Cookies (3-26-08)

INTRO:  Accck!  I just realized that MySpace kept a count of how many times each post was read.  I have since deleted all the other blogs.  (Its easier to keep track of which ones I've posted here that way.)


READ COUNT: 29

Current mood:nostalgic

 

Anyone who knows me well knows I love cookies. Most are delicious but I do love some more than others.

A certain brand of cookie holds a special place in my heart/stomach.


Keebler Fudge Shoppe Fudge Stripes

These aren’t special because these little crunchy circles of happiness are more delicious than your average cookie. They are nostalgiacally significant.

198X - "X" being equal to or less than 5. I am a big haired chocolate loving little monster of a child. Shy and humble but when left with access to a box of cookies, let no stranger’s careless fingers be caught between my appetite and this delicious snack.

Problem was my parents rarely bought extravagant treats. It was always Corn Flakes so we rarely, if ever, brought home delicious treats. ’Nilla Wafers were as wild as we got.

For class one day we had a potluck. I was always too embarrassed or shy to ask my parents for anything because there wasn’t ever any money. There was, we weren’t broke but my parents were trying really hard to teach me to appreciate the value of the dollar. Instead, I learned not to ask because there was no such thing. I signed up for the free lunch program because I didn’t want to have to ask for lunch money.

Anyway...

There was no choice as far as the pot luck was concerned. You either brought something to share or you were embarrassed and sat alone in the corner while everybody else took part in the festivities.

We went to the supermarket and I begged and pleaded for those cookies. My mother suggested the bargain brand animal crackers but no way, this was elementary school and kids are cruel. I would never hear the end of it. Finally, she caved for one small bag of those cookies. But I remember clearly that she specified that I was not to touch them.

I didn’t. I took them to school. The one small box was not nearly enough for everyone in class was gone before you knew it. I didn’t get a taste.

It wasn’t until later in life that the realization came to me while standing in the supermarket, transfixed in front of a stack of Fudge Shoppe cookies, that I could buy all the fucking cookies in the store if I felt like it.

I strange emotion washed over me. A mix of fulfillment, anger and long overdue closure.

My wife knows this story and she packed a little bag of Mini Fudge Stripes in my lunch today.

That is why I love her. 

COMMENTS:

WIFE:

^__^ I love packing your breakfast and lunch!

BROTHER: LMAO about not getting any when the class ate them all!!! The memories of our childhood just crack me up. Hey (HL's WIFE)! Do you want some, no thank you, do you want some, no thank you, do you want some? OK Yes, please! LOL

3 years ago

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Jenny: I enjoyed this blog, and OOOOh, those yummy cookies bring back such wonderful childhood memories for me. We always had them in our house. When I was little, I loved putting my finger through the hole and eating around it. As an adult, I've been known to eat SEVERAL in one sitting (several may equal half the bag!), although I haven't had a fudge stripe in recent years... you may have caused a trip to the grocery store tomorrow afternoon! Thanks for bring back memories!

3 years ago

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  HektikLyfe: The rare opportunity that I WOULD eat some, I would do that too. The chocolate would get all over your finger. They were very messy cookies. :)

  3 years ago

Leisure Pay (2-26-08)

VIEWS:  31 (I posted it twice accidentally and the first one was viewed this many times.  The second, I will never know since I deleted it too fast but received most of my comments on that one.

First of all I must apologize for any spelling errors or horrendous formatting. I am blogging on a cell phone, during my break on a very slow Friday. Typo's will run rampant.

The past few companies I have worked for had company gyms. This blog will not be about the misuse of company funds for the whims of the rich to force the company to pay for the memberships they could afford but choose not to pay.

This blog is about those people who choose to exercise at these gyms and treat their office workspace as a locker room.

I occasionally half to reach under desks to check cabling and...whatnot... I hate that word by the way. While underneath these desks I get putrid whiffs of gym shoes and clothes. :S Aside from the fact that I am a lazy bum, the BIG reason I don't like gyms is the rank odor.

Some of these people arrive dressed up like they are going to run a marathon, go straight to the gym for a few hours (of their work day,) do a little work, jog around the campus for an hour after doing a little more work. Then they hit the gym again in the evening before taking dance lessons. All on site, all at the companies expense and they drag their stinky outfit changes into their cubicles for their coworkers to inhale.

If you are lucky enough to have a job that overlooks these abuses and you work in a cubicle, at least do your co-workers the decency of leaving your sweaty socks in the trunk of your car

COMMENTS:

My sibling who works at the same company:  It is unfortunate that we are cursed with an acute sense of smell isnt it? I see exactly what you are talking about and think Jose (one of the commenters that was deleted) has a great idea. In addition to that I always worry about the most disgusting germs/ bacteria that you are coming in contact with when touching the keyboards of these persons. Sorry to make you more paranoid, but is there a discreet way that you can spray lysol on a keyboard and under a desk before you work? I can picture it now... as you say "no offense" and spray the scheit out of their cubicles. To comment on (Apple Something's) comment, in the ********** industry you have times of LOTS OF WORK and then you dont. Right now is one of those slow times. So lots of people are working out.

3 years ago

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Apple Something What lucky assholes. Not you, of course, with having to smell them. But geez. Don't they feel compelled to work at all at work? 

HLWife I keep my sweaty sox in the truck of my car! YAY! Oops we're about to possibly contract 24-hour fitness for a discount for our employees :P

I'm sorry you have to go through that. That is very disgusting! EWWWW!

I think I only saw one typo. But only because you mentioned it. Probably wouldn't have noticed you wrote this on a cell phone. Great job!

3 years ago
 

HektikLyfe Yeah writing blogs on MySpace has become a major hassle for me. That's why I moved them to Blogspot.

To get them on MySpace I would have to.

1. Type them up in Word.
2. Copy and paste them into Notepad to remove any editing MySpace filters wouldn't understand.
3. Reformat with HTML code to space and replace quotes. <--This takes a long time.
4. E-Mail it to myself to get it into the Blackberry.
5. Try my luck and pasting it through the mobile browser with a really bad connection.
6. Then hope that it displays fine on PC's. It usually doesn't and I have to reformat or remove double posts.

Now I post them on http TheSilentPodium.Blogspot.com :)

It has non-obtrusive ads. What the hell you know?

Over 30 new blogs and counting (6-20-08) 13 Reads

INTRO:  This one was just a call out to my MySpace readers to go to Blogger.  The only reason I am posting it here is to log the progression of blog number count.

All at BlogSpot.

I separated them into three different categories so those of you not interested in some of the topics I write about won't be bothered with them.

TheSilentPodium . BlogSpot . com (remove the spaces) is a blog dedicated to the topics that got the most response here on MySpace. You know, religion, dreams, terrible people and all the usual stuff.

ButtonSmashing . BlogSpot . com is where I blog about anything videogame related. I frequently post any great deals I find online or in the paper.

The Rambler at HektikLyfe . BlogSpot . Com is where I post the little random things I find and like on the internet quirky gifts and terrifying online cults.

Hope to see you there.

This Week Makes 100 Blogs! (9-11-08) 18 Reads

INTRO:  I was posting more than 1 a day!  XD  Man those were awesome times.  The combining of blog themes referred to my old "Rambler" blog here and the other one or two I had for different topics.  Check out the terrible art!  Oh and the (DOT) stuff was because MySpace started filtering and redirecting links.  One of the MANY reasons I left.

Current mood:accomplished

I am currently at around 95.  Don't be afraid.  Sometimes new can be good.  I have decided to keep them all at the same place instead of breaking them up like before.

TheSilentPodium(DOT)BlogSpot(DOT)com



Drugs, Sex, Movies, Music, Games, People, Life, Religion, Electronics, you name it!

Comments: "I love reading your blogs. My favorite one so far is the one that caused my (friends) to get so upset ^__*"

Rifling Through The Garbage (5-13-08) 30 Reads

Current mood:mischievous

I don't normally take religious fanatics seriously. But I must be honest and admit that I find what they have to say incredibly interesting. When their "logical" connections point them to "conclusions" and "proof" I find it terribly entertaining.

Some of the more archaic religions like to strike fear in their followers as motivation for behavioral control. Many of the older religions like to view and treat their followers as lowly ignorant peons. "They couldn't possibly understand the complexities of God so let's interpret it to them in a caveman capacity." Do or Die. Fear the wrath of God. Books, music, technology, videogames are EVIL! Other religions, and not donating as much money as your neighbor, are evil acts too.

Some time ago, my wife and I were discussing my really, really basic understanding of Chaos Theory.

Somehow we came upon the topic of bees. I believe I was really angry and disgusted by some bugs I found out in the yard. I really hate insects and I have an uncontrollable urge to smash them all. When I smash them, I smash them HARD. It all goes back to a bee attack many years ago I may blog about at a later date if people are interested enough to hear it.So I spoke rashly and said that I was angry at the fact that bee's could sting. I know wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are the real bad guys but I kind of group them together as bee's when I am not taking part in a serious discussion. I said I wished that there weren't any bee's in the world. My wife asked about honey. I love honey but I said I could learn to live without it. Now I know that any plant or creatures extinction can have catastrophic repercussions to the world we inhabit but I was in a facetious mood trying to forget the disgusting bug image I had burned in my head.Today I searched for more information regarding the mysterious bee disappearances. I found an article titled, "Missing Bees, Cell Phones and Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy." I was excited already. I thought, "Great, I'm in the mood for a good laugh; let me give this a read."

"The bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the off season to be normal."

"They (some scientists) are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world!"

"The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously home-loving species from finding their way back to their hives."

"The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, 'man would have only four years of life left.'"

Then comes the religious connection.

"Revelation 6:6 - Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!'"
Although the Bible plainly speaks of great famine in the last days, the prophetic words of Revelation 6:6 states that the olive and grape harvest will not be damaged.

In general, breeders have assumed that grapes were either completely self- fertilizing or were cross-pollinated by wind, so that in either case insects were considered of no value. The grape harvest will not be affected by the missing bee population.

Bees and other insects play a minor role in olive pollination; wind moves most of the pollen from tree to tree. Most olive varieties are self-fertile, but increased production often results from cross pollination. And neither will the olive harvest be affected by CCD."

And the final nail on the cross...err...coffin.

"Grape and olive oil production will only be minimally impacted by Colony Collapse Disorder while much of the fruit, vegetable and nut production will be severely reduced resulting in famine. These end time biblical prophecies are coming to pass within our own lifetimes demonstrating once again that the Word of God is true and to be trusted."

You know how whenever there are cataclysmic disasters you get these weirdos proclaiming how Nostradamus predicted the events long ago? This is kind of the same thing, except there are a whole lot more people that believe it.

"God said there would be cleansing in fire, and well, there is the sun right there, and uh...it IS kind of hot today."

Here's a thought, try something a little less foreboding to scare people to join your church and pay/donate for the collection/sermon.

Comment from my wife: " I can't help it. This scares me. I know what your point was, but it still gave me chills O__O"

Negative Side Effect of the Sports Mentality on Society

INTRO:  This was originally going to be a really long Re-Org Earth series blog but like I've mentioned already, I just don't have the time to produce that same level of content.  You get the gist of my message I think.

There are many causes to blame for societies ills.  I believe one of those many is the sports mentality that has been forced upon our children for generations.

How so?

Everyone knows the all too common occurrence that a company without any real competition becomes stagnant. Microsoft, GM, AT&T and many others have suffered from being at the top.  As consumers we always say things like, "competition is great" to compensate for that flaw.  Why focus instead on the benefit of NOT having competition instead of the actual cause of the stagnation?

Our entire lives the artificial significance of "teams" is emphasized.  Yes this is important when we have enemies to team up against but I think it is an archaic way of achieving our goals.  As if the need for honest hard work is beyond the comprehension of our populace so instead we use fear and a threat of potential failure to get our peers to work together.

"Please shut off your selfishness for a little bit as we defeat this greater common enemy."

I say we should instead focus on teaching our children correctly.  We don't need an excuse for doing good or working hard.  That should be payment enough.  Work hard for the sake of working hard.

You can see obvious signs of this mentality in the business environment.  "Welcome to the ______ Family."  "We're all part of the _________ Corp. Team."  Then they turn around and fire you without justification.  What lesson is this teaching us?  Do as much as you can but at any given moment you can be dropped from the team so honestly, do only as much as you are asked to.

This is why I believe we have so many underachievers.  The ones who succeed are the individuals who see beyond this.  Those who don't do the bare minimum.  The ones who do the job plus more because they know, it is about working hard, not about being worked hard.  They learned that lesson somewhere along their lives and I think we should replicate that lesson.

I think it will only serve to benefit Humanity.

Dear Constant Reader (5-27-08) 27 Reads

INTRO:  Well, where better to start than with the end.  This was one of the last blogs I posted on MySpace.  The actual farewell.  It received quite a few comments and goodbyes but they have since been lost because I have been away from MySpace for years and I have since deleted those acquaintances.  Side-note: I actually wrote this blog on a blackberry during my lunch hour so I had to reformat it here on Blogger.  My wife posted a farewell on it as well and funny enough it made me sad.  She was one of my most regular commentators naturally and to see her say goodbye was sad even though I see her everyday.  Silly isn't it?

If you are still around, I thank you.

While part of me writes my blogs to get things off my chest that I could never say out loud, a large part of me would write only to enjoy your comments and opinions. For a few years now I have enjoyed the camaraderie we shared here on MySpace. We have all seen its popularity soar then go down in flames. I will keep my account. But as for the blogging, I have moved on for a few reasons which I shall list below.

1. Most importantly, I can access my new blog from work. During my lunch I would enjoy this whenever I could without any major restrictions and access to a full keyboard.  (Those restrictions are now in place so I can't access Blogger easily either anymore.)
2. I tried many different websites and although the community aspect of BlogSpot is lacking, the interface and accessibility is top notch. I can E-Mail post my Blogs!
3. I tried Blogsome and I thank Farhan, Urkanji and my wife of course for following me there. Blogsome forces commenters to go through the trouble of registering and then their comments are displayed very tiny and in a very ugly fashion. If anything I treasure your comments most of all and would hate to see them belittled in that fashion. Facebook doesn't allow the same blogging freedoms I have grown accustomed to.
4. BlogSpot/Blogger allows customizable templates including small unobtrusive Google "add-cents" ads which are ALWAYS welcome. Like one of my blogs? Click an add, throw me a nickle. ; )

So for those reasons and many other tiny insignificant ones, unexpected MySpace errors and hyperlink filters included, I bid you farewell and thanks for all the fish!

P.S. If you would like to continue reading my filth, please check out my new location. As always, you are more then welcome, inclined to participate. TheSilentPodium.BlogSpot.com.

The Archives

EDIT:  Fixed that weird DIGG glitch.  Sorry folks.

Well Hello again.

It seems I'm almost posting regularly again doesn't it? I wish that could be the case but no. I just had one free day to type away and I'm taking advantage and posting forward as I like to call it.

My blogs first began on a website called MSN Groups. It then became MSN Spaces but that was a miserable failure. Eventually I started posting on MySpace and that was when I really developed a following with my harsh blogs. By "a following" I mean 5-10 regular readers who were essentially complete strangers to me. To have someone read and care passionately about the words I type is the most flattering thing I could experience and that's why I refer to it as a following. Out of respect for them, not me.

Well MySpace has one foot in the grave and I don't want to lose those blogs so as I think I've mentioned before, I intend to bring those blogs here, comments and all. I have since lost some friends so I will not be able to bring some of those comments along unfortunately. They disappear once we lose our acquaintance. :(

I'm just posting this as a reminder to you all that some of the blogs you will see will be a little out of date so please be patient OK? Some of them might include introductions if I feel they need one.

Thanks again for reading my garbage and I hope you enjoy a look into the unstable beginnings of my blogging habit.

Minor Changes and about the Future of The Silent Podium

I really wish it was easier to post here on Blogger than it is.  I don't really know what Google could do to improve things.  Not much I guess since the entire blogging fad seems to be slowly deminishing.

Its all YouTube and Facebook now.  Instant uploads and mobile editing.  Something Blogger never quite captured.  Sure you can post an e-mail to a blog but the editing and formatting just isn't a pleasant experience.  I used to love uploading photos and content but now the editing time just isn't there.  You can't even expand the compose window in some browsers!

Enough of my whining.  This post was just to let you all know that the format changes were intentional.  Though I loved the look of the blog before, it really wasn't easy on the eyes.  The font was small and the contrast was harsh.  I made some minor changes and went with the updated Blogger templates.  Limited but at least compatible with everything Blogger does.

Hopefully it will be easier to read and a more pleasant experience.  For those of you who still come around.  If anyone is still actually there anymore.  :)

Most of the time I have spent away has stupidly been wasted on Facebook.  The thing is, Facebook offered that ease of use I sought from Blogger.  Quick contact, notifications, responses, mobile support etc. etc.  Here I would get one or two responses, (great ones but still, one or two) and on Facebook I would get a ton.  I created this blog with the intention of it becoming a place to debate, hence the title.  I can do no such thing on Facebook since the people there aren't really the "discourse" type.  More of a "nice pic!" and "I love that restaurant!" type of group. :(

This was a debate blog and debate we did.  It had tremendous success as far as I am concerned.  I know other blogs have done much better but I never imagined something I would do would generate 60,000 hits!  That's amazing and I'm sad to see it in the state that it is currently in.

I will try to post now and again, shorter forms.  None of the long essays I used to do.  (I would still love to but can't.)  Perhaps then I can resurface the prior activity.  This will never be a website that generates revenue but I will at least try to have fun with it.

I hope you will too.

Friend List

This will be a short one.  The only type I have time for anymore unfortunately.

I’ve never been the social sort.  I don’t make friends easily.  I think I am accepting of people and acknowledge that I don’t need to and shouldn’t need to be in order to be social.  So it isn’t that I feel I am going out of my way to be pleasant.  I just don’t attack people for their beliefs or lifestyle.

I lose friends quickly.  Quicker than I can make them unfortunately so I can honestly say that I don’t have a lot of people I can use the term “friend” to describe them.  A “friend” to me is someone you miss and long to see.  Not someone you talk to once in a while or contact only when you need help.

I only long for and miss my immediately family.  Perhaps that can be seen as cold but that is just the way I feel.

Making friends for me is very hard.  Not that I don’t know how.  I just think it takes a lot of work.  A lot of work that I intentionally do not choose to take upon myself.

I was originally going to title this one “Friend Recipe” since it was intended to be what I believe it takes to make and keep friends.  I changed it though because it implies a procedure as most recipes do.  This will not be any formula.  It is more like a list of rules you should follow to make and keep friends.  Since most social network websites keep “friends lists” I liked the play on words and decided to title it as such.

Now on to the list!

• ·         Try to avoid discussing anything serious for more than 5 minutes.
• ·         Never disagree with a friend’s religious beliefs.
• ·         Never share your concerns about a friend’s bad habits.
• ·         Never overstay your welcome.
• ·         Try to avoid being the first to arrive when invited anywhere.
• ·         Try to avoid being the last to leave when invited anywhere.
• ·         Never ask for a favor and only accept help when they show genuine interest in helping.
• ·         Avoid sharing your true opinions about your friend’s likes/dislikes unless you agree with them.
• ·         Always pay for AT LEAST your portion of the meal or event +tip if you are out together.
• ·         Never acknowledge that you know more about anything they do.
• ·         If you leave an event early, never let them know if you are going to another event.
• ·         Never try to gain favor with their friends and/or significant other.
• ·         If your friend’s acquaintances start giving you more attention than they do your friend, leave.
• ·         Aim to spend more on gifts to each other than they do but not by too much.
• ·         Aim to spend less on gifts to a mutual friends and acquaintances than they do, again, not by much.
• ·         Never brag or show pride in anything around them.
• ·         Aim to maintain the same level of excitement they do towards anything.
• ·         …and so on and so forth…

I’m sure by now you understand the relationship environment I’m creating here.  This is NOT to be taken as a set of commandments for all people and for all time.  It is a set of rules you could use to help build that early friendship into something stronger, much later in life.  Eventually, you will be able to share your true self but not until that time is right.

Many friendships fizzle because the rules are broken much too early.

Now you may be thinking, “That’s a pretty shallow person you are trying to make a friendship with.”  Well, we would be lying if we didn’t admit that we are each a little shallow in our own way.  These rules cover many of the bases and establish a vibe you could keep just to be safe.  You never know, that very shallow person could turn into a friend for life once you develop a bond.  That bond though doesn’t come easy and they should not be expected to carry the weight of all your baggage at once as soon as you meet.

What are your thoughts?  Any critical rules you would like to add?