These tools are virtually daring us to vote for "that other little man".

Go fuck Elizabeth yourself.

I don't. I watch it on catch-up and zap the ads. Or I buy the DVD/BluRay. Or I just read /. or play $SOME_GAME instead. I'm afraid that I'm not that good a product for the advertisers.

Looking at the choice currently facing the Australian voter, a three legged sheep would stand a "real chance" of election.

The only way I'd vote for a three-legged sheep is if the ballot contained only one of ALP or Coalition candidates on it. As soon as both go on the ballot, I must put one of them second-last in order to vote for the three-legged sheep, which is as good as voting for them. No thanks. Informal voting for me until they change the voting system.

All connected with Monster Ethernet Cable.

In my division there were 8 candidates at the last election. Regrettably, in order to register a vote I had to put a preference for each candidate, numbering all boxes 1 to 8 in order of my preference. Fortunately, the candidate that I numbered 8 got the majority of the cote on the primary count, which meant that I didn't vote for her.

In principle, however, if the count has to go out to 7th preferences, I may end up voting in candidate number 7.

If it wasn't instant run-off here, but regular run-off instead (which would be stupidly expensive), I could turn up to vote at the primary election and for as many run-offs as there were still candidates that I was interested in, and then either a) stop voting once I run out of candidates I like or b) cast informal votes if voting was still mandatory.

Alternatively, we could just do what we do in NSW state elections: optional preferential voting.

Maybe I'm just irritable

I'm afraid so. Most people just don't have a problem with it. But as I've said, I've got my own pet peeves, so I can sympathize.

Fair enough, mate, and thanks for your forbearance. It's still irritating, but I can do better than I did. Lesson learned.

As I've read elsewhere on this site, you'll also need the source code for the compiler. How far does the paranoia have to go? Maybe I'm in my depressive cycle or something.

It may have been obvious in this particular instance, but it's still incorrect, it's still irritating and it still intrudes itself into what was otherwise a fluid transfer of information. Maybe I'm just irritable, but the irritant itself is avoidable and unnecessary. We already have a phrase that means "raises the question": it's "raises the question". It's not at all clear to me why that one could not have been used.

By the way, I'm not having a go at cold fjord who simply quoted the passage. Just wanted that to be clear.

Sure, but why work with millifurlongs or whateverthefuck it is that imperial unit people work with?