Day: July 12, 2023

Simply 6 Minutes — A Solution to the Confusion

Fandango9 Comments

The town council met to try to address the problem of people getting lost. Apparently the road sign in the center of town left something to be desired as visitors struggled to follow the complex directions. They decided to set up a committee to study the problem.

“We need to take action,” the chairman of the sign committee said.

“Hear, hear!” parroted one member of the committee.

“I couldn’t agree more,” said another.

“We need a change-of-pace,” said a third.

After months of meetings, the sign committee finally came up with a solution. They published an article in the town newsletter and titled it, “Our Road Sine (sic) Solution.” It said that the solution to the confusion would be unveiled at the public square where the offending sign was on Saturday at 3:00 pm.

All the townsfolk gathered at the square on Saturday and were eager to see the tarp lifted from the sign. The chairman of the sign committee welcomed everyone and said he hoped they would be pleased with the new sign. He counted out, “One, two, three,” and the tarp was lifted.

There was an audible gasp from all of the townsfolk. And then everyone broke into a big cheer when they saw the new and improved road sign. “Good Luck!” someone yelled out. “Brilliant!” the others said.

Written for Christine Bialczak’s Simply 6 Minutes Challenge. Also for these daily word prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (struggle), The Daily Spur (follow), Fandango’s One Word Challenge (committee), Ragtag Daily Prompt (parrot), My Vivid Blog (change-of-pace), and Word of the Day Challenge (sic).

WDP — Keeping My Cool

Fandango20 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?
View all responses

We are in the middle of yet another heatwave where I live. Hence, my strategy for increasing my comfort in my daily life for the duration of this period of 95 to 100+ degree days is simple: air conditioning.

So go away and don’t bother me before I lose my cool.

Four Line Fiction — Lost Bet

Fandango8 Comments

This is not how you would expected to find me, is it?

I usually crack the shells of these things — I think they call them eggs — and then suck down the delicious contents.

But here I am wrapped all around this egg like a babysitter, protecting it from coming to harm, especially from me.

All because I lost that damn bet with the hen.

Written for Greg’s Four Line Fiction un prompt. Photo credit: Peter Dazeley / Getty Images.

One-Liner Wednesday — Women Are Crazy

Fandango11 Comments

“Here’s all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid.”

George Carlin, American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, and author

Written for Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt. Photo credit: HuffPost.com

Fandango’s Provocative Question #222

Fandango21 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

I just read an article that Threads, Meta’s Twitter competitor, hit 100 million sign-ups over the weekend, less than a week after its launch. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said it is “mostly organic demand,” as the company hasn’t “turned on many promotions yet.”

Elon Musk’s Twitter does appear to be taking a bit of a hit. During the first two full days Threads was available, Twitter traffic was down 5% compared to the same two days of the previous week. Looking at year over year numbers, Twitter traffic was down 11%. Twitter said that in June, it had about 535 million monthly active users.

Threads users must also have an Instagram account, which Meta said has more than 2 billion monthly users.

And that brings me to this week’s provocative question.

Are you currently on Twitter? Have you heard of Threads and are you likely to open up a Threads account? If so, will you maintain your Twitter account or will you move exclusively to Threads?

In the interest of full discloses, I do not have a Twitter account and I have no interest in setting up a Threads account.

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ 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. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.