Friday, January 12, 2007

Password as mantra

I had a coworker, let's call him 'Michael' (that was his name) who disliked another coworker 'Ted' (the other guy's name). Michael's password was "killted". It must have been cathartic to type "killted" multiple times a day, every day, for months. I wondered if that was a cause or effect of Michael's mean spiritedness.

Your password is a kind of mantra, one that you type rather than say over and over. I tried changing my password to a more life-affirming one.

There is a benefit of an angry password. When someone wants to use your account this happens:

  • sloppy fat jerk: What's your password?
  • you: Just type "I'm a sloppy fat jerk"
If they're not willing to type it, they can't use your computer, jerk.

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