Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

It doesn't hurt, but I do seem to be losing some functionality in my right hand:

I'm not allowed to tell you what I'm doing this morning, so let me show you a traceroute. This is from one of our servers in Toronto to one of our personal computers on a Toronto @home network:

1 cisco.tht.net (216.126.88.1) 0.641 ms 0.518 ms 0.533 ms
2 core1-tor.151.net (216.126.66.161) 0.619 ms 0.721 ms 0.662 ms
3 Vlan102.msfc1.Toronto2.Teleglobe.net (207.45.200.177) 0.804 ms 0.888 ms 0.856 ms
4 if-1-0.core1.Toronto2.Teleglobe.net (64.86.81.1) 0.573 ms 0.464 ms 0.659 ms
5 if-10-0.core1.Scarborough.Teleglobe.net (64.86.80.241) 1.517 ms 1.494 ms 1.354 ms
6 if-10-8.core2.NewYork.Teleglobe.net (207.45.222.105) 19.217 ms 18.749 ms 18.872 ms
7 if-9-0.core3.NewYork.Teleglobe.net (64.86.83.158) 18.646 ms 18.646 ms 18.817 ms
8 if-3-0.core1.Washington.Teleglobe.net (64.86.83.162) 18.853 ms 18.344 ms 18.674 ms
9 c2-pos8-1.washdc1.home.net (24.7.70.253) 34.340 ms 170.699 ms *
10 c1-pos1-0.bltmmd1.home.net (24.7.65.90) 142.410 ms * 96.190 ms
11 * c1-pos3-0.cmdnnj1.home.net (24.7.65.221) 88.014 ms 202.151 ms
12 c1-pos2-0.nycmny1.home.net (24.7.65.230) 106.291 ms * *
13 * * c1-pos2-0.hrfrct1.home.net (24.7.69.1) 26.839 ms
14 c1-pos5-0.bflony1.home.net (24.7.65.254) 21.550 ms * *
15 * bb3-pos8-0.rdc1.on.home.net (24.7.74.30) 22.817 ms 43.221 ms
16 * * *
17 * * *

Amused? Here's how @home decided to route Toronto to Toronto traffic today: Toronto, New York, Washington, Baltimore, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Buffalo, then finally got back to Ontario. Ha ha ha… Here's what it SHOULD look like (this is if I route through TorIX instead):

1 cisco.tht.net (216.126.88.1) 0.841 ms 0.915 ms 0.788 ms
2 199.45.118.10 (199.45.118.10) 1.07 ms 6.09 ms 1.27 ms
3 10.0.184.181 (10.0.184.181) 2.79 ms 2.70 ms 2.57 ms
4 10.0.184.18 (10.0.184.18) 4.97 ms 4.80 ms 3.98 ms
5 move.it.ca (24.112.243.98) 7.35 ms 7.21 ms 7.50 ms

In any case, I'm off now. I'll be back in the early afternoon, and will do an experience update and continue working on the ModCon video. I'll be posting a clip or two from that, but because my coffers are so low right now, it's going to be at a secret URL available only to paying members and paypal contributors (so if you're one of those, watch your email for the next week).

From: nice_dream@***
Subject: An offensive error in your page.

Shannon,
Under the Scarification section of your webpage, under Misc. Cuttings (the top left picture link), on the 2nd and 3rd picture pages there is an error that has offended me and will probably offend others. I am probably the only person who will actually take the time to write to you about it. The word "Pentagram" is used on one of the cuttings of an upright star. The correct term is "Pentacle". The marking shown is a Wiccan symbol and is used by many Pagans. The upright star is a symbol for spirit, air, earth, fire, and water, all of the elements of our religion. If the star were to be flipped it would be called a Pentragram (which is the word/symbol used in Satanism). By associating the word "Pentagram" with the picture of a "Pentacle" your website is helping to further the miseducation of the public about Witchcraft, and is helping contribute misconceptions about our religion. Please change the caption for this picture, and help everyone know that we aren't Satan Worshippers after all.
Thank you.
Mandi*** ***

My reply was:

Hate to break it to you, but you're just repeating propaganda and misinterpreted history typical of neopagans that don't really have any understanding of the history of Wicca or the history of the pentagram or the meaning of the word — sort of like how many Christians don't understand anything except some messed up rhetoric told to them by the minister.

A pentagram is a five pointed star, with no indication of orientation. If it's called an “inverted pentagram” the two points are up. If not, it's called an “upright pentagram”. The words pentagram and pentacle are interchangeable — look it up in a dictionary and under pentacle you'll quite likely see “see pentagram”. It's only modern (20th century) neopagans and satanists who have attempted to create a difference between the two. It should be noted that this is primarily a political action, and has no real basis in history as either a purely Wiccan or “Satanic” symbol. Like many other “basic” symbols, it was used by numerous other groups, the Greeks, Egyptians, Christians, Babylonians, Jews, etc.

Why don't I just label it a “Pentalpha”? That's what the Greeks called it, since it was composed of five A's.

In any case, if you want to assign religious value to it on some level, that's your problem. But don't try and tell me that a five pointed star isn't a pentagram. Next you'll want to tell me that I can't call a four-sided shape a square any more — it has to be called a “sacred google box”.

If someone sends me a picture and says “this is a tattoo of my holy cross”, I'll label it as such. If someone tells me that the cross in fact means they're straightedge, I'll label it as is. But if someone doesn't tell me what they'd like theirs called, I'll just say what it is.

It's a PENTAGRAM.