Tried With Fire

and I don't want to think about dead raccoons. Artist: Kit Lane Title: Jabba the Hutt, the early days Medium: 99.99% Wool, Glass Eyes, Beads, and Cotton Floss Size: 7"x5" From the Stitch Wars craft exhibit (Disclaimer:I only looked through the craft pictures so I can't vouch for the pictures of the exhibit opening.) (Painting by Nick Jones) Hello Kitty has gone over to the dark side. "Emma, I am your father."

This sounds like the badly translated title of a Japanese B movie, but this is what happened to my fiber optic internet service today. I lost internet mid-morning. Everything had been fine until then. I checked the outside unit and it seemed to be in order. Then I noticed that the "Internet" light on the router was red. I called Verizon. They diagnosed what they could remotely and then sent some technicians to check it out. The router had been replaced before so I figured that was the most likely solution. It turns out that very, very large black ants had infiltrated the fiber optic cable box on the telephone pole. The technician said when he opened the box, "Really big, black ants started pouring out." Ewwwwww! He then said they had eaten through the cable. Thinking it was only one spot, he thought they could splice it. As they began to pull the cable out of the box, it came out in little bits and pieces. Who knows how long they've been dining on the cable? I g...

Disclaimer: No theological content in this post I like to read cookbooks. Although I enjoy comfort food the best, both to eat and prepare, it's fun reading about gourmet or exotic dishes that I know I would never prepare. I was at the library this afternoon and happened upon the following cookbook: This cookbook was published in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Twinkie. I had no idea Twinkies had been around that long. Did you know that the original filling was banana and it was changed to vanilla during World War II because of a shortage of bananas? Anyway, these are real recipes, not gag ones (no pun intended), that were submitted by people who actually made made them and liked them. Personally, I don't like Twinkies. They're too sweet for me. Also, there's something unnatural about a product that has a creme filling but does not need refrigeration. It's like the dessert equivalent of Cheese Whiz. But I did check the book out for curiosity's sake. There ...

I love Jane Austen. I find her writing style and dry sense of humor so refreshing. At one time, I was reading her six novels every year. After reading less than stellar contemporary fiction, a little Austen is the perfect thing to cleanse the literary palate. Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest novels of the English language. There are fan fiction sites where devoted JA fans can continue that timeless story line or adapt it to suit themselves. In my case, I am writing a parody of Pride and Prejudice, adding a little Calvinism versus Arminianism theological zest to the story. I am hoping to write a bit every day, so come by Parsley in Hyperspace for your dose of Calvinistic Jane Austen. (I hope she's not rolling in her grave 'cause I think she was C of E.)

This is from guinea pig jamboree . (My daughter said I shouldn't post such weird things on a more serious-ish blog. But, I have a strange side, too.)

I wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo 2006. The story was a combination of Doctor Who and Jane Austen fan fiction. The Doctor, in his Chris Eccleston regeneration, takes a new companion to a Jane Austen virtual reality theme park in the 35th century that is being sabotaged by unknown enemies. There is a minor tribute to the mice of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, my pet bunnies make a cameo appearance, as does the mafia and Interpol. The Daleks and the Slitheens show up as some of the villains. Davros proposes to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Sadly, he is rejected and is destined to nurse a broken heart the rest of his life. All in all, it was a very strange story and did not take itself seriously but I did get my 50000 words completed by November 30. My daughter read my novel last week and thought it was a hoot. I don't think she knew how odd my humor could be. She has come up with an idea for another story where we both go on the Tardis with the Doctor and Rose. We haven't de...