Running SQL2008
Also Ten Centuries, your solution violates the rules of using the "Quirky Update" by using a Join. I'll add a link to the article on "Quirky Update".
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/68467/[\url]
I don't know that this method is ultimately what I will use as I am skeptical about using it in a production environment, but it is the quickest performing alternative to cursors that I have found.