Isn’t the internet great?  If you have a question, with very little effort, you can probably find the answer on the internet.  I am so glad Al Gore discovered it.  Or, did he invent it?  I get confused about just what he did.  Well, to prove my point, I went on the internet and found out that while Al didn’t discover or invent the internet, he was one of the Congressional technogeeks who helped fund military projects which led to the internet.  That counts for something.

A few years back, I was at my desk working away, when I received a phone call from Smitty, a high school buddy.  He told me that he was spending the winter in Florida and there was a contest going around the pool.  He wanted to know if I could help him with one of the questions.  The question was, how many spikes are there in the Statue of Liberty’s crown and what do they represent.  I got on the internet and, in no time, found out there are seven  spikes and that they represent the seven seas and the seven continents.  I called Smitty back and gave him the answer.  Then, I realized that Smitty wasn’t as interested in the answer as he was in letting me know that he was retired and enjoying life in Florida, while I was sitting at my desk looking at the snow falling and wondering about the slippery trip home.

Most of the websites that sell stuff (and a lot that don’t) want you to register first.  It is usually painless, unless you failed to notice that they just signed you up for every solicitation they send out.  They want a user name or an email address and, also, a password.  I gave one company George Washington as my user name.  They came back and told me that it was already taken.  Bummer.  I found out that ricequips works.  What a break.  As for passwords, I think most people use their pet’s name.  If your dog is named Spot, you will probably be informed that your password needs at least seven characters.  “Spotspot” will work.  If your cat is named Gertrude, you are in great shape.

My voice mail at work requires a four number code.  I used the last four of my social security number.  How original is that?  After about eight years, somebody decided that we needed to change the code.  So, I switched to the pin number on my ATM.  Then a year later, they want me to change again.  I gave them the last four of my SSN.  But, the automated lady told me I had already used that number.  It doesn’t do any good to scream at her.  So, being a resourceful guy, I punched in the month and day of my birthday.  She came back and told me I could not use my birthday.  That was really creepy.  The automated lady in the phone knows my birthday.  I hung up.  I wasn’t prepared to go further.  But, she knew that I would eventually need to listen to my messages.  She planned on waiting me out.  I decided to see if she knew on what day I was married.  She didn’t.  That solves the problem for another year.  I wonder if she knows my wife’s birthday?

The password on my computer at work has to be changed more often than my voice mail.  It seems like it is every three months, but it is probably more like six or seven.  I started out with my dog’s name, Holly.  Then, I just started through the alphabet changing the first letter to the next consonant.  I started with Bolly, then Colly and Dolly.  Of course, when I needed some technical assistance from our IT department and the guy asked for my password, it was Folly.  What a great password for a serious minded attorney.  When he came back a few months later, my password was Golly.  Some while later, when I needed assistance, I had to stare the guy down and tell him my password was Jolly.  What’s in a password anyway?

If you forget your password, most companies make it rather painless to recover it.  It is like anything else, the first time you have to do it, it’s a little confusing.  I have forgotten passwords so often that I am what you would call a password recovery expert.