Posted in In my humble opinion...

The Garden Dawdler-4/16/23 Be Yourself

Here we go with the questions:

Are you utterly minimalistic in your lifestyle, an absolute clutterer hoarder, or just messy?

I am a clutter bug who knows exactly where everything is on most occasions. Organization is IMHO its own artform but NOT for me. If I know where things are I have little interest in the time it takes to be, or maintain being, organized.
I’ve had to reduce the kinds of clutter since I retired from day care in order to add new kinds. Playpens, tons of markers and crayons, and paperwork from those days are mostly gone. The likelihood of homeschooling my granddaughter again (I’m thrilled about that.) keeps me clinging to maps and articles for use in that purpose though.
The day care kids, and I, created parade costumes and handmade gifts for years by recycling household paper waste. That too is gone. But the clutter continues with my new projects and interests.
According to many psychologists, people who have a tendency to be ‘messy’ are more creative and likely have higher “outside of the box” levels of intelligence. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! LOL

For any other ‘untidy’ person who needs a defense, here’s an article about messy people.
https://www.rd.com/list/messy-people/

Do you prefer to sit on a chair, cushion, bench, floor or something else for comfort and which?

It would depend upon for how long. The older I get the more padding I like my sitting spot to have. But I will sit awkwardly contorted on occasion to avoid disturbing the dog’s life of luxury. 😀

What is the most challenging part of your writing process?

Trying not to be too political. My mind gravitates toward the pressing problems of today and since every single topic (purposely) has an element of politicization, it is hard to avoid. Speaking about it helps me come to terms with it. Those who feel assaulted by contrary opinions IMHO have made conclusions. I need to put more thought into my opinions since I’m cautiously unsure if there is a correct answer. But since my blog is almost entirely for my granddaughters’ benefit, I don’t feel any pressure not to express my opinion on topics I deem important and feel strongly about. I enjoy the following and friends I’ve made here. The ultra-sensitive types have courteously culled themselves for the most part. Seems only the ‘grown-ups’ are left, and I like that.
BUT we are all individuals who have hearts and minds for other more fanciful topics, and I want that to be a part of my blog too.

Do you think you are an addictive or non-addictive personality?

My propensity to get distracted [LOOK a squirrel! LOL] seems to indicate that I don’t dwell or get hyper-focused on anything. I even stopped blogging for two years awhile back.

Do you feel in any way, shape or form threatened by the arrival of AI [Artificial Intelligence] opportunities or welcome the progression into your life with ease?

There’s a lot of buzz about it and I’ve lived through the Y2K and Covid-19 hysteria, so I don’t know what to think. I DO know I don’t have any influence on what will happen. As all human inventions have a good use and a bad use, I’m sure it will present an interesting new era for mankind. Trusting anything we see or hear on electronic devices will be the dangerous part. Perhaps, word of mouth and real-life observations will return to their pre-computer status?
More than ever, our children need to be taught to think critically for their own survival.
As for dangers arising, mankind has always innovated counter moves when presented with danger. We have the capacity to handle evil practices as they arise, but the scarier question is “Will we have the freedom to innovate and solve them?”
Maintaining FREEDOM is essential to our future. It’s slipping through our fingers in the guise of a Global Utopian Reset and I hope we correct that course very soon!

What subjects or topics inspire you to create the most concerning your writing?

Children are always my focus whether it’s observing their innocence or protecting their futures, they are what’s most important to me.

When was the last time you walked through a graveyard?

Frequently. My whole backyard has a cemetery property that adjoins it. The children and I have roamed through it taking note of the stories there. Many soldiers and young children from the 1800s are buried there. Tragic tales of whole young families succumbing to illness are there. The perspective of seeing the difficult times that preceded us, makes us grateful to be alive today. All of these “scares” about people’s feelings being assaulted don’t carry as much weight and seriousness when you get a glimpse of true dangerous and difficult times when life itself was the daily struggle.

What are your top five favourite flowers?

White wild phlox are my personal favorites. They remind me of my grandmother’s house in the summer.
Seasonal ones like lilacs, wild azaleas (known as swamp pinks), and peonies come next. Their appearance marks the progression of Spring.
And Chrysanthemums that explode and persevere at the onset and into the Autumn season with colors that define that time of year.

What would you say would be your writing quirk?

It seems that writing with pure honesty is a modern day ‘quirk’. Not trying to please, or align with, anyone in particular is easier than it appears when you’re confident about your own values and intentions.



https://earthlycomforts.uk/2023/04/15/the-garden-dawdler-4/

Posted in Writing Prompts

The Unicorn Challenge-April 7, 2023- Fallen Gods

Since the AI takeover of all information in 2026, the handful of elite world-conquering human handlers of it were ready to take their divine role to a new level.
By 2028, flawless humanoid robots were sent out among the populations to gather intelligence on how widely the goal of one-minded subservient complacency had taken hold.
But covertly polling the public held an unforeseen obstacle. No one would interact with them because they all had long ceased interacting with each other. Every place people congregated there was free Wi-Fi meant to capture their attention and control their minds on their (now free) handheld devices. And if there were countable factions who still resisted the imposed mind-numbing ideology, all those rebels had to do is pretend that they were also captives of devices while in public.
In a ‘shock and awe’ bold decision, the robots were ordered to strip off their ‘people’ disguises hoping to shake the zombified-human consciousnesses back to reality at the sight of such ‘alien’ beings in their midst.
Not surprisingly, those AI ‘beings’ had taken a unique pride in their own cleverness and superiority having been endowed with hubris by their Creators. They took it hard, one might say ‘personally’, when no one even took notice of them.
One by one, they collapsed in humiliated despair and passers-by simply stepped around them where they fell.

227-words

Posted in In my humble opinion...

Sunday Dawdle- 1/29/23 Who we are.

Rory, as usual, has offered a few interesting questions.



Should we fear the arrival of more progressive AI [Artificial Intelligence] or embrace it?

As with most things, cautious fascination is my default.
It’s the same way I approach thunderstorms.
They are wonderous, awe-inspiring, events but shouldn’t be met with careless disregard for their dangerous capability.
Given that…my worry mainly lies with the ‘all for profit’ type of human innovators who time-after-time throw caution to the wind.
A quote from Jurassic Park that fits this well is, “The scientists were so concerned with whether they COULD, they never asked if they SHOULD.”

How much time do you spend sitting each day?

Sometimes a lot (reading or blogging) and sometimes so little (from gardening or doing errands) that my body aches. I guess that balances out over time as a healthy lifestyle.

What is your proudest accomplishment?
[Having Children not included] 

Being an excellent childcare provider. I built a wonderful reputation and took my role of inspiring and teaching kids farther than what some might consider “babysitting”.
Kindergarten teachers approached me on a few occasions expressing how well prepared and skilled ‘my kids’ were and knowing new kids each September had spent their ‘tender years’ under my tutelage made them happy. Some family members of ‘my kids’ have also reached out to tell me how pleased they were by what they had noticed the kids had learned. That included manners, life-skills, and being curious.

Are/Were you the youngest, middle, oldest or only child?

I have been interested in ‘birth order’ theory for a long time. Some psychologists believe that one’s birth order plays a crucial role in each of our personalities. The little day care ‘families’ (keep in mind that many of the kids spent more wakeful hours with me than at home) that grew up in my care often scrambled that dynamic by placing ‘oldest’ children in a group where they were the ‘youngest’, and so on.
I was all in on “Birth Order Theory” at one time. And I DO think birth order plays a part in the rate at which kids mature. BUT, after years of my own curious study, I’m now convinced that most of our temperament and natural inclinations come from inborn tendencies. Our DNA has done much of the decision making. I could go on and on about my real-life observations, but I’ll spare you. LOL

I am the oldest child of three. I was also the oldest grandchild on BOTH sides. I got a slathering of attention for sure.



https://earthlycomforts.uk/2023/01/29/a-wild-aloha-to-you-8/