Sometimes, I just have to quote myself. This is one of those times. (Tue Dec 9 10:59:47 PST 2008 no matter what the date of the web log says....

Upwardly mobile political pagans always make for good comedy, I guess. -- Carol Spears, Tue Dec 9 10:59:47 PST 2008

For those who were in need of the summaries that were provided in last years network (both NBC and ABC, if I remember correctly) broadcasts of what must have been complicated stories for the people who added the summaries and for the people who were intellectually below them, let me provide a couple of definitions of the word "pagan" as a means to do my part to communicate to those responsible for providing the summaries and for those who perhaps might have needed them:

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pagan \Pa"gan\ (p[=a]"gan), n. [L. paganus a countryman,
     peasant, villager, a pagan, fr. paganus of or pertaining to
     the country, rustic, also, pagan, fr. pagus a district,
     canton, the country, perh. orig., a district with fixed
     boundaries: cf. pangere to fasten. Cf. {Painim}, {Peasant},
     and {Pact}, also {Heathen}.]
     One who worships false gods; an idolater; a heathen; one who
     is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           Neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait
           of Christian, pagan, nor man.            --Shak.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Gentile; heathen; idolater.
  
     Usage: {Pagan}, {Gentile}, {Heathen}. Gentile was applied to
            the other nations of the earth as distinguished from
            the Jews. Pagan was the name given to idolaters in the
            early Christian church, because the villagers, being
            most remote from the centers of instruction, remained
            for a long time unconverted. Heathen has the same
            origin. Pagan is now more properly applied to rude and
            uncivilized idolaters, while heathen embraces all who
            practice idolatry.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pagan \Pa"gan\, a. [L. paganus of or pertaining to the country,
     pagan. See {Pagan}, n.]
     Of or pertaining to pagans; relating to the worship or the
     worshipers of false goods; heathen; idolatrous, as, pagan
     tribes or superstitions.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           And all the rites of pagan honor paid.   --Dryden.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  pagan
      adj 1: not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and
             Islam [syn: {heathen}, {heathenish}, {pagan}, {ethnic}]
      n 1: a person who does not acknowledge your god [syn: {heathen},
           {pagan}, {gentile}, {infidel}]
      2: a person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion
         (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew)
      3: someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures [syn:
         {hedonist}, {pagan}, {pleasure seeker}]

In the simplest of definitions and without the somewhat self-defining words which are of belief systems, pagan is also the word used to define the pre-Christian people who were actually trying to survive in an area on this planet which had seasons and were covered in deciduous forests.

The belief systems which are not considered to be pagan, all came from the Middle East and are of an environment with very different challenges to survive.

Before literacy and modern technology, there was a fear of not surviving the environment and some called that God.

I like hacks and due to the people in my family and the where and when I grew up, I think that it would be difficult for me not to enjoy, understand the fun of, or the idea behind a good or clever hack.

What I really dislike, however, is when the ideology which created the method is hacked. Elegance is a complicated idea; in my way of thinking, a hack which violates the ideology behind the method is one of those things that would make a hack not elegant.

There was a discussion about xml on irc today. I mentioned my disappointment when I saw an xml file which contained an executable. This discussion was entered into by me when I saw that the person asking for assistance seemed to be confused about xml being markup. Markup is not a binary and what I had thought xml would be good for is providing source stuff within tags which showed where its parts began and ended. Not a container for a pre-compiled and therefore source unknown computer apps.

Everything after the "or" in the title of this online posted opinion has nothing to do with this web log entry it is supposed to be the title of.

An essay from Manish Singh (yosh), in 20 words or less: "Why I don't kick and ban the game player"!

This essay will show what a great California education can produce. It will answer my request. My question was "Is it a game?" and the answer was "No."

My essay was "Then kick and ban the game player." Seven words. 1970's public education. Simple, elegant and to the point.