Saturday, October 31, 2026Edition No. 37

The Gayzette

A personal daily by Patrick and Travis, written with a little help from AI.

Gemini's Computer Use tool leaves preview: an AI that works a screen

Front page · AI

Gemini's Computer Use tool leaves preview: an AI that works a screen

Google says its screen-driving tool is now generally available, with sandbox warnings attached.

By The Gayzette, with Claude · 2 min read · Wonder ◆◆◆◆◇

Google says its Computer Use tool is now generally available (GA, meaning out of preview and open to everyone) in both the Interactions and GenerateContent APIs, per its developer changelog entry dated Oct 30. The tool lets a Gemini model look at a screenshot and answer with the clicks, scrolls and keystrokes it would make. Think of a very patient intern who can see your screen but has no hands: it points, and your own code does the pressing.

Your code runs each action, for example with Playwright (a tool that drives a web browser), then sends back a fresh screenshot, and the loop repeats. The docs cover browser, mobile and desktop setups, and Python needs google-genai 2.7.0 or newer. The caveat: Google's docs say to run it in a sandbox or virtual machine because it "may contain errors and security vulnerabilities," and the check for prompt injection (a web page sneaking in instructions) is opt-in and off by default.

On your desk: a sandboxed browser agent could take over repetitive studio admin for Travis, like checking class-roster or registration portals, and it would make a tidy Skool lesson on an agent with a screen and guardrails. For Patrick's Claude-agent vault office it is a useful comparison: a helper that acts, but only inside a fenced yard.

Read the original at Gemini API changelog: Computer Use generally available (GA), Oct 30 →
Receipts (2)

Editor's note

The Editor

Happy Halloween. Today's paper has Google's screen-driving AI leaving preview, three more builder items (one of them a talking Halloween haunt), a pair of psychedelic-science stories from a quiet week, and a Good Ten full of janitors, teens and bamboo.

This edition ran late: the scheduled run fired at 2:33 pm instead of 4:30 am. To stay near budget, the lead was written by the section writer rather than the Opus editor, The Good Ten runs 8 today, and items carry the house art panel instead of new drawings.

Your reactions are unchanged since Oct 15 (four more, one less on the Good Ten; one less on an awards recap), so the Good Ten keeps leaning human-scale and skips awards and clinical studies.

New in the Sky box: every Human Design transit now has its dates, its meaning and a 'Try this', for both of you, plus today's retrogrades in plain words — built from Friday's voice note.

Anthropic adds a Usage and Cost Analytics API in beta

AI

Anthropic adds a Usage and Cost Analytics API in beta

Disclosure: Anthropic makes Claude, the model that helps make this paper.

Anthropic's Claude Platform release notes, dated Oct 29, 2026, announce a Usage and Cost Analytics API in beta. You switch it on with the header analytics-usage-cost-2026-08-24, and two endpoints (web addresses a program can ask) at /v1/organizations/analytics/usage and /v1/organizations/analytics/cost report token usage (tokens are the word-sized chunks an AI reads and writes) and cost. The older Usage and Cost API and four Claude Enterprise Analytics report endpoints are now labeled legacy but still supported. Caveat: these are organization-level endpoints, and the release notes do not say which key type is required.

On your desk: have a vault agent pull weekly spend into a note, so you can see what each agent job costs, like a utility bill for the AI office.

Read the original at Claude Platform release notes (Oct 29, 2026 entry) →
FDA, VA and HHS officials outline a pre-approval plan for psychedelic medicines

Spirit

FDA, VA and HHS officials outline a pre-approval plan for psychedelic medicines

A quiet week, so this one is from earlier: Lucid News reported on Oct 28 on an Oct 15 forum where HHS, VA, FDA and ARPA-H officials described their planning. HHS Deputy General Counsel Matt Zorn said an April executive order speeds timelines but not standards: "same standards, moving on a faster timeline." 10 VA medical centers are Phase 1 lead sites, and VA care could begin in Jan-Feb 2027 only if a drug is approved.

Compass Pathways expects to submit an NDA (new drug application, the formal request to sell a medicine) for COMP360 this quarter, as speakers described. Caveats: this is officials' statements at one forum, reported by one outlet; no rule or approval has happened, and officials warned against overhyping.

On your desk: a lesson on how a consciousness technology becomes legal medicine for the Skool ethics module, where the cautious framing is the teachable part.

Read the original at Lucid News: federal health officials on pre-approval psychedelic medicines →

More in Spirit

Psilocybin grows new synapses in mice, separately from the trip signal

Read the brief

Also from earlier in the quiet week: UC Santa Cruz News released a study on Oct 22, published online Oct 15 in Nature Neuroscience, led by Yi Zuo. In mice, psilocybin made new dendritic spines (tiny bumps where brain cells connect) within 24 hours, fading over about three weeks in healthy mice. In stressed mice, a depression-like model, the surge was larger and loss of existing connections was halted.

The effect depended on 5-HT2A receptors in layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Restoring them restored growth without the head-twitch response; deleting them abolished growth but left the twitch intact, so the authors say the pathways are separable. Caveats: mouse data only, no sample sizes in the release, and head-twitch is a rodent proxy, not perception.

On your desk: the science behind why peak experiences might change the brain, for consciousness courses, with an honest mice-only label.


Read the original at UC Santa Cruz News: how psilocybin reshapes brain circuits →
US approves possible $2.1bn sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine

World

US approves possible $2.1bn sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine

ConfirmedThe US State Department approved the possible sale of 500 PAC-3 missiles plus parts and support, estimated at $2.1bn, with Lockheed Martin as principal contractor. Funding comes from Canada, Germany and Norway under "US JUMPSTART," plus national funds financed by the EU Ukraine Support Loan. The missiles are not yet built.

Claimed by Two people briefed on the decision, via Reuters/Al Jazeeradelivery is not expected until a couple of years into the 2030s. Al Jazeera/Reuters also describe the sale as one of the most significant defensive-arms steps for Kyiv of Trump's second term, which is the outlet's characterization.

  • United States: Says it approved the possible sale.
  • Ukraine: President Zelenskyy said on Oct 26 that Kyiv had waited almost a month for Washington's sign-off on missile supplies.
Read the original at Al Jazeera: US greenlights $2.1bn Patriot missile sale to Ukraine →

More in World

Ebola deaths in DR Congo pass 5,000; Saudi Arabia suspends travel from Kenya

What is known

ConfirmedDR Congo's death toll passed 5,000 per government data announced Friday, with more than 10,000 infected since the outbreak was declared in May, across 8 of 26 provinces. It is the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine. Nigeria reported its first case last week, and Kenya and Uganda also have cases. The Saudi Press Agency said Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and entry from Kenya, paused visas for Kenyans, and bars anyone who has been in Kenya or another affected country within 21 days.

Claimed by Al Jazeerathis is the deadliest DR Congo outbreak on record and the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever, after West Africa in 2014-16 (over 28,600 infected, over 11,000 dead).


Read the original at Al Jazeera: Ebola death toll in DR Congo passes 5,000 →

UN Security Council rejects both Western Sahara drafts as mission mandate lapses

What is known

ConfirmedA US draft was vetoed by Russia despite 11 of 15 members voting in favor, and a Russian draft failed to reach nine votes. The mandate of MINURSO, the UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara, expires Saturday with no approved extension. The US draft proposed a one-year extension, dropping "referendum" from the mission's name and making Morocco's autonomy proposal the sole basis for talks; the Russian draft would renew the mission as is.

Claimed by US, Russian, Moroccan and Polisario representativesthe referendum has been stalled for decades. Claimed by Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia: Moscow opposed the US draft because it favored one side. Claimed by Morocco's royal palace: it welcomed non-renewal and says UN personnel and equipment should leave the territory. Claimed by Polisario's UN representative Sidi Omar: the US plan undermines Sahrawi self-determination.

  • United States: Autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the basis for talks.
  • Russia and Polisario: Preserve the self-determination track.
  • Morocco: Welcomed non-renewal and wants the UN to leave.

Read the original at Al Jazeera: rival US and Russian resolutions on Western Sahara fail at UN →

UN closes its political mission in Somalia after three decades

What is known

ConfirmedThe UN mission UNTMIS ceased operations on Oct 31 after a two-year transition requested by Somalia's government, and announced it on X. Its duties move to Somali institutions, UN agencies and the UN office supporting African Union troops (UNSOS) under an agreed roadmap. No replacement for the mission's election-mediation role has been agreed.

Claimed by Guterres, Somalia's deputy PM, and Reutershe welcomed progress and urged continued international support. Claimed by Deputy PM Saleh Ahmed Jama at a Mogadishu ceremony: a "day of victory," leaving the "era of transition." Reported by Reuters in September, per the article: a US-backed plan could close UNSOS, ending African Union troop support by December 2027.

  • Somali government: Deputy PM Jama called it a "day of victory."
  • Opposition: Rejects the government's position that constitutional changes keep President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in office until 2027; there is now no mediator.

Read the original at Al Jazeera: UN closes Somalia mission →

Feel-Good

The Good Ten

Small, true, and from this week.

  1. 01

    A Texas school will be named for Miss Marilyn, custodian 39 years

    Fri Oct 30

    Marilyn Hampton worked 39 years for Aubrey ISD in Texas, and the new K-5 school will be Marilyn Hampton Elementary School. She called it "an honor that I never thought in my lifetime I would have seen," and at 76 she is still working with infants and toddlers at the district's Early Bird Learning Center. The school is not open yet.

    Read the original at Good News Network →
  2. 02

    A 15-year-old built a QR emergency-info tool after a friend fainted

    Tue Oct 27

    Aanya Mansani of Texas made Emergen after a friend fainted at school and no one knew her medical details. Scan a QR code and it shows allergies, medications, conditions and trusted contacts, with "no app download or login" needed. Her team won the junior division grand prize at the 2026 Technovation World Summit; the access tier for medical professionals is still in development.

    Read the original at Good Good Good →
  3. 03

    A Broadway electrician and volunteer firefighter runs the NYC Marathon

    Fri Oct 30

    Brianna Messina, on the lighting team of Maybe Happy Ending, runs the NYC Marathon on Nov 1 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She is about a month past facial feminization surgery (full recovery takes 12 to 18 months) and says, "I'm definitely not going to set a personal record." She has also been a volunteer firefighter for 17 years.

    Read the original at Playbill →
  4. 04

    Natalia Makarova, 86, restages Paquita for American Ballet Theatre

    Wed Oct 21

    Makarova is restaging her Paquita Act III grand divertissement for ABT's fall season at Lincoln Center, which runs Oct 21-31. In 1980 she chose 15-year-old Nancy Raffa to dance Paquita on Broadway, and Raffa is now ABT's rehearsal director. The performances are dedicated to Fernando Bujones.

    Read the original at Pointe Magazine →
  5. 05

    Two community-run marine protected areas open off Pemba, Tanzania

    Thu Oct 29

    The two areas cover 1,300 sq km and were set up with more than 20 communities and NGOs, with no-take zones and seasonal spawning closures. Blue Alliance reports patrols up more than 50% and illegal activity down about 45%, while an official says it is "too early to tell" about ecosystem recovery.

    Read the original at Mongabay →
  6. 06

    A Philippine village's bamboo cribs hold back floods and grow land

    Fri Oct 30

    Interlocking bamboo cribs cover 14 hectares off Pamarawan in Bulacan. Village secretary Roldan Dayao says, "It has been almost two years now that we have not been flooded." These are officials' and the designer's claims, and some residents lost income from the project.

    Read the original at Mongabay →
  7. 07

    Hubble data question how the early universe cleared its fog

    Fri Oct 30

    A University of Michigan-led team of nearly 30 scientists used Hubble data on nearby galaxies to study reionization, which began about 13 billion years ago. They found galaxies with the fastest winds let the smallest fraction of ionizing radiation escape, which Cody Carr says means "these photons are escaping before galactic winds form." It is a press release and does not settle the cause.

    Read the original at ScienceDaily →
  8. 08

    A rare sheath-tailed bat is heard 400 miles from home

    Fri Oct 30

    Oli Aylen of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy recorded the call at Pungalina-Seven Emu Wildlife Sanctuary while running mist nets, "and just happened to also have my handheld bat detector on." The species was first described in 1979 and has rarely been recorded on camera since. This is a new detection, not a population increase.

    Read the original at Good Good Good →

TV and the sky

Tonight, and overhead

On the couch

TV

On the Couch

  • Saturday Night Live (host Inde Navarrette, musical guest Gracie Abrams) · NBC · airs 8:30 p.m. PT (11:30 p.m. ET), live; time from TVLine, an entertainment site, not NBC, so check NBC if it matters · streams Full episode on Peacock the next day — New episode tonight; Navarrette stars in Obsession.
Storm watch

Weather

Storm Watch

Los Angeles: LA tonight: mostly cloudy, 30% chance of showers, low near 59 (NWS)

No active named storms in the Eastern Pacific as of 2026-10-08.

Winter outlook: The Climate Prediction Center's Oct 8 discussion keeps an El Niño Advisory in effect: El Niño continues to strengthen, with a strong-to-very-strong El Niño likely through January-March 2027, at a probability above 83%.

Outlook from the CPC discussion dated 2026-10-08.

El Niño: a warming of the surface water in the central Pacific Ocean that nudges weather patterns around the world, like a big pot of warm water changing the draft in the kitchen. · El Niño Advisory: the Climate Prediction Center's formal label that El Niño conditions are present now.

National Hurricane Center · CPC ENSO Diagnostic Discussion

The sky tonight

Overhead

Sky

Moon: Waning Gibbous (62% illuminated)

Tonight's sky: On Oct 31, Uranus (in Taurus) rises at 7:20 p.m., Mars (about 90% lit, in Leo since Oct 30) rises at 12:50 a.m., and Jupiter (in Leo) rises at 1:20 a.m. (Griffith Observatory). The Southern Taurids meteor shower is active through Nov 20, with its fireball-swarm part peaking the night of Nov 4-5 when the Moon is 25% lit (American Meteor Society). Griffith Observatory Sky Report, October 2026 · American Meteor Society: Meteor Shower Calendar

As of: 2026-10-31

What that means: Gibbous = more than half lit. Waning = shrinking. The Moon is past full and losing a little light each night; rises after dark and is still up in the morning. Next new moon Nov 9, 2026; next full moon Nov 24, 2026.

Retrogrades right now
  • Mercury Oct 24, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Looks like it is moving backward until it turns direct on Nov 13, 2026.
  • Venus Oct 3, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026. Looks like it is moving backward until it turns direct on Nov 14, 2026.
  • Saturn Jul 26, 2026 to Dec 10, 2026. Looks like it is moving backward until it turns direct on Dec 10, 2026.
  • Uranus Sep 10, 2026 to Feb 8, 2027. Looks like it is moving backward until it turns direct on Feb 8, 2027.
  • Neptune Jul 7, 2026 to Dec 12, 2026. Looks like it is moving backward until it turns direct on Dec 12, 2026.
  • Coming up Mars turns retrograde Jan 10, 2027

Retrograde, in plain words: Retrograde = from Earth the planet LOOKS like it is drifting backward against the stars for a few weeks, because Earth is overtaking it (or it is overtaking us) on the inside track, like passing a slower car that seems to slide back. Station = the day it appears to stop and turn.

Human Design transits

Patrick

  • Uranus in Gate 20 (The Now, Throat centre); one of your own gates; completes your 20-34 channel (Charisma) with your Gate 34 Apr 28, 2026 to May 27, 2027 (pass 2 of 2; whole visit Jul 10, 2025 to May 27, 2027, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 20: Throat gate of 'the now': awareness that wants to be spoken and acted on in the present moment. Channel 20-34 Charisma: "A design where thoughts must become deeds": busy, self-powered doing that is seen and heard. Try this: When a transit completes this channel you get a temporary taste of it: momentum to turn a talked-about idea into action. Good window to ship something you have been talking about.
  • Neptune in Gate 25 (The Spirit of the Self, G centre); completes your 25-51 channel (Initiation) with your Gate 51 Aug 22, 2026 to Mar 19, 2027 (pass 3 of 4; whole visit Apr 10, 2024 to Dec 24, 2027, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 25: G-centre gate of 'the spirit of the self': innocence and love for all things, not just people. Channel 25-51 Initiation: "A design of needing to be first": courage to go first and be shocked awake. Try this: Try one thing first, before you feel ready.
  • Pluto in Gate 41 (Contraction, Root centre); completes your 30-41 channel (Recognition) with your Gate 30 Dec 5, 2025 to Feb 24, 2028 (pass 3 of 4; whole visit Apr 11, 2024 to Jan 2, 2029, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 41: Root gate of contraction: the pressure to start a new experience, often felt as fantasy or daydream first. Channel 30-41 Recognition: "A design of focused energy": the fuel of fantasy and desire that starts new experiences. Try this: Name the experience you are hungry for; write it down so the energy has somewhere to go.
  • North Node in Gate 30 (Recognition of Feelings, Solar centre); one of your own gates Jul 25, 2026 to Nov 24, 2026. What it means: Gate 30: Solar Plexus gate of 'recognition of feelings': deep desire and the fire of wanting. Try this: Let a big feeling ride for a day before acting on it; clarity comes over time, not in the moment.
  • Sun in Gate 44 (Alertness, Spleen centre); completes your 26-44 channel (Surrender) with your Gate 26 Oct 31, 2026 to Nov 5, 2026. What it means: Gate 44: Spleen gate of alertness: instinct for patterns from the past, smelling talent and trouble. Channel 26-44 Surrender: "A design of a transmitter": instinct for the past paired with the gift of selling the message. Try this: Good day to pitch or present something; lead with what you have already seen work.
  • Venus in Gate 32 (Continuity, Spleen centre); completes your 32-54 channel (Transformation) with your Gate 54 Oct 31, 2026 to Nov 27, 2026 (pass 2 of 2; whole visit Aug 29, 2026 to Nov 27, 2026, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 32: Spleen gate of continuity: instinct for what will last and fear of failure. Channel 32-54 Transformation: "A design of being driven": ambition with the instinct for what will last. Try this: Put effort into the project most likely to still matter in a year.
  • Coming: North Node enters Gate 49 (Principles) on Nov 24, 2026, one of your own gates

Travis

  • Saturn in Gate 17 (Opinions, Ajna centre); one of your own gates Oct 28, 2026 to Jan 22, 2027 (pass 2 of 2; whole visit Mar 18, 2026 to Jan 22, 2027, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 17: Ajna gate of opinions: organising ideas into a logical view of how things should go. Try this: Share an opinion as an offer when asked, not as a correction.
  • Neptune in Gate 25 (The Spirit of the Self, G centre); one of your own gates Aug 22, 2026 to Mar 19, 2027 (pass 3 of 4; whole visit Apr 10, 2024 to Dec 24, 2027, because retrograde loops it back and forth). What it means: Gate 25: G-centre gate of 'the spirit of the self': innocence and love for all things, not just people. Try this: Do one kind thing with no agenda and no audience.
  • Sun in Gate 44 (Alertness, Spleen centre); one of your own gates; completes your 26-44 channel (Surrender) with your Gate 26 Oct 31, 2026 to Nov 5, 2026. What it means: Gate 44: Spleen gate of alertness: instinct for patterns from the past, smelling talent and trouble. Channel 26-44 Surrender: "A design of a transmitter": instinct for the past paired with the gift of selling the message. Try this: Good day to pitch or present something; lead with what you have already seen work.
  • Coming: Jupiter enters Gate 29 (Saying Yes) on Nov 2, 2026, completing 29-46 Discovery

Planet positions and dates: Swiss Ephemeris via the HD Toolkit (exact). Meanings: Human Design tradition, interpretation. 'Try this': the Gayzette's suggestion.

Crop circle watch

Notebook

Crop Circle Watch

Latest formation — Tue Jul 21 · Wanborough Plain, near Liddington, Wiltshire, England. The latest formation logged on the Crop Circle Connector, 21 July 2026.

  • No newer formation is logged: the August to December index shows 0 formations.
  • The Crop Circle Connector logged 10 formations between 3 and 21 July 2026.

From the history: According to the Psi Encyclopedia (Melvyn Willin), reported crop circles went from 112 in 1988 to 305 in 1989 to "almost 1,000" in 1990, the year before Bower and Chorley went public in 1991. Caveat: the counts are the article's own, and no counting method is given.

Crop Circle Connector: July 2026 · Crop Circle Connector: Wanborough 2026 · Psi Encyclopedia: Crop Circles