The Gayzette: Google's Gemini 4 Argon is now open to everyone, at half price for now

Front page · AI

Google's Gemini 4 Argon is now open to everyone, at half price for now

Google's newest model left limited access on October 13, with a launch price that doubles on December 1.

By The Gayzette, with Claude · 1 min read · Wonder ◆◆◆◇◇

Google moved its newest model, Gemini 4 Argon, into general availability on October 13, according to its own changelog (the public list of what changed). Google calls it its most capable model for complex coding, agent work (software that takes several steps on its own), math and science. The models page lists it as stable, with a 1M-token context window, meaning it can hold about a million small chunks of text in view at once.

Illustration · The Gayzette

The price is the story. Through November 30, Standard use costs $2.00 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens, including its thinking steps. From December 1 that becomes $4 and $20. Batch and Flex (slower, cheaper queues) are half of Standard until November 30. There is no free tier, and it is not part of the Google AI Pro plan. These numbers come from Google's own pages, and we have not seen outside testing.

On your desk: if any of your n8n (the automation tool) workflows use a Gemini node, run one real job through Argon before November 30, and put the December 1 doubling on the calendar.

Read the original at Gemini API changelog →

Receipts (3)

Editor's note

The managing editor

Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Today's lead: Google's Gemini 4 Argon left limited testing on October 13 and is open to anyone through the Gemini API, at a launch price that doubles on December 1. Then two short AI items, not three: Claude Code now tidies idle chats before its cache runs out, and n8n refuses to save workflows built with retired nodes. The window was thin, so we left the filler and the unconfirmed posts out. Sonnet wrote the lead today; the Opus lead was dropped for budget.

Spirit runs two: an exploratory study finding ketamine and psychedelics leave a similar mark on immune signals, and the FDA's outline of what a careful first ibogaine trial could look like (dated last week, and the item says so). Crop Circle Watch: nothing new since July 21 at Fox Hill. The Droplet Desk and Grant Watch were quiet, so neither box runs.

The Good Ten runs a full ten, from a whole new family of giant fungus to Steps on Broadway's Joyce Theater benefit. The World, Straight has five items; all five rest on Al Jazeera's wire-based pages today, because AP and BBC pages didn't load for the scout. Storm Watch has two Eastern Pacific storms, Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Trudy, both well off Mexico's coast.

No new reactions or beat decisions on the page since Issue 005's one "less" vote, so the lineup is unchanged. The fact-checker graded about 185 claims and we applied 3 fixes, cutting nothing.

Claude Code now tidies long idle chats before the cache runs out

Claude Code version 2.1.299, released October 14, adds idle compaction in the terminal. If a conversation is over 200K tokens and sits idle for about 54 minutes, Claude Code now summarizes it before the one-hour prompt cache (a short-term memory that makes resumed chats cheaper) expires. You can tune it with CLAUDE_CODE_IDLE_COMPACT_MIN_TOKENS, or switch it off with "idleCompaction": false.

Illustration · The Gayzette

Some changes can break things. MCP allow rules now match only the named server, so use mcp__<server>__* for a whole server. Skills and commands with hidden or blank-like characters, or < > in their names, will not load until renamed. On your desk: after updating, open your custom skills and MCP permission rules and check that each one still loads.

Read the original at Claude Code changelog →

Spirit

Ketamine and psychedelics leave a similar mark on immune signals

A study led by Gregory H. Jones of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and MD Anderson, reported by PsyPost on October 13, compared ketamine, LSD and psilocybin. The team treated brain cells grown from stem cells with the drugs. Of 103 proteins that ketamine changed in spinal fluid, 86% were also changed by at least one psychedelic. They clustered around immune signaling and around insulin and neural rewiring.

Illustration · The Gayzette

In a trial of 39 people with treatment-resistant depression and 25 healthy volunteers, immune markers before a single ketamine dose tracked who responded, and reversed 4 hours later. Caveat: the authors call the work "primarily exploratory," and the cells came from female donors only. We read PsyPost's account, not the paper itself.

On your desk: for your meditation notes, this is one early hint that altered states and the immune system may talk to each other. Treat it as a question, not an answer.

Read the original at PsyPost: Ketamine and psychedelics share a surprising link to the immune system →

Receipts (2)

FDA sketches what a careful first ibogaine trial could look like

Read the brief

This one is older than our usual window: the event was Monday, October 5, and the Psychedelic Alpha bulletin reporting it is dated October 8. The FDA put out a request for information (a public call for feedback) describing a hypothetical early trial of ibogaine, a plant-derived psychedelic. Doses would rise in steps, capped at 10 mg/kg, one participant at a time.

Participants would be dosed as inpatients with continuous heart monitoring for up to 36 hours, limited to certain fast or intermediate CYP2D6 metabolizers (people whose bodies process the drug at set speeds), with five stopping rules and 12 months of thinking-and-memory tests. It is part of an HHS effort with NIDA and ARPA-H. This is secondary reporting; we did not open the FDA page. On your desk: file it as a sign that regulators are planning how to test these compounds safely.

Read the original at Psychedelic Alpha Bulletin #233 →

World

Trial opens in Hamburg over the Nord Stream pipeline blasts

ConfirmedAl Jazeera, citing Reuters, reports the Hamburg Higher Regional Court opened the trial on Wednesday of "Serhii K.", 50, a former Ukrainian military officer named by initials under German privacy rules. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited in November 2025, and the trial is expected to run into February.

Claimed by German prosecutorshe led a group of agents, including divers, who placed timed explosives on the pipelines near Bornholm in 2022, planned on behalf of unidentified Ukrainian state entities. The defendant denies involvement.

Ukraine's government: Denies involvement.
Russia: Denies sabotaging its own pipelines and said it expects a "just verdict" naming perpetrators and those who ordered it.

Read the original at Ukrainian ex-officer goes on trial in Germany over Nord Stream blasts →

US agencies fine Bank of America over money-laundering controls

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera reports US Treasury penalties total more than $1.21bn, announced Tuesday. FinCEN (the Treasury's financial crimes unit) set $1.2bn, including credit for the OCC fine; the OCC (a bank regulator) set $750m, described as its largest ever; OFAC set an $11.6m settlement over 475 apparent sanctions violations.

Claimed by FinCEN and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentthe bank "effectively outsourced to third parties a substantial portion of its proactive detection and reporting obligations." Bessent says the actions "send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law."

Bank of America: Says financial crime compliance is serious, that it is responsible for getting it right, and that it has invested billions in technology and staff.

Read the original at US fines Bank of America $1.2bn for money laundering, sanctions violations →

MI5 chief says Iran-linked activity is shifting toward UK military sites

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera, citing Reuters, reports MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum said in his annual speech Tuesday that Iran is seeking "harder targets, like military sites," and that UK authorities made 50 arrests in the past year to disrupt Iran-linked operations. The US withdrew B-1 and B-52 bombers from RAF Fairford on 4 October after a security breach; five men arrested there on 27 September were released on bail and none charged.

Claimed by Prime Minister Andy Burnhamthe IRGC (Iran's Revolutionary Guard) was "almost certainly" behind a suspected plot at RAF Fairford. McCallum declined to discuss the case, which is under investigation.

Iran: Denies involvement in the Fairford incident and any harmful activity in Britain.

Read the original at UK spy chief says Iran is stepping up targeting of military bases →

Russia says it has arrested a Japanese journalist on spying allegations

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera, citing AFP, reports Russia's FSB announced Tuesday it arrested a Japanese journalist on Sakhalin, and Russia's Foreign Ministry named him as Imai Yuki of Hokkaido Shimbun. A Moscow court ordered custody for nearly two months pending investigation; the charges carry up to 20 years.

Claimed by Russia's FSBhe gathered information on Russian defence capabilities for Japanese intelligence. Japan's embassy in Moscow, per Kyodo, said it was trying to verify the reports.

Russia: Presents it as an espionage case.
Japan: Has not stated a position beyond verifying the reports, per the page.

Read the original at Russia arrests Japanese reporter for alleged espionage →

WHO says Yemen's cholera cases have roughly tripled in three weeks

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera, citing AFP and a WHO report released Tuesday, reports 8,034 suspected cholera cases and 27 deaths in Yemen this year. Weekly cases rose from 217 (6-12 September) to 647 (27 September-3 October), five southwestern governorates account for 92% of cases, and more than 200,000 people have fled renewed fighting. WHO has secured $3.78m of the $31m needed for a 90-day response.

Claimed by WHOfamilies fleeing conflict face "another threat from diseases that can be prevented and treated."

Read the original at Cholera cases surge in Yemen as conflict intensifies, WHO says →

Feel-Good

The Good Ten

Small, true, and from this week.

01

A giant fungus from Yunnan turns out to be a whole new family
Tue Oct 13
Dianjunus rex grows on cork oak roots in Yunnan, China, with fruiting bodies up to about 51 cm (20 inches) tall, roughly double the previous record for its group. A molecular clock (a statistical guess based on DNA differences) puts the family's origin near 65 million years ago, which is an estimate, not a measurement.
Read the original at Good News Network →
02

An Italian farm-waste gas plant matches about 3,200 homes' energy use
Tue Oct 13
Axpo's Grottole plant in Basilicata turns farm byproducts into 45 GWh of renewable energy a year and is expected to avoid about 9,000 tons of CO2 yearly versus natural gas. Italy's biomethane output grew from 0.25 billion cubic meters in 2022 to about 1.6 billion in 2026.
Read the original at Good News Network →
03

A Montana softball player meets her long-lost sister across the field
Mon Oct 12
Adopted as an infant, Samantha Rensvold met Kyann Dean, 18, at a tournament after a teammate said Dean looked just like her. Their mothers confirmed the details, and both sisters now plan to spend time together.
Read the original at Good News Network →
04

Young adults are running shelters for unhoused students and peers
Tue Oct 13
Aggie House at UC Davis is run entirely by undergrad volunteers and charges about $200 to $300 a month, around 90% under average rent there. Y2Y in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has 22 bunks for ages 18 to 24, and this summer four guests moved into rentals and five into transitional housing.
Read the original at Reasons to be Cheerful →
05

Kelly Marie Tran makes her New York stage debut
Tue Oct 13
Tran, who did musical theatre in high school, plays a version of writer Lauren Yee in Yee's play King of the Yees at Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre, opening October 19. She calls the experience "life-changing."
Read the original at Playbill →
06

Scientists map 539 chemical neighborhoods in the mouse brain
Tue Oct 13
EPFL researchers measured 172 lipids (fatty molecules) across 109 brain slices from 11 mice, about 7 million measurements, and found 539 distinct regions they call lipizones. The atlas is free online; the team notes it does not directly apply to humans.
Read the original at ScienceDaily →
07

Octopus DNA hints at how a very different brain evolved
Mon Oct 12
A University of Vienna team mapped the 3D genome of octopus, squid and cuttlefish and found large DNA rearrangements from hundreds of millions of years ago that put flexible DNA loops near nervous-system genes. The authors stress it proposes a mechanism and does not prove it caused intelligence.
Read the original at ScienceDaily →
08

A non-surgical knee procedure eased pain for a year in one study
Wed Oct 14
In a Charite Berlin study of 194 patients, median pain fell from 7 to 3 on a 10-point scale by six months and stayed there at 12 months, with no moderate or severe adverse events. Caveat: there was no control group, and a sham-controlled trial in April 2026 found no significant difference from sham.
Read the original at ScienceDaily →
09

Steps on Broadway puts on a Joyce Theater benefit for dancers
Mon Oct 12
Steps in Concert on Monday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. features original works by 12 Steps faculty choreographers. Tickets start at $35, and all proceeds benefit the Carol Paumgarten Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to aspiring dancers.
Read the original at BroadwayWorld →
10

Reece Weaver extends her Broadway run in Chicago a second time
Tue Oct 13
The former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader made her Broadway debut September 7 and now plays through November 15 instead of October 18. New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck moderated a talkback after the October 13 show.
Read the original at Playbill →

TV and the sky

Tonight, and overhead

On the Couch

Survivor (Season 51, Ep. 4, "That's the Magic of Survivor") · CBS · airs Wed 8:00–9:30 pm PT on CBS · streams Streams live and on demand on Paramount+ (per CBS) — 90-minute episode, per CBS's press page.

Weather

Storm Watch

Los Angeles: Sunny, high near 80, low near 59 · Los Angeles

Hurricane Simon (Eastern Pacific) — Hurricane · 105 mph peak · 969 mb. 19.8N 107.9W, moving SW at 3 mph (page gives no landmark distance) Interests in west-central Mexico and Baja California Sur should monitor. (as of 2026-10-14 (advisory 2:00 AM MST)) NHC
Tropical Storm Trudy (Eastern Pacific) — Tropical storm · 50 mph peak · 1002 mb. 11.1N 99.0W, moving WNW at 10 mph (no landmark given) Southwestern and west-central Mexico should monitor. (as of 2026-10-14 (advisory 3:00 AM CST)) NHC

Winter outlook: NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (Oct 8) has an El Niño Advisory in effect: El Niño is strengthening, and a strong to very strong event is likely through Jan–Mar 2027 (greater than 83% chance). CPC gives no Southern California specifics; it says El Niño-type impacts are more likely with an event this large, but not guaranteed.

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

CPC ENSO Diagnostic Discussion · NHC

Overhead

Sky

Moon: Waxing Crescent (16% illuminated)

Tonight's sky: Young crescent Moon sets about 8:42 pm PDT; Saturn rises in the evening in Cetus. Orionids peak Oct 21-22 (Moon 74% waxing gibbous, significant interference). Griffith Observatory open tonight, weather permitting. Moon Giant - Oct 14 2026 · Griffith Observatory Sky Report, October 2026 · Griffith 2026 Moonrise and Moonset · AMS Meteor Shower Calendar

Human Design transits

Patrick: Saturn sits in Gate 21 (The Hunter, Heart), one of your own gates, completing your 21–45 channel; Uranus in your Gate 20 (The Now, Throat) completes 20–34; Neptune in Gate 25 and Pluto in Gate 41 complete your 25–51 and 30–41 channels; the North Node is in your Gate 30 (Recognition of Feelings).
Travis: Neptune is in Gate 25 (The Spirit of the Self, G centre), one of your own gates, and has been since Sep 9, 2025.

Notebook

Crop Circle Watch

Latest formation — Tue Jul 21 · Fox Hill, Wanborough Plain, near Liddington, Wiltshire, England. A long pictogram-style formation in wheat, about 300 feet, with a circle inside that has a woven floor lay. It has since been harvested.

Grid reference SU 22860 80805; photos by Simon Young and Billy Breen.
No newer formations are logged: the Connector's August page is empty. Temporary Temples lists an unlocated 4 August image of a knot inside a ring, posted anonymously, and notes some speculate it is AI-generated.

From the history: Temporary Temples compares Fox Hill 2026 to the 1990 Great East Field pictogram.

Crop Circle Connector 2026 index · Crop Circle Connector July 2026 · Crop Circle Connector August 2026 · Temporary Temples: Fox Hill 2026 · Temporary Temples: 2026 season info

Behind the paper

How this paper is made

Who made today's paper, and roughly what it cost in tokens (the chunks of text models read and write).

Stage	Model	Tokens	Plain words
Scouts ×5 (AI, Spirit + Crop Circle + Droplet + Grant, Good Ten, World, TV/Almanac)	Sonnet	≈354k	AI thin, Spirit quiet; Good Ten verified 12; World verified 5 (one outlet)
Writer (incl. lead)	Sonnet	≈72k	Opus lead dropped: budget already used after scouting
Fact-checker, fresh context	Sonnet	≈84k	≈185 claims: 1 wrong, 2 unsupported; 3 fixes applied, 0 cut
Managing editor (plan, HD transits, fixes, build, publish, file, email)	Opus 5.5 session	≈110k

Total ≈620k tokens, over the 300k daily target. Scouting is still where the budget goes.

The Good Ten

A giant fungus from Yunnan turns out to be a whole new family

An Italian farm-waste gas plant matches about 3,200 homes' energy use

A Montana softball player meets her long-lost sister across the field

Young adults are running shelters for unhoused students and peers

Kelly Marie Tran makes her New York stage debut

Scientists map 539 chemical neighborhoods in the mouse brain

Octopus DNA hints at how a very different brain evolved

A non-surgical knee procedure eased pain for a year in one study

Steps on Broadway puts on a Joyce Theater benefit for dancers

Reece Weaver extends her Broadway run in Chicago a second time

Tonight, and overhead

On the Couch

Storm Watch

Sky

Human Design transits

Crop Circle Watch

How this paper is made