For $2, this 11-year-old girl will create you a virtually uncrackable password.

Think you shouldn't leave your online security up to a roll of the dice? This 11-year-old says otherwise.

Meet Mira, a sixth-grader in New York City who enjoys gymnastics, dancing, and, oh yeah, sticking it to would-be cyber-attackers.

Mira is the driving force behind Diceware Passwords, a clever service that builds you your very own, ultra-secure password for just $2.

Diceware builds passwords by, you guessed it, literally rolling dice. Photo by Joe Christian Oterhals/Flickr.

A lot people think the strongest passwords are long strings of random numbers, letters, and symbols, like $%hf73afd#3. But random gibberish like that is almost impossible to remember. You might even be tempted to write it down somewhere (raise your hand in shame in you have a sticky note above your computer with all of your passwords on it), which of course defeats the entire purpose.

The Diceware system uses actual dice to create wacky looking passwords like "cleft cam synod lacy yr wok."

Designed by Arnold G. Reinhold in 1995, Diceware creates "passphrases," or strings of six completely random words from the dictionary. Five-digit numbers created by rolling a die five times correspond to items from a master list of over 7,000 uncommon English words. Rinse and repeat to create the full passphrase.

Behold: random words! Photo by Chris Halderman/Flickr.

It's a little odd, but super effective. Diceware passwords are nearly impossible to crack, but surprisingly they aren't all that hard for humans to remember. If yours were "cleft cam synod lacy yr wok," for example, just imagine a musical clam wearing lacy underwear, being cooked in a wok. Now you've got a password you are't likely to forget anytime soon.

Still, this isn't exactly the most practical method in the world. And that's where Mira comes in.

She first learned about the method while her mom was doing research for a book on cybersecurity. Now, she does all the legwork for people who want a strong password but don't have the time, including rolling the dice herself to create a custom password for each customer. She then mails the password out in an adorable handwritten letter, which, by the way, is way more secure than email. (On her website, Mira reminds customers that U.S. mail can only be opened with a search warrant.)

Sounds legit to me.

Mira's generation will be one of the first to have nearly their entire lives documented online.

Kids start using the Internet really early these days. Photo by Franklin Park Library/Flickr.

They'll grow up with nearly every photo of them ever taken living on Instagram or Facebook. Every interaction with a friend stored inside email or some messaging app. Their entire financial lives documented from the moment they earn their first dollar.

But Mira isn't so sure young people understand the gravity of that.

She told Ars Technica, "This whole concept of making your own passwords and being super secure and stuff, I don't think my friends understand that."

And she's right, but it's not just young people. Turns out, all of us are pretty terrible at creating our own passwords. According to Gizmodo, five of the top 10 most common passwords in 2014 were variations on "1234." The second-most-common password: "password."

Good job, everyone.

Hopefully, Mira's story will get people of all ages thinking more about what we're doing to stay safe online.

She may only be able to roll so many dice in a day, but by setting a good example for her peers (and us grown-ups who have started using the same password for Instagram that we do for our online banking), she can have an even bigger impact.

You can read a lot more about Mira in Ars Technica.

Thumbnail photo by Holly Victoria Norval/Flickr.

A Brazilian widower gets adopted by a penguin. It's freaking adorable.

First a penguin washed up on a Brazilian beach covered in oil. Then he decided he didn't want to go home.

Many of us have special places in our hearts for pets. And for most of us, it's a dog or a cat that greets us when we come home or wakes us up with slobbery kisses.

There aren't a lot of people, though, who can say that their kindred animal spirit is a penguin. But João Pereira de Souza, a Brazilian widower, is one of them.

João lives in a small fishing village near the Brazilian coast, and he formed an unlikely friendship with a penguin named Jinjing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, João found his soon-to-be companion on the beach covered in oil in 2011. He scooped the little guy up and moved him to a shadier spot, where he fed him some sardines.

All images via Wall Street Journal/YouTube.

Then he took the penguin back to the beach so he could swim back to wherever he came from. There was one problem, though: Jinjing didn't really want to go back. He waddled right back out of the ocean and toward João.

"He never left me again," João said of his little penguin friend.

It's been four years now, and Jinjing does occasionally take trips "out of town." He tends to take off for a few months around February too. But he always comes back to the village and to João.

Why is this story so great? Well, first of all, because it's an adorable penguin friendship. But second, João and Jinjing's story really highlights how important it can be to have a companion — even if that companion is an animal.

Spending time with an animal pal can be therapeutic, especially for people who are lonely, anxious, or depressed.

Studies show that spending time with an animal can lower stress levels and even help people process trauma.

Plus, having an animal buddy can also help connect people to each other. Anyone who has a dog knows that it's almost impossible to take a pup for a walk without meeting at least a few people. In a study published in 2000, researchers found that simply walking a dog outside can help spark conversations with strangers.

João and Jinjing can vouch for that therapy.

When they're not swimming together in the ocean or walking on the beach, they hang out with other members of the community, where Jinjing is known as the "village mascot."

Having a pet can make you more physically healthy as well. It's hard to avoid exercise when your dog or cat wants to play every morning, after all. And one study found that having a household pet could even help control blood pressure.

So you don't need a penguin to find heartwarming companionship (and, in fact, you probably shouldn't try to get one).

But there are plenty of rescue animals in shelters that need forever homes and new best friends! You can even start the adoption process today. And if you want to live vicariously through João, you can check out this video of the two BFFs from the Wall Street Journal:

Original video from Wall Street Journal.

Magic words to say when everything's going wrong. (Not 'everything happens for a reason.')

"Some things in life cannot be fixed. They can only be carried."

I'm listening to a man tell a story. A woman he knows was in a devastating car accident, and now she lives in a state of near-permanent pain; a paraplegic, many of her hopes stolen.

I've heard it a million times before, but it never stops shocking me: He tells her that he thinks the tragedy had led to positive changes in her life. He utters the words that are nothing less than emotional, spiritual, and psychological violence:

"Everything happens for a reason."

He tells her that this was something that had to happen in order for her to grow. But that's the kind of bullshit that destroys lives. And it's categorically untrue.

After all these years working with people in pain as an advisor and adversity strategist, it still amazes me that these myths persist despite the fact that they're nothing more than platitudes cloaked as sophistication. And worst of all, they keep us from doing the one thing we must do when our lives are turned upside down: grieve.

Here's the reality: As my mentor Megan Devine has so beautifully said: 'Some things in life cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.'

Grief is brutally painful. Grief does not only occur when someone dies. When relationships fall apart, you grieve. When opportunities are shattered, you grieve. When illnesses wreck you, you grieve.

Losing a child cannot be fixed. Being diagnosed with a debilitating illness cannot be fixed. Facing the betrayal of your closest confidante cannot be fixed. These things can only be carried.

Let me be clear: If you've faced a tragedy and someone tells you in any way that your tragedy was meant to be, happened for a reason, will make you a better person, or that taking responsibility for it will fix it, you have every right to remove them from your life.

Yes, devastation can lead to growth, but it often doesn't. It often destroys lives — in part because we've replaced grieving with advice. With platitudes.

I now live an extraordinary life. I've been deeply blessed by the opportunities I've had and the radically unconventional life I've built for myself.

But loss has not in and of itself made me a better person. In fact, in some ways it's hardened me.

While loss has made me acutely aware and empathetic of the pains of others, it's also made me more inclined to hide. I have a more cynical view of human nature and a greater impatience with people who are unfamiliar with what loss does to people.

By unleashing platitudes and "fixes" on those we claim to love, we deny them the right to grieve.

Above all, I've been left with a pervasive survivor's guilt that has haunted me all my life. In short, my pain has never gone away, I've just learned to channel it into my work with others. But to say that my losses somehow had to happen in order for my gifts to grow would be to trample on the memories of all those I lost too young, all those who suffered needlessly, and all those who faced the same trials I did but who did not make it.

I'm simply not going to do that. I'm not going to assume that God ordained me for life instead of all the others, just so that I could do what I do now. And I'm certainly not going to pretend that I've made it simply because I was strong enough, that I became "successful" because I "took responsibility."

I think people tell others to take responsibility when they don't want to understand.

Understanding is harder than posturing. Telling someone to “take responsibility" for their loss is a form of benevolent masturbation. It's the inverse of inspirational porn: It's sanctimonious porn.

Personal responsibility implies that there's something to take responsibility for. You don't take responsibility for being raped or losing your child. You take responsibility for how you choose to live in the wake of the horrors that confront you, but you don't choose whether you grieve. We're not that smart or powerful. When hell visits us, we don't get to escape grieving.

This is why all the platitudes and focus on “fixes" are so dangerous: by unleashing them on those we claim to love, we deny them the right to grieve.

In so doing, we deny them the right to be human. We steal a bit of their freedom precisely when they're standing at the intersection of their greatest fragility and despair.

The irony is that the only thing that even can be "responsible" amid loss is grieving.

I've grieved many times in my life. I've been overwhelmed with shame so strong it nearly killed me. The ones who helped — the only ones who helped — were those who were simply there.

I am here — I have lived — because they chose to love me. They loved me in their silence, in their willingness to suffer with me and alongside me. They loved me in their desire to be as uncomfortable, as destroyed, as I was, if only for a week, an hour, even just a few minutes. Most people have no idea how utterly powerful this is.

Healing and transformation can occur. But not if you're not allowed to grieve. Because grief itself is not an obstacle.

Healing and transformation can occur. But not if you're not allowed to grieve. Because grief itself is not an obstacle.

The obstacles come later. The choices as to how to live, how to carry what we have lost, how to weave a new mosaic for ourselves? Those come in the wake of grief.

Yet our culture treats grief like a problem to be solved or an illness to be healed. We've done everything we can to avoid, ignore, or transform grief. So that now, when you're faced with tragedy, you usually find that you're no longer surrounded by people — you're surrounded by platitudes.

So what do we offer instead of "everything happens for a reason"?

The last thing a person devastated by grief needs is advice. Their world has been shattered. Inviting someone — anyone — into their world is an act of great risk. To try to fix, rationalize, or wash away their pain only deepens their terror.

Instead, the most powerful thing you can do is acknowledge. To literally say the words:

I acknowledge your pain. I'm here with you.

Note that I said with you, not for you. For implies that you're going to do something. That's not for you to enact. But to stand with your loved one, to suffer with them, to do everything but something is incredibly powerful.

There is no greater act for others than acknowledgment.

And that requires no training, no special skills — just the willingness to be present and to stay present, as long as is necessary.

Be there. Only be there. Don't leave when you feel uncomfortable or when you feel like you're not doing anything. In fact, it's when you feel uncomfortable and like you're not doing anything that you must stay.

I acknowledge your pain. I'm here with you.

Because it's in those places — in the shadows of horror we rarely allow ourselves to enter — where the beginnings of healing are found. This healing is found when we have others who are willing to enter that space alongside us. Every grieving person on earth needs these people.

I beg you, be one of these people.

You are more needed than you will ever know. And when you find yourself in need of those people, find them. I guarantee they are there.

Everyone else can go.

This article originally appeared on Tim Lawrence's blog, The Adversity Within.

Thumbnail image via iStock.

A drug user turned himself in to the cops after hearing the president speak. They didn't arrest him.

Last week, President Obama traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, for a candid conversation about substance abuse.

President Obama speaks at East End Family Resource Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

Before leading a panel discussion, the president talked about the startling toll that substance abuse has taken on the country and on the Mountain State in particular.

The problem has reached epidemic proportions as 44 people in the United States die each day from overdoses of prescription painkillers. West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the country with nearly 34 per 100,000 residents.

"The numbers are big," said Obama. "But behind those numbers are incredible pain for families."

Hours after watching the president's remarks on television, one man took a brave step to change his life.

He called 911, admitted he had a drug problem, and asked deputies to come to his home.

When they arrived, the man (whose name was not released) put his hands on the wall and directed the deputies to a cooler full of drugs and paraphernalia, including marijuana, ecstasy, pain pills, and a digital scale.

A photo of the items seized by the police. Photo by Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, used with permission.

And the officers did something equally impressive: They didn't arrest him.

Instead, the man was taken by ambulance to a treatment center, where he voluntarily entered a rehabilitation program. The sheriff's department declined to file charges and released a statement saying, "We applaud this person's self-initiated efforts and wish him well in his recovery."

Photo by iStock.

The complex problem of substance will require an innovative, all-hands-on-deck solution.

It's a multifaceted problem (affecting the health care industry, criminal justice system, border security, and schools) that will require a complex, dynamic solution.

And some are trying to find those solutions. In the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Police Chief Leonard Campanello announced this summer that his officers would no longer arrest drug users who came to them seeking help. In the first two months of the program, over 100 people entered treatment.

Paramedics take a man to the hospital after a possible overdose. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

But we don't have to wait for a silver bullet. We can take a cue from Gloucester and Kanawha County and start with one fewer arrest and one more person in treatment.

They're saving families communities from one more tragedy.

For more information on substance abuse and addiction, check out the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

With cancer at age 3, Alexis wanted to share her story with the world — as a cartoon.

Alexis' wish was to make a cartoon to inspire other kids with leukemia to be brave.

Soon after her 3rd birthday, Alexis was diagnosed with leukemia.

It began when she was sent home from daycare with a fever. Angela, her mother, noticed Alexis seemed tired and pale. Once doctors noticed tiny red spots on Alexis' skin, they ran a few tests and discovered Alexis had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

All illustrations and photos from Alexis' Wish/Make-A-Wish AKWA/YouTube.

Her family was contacted by Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington. Her wish? To make a cartoon about her cancer.

It's been nearly three years after Alexis's treatment began. She's now finished with chemotherapy, pills, and constant trips to the doctor — her leukemia is at bay, and her life is returning to normal. So when Alexis and her family were contacted about a wish, she told them she wanted to make a cartoon to inspire others with pediatric cancer to be brave even when they're scared.

And so Make-A-Wish, teaming up with a Seattle creative agency, set off to make her dream come true.

Alexis met up with the folks at the agency World Famous to discuss her story. While there, she helped design what her character would look like and what type of story she wanted to tell.

They decided to tell the story of Princess Alexis and how she escaped Kemia the dragon.

Kemia was lurking in the Marrow Woods as Princess Alexis played nearby. The dragon swooped in and locked her away in a castle. To escape the castle, Princess Alexis must find a magic wand hidden within its basement. Though the wand will take Princess Alexis' beautiful hair and her strength, it's what she must use to defeat Kemia and escape the castle.

In other words, it's adorable, and it made me tear up the first time I watched it.

Once the animation was finished, Alexis was off to the recording studio to give her character a voice.

With a script, a microphone, and some time, Alexis and her mother both read lines to be included in the final product.

An estimated 2,670 children age 14 and younger will be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia this year.

It's the most common form of childhood leukemia. Luckily, it's pretty treatable, with a five-year survival rate of more than 85%.

And now here's where you (yes, you) come in to help Alexis' wish: Watch her cartoon and share it with the world.

"Help us make Alexis's wish gain worldwide attention to raise awareness of pediatric cancer by forwarding the link to her video via social media," Make-A-Wish's website says. Below, you'll find the video. It's adorable and well-worth watching and sharing.

More information about Alexis' wish can be found at Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington's website, and you can watch the series of videos that follow the making of her cartoon.

21 times Cher kept it real on Twitter.

She speaks her mind so amazingly. And her emoji mastery is truly something to behold.

Cher.

Image via CBS Television/Wikipedia.

You can count on her to see things from a unique perspective.

GIF from "Live! with Kelly and Michael."

Turning back time, getting you babe, believing in life after love ... she's got it covered. She's CHER!

When I saw Cher's trill-to-the-max post about an incident of police brutality at Spring Valley High School ...

Original.

... I knew I needed to see more.

So I went on a magical journey into the best tweets Cher — the icon, the singer, the mom, the advocate, the Bob Mackie dream, the best Twitter user ever — has to offer.

If you're not ready to keep it 100 with Cher, this post is not for you. For the rest of the 99.9% of the world ... let's get started.

1. If you don't expect a unique perspective from Cher, she'll straight up TELL YOU what to expect from her.

Original.

Fk it.

2. Best use of emojis to fight modern slavery, achieved.

Original.

3. Did I mention solidarity with teens? It's a hard time, and she's here to say "I've been there." Plus: bonus awkward photo.

Original.

4. And a passionate call to the American government to take some responsibility for the problem of mental health, guns, and mass shootings.

Original.

5. Afraid to call out the tragic racism shown in the Oscar-winning film "Glory"? Not Cher.

Original.

She asks the questions we all ask internally but are too awkward to say aloud. Cher, on the other hand, hasn't been awkward since age 13.

6. Cher reminds you that health is also about self love. <3

Original.

7. Again with the realness, and the real questions this time are about the refugee crisis.

Original.

With straightforward questions like these, I'm ready for her to moderate presidential debates!

And Olympic ceremonies.

Or my life.

8. She's not just generous in spirit either.

Original.

9. And she's a supportive mom-4-life to her son Chaz and his stage acting career.

Original.

Way before there was Caitlin Jenner, there was Chaz Bono. And Cher, of course, was nothing but supportive and amazing.

10. She's only human in the face of delicious fried fast food ... and only from time to time!

Original.

11. She once referred Nestlé as "the SeaWorld of water." That is all.

Original.

12. She basically said, "What's good?" to all the critics of Harper Lee, too.

Original.

13. Cher doesn't sugarcoat when it comes to anyone resorting to violence to keep young girls from their education.

Original.

14. Cher is my Twitter dream for her use of "SeaWorld" as an insult in so many different contexts.

Original.

15. True empathy through tragedy and an unwavering faith in the goodness of people? Check.

Original.

If you're starting to think, "I would like to get all my news, good and bad, from Cher," I am right there with you.

16. TREES

Original.

Cher speaks for the trees.

17. She has profound love and empathy for Joe Biden and respects him as he would want to be respected ... for his love of family.

Original.

18. She values expanding her vocabulary.

Original.

19. Cher realizes what it means to be a citizen

Original.

Even after an emotionally harrowing viewing of the presidential debates.

20. Sometimes you need an emoji-laden reminder to relax.

Original.

Throughout my odyssey into Cher's tweets, I've found myself puzzled by the meaning of the ghost emoji. Cher continues to mystify and inspire curiosity!

21. And finally, I'd like to say that Cher does a mean TBT.

No word on whether that's the village people or some other magical music group. Original.

An amazing and rare moment of nonchalance. <3

This list just scratches the surface of the real talk magic that is Cher on Twitter.

You can (and should) follow her on Twitter. She responds with emoji truth to pretty much every current event you hear about, plus so much more.

I love seeing anyone, but especially celebs, be themselves to a fault, speaking their minds, and fighting not just for their own voice, but for the voices of those who can't fight for themselves.

Cher has never tried to fit in, and she's not stopping now! If only more Twitters were like this!

I'm sharing this in the hope it inspires even just one to speak their mind a little louder, be a little bolder, and show just a little more of their true self!

Long live ALL the outspoken Twitter Chers of the world.

You can (and should) follow Cher on Twitter.

Thumbnail image by David Carroll/Flickr.

The story of how a 24,000-square-foot potato farm came to be at an airport in New York.

Taking 'urban farming' to a whole new level, an airline teamed up with a food manufacturer to grow product at an actual airport.

What do you get when you combine an airline that wants to be more environmentally responsible, a food manufacturer that's on board (pun totally intended), and a really creative idea?

The world's first blue potato farm at an airport, of course.

It looks like this:

All photos courtesy of JetBlue.

Here's the story of how the world's first blue potato farm at an airport came to be.

JetBlue Airways, headquartered in New York, has always offered its passengers free bags of Terra Blues, which are potato chips made from blue potatoes (yep, the name is pretty self-explanatory). And passengers seem to enjoy them; last year, they ate almost 6 million bags of them while flying with JetBlue.

Inspired by Terra Blues, someone from JetBlue had the idea to try out a "farm-to-air" experiment. With the help of GrowNYC Partners and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JetBlue and Terra made farming potatoes at an airport an actual thing. They launched the farm project earlier this month.

The farm takes up 24,000 square feet and includes 3,000 crates of potato plants, herbs, and other produce.

JetBlue shared the following facts about the farm:

"It will highlight local farmers and New York's agriculture and is expected to grow more than 1,000 pounds of blue potatoes per harvest, as well as house 2,000 herbs and plants including a variety of produce such as arugula, beets, mint and basil. It is the first blue potato farm in the world at an airport. In collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the other plants being grown on the T5 Farm were carefully selected to deter bird and other wildlife coming to the area."

The airline intends to use the herbs and produce it grows at this new farm in restaurants at JetBlue's airport terminal, and they are working on finding a way to use the potatoes in the actual Terra Blues they offer passengers. Perhaps the best part: JetBlue will donate some of the food grown at the airport farm to local food pantries, too.

Sure, this isn't some gigantic farm that's going to supply all the food the airline serves, but can you imagine what a difference it would make if lots of companies started something like this? It's a small but important step toward responsible food sourcing!

We weren't paid by JetBlue or Terra to share this story. I just thought the idea of a farm at an airport was pretty cool and something other people might like to know about, too.