also had to disclose all the investments and businesses I have (which amount to none) that could result in a conflict of interest or could be impacted by legislative action.  (Sound familiar, Mr Trump?)

The next thing I had to do was register for a one day workshop for people on regulatory boards to learn how such boards operate and the correct procedures to use. It is refreshing to know that people are still being taught the proper way government should operate.  I don’t suppose it will be a real exciting workshop, but I will be there with newbies from the Barley Council and the Board of Optometry, and they might be a lot of fun.

What would you like to regulate?

47 thoughts on “Regulatory Boards”

  1. Morning all. If it requires swearing allegiance and being on a board with other folks with whom I have to come to a consensus, then I’ll pass. Now if from the comfort of my sofa I can snap my fingers and say “fix that” (and if I screw something up then the next day I can snap my fingers and say “unfix that”) then I’m all in. Probably start w/ 45, then Vice 45 on down the line, then global warming, then healthcare….. I’m starting to feel like a god!

    Off to the strawberry patch – everybody have a fun day!

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  3. I’d like to regulate Japanese beetles. They would not be allowed in certain areas and would have to abide by limits on how much foliage they could eat on any one plant.

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  4. Rise and Set Some Rules, Baboons!

    I would love to know that a regulatory board had control of the president’s Twitter account. And his mouth, for that matter. My dad would have said he has “Diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain.” Happy Father’s Day Dad!

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  6. I would like to regulate the ice cubes in this household. In the warmer months of the year, my preferred way of staying hydrated and quenching thirst is by drinking ice water. I fill up my insulated water bottle with ice and water and that usually is good for a few hours, how long depends on heat/humidity/my activity level. We have three ice cube trays in the freezer and it amazes me how often I find things like: an ice cube tray with just one ice cube in it in the freezer; an ice cube tray that had had several ice cubes in it on the counter, now all melted; three trays, each with the individual cube parts that were “filled” with so little water that each tray of mini-cubes is the equivalent of two cubes instead of twelve or however many are in a tray. That last one really irks me: if you’re going to take the time to fill the trays and put them in the freezer, why not fill them up to the top instead of dribbling such a minuscule amount of water in there that you might as well have no ice? Harumph.

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    1. I should add that when I use ice cubes, if the tray is less than half full, I fill it with water and put it on the bottom of the stack so that the next person has a tray of already frozen cubes on top. And I fill it to the top so there are good-sized cubes.

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      1. we had an ice cube bucket next to the trays in the freezer to hold the cubes not used from the tray or if someone wants to stock up. alternately the idea of bagging up ice for future use and ” freezing it” has a great appeal. its getting caught up before you get behind. make it a reward system by allowing a point score on the sheet attatched to the door and the winner gets a cookie every week

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        2. We have the ice cube dispenser on our fridge but about a month ago YA announced that she doesn’t like that ice. I told her it’s the same water was out of the tap but she says she can tell the difference. She bought an ice cube tray and started making ice cubes w/ tap water.

          Does it make me a bad person if I’ve been dumping out the tap water ice cubes and filling her ice cube tray with water from the fridge?

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        4. It gives me a quiet satisfaction to see her using ice made the same way as the fridge ice and not realizing it.

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        5. yes it makes you a bad person. i hope you are understanding when you discover she has caught you the same way

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        6. VS, I’ll side w/ YA on this one. Last summer we got a new fridge with the water and ice in the door. For one thing, I don’t think the water is as cold as it should be since it’s coming from the fridge and I too think it has a different flavor. I think it’s the filter in the fridge that changes it.
          I haven’t noticed it in the ice, but I don’t tend to use much ice; I just keep water bottles in the fridge.

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    2. That doesn’t seem like too much to hope for. With only two of you in the house, it’s not as if any dishes are appearing “anonymously”.

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  10. Motorcycle mufflers
    Uniform level of sound on all tv stations and on al CDs
    Mankato drivers
    Pain
    Mouths of three of Sandy’s friends
    My mouth
    Labels on food packages, e.g. Anything but the original flavor or recipe has to be in a different package design
    In-game interviews in Twins game
    Sleep
    Humidity

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    1. you dont like the interviews. the interviewers arent very good but i do like hearing form the players. just not instead of the game. they need to figure out how to announce and interview at the same time.

      do you know about calcium chloride for dehumidifier? you buy a bag for 20 dollars and keep it sealed up (or it fills with water from the air. you put it in a nylon or a stainless steel colander and set it in a spaghetti pot or over a 5 gallon pail. it sucks all themoisture in the room thorough the chemical and into the bucke then you empty the bucket. you could set it up in the sink and save the bucket hassel it works well in small semi airtight places. i have a little dehumidifier i am not using right now if you need it for the short terms. little like the size of a breadbox

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    2. motorcycle mufflers are a problem. i have a guitar gorup that meets once a month and last month was the first outrdoor meeting of the year it was gorgeious and the night was perfect on the patio by lake of the isles and then the motorcycles and planes started up. unususl for the neighborhood we were in the flight pattern and every 30 esconds a plane would come by and then the harley jerks with the mufflers so loud you cant sing or play over it from a block away . what the heck is that all about. there is a law but i have never heard of anyone getting stopped for it. i say a sign should be put on the side of the bike with a decible reading for the year like the lisence plate.
      after being put through the wringer in the drunken driver deal i have been involved with the last couple of yeasrs it is appearant that the entire drinking while driving thing could be cleared up with the installation of a gizmo in each car next to the radio , power source, telephone we all cant live without and insist that a non alcholic breath be starting the car. easy and only objectionable by those with alcholo breath.
      same with texting. it is possible (easily) to disable texting whie driving. motion detectors are easy peasy and should be used. i am looking into selling a new device in europe that covers the new regulations that prohibit hands on phone interaction in the car. hands free is ok so the device is 20 bucks

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  11. regulate…
    i would like to regulate what stuff can be regulated.
    wayyyy too much stuff is regulated. the use of chemicals and lawn stuff should be regulated like it mattered. giving toxic chemicals to joe moron to go take care of his lawn and allow him to buy 500% of what his use should be every 2 months so he can have a beautiful lawn is moronic. the farmers who grow corn and beans are also very guilty . the chinese are guilty of polluting the air and the watre and the soil like americans did the last 100 years. we now care and thye dont. some of us care donalds friends dont. so we wont regulate too much if it inconveniences friends of donald
    regulating interactions and cross interests in relationships (see investments above) should be checked. the idea that all the gop people who voted for the change to their health care plan proposal is criminal and should be printed on the front of the paper.
    other regualtions. teacher lisences. ones who show up for work but dont s=do the work should be let go. those who want in but cant pass the stupid regulations we set up should be let in.
    saturday morning ornerieness coming out

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    2. OK tim, I want to know why you singled out the farmers who grow corn and beans? What about wheat? Oats? Cotton? Rice?? Apples? How about Christmas tree farmers? Sorghum? Sugar Beats?
      😉

      Around here, with the heavy rains we’ve had and all the gulleys left in the fields, mostly the response has been the farmers are ‘sick to their stomachs’ to see that kind of erosion. It’s not like we don’t care of course…
      More water ways are needed (but hard to work around as the size of equipment has gotten bigger) more terraces are needed (They’re expensive to build) and also, this was really bad luck; these heavy rains came at the worst time; just after planting so the soil is just worked up and there are no roots to hold the soil yet.
      And in some places, there is erosion on level ground; so much rain, so fast, it has to run someplace. And that part can’t be helped.

      Fertilizer that was applied at the proper rates, with all the rain, has been washed out of the fields. (yes, I know, it then washes into the rivers) But also now, there isn’t enough fertilizer left in the fields to get the crop what it needs to reach maturity. So yields and production will be down. And some guys will be adding more fertilizer to replace what was lost. So there’s another added expense.

      It’s just a tough situation all around.

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      1. sorry to hear about the tough season ben
        you are a guy who applies at the correct rate and understands how many pounds of nitrogen to put down per thousand square feet and how to avoid adding more phosphorous when the need isnt there. maybe the farming industry has become computerized enough that the ideal analysis is readily available to the average farmer today. that was not the case 20 years ago or 10 years ago. the farmer would by 19-19-19 because that was the highest numbers he could get or put on 2 tons when 1 was called for to make it grow faster. the run off inevitable when over application are left up to the guy. lawn fertilizers are regulated to zero because homeowners are horrible offenders. farmers arent regulated because we cant take the farmers tools away. if all other farmers checked with you before the bought and spread their fertilizer i would be ok. maybe its getting better with the cost of fertilizer getting so high but i know in homeowners land if a ounce is good a pound is beter is a common attitude.
        china is terrible at all things stewardship. i hope it changes and i ghope we can reward/penalize behavior

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  12. I want controlled intersections on Winona streets. Here on the east end there are countless uncontrolled intersections, and there has been an argument in the Winona Post editorials about whether they should put in more stop signs. There’s apparently an “unwritten rule” that the longer east-west streets have right-of-way, but that doesn’t mean people traveling on the north-south streets WILL stop. And what about new folks like we were a year ago, or visitors? More stop signs are on their way, apparently, closer to campus than here.

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    1. thats the old story about how she was dead right… she had the right odf way walking through the intersection. she was right dead right.
      assume the other people on the planet are idiots and that the stop sign there or not will be ignored and the other person is a me me me person who will go regardless of right of way. it is a negative outlook on the one hand and a preventative one on the other.
      my son is in fiddler this week and there is a line
      good news will wait and bad news will not go away.
      great line
      enjoyed david sedarus yesterday. thanks pj for the heads up

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