Welcome to the 268th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal ("NLJ") and its short-form writing sister publication, The Emu Café Social ("ECS"). This newsletter comes to you as always from the administrator, editor, and writer of both publications, Nicholas A. Ferrell.

It will be difficult to match the excitement of last week's Valentine's Day edition newsletter, but I am happy to report that I have a good number of articles to share this week to go along with our regular assortment of links from around the web and other news and notes.

Leaves from the week that was

I published four new NLJ articles since mailing Newsletter 267.

On Valentine's Day, I published Christmas Tina - Visual Novel Review. I had started Christmas Tina on Christmas, but it took me a bit to finish and turn it into a review. I ended up amusing myself by publishing the review on Valentine's Day because the developer explicitly (and accurately) states on the game's Steam page that it is not a love story (despite looking like one before reading the fine-print).

Next, I published Blog Questions Challenge Answers. I came across a list of questions for bloggers and decided to answer them in a sort of self-interview. Here, you can learn what my favorite NLJ leaf is.

On the 19th, I published Video Game Home Console Success By Generation. This post was prompted by an assessment I read that the PlayStation Portable was successful (concur), but that case was made in part by comparing it to home consoles from the 1990s (did not concur).

Finally, I ended the week with my first article on U.S. immigration law in some time with BIA Addresses Marriage Fraud on Valentine’s Eve. This post was inspired by noting that the Board of Immigration Appeals just happened to publish a rare precedent decision touching on marriage fraud on the last business day before Valentine's.

I also published several short posts on ECS before my week became busy:

• A Positive Technologist Identity (Responding to a well-thought-out post on defining oneself as a technologist by what one is for. I received an interesting response, so you can expect some follow-up posts in the next week.)

• AI-Influencer-Journo Marketing Gimmicks (Examining how big tech and AI companies manipulate journalists into giving their products positive coverage.)

• Begonia, Oh Deer! (On the deer-resistant qualities of begonia.)

• Happy Presidents’ Day (2026)! (Alas, I failed in not having a full article ready for President's Day...)

• Questionable Murena Tablet Value (Having once famously reviewed the Murena Teracube 2e phone, I offer my take that the new Murena Tablet does not strike me as a good value.)

• I Hear YouTube Is Down (I did not check back to see if my NLJ-admin-based theory was right.)

Leaves from around the web

My output was good last week. I don't know if you need more links, but I cannot buck tradition.

I didn't forget President's Day!

The Grammarphobia Blog: How cool was Abe Lincoln?
Patricia T. O'Connor and Stewart Kellerman at Grammarphobia. February 16, 2026.

Easily the coolest President until Chester A. Arthur.

“Washington’s Birthday” Poem by Sangster
Nicholas A. Ferrell at The New Leaf Journal. February 18, 2021.

I didn't have any more presidential links in my around the web list so I'm calling my own number.

Remembering NASCAR greats

Dale Earnhardt Owned the NASCAR Spotlight — and Still Does
Neil Paine. February 18, 2026.

Another impressive point about the late Dale Earnhardt is how good he was in his mid-to-late 40s. While not unprecedented, many all time greats did (and do) not maintain that kind of level as they get older.

Remembering Greg Biffle, NASCAR's In-Between Great
Neil Paine. December 19, 2025.

"In the wake of his tragic death in a plane crash ..., which also claimed the lives of his wife Cristina, their two children Emma and Ryder, and three others, former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle leaves behind a legacy that deserves a closer look. In addition to what he achieved, his career on the track was defined by an unusual place in NASCAR’s modern history — a limbo that too often made him difficult to classify and easy to overlook."

Remember to check your devices before taking them to the thrift store

I found a kindle in the thrift store... [video]
nephitejnf. February 16, 2026.

Because if you don't check your stuff, the next owner of your Kindle will still be logged in.

A Man Bought a $13 Camera at a Thrift Shop—and Found 70-Year-Old Film Still Inside. Do You Recognize the Faces in the Photos?
Ellen Wexler for Smithsonian Magazine. February 19, 2026.

Do you think it occurred to whoever took the photos that he or she forgot to develop the film?

Speaking of eReaders

In Search of the Perfect eReader
Simon and Suffix. June 27, 2024.

He evaluated Kindle, Kobo, and PocketBook and settled on PocketBook. I too settled on PocketBook, but I also have a working Kindle and a Kobo that would be working if I took the time to re-flash the original operating system on a micro SD card.

Science says your Kindle might be better for sleep than a paperback
Mark Jensen for Android Police. February 16, 2026.

But is it better than a Kobo or PocketBook?

Education around the world

Dorm Storm: China’s Students Clash Over Streaming on Campus
Sixth Tone. February 5, 2026.

I don't think Jin from Christmas Tina would approve of this behavior.

Less Than Words Can Say
Nan Miller for The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. February 13, 2026.

"[T]he National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pressuring teachers and professors to drop the requirement that students learn to speak and write Standard American English."

College kids can't do math either
Kitten. November 14, 2025.

Unsung losers are the UC Davis students who would have legitimately qualified for admission before the school ignored standardized testing.

How porn has taken over the classroom
Jo Bartosch and Robert Jessel for Spiked. November 2, 2025.

A UK story in this case. Not phones. Have to watch those outside groups...

Long-form interviews

Interview with Bulbagarden
Johto Times. February 13, 2025.

An interview with the admin of the leading unofficial Pokémon wiki.

The New King of Trash Publishing: Meet the Man Who Revolutionized Lowbrow
Noreen Malone for The New Republic. October 22, 2013.

Thank you for the offer but I will be busy on all the days ending in -day.

Don't tell anyone

New York City is making a top secret map of everything under the street
Rosemary Misdary for Gothamist. January 18, 2026.

They're not forgetting to tell everyone about the secret map. That's the most important part of every secret map.

A Secret Web
Benjamin Hollon. May 5, 2024.

Maybe this is the secret web.

Believe it or not, this isn’t a Tokyo vending machine – It’s a secret door to deliciousness
Casey Baseel for SoraNews24. November 3, 2025.

Not to spoil but what is the point of putting that much on a hamburger? You can't actually eat it as a burger.

Rick Brunson: The Secrets of His Success, 1998
Bob Kuska at From Way Downtown. December 15, 2025. (Reprinting article from February 1998 issue of Rip City by Matt Williams.)

A 1990s NBA article about journeyman guard Rick Brunson. I wonder how his son is doing these days.

The Secrets of Sega Channel: VGHF recovers over 100 Sega Channel ROMs (and more)
Phil Salvador for Video Game History Foundation. December 15, 2025.

Here I was wondering where they were.

Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week

I use a privacy-friendly and entirely local tool called Koko Analytics (see my 2025 article) to track page visits. In each issue of the newsletter, I list our five most-visited articles, according to Koko Analytics, for the one-week period beginning with Saturday and ending with Friday. Below, you will find our most-visited articles for the week of February 14-20 with notes on their cumulative ranking statistics going back to 2021.

1. Adding noai.duckduckgo.com as Custom Search Engine
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. January 21, 2026.
   2026: 5 appearances and 2 top placements.

2. Catching 151 Pokémon in Google Search
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 17, 2025.
   2026: 8 appearances and 6 top placements.
   Cumulative: 35 appearances and 27 top placements.

3. The Positive Case for Good Tech
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 13, 2026.

4. Amazon “Cargo Bikes” in Brooklyn
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 9, 2025.
   2026: 5 appearances.
   Cumulative: 40 appearances and 8 top placements.

5. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 11, 2021.
   2026: 2 appearances.
   Cumulative: 12 appearances.

Analysis

We had a minor upset at the top of the ranking. Adding noai.duckduckgo.com as Custom Search Engine, which had been runner-up for the previous two weeks after finishing first in its debut-week, obtained its second top placement. It performed about as well as it had in the previous two, but Catching 151 Pokémon in Google Search came back down to Earth a bit. The two articles were tied going into Friday, but DuckDuckGo pulled ahead. New article The Positive Case for Good Tech was in the mix early in the week, leading after Monday thanks to being shared in some IndieWeb fora, but it slowed down later in the week and settled for third. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name made its second ranking of 2026, notable since it prior years it usually peaked in April and May. It is currently on pace to have its best year on record (no small feat since it has placed in the top 23 every year-end ranking since 2021).

News leaf journal

I added a fun feature to The New Leaf Journal. In the header and footer menus, you will see a "Random Article" option. You will never guess what happens when you click "Random Article." No need to thank me. You're very welcome.

Taking leaf

I was a bit late starting the newsletter this week, so I will wrap things up here.

Thank you as always for reading The Newsletter Leaf Journal. If you enjoyed this issue and have not done so already, you can follow this newsletter by signing up for our weekly email, adding our RSS feed to your favorite feed reader, or checking in on our archive page.

Until the end of February,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.