Making arrangements for your "virtual" estate

I happen to see this link on Twitter and thought it was interesting since I am one of the ones who discussed my "virtual" assets with my estate planning attorney a few months ago when preparing  my estate plan documents.



I was primarily concerned about all of the effort I have invested in uploading images I have taken of art and architecture to Flickr so others could use the images in non-commercial educational materials to promote the study and appreciation of our shared cultural heritage. I maintain a Pro account on Flickr which costs a small amount per year. I wanted to ensure that part of my estate would be used to cover this annual fee for some years into the future so my social "legacy" was not lost.

I just wrote an article for Heritage Key about the problem of sustainability of virtual environments created in Second Life when funding dries up or project directors turn their attention elsewhere. This is a problem with all funding models that rely on subscriptions for base revenue. I much prefer the model Google uses for Blogger. Blog accounts never expire so all content created and posted to a blog becomes an eternal data archive (at least as long as Google remains a viable entity).

I have already set the licensing on my online image archive to "Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike" so permissions for non-commercial use should not be a problem. As for dealing with inquries about commercial uses of my work after I have "crossed the rainbow bridge" as it is put in the pet world, I am leaving instructions about my online accounts in my estate plan with a request for my heirs to deposit any resulting revenues into a trust account I have established and split the proceeds according to the instructions in my will.

If I have a little time to prepare for the end, I can change the contact information I provide in my online profiles. But, someone may just find me slumped over my computer one day like one of my colleagues last weekend. I still have a lot of information to share so I hope that day will not come soon but life offers no guarantees either in the virtual world or the real one.

Marvel Online Comic Creator Needs to Integrate Virtual Assets!

Yesterday, I learned about Marvel's Online Comic Creator from fellow blogger Candlelight Stories. I developed a prototype with a similar concept using Filemaker Pro and its instant web publishing capabilities about five years ago using pictures I downloaded from HBO's "Rome" website in combination with backgrounds I captured from various ancient world-themed adventure games. So, naturally I had to try Marvel's out. I loved it and the Flash or Java? interface would let you layer objects and arrange them (including front to back) which I couldn't do with Filemaker through the instant web interface. The overall concept was very similar though.

In my version I let user's pick the dialog template that varied by numbers of speech balloons and positions, the character(s) and the background. They could then input the desired words they wished their characters to say. Then I used a Filemaker script to "playback" their comic by changing from one layout to the next. My prototype let users create up to a five window comic (or "graphic novel" if you prefer). Marvel has a short three window version and, for really talented writers, a 22-pane full comic book version.

I think this tool would be even better if users could upload additional backgrounds, objects (Marvel's version has objects you can add to a scene like a telephone, etc.) and characters, although I understand why Marvel would prefer to limit the tool to Marvel superheroes. I would have also liked more dialog balloon options, especially those with the arrow beneath the balloon. There were only a couple like that.

Today I also read an article about the surging market in virtual goods. Marvel's application would be a prime candidate for the integration of virtual goods. Marvel could offer theme-based backgrounds, character and object packages for a small fee. People would be more willing to purchase virtual goods, though, if they could share their creativity with others. Marvel's download function does not seem to save a file in a common format like .jpg. Some of the other flash-based products out there have also integrated social networking tools so user-generated toons can be posted to Facebook or linked to a tweet.

As for usability, though, I think the limited but intuitive tools the Marvel software provides makes it a snap to quickly create a toon to convey a thought or an emotion. Other more feature-rich products enable those who want to truly spend hours creating an artistic panel a lot of options but many of us just want to punch out a quick toon with a message using characters we like from favorite movies, comics, or legends. The Marvel tool, although targeted at children, fills the bill quite nicely.

ShieldSafe offers free identity protection service

Last night when I was watching "Money Talks" during the local news, Stacy Johnson mentioned a website http://www.shieldsafe.com/ that offers free fraud alerts to anyone. Stacy pointed out that this website is the one used by all of those services like Lifelock that offer to protect you from identify theft. But he said don't waste $10 per month with those services, just sign yourself up for free.

So I went online and checked it out and he was absolutely right! It's sort of like signing up for the do-not-call list. Apparently, as part of some government regulations that were passed to control credit reporting, everyone is entitled to request a fraud alert on their account at no cost. The fraud alert expires in 90 days and must be rerequested but the ShieldSafe service sends you a convenient reminder email every 90 days with a quick link to the fraud alert renewal form. They also send a quick link to request a free credit report every year that you are also entitled to by law. I enrolled then, as an extra precaution, set up a reminder in my email to watch for the email coming from ShieldSafe every 90 days just in case my spam filter snags the reminder email from Shieldsafe.

CSI: The Experience Looks like Fun!!

Wow, it looks like the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas has booked a great interactive guest activity, CSI: The Experience. I thought my trip to Las Vegas last September to attend Photoshop World would be may last for quite a while since I was bummed out about the closure of Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton and the de-Egyptification of the Luxor Hotel. But I may need to reconsider.

Test your inner crime-solver at the blockbuster new attraction at MGM Grand Las Vegas, CSI: The Experience!

Survey the crime scene, gather the evidence, solve the case! This dynamic interactive experience offers visitors a hands-on challenge to solve a hypothetical crime: 3 murders, 15 lab stations, 15 suspects, 3 killers.

Guided by videos featuring cast members from the hit TV show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, alongside real-life forensic scientists, you’ll be the latest recruit to the world of forensic science. Examine bullet casings, match DNA to potential suspects, identify the source of a single strand of hair as you complete the investigation process. Includes state-of-the-art forensic equipment and displays. Recommended for ages 12 through adult.

“CSI: The Experience was the fruit of a truly unusual partnership,” says Charlie Walter, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry’s chief operating officer. “Our partners included the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, media giant CBS and the National Science Foundation, which provided $2.4 million in funding for both the exhibit and a ‘CSI’ ‘Web Adventure’ targeted to underserved youth.

I see it will be in Philadelphia in October 2011. If I don't get a chance to get to Vegas to see it maybe I can go to the presentation in Philadelphia with my grandson! (If a fifteen-year-old doesn't mind being seen in public with his grandma!)

Beatlemania Show creates treasured memory

As a child of the 60s I was raised during the years when the Beatles soared to stardom and I collected all of their albums until they drifted into the drug culture in the late 60s and embarked on their "mystical" journey with the Maharishi Yogi.

However, as much as I loved their music, I never had the opportunity to see them live, in concert. I was raised in a little logging and fishing community on the southern Oregon coast (Bandon) and there were no casinos outside the state of Nevada then and no real concert venues anywhere close by. I didn't even get a chance to watch the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show because we could only get one channel on the television set in our little town and the Ed Sullivan Show was not on it.

Of course I went to the movies and saw "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" but never had a chance to taste the sheer exhilaration and magic that only a live performance can bring. So, when I saw an ad in the paper all these years later for a "Beatlemania" concert starring the original Broadway performers I mentioned it hopefully to my husband. He sort of grunted but didn't say anything more about it until the day before the concert was to take place. Then, when I had reconciled myself to missing my last chance to see "sort of" the Beatles in concert, he pipes up and says, "Well aren't we going to Florence to see that concert?"

I could hardly believe it - I thought he wasn't listening and really wasn't interested since he was slogging through the rice paddies in Vietnam during that time of his life and the only Beatles song he and his hooch mates had was an old 45 of Yellow Submarine that he says got played over and over again.

So, I threw some necessities into a suitcase and away we went. I wasn't going to give him a chance to change his mind!

As it turns out, Joe was more than just a little anxious to go to the concert himself although a Vietnam Vet with PTSD does not usually let on when he is more than casually interested in something. He insisted that we get there early so we ended up in Florence just before lunch. We decided to go down to the waterfront and have chowder and seafood at our usual place, Mo's. When we got there we found there was a custom car show set up along the street so we got an early taste of nostalgia as we walked among the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s hotrods with peach paint jobs, chromed engines, and lavish tuck-and-roll interiors.

The lady at the cashier's desk of the Three Rivers Casino cautioned me that if I wanted a good seat at the Beatlemania show, we'd better show up about an hour and a half before hand. I thought my husband might object since he doesn't like standing in line for anything but he seemed willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure the best experience. Fortunately, they let us in after only thirty minutes so we sat and listened to a mix of 60s music from such artists as The Monkees, Hermans Hermits and The Dave Clark Five".

When the moment finally came and the stars of Beatlemania (Alan LaBoeuf as Paul McCartney, David Leon as John Lennon, Carrol Parker as Ringo Starr, and David Brighton as George Harrison - I think!) dashed on stage and struck the first few cords of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", I was instantly mesmerized and couldn't get enough as the group tripped through song after song of my old favorites. I noticed that they even used the same mannerisms as I had seen the Beatles exhibit in video clips of their performances. "Paul" stood with his knees and feet together rocking his head from side to side and "John" stood with his legs apart with one leg slightly forward and his knees bent just as I had seen the real John stand in videos I had watched.

The group divides their act into three parts that they call "Coming to America", "Psychedelia" , and "End of an Era". Of course I loved the first act the best since I knew all the songs by heart and found myself clapping and singing along. I did get a bang out of the "over the top" costumes of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in the second act and loved how the group belted out that classic song too. They didn't even stop singing when they changed costumes. One of the group would stay on stage singing a famous solo like "Yesterday" or "Imagine" while the others hurried off stage to change into outfits appropriate for the next segment.

I looked over and even Joe was grinning although I couldn't quite get him to join in when they sang "Hey Jude!" It was like being 16 again (without all the angst!!) for a brief hour and a half. I looked around at the rest of the audience and although most of us had silver in our hair and couldn't see or hear as well as we used to we were all swaying, clapping and in some cases, wiggling and squealing (I didn't go quite THAT far!!) like those teens all those years ago on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Maybe Bread and Circuses would win over poorly informed townhall mobs

A friend recently wrote to me about her philosophy that each person creates their own "truth". I have observed this phenomenon often, especially lately listening to all the uproar over health care reform. The sad "truth" (my truth I guess) is that many of these agitated people don't bother to examine the policies they criticize and just spout rumor fed by self-serving interest groups like the pharmaceutical companies and for-profit health care services providers (and the Congressmen who collect from their lobbyists!). I have friends in the UK that have government-provided health care and they seem quite satisfied with the level of care they receive. Likewise I have talked with residents of Canada and Australia that also have government-managed health care systems and they are not dissatisfied either. My husband is a 100% service-connected disabled Vietnam veteran and receives quality care from the health care providers at the Eugene VA Clinic and the Roseburg VA Hospital. As his spouse, I am covered under ChampVA, another government-managed heath care program, and choose my own doctors and, to my knowledge, have never been refused any treatments or medication my primary care physician thought were needed. In fact, ChampVA functions very much like private health insurers like Blue Cross/Blue Shield except for prescription pharmaceuticals that I get totally free from ChampVA by using their Meds by Mail program.

The dynamics we see surfacing in this debate are the same tired "fear factor" politics of the extreme right wing conservatives that brow beat the poorly informed during the Bush administration. I noticed that in one of the news reports about a health care town hall meeting the other day, one of the ranting rabble rowsers had most attendees agreeing that they didn't want the government interfering with their health care decisions. The congressmen conducting the meeting then asked how many of those in the room were on Medicare and OVER HALF raised their hands! What??? They obviously were not even thinking about their own health care - just caught up in the emotional mob mentality of the situation. The ancient Roman emperors knew the secret to political power was to control the Roman mob so they bought the mob with free bread and handouts at entertainments that included gory spectacles to satisfy the mob's blood lust. Perhaps the Congressmen holding these meetings should break out the bread and shower the attendees with lottery tickets or something. I'm sure he/she would have them on the side of health care reform in no time, especially if they hired a couple of WWW wrestlers for the featured entertainment.

Perpetuum Jazzile - Africa (live, HQ)

Not only beautiful singing but terrific sound effects!!