Antilogous Words

This was the theme of the August 9, 1987 NY Times Sunday Crossword by T. W. Underhill. No wonder people have trouble learning English!

antilogous – of the contrary name or character; the opposite of analogous

So antilogous words are ones that mean opposite things given their usage. Some examples-

oversight – an unintentional omission or a mistake as well as watchful care and supervision.
sanction – to allow or encourage as well as to punish so as to deter.

Can you think of others?

Tasty Products

I am certainly not above using any diet type product in my endless quest for weight loss. Here are a couple that I incorporate into my breakfast fare.

Land O’ Lakes light butter – This “butter product” has only 50 calories per tablespoon. Unlike most margarines, it has no trans fat.

Morning Star Farms veggie sausage patties – I would never have thought of trying these but the demonstration folks at Costco were handing out free samples and these turned out to be quite tasty. While they taste surprisingly like real sausages, they have 75% less fat, 2 grams of fiber, no trans fat and 80 calories each.

I really look forward to breakfast (as I do all meals.) I like to vary what I eat, sometimes an egg, sometimes a sausage pattie, sometimes peanut butter. I always have protein in the morning because otherwise by 10:30 AM, I am already looking for lunch. I like to keep the calories around 200.

So this morning for breakfast, I had a sausage muffin – 1 English muffin, a little light butter and a veggie sausage pattie. With a cup of tea and the NY Times Crossword puzzle, what could be better?

SEVENTH IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN

TODAY’S WORRY

From various surveys conducted by colleges, pollsters and even Dave Letterman, we’ve become fairly aware that we are a nation of history numbskulls. But this morning, I just couldn’t believe it. I was listening to Weekend Edition on NPR. In a survey conducted by a professor at Washington College, when people listed their top Presidents, George Washington came in seventh! This is the same man who is supposed to be, “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” The top seven Presidents, according to the poll, were Lincoln, Reagan, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton, George W. Bush, and then Washington. Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Bush?!?!! Ahead of Washington? Is it that people only have short-term memories?

Separation of Powers

Since we have been discussing Presidents (and perhaps precedents?) today, how about a little history? We have recently been hearing a lot of talk about one branch of the government having too much or too little power. Wisely, the founding fathers tried to keep this all in balance by having a separation of powers; a system of checks and balances.

The doctrine of the separation of powers was described by Montesquieu in his L’esprit des Lois in 1748. He said that a nation’s liberty depended on the separation of the three types of power, legislative, judicial and executive with each having their own separate institution. Originally, President Madison, during the framing of the Bill of Rights, wanted to include an amendment spelling out the separation of powers. This amendment was rejected by the Congress, however, because the separation of powers is implied in the Constitution by the enumeration of each branch’s powers. So what we have today is a system not designed to maximize efficiency but to maximize freedom.

Popcorn

For most people trying to lose weight, the choice for snacking is either raw vegetables or popcorn. As a salt/starch eater, I’d pick popcorn every time. According to America’s Test Kitchen, the best microwave popcorn you can buy is Newman’s Own Butter. Of course, I never buy the full butter type. But I can’t stand the no-butter or natural types. I find that “light” is a good compromise.

Once while visiting Sarah at USC, we had to make the best of a poor hors d’oeuvres situation. All she had was popcorn and hummus. Well, desperation being the mother of invention in this case, we popped the kernels and carefully dipped one at a time in the hummus. (Spicy hummus worked the best.) Our new hors d’oeuvres accomplished three things: it made the popcorn more glamorous; it made for a filling and nutritious snack; and it really slowed us down what with all the individual dipping. Try it!

SPARE CHANGE

TODAY’S WORRY

In the vicinity of Las Vegas, there are billboards which read, “Bob Won $2 Million!” and “Koichi Won $1.2 Million!” Soon there should be a new one reading, “Mary Won 320 Quarters!” Yes, it’s true. On a slot machine named Prize Pig! (apt I thought), I played a quarter and got back 320. I am no gambler. The idea of losing money is just too horrible for me to imagine. I don’t play the lottery. But on our travels, if we are passing through Nevada, we will play a few slots with a limit of spending $20. So after losing about $10 on Haywire! and Let it Roll!, John wanted to try Haywire Deluxe! which was situated next to Prize Pig! So I stuck in a quarter or two, and two Prize Pigs and one wallowing in mud showed up and the machine went nuts. This is the most excitement I have ever had in a casino. Hopefully, I won’t become a compulsive gambler. But I won enough to pay for dinner! Ka-ching!

parlay

In keeping with our general theme of betting, today’s word is –

parlay -To bet (an original wager and its winnings) on a subsequent event or to maneuver (an asset) to great advantage. (dictionary.com)

So if I had taken my 320 quarters and put all of it on black on the roulette wheel I would have parlayed my bet.

Gold Strike Hotel & Gambling Hall, Jean, NV

For $19.95 a night, this was a surprisingly good experience. The rooms are good size and clean. The casino has low wager tables ($2) and also penny and nickel slots. The biggest downside was the fact that the beds are really, really hard and the showerhead is really low.

We ate at The Steakhouse which is their better restaurant. At The Steakhouse we were met by a supercilious maitre d’ in a tuxedo. This put us at an immediate disadvantage since I was wearing jeans and John had on his hiking pants. But we soldiered on and took a table. The menu had steaks, chops and seafood. One of the entrees was hockey pucks (scallops) in a wine, lemon butter sauce. I, of course, asked for them cooked medium rare so they wouldn’t resemble hockey pucks. The waiter actually told me that they cook all their seafood thoroughly so that the patrons wouldn’t get sick. So we were not off to a good start. But after checking in the kitchen, he discovered from the chef that it was possible not to have them overdone. Both John and I had our meal cooked exactly as we had asked. John had a medium rare veal chop and I had soft, lovely scallops. Except for the fact that everything was very glistening (covered in butter), it was a very good meal at a reasonable price. (My winnings covered it!)

VALENTINE’S DAY

TODAY’S NON-WORRY

In a couple of days, John and I are going to take a long road trip. We’ll be in the car for probably 12 hours. We’ve made this trip many times before so there really isn’t anything new to see. But, we don’t turn on the radio or play tunes or tapes. We sit and talk. There’s always some new aspect to the scenery, “oh, look, what do you think they’re growing over there?” or “Are the rusted hulks of school busses still sitting beside Route 58?” Sometimes we make dumb jokes and sometimes we talk about serious world issues. Sometimes we just sit quietly next to each other. What has this got to do with Valentine’s Day? I guess when you find your perfect someone, just being with him is never boring and makes for a perfect day.