The Internet-ordained minister is the subject of lots of jokes in our culture, but the funniest part is that it's true: you can go online and get ordained as a minister for free.

I did it just for fun a couple of years ago through the Universal Life Church (ULC), based in California. All you have to do is go to their Web site, fill out a very brief form, and wait for an email confirming your ordination. (An actual person approves the request, so it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of days to get ordained.)

The ordination is completely free of charge, although they do try to sell you stuff like business cards and suitable-for-framing certificates declaring your new spiritual title. (I passed on these, but occasionally request that my friends address me as "reverend.")

For Wisconsinites, it's not necessary to have a religious credential to officiate a wedding or a funeral -- anyone can do it. However, for those of us with too much cyber free time on our hands, getting officially ordained online is an entertaining way to procrastinate when you should be, say, writing an article. It might even beat eBay.