What does a bad day look like?

What does a bad day look like? This series takes a look at the mildly frustrating to the seriously unfortunate.

Tune in every Tuesday for a new edition, or scroll down to browse previous topics.

On thin ice

March 10, 2026

A Wisconsin man who’d indulged in a few too many thought he could drive his ice fishing shack onto the ice. Turns out the ice was not near ready, even though a couple of recent nights had hit freezing. According to the Barron County Sheriff’s Office, the guy set his mind to bringing his ice shack onto the “ice.” However, all he ended up catching was an OWI.

Somebody was going ice fishing, come ice or just freezing cold water!

Here’s what Fish Anywhere says in its blog, “The start of ice fishing season varies from year to year and is completely dependant on the thickness of the ice. When the ice is 4 inches thick, humans can walk on the ice safely. Snowmobiles and ATVs can travel across the ice when it reaches 7-12 inches, and full-size trucks should wait until there’s over a foot of ice. It’s very important to check local weather and fishing reports for updates on how thick the ice is before setting out. Here’s a handy tool to understand more about this important factor of ice fishing. Of course the weather ultimately determines when the lakes freeze over. Typically in Wisconsin there’s a layer of ice around late December or early January. The season lasts as long as there’s safe ice, generally March or April, although there have been years when ice-out happens in May. Wisconsin’s DNR (Department of Natural Resources) defines “ice-out” as the first day that all ice is gone. Each season is different, so it’s important to check with local resources before heading to the lake.”

Fish Anywhere, “Ice Fishing in Wisconsin,” published October 16, 2019.

Not Worth the Wait

March 3, 2026

Not even a year after purchasing my first car, a truck’s tire exploded while I was on the interstate and shattered my headlight.

The insurance thankfully covered the costs, but the wait to get it fixed was frustrating to say the least. It took over six months for the repair shop to get the headlight I needed.

When my appointment finally rolled around, I eagerly took my car to the shop, got into my rental, and headed to work. 

Then I got a phone call at noon: “We don’t have the headlight yet.”

Apparently, the repair person assigned to fix my car was no longer with the company. Whoever was handed this project didn’t realize the headlight hadn’t arrived until I had already dropped off the rental.

Taking a trip back to the repair shop to pick up my still-not-fixed car definitely made for a bad day.

This week’s edition was written by Jacob.

Meet Hercules, Ned, and Chris!

February 24, 2026

It’s a bad day if you are a part of the troublesome wildlife at a West Virginia airport when border collies Hercules and Ned and their trainer, Chris, are on the job.

Geese, birds, deer—the airport wildlife that can cause birdstrikes or worse don’t stand a chance when the Charleston, West Virginia, Pup Patrol and its trainer are laser-focused on the safety of the runway.

Watch the video.

Valve problems

February 17, 2026

You’re headed to a cozy cabin for a great wintry weekend in the mountains. It’s freezing cold and your SUV is loaded with treats and comfy, warm clothes for a long leisurely stretch. You arrive and enter with your arms full only to discover that the valve hadn’t been seen to and the place is flooded with icy water.

Road closed, toad crossing

February 10, 2026

Charlcombe Lane, near Bath, a thoroughfare in Somerset County, UK, is closed for six weeks due to newts, frogs, and toads needing to cross to their breeding grounds. Toad patrols are out at night helping the amphibians make it to the ancestral habitats.

Read the full story here.

Losing a load of concrete

February 03, 2026

Warning: Watch the video while resting. File this under lessons learned.

All credit goes to HIS turf. Share the video at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bGMLLhDYcc.

How could you have gotten it so wrong?

January 27, 2026

If you’ve ever misinterpreted or mishandled a work assignment, you may well wonder, Did I get it wrong or were the directions ambiguous?

Here are some helpful suggestions from the LinkedIn community for resolutions:

1. Seek clarification
2. Document requests
3. Use feedback
4. Set boundaries
5. Collaborate closely
6. Be proactive
7. Other ways to resolve the situation

Taking one for the team

January 20, 2026

When you’re being honest with yourself and looking at your face in the proverbial mirror, have you ever felt like it was you who had to take one for the team? Or do you feel that it’s always your fault and it’s you who continuously loses face and takes the blame, no matter what?

Face it—the blame game never works

What do we mean by the “blame game”? Read TapRooT® Instructor Tim Diggs’ terrific article, “‘No Blame’ Culture and Teams” in which Tim says, “We can find it in companies and in investigations. When something goes wrong, it is quick and easy to assign the blame. The problem with that is, we do not fix anything.

“Mistakes are opportunities for improvement. Opportunities to coach, learn, grow, do better. People will make mistakes. Human beings can fail an infinite number of ways. We have to learn from these mistakes to prevent them from happening again and improve the operation. I wonder if our football team would have been more successful if we had investigated the problem, identified, and addressed the causes of the failure, as opposed to merely disciplining the team to handle to issue.

“What does a blame-oriented environment get you? Finger-pointing, lies and no fixes. Culture drives behavior so if the culture is that people are the problem, the behavior will be:

• I did not do it.
• No one saw me do it!
• You can’t prove I did it!
• If we could just get people to be careful and try harder, these problems would go away.”

Tim tells us, “That is why you should use the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis System. Removing the blame focus and utilizing the human factors guidance in the system will lead you to understand the incident completely, identify the gaps in your system that allowed the mistakes to happen, what caused those gaps to exist, and what to do to fix them. If you are tired of having the same issues over and over again, you want to make the operation better, then you should attend the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis course.”

A heart-stopping night

January 13, 2016

“Jacob, your dad needs help.”

I opened my eyes to the sight of my stepmom nervously standing at my bedroom doorway. I fumbled my way out of bed and navigated my way through the hallway in the dead of the night.

And there my dad was, lying on the floor while clutching his chest. He could barely speak, but the pained expression of his face communicated everything we needed to know.

We rushed him to the hospital. I tried my best to stay calm, but my mind was racing. He’s 60 years old; can he walk away unscathed from a heart attack?

Turns out my concerns were for nothing.

My dad wasn’t having a heart attack — he was having a kidney stone.

While that night was far from pleasant, I’m obviously relieved that my dad is okay. He just needs to drink more water!

This week’s edition was written by Jacob.

Snowboarding injuries

January 6, 2026

Did you know the risk of head injury while snowboarding is double the risk for skiers, and much higher in severity? See the safety guidelines for snowboarders below from the National Institute of Health.