Through the Keyhole - December 2022

 

Through the Keyhole DEC 2022 Take a break from your day... Not your typical company OR newsletter       "One of the best Christmas Markets where over 2 million visitors descend each year. You won't find mass produced goods here.  It is festive and also home to the famous trials in 1945-46. " Can you guess the location?         Christmas is almost here! It is that time of year again and the Christmas 'accelerator' is making time fly. Very few of us have completed all of the essential shopping that makes this time of year special, hectic and very commercial (if you let it).  Once again, I will be making the recommendation of gifting useful things to your loved ones.   Again, a practical list of things to purchase this holiday season:   1) Clothing (including shoes and boots) 2) Prime Beef  3) Board Games / Puzzles / Card Games 4) A Cooler 5) Bluetooth Speaker 6) Vacuum Cleaner 7) Indoor Herb Garden 8) Reusable Lunch / Snack Containers 9) Charcuterie Board 10) Chef's Knife (a good one) 11) Car Cleaning Tool Kit 12) Emergency Battery Jumper 13) Bulk Toilet Paper 14) Compact Power Strip / USB outlets 15) Laundry Hamper 16) Treadmill / Exercise Equipment 17) Warm, comfy socks 18) Pajamas 19) Throw Blanket / Weighted Blanket 20) Personalized Tumbler 21) Luggage 22) Personalized Wine / Old Fashioned Glasses 23) Ammunition  24) Cordless Drill Kit 25) Drill Bits 26) Kitchen Measuring Cups 27) Coffee Machine / K-Cups 28) Sentimental Art / Photographs 29) Light Therapy Lamp 30) Luxury Candle 31) High Thread Count Sheets 32) Sunglasses 33) Watch / Timepiece 34) Video Doorbell / Outdoor security camera 35) Kitchen Shears   Avant Guard sites:   touchofmodern.com   giftadvisor.com   97 Cool Gift 2022         Ralphie and Friends are back...Trailer HERE.                         Here are some more fun Christmas Movie Trivia questions:   Who said, “Good news… I saw a dog today.” Or “you sit on a throne of lies.” Or “he’s an angry elf”?                           Buddy the Elf In the movie a Christmas Story, how many times does Ralphy say he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun?                            28 times What song does Zoey Deschanel sing when in the shower in Elf?                                                                                                 Baby it’s cold outside Who Directed Elf and in what year?                                                                                                                                                         Jon Favreau 2003 What was the name of the department store?                                                                                                                                    Gimbels Bonus: What other classic movie featured this store which was the competition for Macy’s?                                         Miracle on 34th street The Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge that he has over 1800 brothers and sisters. What does each brother and sister stand for?                Everyone who wishes they could have a second chance. Super Duper Bonus:  In Elf what’s Buddy’s favorite color?                                                                                                                   Octarine – the color of magic What was name of the limo driver in Die Hard?                                                                                                                                   Argyle Name Scrooges girlfriends name.                                                                                                                                                              Belle Who was the white knight in Die Hard and what did he call Hans?                                                                                              Harry Ellis – BuBee Which Christmas movie inspired the Wonder Years TV Show?                                                      A Christmas Story What was written on the sweatshirt of the dead guy in the elevator?                       Now I have a machine gun HO HO HO In Christmas with the Cranks, where were they going on vacation in lieu of celebrating Christmas?                a 10 day Caribbean cruise Per a recent holiday fad, what “spy” hides around the house, reporting back to Santa on who has been naughty and nice?     Elf on a shelf Where were all of the interior shots in Home Alone filmed?                          In the Gymnasium of New Trier West where they built all of the sets What character famously said, “We gonna need some more FBI guys?”                   Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson Who played the role of Santa in Santa Clause 3?                                                 Tim Allen What Christmas-themed ballet premiered in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1892?                     The Nutcracker What electrical grid did the FBI guys need to have shut down?                                    212 What is the first name of Mr. Potter?                                                                                      Henry                   Phishing is an email sent from an Internet criminal disguised as an email from a legitimate, trustworthy source. The message is meant to lure you into revealing sensitive or confidential information.   Spoofing describes a criminal who impersonates another individual or organization, with the intent to gather personal or business information.   5 times you shouldn’t accept or keep cookies:   1.   Unencrypted websites: You shouldn’t accept cookies when you’re on an unencrypted website — a site where the lock icon beside the website address is not locked. Why is this dangerous? If a website isn’t encrypted, there is no security to protect your data. This unsecure access may allow third parties like hackers to steal cookies from your browser, intercepting personal information you likely want to be kept private,  like credit card and other private information, leaving you more vulnerable to online crimes like identity theft. 2.   Third-party cookies: Not all cookies are the same. It’s a good idea to decline third-party cookies. If you don’t decline, the website could sell your browsing data to third parties. Sharing your personal information with third parties without giving you any control over it could also leave you vulnerable. For one thing, you don’t get to choose the third parties. 3.   Slowed computer speed: Having new cookies stored in your browser over and over also could slow down your computer. Cookies occupy disk space, which can affect your computer’s speed. 4.   Flagged Cookies: Antivirus software may flag suspicious cookies, in which case you should not accept them (or you should delete them if you already have). 5.   Use of private information: If you’re sharing private data like your Social Security number (SSN) or banking information, you should decline the use of cookies to keep it safe. This is the type of personally identifiable information (also known as PII) that, if intercepted by the wrong parties, could help fraudsters commit online frauds like identity theft. Personal information like your Social Security number in particular should always be kept private and only shared when absolutely necessary and with the highest regard for privacy and security. A regulation like the GDPR helps ensure you’re given this decision and have control over your data, especially when sensitive information like your SSN is at stake. Is your server aging?  Maybe you should consider moving completely to the cloud... Take this brief quiz to find out if your business qualifies.        Guess the Location Game Last month the winner of the guess the location game was Beth Cutrona who guessed the right answer.  I appreciate all of the participation.  THANKS FOR PLAYING!       ANSWER: Hong Kong           "Famous for its towering skyscrapers, this territory is made up of 40 percent park and nature preserves.  AKA "fragrant harbor" is home to over 8000 skyscrapers and almost 100 billionaires. Most buildings don't have a 4th floor as the word 'four' sounds like the word 'death' in their language, so it is considered unlucky. "   #1 Hong Kong is famous for towering skyscrapers. Did you know 40 percent of the territory is made up of country park and nature reserves? Hiking the green trails is a favourite weekend pastime.   #2 You probably know that Hong Kong means “fragrant harbour” in Chinese. What about Kowloon? Every time you utter the word “Kowloon” you are saying “nine dragons”. Folklore tells us that a young emperor noticed the area’s eight hills, and named the land “eight dragons”. Later, a servant reminded the emperor he too is a dragon. This made nine. Kow sounds like “gau” or nine in Cantonese, and Loon is like “lung” or dragon.   #3 Hong Kong boasts the world’s longest covered escalator. The Mid-Levels Escalator runs for a half-mile.   #4 Hong Kong’s beloved Star Ferry began running in 1880. At that time the service from Victoria Harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui took up to one hour. Thanks to the city’s reclamation, the same journey today takes just 10 minutes.   #5 Hong Kong has had two moments of Olympic gold-medal glory. The first came in 1996 at Atlanta, when Lee Lai-Shan won a windsurfing event; the second was at the most recent Tokyo Games, when Cheung Ka Long won a fencing gold medal. Swimmer Siobhan Haughey won two silvers at Toyko, too, making it HK’s most successful Olympic Games to date.   #6 Hong Kongers have a long-established entrepreneurial spirit and desire to make money.  In a 2020 global billionaires list, Hong Kong ranked seventh; 96 residents are said to hold personal fortunes of US$1 billion or over.   #7 Hong Kong Island tends to steal the limelight, but there are actually 263 islands in Hong Kong. Some of them, like Lantau, Cheung Chau and Lamma, are accessible by ferry while others are totally uninhabited and virtually unreachable.       #8 Dim sum originated here in southern China and means “touch the heart”. These tiny bites of goodness were created as snack food for travellers and today are an essential part of local culture.   #9 Don’t worry if you find your apartment building is without a fourth floor. Here are two numerical facts to keep in mind! Omitting the number four is common in HK because “four” sounds like the word “death” in Chinese, so it’s considered unlucky. If that doesn’t sound like much of a “fun fact”, then the flip side is that eight is a very lucky number (it represents wealth).   #10 The mystical art of feng shui remains common practice in Hong Kong. The rooftop of Central’s HSBC Hong Kong building includes two rods to deflect bad energy. They face the Bank of China building, built with sharp edges believed to cut and dilute good energy.   #11 “Albert is so amused at my having got the island of Hong Kong,” British Queen Victoria wrote in 1841 after Hong Kong was ceded to the British. Possession Point, where the Union Jack flag was first raised by the British, was known as Tai Hang Hau, or “big puddle”. It stood right on the island’s shoreline collecting water. The site today is located in Hollywood Road Park.   #12 Foodie fun facts about egg tarts and pineapple buns. The latter is named not because they contain the fruit but for their pineapple-like crust and are must-try local specials at the bakery, as are egg tarts.   #13 Typhoons: May to November is typhoon season. Hong Kong has a highly efficient system for dealing with these tropical storms. A T1 signal indicates a brewing storm is days away. Next, a T3 means the storm is gathering speed and kindergarten children stay home. A T8 or T10 means winds of up to 180km/h spin across Hong Kong and work, school and public transport is canceled.   #14 Tycoons: Not to be confused with tropical storms, these Hong Kong businessmen whip up pots of cash. The city’s number one tycoon? For many years it was Li Ka-shing, whose net worth is around HK$250 billion, but it’s now Lee Shau-Kee, who claimed the top spot in 2020.   #15 Cathay Pacific is Hong Kong’s home airline and has won “World’s Best Airline” many times.                                       ~4 minutes         ~4 minutes         ~3 minutes       Interesting...                                                           A Christmas Story Christmas...         Ralphie and friends are back and IT'S GOOD~ 3 minutes   See it on HBO+ TODAY.       The LINE...aka A PRISON.         2 minutes     Illusions         ~3 minutes     How Adorable....??         Little Gus and Jennie are only 10 years old, but they know they are in love.   One day they decide that they want to get married, so Gus goes to Jennie’s father to ask him for her hand.   Thinking that this was just the cutest thing he'd ever heard, Mr. Smith replies, "Well Gus, you are only 10.  Where will you two live?"   Without even taking a moment to think about it, Gus replies, "In Jennie's room.  It's bigger than mine and we can fit in there nicely."   Mr. Smith says with a huge grin,  "Okay, then how will you live? You're not old enough to get a job. You'll need to support Jennie.”   Again, Gus instantly replies, "Our allowance, Jennie gets 5 bucks a week and I get 10.  That's about 60 bucks a month, so that should do us just fine.”   Mr. Smith is impressed that Gus has put so much thought into this. "Well Gus, it seems like you have everything figured out. I just have one more question.  What will you do if the two of you should have little children of your own?”   Gus shrugs his shoulders and says, "Well, we've been lucky so far.”   Mr. Smith no longer thinks the little shit is adorable.     Dad sends his girlfriend photo shopped pictures whenever she asks if their kids are OK!                                                Best Goals so far...         ~1 minute (go to 17 seconds)     Edgy.                                   More Stuff...                                           Delicious Potato Chip Cookies         Ingredients ·     1 cup butter-flavored shortening ·       ·     3/4 cup sugar ·       ·     3/4 cup packed brown sugar ·       ·     2 large eggs ·       ·     2 cups all-purpose flour ·       ·     1 teaspoon baking soda ·       ·     2 cups crushed potato chips ·       Directions Preheat oven to 375°.   In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy.   Beat in eggs.   In another bowl, whisk flour and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture.   Stir in potato chips.   Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.   Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.   Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool.       All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 210 S. Milwaukee Ave. Wheeling, IL 60090 USA