Humodour

Yes, because I could always opt for local anaesthetic instead of general, so there's no risk of respiratory failure. Or maybe I should just stop reading British medical journals.

Death by lightning isn't under your control, so no, it's not worth worrying about.

Exactly. Quite frankly the problem is not government regulation, it's bad government regulation. So when I hear people like taks screaming about the 'evils' of all government regulation, I naturally take issue. America, to put it simple, has stagnant regulation. I don't know why - I suspect too much interference from free market radicals and corrupt lobbyists. Poor handling of government regulation needn't be the norm, though (and indeed isn't in many other countries). Still waiting for taks to answer my question, of course.

Python is not slow for the purposes it is usually used (scripting). And certainly Python's efficiency is not in question for learning a programming language. If you do actually use Python you might be interested in Psyco: http://psyco.sourceforge.net/ Oh, and I 'ignored' his post because it was a valid statement about algorithms which I had no beef with, thanks. I did not feel it was an argument for or against C++ as a starting language, though. rainwarrior re BASIC: Yes, in some ways Python is a spiritual successor to BASIC. But where BASIC fell down in teaching valid style and algorithm design in a lot of ways, Python instead inherits a lot of the core Java and C syntax and style (where useful), so while I wouldn't these days ever recommend something like BASIC (or VB) as a starting language, Python is a different kettle of fish. Having a good teacher can make learning anything like walking on air, though.

How is that a strawman? I'm not misrepresenting you; I'm asking you a simple question. Will you answer it or not?

Errr, 1 in 300,000 is pretty effing tiny. How many dental operations under GA do you think there are each year? Maybe 30 million? So each year 100 people die under GA. It's tiny, but not tiny enough.

um, regulations to prevent this, fraud protection in particular, are legitimate. i've made that point countless times. government is there to protect the rights of both the seller and buyer, which means it is their job to make sure everyone is equal. fraud protection, full disclosure (which is really a fraud issue anyway), etc. are required "regulations." taks So you agree that government regulation is a good thing, then?

Thankfully Australia's financial system is still very sound (relative to how Europe and the US are coping). Still, I think it might be time to stock up on packets of pasta and powdered milk.

They put gauze in your mouth? I just got stitches and was sent on my way (well, after I woke up). I have to say, my doctor/dentist did an excellent job. I had this team of like 6 doctors and nurses monitoring me the entire time, and the anaesthetics were done really well it seems. Although just reading a dentistry journal now, 1 in 300,000 people die under general anaesthetic dental procedures. That was not a comforting statistic, and gives credence to my earlier feeling that I stopped breathing at once point in the operation.

Well, on the upside, there was this hot chick who had her wisdom teeth taken out too, 10 minutes after me (so I'd guess my operation didn't last long). I sat around chatting with her while we recovered.

I've been in bar brawls before and while I've had to get stiches to my lips, I'm yet to lose any teeth over it. So bring it, bitch.

I hope yours come out as smoothly as mine did! Didn't need anything stronger than ibuprofen to completely kill what little pain I had. Was back to about 95% normal in a week. Hey guys! Well, I survived. I was under general anaesthetic for about 3 hours apparently. I don't remember much, but one minute they're putting an oxygen mask on me and the next I'm 'dreaming' about Bush being elected for a third term and screaming "NO, **** BUSH". The next thing I remember is hearing voices something along the lines of "prep him for emergency", "he's going into shock" and the heart monitor machine was beeping furiously with something like 5 or 6 people crowding around me (based on the number of voices and their frantic pace). I blacked out again then. Then seemingly only seconds later I was half 'awake' again, everything was calm and I remember hearing a relieved voice say "diastolic is 15". That's when I started freaking out, shuddered madly, woke up, and shuddered madly some more, since by my reckoning, a diastolic blood pressure of 15 is clinically dead (mine is normally 110 systolic, 60 diastolic). So I have a feeling at one point there I was not have such a good reaction to the anaesthetics (it would seem my autonomous nervous system temporarily shut down and lead to heart failure). Weird stuff. Anyway, it felt like no time had passed when I woke up. Strangely, I felt more awake and energised when I woke up than when I went under. I put this down to only having 2 hours sleep. Actually, that's possibly also why I almost crashed. Also, apparently that wasn't so much a dream about Bush - they said I was literally screaming "**** BUSH" at the nurses and doctors at one point while I was unconscious. Milk hurts, water is fine, and soup is fine. Odd. There's very little pain unless I drink milk at which point I almost cry from discomfort pain (not so much acute pain).

*sigh* I have to get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. I'll be under anaesthetic for the first time in my life, so that'll be interesting. Night.

Obama worked with this guy on anti-poverty work and education fundraising 40 years after those events and you're telling me that somehow makes Obama a bad man? If so, please stop there, because I'm disgusted with you and don't want to discuss this with you anymore.

I'm tempted to put that in my sig.

The bombing occurred in the 60's and Obama worked on completely unrelated education reform with Ayres in the 90's. I think it's safe to say he's completely unrelated to them, yes? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers#Co...to_Barack_Obama Re the 'surge': But McCain continually claims that the 'surge' ended sectarian violence. This is, of course, after he claimed that there was no record of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ia. Much like he claimed the economy was fundamentally sound the same day Wall Street was crumbling.

Blogging from a rudimentary laptop with a rudimentary satellite connection powered by a rudimentary solar array?

Oh, and if you think this 'surge' tactic has been successful in decreasing sectarian violence, you should read this: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/comme...rge-952490.html

I think people are brushing it off because Obama was 8 when they existed. He's never had anything to do with WUO and has personally denounced their acts. And as for force - well, maybe didn't like the idea of being conscripted to go fight in an unjust war in a dangerous country to fight an unwinnable battle. It's not like the American government had a stellar civil rights record at the time. Not justifying them, but it's hardly black and white.

I've heard a lot of conflicting reports about the success of this surge strategy. Besides the fact that McCain said it works 100%, and he lies alot, and besides the fact that Obama said it didn't and I'm pro-Obama, I'd actually like some evidence that it is working in a long-term sustainable way. I mean, it's clearly a failure if we have to do repeated surges and if it doesn't bring about a clear end to the war any time soon, right? While we're all hearing about McPalin accuse Obama of being a terrorist, why don't we look at McCain's record: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/233..._maverick/print

Yeah, that crazy Palin bitch is claiming Obama is a terrorist. Funny, except Obama was 8 years old when the guy he's accused of 'associating' with was involved in those anti-Vietnam protests. Moreover, Obama's association with was regarding funding grants for disadvantaged school students. Seems like the Palin thinks education is terrorism, but does that surprise anybody?

I wasn't aware sticking your fingers in your ears and going "NANANANANA NOT LISTENING" was a discussion style.

Yeah, OK. We don't want to chase new users away, etc. Time for my medication, it seems. And a timeout. You should add a transparency layer to your signature gif and anti-alias it. It would be time consuming but cool.

Just an update for those interested: Obama has been polling at an average of 7% above McCain for 10 days now. Historically, by this point in the election, 95% of voters have already made up their mind definitively who they plan to vote for on election day. Obama's campaign is currently planning to win Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina. Obama seems to have already won Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. McCain is trying to win 1 of Maine's 4 electoral votes, much like Obama is doing in Nebraska. McCain should be careful or Texas will soon flip for Obama, too. Then again, once Texas flips you can bet Obama has already won upwards of 370 electoral votes elsewhere. For those new to quirky American politics, you need 270 electoral votes to win. Obama is currently on about 264 EVs. McCain is on about 190. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Does it get confusing always being half an hour late?