I should have posted links to the original thread. Here they are: Via the mailing list archives: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2003-May/165575.html Or Google Groups, if you like that interface: http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=pan.2003.05.29.19.11.15.218757%40ll.mit.edu Both of these are George's original posting. -Peter