By Christy Barritt

Worst Passwords Revealed

SplashData, a maker of smartphone applications, revealed the worst passwords of 2011. Among them are “password,” “123456,” “trustno1,” and “letmein.”

Data security experts advise that passwords should contain a least eight letters and a mix of four different types of characters such as uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. Your password also should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address, and should be changed every six months.

Weak passwords put consumers at risk for fraud and identity theft, which is becoming a growing problem.

Other passwords that made the worst passwords list were “monkey,” “dragon,” “baseball,” “iloveyou,” and “superman.”

NASA Employee Fired for Belief in Intelligent Design?

A discrimination lawsuit has been filed in the California Superior Court by a longtime employee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The employee taking legal action was demoted and then fired after sharing intelligent design videos with coworkers.

The man fired was a 14-year JPL computer systems administrator and was accused of “pushing religion” on his coworkers. The employee said he had many conversations about intelligent design and offered DVDs on the subject if someone expressed interest.

The Discovery Institute, a public policy think tank, has taken up the cause and is rallying support for the employee by encouraging the public to call or e-mail the JPL to tell them to stop discriminating against employees who believe the universe was intelligently designed.

A judge ruled that the case presented legitimate issues of fact and law, and the case will now go before a jury.

Major League Baseball Adds “Sexual Orientation” to Employment Policy

Major League Baseball has now added the words “sexual orientation” as a part of the players’ anti-discrimination clause. The change came as a part of a collective bargaining agreement. The clause already prohibited anyone from being discriminated against due to “race, color, religion, or national origin.”

The National Football League, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer have already added the same amendment to their policies.

The National Baseball Association is expected to add a sexual orientation clause to their players’ agreement in the future.

Book’s Popularity Shows Couples Desire for Marriage

Three years after its release, the couple’s devotional book, The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples (B & H Publishing Group, 2009), is still hitting bestseller lists.

The book, written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, is based on biblical themes from the movie Fireproof, and is a devotional targeted at married couples who want to strengthen their relationship.

The book topped the New York Times bestseller list in 2008 after the film Fireproof released and is still hitting the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association bestsellers list.

The Love Dare challenges couples with 40 “dares” that will help to reshape their marriage relationship—everything from practicing patience to writing a renewal of their wedding vows. Couples are encouraged to read a devotional together, complete a complementing challenge, and write a reflection of their thoughts.

The book currently has three million copies in print and has been credited with helping many marriages.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. www.christybarritt.com