Soapbox Daily

Recently surfacing in the news is the social commentary on the ebb and flow of parenting trends. “Narcissistic Parenting” as it is being called, is an affliction on constructive communities, and an embarrassing example of poor parenting behavior. – “This generation’s take on parenting—overbearing, enabling, overindulgent—is a pendulum swing in the opposite direction from the way they were pa...

Sometimes we look too hard into the future, hoping and praying that tomorrow will be a better day. We resign to “fate”, seeing how it has got its hands all around us. But here is what we are missing when we have such thoughts; we forget to live in the moment we have right now. Life is filled with these moments, in fact, every second is a moment you should fully embrace and live in. As I have said...

Rapid growth in the market for electric vehicles is imperative, to meet global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to improve air quality in urban centres and to meet the needs of consumers, with whom electric vehicles are increasingly popular. However, growing numbers of electric vehicles present a serious waste-management challenge for recyclers at end-of-life. Nevertheless, spent bat...

No one likes picking up someone else’s slack. But when a person you are working with leaves early, misses deadlines, and doesn’t give 100% to a project, it can be difficult to determine the best course of action. Should you confront them about their behavior? Speak to your boss? Or mind your own business? – We’ve all worked with someone who doesn’t pull his own weight — a person who checks F...

Oh oh it is Friday the 13th! Just like walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat or breaking a mirror, many people hold fast to the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. Though it’s uncertain exactly when this particular tradition began, negative superstitions have swirled around the number 13 for centuries. – We couldn’t open an umbrella while inside because it was bad...

How do you define theory? A theory is a carefully thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using the scientific method, and which brings together many facts and hypotheses. – A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that has been repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific meth...

“When children start coloring inside the lines, they’re learning about cause and effect ,”. To color outside the lines is an idiom that means to not follow the rules, to think creatively, to behave in an unconventional manner. – This is our topic for todays episode. Please share your views on our Twitter page @ https://twitter.com/MadSoapbox – Like always this is will be the VERY...

Kevin Smith said it best in his documentary ‘Clerk’ when we said the following: ‘ Live your dreams and say what you wanna say before you leave this world… ’ – Over the course of your life, you’ve listened to people talk on the radio, or seen people talk on the TV, and you’ve said to yourself, or thought to yourself, “I’m smarter than these people, I’m funn...

More and more streaming services are being launched as traditional media conglomerates expand into this area. While we’d see these networks sent their content over to Netflix or Hulu a few years ago, things are exponentially more complicated now. – Whether having so many streaming services is a good or a bad idea is debatable, as there are definitely pros and cons. Thankfully, there ar...

Sorry I missed 2 days of episodes but I was sick and had zero energy. With that it got me thinking of this time of year and the struggles we all go through and what is important for us to stay ‘balanced’ and healthy. – You may go to the doctor to get regular physical checkups of your body, but what about your mind? Everyone deals with tough times, but even happy events like a new...

From Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse , 1786. It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse’s nest. In todays vocabulary we often use the phrase ‘The best laid schemes of mice and men’ and as todays episode is about ‘Planning’ we are using it in its modern use. Today we are talking about ‘planning’ and mainly ‘planning ahead’...

Another year and new starts. Let’s make 2023 start off better then previous years. No storming and laying siege to capital cities or locations. Anyone uses the word ‘Freedom’ run away because it is a false flag. Try to have Integrity this year everyone and be the best we can be but with intelligence and empathy. – 10 points to start a New 2023: 1) Make a new start on yourself 2) Work on area...

I can’t believe it is almost 2023! How time flies! Everyone has had different experiences in 2022, some good, some bad. But despite these differences, as we ring in the New Year 2023, it will be a great opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning for everyone. So, do you know what things to do to start the new year right in 2023? – If the past year was good for you, you should continue...

Stop Romanticizing the Holidays – Movies, popular culture and social media often romanticize and set ideas of what the holidays are supposed to look like. When you’re feeling pressure to cook the perfect meal, decorate a beautiful holiday home or spend enough money to get a gift, you often set yourself up for increased stress and anxiety. You might also have a home where tension and difficul...

The Power Of The Smile – A smile appears to have this strange, incomprehensible power. When you start your day with a smile, it’s hard to be down, angry, or overly stressed. Your mood almost immediately changes from gloomy to optimistic. – Even when you find yourself having to force it, smiling does wonders for your psyche. It lifts you up; it dissipates the fog of a groggy, weary...

We’ve all watched animated movies and sitcoms where friendships seem to last forever. And deep down, we’ve wanted that. – We’ve wanted to have best friends: We can rely on in times of need Who never leave no matter what We can share everything with But life doesn’t work that way. – Minor misunderstandings come up or friends just seem to fade away if we don’t put in the constant effort....

Although Christmas is meant to be a happy and joyful time, this isn’t how everyone feels at this time of the year. Christmas can be a stressful and depressing time for many people. –          Some people find that the Christmas spirit can be undermined by: financial and time pressures isolation family tensions separation and divorce bereavem...

This time of year always brings with it a feel-good movie or three. As families brave the snowy temps and the queues both online and at shopping malls for gifts and stocking stuffers, there’s nothing better than taking a break in the warm glow of the silver screen (or your TV). Well, that, and some popcorn. Lots of popcorn. This holiday season, Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, and Santa Claus himself are on...

No one sets out in life to fail. But the reality is that far too many do fail. Why do some prosper while others struggle just to exist? There is no simple answer to that question. – Please allow me to share a sequence of events you can begin to put in place starting today that can work for you. That may not only shed some light into this complex issue but perhaps, even help you climb your la...

It’s human nature to take things for granted when they’re present and value them when they’re gone. ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER. I can never seem to understand that; we all know better yet we all seem to take everything for granted until it’s too late – then we start wishing we had done otherwise. –          T...

Tipping gives the waiter an incentive to provide better service. Waiters are paid less than minimum wage and need the money. – Whether you have worked in the restaurant industry or not, you probably appreciate just how hard servers work to provide fast service in a friendly and helpful manner. Tips are a tangible way to show your server just how much you appreciated their hard work to make y...

Unruly airline passengers, disorderly customers, reckless drivers—there have been some disheartening stories (to say the least) of people acting out in public. So what gives? Why does it seem like everyone is filled with such rage? – “In the context of this prolonged pandemic, people are experiencing a broad range of difficult emotions, including anxiety, worry, sadness, despair and guilt,”....

Only answer calls/texts from known numbers. If you answer a call from an unknown number, hang up immediately. If you answer the phone and the caller or recording asks you to select a button or number to stop receiving the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets. – Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered “yes”...

While bottled water has a “healthy,” “pure” image, it is less regulated than tap water and significantly more expensive. Tap water is stored in reservoirs and carried into homes and offices through pipes; it is managed by local municipalities. Bottled water is packaged in plastic bottles and sold in stores. It includes water used in water coolers. – Although some bottled water comes from spr...

For most people, the holiday season is a time for giving. But for fraudsters and scammers, it’s a time for taking. Police are reminding people to be aware of a dozen common scams during the holiday season. – Police say they have investigated several gift card scams, offers involving bank loans and credit line scams, and emergency gift card scams in the last few weeks. – Most scam...