Internet Memory Lane

 Day 7 of 2026 feels weird. How that happened is an adjustment. It's already a week into January?  Will all of 2026 be like that, time sliding by? Methinks, no. 

I've entered a new phase in my life, (along with riding along as Earth ages). I am opening mail within the day of receiving it. That is a major change for me. Going through old papers, I have found unopened mail that's years old. I felt like a slob allowing my papers/mail to be so messy.

The same goes for email addresses. Having a unique email address for each website is a good idea. Categorizing email addresses, I believe, is a security move. I have email addresses that are over 20 years old. Yes, over two decades online is surreal. Reading my old password books is a trip down memory lane.

What I remember most being online in early 2000 is file size. Early 2000, I was taking, Planetary Geology, at UVM (University of Vermont), when I wanted to download a nebula photo. Not understanding photo sizes, pixels, jpg and such, I clicked on the download option. It didn't take long for me to realize that my computer back then did not have anywhere near enough memory for a file that if printed out, could wallpaper a regular size living room. The system locked up. Frantic, I managed to stop the download and delete what I had. I clear cache regularly to this day to free up memory.

All week bit by bit, I've been reviewing email address and old blogs. I discovered that my first Blogspot email address has my old Profile with the year 2008. It has the Profile under the old blog name, Frozencove. There was no blog attached to the Profile. So, I used my first blog name, Cornsilkmoon, and created a blog. It verifies I began on Blogger in 2008.

Cornsilkmoon

Squirrel running along fence

     

Have a run down your Internet memory lane. 

What do you remember most about those early days?

Password & Email Maintenance

Clearing out folders, changing passwords, and sorting photos was a monthly event for me that took hours, sometimes days. Files and photos, I feel, no longer require monthly sorting. Maintaining good password health, however, is always a priority.

In the early days of Ebay when, I believe, a lot of people were getting online, a unique password for each website one registered with was popular with some people. (Moi) A one password for all probably isn't a good security system. Writing down passwords in a tabbed address book is an easy way to keep track of that important information. 

Some tips I use for passwords:

1.   Use unique passwords for everything 
2.   Always write passwords in a notebook 
3.   Add date of creation and changes
4.   Never save passwords online
5.   Minimum 12 various characters long
6.   Never use personal information, name, dates, etc.
7.   Refresh by logging in monthly
8.   Note the website for each password
9.   Keep old password books for a few years

Tips for email addresses:

1. Write down email address in the password notebook
2. Categorize email addresses for family, websites, friends, etc.