Wetware Solutions
free expert computer tips for everyday users

When you need legal advice, you should get it only from a qualified licensed attorney. Seriously, there’s no substitute. To help you learn a little more about legal issues that affect you and to find a qualified attorney in your area, definitely visit FindLaw.Com, an excellent resource on legal matters.

In some instances, however, you’ve already made the important legal decision (about starting a business, protecting your intellectual property, filing for bankruptcy, writing a will), and you just need a little help on procedures. NOLO.com can guide you to the right procedures and the right forms, even simplified divorces (no children and little property). NOLO is an excellent resource for forms and procedures, how-to articles, tips. As one attorney said, if you feel insecure or are in a specific or complex situation, seek counsel. Another approach is to review the NOLO resources with the confidence that you can figure it out, and if you can’t, see a lawyer. Excellent advice!

In addition to forms and procedures, NOLO.Com provides a helpful newsletter and frequent podcasts by attorneys on a number of legal issues. Take a listen to NOLO’s recent estate planning podcast: Do You Need a Will or a Trust? by Attorney Denis Clifford, author of Plan Your Estate. Living Trust is an issue I’ve been exploring now for some time. I may not have much to leave behind, but the possibility of helping my family avoid the costs and complexities of probate is really appealing to me. As for estate taxes, learn from Attorney Clifford that most of us won’t be liable for estate taxes . . . unless we’re millionaires. Really, only about 1% of the U.S. population will have to pay estate taxes (erroneously referred to as “the death tax.”)

Even if you ultimately go to an attorney, it’s best to be as informed as possible so that you know what questions to ask, what forms you might need, and what directions you want to explore with your counsel. It could make a lot difference in your bottom line when you get your attorney’s by-the-hour billing statement. Being informed is not only cost-effective, but improves your ability to effectively communicate with your attorney. That’s always a good thing.

If you have serious legal issues and no money, your area may also provide free legal aid. In South Florida, for example, and in particular in Broward or Collier counties, definitely visit LegalAid.Org, an excellent organization that provides help to indigent people in domestic violence issues, restraining orders, AIDS/HIV programs, tenant actions, certain immigration issues and more. If you’re outside Broward and Collier, just do a search for “legal aid” and your city, county or state, or visit Legal Services Corporation’s web site. For free legal aid matters, look especially for a web site name (domain) that ends in “.us,” “.gov,” or “.org” which are more frequently used for U.S. government resource sites and non-profit organizations, respectively.

Who says all the good ideas for web launches are gone? Don’t tell Mark Buckman and Luke Savinsky, co-founders of Platewire.Com, a public forum where people forced to travel on concrete superhighways, as opposed to the virtual ones here, can exorcise their frustrations at people who put stupidity on the road, and I do mean stupidity. Consider this incident reported by Buckman himself during a 17-mile trek in which he and his companion were run off the road by a “driver” who was bent over his back seat looking for documents in a file box while steering with his left knee. Interesting.

Do you have similar stories? Well, you can post them at Platewire. Not only will you be able to vent your frustrations by posting, but you’ll also be warning other drivers in the area, and possibly the police. In fact, it probably won’t be long before law enforcement agencies start reviewing Platewire for information on reckless drivers to BOLO (be on the lookout for). Since many cars and drivers routinely travel the same roads, imagine having cops in the area know ahead of time which drivers take unnecessary risks — with your safety and theirs. Think of Platewire as a Citizen’s Watch for public roadways and you’ll get the basic idea. Truly excellent.

Maybe we’ll start seeing other public forums where people can report bad, and potentially dangerous, behavior. The side of me that is anti-Big Brother does cringe a little; but then there’s the other side of me that likes at least the concept of a jury of your peers. Yeah, maybe public forums are the way to go.

On November 30th, I finally joined MySpace.Com primarily to promote my work, but how nice to have a personal blog space as well for those random thoughts that just don’t fit anywhere else. MySpace is a social networking web site. People go there to get connected with other people sharing similar interests.

You may have heard a lot in the news about how predators misuse MySpace to arrange meetings in the real world with their would-be victims. The danger is real, but in the absence of information about the benefits of socializing in online communities, virtual places like MySpace seem all bad, and that notion is simply skewed. In this, MySpace is like any other place (online or offline); caution and commonsense is needed to travel there safely, and unattended minors are always at risk.

My blog, however, is meant for adults, and more than that: for mature adults who know how to avoid unnecessary risks in deciding what to post online and whether to meet with someone face-to-face offline.

So if you’re an adult, and if you’ve been thinking about joining this online community, you’ll find it relatively easy to do. There’s so much information out there about MySpace, and in particular, on how to customize your member page to achieve the look that’s right for you. Here are the links I found the most helpful for customizing MySpace:

Thomas MySpace Editor
MySpaceMaster.Net
MySpace Gens
My Wacko Space

The MySpace templates are a good starting point, but they can look a little cookie-cutterish, and they’re a bit busy for my taste. The links above helped me make MySpace look more like my space, and they can do the same for you.