The Wednesday Hodgepodge #64

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." Sam Keen. Do you feel less guilty relaxing in July than you do in January? Elaborate.

I definitely feel less guilty about relaxing in July than I do in January. It feels OK and acceptable to slow down in the summer, the days are longer, the weather is usually nicer and over the last month or so here it's been too hot to do anything majorly productive. The less I move, the better. hehehe Tea over the last couple of weeks has been quick and easy instead of standing in the hot kitchen and sitting outside feels like I am making the most of the nice weather instead of wasting my time. January feels different with the new year, new start mentality. January is all about being busy. You see reminders to get organised, eat better, lose weight and exercise more. I always feel like I should be busy in January, ticking things off my to-do list and it's exhausting compared to the summer months.

2. What's a telltale sign you're upset?

I go quiet! I keep everything to myself and overthink it all. The people who know me best can usually tell something isn't right as soon as I am giving one-word answers. I sometimes think that it would be better for me to get it all out by shouting and screaming and have it all done with instead of me dwelling on things!

3. July 16th is National AI Day. What are your general thoughts and/or experiences with AI? Have you purposely used it? Does it excite you, scare you, or worry you? What do you see as a benefit? How about something relating to AI you see as a negative?

My thoughts on AI are a bit mixed. I use it almost every day now and I probably use it more than Google. If I need ideas for a blog post, want help fixing something around the house or have a random question pop into my head, AI is usually the first place I go instead of searching through lots of websites trying to find the answer, I can ask one question and get a straightforward answer. It saves a lot of time. I also use AI to create images for the top of my blog posts and random things like the image of the trifle below.

On the other hand, AI worries me! It is scary what it can do and how realistic it can be when it comes to creating photos, videos and voices. I have seen videos of people doing or saying things that they would never do and things like that could be so dangerous if they are used in the wrong way! It's sometimes so hard to tell what's real and what's fake. Ellie has been applying for jobs and AI is used a lot in the process for some companies. She had a conversation with AI who decided she wasn't suitable for a job but I feel that if she had been talking to a real person she would have been able to explain that, yes, she wasn't great at a certain thing but still had so much to offer. I always think back to watching the Terminator movies where AI took over, became self-aware and sees humanity as a threat. I know it is just fiction, it's just a movie but I feel like that is where we are heading. AI is going to take over.

4. You're invited to a summer pot luck and are asked to bring an appetizer, salad/side, or dessert. Which category do you go for and what are you bringing?

I would choose dessert. There will always be people who say they're too full after the main meal but somehow they'll still find room for dessert! I think I would bring a homemade trifle.

It's one of those classic desserts that always reminds me of family get-togethers. I'd make it with layers of sponge cake, strawberry jelly, custard, whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate flakes on top. Trifle is a fun dessert, it's colourful, easy to serve and always looks way more impressive than it actually is.

5. It wouldn't be summer without___________________.

Me complaining about the heat! Every single year, in winter, when I'm wrapped up in a blanket, wearing three layers, I convince myself that I would happily live somewhere hot all year round. Now here we are in the summer and it has been hot here, much hotter than what we're used to and it has felt like all I have done is complain about it. We don't have air conditioning so it feels like the house is a greenhouse and I am being slow cooked. I've not able to get comfortable in bed no matter how many times I turn the pillow over, so I am moody because of the lack of sleep! The other week, when it was a really hot day, I went to get dressed, putting 3/4 length leggings on and I was that done with the heat and being sweaty I said no and put loose fitting pjs on. I've been having 3 showers a day some days just to cool off and we have gone through so many ice cubes.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

England are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup and they play tonight against Argentina! Eek! We've not had much luck against them in the past. There was the infamous 1996 Hand of God goal, where Maradona punched the ball into the net and the sending off of David Beckham in 1998, where we lost on penalties. During this tournament, I have seen favouritism being shown to Argentina, especially when they played against Egypt and Switzerland. I don't hate Argentina, they have an amazing team, it just feels like they are the chosen ones and referees have been easy on them!