My west of the Missouri River thinking says reality is to blame. It says reality is a slippery slope. If I came face to face with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (other than willing myself into butter on an Iranian summer day) I would have nothing to say to him. He would have nothing to say to me either. Our realities are universes apart.

If I ran into Michael Vick and I told him I had a dog – half pit bull – that I love. My reality might allow me to ask, ‘Dude, you did what? Shocked them, beat them, starved them, isolated them?’ Bet your life, I wouldn’t understand his answers. He lives in another reality that made that ok.

So it goes with hackers, cracker and identity thieves. Folks, these guys make Michael Vick look like a saint. Heed these warnings:

• Don’t use the same password for everything. Twitter, the sparkling new go-to site just got hacked and embarrassed big time.
• Install security software and keep it up to date.
• Archive your email.
• Don’t be lulled into the, ‘I have nothing to hide’ mentality. You have a social security number, one or two or three bank accounts and an identity that is worth big bucks –valuable assets that deserve as much protection as the contents of your car when you park at the grocery store.

You see the folks who are in the business of cyber theft live in a different reality. Think about it! Just for a minute. Please.

Point is – protect your identity. Keep a password cheat sheet. But keep it private. Don’t be lazy. And please, be tolerant of pit bulls. They are the best dogs in the world.