. I originally put my config variables at the top of my script. I added my usage statement at the top to give a POD-like overview to anyone reading the code (which of course begs the question of why I didn't use POD itself). I agree that this tends to bury the config vars pretty deep, and I like the suggestion someone else made about using constants to correct it.
The obscured password is my equivalent of the asterisks that appear when you are typing in a password field. (Sure, someone can pay close attention to what I'm typing, but it prevents people subconsciously picking it up while standing over my shoulder.) No one who should not have access to the password should have access to the script itself.