Does anybody else think that computer passwords have gotten a little out of hand? About a year a go I decided to do all of my banking online. I signed up for online statements with banks, credit cards, student loans and my cell phone. Now, each one of these accounts has a different log-in name and password. I would have loved to use one log-in name and password so it would be easy to remember. That is not the case. Each company had a specific requirement for the log-in name and password and I’m taking about requirements way beyond adding a number at the end or a capital letter in the beginning.
No, some of these companies wanted special characters, while other companies wouldn’t allow them. The number of characters varied as well, some companies required no more than 7, while others required 6-10. Not to mention the companies that require a user to change the password every 30 days, and other companies that require a change every three months. It seems like every time I log on, I have to change the password for some account. At one point in time I counted 16 different companies, 11 different log-in names, and 10 different passwords and the list keeps growing.
Just the other day I was ordering pictures online through Walmart and I had to create a username and password. This very blog requires a username and password. It seems like I can’t do anything online without having to create a log-in name and password.
It got to the point where I would have log-in failures because I couldn’t remember my log-in name or password. How bad is that? I can’t even access my own account. I guess that is just really good security?
Trying to remember passwords and usernames got so bad that a few months ago I created a word document with all the companies, log-in names and passwords just so I wouldn’t have to try and remember it all. Think about it. I couldn’t remember my passwords so I had to put them down in writing. Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a password? Now, if anyone saw this document with all the company names, passwords and such, they could have the account information of every single account that I have. How scary is that? What good is a password if I can’t even remember it?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Leaving Late at Night
It seems like every time we have people leaving our house after dark they flip the light switch up and down in an attempt to turn on the lights outside. This act actually makes the lights not work because, little do they know, the lights are on a motion sensor. For them I write this:
When leaving late at night
And in need of light
Just walk right out
And you’ll see about
When leaving late at night
And in need of light
Just walk right out
And you’ll see about
Sunday, August 15, 2010
An excerpt from: Anthony The Ant Becomes Human
At 5 A.M. the army horn sounded. Everyone woke and stood at attention except for Anthony. Anthony laid there sleeping while his comrades stood waiting for their orders. Trevor stood next to Anthony and nudged him trying to wake him. Anthony suddenly realized what was going on and he began to stand up. All of the army ants could see what was happening including one of the generals. The general approached Anthony and proceeded to scream at him.
“What is your problem solider?” The general screamed.
Anthony’s head was pounding and he could barely keep his eyes open. Anthony said quietly, “I don’t feel very good.”
“What did you say solider?” the general screamed.
Anthony spoke up, “I don’t feel very good, sir.
“You don’t feel very good?” the general yelled. “You don’t feel very good?” he repeated. “This is war solider. We don’t stop because we don’t feel very good. Report to me after today’s announcement.”
“Yes, sir.” Anthony responded.
The army ants all standing at attention were silent. They didn’t dare say a word or even look in the general’s direction. The commander-in-chief gave his morning speech:
“Attention soldiers. We have 250 troops arriving later today. We will continue to enlarge our base and continue to stock our food supply. Over the next two days we should have an army of 1,000 ants. We will then set up a base inside enemy territory. Once established we will begin our sneak attack on the humans food supply. Soldiers, move out!”
All the ants moved fast. As Trevor was leaving he leaned over to Anthony and said, “Sorry, Ant.” Anthony stood straight ahead and wondered what was in store for him. Once everyone had left the chamber the general approached him.
“Soldier, can you tell me why you don’t feel very good?” the general said with a stern voice.
“Sir, I drank honey last night.” Anthony said sheepishly.
The general became angry, “YOU DID WHAT!? Do you understand that honey is strictly forbidden inside the military?”
“I do now, sir.” said Anthony.
“Where did you get the honey from, soldier?” the general said with a disgusted tone.
Anthony thought for a moment. If he told the general where he got it from then the other ants would get in trouble and he didn’t want that to happen. “Soldier, I asked you a question!” the general shouted.
Anthony came up with a lie, “I found it hidden in the food supply.”
The general didn’t like Anthony’s answer. “Hidden in the food supply? You had better be telling the truth. If I find out you’re lying, you soldier, will be court-martialed.” Anthony trembled at the thought of being court-martialed. That meant he would be kicked out of the army, he would lose his trust with the colony, and have to do the worst job in the entire colony; he would have to remove…ant waste from the toilet chambers.
The general continued, “Now for your punishment. You will be attending boot camp today. I’m sure all the physical activity will make you feel much better. Do you understand, soldier?”
“Yes, sir,” Anthony said quietly.
The general shouted louder than ever, “I CAN’T HEAR YOU, SOLIDER! I SAID, ‘DO YOU UNDERSTAND!’”
Anthony mustered up his strength and yelled as loud as he could, “YES, SIR!”
“What is your problem solider?” The general screamed.
Anthony’s head was pounding and he could barely keep his eyes open. Anthony said quietly, “I don’t feel very good.”
“What did you say solider?” the general screamed.
Anthony spoke up, “I don’t feel very good, sir.
“You don’t feel very good?” the general yelled. “You don’t feel very good?” he repeated. “This is war solider. We don’t stop because we don’t feel very good. Report to me after today’s announcement.”
“Yes, sir.” Anthony responded.
The army ants all standing at attention were silent. They didn’t dare say a word or even look in the general’s direction. The commander-in-chief gave his morning speech:
“Attention soldiers. We have 250 troops arriving later today. We will continue to enlarge our base and continue to stock our food supply. Over the next two days we should have an army of 1,000 ants. We will then set up a base inside enemy territory. Once established we will begin our sneak attack on the humans food supply. Soldiers, move out!”
All the ants moved fast. As Trevor was leaving he leaned over to Anthony and said, “Sorry, Ant.” Anthony stood straight ahead and wondered what was in store for him. Once everyone had left the chamber the general approached him.
“Soldier, can you tell me why you don’t feel very good?” the general said with a stern voice.
“Sir, I drank honey last night.” Anthony said sheepishly.
The general became angry, “YOU DID WHAT!? Do you understand that honey is strictly forbidden inside the military?”
“I do now, sir.” said Anthony.
“Where did you get the honey from, soldier?” the general said with a disgusted tone.
Anthony thought for a moment. If he told the general where he got it from then the other ants would get in trouble and he didn’t want that to happen. “Soldier, I asked you a question!” the general shouted.
Anthony came up with a lie, “I found it hidden in the food supply.”
The general didn’t like Anthony’s answer. “Hidden in the food supply? You had better be telling the truth. If I find out you’re lying, you soldier, will be court-martialed.” Anthony trembled at the thought of being court-martialed. That meant he would be kicked out of the army, he would lose his trust with the colony, and have to do the worst job in the entire colony; he would have to remove…ant waste from the toilet chambers.
The general continued, “Now for your punishment. You will be attending boot camp today. I’m sure all the physical activity will make you feel much better. Do you understand, soldier?”
“Yes, sir,” Anthony said quietly.
The general shouted louder than ever, “I CAN’T HEAR YOU, SOLIDER! I SAID, ‘DO YOU UNDERSTAND!’”
Anthony mustered up his strength and yelled as loud as he could, “YES, SIR!”
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Oh, Those Many Have To Dos
Oh, those many have to dos make me frown
My Mom drags me all over town
First, for groceries at a supermarket store
And it was already a quarter to four
Then she made me get a haircut
All the way home I continued to moan
I ran to my room to use the phone
Mom said, “Set the table first.” I replied, “But…”
She nodded her head and refused to listen
I now had to wash the table until it would glisten
Finally, to my room I would go
But soon after, the dinner bell would blow
I quickly called Mike
Who had just finished a hike
But before I knew it
It was time to eat
Yuk, we were having a loaf of meat
During dinner all Mom wanted to know
“How was school today?”
And “What did you learn?”
I hoped the conversation would turn
Or I could eat in my room for just one day
Hopefully, the lawn didn’t need a mow
After dinner was what I would dread
Washing dishes and cleaning the table
Tomorrow in class we had to read a fable
Man, I had a scrambled head
Now it was homework time
I was board out of my mind
All these math facts I couldn’t find
Writing poems with words I couldn’t rhyme
Not even a minute break
And it was almost time for bed
Now I had to shower and brush teeth
Tomorrow morning a bed to make
And dishes to wash after I was fed
I want to fly high with the world beneath
Another school day
Thank goodness it was Friday
Oh darn, a writing test
Oh, how I would contest
Another new math fact
I felt like my head was already compact
How I wished for summer to come
When all I have to do is be a bum
Somehow I made it to recess
The end of school was an hour or less
Running, jumping and twirling, oh yes!
Look at that mess
A girl with ketchup on her dress
While counting down until the end of school
A test was passed back with an “A” on top
I was so shocked that my eyes did a pop
I guess I can write with this pencil tool
As I left that day
My teacher just had to say
My hard work will definitely pay
So keep up the good work
I hoped no one would call me a dork
I walked slowly out of the classroom
Just as the girl with the ketchup dress
Walked out of the girls bathroom
She said, “I must confess
I really like your haircut”
All I could mutter was “uht”
She smiled and skipped away
I think her name is May
She was kind of cute
And my heart gave a little toot
When I got home my head was spinning
I told my Mom about the test and the girl
She was happy and gave me more good news
We would go to the beach at my Aunt Sue’s
I dropped my bag and started to twirl
All I had to do was finish my room cleaning
Because of all the hard work I had done
We could spend the weekend there
I could bring a friend too to have fun
I gave her a big hug like a bear
It turns out hard work does pay
It just may not seem like it at the time
All day on the beach I would lay
And all the jetties I would climb
But I couldn’t help but think
About the cute girl named May
Ketchup stain or not
I wondered what I would say
So nervous my stomach would sink
It’s amazing how an annoying haircut
And a girl would make me such a nut
I guess haircuts aren’t so bad
And getting good grades makes me glad
Something I never thought I would say
I can’t wait for Monday
Just so I could see May
My Mom drags me all over town
First, for groceries at a supermarket store
And it was already a quarter to four
Then she made me get a haircut
All the way home I continued to moan
I ran to my room to use the phone
Mom said, “Set the table first.” I replied, “But…”
She nodded her head and refused to listen
I now had to wash the table until it would glisten
Finally, to my room I would go
But soon after, the dinner bell would blow
I quickly called Mike
Who had just finished a hike
But before I knew it
It was time to eat
Yuk, we were having a loaf of meat
During dinner all Mom wanted to know
“How was school today?”
And “What did you learn?”
I hoped the conversation would turn
Or I could eat in my room for just one day
Hopefully, the lawn didn’t need a mow
After dinner was what I would dread
Washing dishes and cleaning the table
Tomorrow in class we had to read a fable
Man, I had a scrambled head
Now it was homework time
I was board out of my mind
All these math facts I couldn’t find
Writing poems with words I couldn’t rhyme
Not even a minute break
And it was almost time for bed
Now I had to shower and brush teeth
Tomorrow morning a bed to make
And dishes to wash after I was fed
I want to fly high with the world beneath
Another school day
Thank goodness it was Friday
Oh darn, a writing test
Oh, how I would contest
Another new math fact
I felt like my head was already compact
How I wished for summer to come
When all I have to do is be a bum
Somehow I made it to recess
The end of school was an hour or less
Running, jumping and twirling, oh yes!
Look at that mess
A girl with ketchup on her dress
While counting down until the end of school
A test was passed back with an “A” on top
I was so shocked that my eyes did a pop
I guess I can write with this pencil tool
As I left that day
My teacher just had to say
My hard work will definitely pay
So keep up the good work
I hoped no one would call me a dork
I walked slowly out of the classroom
Just as the girl with the ketchup dress
Walked out of the girls bathroom
She said, “I must confess
I really like your haircut”
All I could mutter was “uht”
She smiled and skipped away
I think her name is May
She was kind of cute
And my heart gave a little toot
When I got home my head was spinning
I told my Mom about the test and the girl
She was happy and gave me more good news
We would go to the beach at my Aunt Sue’s
I dropped my bag and started to twirl
All I had to do was finish my room cleaning
Because of all the hard work I had done
We could spend the weekend there
I could bring a friend too to have fun
I gave her a big hug like a bear
It turns out hard work does pay
It just may not seem like it at the time
All day on the beach I would lay
And all the jetties I would climb
But I couldn’t help but think
About the cute girl named May
Ketchup stain or not
I wondered what I would say
So nervous my stomach would sink
It’s amazing how an annoying haircut
And a girl would make me such a nut
I guess haircuts aren’t so bad
And getting good grades makes me glad
Something I never thought I would say
I can’t wait for Monday
Just so I could see May
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Writing Words
Just about everyone who has written words in English has written what I have written. The only difference between me and everyone else is the order of the words.
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