Happy Friday, friends!
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind week here. Two trips to the pediatrician {one for each daughter}, a trip to the museum, two meltdowns at preschool {4,102 meltdowns at home} and a few late work nights for the Hubs.
The bright side? My mom was here to visit for a few days, which is always fun.
The not-so-bright side? My technology woes have continued.
This week’s issue…
Online security checks.
They are my nemesis. My foe. I loathe them.
I start to get twitchy when this little screen pops up: 
It’s mocking me.
Can’t read the text above?
Correct. I CANNOT read the text above to save.my.life.
I squint. I tilt my head. I *think* the first few letters are p – T – W…
and then I’ve got nothing.
o? a? d?
It’s like my eye exam all over again, where I’m flat-out guessing half of the letters in the very bottom row.
I pick a letter, finish off the code & hit “submit.”
Naturally, I get it wrong. I always get it it wrong.
Cue second mocking security check box: 
This one seems slightly easier. I breathe a sigh of relief & go about my online business after submitting the magic code.
A little later, I stumble upon a blog post that I enjoy so much, I want to comment. I type up a witty reply, hit submit & I’m greeted by this monster: 
Come.ON!
I get the robot thing, I really do. I have a blog too, and I have to deal with spam & all of its evil forces. It’s one of the reasons that I moderate my comments.
However, I feel like the security word code thing is a little bit of overkill. If you’re moderating your comments, you’re not going to let that remark from WeLuvChippendaleDancers through to your main page anyway, so why the extra song & dance?
And most importantly, why seize the opportunity to make your readers feel like an idiot?
Because now it has taken me three tries to get the word code right, and I can’t even remember what witty point I was trying to make with my comment. And I’m too flustered about the whole situation to care anymore.
So friends, the next time you see one of these boxes: 
You can rest assured that I’ve already cursed the Online Powers That Be and shaken my fist at both my Mac and the sky.
{Sidebar: Please type both words… Words? WORDS?! Typing the “words” would in fact indicate that this random series of letters spells something legible. Words are in the dictionary, security check peeps. “tsehi ctinissi” is not {I googled it, fyi. No dice.)}.
I’m not a robot. I’m just a girl who is begging to stop the word code madness. I think my self esteem is starting to take a hit. 
And that, my friends, is my Friday Fail. Feel free to share yours in the comment section below!
Counting My Kisses: You know I’m all about keeping it positive here at Counting My Kisses. I’m hoping that I’m not the only one who is completely driven crazy by these word code boxes. It’s a stretch to find the silver lining, but I DO think the word codes harbor a tidge of good against spammers. I just wish the codes weren’t quite so difficult to figure out!
Have a GREAT weekend!
blurbbookkisses 
I really don’t like it either. I have the worst time trying to figure out the letters.
Ugh! I couldn’t agree more!!!! They are horrible! I fail at them all the time. Have you ever tried the audible option? Even worse!
Nicole~ I’m so glad I’m not alone!! And yes, I agree, the audible option is even worse {although HOW that is possible, I just do not know!}. So happy you stopped by to commiserate with me. 🙂
I completely understand. I have to keep clicking through till I find one that I am pretty sure I can figure out. If not I ask my husband the computer wiz.
Cassandra~ Yes, me too! I just keep clicking & clicking until I find one that looks like I’ll have a CHANCE of figuring out. Sigh. So happy I’m in good company, thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Thank you, Amy! For quite a while, I felt as though something must be wrong with me because I could never read the letters, then I learned that I’m not alone. I completely agree, there are other tools we can use to block spam and we can always moderate our comments (which is also valuable so we can interact with our readers), I don’t see the need for word codes (side note – loved your comment that they normally aren’t actual words).
Oh Becky, I’m right there with you! Word codes can go away & never come back, as far as I’m concerned. 🙂 So happy you stopped by to commiserate with me!
You and me both. I cannot stand those things. They are so hard to read, sometimes I ask my son what it says just for a second idea.
Lisa Lo~ that is a great idea…maybe I should ask my daughter what those word codes are. At almost 3, she probably has as good of a chance of getting it right as I do! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
I was recently on a site where you just had to click a “play” button and then a phrase (in a perfectly readable sans serif font) appeared in quotes. I just had to enter the phrase. Simply, easy, and not rage inducing!
Lynn~ that sounds so calm & easy! My blood pressure would definitely appreciate that instead of the rage-inducing word codes. Can we petition congress or something?! Or maybe Google, seeing as how they now run the computer world… 🙂 So happy you stopped by to commiserate with me! 🙂 xo
I couldn’t agree me. Sometimes it can be so frustrating!!
Michelle~ Yes! And lets be real, who likes it when computers make them feel like idiots?! Not this girl. 🙂 So happy you stopped by!
Hahaha! This makes me laugh so much! I hate getting cross-eyed looking at the screen at those crazy codes! I’ve actually NOT bought concert tickets because it’s frustrated me so much!
Tina~ I have NOT bought things as well, because I have gotten the word codes wrong enough times that I just give up. So glad I’m not the only one that feels this way. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my gosh – I could not agree with you more. Don’t you think they’re getting so much harder lately? Seriously!
Thanks for linking up to Finding the Funny! Pinning this!
Anna~ YES! They are getting so much harder or I’m losing brain cells by the minute, not sure which one. 🙂 Thanks for pinning and for hosting such a fun linkup!