Intensity

I love the intensity in their faces. These kids are cool, and need never prove it otherwise.

Slept hard, until Eleanor walked up on me for a cuddle at the usual wake up time. Sore and raw, but knowing I have the time to rest and find my own pace. Going out to dig in an hour or so.

Thinking about passwords as I woke. Thanks to friends who have worked internet security, I have a pretty good method for generating strong passwords. Lemme 'splain.

Pick a phrase, not a word. Preferably with an implied or explicit number. '99 red balloons go by' comes to mind. And be willing to punctuate or hit shift.

So, 99Rbgb is probably a little short. Try 99Rbgb((. The ( is simply 9 on shift. Or add your own favorite number - 42$@. ((Rbgb99$@. As long as you remember the phrase, you have a good chance of reproducing the password. A poem, line from a song, famous line. The Quick brown fox, now is the time for all good men, to be or not to be, whatever you know you will remember. Tying it tangentially to the password purpose can help, but it needs to be "wordplay" tied, a crossword clue turned sideways out the corner. Add a comma, a colon, a plus. ,:+? Emoticons mixed in like a wink and a smile, or a sneer and a frown. It just has to be creative, and specific to you.

The other advantage of this sort of password is that you can write it down, in code. ((rBGB9942 won't get someone trying to use it anywhere, but you will know what it means. Anyone might guess my password as 'Eleanor' or 'Moby99' if I write down "cat's name." But, Ewisbf? (Enigma wrapped in soft black fur.) Not so much.


I have several up my sleeve for the next time I have to change mine in the suremed, there is no warning - and it's always when I have to get a drug in a hurry. "You can't have any drugs until you change your password." At least those are short, and don't need capitals or numbers. I make them as easy to key in as possible. Used 'plummy' for a while, kept my left hand free to hold the bupivacaine I thought they'd want while I get them the lidocaine they asked for suddenly.

I only have two work passwords at the moment, thankfully. One for the med machine, one for all my charting. The charting one hasn't changed for a long time, and this worries me a bit. So much need for confidentiality, so many opportunities for scammers to swipe sensitive information, I may just go change mine out of sheer paranoia.

I am a professional paranoid, do not try this at home.