Wes Phillips

How long do CD-Rs last? Not long, says IBM's Kurt Gerecke. Two years on average—five, if you keep it in a cool dark place. Phew that's where I keep mine . . . wait a minute, I just remembered I don't.

"More common than you'd think," says National Geographic. Makes sense—they can run 60mph over broken ground and, if Huckleberry is anything to judge by, a cat in full jetpack mode pays scant heed to obstructions—even walls.

Digital Music For the Future says so, asking, "is the record industry ready to face the music?" Interesting essay—and one that says , "the record industry is stuck in a time warp, always several years behind. That would mean 2006 is the new 1999. The Internet boom and music sales have reached their climax, anything is possible, and the digital entertainment world was ready for something to pop."

Japanese physicists have built a bi-directional single-electron ammeter that can detect individual electrons flowing either forwards or backwards. Practical applications might include nanoelectronics, calibration devices, quantum computation, and biology. That banging noise you hear is John Atkinson in Sioux Falls pounding his head against the desk, muttering "Want one!"

Half the time when I'm talking about music with my friend Jeff Wong, mention of some album will elicit the response, "I got turned on that when Elvis Costello covered/mentioned that." Okay Jeff, here are 500 records recommended by EC—how many do you know?

The EFF's Fred von Lohmann posts about the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) new ad reminding Congress that the RIAA;s (and MPAA's) high dudgeon over copying is nothing new—and that such hysteria has been historically short sighted.

The Beeb is canceling Top of the Pops. Not that I ever watched it, but it's one of those things like the Grand Canyon that always seemed like it was eternal.