Day: September 3, 2019

A Bigger Not Better Rant

Fandango12 Comments

3C93F024-4024-4AB1-9D65-B951FD0FDBFFI don’t know if you can read the fine print on the lower right corners of these two boxes of Special K cereal. In case you can’t, both boxes say “NET WT 12 OZ (340g).” But the box on the right is about an inch and a half taller than the one on the left.

When I ran out of Special K cereal yesterday morning, I went to the grocery store to get another box, along with some other groceries while there. I noticed that the Special K box seemed to be larger than it was before, but I thought maybe it was just my imagination. Until, that is, I got home, unpacked my grocery bags, and went to put my new box of Special K onto the shelf where I keep my cereal. The box was too tall to fit. A taller box, but the same volume of cereal as the smaller box that it replaced.

What’s that all about? Is it intended to deceive the consumer into thinking they’re getting more for their money? Well, if they don’t bother to read the package to see that the smaller box and the larger box have the same net weight of cereal, they might conclude that they’re getting more cereal in the bigger box. But they’re not. It’s just the same amount of cereal in a larger box.

I’ve reached out to Kellogg’s to try get to the bottom of this. Why package the exact same amount of cereal in a larger box if it’s not to give the false impression that the buyer of Special K is getting more cereal? I haven’t yet heard back from Kellogg’s, and I probably won’t.

But if nothing else, this whole episode has demonstrated to me that I clearly have too much time on my hands. And also that size matters.

Photo Challenge — Making Everyone Happy

Fandango7 Comments

48CC415B-230F-4EAE-B75F-D91A3C85CC54David fancied himself an artist. He was also a science fiction fanatic and was convinced that, with pen in hand, he could create fantastic sci-fi graphic novels.

And so David dropped out of college and moved back into his childhood home with his parents. He essentially took over the basement of their house to use as his graphic novel studio and spent most of his time down there drawing and sketching.

But when David turned 30 and was still living in his parents’ basement, they had finally had enough. They tried to persuade David to scrap his dreams of publishing his graphic novel comic books and to find himself a real job.

“David,” his father said, “I know you’re sincere in your desire to be a successful graphic novelist. And I do believe you’ve shown that you’re wicked talented, but it’s time to use some common sense and find a real job.”

Of course, David balked and expressed how disappointed he was that his own parents had such little faith in his ability to achieve his dreams.

So his father and mother put their heads together to see if they could come up with a plan that would rectify this situation.

A few months later, they called David up from the basement. His father said to him, “Your mother and I have devised a solution that we believe will make everyone happy. You know those two acres of undeveloped land we have in the foothills about an hour north of here?”

“Yeah, what about it?” David asked.

His father handed David a photograph of what looked like a fusion of a yellow submarine and a flying saucer. “We just finished building this tiny house for you on that land. It’s got a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, and some studio space for your drawings. It’s got electric service, water, heat, and air conditioning. We even set it up for internet service and WiFi.”

“Wow, Dad, this is fantastic,” David said. “How can I possibly thank you and Mom?”

“Easy, son,” his father said. “Move out of our basement as soon as possible.”

Written for this week’s Photo Challenge from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie. Photo credit: Tom Blachford. Also for these daily prompts: Daily Addictions (pen), Ragtag Daily Prompt (scrap), Your Daily Word Prompt (sincere), Word of the Day Challenge (wicked), The Daily Spur (common), and Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (rectify).

It’s No Mystery

Fandango15 Comments

9E95848E-447A-488F-BE19-7D204E602352Yes, it’s no mystery why Leigha Robbins was nominated for the Mystery Blog Award. After all, that award is presented to amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blogs not only captivate; they inspire and motivate. They are some of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion. And all that describes Leigha to a T.

Rather than nominating specific bloggers for the award, Leigha wrote, “So one and all join in on the fun, answer some questions and share a blog! You have been nominated!”

And then Leigha posed these five questions, which I will now endeavor to answer:

Do you like your middle name?

Alas, Fandango Fivedotoh has no middle name, but if you wish to refer to me as “Fandango NMN Fivedotoh,” I will not object.

Have you ever been a witness to a crime?

Yes. It’s a crime every time I see Donald Trump on TV, where he tells lie after lie.

What is your favorite sport?

I know many people think that baseball is about as exciting as watching paint dry, but I loves me my Major League Baseball (except when the Yankees are winning). 

Have you ever sang karaoke?

Yes, and I think I cleared the room.

If you could travel anywhere free of charge where would you go?

Around the world in 80 days.DF13B15E-3854-4E6E-869B-F6CDE210156B

Twittering Tales — Her Biggest Payday

Fandango9 Comments

6558AF3B-15D4-4EBE-83EF-112730E865B7She goes by }{4/V/V4, which is Leet Speak for Hanna. She’s the most accomplished hacker on the globe. She never fails and she is in high demand for both legitimate purposes as well as nefarious ones.

But her biggest payday came when she hacked the IRS for Trump’s tax returns.

(275 characters)

Written for this week’s Twittering Tales prompt from Kat Myrman. Photo credit: Geralt at Pixabay.com.

FOWC with Fandango — Rectify

Fandango26 Comments

FOWCWelcome to September 3, 2019 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “rectify.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.