New Confused on some stuff

[himan]

Hey Guys, thanks to all the devs for the tremendous amount of work they've done. I just have a few questions...

1) What is buildOS and what is it used for?
2) What is a Kitchen, what is it used for, and how's it different from BuildOS?
3) Why are there 'stock roms' available? Is this so you can individually add back the stock sprint programs to a custom rom?
4) what does hardSPL mean?
5) My phone is unlocked. How do I put on a REALLY clean/minimal/FAST rom with no programs, and individually add programs that I like on there (this is called cooking right?) Would I use a kitchen or buildOS?


Thanks guys. Most likely the answers to 1,2 will answer 5 (oh and I tried to look for all this, but the "General Please read this first (very important) thread is very uninformative, and there's no FAQ :<)