In [1]: X = load('data/ascii_data.dat') # X is an array
In [2]: t = X[:,0] # extract the first column
In [3]: v = X[:,1] # extract the second column
In [4]: len(t)
Out[4]: 20
In [5]: len(v)
Out[5]: 20
In [6]: plot(t,v) # plot the data
Out[6]: [<matplotlib.lines.Line2D instance at 0xb65921ac>]