Just bury me with my iPod and Stanza displaying 'The Great Gatsby'?

Doc W. today reduced my cardio rehab sessions to once a week and said I might have another two or three decades left after my quad bypass.

But if you’re not as optimistic about your own prospects, here’s some News You Can Use.

The latest craze in funerals is to include an iPod in the casket, so that the e-hip dead can enjoy music or other entertainment in the afterlife.

Does this mean that my family should bury me with my iPod Touch—and the Stanza program displaying The Great Gatsby in ePub?

Nope. When you’re done, you’re done. I say, Just toss some of my ashes off the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into the Potomac—not all, since I’m anti-pollution. No gadgets, no fancy ceremonies. But in case you feel otherwise and maybe even want your iPod playing The Grateful Dead‘s best, here’s the lowdown from the Inquirer:

Ed Defort, publisher and editorial director for American Funeral Director magazine, said there are cases of a bloke being buried with his Ipod in the hope of being wired to the end. However what is stranger is that they want the gear switched on so that their mates can ring them, at least until the battery wears out.

Pam Vetter said she had seen family members place Ipod earphones on the dead person and play songs as the casket closed. She said that it was comforting to the family to think that “mom’s playing her Ipod… or dad’s still got the mobile phone that was attached to his ear all the time.”

We would have thought making the last journey to the underworld with Coldplay ringing in your ears would be sign of terrible forboding.

One funeral director said that he had seen people leave mobile phones on and tell me they’re going to call their loved one later. They know no one will answer, but they want to have that connection.

So what do you think, gang? Will we soon see Kindle owners eager to enjoy their K machines in the afterlife? Oprah says the Kindle can be a life-changer. Can it be a death-changer, too?