Merlene Paynter

Password Managment

As part of my work in support for my employer iwantmyname.com I see a lot of customer complaints and frustrations but one of the most common is forgotten passwords.

Every day we hear from someone who’s forgotten their password and needs a new one. We do have a “reset password” option on the sign in page but we still end up with support cases about forgotten passwords.

And with many websites and services having different requirements for how many letters, numbers and symbols a password must have it starts to get confusing to keep track of them all.

My employer insists all staff members use 1Password to keep our corporate accounts safe so for the last two years I’ve been using 1Password for password management for my personal passwords, my work related passwords and am at the point where I don’t know any password apart from my 1Password password which is actually a 4 word phrase.

I have passwords as long as 24 characters with multiple symbols, numbers and letters that look like my keyboard threw up for every site and service I use. I’ve also started using longer more complicated user names whenever possible. The more secure the better.

Pricing is as little as $2.99 per month for a single user or $4.99 per month for a family of 5 members. There are also business accounts to help keep your business passwords secure as well. After 2 years as a user I’m beyond happy with the service at 1Password. While my employer does pay for my account for work purposes, I have subscribed to the family account for my spouse and two kids use.

Before I started using 1Password, I had used LastPass for a few years. LastPass is a similar password management tool and will also help keep your passwords and user names secure. Pricing is a little lower at $2 per month for an individual user or $4 per month for a family membership. It’s been a couple of years since I was a LastPass subscriber but I was very happy with it when I was.

I’d suggest signing up for a free trial of each service and compare them side by side for a week or two before deciding on one over the other. Each service has a different interface so pick the one that seems most intuitive for you to use and stop trying to remember your passwords or using weak passwords that are easily compromised.

Note: this is not a paid endorsement of either service. I’ve personally subscribed to each service at some point and was very happy with them both.

Ziggy Stardust – Puppy Extraordinaire

by Merlene Paynter

As mentioned in the last post, I’m now a “Puppy Mom” to Ziggy Stardust.

It’s been at least a decade since either Randy or I have had a dog so of course we had to go to for an XL size pup!

We get stopped everywhere we go with people asking us what breed he is, if he’s a Landseer Newfoundland or a St. Bernard. While he does look very much like a Landseer pup and he’s got the size, and the freckles, of a St. Bernard, he’s actually neither.

Ziggy is a Bernese Mountain Dog (mum) x Great Pyrenees (dad) mix and is expected to reach over 130 lbs (59kg) possibly as much as 180 lbs (82kg) once he’s reached his full weight around age 3 years old.

In the photo above, which was taken October 30, 2017 he was 8 weeks old and about 15 lbs (6.8 kg). In the photo below, taken December 1, 2017, at 13 weeks he’s about 29 lbs (13.2 kg). Yes, pretty much has doubled his weight in the 5 weeks we’ve had him.

The whole puppy thing has added a element of chaos, a lot of sleep depravation (he was only able to go 90 mins between bathroom breaks at night the first few weeks – now it’s more like 4 hours at night), and a lot of fun.

Randy & I have set up an instagram account over at instagram.com/ziggydotdog and are setting up a site (and possibly shop) at Ziggy.dog as well.

Blowing the Dust Off… Again

by Merlene Paynter

I’m attempting to blow the dust off this site again… not the first time, likely not the last time… but here we are.

Meet one of the many distractions in my life that keep me from updating regularly, Ziggy Stardust! He’s 13 weeks old as of this writing and already has nearly 400 followers in Instagram.

I’m working on a site for him too – mostly photos since he doesn’t have thumbs and can’t type well. Besides at 13 weeks he really can’t spell either.

Coffee Shop Noise Can Boost Creativity

by Merlene Paynter

There’s something about the hum and activity in a coffee shop that can actual spark creativity according to many. In fact author J. K. Rowling is famously known for having written the first Harry Potter novel in a coffee shop.

How the hum of a coffee shop can boost creativity, a NY Times article, explains some of the science of why the ambient noise of coffee shop clatter, can actually help a writer to get into the creative zone.

For those of us who write at odd times, or just can’t make it to a coffee shop, there’s a new app, Coffetivity, that brings that ambient coffee shop clatter to you wherever you are. Open the Coffetivity website itself in a tab on your web browser or download the app for iPhone/iPad or Android (still in Beta but available in the Google Play store). The app features three “flavours” of ambient coffee shop sounds: Morning Murmur, Lunchtime Lounge, and University Undertones to suit your creative muse’s preference and more are to come.

Personally, I don’t find I can work well in coffee shops due to the visual distractions around me (I people watch too much instead of writing) than the sounds. I bought the Coffitivity apps for both iPad and Android ($1.99 each) for my writing sessions at home to try this week and I do find that the hum of the coffee shop sounds (I prefer Lunchtime Lounge) does help me get into a writing zone even at 5am on my living room sofa without the visual distractions of a coffee shop atmosphere. It’s definitely one of my favourite new weapons in my NaNoWriMo arsenal.

Superstitions, Routines, Good Luck Charms & Funny Hats

by Merlene Paynter

Do you have a special writing routine? hat? good luck charm? fancy mug? to get your head into the writing zone when you write? Do you have a special one for NaNoWriMo?

Many years ago I was hooked on a soap opera called Another World. My favourite character on the show was Felicia Gallant – a very successful romance novelist – and in my formative teen years I thought I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She was bold, quirky, and glamorous. And she always wore a big feather boa when she wrote her books.</nostalgic pondering>

Chris Baty (founder of Nanowrimo.org) speaks of this in his book No Plot? No Problem! (if you don’t have it yet you can grab the Kindle ebook for around $2)- how the act of donning a special writing hat or using a special pen or whatnot can help you settle into the writing zone. I’ve never done the hat or even the glamorous feather boa (which seemed so exotic in the 80s – now boas are a dime a dozen) but in past NaNo years I’d always buy myself a new mug. Something extra large and heavy to hold lots of coffee (or ahem… wine…) while I wrote and I’d forgotten all about that habit until I happened upon this awesome (and heavy) ceramic stein today at the Woodstock Toy & Collectibles show. 22 ounces of awesome – and this is my official NaNoMug – not to be used until November 1 and only during writing sessions.

game of thrones mug
So tell me – do you have any writing charms, hats or superstitions?