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Through the KeyholeNOVEMBER 2026Take a break from your day...Not your typical company OR newsletter |
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"This lightning capital of North America is Florida's largest estuary covering about 400 sqare miles with an average depth of 11 feet. The Cuban sandwich was invented here to feed cigar workers. During Prohibition this city was the wettest... Name one to three of the cities here or just the name of the area, makes no difference. You win."
Can you guess the location? |
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Thanksgiving is warming up in the Bullpen...November in the Midwest is that slightly awkward middle child of the seasons — too late for peak leaf-peeping glory, too early for full-on holiday sparkle, and somehow still trying to convince everyone it’s got this under control. The trees have mostly surrendered, dropping their last stubborn orange and gold holdouts like they’re reluctantly clearing the stage for winter. You can still catch a few defiant maples clinging to color, and the air has that crisp, apple-cider edge that makes every walk feel purposeful. The fields are bare, the sky does that dramatic gray-blue thing, and suddenly every porch looks better with a couple of leftover pumpkins and a wreath that may or may not be trying to edge toward Christmas already. Meanwhile, the Holidays are practically leaning over the fence, waving. Thanksgiving is warming up in the bullpen, Christmas lights are starting to wink from the more enthusiastic houses, and stores have officially declared that peppermint everything is now a food group. There’s a quiet joy in these in-between days: the last chance to enjoy a golden afternoon before the real freeze arrives, the satisfaction of finally pulling out the good sweaters, and the growing hum of anticipation for feasts, family, and the full festive takeover that’s just around the corner. November knows exactly what it’s doing. It’s the deep breath before the holiday sprint — a little faded, a little chilly, and quietly perfect. But sadly it's dark early and winter is right around the corner. I love a white Christmas but could still use a mild winter... Fingers crossed.
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Mike Ditka didn’t just coach in Chicago — he became Chicago, mustache and all. Long before the sweater vests turned into Halloween costumes and the Superfans turned “Da Bears” into a national punchline that somehow still feels like a compliment, Ditka was already the walking embodiment of the city’s preferred personality type: tough, loud, loyal, and completely allergic to nonsense. As a hard-nosed tight end in the ’60s and later as the coach who delivered the only Super Bowl the franchise has ever won, he gave Chicago something rarer than a championship — a team that felt exactly like the city itself. The 1985 Bears didn’t just win; they swaggered, they celebrated, and they made the rest of the league look like it had shown up underdressed. Ditka’s real impact, though, went beyond the scoreboard. He turned Sideline Intensity into an art form, made the sweater vest cool (no small feat), and somehow convinced an entire metropolitan area that yelling at referees was a civic duty. Decades later, people still grow mustaches in his honor, quote him like scripture, and treat “Da Coach” like a local title of nobility. In a city that prides itself on being unpretentious and a little bit stubborn, Mike Ditka remains the gold standard — proof that you can be both a Hall of Famer and the guy everyone still wants to grab a steak with. Chicago didn’t just root for him. It recognized itself in him. And if he had run against Barack Obama in 2004 when he was encouraged to do so, he would have won. Think about that. So long to Da Coach. May he Rest in Peace... |
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Guess the Location Game |
ANSWER: Dubrovnik, Croatia |
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"This quite possibly is the cleanest city that exists. You can literally eat off of the streets. Home to a very violent conflict in the early 90s, you would never know it today. The water is stunning. The people are so very friendly and believe it or not, some of the best Italian food is made here." Dubrovnik is the kind of city that makes you feel personally inadequate about your own cleaning habits (even though Game of Thrones was filmed here). The limestone streets of the Old Town are so relentlessly polished and spotless that they practically gleam. You could eat off them. In fact, after watching a local casually sweep an already immaculate alley for the third time before breakfast, you start to suspect the city employs a secret army of perfectionist elves who work the night shift with tiny brooms and judgmental sighs. Drop a single crumb and it feels like a minor international incident. Even the seagulls seem to wipe their feet before landing. And then there are the nooks and crannies. Dubrovnik is basically a choose-your-own-adventure book made of stone. Every five steps there’s another narrow passageway, a sneaky set of stairs climbing somewhere mysterious, or a hidden courtyard that looks like it was designed specifically for people who enjoy feeling like they’ve discovered a secret. You turn left and suddenly you’re in a tiny square with laundry fluttering overhead and a cat who has clearly been waiting for an audience. You turn right and find yourself on a balcony overlooking orange rooftops that stretch out like a perfectly organized tray of citrus. Keep wandering and you’ll stumble across quiet corners where the only sound is your own footsteps echoing off walls that have been eavesdropping on conversations for centuries. The best part? Getting slightly lost is not only allowed, it’s actively encouraged. The city rewards the curious with little rewards: a surprise viewpoint, a shady stone bench that feels custom-built for people-watching, or yet another improbably clean staircase leading somewhere even more charming. By the end of the day your step count is ridiculous, your sense of direction is in tatters, and you’re half-convinced the entire Old Town is just one giant, beautifully maintained labyrinth designed to keep visitors happily exploring forever. Even in a city as meticulously restored and spotlessly maintained as Dubrovnik, careful explorers can still spot quiet reminders of the siege that struck between 1991 and 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence.
As you duck into the narrower side streets and quieter courtyards off the main Stradun, the limestone walls occasionally reveal small clusters of pockmarks and shallow scars left by shrapnel and ricocheting fragments. Some façades carry faint constellations of these marks that the careful restoration work chose not to completely erase. From the city walls, looking out over the sea of rooftops, you may notice patches of brighter, newer tiles standing out against the older, weathered ones — subtle evidence of the extensive repairs that followed the shelling.
These traces are not dramatic or dominant. The Old Town has been lovingly brought back to its polished, gleaming state, and most visitors pass them by without a second glance. But for those who slow down and peer into the nooks, the marks serve as understated historical footnotes etched into the stone itself — quiet witnesses to a difficult chapter that the city has refused to forget, even as it thoroughly cleaned, rebuilt, and moved forward. It really is spectacular. Not sure if you can spend more than a few days there but it surely is something to experience...especially if you liked Game of Thrones. |
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Cable Car ~ 2 minutes |
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Old Town ~ 2 minutes
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Transforming the Old Town to Game of Thrones ~4 minutes |
Randomness... |
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Mini RC Bull Dozers |
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~1 minute |
Cranberry Juice makes you sound like Stevie Nicks... |
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~ 1 minute |
Congressional Medal of Honor |
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He is K9 Valor, he saved the lives of 47 soldiers, survived a first suicide bomber and killed 3 more, tooth against knife, then positioned himself between an explosion and his handler. Half of his face was left shattered, he lost his left eye and ear. They took him to Germany where they partially reconstructed his jaw for him. The Pentagon awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor and an applause and ovation lasting more than 8 minutes. A true hero. We don't deserve them...
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Movie Based Halloween Costumes... |
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How Numbers Work... Interesting. |
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I learned this today ~ 10 seconds |
Edgy. |
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More Edgy Stuff... |
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Maple Bourbon Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans |
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Ingredients2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved Directions1) Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
2) In a large oven-safe skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving about 1–2 Tbsp of the fat in the pan.
3) Add the Brussels sprouts cut-side down to the skillet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 18–20 minutes, until the cut sides are deeply browned and the sprouts are tender.
4) While they roast, toast the pecans in a small dry pan for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Set aside.
5) In the same small pan, melt the butter, then stir in maple syrup, bourbon, and cayenne. Simmer 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened.
6) Remove the Brussels sprouts from the oven. Pour the maple-bourbon glaze over them and toss to coat. Return to the oven for 3–4 more minutes so the glaze caramelizes.
7) Transfer to a serving platter. Top with the crispy bacon, toasted pecans, and pomegranate arils. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
The combination of sticky-sweet glaze, smoky bacon, crunchy pecans, and bright pomegranate makes this dish disappear fast. It pairs beautifully with turkey or stands strong on its own.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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