Immortal? It can get kind of lonely, can't it? Bringing together small minorities is something the Web does well and the "terminally challenged", or "TCs" as I shall refer to them, are no exception. There is now a Web community where the mortally disadvantaged can go to discuss eternal life with others.

If you are thinking of joining I must warn you that the username "notdeadyet" has just been taken by yours truly.

There are forums with titles like "Sex—Is It Killing Me?" [hey, maybe I am going to live forever] and "Suggestions For Building Wealth" [here's one, TCs: buy something finite and sell it when you're older—duh].

Also on the site, member "bobdrake12"—obviously there are disadvantages to gaining immortality through cloning yourself—has "done a lot of research" about asteroids hitting earth. This sort of phenomenon must be a real inconvenience for anyone likely to be hanging about on Earth for millions of years. According to the online survey of members, 80 percent of TCs are "moderately to highly concerned" at the prospect. The other 20 percent must have seen it all before.