After the storm...

I used my pin all the time, but my brain suddenly deleted it. I'll probably forget how to chew food next. Funny column at the Guardian. Even funnier: In comments readers commiserate,mention that amnesia extends to computer passwords, some leave their strategies for picking an unforgettable pin. A few samples:

Put a number in your mobile (phone) under the name J Cash - the last four numbers being your new pin...

My parents are musicians, but a bit challenged on the memory front. So they remember PINs by associating the numbers 1-9 with a musical scale (e.g. 1=C, 2=D... a little bit beyond an octave), then they memorise the 4-note phrase that their PIN produces. So, for example, 1445 sounds like 'Away in a...' of the first line of 'Away in a Manger.' Works for them, but then they're quite happy to sing Away in a Manger at ATMs.

I thought everyone used 1234?

I used my mother's birthday, but now that she's no longer alive, it's not reinforced by "you must not forget this date" any more. It fled my brain as my fingers hovered over a keypad last week.

The policymakers who want people never to retire so they won't drain Social Security have not only not considered the chaos of daily new password requests, they have no idea how viral it could be to have everybody asking, "What am I doing here?"

Consciousness costumes: 25 of the weirdest animals: Fetching photos, and great names: Pink Fairy Armadillo, Frill-necked Lizard, Dumbo Octopus. Lotsa funny faces, when you can find 'em.

I'm not going for merely the cheap "Aw..." of Cats in Boxes. I see archetypes. Here's the Blobfish:

Psychrolutes marcidus To remain buoyant, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front it. ... More info

No dancehall: rootsrockreggae "your reggae oldies radio station - 60s 70s & 80s music from Jamaica." Click "Listen" at the top of that page. Tiny Shoutcast station -- 125 streams -- from Savanna la mar.

Low-hanging fruit: The New York Times food section does tomatoes today, and a recipe for Gazpacho With Watermelon and Avocado caught my eye. Cool, easy, sloppier at my house than the severe food styling in the photo above.

Reading the instructions, I realize that the avocado is added later as chunks on top, and wonder if color theory ruled here. Red and pale yellow-green make brown, which might look more like naked chili and less startlingly red. I'm tempted to puree it all together, for the sake of good taste.

Also, what to do with green tomatoes: Green Tomato and Lemon Marmalade. Save this for the night before the first hard frost.

New meme: "Bacn" -- not spam, but not now, please. What the Web is calling those emails you've asked for but... They're newsletters you've signed up for, Your American Express bill is ready, Our Internet-Only Flower Bulbs Offer, Review-A-Day, Facebook invites...

The term was allegedly coined at PodCamp Pittsburgh.

Lack of vowels duly noted. Blame it on the dearth of unclaimed, well-spelled domain names.