Vol. I: Issue 040                                                                                             September 25th, 2026

Breaking news out of San Fresco, where SprocketWorld has officially found its new home.

After losing its longtime venue in Oniontown, organizers announced today that San Fresco will host the next gathering of all things steam-powered, brass-plated, and wonderfully overengineered. And the city is wasting no time putting its own nautical spin on the festivities.

Plans were unveiled for a fully functioning steam-powered submarine, which will offer underwater excursions off the San Fresco coast exclusively to SprocketWorld Brass-Pass holders. Organizers are promising a one-of-a-kind experience beneath the waves, although I suspect anyone climbing aboard will want to make very sure all those gauges are pointing where they should.
 
 
This year’s headliners will also include game developers Matt and Tony, who will be presenting a post-mortem on their very short-lived online game that helped define the MMO-troidvania genre and, despite its brief run, built up a small but fiercely enthusiastic steampunk fanbase.

SprocketWorld passes officially go on sale next month, and if previous years are any indication, they will not stick around for long. So all you clockwork-craving cosplayers out there may want your goggles polished, your gears greased, and your ticket-buying fingers ready.

Between a brand-new host city, underwater adventures, and plenty of brass-and-steam spectacle still to be announced, SprocketWorld appears to be back on track. I’ll be watching for ticket dates, new guests, and anything else organizers add to the schedule, because Duke’s Gotcha covered!

 

Hiya friends!

Okay, so I got some pretty gurth-shaking news this week. The Cookie Scouts want to license my JamBones recipe! Can you believe it?! I still cannot quite wrap my head around the fact that my accidental dog treats have somehow turned into an award-winning cookie that people actually want to sell. Life is funny like that, I guess. Just when things are feeling a little rough, something comes along and gives you a nice little boost.

Anyway! Let’s head over to Powder Point and see what the weather has planned this week.

Things are starting off on the cool and gloomy side, with plenty of clouds, some light rain, and a damp little breeze hanging around through the weekend. But the good news is that the gray skies gradually start to break apart after that, and we finish out the week with more sunshine, slightly milder temperatures, and a really pleasant early-fall feel.

So keep the light jacket and umbrella nearby for the first few days, then get ready for a brighter little turnaround later in the week over in Powder Point.

 

The Mumph here, and I’ll be heading over to Portallini this Saturday to catch the Gondola 500 in person. Folks, I love a good race, but this one is in a class of its own. Hundreds of gondolas tearing through the canals, crowds packed along the waterways, checkered flags everywhere, you better believe The Mumph wants a front-row spot for that.

And before Portallini starts racing gondolas, their Gondoliers gave the hometown crowd something else to celebrate on the diamond.

Sakura Bay kept things scoreless through three, but Portallini finally found the opening in the fourth and pushed three across. From there, Fusaro and Mascaro kept the Samurais completely bottled up, and when the Gondoliers came back around in the eighth and hung another four on the board, this thing was put to bed.

MVP goes to Mascaro behind the plate. Catching a shutout is serious business, and he kept everything steady back there, working with Fusaro and helping make sure Sakura Bay never found an inning to build around. Nine innings, zero runs. You cannot ask for much cleaner than that.

Final score, Portallini Gondoliers 7, Sakura Bay Samurais 0. Winner, Portallini. MVP, Mascaro.

My two cents, when your pitching staff throws up nine straight zeroes and your bats eventually break loose for seven, everybody gets to enjoy the ride home. And this weekend in Portallini, that ride home just might be by gondola.

 

Hello out there…

It has now been five weeks since Hurricane LePunch tore through Ketona Beach, and while the storm itself is long gone, the emergency certainly is not.

The town’s limited recovery funds are being stretched across the basics: restoring utilities and keeping police, fire, and EMS services operating. Those are necessary priorities, and Mayor Trimkin has now begun calling for outside volunteers to help shoulder some of the enormous workload still ahead.

But for the families who lost their homes, there is another emergency unfolding much more quietly.

Many are still living out of motel rooms, unable to return home and unsure what happens next. How long will temporary housing last? Will money eventually be available to rebuild? Who do they call when they need an answer that goes beyond another general recovery update?

The residents I have spoken with understand that Ketona Beach does not have the resources to fix everything overnight. What troubles them is how often the conversation seems to stop at restored power lines, repaired roads, and city services.

Those things matter. But so do the people still wondering where they will be living a month from now.

Mayor Trimkin may not have every answer yet, and the money simply may not exist to solve every problem today. But displaced families still deserve clear information, honest expectations, and a seat at the table while those decisions are being made.

You cannot rebuild a town without rebuilding some sense of certainty for the people who call it home.

And that’s The Scoop.