goption http://goption.com Brian's blog Thu, 10 May 2012 17:41:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Fun With Words: Contronyms http://goption.com/2012/05/fun-with-words-contronyms/ http://goption.com/2012/05/fun-with-words-contronyms/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 17:41:07 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2536 Fun With Words: Contronyms.

The word contronym (also antagonym) is used to refer to words that, by some freak of language evolution, are their own antonyms.

  • custom - usual, special
  • dust - add fine particles, remove fine particles
  • fast - quick, unmoving
]]> http://goption.com/2012/05/fun-with-words-contronyms/feed/ 0 Shades of Milk and Honey http://goption.com/2012/04/shades-of-milk-and-honey/ http://goption.com/2012/04/shades-of-milk-and-honey/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:41:46 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2530 I finished Shades of Milk and Honey, a Regency-era fantasy by Mary Robinette Kowal today. The story has all the things you want in a historical fantasy — sympathetic leads, a plot that holds your interest, and fantasy elements that don't intrude on the storytelling.

My rating:

]]> http://goption.com/2012/04/shades-of-milk-and-honey/feed/ 0 The Sun Over Breda http://goption.com/2012/04/the-sun-over-breda/ http://goption.com/2012/04/the-sun-over-breda/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:13:55 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2517 I finished The Sun Over Breda, the third book in the Captain Alatriste series by Arturo Perez-Reverte, today at lunch.

Inigo and the Captain are in Breda, fighting for their king against the Dutch heretics. Bravery, honor, and imperfection -- and a really good story.

My rating:

"Surrender of Breda" by Diego Velazquez

]]> http://goption.com/2012/04/the-sun-over-breda/feed/ 0 The Morning News Tournament of Books http://goption.com/2012/04/the-morning-news-tournament-of-books/ http://goption.com/2012/04/the-morning-news-tournament-of-books/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:46:30 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2514 The Morning News Tournament of Books - Presented by Field Notes.

]]> http://goption.com/2012/04/the-morning-news-tournament-of-books/feed/ 0 Apheresis – April 9, 2012 http://goption.com/2012/04/apheresis-april-9-2012/ http://goption.com/2012/04/apheresis-april-9-2012/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:10:14 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2511 I watched True Grit during a noon-time platelet donation.  My BP just made it under the line.

]]> http://goption.com/2012/04/apheresis-april-9-2012/feed/ 0 India Black and the Widow of Windsor http://goption.com/2012/04/india-black-and-the-widow-of-windsor/ http://goption.com/2012/04/india-black-and-the-widow-of-windsor/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:01:33 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2509 I finished India Black and the Widow of Windsor tonight. Another fun romp with India, French, and street urchin Vincent - this time at Balmoral with Queen Victoria along for the ride.

My rating:

]]> http://goption.com/2012/04/india-black-and-the-widow-of-windsor/feed/ 0 Central Coast for the BMR http://goption.com/2012/03/central-coast-for-the-bmr/ http://goption.com/2012/03/central-coast-for-the-bmr/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:20:35 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2498 I'm at the maximum accrual limit, so I've been losing vacation time for most of this year and the last few months of last year.  A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to actually take a vacation day and go on a long motorcycle ride, and my boss approved my request to take today off of work.  I planned a ride up to the Central Coast to bag some post office bonus locations for the Big Money Rally.

I prepped the bike yesterday -- got the water bottle cleaned up, cleaned out the tank bag, and set out the heated vest, the SPOT tracker, and the V1.  Using Carole's "Barbie to Grandmas" rule*, I packed up a change of undergarments and a toothbrush, so that I'd be sure to make it home.

Creston Post Office

I left around 8:15am, heading up I-5 for the first stop at Shandon.  The temps dropped noticeably going over the Grapevine, and I was bummed that the sign at the top said "Tejon Pass" instead of "Tejon Summit", which would qualify it as a BMR bonus.  Gas in Lost Hills at I-5 and SR-41, and a quick run on SR-41 got me to Shandon in good time.  SR-41 from Shandon to Creston was a blast, and I had fun tracking down all the BMR bonus post offices up and down the Central Coast.  I got to be pretty efficient at stopping the bike in the right place, clipping the BMR placard to the elastic cord on the top of my Pelican case, taking the photo, and sending it off to my personal BMR submission e-mail address.

A couple of the post offices on the list were way off from their published coordinates, but that just added to the fun.

After the last post office in Halcyon (near Arroyo Grande), I stopped for Tri-tip and enchiladas at Pappy's in Santa Maria. I debated between SR-154 and the US-101 loop, and opted for the 154, but I had trouble with my shield fogging so I had to keep my speeds reasonable.

My last stop was in Ventura, first for gas (28 miles into reserve...) and then for the bonus location at the Channel Islands National Park visitor center.  From there, I slogged back home, keeping it within 20 miles or so of the posted limit. 680 miles later, I rolled into the drive-way at 9:45pm.

* If Carole took her Barbie's to her Grandma's house on Sunday, invariably there'd be plenty of things to do and she wouldn't actually play with them.  But if she left her Barbie's at home, she'd be bored, and wished she had brought them.

]]> http://goption.com/2012/03/central-coast-for-the-bmr/feed/ 0 Word of the day: Fremdschamen http://goption.com/2012/03/word-of-the-day-fremdschamen/ http://goption.com/2012/03/word-of-the-day-fremdschamen/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:10:10 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2495 Fremdschamen - external shame you feel when someone you care about is embarrassed. (German)

]]> http://goption.com/2012/03/word-of-the-day-fremdschamen/feed/ 0 On Target http://goption.com/2012/03/on-target/ http://goption.com/2012/03/on-target/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:06:21 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2486 I finished On Target, the second book in the Gray Man series by Mark Greaney.

I found this much more enjoyable than the first book in the series. One of my complaints with that book was the overuse of the main character's various names, and even though he gets a new handle in this book, the editing was a lot tighter, and the names were used sparingly and in context. The action is still there - almost non-stop - and the plot is more believable and structured more cleanly. We're still not in Adam Hall territory, but we're making good progress.

My rating:

]]> http://goption.com/2012/03/on-target/feed/ 0 Scumbag Justin http://goption.com/2012/03/scumbag_justin/ http://goption.com/2012/03/scumbag_justin/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 07:15:06 +0000 Brian http://goption.com/?p=2488 Last week before Carole left to go up to Spokane, the handle on the cold water faucet in the front bathtub broke off.  As a temporary fix, I removed the handle, and unscrewed the handle that changes the water from the main spout to the shower, so it could be moved over to the cold water faucet when needed.

On Thursday I went to Red Plumbing Supply to get a new handle, and on Saturday afternoon I put all the parts and tools for the job on the bathroom sink, planning to install it when I took my shower Sunday morning.

When I woke up Sunday, I found that Justin had installed everything overnight.  He even put the covers over the screw holes.

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