Through the Keyhole - February 2026

 

Through the Keyhole FEBRUARY 2026 Take a break from your day... Not your typical company OR newsletter

“This crazy attraction is located in a city that never sleeps. Once touted as a family friendly city, it's really home to fancy restaurants, over crowded nightclubs and resort fees that can seem out of control. Hopefully you'll be lucky.”  Can you guess the location?   Baby it's cold outside.   Groundhog Day is a ritualized act of national delusion where we wake up at 5 a.m., chant at a dirt hamster in a top hat, and pretend we’re not living in a simulation. A crowd gathers in freezing darkness to watch a man in a tuxedo yank a rodent out of the earth like he’s summoning a demon, and everyone waits in silence for the animal to either panic or… not panic.   If the groundhog sees his shadow, winter lasts six more weeks. If he doesn’t, winter lasts six more weeks with vibes. That’s the science. That’s the system. The groundhog has never been wrong because the rules are written so he literally cannot be wrong. He’s a furry loophole in reality.   Meanwhile, this creature works one day a year, gives a vague prophecy, disappears underground, and is celebrated like a prophet. No press conferences. No accountability. No follow-up questions. Just raw confidence and a hole.   Honestly, if this groundhog ran the government, at least he’d admit he’s guessing. Groundhog Day isn’t about weather. It’s about reminding us that humans will believe anything if you give it a mascot, a ceremony, and a live stream. And deep down, we love it—because if a groundhog can fake it this hard and still thrive, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.   At least the movie is good.

Did you know that before the modern calendar locked us into 12 neat boxes, time used to follow the moon—and that often meant 13 months, not 12.   Many ancient cultures organized their year around lunar cycles, each month beginning with a new moon. A lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days, so 12 lunar months only add up to about 354 days—short of the solar year. The solution? Add a 13th month every so often to realign the calendar with the seasons. This extra month is called an intercalary month, and it wasn’t a glitch—it was intentional.   Civilizations like the Babylonians, Hebrews, ancient Greeks, Chinese, and early Celtic cultures all used versions of lunar or lunisolar calendars with periodic 13th months. Even today, the Hebrew and Chinese calendars still do this. The moon stayed honest; the calendar adjusted.   The shift away from this system came with the rise of Roman and later Christian calendars, which favored administrative simplicity and a fixed solar year. By the time the Gregorian calendar was adopted, the 13-month rhythm of the moon was replaced by a rigid 12-month structure—cleaner on paper, but disconnected from lunar reality.   So while we now live by a calendar that rarely looks up, for most of human history time was something you could see in the sky. Thirteen months weren’t mystical or conspiratorial—they were simply how people stayed in sync with nature. Why on earth did we change the calendar?  This makes so much more sense...along with the idea that October would be the 8th month of the year not the 10th....

TURNkey turns 30 this year... It's been a great pleasure so far.   Beginning on a BBQ table with 2 PCs and a dream, TURNkey began April 24th 1996.  Since then, we have had a singular focus to help small businesses have the technology and services that big companies enjoy.     Although the formula has gotten more sophisticated through the years, the goal is always the same - allow our customer base to focus on their business while they leave the technical stuff to us.   Look for an event celebrating this milestone in the near future.   Thank you for your business and congratulations to the dedicated people who live and work at TURNkey...   Cheers!

Guess the Location Game Last month the winner of the guess the location game was Clifford Grill who guessed the right answer.  I appreciate all of the participation.  THANKS FOR PLAYING!

ANSWER: Key West, FL

“Follow the chain where land breaks into keys and the highway finally surrenders to the sea.  Roosters roam without clocks, sunsets are treated like sacred events, and the compass needle has nowhere left to point. At America’s edge, time loosens its grip and the last key opens nothing — except escape.”   Key West is the kind of place where flip‑flops outrank neckties, chickens have diplomatic immunity, and the sunsets are so spectacular they hold a nightly festival just to clap for them. Wander too far down Duval Street and you might find yourself debating philosophy with a guy wearing a pirate hat—or maybe the hat is wearing him. Hard to tell in Key West.   The island feels like it was designed by someone who thought tropical paradise wasn’t quite paradise enough and decided to add a dash of mischief, a sprinkle of magic, and at least three cats with extra toes—all of them landlords of the Hemingway House.   In the morning, the ocean breeze greets you like an enthusiastic golden retriever: warm, salty, and slightly chaotic. By afternoon, you might be sipping a key lime smoothie while watching someone juggle flaming torches on Mallory Square. And by night? Well, Key West nights have their own rules. (Mostly “have fun” and “why not?”)   It’s an island that doesn’t just welcome you—it dares you to relax, slow down, laugh a little louder, and maybe adopt a sunburn as a souvenir. In Key West, time moves like a lazy pelican gliding over turquoise water… gracefully, effortlessly, and with zero intention of being rushed.   It's a crazy place where the world simply seems to end and the only thing you need to worry about is finding a barstool...

~ 8 minutes

Best Key West Restaurants ~ 4 minutes

~ 4 minutes

Life in the 70s...

Knock Knock...

~ 15 seconds

Frank Sinatra was really talented even when smoking...

Bossa Nova ~ 6 minutes

The Matrix Then and Now.

This is crazy. ~ 4 minutes

Fernando Mendoza's Story...

Sometimes all you need is ONE SHOT. 130 schools said no. He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway. Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami. He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed. So did FIU. So did FAU. So did everyone else.   At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs. Not one FBS offer. His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.   Everyone told him to be “realistic.” “Know your place.” “Be grateful.” He didn’t listen. Because Mendoza understood something most people miss: The worst outcome isn’t failing. It’s never getting the chance to try.   Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang. Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools. He took it. He arrived as the third-string quarterback. Spent a year on the scout team. Lost his first four starts. Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line. Still got up. Every time. Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him. So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes. He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history. People laughed. “Career suicide.” “Graveyard program.” “Nobody wins there.” One coach told him something different: “I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.” That was enough. Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football. His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years. Before every snap, he thought of her. “My mother is my why.” Indiana went 16–0. Beat six Top-10 teams. Won their first Big Ten title since 1945. Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns. Won the Heisman—first in school history. First Cuban-American to ever do it. Then came the title game. Miami. Near his hometown. Fourth-and-4. Season on the line. Quarterback draw. The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone. Game over. Indiana—national champions. The losingest program became the best team in America. All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end. Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.   Gatekeepers don’t write your ending. Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.   Sometimes all you need is one shot…and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will. Don’t quit.

Harrison Ford asks David Blaine to leave his house...

Well This is Random...

More Stuff.

Edgy.

More Edgy Stuff...

Chili Relleno Casserole

Ingredients: 8 poblano chiles  1/2 lb Chihuahua cheese 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs sautéed with garlic salt and cut into ¼” cubes 5 eggs  1/3 cup milk 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder seasonings to taste (favorite hot sauce, cumin, cayenne pepper) 2 cans Mild Enchilada sauce Instructions: 1) Roast chiles under the broiler or over gas flame until skin is charred (turn half way through).   While chiles are roasting, Beat eggs with whisk until thick and foamy. Add milk, flour, and baking powder and beat until smooth.   When chiles are charred, place chiles in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand 30 minutes.   Remove skins from chiles, remove stems and seeds.   Coat an 11x7 baking dish with nonstick spray or ghee.   Make chilis like lasagna noodles (no seeds or skin).    Put down a layer of chilis and cover with cheese and chicken. Spread seasonings to taste (cumin, hot sauce, cayenne pepper).   Cover the mixture with another layer of chilis.   Pour egg mixture over top. Then top that with the cans of enchilada sauce. Bake, uncovered, in a 375F oven for about 30 minutes or until casserole is puffed and appears set when gently shaken. Enjoy.

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