Update XV: Hello, I'm from the Internet

Perhaps someday the future xkcd envisions will come to be, and the internet will be considered an actual, legitimate location. We've already got communities, universities, shops, restaurants, arcades, cinemas, search engines to transport us between them, laws to regulate behaviour... All we're missing are the toilets.

On the subject of xkcd, it's been changing the internet again. Try Googling "died in a blogging accident" now, and you'll get something in the region of 294,000 results. That's a sharp rise from the original 2 results when the comic was published.
See? Anyone can leave a mark on the internet. Without resorting to vandalism of Wikipedia pages.

iPod vs. The Cassette pits what is arguably the most popular mp3 player worldwide against what was once the most popular music storage device worldwide... and finds the iPod lacking. It's actually quite surprising how many advantages the cassette has, in spite of its age. Probably explains why the cassette's larger cousin, the video tape, outlasted the laser disc and is still in use today.

The scientists over at Bio-Rad decided to show their appreciation for the Polymerase Chain Reaction, the technique which revolutionised molecular biology when it was first developed in 1983, with The PCR Song. It's strangely catchy, and entirely tongue-in-cheek. My class loves the scene at the end when they bring in the thermal cycler.

It seems that this blog is the top Google return for "toothpick vampire", and scores pretty high for "Bionicle going downhill." I'm rather suprised by the first, considering I didn't actually say much on the topic. As for the second...
...I thought I made it pretty clear I don't think Bionicle is going downhill. Oh well.

Finally, I haven't done a meme in a while, and Websnark had an interesting one. The idea is to complete the sentence "In my world, superheroes..." any way you like. And so:

In my world, superheroes aren't afraid of who they are.
In my world, superheroes do normal things too.
In my world, superheroes know that the local laws of physics make absolutely no sense, and they don't care.
In my world, superheroes don't need to be young to be relevant.
In my world, superheroes choose modest outfits. (Seriously...)
In my world, superheroes don't think self-sacrifice is the best solution, but they'll do it if they have to.
In my world, superheroes don't keep getting new backstories all the time.
In my world, superheroes are nevertheless capable of undergoing character development.
In my world, superheroes never do wrong to benefit themselves.
In my world, superheroes never do right to benefit themselves either. They do right because that's what they believe in.
In my world, superheroes are never evil or cruel on purpose.
In my world, superheroes are, first and foremost, heroes.

...I hate it when newer comic-book writers make old favourites turn angsty or do terrible things. They're heroes, and while it is perfectly acceptable for them to be conflicted sometimes, they still should remain heroes at the end of the day. They're supposed to give us hope - how can we have hope in heroes who are worse than ourselves?

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Til next time.