Since this is the season of giving gifts, I figured it was an appropriate time to FINALLY pull out the long planned post on a item my brother Ron found at a local bookstore. Upon spotting it in the store’s designated bargain area, he immediately called me knowing it would add a bit of humor to the day. In truth it both gave me a chuckle and at the same time frightened the hell out of me – so much I asked him to pick it up for me so I could use it here. Thankfully it had already been marked down, but let’s give Ron some credit for removing at least one opportunity for someone to do something REALLY REALLY stupid. What is this evil I talk about, that is so heinous (.. and yes a big dose of hilarity) that warranted being added to my “Worst thing Ever” list? I shall delay no more..
I’m guessing there were two reactions to that image. Either you are in the Information Technology field and just crapped your pants our you are prone to identity theft and thought “Hey, that would be handy!” I decided that the Internet is so ubiquitous these days that the “What’s the Internet” response has long since sailed. So, someone at Piccadilly publications decided that the Internet was so ripe for money making opportunities that it was worth bringing a product out in this space. Let’s see, a book on how to use it has already been taken by the Dummy and Idiot series, a collection of cool website has pretty much been replaced by that Googelly company. Just then some smart-ass IT guy walks by and says .. “How about a book of post-its that you can write your passwords on and stick to your computer – that way you can STOP calling our help line every month asking for a reset” . Light bulbs go off, fireworks light up the skies and next thing you know their designers are busy planning out a cool, sexy layout to unleash on the hordes of customers just waiting for a way to keep all their passwords handy. All you security people just relax a little. Piccadilly didn’t make it in the publishing world by being stupid. They made sure to leave off any markings on the cover – you don’t want any misguided soul eying your password book and getting any ideas.
Nothing to see here, just your standard run of the mill black book for sketching.. yeah, that’s it, sketching. Now just in case you forget what it’s for, they did put a title on the first page – INTERNET PASSWORD LOGBOOK. I like how they were considerate enough to shout it seeing as how their target audience are likely all gray haired and deaf. But wait, isn’t this data you might want to keep protected in some manner..
No worries, they put a lock on it! Those Piccadilly people are geniuses. Now if I happen to leave it in the airport I can sleep assured that all my important passwords are sufficiently protected from prying eyes. Guessing this one was simply missing the key which is why it was stuck in the Bargain Bin – otherwise the full price of $12.99 would be a steal. Hmmm .. but what if someone is able to make a key, would there be a way to indicate who it belongs to? The world is so trusting these days, I’m sure anyone who found it would surely return it. At least that is what the publisher thought seeing as how they provided a convenient place to put your name, address, phone numbers and even your email – and just in case you had a heart attack when you found out every account you own has just been compromised, they included an emergency contact area.
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