Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Through the Keyhole - December 2019

DEC 2019
Through the Keyhole
Take a break from your day...

Not your typical company OR newsletter
Can you guess the location?
"This ancient city was literally buried long ago in a hot flash.  Once a wealthy town, the inhabitants were literally frozen in a moment creating an archaeologist's dream. Although you can find the area rebuilt today, some say we are just away from this happening again.  Can you name this place?"
Send your guess HERE

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like

CHRISTMAS
As we say goodbye to 2019, we say hello to the last month of the decade.  It is hard to believe that it is already here and I thought it would be fun to look at some things that happened 10 years ago to give us all perspective as we approach the year 2020.  It is hard to believe we are not riding around on hoverboards, flying cars and talking to robots at McDonalds.  That is what I always pictured 2020 would be.  Perhaps I watched too much of the Jetson's when I was young.  Or perhaps I believed Doc from the movie Back to the Future.  Either way, it is 2020 so let's have some fun.

In the Year 2010...
  • The Top Song was Tik Tok by Ke$ha
  • The Big Movies included Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland and Iron Man 2
  • Price of Nyquil liquicaps in 2010: $5.69/12
    Ground Beef (90%): $3.99/pound
  • The World Population was ~ 6,860,000,000
  • The somewhat annoying Vuvuzela Horn, used during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa became a Pop Culture Phenomenon.
  • And... Moriusaq, Greenland had a population of 3 in 2009. A 2010 self defense case, ending in the death of one individual, dropped the population to 2 people.

World Series Champions

San Francisco Giants

Superbowl XLIV Champions

New Orleans Saints

National Basketball Association Champions

Los Angeles Lakers

NHL Stanley Cup Champions

Chicago Blackhawks

Sandra Bullock accepted her Golden Raspberry Award in person for Worst Actress for her role in All About Steve. The following night, Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side.

McDonald's started offering free wifi throughout the USA in January 2010. Starbucks started with free wifi in July 2010.

Kodak discontinued the famed Kodachrome film.

The US Department of Defense connected 1,760 Playstation 3 consoles to create the Condor Cluster supercomputer. It cost $2 million to build, and only uses about 10% the energy consumption of a comparable supercomputer.

Sony was still producing the Cassette Walkman up until this year.

26.5 million Canadians tuned into the gold medal final in men's hockey during the 2010 Winter Olympics. That's 80% of the entire country's population.

If you bought ONE share of Coca-Cola stock in 1920, it would be worth $6.7 million by 2010.

Vuvuzelas were so prolific during the 2010 Soccer World Cup that TV broadcasters received hundreds of complaints and had to work to filter the annoying sound out.
 

2010/11 Biggest Television Shows

(according to Nielsen TV Research)
1. American Idol (FOX)
2. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
3. Sunday Night Football (NBC)
4. NCIS (CBS)
5. NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
6. The Mentalist (CBS)
7. Body of Proof (ABC)
8. Criminal Minds (CBS)
9. The Good Wife (CBS)
10. 60 Minutes (CBS)
 

Popular Movies

(according to boxofficemojo)
1. Toy Story 3
2. Alice In Wonderland
3. Iron Man 2
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
6. Inception
7. Despicable Me
8. Shrek Forever After
9. How To Train Your Dragon
10. Tangled
The Year in Review - 2010 ~4 minutes
Guess the Location Game

Last month the winner of the guess the location game was John Crocco AND Jon Bredehoeft who guessed the right answer.  I appreciate all of the participation.  THANKS FOR PLAYING!
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
"This Kingdom is headed by a 51 year old bachelor where almost 50 percent of the population is under 15 years old. Probably one of the only places where a McDonalds is not found, this location has one of the wonders of the world and the only nation flag bearing a building.  Can you name this place?"
Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s most popular attraction. The legendary temple complex is the largest religious monument in the world with an incredible history. A captivating site, I have pulled together a list of the top ten facts about Angkor Wat.  As as a point of fact, there are other nations that have a building on their flags (thank you John Crocco). I guess you can't believe everything you read on the internet:)

1. Angkor Wat was built without the aid of any machinery. The site was constructed between 802 and 1220 AD when machinery wasn’t available.

2. It took 35 years to build with the help of approximately 1,000 elephants in addition to the 300,000 labourers. A huge five million tons of sandstone was used to build the religious site which covers an area of 208 hectares.

3. It attracts two million tourists a year with limits now being put in place on the number of visitors allowed at certain times.

4. Cambodia is incredibly proud of Angkor Wat and an image of it is included on the country’s flag. Cambodia and Afghanistan are the only two countries who display their national monument on their flag. Illustrations of Angkor Wat also appear on denominations of the riel, the Cambodian currency.

5. The aptly named Angkor Wat translates as ‘a city of temples’. Angkor means ‘city’ or ‘capital city’ in Khmer, the Cambodian language, and Wat translates as ‘temple grounds’.

6. Paramount Pictures paid $10,000 a day to film in the temple Ta Prohm for the 2001 film ‘‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’. It was after filming in Cambodia that Angelina Jolie made the decision to adopt her Cambodian son Maddox.

7. Originally built for the Hindu religion, Angkor Wat became Buddhist in the late 13th century. The temple is still used for worship today.

8. After 1432 the city of Angkor was forgotten for a few centuries with passing Buddhist monks occasionally stumbling upon the ruins yet not understandings its origins. French explorer Henri Mouhot discovered Angkor Wat in 1860. Dying of fever in Laos a year later, people learned about the temples in his writings published posthumously.

9. Angkor Wat went through years of looting and many statues were decapitated for sales to private collectors. It became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, which encouraged an international effort to prevent further damage.

10. Angkor Wat faces the west which is unusual when compared to similar temples in the region, which commonly are directed towards the east. As the west is associated with death it’s believed the site was built for funerals or used as a tomb. Nowadays, the location means it faces towards sunset, a popular time to visit.
Angkor Wat from the Sky ~ 1 minute
More footage from a drone. ~3 minutes

Angkor Wat Explained ~3 minutes

*BANGING THE GONG*

Windows 7 End of Life Support
The end of the Windows 7 lifecycle is set for January 2020. "End of life" means Microsoft will discontinue all support, including paid support; and all updates, including security updates.
Between now and then, the operating system (OS) is in an in-between phase known as “extended support.” During this phase, Microsoft is offering paid support, though not the complimentary support that comes with the license; and will continue to provide security updates, but not design and feature updates.

Why Is the Windows 7 Lifecycle Ending?

The Windows 7 "end of life" cycle is similar to that of previous Microsoft operating systems. Microsoft states, “Every Windows product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported. Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to update, upgrade or make other changes to your software.” 
Even though Microsoft says it will support Windows 7 until January 2020, it began blocking older machines, such as those using Pentium III, in June 2018. Microsoft can block support for any machine at any time, so Windows 7 users should be prepared.

What Does "End of Life" Mean?

"End of life" is the date after which an application is no longer supported by the company that makes it. After Windows 7 "end of life," you can continue to use the OS, but at your own risk. New computer viruses and other malware are developed all the time and, without the security updates to fight them off, your data and your system are vulnerable.
Receive $100 when you trade up from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Pro PC
Christmas Vacation SECRETS...
The 1989 hit movie is loosely based on a short story , “Christmas ’59,” written by John Hughes in 1980.

In the old movies we’re shown in the attic scene, Clark’s childhood home may look familiar. It’s the same home used in Bewitched and The New Gidget. Only, it’s not a real house at all, it’s part of the Warner Bros. back lot.
In Christmas Vacation, Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis are the third pair of actors to play the Griswold kids.
In the Original Vacation and European Vacation, Rusty is the older child. In Christmas Vacation, however, he’s younger than his sister Audrey.
Oddly, only two Christmas movies were released in the holiday season of 1989 (Vacation and Prancer). Even more strange, however, is the fact that John Galecki was in both movies.
Director Jeremiah Chechik had never seen a Vacation movie before signing on to the Christmas classic. He signed on for two reasons: it was a very big production to cut his teeth on, and it was a comedy. He believed if he could be successful under those two criteria, it would open doors for him.
Considering the year it was made and the lack of special effects, the $27 million budget was huge. Luckily, the film had no problem making it up grossing $71 million domestically. Who knows what it makes now in residuals...
Roger Ebert only gave the film two stars saying it was “curious in how close it comes to delivering on its material: Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow doesn’t work.” Sounds like my wife talking about my performance in bed.
Randy Quaid told the LA Times Cousin Eddy is his most popular role. According to Quaid, “People still come up to me and quote lines from that part. I get a lot of recognition from that role—probably as much, if not more, than any other.” With iconic lines like, “Shitter’s full,” was there ever any doubt?
There were no rehearsals for the actors due to Chevy Chase’s tendency to go off-script and ad-lib. In the scene where Clark insults his boss, he had the crew place cue cards all over the set, behind the camera so that he could get through the elaborate insult without stopping. I guess rehearsal might have come in handy.
The movie originally planned to use a trained squirrel for the scene in which the critter wreaks havoc, but the squirrel died the day before shooting the scene. An untrained squirrel had to be used instead.
At the end of the movie when the Griswold home is raided by cops, Ellen tells them it’s their first kidnapping, when it’s actually their second (that we know of). They kidnap the security guard (played by John Candy) in the first Vacation movie.
Though it’s heralded as a Christmas movie and clearly takes place around the Christmas holiday, the movie actually ends before Christmas day. Meaning Die Hard is more of a Christmas movie than Christmas Vacation. Just Sayin.
The Internet TURNED 50!
Photo A DAY for 20 YEARS
A father takes a photo every day of his daughter from birth to age 20.
Very interesting to watch.
Not the ending you expect (watch)
This 3 minute movie that won an Academy Award for best animated short.  Very good 3 minutes of your time.
In time for the Holidays...
Why the CIA hires women (a joke)
The CIA had an opening for an assassin.  

After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done,
there were three finalists: two men and a woman.

For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men
to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

"We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter
what the circumstances.

Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair.

Kill her."

The man said "You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife."

The agent said,
"Then you are not the right man for this job.

Take your wife and go home."

The second man was given the same instructions.

He took the gun and went into the room.

All was quiet for about five minutes.

The man came out with tears in his eyes,
"I tried, but I can't kill my wife."

The agent said,
"You don't have what it takes, so take your wife and go home."

Finally, it was the woman's turn.

She was given the same instructions to kill her husband.

She took the gun and went into the room.

Shots were heard one after another.

Then they heard screaming, crashing, and banging on the walls.

After a few minutes, all was quiet.

The door opened slowly and there stood the woman,
wiping sweat from her brow.

"The gun was loaded with blanks," she said.

"I had to kill him with the chair." 
The America I Grew Up In...
Jeff Allen describes growing up...
Gift Ideas for the Season
These sleek outlet plates are designed to safely light up your home without using outlet space and without costly electric bills. Simple and easy to install, just remove the existing outlet plate and replace it with this highly efficient, low energy night light. The LED bulbs will last for years, keeping you and your loved ones safe, while saving money from replacing the traditional night light bulbs.
  • 5 PACK
  • FREES UP OUTLETS – You can finally use all of the outlets in your house. Don’t let standard, bulky night lights dominate your hallways, bathrooms or children’s bedrooms anymore
  • ENERGY EFFICIENT – The Guidelight cover plate costs less than 10 cents per year to power. With just the right amount of light, you can sleep easy now
  • SAFE FOR CHILDREN – The Guidelight does not heat up like standard night lights, it does not have open bulbs or glass for kids to burn and cut themselves on
  • No wiring, no batteries, no mess, just snaps on! Easy to install, it only takes about 30 seconds
  • Sensors detect when its dark and lights turn on
  • 2 Different Styles To Choose From (Squared or Rounded)

Buy it here
Language Translator
Instant Language Translator
  • Tagalog (Philippines)
  • Indonesian
  • Bulgarian
  • Cantonese, Sichuan dialect
  • English (China)
  • English (UK)
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  • French
  • French (Canada
  • Spanish (Mexico)
  • Italian
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  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Arabic (Egypt)
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  • Malaysian
  • Simplified Chinese,
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  • English (US)
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  • Hindi (India)
  • Japanese
  • German
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  • Dutch
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
  • Hungarian
  • Swedish
  • Finnish
  • Polish
  • Vietnamese
  • Slovak
  • Catalan
Clean your glasses easily
Peeps™ revolutionary and patented invisible carbon formula safely and easily cleans your glasses, leaving your lenses as clean as the day you got them.
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Animation of most popular websites
Watch How AOL gets taken over and replaced by Google.  Amazing.
Randomness...
Pilot texting his wife while landing.
Between Boomers and Millennials: GenX

Crown Roast of Pork with
Mushroom Dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 pork loin crown roast (10 to 12 ribs, about 6 to 8 pounds)
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • MUSHROOM DRESSING:
  • 1/4 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 3 cups cubed day-old bread
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 cup apricot preserves
  • 1 cup whole fresh cranberries, optional