Minds Wandering

As I make my bi-weekly pilgrimage through reading blog posts, I realize that I haven't posted on here in a while, and I apologize.

I have had writing on other blogs taking up my time, but don't get me wrong...I haven't run out of things to complain about on here.

But after a while I would just start to sound repetitive, and voicing the same things over and over. And while I have issues, I just don't tend to vent myself often, and that is another reason why this blog has been long dormant.

Should I start things back up here? Will the minds come back to their home base? Will the one finally decide to say yes?

Those are all really hard questions, with no answers in sight.

The Delusion of Privacy

These days there is a big deal being made on a lot of breaches in security.

From the NSA and Eric Snowden, to Google Glass, to the NYPD storing data, it's becoming an issue to a lot of people.

But I say: WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?!

On a daily basis, you use tools that are provided to you by companies, which can be used in much deeper ways than we can imagine.

Sure, Google Glass is an issue to some, since now you never know when someone may take a picture of you doing stupid.

But remember last week, when you picked your nose on the street corner, thinking no one saw?

Hate to break it to you, but 3 security cameras in store doorways, and one dashboard camera, all saw it, recorded it, and there is nothing you will ever be able to do about that!

Or what about the fact that on Google Maps we can now zoom in so close that we can see people sunbathing in their backyards on satellite view.

And if that is what they are letting us see...imagine what the satellites can really see!

What's that? You also ordered the "Spy Case" that came with cereal boxes as a kid? You know the one I mean, the one with a device to let you pick up sounds across the room.

Well just imagine what spending more than $3.99 on S/H can get you? What if you spent $399 on it? Chances are you can probably hear the sounds of hearts breaking all around the world as Adam Levine announced he was engaged.

Whilst anonymity on these blogs has been a hot topic on this blog and others in the past...just realize that Google knows who you are :) Sure you made a pseudonym to start this account...but you signed into it on the exact same computer that you signed into your real account...and you've done that 629 times before, all within a minute of each other. Odds are, you are the same person.

In this day and age, nothing is private anymore, at least not for long.

Just ask two guys named Spitzer, and appropriately, Wiener.

Blogaversary

I was going to ignore it altogether...but really, my life has changed a little bit with all of you in it.

So to my 89 posts, 12,000+ Page Views, and those 9 special followers...

Thank you.

Without you guuuuuuuuuuuuu

10,000 Page Views

Not much to say in this post...except that when I started blogging, less than a year ago...I never thought I would have 1,000 page views, let alone 10,000.

So this is just me blowing that little paper horn that people use for New Years, in celebration of a mini milestone.

So thanks for all the reads, people of the internet!

The Dark Side

I sense the Dark Side is lifting its head...and a storm is coming.

A storm that will lead to the war, to end all wars.

One that will bring out the fiercest of all.

And the filth that inhabits the Earth will come crawling out of its hole.

Only to get smitten by the sword that it brandished.

Evil can never win.

Evil shall never win.

Only the strongest will survive.

Mr. Google

So, like every obsessive blogger, I check my stats once in a while.

Simple things, that blogger generally provides me with. Things like, "Page Views", "Most Popular", etc.

But then I found a website that can tell me where I rank in Google Searches, based on different search queries.

Some of my posts, I was fairly surprised, when it would give me the ranking, it would say: "Your page is ranked #19 in this query".

19!!!! Yes, I am starting to make a dent in this world.

But then I got a real shocker...one of my pages came up listed as "Your page is ranked #1 in this query."

#1!!!!

NUMBERO FREAKIN' UNO!!!

Granted it was on Google.uk and not Google.com, but still, I'm impressed. :)

I just wish I knew who some of the people reading my posts are...because the ones getting the most reads, are all people I would love to have a conversation with.

Keep Waiting for the Switch

Religion or Happiness?

There are some lines that we hear over and over throughout our lives.

     - “Don’t worry, be happy.”

     -  “Live life to the fullest.”

We are also told our whole lives, especially in the Orthodox Jewish community, do everything according to the letter of the law, and keep religion at the forefront.

Well, what happens when these two things don’t meet?

Do you give up happiness? Or do you slowly let religion slip away?

My personal opinion = Live life to the fullest, don’t worry about anything else, be happy, and if you have to bend the laws of religion a little, then so be it.

I know, I know, I’m going to have a lot of you up in arms over that statement, saying that religion has to mean the most, and you need to sacrifice for it…and I agree.

Most of us sacrifice a lot for religion, such as having to go out of our way to get kosher food, which also costs more.  Not working on Shabbos (the Sabbath). At the same time, not hanging out/talking with secular friends on that day (since you can’t text/email/call them).

But at the same time, some things that you are/aren’t allowed to do, make you miserable, and prevent you from enjoying life.

So I wonder: Does religion want you to follow it and be miserable? Or do they want you to follow it, as long as you are somewhat happy?

No one is perfect; we all make mistakes, religiously. And most of the time, some of us regret those mistakes.

Overall, I’m sure most of my readers are religious, and keep most, if not all, of the laws that they possibly could.

But I’m curious how many of them bend the laws once in a while, and which laws those are; and if your anonymity isn’t enough for you to say it, then post anonymously, and not under a pseudonym.

Even the slightest of things, so that we can begin to see what the issues are amongst us, especially since after my last post, people doubted what actions people do/don’t do.

Hopefully I’ll hear enough back, to talk more on these subjects.

And remember, I'm a nobody, and nobody is perfect. Therefore I am perfect.

Topics Topics Topics

So, after my first post yesterday, I soon started to realize, that doing a first post, and starting a blog, was easy…its keeping it going that’s the hard part.

So in my conversations with a few people that read it, aka: the comments, I tried to get a feel for what people wanted to hear.

And what did I learn?

That no one can get along with each other, and everyone wants something different. Which I guess is what makes the internet so appealing. You get everything on here: From social networks to news sites; from information to uselessness; from Sesame Street for Adults, to Porn for Children (or is it the other way around? I never remember).

So I said then, I would discuss anything and everything that anyone wanted to read about, because if I didn’t, what would be the point of a Wondering Mind? (Shameless self-promotion, I know, but the name is only good if it’s used.)

One blogger, who we won’t name, but we will call ‘Altie’ (sorry, I don’t do anonymity on this site, except for myself J ), suggested wisely:

“When you put your mind to it, you suddenly start seeing things to write about. Interesting things that happen to you that day. And you find yourself thinking, ‘That was so funny/interesting/ridiculous that I just HAVE to share it on my blog.’”

And to that I say: Nope. As mentioned in my first post, which if you haven’t read by now, I highly suggest you do (as you can still see, I love the self-promotions), anonymity is key to a great blog in which you talk about others, religious observances/deviances from religion, and the likes, because if you get too specific on things you see or happen to you, your hidden identity start to fall apart. While it may be a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, it is still able to get put together.

As for another users comment, who from here forth shall be known as ‘Sarah’, she said “Talk about dating! Girls are constantly talking about dating and we wanna hear it from the guys perspective.” Sarah, I’m sure it will come up in topics from time to time, because it’s one that is hard to stay away from. But if you have something specific that should be spoken about, or want to hear addressed, just say what it is, and I’ll promise to do a post on it.

And I offer that out to anyone else that reads this post, if you want me to talk about something, no matter what it is, just tell me the topic, and what it is specifically you have issues with/want to hear about it, and I’ll write a post about it.

And always remember, that if you go to a toga party, dressed as a goat, you might be dyslexic.

Anonymity of the Interwebs

Many people go online every day. Using profiles and names that all the friends and people they know, are familiar with.

And then there are the rest of us…the unknowns…those that will write stuff, and remain secretive about their identity.

But how secret is your identity?

Little things written in blogs, such as:

-         My birthday is tomorrow…

or

-         I went to _____ for school for 12 years…

All spoil your identity.

Those that know you, even in the faintest ways, can suddenly understand who you are, and know who the real you is, losing your fake identity.

Recently Baby Carrot wrote a new blog, talking about setting people up, for dating and marriage, using only information that he/she has garnered from the blogs.

Are these all viable options?

Will Masculine Jew and Thinking Jew Girl get together? Probably not.

Does The Unconventional Bochur now have a thing for Musings? Again, probably not.

But if we explore the reasoning's behind Baby Carrot's actions, maybe he/she has a point? The fake wall you are putting up, is really similar to your real self.

Maybe these secret identities are not so secret to yourself, because it is the real you.

Many of you may wonder who I am...and that's alright. That's half the fun of the game known as "Anonymity of the Interwebs".

But until I am ready to reveal myself, I can guarantee to remain anonymous.

Because I, I'm the real Batman.