dhenry:
The issue with long delays is that they are not "interruptable": you push a button and the mcu doesn't respond.You can use interrupts to cure that ...
Not exactly cure it. If you are inside a delay(10000) then an interrupt will not make it leave prematurely. Please word your responses carefully. Your suggestion of "mydelay" would indeed allow a "delay" to exit early, but it doesn't use interrupts.
AVRs excel in part because of their vectored interrupts. No one should be afraid of using them.
They are indeed useful when used appropriately. If I choose not to use them in a particular situation, it is not fear that will drive my decision-making.