Planned Passwordhood

If you're like me, you have a lot of passwords. And if you're cautious, you employ multiple passwords that shouldn't be easy to guess. But if you're also like me, you have some version of culture-induced ADD. And you forget some of your passwords. If you use multiple computers in multiple locations, this can be a pain.

Let's say you've set up a new account on some web site. A week later, you've already forgotten your password. After multiple attempts to recall it, you give in or you're shut out. So you click the "I Forgot My Password" button, which sends a new -- but temporary! -- and overwhelmingly unmemorable password to your email address. You can finally log in again -- but you have to create yet another new password, which you promptly forget the next day. And the cycle repeats again and again.

In the Web 1.0 years, this wasn't such a big deal. Forgetting your password was as simple as remembering the answer to a simple "hint" or verification question (What's your pet's name?). Answer the question, et voila! Here's your password. However, for understandable reasons, password retrieval is a thing of the past. Now, in this age of sophisticated hacks, if you answer the hint questions accurately, you'll only get an opportunity to change to a new password, but never retrieve your old one. And thus your array of new passwords will proliferate like bunnies.

So....what to do? I can't travel from place to place carrying a notebook full of passwords everywhere I go. And because I use multiple machines, saving my passwords to Keychain Access (in Mac OS X) does me no good.

I need a good system for remembering my passwords.....any advice? Maybe a USB memory stick that I carry with me...and which contains all my passwords in a text file. Or can anyone recommend a secure, portable software utility for password recall?