Backhanded indeed. Not a problem if it works. But not a good idea. 10 or 20 years later (I have software from 1990s still running, so dont kid yourself!) you'll be scratching your, uhhh.... head wondering what in hell you were doing. Oh, and this is where we repeat the DOCUMENTATION mantra....
So, blitzkrieg programming? Fine, but at some point, in your leisure time, try to get it right. True is true, it is not false even if you CAN use it that way. Matt can tell you just how pleased I was when I inherited some perl code that was.... well.... with all the cursing I did over the guys code, I am sure there was an immediate karmic wave that capsized his boat somewhere.....

Yeah, var. Wouldnt it be nice if these bums would tell you what was up with that before giving examples?

However, var is a lifesaver. How clean is YOUR naming conventions? Nice to name it what you want in a function and NOT have to worry at all with what is going on with naming anywhere else.

Keep the spirit. Learning the easy way sucks. Feels nice, but...