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Morning Briefing - Monday, February 16, 2026

Time: 4:00 PM UTC (8:00 AM PT)

🌤️ Weather

Status: ⚠️ wttr.in service timeout (network connectivity issues)

Castaic (91384): Unable to fetch
Mammoth: Unable to fetch

Weather service still experiencing issues. Third consecutive day. May need alternative weather source.

📧 Email Triage

Status: ⚠️ Gmail OAuth unauthorized (no access to all accounts)

Accounts checked:

❌ quan@ztag.com - Token file not found
❌ quan@gantom.com - Unauthorized client error
❌ quan777@gmail.com - Unauthorized client error

Email monitoring offline. OAuth tokens need reconfiguration (scope/authorization issue, not expiration). This is blocking all email visibility.

Gantom Orders: Unable to fetch

Action needed: Escalate OAuth reconfiguration to rebuild window or prioritize separately.

📰 News Headlines

🚨 Federal Budget Threat:

Lookout Santa Cruz: Federal 2026 budget cuts rural education - "Plans to move funds away from programs that help small rural districts, including teaching grants, after-school programs and high-needs students" (1 day ago)
- ZTAG IMPACT: Direct threat to after-school program funding (ELOP/CCLC grants)

Ed-Tech Sector Trends:

NWEA: Key trends 2026 - ESSER funding gone, districts face tough decisions on which programs to keep. Focus on "tech boundaries" and restoring deep attention (5 days ago)
Inventiva: India ed-tech matures after BYJU collapse - "More mature, sustainable approach" emerging. Government training 10M teachers in AI pedagogy (1 week ago)
EdTech Q1 2026 startups - Simplifying knowledge networks for "fifth graders with big questions and busy teachers" (9 hours ago)

California Education:

EdSource: CA preserves $4.9B funding - FERPA compliance agreement reached with US Dept of Education (1 week ago)

Macro Context:

ESSER cliff + federal cuts = Double threat to after-school programs (ZTAG's core market)
Tech boundaries focus = Physical play positioning stronger vs screen-based ed-tech
Sustainability over scale = Post-BYJU maturation favors sustainable business models

ZTAG Strategic Positioning:

Physical+embodied play = counter to "tech boundaries" backlash
Low-cost, high-impact model = fits tight budgets post-ESSER
Federal cuts threat = need to monitor grant cycles closely, diversify beyond federal-dependent districts

📦 Steve Florida Shipment - STATUS UPDATE

⚠️ TRACKING DATA STALE (3 days old - last scan Feb 13)

All 9 packages still showing:

Status: Departed from Facility
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Last Update: Feb 13, 2026

Critical Timeline:

Dropped: Wed Feb 12 @ 1:18 PM PT
Target arrival: Wed Feb 19 (Steve at port)
Backup window: Through Fri Feb 21
Today: Mon Feb 16 (3 days in transit)

Expected pattern for cross-country UPS Ground:

Days 1-2: LA processing/sorting
Days 3-4: En route to destination hub
Days 5-6: Regional facility + out for delivery
Day 7: Delivery

Action Plan:

Today 6 PM PT: Check tracking again (should show movement toward Florida)
Tuesday AM: If not showing Florida arrival, escalate with UPS
Tuesday PM: CRITICAL check - must be "Out for Delivery" or very close
Wednesday AM: Final verification before Steve arrives at port

Risk Level: ⚠️ MODERATE - Transit time normal so far, but zero visibility since Feb 13 is concerning. Need fresh tracking data TODAY.

📅 Tomorrow's Calendar (Tuesday, Feb 17)

7:30 AM - 📄 LA Passport Agency Appointment

Location: 11000 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Confirmation: M69TWDMT / GANBEI
Context: China trip March 1 (12 days away), urgent renewal needed
Prep reminder sent: Quan booked immediately after Feb 15 alert
Drive time: ~45 min from Castaic, depart by 6:45 AM
What to bring: Old passport (valid China visa), application, photo, itinerary, payment, ID

2:00 PM - Huddle (Zoom)

Attendees: Ping, Lisa, Charlie, Quan (Gantom team)
Regular recurring meeting

2:00 PM - 🎯 API Cost Audit + Tiered Fallback

Minnie task: Review OpenClaw/AI API costs, implement fallback tiers
(Scheduled same time as Huddle - may need to shift?)

All-day Events:

Home [Quan ZTAG calendar]
Chinese New Year [Holidays in China]

Tomorrow context: Early morning (passport), otherwise normal workday. No travel conflicts.

📂 Workspace Review

Current Phase: Tier 1 - Executive Assistant
Milestone: M2 (Integration Layer) ~75% complete

Urgent Items Carried Forward:

RMA Outsourcing - Jerry Window Closing
- Status: Documented (working/ops/rma-repair-outsourcing-feb2026.md)
- Context: Jerry in US THIS MONTH for QC training
- Issue: Hundreds of ZTAGGERs being reworked from Quan's house (battery swap + safety upgrade)
- Opportunity: Valencia Fulfillment expansion (RMA/repair + fulfillment colocation)
- Action needed: Contact Valencia ASAP, coordinate with Jerry before China return
- Founder sovereignty violation: Manual repairs from house = unsustainable
Gmail OAuth Broken - 3rd Day
- Blocking email monitoring, Gantom order tracking, all inbox visibility
- Error: "unauthorized_client" (scope/auth issue, not token expiration)
- Impact: Morning briefing degraded, can't triage important emails
- Escalate: This should be prioritized repair or wait for Sunday rebuild?
Steve Florida Shipment Tracking
- Need fresh UPS data today (stale since Feb 13)
- Check 6 PM PT, escalate Tuesday if not showing Florida movement
- Critical: Wed Feb 19 delivery for Celebrity FIRE cruise

Recent Completions:

Quo SMS webhook operational (Feb 15)
Passport appointment booked (Feb 15, appointment Feb 17)
Tailscale + markdown server setup (Feb 16)

Blocked/Degraded:

Email monitoring (OAuth)
Weather service (wttr.in timeout, 3rd day)
Morning briefing operating at ~60% capability

Metrics (Current):

ROI: 15x ($240/month cost, $3,600/month value)
Time saved: 6 hrs/week
Target for Tier 1 graduation: 25+ hrs/week saved

🎯 Priority Flags

TODAY:

Steve shipment tracking refresh - Get current UPS status by 6 PM PT
Passport appointment prep - Verify Quan has all documents ready for 7:30 AM tomorrow

THIS WEEK:

RMA outsourcing decision - Valencia contact + Jerry coordination before China return
Gmail OAuth repair - 3rd day offline, blocking email visibility + Gantom order tracking
Federal budget threat monitoring - After-school program cuts proposed, impacts ELOP/CCLC grant strategy

STRATEGIC WATCH:

ESSER cliff + federal cuts = Double pressure on after-school funding (ZTAG's market)
Ed-tech backlash = Physical play positioning advantage
Post-BYJU maturation = Sustainability over scale trend aligns with ZTAG model

Summary

Monday morning. Technical issues continue (weather service timeout day 3, Gmail OAuth day 3 offline). Operating at reduced briefing capability - can't access emails or Gantom orders.

Tomorrow: Early start for passport appointment (7:30 AM LA). China trip March 1, renewal urgent. Quan prepped after Feb 15 alert.

Steve shipment: Last seen LA on Feb 13 (3 days ago). Need fresh tracking data TODAY. If not showing Florida movement by tonight, escalate tomorrow. Critical Wed Feb 19 delivery window.

Federal threat: 2026 budget proposes cutting after-school program funding - direct impact to ZTAG's ELOP/CCLC grant market. Monitor closely.

Urgent holdovers: RMA outsourcing (Jerry window closing), Gmail OAuth repair (blocking visibility), Steve shipment tracking.

No other urgent founder attention required unless Steve tracking shows delays.

Generated by Minnie-Ops morning briefing
Format: Scannable plain text
Note: Degraded briefing due to email/weather service outages