This year I only went for two days. Christopher and family did three days.

Woke up early then drove to Christopher's place. We commuted to Santa Clara Marriott. Corina and Christopher Jr had some stuff in the morning and would be going separately.

CSr and I checked into our rooms, 1762 and 1764 adjoining rooms. On the ground floor towards the back. Fairly quiet and actually you can park close to your room back there.

We had lunch with Dave W, Sophia, and Jonathan at Ming Tasty. About $60 for three dishes with rice and enough food for all of us.

We went to the dealer's room and looked around. I saw Mothership Deluxe Set and thinking of buying it even though I won't get PDFs that way. Still it's nice to buy something at a convention. There were four copies: 2 at Black Diamond Games, 1 at Gamescape, 1 at Games of Berkeley (who also sell all the dice for Chessex). I wanted to use cash so buy it tomorrow if there is a copy left.

Christopher and I went back to San Mateo so he could feed Coco and give him a shot of insulin. I went home to pick some cash and my mail. I noticed the door opposite the mail room door won't lock so I'll check when I'm back week of Feb 23. Got back to Christopher and we went back to Santa Clara.

No dinner instead it was time for the Rainbow. Dave S, Dave W, Christopher, myself, Riley and Dawson (Dave's college-aged sons), Ken H, one of the NOC guys (forgot his name though we worked there at the same time), and remotely Eric R, and NOC guys Mark R and Rigo. Corina was there for a bit and got herself a drink which she didn't like so I drank (I thought it tasted fine) then she had to go back to the room to help Sophia with Christopher Jr and Jonathan.

I had one other drink for a total of two. Dave W had four drinks. Dave S and Christopher had six drinks.

Sat Feb 23 2026

Sleep 0115 to 0915 (8 hours)

• With Mr Cooper I could pay extra on my mortgage bill and I think select that the extra is principal rather than future payment (or it defaulted to extra principal payment). With Rocket Mortgage their dropdown is (1) pay amount due, (2) principal only payment (3) custom amount. With the last all you can do is enter a payment amount and any extra is applied as future payment on the next bill. So if I want to pay my current bill and extra principal it's two transactions which is only a little of extra work but still annoying that they default it that way -- future payment you've given them money that they get to hold for a month interest free. I guess I can make the future payment now to force it to apply it immediately.

Sun Feb 22 2026

Sleep 0245 to 0915 (6-1/2 hours)

• Friday and Saturday night it was just Dave S, Dave W, and me. Did one Dave S MechWarrior scenario then Gloomhaven and finished the Bard quest that we had failed a couple of times. Saturday Dave W showed up on time and we did The Price of Freedom, Epic R2. Then Dave S had to sleep early as he's on call at 0500.

Mon Feb 23 2026

• Took mom to physical therapy. She's pretty good now. Doesn't need brace except maybe outdoors. Mostly doesn't need walker. Can do a small step up and down and the therapist said last week she could have been driving if she can brake comfortably. Time for me to go home.
• When I got back my MBP was shut down so must have been some sort of crash.
• Netflix renewed for 4th month so I'm going to watch less and assume it'll be around for the time being.

Tue Feb 24 2025

Sleep 0300 to 1030 (7-1/2 hours)

• Let's clean my podcast subscribed list a bit:
• The Rebound (Last listened: Feb 18 2026) - Once again in a phase where they hate everything Apple does.
• The Talk Show (Last listened: Jan 31 2026) - Similar to The Rebound but covers more than just Apple.
• Kings Herald Podcast (Last listened: Feb 02 2026) - The problem with a podcast focusing on one team is that if the team is bad it's a fairly negative podcast. And the brief period when the Kings seemed to be on the upswing (2022-23 with 48 wins led by De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis) is now well and over.
• So I guess I did it wrong with Rocket Mortgage. The default payment method has an entry for extra principal so I didn't need to select the third option. To balance it out now I made my Apr 01 payment today.

Wed Feb 25 2026

Sleep 0200 to 1030 (8-1/2 hours)

• Safeco (my insurance company) is retiring its name in favor of parent Liberty Mutual, which bought them in 2008. I didn't realize it was actually Liberty Mutual, which is more of a known brand.

Thu Feb 26 2026

Sleep 0315 to 1030 (7-1/4 hours)

• Took a browse through our security camera computer settings. We can do individual and group quotas so maybe put the cameras that record constantly on one quota. This is to give the quieter cameras, especially the ones monitoring the package area, more recording history. Package issues are the most common issue to review recordings.

Fri Feb 27 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• After two months my retirement savings down $15k which is fine considering how the stock market has been.

Bundle of Holding's Shadowdark Compatible Bundle is a 7-item fixed price $18 package. Shadowdark ($29 PDF) is an OSR dark fantasy RPG.

The bundle is

• Belowdown - 112 pages, $16 retail, 19-level mega dungeon
• Dark Visions - 88 pages, $15 retail, three occult character classes -- Cultist, Inquisitor, Covenant Knight -- plus two adventures
• Tower of Six - 36 pages, $8 retail, third adventure to complete the trio started in Dark Visions
• The Devoured Labyrinth - 122 pages, $13 retail, 41 one- and two-page mini dungeons
• Horde - 174 pages, $10 retail, orc and goblin splatbook
• Hyborian Adventures - 83 pages, $15 retail, five REH stories made into adventures: People of the Black Circle, Queen of the Black Coast, Shadows in Zamboula, The Jewels of Gwahlur, and A Witch Shall be Born.
• Treasures from the Dark - 74 pages, $10 retail - 100 magic items

I like adventures and dungeons so Horde and Treasures not as interesting. That still leaves $60 retail in products for $18. I guess that leaves the problem that Shadowdark RPG is a bit pricey. Then again I have one Shadowdark adventure and the monster stats look to be closer to D&D 3E than Basic D&D so this bundle is still usable in other systems.

So a fairly tempting bundle and ended up buying it.

Board/Card Game: 142 John Company (1710)

"John Company is an interactive historical game about the
rise and fall of the British East India Company from the
designer of Root, Pax Pamir, and Oath...We will play the
1710 scenario, which lasts no more than 5 turns. For new
players, we will do a rolling teach."

-- I've heard good things about this game, though maybe not in my wheelhouse.

Board/Card Game: 340 Heat: Pedal to the Metal DDC Grand Prix
Board/Card Game: 546 Heat: Pedal To The Metal

"The Heat: Pedal to the Metal DDC Grand Prix will see
racers compete for the title of fastest formula one driver
in the greater Bay Area."

-- some sort of racing game and I'm in a racing mood

Board/Card Game: 741 The Napoleonic Wars

"The year is 1805, and Europe is in flames. Take control of
a major power in a bid for continental domination. GMT’s
card driven system allows for quicker play, but this is still
a grand strategy game. End conditions are random, listed
duration is for a game that goes all five turns."

-- a traditional wargame set in a historical period


-- A good amount of sci-fi RPG sessions though mostly traditional
-- Star Trek and Traveller. The following three have only one
-- session each.

RPG: P05 The Starlost
System: Alien

"You awake from your extended cryo-sleep and discover
some frightening things. Are we off course? If so how
far and is the ship still moving? MUTHR says the ship is
on course but something isn’t right. Where are the other
scientists and why aren’t they in their cryo-tubes. Wait I
hear someone coming......who are you? Wait...no!!!"

-- Might be a standard monster on the loose adventure.

RPG: 104 Lancer: The Kerberos Campaign
System: Lancer

"Lancer is a hex-grid tactical combat game set against
the rich tapestry of the interstellar human Diaspora in
the far-flung future of 5016u. You are a mech pilot of
exceptional skill (or exceptional luck), piloting a bespoke
war machine of your own design into conflicts large and
small. Rules-light narrative play supplements a flexible
combat engine that encourages teamwork, tactical
gameplay, and player customization."

-- I've heard good things about Lancer as a Mecha-heavy
-- game with light RPG.

227 Within the Charnel of Dreams
System: Mothership
Edition: 1e

"Shift 7: We’re just one more screwed-up bunch of career
crims, political dissidents, and other assorted scum.
You’ve gotta mess-up hard to be doing all day and a night
on this piece of junk mining installation, somewhere
deep in the middle of nowhere. New Frontier Solutions,
our lowest-bidder corrections vendor, has been running
us Dusties until we drop. Nobody leaves ‘cept by
backdoor parole like that."

-- Mothership scenarios can be Alien-like but not necessarily.

Sat Feb 14 2026

Sleep 0200 to 0745, 30m nap (6-1/4 hours)

• Drive to San Mateo. Car pooled with CSr to DunDraCon.
• Lunch with Woos and CSr at Ming Tasty.
• Walked through dealer's room. Tempted to buy Mothership Deluxe box set. Maybe tomorrow.
• CJr played Monster Smash and we hung out in the Kid's Room for over an hour. I watched a 45m video on Netflix with Cellular bandwidth and it used like 100 MB data -- the video was like 240p so a bit pixelated even on my iPhone SE 3's small screen.
• Rainbow was ok. Dave S's setup with the 360-degree teleconference cam worked better than last year. Three people remote (Eric R from our gaming group, Rigo and Mark R from the NOC). Dave S, Dave W, Christoper, Dave's two college kids Riley and Dawson, Ken Hite. Corina was there for a drink. She didn't like the one she bought for herself so I drank it and it was good. Also had one of the blue drinks so two drinks this year. Dave P could not make it.

Sunday Feb 16 2026

Sleep 0145 to 0845, 30m nap (7-1/2 hours)

• Breakfast at 1000 or so. I woke up before 0900 to participate in STFC territory control.
• Bought Mothership Deluxe Set from Games of Berkeley. There were three other copies (2 from Black Diamond Games, 1 from Gamescape) that I saw yesterday but sold out today.
• We played Run! (Dave S, Christopher Sr and Jr, myself) and Cora Quest.
• CSr took Jr to an art event so they were gone for a couple of hours. When they came back CSr and I left for San Mateo. From there I drove back to my parents.

Mon Feb 17 2026

Sleep 0145 to 0845 (7 hours)

• Took mom to therapy. She continues to improve. I saw her walk from the front door to Steph's bedroom and back, about 20 steps each way, without the walker and seemed fairly steady.
• Next week they'll try to climb a small step. Theoretically she can already climb up stairs while climbing down stairs will be harder.

Tue Feb 17 2026

Sleep 0100 to 0915 (8-1/4 hours)

• Got a notice for the class action settlement for "In re Capital One 360 Savings Account Interest Rate Litigation, Civil Action No. 1:24-md-03111-DJN (E.D. Va.)." So filled out my info again. Looking back I got the same notice (with different dates) back in Aug 2025 so I guess the settlement has been taking it's time (the judge has to approve so maybe they sent it back to the litigants last time).

Wed Feb 18 2026

Sleep 0130 to 0930 (8 hours)

• Playing around with Steam collections. The app only shows installed games even though other games are in collection. So what's the point of having collections where I can't tell what's in them?
• Oh wait. Collection view is using the filters from the browse column. That's unintuitive.
• No wait again. It only filter for installed games if you click the installed games filter on the browse column. No other filters affect collection view. Very unintuitive.

Thu Feb 19 2026

Sleep 0230 to 1030 (8 hours)

• Noticed that on my MBP server the logged in user's window server has crashed which kills all apps and Wiki.js is running from a terminal window so that shuts down too. UptimeRobot catches it so I can at least know about it then VPN in and when I get past the lock screen the window server restarts.

Fri Feb 20 2026

Sleep 0245 to 1015 (7-1/2 hours)

• Apple's Clock app Stopwatch feature often changes the current time when I switch out and back. I thought maybe because I use it on both Mac and iPhone and maybe it's trying to sync but if it is syncing it's not a fast sync like with other Apple apps. Timer and Clock functions work fine.
• I'll try Stopwatch(little circle, so it's a unique name) by Kai Oelfke. It's simple, free, and no ads, though it doesn't run on Mac so maybe I'll look for another app.
• For Mac I found Mini Stopwatch - Minimal Timer by Clement Rousseau (free, $8 for pro version). It's a simple stopwatch in the menu bar so very Mac appropriate.
• Server died again and this time both www2:3001 and later www2. VPNed in and can't reach my MBP. Guess we'll see Monday -- maybe machine shut down or restarted.

Humble Bundle's So You Want To Try Out Call of Cthulhu is $25 for 26 items:

CHA-5116 Call of Cthulhu: The Coloring Book (2017) [OWN]
CHA-5120 Keeper Tips (2021) [OWN]

CHA-23107 Pulp Cthulhu (2016) [OWN]
CHA-23135 Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook (2014) [OWN]
CHA-23136 Call of Cthulhu Investigator's Handbook (2014) [OWN]
CHA-23137 Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen Pack (2014) [OWN]
CHA-23138 S Petersen's Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors (2015) [OWN]
CHA-23140 Gateways to Terror (2019) [OWN]
CHA-23141 The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic (2017) [OWN]
CHA-23148 Doors to Darkness (2015) [OWN]
CHA-23149 Reign of Terror (2017) [OWN]
CHA-23151 Down Darker Trails (2017) [OWN]
CHA-23152 Petersen's Abominations (2017) [OWN]
CHA-23154 Alone Against the Dark 2E (2017) [OWN]
CHA-23159 Dead Light and Other Dark Turns (2019) [OWN]
CHA-23161 Berlin: The Wicked City (2019) [OWN]
CHA-23162 A Cold Fire Within (2019) [OWN]
CHA-23164 Alone Against the Frost (2019) [OWN]
CHA-23165 Cthulhu Dark Ages 3E (2020) [OWN]
CHA-23167 Mansions of Madness v1: Behind Closed Doors (2020) [OWN]
CHA-23170 Malleus Monstrorum (2020) [OWN]
CHA-23171 Malleus Monstrorum Keeper Deck (2021) [OWN]
CHA-23172 Does Love Forgive? (2020) [OWN]
CHA-23174 Alone Against the Tide 2E (2020) [OWN]

CHA-23178 Call of Cthulhu Starter Set 2E (2022)
CHA-23180 Nameless Horrors 2E (2023)

I realized this repeats a $25 Jan 2024 Bundle but changes out the Starter Set to the latest version and adds Nameless Horrors.

The $15 version of this bundle has both Starter Set ($10) and Nameless Horrors ($22 pdf) so I guess closer to worth it.

I may attend a bit of DunDraCon but once again won't play any official games. Looking through the convention book I fantasize about attending some of the following events.

War College: Sat 1300 Fun with Poison Gas!

"Join former combat engineer and history teacher Arthur
Prospero for a delightful romp through the history of
poisoned gas in warfare!"

-- There were a couple of years when I tried to attend a lot of War College seminars.
Nothing looks amazingly interesting this year.


Seminar: Sat 1100 The 5 Room Dungeon Method: NOT Just For Dungeons – Presentation

"Come learn about the 5 Room Dungeon Method of dungeon
creation. But it’s not just for creating dungeons. I’ll tell you
how to use it for creating castles, villages, and more."

Seminar: Sat 1200 What’s New in Role-Playing Games – Panel

"Panelists will talk about what they are playing and especially
what is new and worthy of your consideration."

-- Before War College existed there'd be years when I attended a lot of seminars
especially company specific ones (Chaosium and Hero Games were local so they
did seminars). The 5 Room Dungeon Method sounds useful and apparently the idea
was developed by Johnn Four

https://www.roleplayingtips.com/5-room-dungeons/


Protospiel: Venusville by Battj LLC

"Build a space colony together, but also against one another. Small big,
short playtime, big strategy."

-- Not really into beta-testing games and many other Protospiels are more war gamey
but not war games. This one sounds interesting.


LARP: 772 The Freighter Coralus

"You are the crew of the Coralus , a rickety old freighter
carrying much needed relief supplies to a settlement on
the planet Ithaca, which has been cut off by ion storms
for the past year...Twenty minutes ago an accident occurred
forcing the the crew to make a critical decision."

-- I avoid LARPS and so many of them suggest costumes to wear. I think this
was the only sci-fi LARP.


Miniatures: 253 Assimilation Target: Camp Khitomer - Star Trek Attack Wing

"At the historic site of Camp Khitomer, peace talks
soon begin between the Federation, the Klingon Empire,
the Romulan Star Empire and the Dominion...The summit
has been shrouded in absolute secrecy, yet somehow the
Borg Collective is aware. As the last escort ship takes
position, a transwarp conduit appears on the edge of
the system, a fleet of Borg vessels emerging from the
aperture, on course straight for Planet Khitomer."

Miniatures: 553 Napoleonic Naval Battles
Miniatures: 652 Napoleonic Naval Battles

"Command a 3 ship squadron of powerful Napoleonic
ships of the line to destroy the enemy fleet. Unlock
your inner Admiral Nelson with fast play and hex-
based gaming action. Popular with the South Bay
Gaming Club and played regularly at game conventions
in the SF Bay Area."

Miniatures: 558 Night Delivery - Car Wars 4th Ed

"So you successfully borrowed the cargo before it
reached its destination, now all you have to do is
drop if off and collect the $800k payoff - how hard
could that be?! And what are those green and red fluids
leaking out of the 7’ tall crate? Are those noises you
hear coming from there the crate? Maybe you should
have sprung for a larger cargo vehicle, or at least one
with a separate cargo area.
$250k for 8 vehicles"

-- Lots of interesting miniature games. I chose a representative space battle (there
was also Star Wars, Starblazers, Battlestar Galactica, generic ones). The Napoleonic
fleet battle was the only naval battle I found. There was only one Car Wars and 4E
is the last old-school edition with the detailed vehicle design rules. I saw one other
car combat game, Gaslands.

Sat Feb 07 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1130, 30m nap (9 hours)

• Gloomhaven yesterday was nice. I keep forgetting my bard's songs don't affect me -- my final plan was rushing the bad guys so they attack me and get retaliated which would have ended badly if not for an ally stepping in closer.
• Tonight we did one DDO quest with Dave S then he had to go to sleep early. We did one more quest then it was midnight so we called it.
• Packed up for an hour then drove to Mom and Dad's arriving about 0320.

Sun Feb 08 2026

Sleep 0500 to 1100 (6 hours)

• Seahawks beat Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl 60. Defense stifled Patriots until the 4th quarter. Offense was not particularly great but moved the ball enough for some FGs and then turnovers and big plays for a couple of TDs.

Mon Feb 09 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• Took mom to therapy. She's coming along fine.

Tue Feb 10 2026

Sleep 0500 to 1115 , 30m nap (6-3/4 hours)

• Talked to mom and dad and they're fine with me going to DunDraCon this weekend. Will be a long drive there Saturday morning then back Sunday night. Need to take mom to therapy Monday morning at 1000.

Wed Feb 11 2026

Sleep 0400 to 1045 (6-3/4 hours)

• Dad made arroz con pollo and it was really good. He used a deep pan, which you use for paella, and the rice came out very nice. The last few times his arroz con pollo rice came out too squishy.

Thu Feb 12 2026

Sleep 0230 to 0845 (6-1/4 hours)

• Paramount keeps extending their tender offer for Warner Bros. shares. Must not be going well for their hostile takeover attempt.

Fri Feb 14 2026

Sleep 0230 to 1000 (8-1/2 hours)

• Pack for DDC. One backpack so just computer, extra shirt, extra underwear.
• Got short at mom because she wanted to go to the bank with no notice and I was already modding a stream. If she had told me yesterday or this morning I could have planned to go with her at noon to make it back by 1500. Anyway, Dad took her to the bank.

Vibrant Visual Novels Bundle from Humble Bundle is a set of 10 computer visual novels and a DLC. Although looking closer it's more like half visual novels and the rest trend more toward game/visual novel to just game. Even though I already own 3 the remaining six titles for $12 is not bad.

MangaGamer

• Go! Go! Nippon! Complete Collection (Sep 2011, $20, Windows, OWN) - "As the game's protagonist, you'll travel to famous Japanese sightseeing spots in the company of a pair of beautiful young sisters. The girls will describe the spots, take you out to dinner, and grow closer to you throughout your travels."
• Eden* (Jan 2015, $20, Windows, OWN) - "A tale of the planet's final love story told using the full force of minori's critically acclaimed illustrative style, engaging musical compositions, and the highly talented staff that has led fans coming back for more every single time!"
• The Expression of Amrilato (Jun 2019, $25) - "a girl-meets-girl yuri visual novel" that uses Esperanto as a key element.

MoeNovel

• A Sky Full of Stars (Dec 2017, $5, Windows) - "This story full of love, comedy, and excitement follows our protagonist and his stargazing friends as they grow together. "A Sky Full of Stars" is a coming-of-age astronomy tale by the same team who brought you "If My Heart Had Wings"."
• If My Heart Had Wings (Jun 2013, $3, Windows, OWN) - "After a bicycle accident shatters his dreams of becoming a racer, Aoi Minase returns to his hometown, depressed and defeated. With seemingly no hope left for the future and no idea what to do with himself from here on, Aoi meets Kotori Habane―a young girl stuck in a wheelchair with a flat tire. It is on that windmill-dotted hill that Aoi's somber yet touching story of youth, friendship, and flight begins."
• If My Heart Had Wings - Flight Diary +New Wings: Akari DLC (Feb 2019, $7, Windows) - "While If My Heart Had Wings -Flight Diary- is technically a fan disc for If My Heart Had Wings, it includes six stories - including the prologue and epilogue to the main story - and acts as a sort of sequel to the original."

Other Publishers

• Gal*Gun Returns (Feb 2021, $50, Windows) - "The infamous ecchi rail-shooter is back! Fight back with pheromones as girls throw themselves at you and try to find true love in less than a day! Discover a beautifully reimagined version of the first game of the series that never came to the west!" Doesn't sound like a visual novel.
• Needy Streamer Overload (Jan 2022, $16) - "NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD is a “multi-ending ADV” depicting daily life with “OMGkawaiiAngel”, a young girl with a rather extreme need for approval attempting to become the #1 “Internet Angel” (streamer). Gradually build up OMGkawaiiAngel’s number of followers as she spends her days streaming, using various ”stress relievers”, and generally being kinda messed up. Experience all the different crazy ups and downs and find out for yourself whether this story is even capable of having a happy ending."
• Endless Monday: Dreams and Deadlines (May 2023, $7) - "Meet Penny, a corporate grunt and serial procrastinator who spent all her time at the office doodling comics and playing phone games instead of working on her project. Now a weekend away from missing her deadline, Penny must find inspiration and overcome all sorts of distractions to finish her project on time and not disappoint her mentor (and not get fired). And maybe she'll learn something about herself in the process."
• Sucker for Love: Date to Die For (Apr 2024, $13, Windows) - "Put the ‘love’ in 'Lovecraftian horror!' Avoid the fanatical cultists and survive dangerous rituals to escape the Black Woods with your life in this 90’s anime inspired visual novel!"

In Apple Passwords I sort by date and have been updating passwords of my oldest updated accounts. I'm doing five a day since sometimes it takes more than a few minutes for some sites. Some notes:

• Sort by last update date is close but not the best since any edit will change the last update date. I may miss one or two but hopefully get it later next time around.
• Lots of sites how have 2FA which is nice -- nicer when it's an authenticator app which Apple supports very well. Still good when it's SMS since again with macOS/iOS you can click in the field and it gets the authentication code from the SMS message (almost always, some sites send explanation text followed the code and the OS won't see that as an SMS code). Worst is email since then I have to go and read the email and manually copy/paste.
• More and more sites support Passkeys which is also nice as that's more secure.
• This is also a good opportunity to check that my address is correct, my phone is correct (I'm transitioning to mobile only), that privacy settings look good, etc.
• Also a good opportunity to delete passwords for dead sites or consolidate passwords -- Passwords can add multiple web sites to an entry but two different login usernames gets two different entries; normally in that case I'll delete one of them to avoid confusion since authenticator and Passkeys go to one entry.
• Due to how some web sites do it Passwords might not recognize that you updated a password after you click save. But if you then navigate to a different page it'll ask you.
• Apple Keychain Access is still a thing. It keeps track of computer passwords like for encrypted hard drives and network shares (though not WiFi that got moved to Passwords).