What's in a Password ~ Jean C. Gordon

I think I'm safe in saying that these days we'd all like to feel a little safer. I have a small way you can. When was the last time you changed your passwords? If the answer is "I can't remember" or "never," today is the day to do it. Today is World Password Day.

Some Basic Tips

Choosing a password that's both strong and easy to remember may seem tricky, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some basic tips from Boston University for setting passwords:

• Use a mix of alphabetical and numeric characters.
• Use a mixture of upper- and lowercase; passwords are case sensitive.
• Use symbols if allowed
• Choose a phrase, but use use only the consonants. For example: "So Many Books. So Little Time," becomes SmbSlt. Add a couple numbers, maybe your pet's birth year, and you have SmbSlt2016
• Make the letter part of your password a combination of two unrelated words, such as shoeweaving, if you love shoes and know how to weave. 
• Replace a letter with another letter, symbol or combination, but don’t be too obvious about it, such as replacing o with 0 or b with 2 or i with 1. 
• Makeup an easily phonetically pronounceable nonsense word, such as, Son-SetYell-0.
• Use Two words separated by a non-alphabetic, non-numeric, or punctuation character, such as Moms@%LapTop9.

Combine as many of these techniques as possible to come up with something you can remember that's a minimum of eight characters long.

What Not To Use

Here are some words and combinations not to use.

• Your name in any form:  first, middle, last, maiden, spelled backwards, nickname or initials.
• Part of your userid or name.
• Any common name, such as, Sue, Joe.
• Passwords of fewer than eight characters.
• The name of a close relative, friend, or pet.
• Your phone or office number, address, birthday, or anniversary.
• Any all-numeral passwords, such as, your license-plate number, social-security number.
• Names from popular culture
• A single word either preceded or followed by a digit, a punctuation mark, up arrow, or space.
• Words or phrases that do not mix upper and lower case, or do not mix letters or numbers, or do not mix letters and punctuation.
• Any word that exactly matches a word in a dictionary, forward, reversed, or pluralized, with just some or all of the letters capitalized

Do I have your thoughts whirling? Have fun and surf safe.

And Don't Forget to . . .

Along with inviting you to review and change your passwords, I'm also inviting you to the Sweet Romance Reads Author's Annual Mother's Day Party. All you need to do to take part in all the fun, games, and prizes is be a member of the Sweet Romance Reads Cafe on Facebook. Sign up HERE.

I'll be hosting 6:15 to 6:30 pm. See you there.

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Valentine’s Day by Patricia Forsythe

 

While I realize that Valentine’s Day is a manufactured holiday, designed specifically to sell candy and flowers, it’s still fun and I associate it with many happy memories. 

When I taught school, I enjoyed receiving Valentine’s Day cards, and seeing my students open and read theirs.  Watching them moving further and further up the 'sugar high' scale thanks to our holiday class party, not so much.

For the heart-happy day itself, I relish sending cards to my loved ones.  I like to imagine the way my three grown sons roll their eyes at the sappy ones they receive from me.  I mean, seriously, why have sons if you can’t embarrass them?

And then there was the time I wanted to make a lovely Valentine's Day dinner for my family.  It was a new recipe I'd never made before -- and never since -- something vaguely Chinese as I recall.  Sadly, when I added the last ingredient, the entire dish turned purple.  Really purple.  Since there wasn't time to prepare anything else, I prayed it wouldn't poison us, and solved the problem by turning off the lights and lighting a few -- very few candles.  We survived.

Years ago, an elderly friend of my aunt’s was arrested on cattle rustling charges in Arizona’s White Mountains.  It was a bogus charge brought about by a vindictive neighbor, but the old man had to spend some time in jail until it was cleared up.  My aunt thought it would cheer and comfort him if she sent him a Valentine’s Day card, which turned out to be the talk of the prisoners, mostly young men who couldn’t figure out why the old guy got a card and they didn’t.  For years, I’ve tried to work that incident into a book, but so far, haven’t found the right place for it. 

In order to help you get in the mood for the holiday, on February 12th from 2:00 – 8:00 pm EST, the Sweet Romance Reads Authors are having a Valentine’s Party. We'll have games, giveaways, and books. Come join us!

Also, if you haven't signed up for our newsletter, scroll down the side of this page and find the place to give us your contact information.

Do You Enjoy a Party? Short Romance stories?

 Then have I got a deal for you! 2 deals actually.

FIRST

The Sweet Romance Reads group is going to host a FACEBOOK party--Santa's Sweet Romance Reads Bash--on Wednesday December 17th at noon to 8 p.m. ET for any and all! See below for the link.  I'm already looking forward to it.

Several of our authors will be taking turns offering fun games, quizzes and giving out prizes! I'll be hosting a half hour around supper time. I'm going to try to find a fun Christmas trivia quiz. And many fun facts about Christmas. And maybe even a recipe!

SECOND

Shaleen Kapill will be posting a piece of flash fiction on Sunday December 7th. What is flash fiction, you ask? I'm going to let Shaleen explain it. But it's all part of the launch our group's enewsletter. If you love sweet romance reads (THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT!), this is for you! Now how to make sure you get  this--

We will be sending out a Christmas enewsletter with a collection of Christmas stories you won't want to miss! To sign up, please scroll down on the right and enter your email address under Mailing List. And don't miss our Santa's Sweet Romance Reads Bash on Facebook on Weds Dec17th-noon to 8 p.m. Eastern. Sign up to join in the fun here: http://on.fb.me/1yqvdOe

So we hope Sweet Romance Reads can add to your enjoyment of this wonderful holiday season. May I be the first to wish you A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!  

BTW,  I've just released "Where Honor Began," a novelette prequel to my novel, HONOR, the first in my "Quaker Brides" series.

BLURB:

How can unexpected visitors turn one’s world upside down?

Honor Penworthy, a young Maryland lady, tries to keep faith with a friend amidst family turmoil.

But the stakes rise higher when the war that seemed so faraway comes dangerously close to her and those she loves.

What a difference three days can make in one life--leaving a legacy of conflict but with honor.

To purchase, click cover.