Share and Share-alike

Wikipedia defines Share-alike as a descriptive term used in the Creative Commons project for copyright licenses which include certain copyleft provisions. You are allowed to copy, recast, transform, adapt, perform, record or translate a share-alike copyrighted work, however doing so creates a “derived work” on which share-alike copyright restrictions are automatically imposed.

Don’t leave, I have something to share! First I want to say I hate the internet. If I could sue it for a hostile work environment, I would! There is just so much stuff on the internet and I don’t know why I think I have to see it all. I don’t know, I was thinking about applying for a job at Internet.com or www.com until I found out these were actual companies and I was only kidding. I hate the world wide web.

I’m so off track, but this is what I wanted to share. This post is actually about passwords and how I keep up with mine. You know you need a password for most everything when you are surfing the web and many people pick one password for everything and use several variations of it. Of course, sometimes we forget which one we used for what site.

I started writing my passwords in a reporters pad that I keep…well I’m not telling you. Anywho, I have so many passwords in that little pad, that it’s hard to find the one that I need when I need it. I’m flipping through pages, turning it sideways and looking on the backs of the pages. Sure you can succumb to that disease where you can’t remember anything, the name escapes me right now, and click the “I forgot my password” link….but to which email address is that password linked? Problem! I have close to 20 email accounts….don’t ask and I won’t tell. (Reader: Where is she going with this?). See, hostile work environment, I’m frustrated because I don’t know.

Here’s what I came up with…. (Reader: Finally. This post is boring, but I’m still reading it for some reason, this better be good) oh wait…I used to type my passwords in a Word document, convert it to something I could read on my Pocket PC, but I stopped that because I carry that with me and could lose it and then I would be (__________)! Fill in the blank.

Reader: (Get on with it, will ya.) I decided, I’m typing slow because I want you to enjoy this. I d e c i d e d, okay, okay, I’m starting to bore myself. I decided to purchase an ADDRESS BOOK and write my passwords down according to the name of the web site. So when I go to Amazon.com and I can’t remember my password, under the letter A, I would write Amazon.com, password, user name and associated email address. Ta da. Applause!

Reader: (Mad, confused, mouth open. THAT’S IT!)

Yeah that’s it. That’s my bright idea.

Reader: (Moving mouse to click on the back arrow to leave)

Well for those of you who are still here, give it a try. If you have already been doing this how come you didn’t tell me about it? I spent 15 minutes coming up with this idea and another 30 minutes blogging about it. I could use this time to search the web and gather more passwords…..AND I will also need another 30 minutes to rewrite, in pencil, my passwords in my new phone/password book.

Next time you have a great time management idea, share and share alike, it might just save someone else the time and headache. If you can use this idea, make sure when you register for this blog (to have my lovely posts emailed to you) and it sends you a password, that you list me as: first name Valerie, last name Morrison.