The password is...

STIPIMM: The “Wallace and Gromit” theme song

One of the few joys I get from moving to a new area is the opportunity to create a new password base. In a continuing effort to make the passwords to my account hard to figure out, yet easy to remember, I’ve taken to thinking up a password root that is based on the place I’m moving to. Something not quite so obvious, something that no one else would think up or attribute to me. From there, I use that root and a simple, but obfuscating, formula to come up with passwords for my different accounts in a new place.

The only drawback with my fun little intellectual exercise is that sharing my cute passwords is verboten for the simple reason that they’re supposed to be secret. And as Bridget can tell you, I tend to be obsessively secretive about my passwords. Well now that I’ve updated all my accounts to the new Boston passwords, I can reveal my proud password history.

The following are the password roots that I’ve used since 1992. Note that the actual passwords, once they’ve gone through the formula, look nothing like these, and knowing the roots wouldn’t do you any good without the formula. I’m not going to explain them to you just yet, so you have to try to figure out yourself what they mean. I’ll reveal the explanations in an upcoming post.

While at Rice (1992-1996):
Dartmouth

Pauls Valley, Okla. (1996-1998)
Pecan pie

Winchester, Va. (1998-1999)
Apple pill

Fredericksburg, Va. (1999-2001)
Dead arm

Vienna, Va.
Schnitzel

Washington, D.C.
Dangerfield

My password for Boston is one of my best yet; I’m quite proud of it… too bad I can’t share it.