> I think flying is very safe. Probably safer than riding in a car.

I'd sure your doctor has told you that diabetes and age both put you in a high-risk group for deep vein thrombosis (aka DVT, aka "economy class syndrome"). The chances of a blood clot forming in your leg during a flight is still small, but it's certainly a risk you ought to be aware of before you fly.

> I also know a good bit about volcanoes. They give much better warning than rattlesnakes. And the Hawaiian volcanoes are the safest in the world. They don't explode like Mt. St. Helens. It all has to do with the temperature and gas content of the lava. Hot lava flows, but cooler lava tends to clog up the volcano and build pressure. The lava in Hawaii is about twice as hot as the lava in the volcanoes of the Cascade Range.

If you know a way of accurately predicting erputions as much as an hour in advance, then geologists around the world would love to talk to you. Even hot basalt volcanoes can suddenly and violently erupt without the slightest warning. The Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawaii has been erupting continuously for the last 20 years (pumping out more than 75 square miles of lava in that time), and yet this morning's sudden increase in the rate of flow caught every researcher (and there are many vulcanologists on the island) by surprise. I've not seen any reports of deaths yet, though. Which is a good thing.

> But yes, there are risks in everything we do. I just try to avoid the foolish risks. Life might be pretty dull if it was perfectly safe.
> Howard

Oh, indeed. But for the vast majority of people (ie those that don't have addictive personalities, or a family history of alcoholism), having a drink is less risky than many of the things that you do on a daily basis. While I'm sure no-one thinks badly of you for being teetotal, It's going a little far to suggest that having a beer is equivilent to juggling flaming chainsaws whilst blindfolded and standing in a bucket of petroleum.

winter"I was offended, for one"mute