The Plague of Doves - Louise Erdrich

Sep. 13th, 2025 08:55 am
troisoiseaux: (reading 11)
[personal profile] troisoiseaux
Read The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich, which is not quite a short story collection but not quite a linear novel; it's sort of a matryoshka doll of stories - the direct narratives that each of novel's three main narrators "tell" to the reader, stories told diegetically to the narrators by other characters, etc. - each "layer" compelling enough in its own right that I not infrequently forgot how they nestled together until coming to the end of a given story thread. (Actually, according to the author's note, a number of chapters had previously been individually published in various magazines, so... I guess it is indeed a novel in interconnected short stories?) Basically, it's about the ways that 3-4 families in a small town in North Dakota have interacted over generations (between 1890s-1970s?), which includes murders and lynchings and rescues and cults and affairs and crushes and strange convoluted crimes and redemption arcs. It would have been helpful to have a family tree or cast of characters, and some of the subplots were... distinctly odd, but overall a top-tier Erdrich.
creepy_shetan: cropped movie screenshot of Bard and Thranduil side by side on horseback (and elkback), Thranduil looking at Bard, Bard looking ahead (Tolkien // the Bowman & the Elvenking)
[personal profile] creepy_shetan posting in [community profile] comment_fic
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smallhobbit: (ferret)
[personal profile] smallhobbit posting in [community profile] no_true_pair
Title: Connections
Fandom: Spooks/Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Pairing/Characters: Lucas North & Ferret
Content Notes: No warning needed
Prompt: September 13th - with the title 'Connections'

Connections on AO3

fic rec caturday

Sep. 13th, 2025 07:47 am
marcicat: (badger travel)
[personal profile] marcicat
I've thought about this fic several times recently, with the idle notion of searching it up in my bookmarks (unlikely to work, but probably would have turned up several other mostly-forgotten gems). And then, lo! It showed up in The Rec Center #506! What luck!

The god of scraped knees, by spqr

Jaskier tries to stop listening, tries to look as innocuously, condemnably human as possible while he puts a leg up on a log and starts to strum for the jolly campers. But he still hears Geralt, almost amused, “Who, Jaskier? He’s as normal as they come.”
mific: (ear trumpet)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] amplificathon

We have a new alternate address for the Audiofic Archive: https://audioficarchive.org
  • This an additional domain name that works exactly like the old jinjurly one
  • Both this one and the prior one, and all links deriving from these urls will function normally 
  • The new link makes it a little easier for us to manage domain name renewals
Podfics posted from now on will have the new address in the post link and in any audiofile links. 


sovay: (I Claudius)
[personal profile] sovay
I am glad to read that a classicist on Tumblr whom I do not know feels validated by a poem I wrote a dozen years ago, because she's right in turn about the linkage of ideas that led to its writing: the evocatio of Juno from Veii in 396 BCE, the evocatio of Tanit from Carthage in 146 BCE, the assimilation of Tanit to Juno Caelestis rather than Ištar-starred Venus, the self-fulfilling loop of enmity that a double-thefted goddess makes of the Aeneid and under it all the irony that Vergil even in his Renaissance aspect as magician could not foresee, that Carthage-haunted Rome was itself built on the needfire of the most famously sacked city of the ancient world, Troy whose gods Aeneas salvaged from the night of its destruction and now we remember Rome as the epitome of decadence, the eternally, contagiously falling city.

Also I had just been turned down by a housing situation that I had painfully wanted, but the classical stuff was all still bang on.
chokolattejedi: Picture of Tony Stark looking at the blue hologram of the blown up Starkanium atomic model, laughing (MCU - Tony Laughing)
[personal profile] chokolattejedi posting in [community profile] wipbigbang
Project Title:The Sun and the Sound of Birds
Fandom: Teen Wolf/MCU
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/70749936
Summary: Stiles and the others get to New York where his Aunt is waiting, but are they really safe now?
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Derek Hale, Isaac Lahey, Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, FRIDAY, JARVIS
Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Erica/Boyd, Pre-Stiles/Derek
When I Started: January 2025

Bug-eyed Purrcy

Sep. 13th, 2025 12:58 am
mecurtin: tabby cat pokes his cute face out of a box (purrcy)
[personal profile] mecurtin
There were bugs up on the rafter above Purrcy 's head. I don't think he thought they were prey but they sure were *fascinating*.

Purrcy the tuxedo tabby is lying on top of a cardboard box, gazing upward with blown pupils and fascinated whiskers. He looks both eager and wary, like he can't quite believe what he's seeing.

The muddle continues

Sep. 12th, 2025 11:27 pm
cornerofmadness: (Default)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
Usually as I talk to [personal profile] evil_little_dog on fridays I keep my twiddling fingers busy doing the fannish rec page. today I had nothing to do and was looking for things...somehow forgetting to DO the fandom recs. OMG. You'll get 'em tomorrow.

That's where my head is today. GONE. But here is MY story, based on that 30 seconds of Hazbin Hotel teaser (I had to go for the whump)



Title: Master of Puppets

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Angel finds himself at risk of becoming a pawn for the Vees and he’s not sure he can do anything about it.

Rating: mature

Author Note - This is inspired (and spoiler for) the 30 seconds of teaser trailer for S2 (you’ll know which scene flash, trust me). If you haven’t watched the trailer and don’t want to know, bookmark this for later.

written for [personal profile] spikesgirl58’s six word challenge and the six words were Eatable, Board, Efficient, Ripe, Roar, & Creepy

Also written for the Lyrical titles bingo prompt of song with multiple singers using Master of Puppets by Metallica. I chose this song because Vox is definitely that, a master of puppeting people but also the song is really about how drugs can control an addict and Angel is at the mercy of both. Find the song here Master of Puppets


Also written for the allbingo prompt of shark bait.

story above or under here )


Today I call the Grove City office for my surgeon because I'm less annoyed at them because I was at fault for some of that too. It was a mix up. And she goes...well I'm not sure why Chillicothe told you to make a Thursday appt. He does surgery thur/fri So now I'm furious because I suspect that there never WAS a real appt yesterday. I think someone fucked up and all they needed to do was lie to me and say we need to reschedule.

Now I'm going on the 30th and I have to cut a lab in half to get up there for a 4 pm appt. I'm also thinking of calling Cabell on Monday to see if I can get into the ENT surgeon quickly. Highly doubtful but it's worth a call.

I dump off my art today and the new art person loves the one with bones. After I get to my office I realize....I did NOT take pictures of either art project. Go Dana Go.

I get home and I call my insurance after I check my HSA and my EOBs about Aspen Dental which I want to burn down. Yes paid them 180$ but my EOB says I only owed 40 so yes they did owe me back 140 some. So now they say I owed around 170 keeping my money and asking for 25$ more.

I poke around my insurance and as far as I can tell it should have been covered 100%. I call my insurance and it's too soon to tell but she agreed, I shouldn't have owed ANYTHING. So I will be watching every EOB for next few weeks. I'm so angry at them.

A riot at the end of a game.

Sep. 12th, 2025 11:12 pm
hannah: (Friday Night Lights - pickle_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
I've now finished the second season of Friday Night Lights and I'm both eager to begin on the next and pleased I waited a while to come around to watching it - I wouldn't have enjoyed or appreciated it nearly as much if I'd tried it another time, not even all that long ago. It's something helpful and satisfying for where I am now, for so many reasons. The large scale news, the small scale news, the personal family concerns.

I keep watching it and looking at it, and I keep thinking that there's a wonderful sense of precise geography. It's true there's not much in the way of wildlife, and I can't feel the climate through my computer screen, and there's still a lot of one small corner of Texas to be seen. I've seen faceless image collections and gifsets pass through Tumblr, and I know there were faceless icon challenges back in the day, and watching this show makes me think there's probably enough footage for a faceless vid. Something with the fields and the clouds and the stadium lights, the oil wells and the horizon lines. Something with all the players on the fields and the massive crowds in the stands without any one person carrying the focus. I'm sure I've seen such vids around, maybe at a con's vidshow, but I can't remember anything specific, and it's not the most precise keyword to use to search.

I'm still going to think about it, though. And because I listened to the soundtrack recently, and because the song fits the human melodrama of the show as well, it'll probably be to Live That Way Forever for a good while.

Nominations are Open!

Sep. 12th, 2025 08:03 pm
[personal profile] sassysnowperson posting in [community profile] swrarepairs
It begins!

• Every person may nominate up to 20 ships in up to 10 fandoms.
• Ships must have fewer than 250 works that are complete, over 1000 words, and in English on AO3.

Nomination Guidelines


To Nominate:


• Read the Nomination Guidelines (you're doing it now!) and make sure you understand them — don't be afraid to ask any of your mods questions if you don't.
• Go to the tagset and make sure you're logged in to your AO3 account.
• Click the nominate button and fill in the nomination page with tags you want to request.
Only nominate in the fandom categories listed in the Fandom Nomination Guidelines section below. We are not using Star Wars - All Media Types as a fandom. You can copy and paste from the fandoms list here.
• When the mods have time, we approve them... assuming you filled it out correctly and we understand your nomination.
• If there's any confusion, there will be a nominations clarification post on this Dreamwidth community. We can't see who's nominated what so we can't just ask you directly. You just have to comment on the post or email the exchange to clear things up!
• Incorrect nominations may be rejected, but we will be willing to add the correct versions in for you if you provide correctly formatted tags within the nomination period.

Fandom Nomination Guidelines )

Relationship Nomination Guidelines )

Optional: Specific Fandom Names List )

Now, go forth and nominate!

Daily Happiness

Sep. 12th, 2025 08:21 pm
torachan: an orange cat poking his head out from blankets (ollie)
[personal profile] torachan
1. Weekend!

2. I got an email from Kaiser this morning that they will have the new covid vaccines available starting the 15th, walk up or appointment. Thankfully we're not in a state that's requiring prescriptions, but I was wondering when they would start having them available and now I know! Carla got her flu shot when she was at the doctor's the other day, but I still haven't gotten mine, so I'll get both together and get it all done at once.

3. Chloe just loves her sunny window.

My, it's been a few weeks...

Sep. 12th, 2025 09:21 pm
catherineldf: (Default)
[personal profile] catherineldf
I didn't realize it had been that long. So what have I been doing? Always a fair question.
  • Being unemployed. With no interviews. And a sick cat who hanging on enough that I have to work remotely since hiring my catsitter multiple times a week plus commuting costs so I can hang out and experience a germ-laden cube farm has lost any appeal it ever had for me. Alternatively, I'm not killing my cat  so some dweeb can watch me in person instead of online. Plus, I am still absolutely crispy.
  • What am I doing instead? I have registered for an online Data Analytics Certification program at the University of Minnesota. It starts next month and doesn't look too painful. It's also not industry-specific in case I want to get out of healthcare. I am also dutifully signing up with contracting companies, lining up references, checking in with colleagues and all that.
  • I'll be vetting grants again in November for a small stipend.
  • I need to get a list of Jana's remaining fine bindings to show to her former boss. He's looking into getting some institutional support for a couple of artists and wants to include her work. On the one hand, not much budget out there. On the other, the man is a Macarthur Genius Award winner so that my well help.
  • I'm starting up a Ko-fi store for things you can purchase off me, like hour long consultations on things I know a lot about, some of my classes, Jana's handmade boxes (there are a lot) and fiction and nonfiction that isn't readily available elsewhere or under contract. At the moment, I'm trying to get a buffer by raising funds to pay down some not huge debts while I try to spin up some editing and writing gigs. Please consider bookmarking it, hiring me, throw a coin to your Witcher and all that. I'm managing, but if things go sideways, it will be unpleasant.
  • I have spun up a couple of writing gigs in progress.
  • Queen of Swords Press news! We just signed a reprint (gay vampires!) by author M.Christian (due out end of October) and a new collection of sapphic fantasy tales set in Southeast Asia by Joyce Chng (due out in February, if all goes well). Hoping to pull off an ebook box set of the Astreiant Series around Christmas.
  • Adding lots of events because for the first time in almost 9 years, Queen of Swords Press is actually covering my royalties! I'm parsing out old royalties by quarter so we don't run into cash shortages, but it is pretty fun to be collecting my dues on my books once again.
  • I have been to the State Fair, a couple of movies, tea in Anoka, MN, to see sundry museum exhibits, been out with friends, had friends over, started patching concrete around the house, begun fixing small things I can figure out by watching YouTube (I managed to trip the safety on the furnace on one such endeavor, which necessitated a tech visit today, but other things have gone a bit better).
  • I have signed up for lots of free trainings and entrepreneur stuff that the city and county offer.
  • I am writing again. Fiction and nonfiction. Slow and disorganized, but there's stuff on the page once more.
So lots of activity, none of which pays a living wage or close to it. If I can patch enough stuff together, to hang on until the end of March, I can apply for Social Security, if it still exists, and go from there. 
nuh_s: Photo of the Toy Soldier looking up at a blue sky. It is pale with a drawn-on mustache and red lapels on its black jacket. (Default)
[personal profile] nuh_s posting in [community profile] no_true_pair
Title: Gods On The Battlefield
Fandom: The Mechanisms
Pairing/Characters: Jonny d'Ville & Gunpowder Tim
Content Notes: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death
Prompt: "September Twelve - 1 Jonny d'Ville & 6 Gunpowder Tim - "how did this happen?""
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/70215671

(no subject)

Sep. 12th, 2025 09:54 pm
neekabe: Bucky from FatWS smiling (Default)
[personal profile] neekabe
Had a lovely afternoon today.

There's work stuff where I needed restaurants and a 'semi private' room needed clarification, plus I needed some cheques signed. So that was my excuse to head downtown on a friday afternoon.

Which was good, because at restaurant 2 'semi private' was actually a table set apart from all the other tables in a corner, and the restaurant 1 'semi private' was just... a table along the wall on the edge of the dining room.
Which I guess is more private that the tables in the middle of the dining room? but ti's still only a couple feet to another table.


So I saw the first restaurant, had a call in a park and got an issue sorted out, then walked up to visit the boss, got somewhat lost on the way (and was killing a bit of time) and found a gelato place. Got the cheques signed and stopped by restaurant 2 who's dining room wasn't open yet, so I killed time in a cafe where they unexpectedly had the delicious GLuten Free cakes.

Went to Restaurant 2 who's place was perfect. So I got that booked and finished getting all the restaurant reservations for work stuff done.

Then went to the mall which was the whole point of scheduling all this running around for a friday afternoon.

I have a very bad habit of owing the bare minimum of coats. And especially since the pandemic and outside was a thing that happened less? I have a couple winter coats, because they're important (one practical, one dressy) and they're also sized so growing out of them is less of a thing. But all my spring coats now fit awkwardly on me, so I was shopping with a goal.

So now I have 1. Proper Raincoat, 2. A wool blazer and 3. A casual coat that is like wearing a teddy bear. And thus I have a few more choices to be Intentional Decisions about Presentation. Rather than 'this is my coat'.

I was very tempted by a third coat, but I needed he raincoat and liked the other ones better. But maybe I'll keep an eye on it and see if it goes on sale.
And 2 new hairclips to replace the one's I've broken.

embarrassing (light-heartedly)

Sep. 12th, 2025 07:57 pm
rugessnome: (Default)
[personal profile] rugessnome
  • while ~singing/rapping along to the ...nuclear physics ethics anthem with the unprepossessing name "Eminemium" (it's based off "Lose Yourself"), I started contemplating how Tim Blais says "Warsawa" there (I've heard it's incorrect and may look it up in a bit) ...and accidentally said the end of the line as "co-assured twauma" (does me psychic damage due to how people talk about uwu language)

    addendum: yes, Warszawa (ie what we in English know as Warsaw) is more like var-sha-va. well, if Wiktionary editors can be trusted, apparently the IPA is var.ʂa.va(?)


  • I somehow managed to accidentally add ketchup to a Chicago dog, which I understand to be a faux pas, in ordering from a kiosk when I don't even like ketchup on hot dogs in general. (I saw it on my order but thought that it got auto-added as a fry condiment. I can only guess that something I did with toggling "everything" messed it up.)

    However, while I didn't think it was a helpful addition, it was actually less bad with the ...tomato and pickle and celery salt (and maybe onion?) present than when I decided I had to give ketchup in the context a fair shake of a trial and ordered an All-American at Sonic once.




in other developments I did the thing I do maybe once or twice (or even three times a year) and made a meal of sorts out of Whole Foods hot/salad bar items

tonight's hodgepodge

saag tofu (why did the tofu start dripping when bitten into. but it tasted fine), lemon rice (Indian), "cauliflower-potato curry", turmeric-lemon potato wedges, rosemary roasted carrots, some sweet potatoes that I think were labeled tequila lime but didn't have a particularly seasoned flavor to me, a little of some Tex-Mex tofu in crumbles, aaaand: macaroni salad


...also I ...walked to a Korean grocery store and bought a roasted sweet potato as an evening snack (and one of the small "Korean melons", which I haven't tried yet) and it was quite nice! I would've liked to look longer and maybe browse or buy more but I had walked there, and it was evening, so I didn't want to carry a lot or stay out past dark. I did not find perilla oil in a fairly cursory search and the only perilla seeds I saw bore a prop 65 lead warning (augh) and were about $10 so I didn't get them.
senmut: Autobot symbol (Transformers: Autobots)
[personal profile] senmut posting in [community profile] no_true_pair
Title: It's Not a Shovel Talk
Fandom: Transformers [G1]
Pairing/Characters: Optimus Prime & Thundercracker
Content Notes: None
Prompt: September Twelve - 1 & 6 - "how did this happen?"

Thundercracker had half-hoped the Slag-Maker )

Daily Check In.

Sep. 12th, 2025 07:06 pm
adafrog: (Default)
[personal profile] adafrog posting in [community profile] fandom_checkin
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Friday to midnight on Saturday (8pm Eastern Time).


Poll #33606 Daily poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 23

How are you doing?

I am okay
10 (45.5%)

I am not okay, but don't need help right now
12 (54.5%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans are you living with?

I am living single
9 (39.1%)

One other person
10 (43.5%)

More than one other person
4 (17.4%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
[syndicated profile] twocents_feed

Posted by Stephen Johnson

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.


The rumor mill is working overtime about news that might drop at next week's Meta Connect 2025. Two new pieces of gossip: Meta may announce that its rumored AR smart glasses are powered by a smart watch, and the company may reveal Meta-powered Prada frames during the event.

Both a potential Prada Meta release and a Meta watch-controller for its expected AR glasses require a little "internet rumor math" and conclusion-jumping, so take it with a grain a salt, but here's the breakdown:

Meta's rumored smart watch

The "Meta smart watch" speculation comes from a late July post on Digitimes suggesting Meta will roll out its own smart watch at Meta Connect 2025. Since Meta's next-gen smart glasses are expected to need a wrist controller, it makes sense that Meta would make it a watch. Almost everyone would prefer wearing a smart watch to a dedicated tech bracelet, right?

If Meta's wrist controller/watch actually exists, we have no idea what other "watch-like" features it might include (beyond telling time, of course) but if Meta is planning to release a functional smart watch and a linked pair of display-enabled smart glasses, while charging only $800 (the rumored price) for the bundle, I predict a lot of interest.

The rumor about a Prada-Meta collab

What if Meta's new glasses look really cool too? Like, something Prada puts out? Prada’s boxy, thick frames seem tailor-made for tech, and Meta already partners with its parent company, EssilorLuxotica, which also owns Ray-Ban and Oakley. Plus, rumors of Prada Meta glasses date back to June, and EssilorLuxotica also makes watches, so all the dots seem to connect and suggest that Meta could either add Prada to its lines of glasses with AI and cameras, or launch new display glasses under the Prada name.

Or not. This is all speculation. It's not baseless speculation, but it could all turn out to be wrong. Maybe Meta thinks the public wants a wrist device that controls our glasses but doesn't tell time. Maybe Meta Prada frames will be announced at some later date. Maybe the gigantic corporations involved have decided the two brands don't fit together well enough to elicit consumer interest. Only time, as they say, will tell.

If you're keeping score at home, though, below are five things that could be announced at Meta Connect 2025, in order of my own, personal excitement:

Meta display smart glasses

There is so much smoke around the idea that Meta plans to announce smart glasses with a built in display in one of the lenses, there has to be fire, right? Actually, no. But the rumor says that Meta's next smart glasses will feature a dedicated display on one lens for alerts and mini-apps, as well as all the AI, audio, and camera/video features of the current generation of Meta Ray-Bans and Meta Oakley smart glasses. All of this will theoretically be facilitated via a wireless wristband or a smart watch(!).

Next-generation Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses

Meta announcing a better version of its two already successful audio-and-AI focused smart glasses seems extremely likely. I'd put money on "third generation" Meta smart glasses having a better camera, longer-lasting battery, and vastly improved AI, but that's not going very far out on a limb. I'm a huge fan of my Ray-Ban Metas, and I'd love an upgrade.

Prada Meta smart glasses

Just on vibes, Prada-Meta glasses make so much sense: there's a kind of person who wears Ray-Bans, and a different kind of person who wears Oakleys, but neither of them are the kind of person who wears Prada. Personally, I expect the Prada glasses to be added to the audio and AI line of Meta smart glasses, as opposed to being rolled out as the flagship frames for Meta's rumored AI style smart glasses.

Third-party apps for Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses

Meta opening its smart glasses infrastructure to third-party developers isn't likely to drive many headlines, but it could low-key change the game for Meta users. Having a suite of apps for different uses would be amazing.

Improvements to Meta Horizon OS

Smart glasses may be hogging all the attention, but Meta is expected to announce some improvements to the Horizon operating system that powers its VR headgear too. Specifically, expect better graphics in Horizon Worlds and your virtual home, and easier connectivity too.

If you want check out the event as it happens, Meta Connect 2025 will begin with a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg on September 17 at 8 p.m. ET and continue through September 18. You can stream the keynote and developers conferences on Facebook or the official Meta Connect site.

[syndicated profile] twocents_feed

Posted by Michelle Ehrhardt

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Late last month, Google launched the Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro. They’re the latest big releases in the Android world, which might carry more weight given the muted response to the iPhone 17 from some corners of the internet. But even if you are thinking of making the move to a new operating system, I wouldn’t recommend either flavor of Pixel 10 as your first port of call.

Instead, I think the Pixel 9a is easily Google’s best phone for almost everyone. It’s technically got the Pixel 9 name, but it’s also Google’s most recent budget variant, so it’s as current-generation as anything else. And while it does make some concessions to bring the price down, they're fairly minor—and the device actually offers a few unique benefits of its own.

You don’t need the Pixel 10’s AI

“But what about all the fancy new Pixel 10 AI features?” you might ask. I've tried both the base Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro, and here’s the truth: You don’t need them.

Google’s announcement for the Pixel 10 series went hard on AI, and it’s true that the search giant is ahead of Apple and other smartphone makers on this front. But even with its head start, it’s clearly starting to run into diminishing returns. Existing AI features like the Gemini assistant and the Screenshots app are available on the Pixel 9, but most of the Pixel 10 exclusives focus on the camera app, and I don’t see most people sticking with any of them for long.

Case in point: 100x zoom. This Pixel 10 Pro exclusive feature sounds handy on the surface, supposedly letting you zoom in by 100x while still getting hi-res photos in return. But in truth, it just uses the same blurry digital zoom as other phones, then runs your shots through an AI to try to fix them up. It’s not really a reason to buy the Pixel 10 Pro—you can now get a similar result by just posting a photo to Gemini’s free, browser-based AI image generator as a prompt—and it frequently served me up photos with dreamy, unreal imagery that I wouldn’t feel comfortable posting. Just look what it did to my beloved Chrysler Building, and ask yourself if you would want to take a photo of a famous landmark only to get back a half-melted bizarro version instead. If you ask me, it's firmly in the realm of novelty, at best.

Chrysler building using Pixel 10 Pro 100x zoom
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

I had a similar reaction to the other big camera AI developments this year, like using Gemini to edit photos or getting an AI to coach you while trying to frame a shot. Gemini image editing, which lets you use natural language to alter your photos, is handy, but also wrests control from you, and doesn’t tell you when it’s doing a simple job like a crop versus a more hallucination-prone one like generative fill. You can check the metadata of your new photo to know for sure, but frankly, the results aren’t good enough to be worth the time for me.

AI Photo edits made with the Pixel 10
Photos taken on the Pixel 10 (left) vs. those same photos edited by Gemini (right) Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The same is true of Camera Coach, which uses AI to help you take shots. This has the benefit of not actively putting AI imagery into your photo, but the advice it gave me was rarely more complex than, “make sure the subject is in frame” and “follow the grid lines the previous generation Pixels could already put on your phone for you anyway.” It’s mostly unobtrusive—even when you’re using Camera Coach, you can take your final shot whenever—but it’s so inconsequential that I doubt most people will even take the extra time needed to boot it up.

To Google’s credit, there are a few AI additions unrelated to the camera that sound a bit more handy, like Magic Cue and Voice Translate. But you’re unlikely to run into these often. Magic Cue will use AI to pull information from Google apps like your Gmail to display when it might be relevant in other Google apps, like a phone call. For instance, it could display a boarding pass from an upcoming flight while you’re calling to check on it. But it doesn’t work with third-party apps, and since that’s how I use my phone most of the time, I actually didn’t see it pop up while I was testing either the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro.

I also didn’t get Voice Translate to work during my testing. This uses AI to translate both your voice and the person you’re calling’s voice if you’re speaking to each other in different languages, using what sounded like some pretty impressive voice cloning during its Made by Google demo. But it also needs both callers to have a Pixel 10, and since you can’t count on having a lot of multilingual friends that all use the same phone, that means it won't be much more than a tech demo for most people.

Basically, Google’s new AI makes big claims, but the features are either so niche or so unreliable that they aren't a major selling point save for a very specific type of user. It could be fun to toy with, but is it $300 to $500 worth of fun?

The Camera is thinner and not much weaker

But even if the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro aren’t worth it on their AI alone, the hardware still gets a bump, right? Well, in the case of the base Pixel 10, it actually got a little worse in one specific way, putting it in range of the Pixel 9a.

One of the things I dislike most about Google’s Pixel phones is the camera bar, which is the long horizontal bump across the entire top width of the device. This houses the camera sensor, but personally, I’d much prefer a weaker camera that’s flush with the device instead.

The Pixel 9a from the rear
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

With the Pixel 9a, Google granted my wish. This phone is the first Pixel in a long time to omit the camera bar, instead putting a single and much thinner pill in one corner of the device and leaving it at that. With the camera bar returning on both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, that alone makes the Pixel 9a worth considering as an alternative to me.

And the best part? The smaller camera on the Pixel 9a isn’t actually any weaker than the camera on the base Pixel 10. It’s just missing a lens.

Yep, while Google added a new telephoto lens to the Pixel 10 that allows it an up to 5x optical zoom, it also downgraded that phone’s ultrawide lens down from 48MP to 13MP, which is the same as on the Pixel 9a. And because both phones also have the same main lens, that means for everything but zoomed shots, you don’t lose anything by going with Google’s budget phone.

A close up photo taken on the Pixel 9a
A close up photo taken on the Pixel 9a Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

To be fair, the Pixel 10 Pro is stronger than both phones on all fronts, but I’d argue that’s overkill for most users. If you never or rarely touch the zoom lens on your camera, whether to zoom in or out, you’ll actually get a similar experience across all three devices. So why pay more? Especially when the Pixel 9a’s camera is so much sleeker. If you’re a casual photographer, it could give you the same results, while taking up less space. A hidden upgrade.

Better battery life and a smooth OLED display

If the Pixel 9a’s camera is arguably on par with the more expensive Pixel 10 phones, then its battery life just straight up surpasses them. Packing a 5,100 mAh capacity, it puts both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro to shame. To put that into more everyday terms, Google promises 30 hours of battery life on the 9a, but only 24 hours of battery life on either Pixel 10 model.

That held up in my testing. While the Pixel 10 died after about 18 hours of watching a video at 50% brightness (my standard test), the Pixel 9a was only a little under 50% capacity at the same time. And it was actually closer to half capacity when the Pixel 10 Pro died, which was after 16 hours of viewing. I actually haven’t had a full day to dedicate to draining this thing yet, but I assume that’s what it would take based on my tests, which easily puts the other Pixels to shame.

Granted, 50% brightness on the Pixel 9a isn’t quite as bright as on the other phones, since it only hits 2,700 nits of peak brightness as opposed to 3,000 nits on the Pixel 10 and 3,300 nits on the Pixel 10 Pro. But 2,700 nits is still plenty bright—the iPhone 16 maxes out at 2,000 nits. And on all other fronts, the display doesn’t compromise: The Pixel 9a has the exact same size (6.3-inches) and resolution (1,080 x 2,424) as the Pixel 10, and also works with Smooth Display for a responsive 120Hz refresh rate. It’s even an OLED, so you’re not making any compromises by going cheaper here.

Half the cost of a Pixel 10 Pro

Perhaps the biggest reason to opt for a Pixel 9a over a Pixel 10 is the same reason it was worth it compared to the other Pixel 9s—it’s just cheaper.

While the Pixel 10 starts at $799 and the Pixel 10 Pro starts at $999, the Pixel 9a is a mere $500. Given how closely it compared to even Google’s current-generation flagships, that’s a heck of a deal. And that doesn’t even come with any cuts to storage space, since both the Pixel 9a and all models of the Pixel 10 Pro begin with 128GB of storage. The cost to upgrade storage is also the same here—a simple $100 markup—although the Pixel 10 Pro does uniquely offer capacities over 256GB.

I'll miss Pixelsnap, but the Pixel 10a is probably months away

I’ve been pretty high on the Pixel 9a so far, but I will make one concession—it doesn’t have PixelSnap, and I will miss that.

While the iPhone has had MagSafe since the iPhone 12, it took until this year for the Pixel to get its own version. Called Pixelsnap, it allows you to magnetically connect your phone right to compatible accessories and chargers on their own, with no need for cables or adhesive metal circles.

The Pixel 10 resting on a Pixelsnap Carger with Stand
The Pixel 10 resting on a Pixelsnap Carger with Stand Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

I won’t lie, it’s convenient. It works with Qi2 charging for faster wireless top-offs, and while Google has its own official Pixelsnap accessories, it also worked fine with my Belkin iPhone charger, as well as a third-party MagSafe wallet I bought for my iPhone.

I’d miss that convenience by opting for the Pixel 9a instead of the Pixel 10, but I don’t know if I’d miss it enough to spend another $300 to $500. If there's one reason to get a Pixel 10 model phone instead of a Pixel 9a, I think this would be it.

But what about the Pixel 10a?

As it did with the 9a, Google is sure to release a budget version of the Pixel 10 series down the line, and at that point, this article will probably become irrelevant. Granted, it’s not guaranteed to have Pixelsnap, but given how close the 9a already is to the 10, I bet it will—it’ll be an easy way to set the 10a apart from its predecessor.

However, the 9a didn’t come out until this April, and you can bet the 10a will follow a similar pattern. That means waiting over half a year from now, and frankly, I don’t like to prognosticate quite that much. Better tech is always on the horizon, but when making purchasing decisions, we have to live in the here and now. And right now, the Pixel 9a is still the best Google phone for most people.

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Posted by Stephen Johnson

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The rumor mill is working overtime about news that might drop at next week's Meta Connect 2025. Two new pieces of gossip: Meta may announce that its rumored AR smart glasses are powered by a smart watch, and the company may reveal Meta-powered Prada frames during the event.

Both a potential Prada Meta release and a Meta watch-controller for its expected AR glasses require a little "internet rumor math" and conclusion-jumping, so take it with a grain a salt, but here's the breakdown:

Meta's rumored smart watch

The "Meta smart watch" speculation comes from a late July post on Digitimes suggesting Meta will roll out its own smart watch at Meta Connect 2025. Since Meta's next-gen smart glasses are expected to need a wrist controller, it makes sense that Meta would make it a watch. Almost everyone would prefer wearing a smart watch to a dedicated tech bracelet, right?

If Meta's wrist controller/watch actually exists, we have no idea what other "watch-like" features it might include (beyond telling time, of course) but if Meta is planning to release a functional smart watch and a linked pair of display-enabled smart glasses, while charging only $800 (the rumored price) for the bundle, I predict a lot of interest.

The rumor about a Prada-Meta collab

What if Meta's new glasses look really cool too? Like, something Prada puts out? Prada’s boxy, thick frames seem tailor-made for tech, and Meta already partners with its parent company, EssilorLuxotica, which also owns Ray-Ban and Oakley. Plus, rumors of Prada Meta glasses date back to June, and EssilorLuxotica also makes watches, so all the dots seem to connect and suggest that Meta could either add Prada to its lines of glasses with AI and cameras, or launch new display glasses under the Prada name.

Or not. This is all speculation. It's not baseless speculation, but it could all turn out to be wrong. Maybe Meta thinks the public wants a wrist device that controls our glasses but doesn't tell time. Maybe Meta Prada frames will be announced at some later date. Maybe the gigantic corporations involved have decided the two brands don't fit together well enough to elicit consumer interest. Only time, as they say, will tell.

If you're keeping score at home, though, below are five things that could be announced at Meta Connect 2025, in order of my own, personal excitement:

Meta display smart glasses

There is so much smoke around the idea that Meta plans to announce smart glasses with a built in display in one of the lenses, there has to be fire, right? Actually, no. But the rumor says that Meta's next smart glasses will feature a dedicated display on one lens for alerts and mini-apps, as well as all the AI, audio, and camera/video features of the current generation of Meta Ray-Bans and Meta Oakley smart glasses. All of this will theoretically be facilitated via a wireless wristband or a smart watch(!).

Next-generation Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses

Meta announcing a better version of its two already successful audio-and-AI focused smart glasses seems extremely likely. I'd put money on "third generation" Meta smart glasses having a better camera, longer-lasting battery, and vastly improved AI, but that's not going very far out on a limb. I'm a huge fan of my Ray-Ban Metas, and I'd love an upgrade.

Prada Meta smart glasses

Just on vibes, Prada-Meta glasses make so much sense: there's a kind of person who wears Ray-Bans, and a different kind of person who wears Oakleys, but neither of them are the kind of person who wears Prada. Personally, I expect the Prada glasses to be added to the audio and AI line of Meta smart glasses, as opposed to being rolled out as the flagship frames for Meta's rumored AI style smart glasses.

Third-party apps for Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses

Meta opening its smart glasses infrastructure to third-party developers isn't likely to drive many headlines, but it could low-key change the game for Meta users. Having a suite of apps for different uses would be amazing.

Improvements to Meta Horizon OS

Smart glasses may be hogging all the attention, but Meta is expected to announce some improvements to the Horizon operating system that powers its VR headgear too. Specifically, expect better graphics in Horizon Worlds and your virtual home, and easier connectivity too.

If you want check out the event as it happens, Meta Connect 2025 will begin with a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg on September 17 at 8 p.m. ET and continue through September 18. You can stream the keynote and developers conferences on Facebook or the official Meta Connect site.

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Posted by Michelle Ehrhardt

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Late last month, Google launched the Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro. They’re the latest big releases in the Android world, which might carry more weight given the muted response to the iPhone 17 from some corners of the internet. But even if you are thinking of making the move to a new operating system, I wouldn’t recommend either flavor of Pixel 10 as your first port of call.

Instead, I think the Pixel 9a is easily Google’s best phone for almost everyone. It’s technically got the Pixel 9 name, but it’s also Google’s most recent budget variant, so it’s as current-generation as anything else. And while it does make some concessions to bring the price down, they're fairly minor—and the device actually offers a few unique benefits of its own.

You don’t need the Pixel 10’s AI

“But what about all the fancy new Pixel 10 AI features?” you might ask. I've tried both the base Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro, and here’s the truth: You don’t need them.

Google’s announcement for the Pixel 10 series went hard on AI, and it’s true that the search giant is ahead of Apple and other smartphone makers on this front. But even with its head start, it’s clearly starting to run into diminishing returns. Existing AI features like the Gemini assistant and the Screenshots app are available on the Pixel 9, but most of the Pixel 10 exclusives focus on the camera app, and I don’t see most people sticking with any of them for long.

Case in point: 100x zoom. This Pixel 10 Pro exclusive feature sounds handy on the surface, supposedly letting you zoom in by 100x while still getting hi-res photos in return. But in truth, it just uses the same blurry digital zoom as other phones, then runs your shots through an AI to try to fix them up. It’s not really a reason to buy the Pixel 10 Pro—you can now get a similar result by just posting a photo to Gemini’s free, browser-based AI image generator as a prompt—and it frequently served me up photos with dreamy, unreal imagery that I wouldn’t feel comfortable posting. Just look what it did to my beloved Chrysler Building, and ask yourself if you would want to take a photo of a famous landmark only to get back a half-melted bizarro version instead. If you ask me, it's firmly in the realm of novelty, at best.

Chrysler building using Pixel 10 Pro 100x zoom
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

I had a similar reaction to the other big camera AI developments this year, like using Gemini to edit photos or getting an AI to coach you while trying to frame a shot. Gemini image editing, which lets you use natural language to alter your photos, is handy, but also wrests control from you, and doesn’t tell you when it’s doing a simple job like a crop versus a more hallucination-prone one like generative fill. You can check the metadata of your new photo to know for sure, but frankly, the results aren’t good enough to be worth the time for me.

AI Photo edits made with the Pixel 10
Photos taken on the Pixel 10 (left) vs. those same photos edited by Gemini (right) Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The same is true of Camera Coach, which uses AI to help you take shots. This has the benefit of not actively putting AI imagery into your photo, but the advice it gave me was rarely more complex than, “make sure the subject is in frame” and “follow the grid lines the previous generation Pixels could already put on your phone for you anyway.” It’s mostly unobtrusive—even when you’re using Camera Coach, you can take your final shot whenever—but it’s so inconsequential that I doubt most people will even take the extra time needed to boot it up.

To Google’s credit, there are a few AI additions unrelated to the camera that sound a bit more handy, like Magic Cue and Voice Translate. But you’re unlikely to run into these often. Magic Cue will use AI to pull information from Google apps like your Gmail to display when it might be relevant in other Google apps, like a phone call. For instance, it could display a boarding pass from an upcoming flight while you’re calling to check on it. But it doesn’t work with third-party apps, and since that’s how I use my phone most of the time, I actually didn’t see it pop up while I was testing either the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro.

I also didn’t get Voice Translate to work during my testing. This uses AI to translate both your voice and the person you’re calling’s voice if you’re speaking to each other in different languages, using what sounded like some pretty impressive voice cloning during its Made by Google demo. But it also needs both callers to have a Pixel 10, and since you can’t count on having a lot of multilingual friends that all use the same phone, that means it won't be much more than a tech demo for most people.

Basically, Google’s new AI makes big claims, but the features are either so niche or so unreliable that they aren't a major selling point save for a very specific type of user. It could be fun to toy with, but is it $300 to $500 worth of fun?

The Camera is thinner and not much weaker

But even if the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro aren’t worth it on their AI alone, the hardware still gets a bump, right? Well, in the case of the base Pixel 10, it actually got a little worse in one specific way, putting it in range of the Pixel 9a.

One of the things I dislike most about Google’s Pixel phones is the camera bar, which is the long horizontal bump across the entire top width of the device. This houses the camera sensor, but personally, I’d much prefer a weaker camera that’s flush with the device instead.

The Pixel 9a from the rear
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

With the Pixel 9a, Google granted my wish. This phone is the first Pixel in a long time to omit the camera bar, instead putting a single and much thinner pill in one corner of the device and leaving it at that. With the camera bar returning on both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, that alone makes the Pixel 9a worth considering as an alternative to me.

And the best part? The smaller camera on the Pixel 9a isn’t actually any weaker than the camera on the base Pixel 10. It’s just missing a lens.

Yep, while Google added a new telephoto lens to the Pixel 10 that allows it an up to 5x optical zoom, it also downgraded that phone’s ultrawide lens down from 48MP to 13MP, which is the same as on the Pixel 9a. And because both phones also have the same main lens, that means for everything but zoomed shots, you don’t lose anything by going with Google’s budget phone.

A close up photo taken on the Pixel 9a
A close up photo taken on the Pixel 9a Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

To be fair, the Pixel 10 Pro is stronger than both phones on all fronts, but I’d argue that’s overkill for most users. If you never or rarely touch the zoom lens on your camera, whether to zoom in or out, you’ll actually get a similar experience across all three devices. So why pay more? Especially when the Pixel 9a’s camera is so much sleeker. If you’re a casual photographer, it could give you the same results, while taking up less space. A hidden upgrade.

Better battery life and a smooth OLED display

If the Pixel 9a’s camera is arguably on par with the more expensive Pixel 10 phones, then its battery life just straight up surpasses them. Packing a 5,100 mAh capacity, it puts both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro to shame. To put that into more everyday terms, Google promises 30 hours of battery life on the 9a, but only 24 hours of battery life on either Pixel 10 model.

That held up in my testing. While the Pixel 10 died after about 18 hours of watching a video at 50% brightness (my standard test), the Pixel 9a was only a little under 50% capacity at the same time. And it was actually closer to half capacity when the Pixel 10 Pro died, which was after 16 hours of viewing. I actually haven’t had a full day to dedicate to draining this thing yet, but I assume that’s what it would take based on my tests, which easily puts the other Pixels to shame.

Granted, 50% brightness on the Pixel 9a isn’t quite as bright as on the other phones, since it only hits 2,700 nits of peak brightness as opposed to 3,000 nits on the Pixel 10 and 3,300 nits on the Pixel 10 Pro. But 2,700 nits is still plenty bright—the iPhone 16 maxes out at 2,000 nits. And on all other fronts, the display doesn’t compromise: The Pixel 9a has the exact same size (6.3-inches) and resolution (1,080 x 2,424) as the Pixel 10, and also works with Smooth Display for a responsive 120Hz refresh rate. It’s even an OLED, so you’re not making any compromises by going cheaper here.

Half the cost of a Pixel 10 Pro

Perhaps the biggest reason to opt for a Pixel 9a over a Pixel 10 is the same reason it was worth it compared to the other Pixel 9s—it’s just cheaper.

While the Pixel 10 starts at $799 and the Pixel 10 Pro starts at $999, the Pixel 9a is a mere $500. Given how closely it compared to even Google’s current-generation flagships, that’s a heck of a deal. And that doesn’t even come with any cuts to storage space, since both the Pixel 9a and all models of the Pixel 10 Pro begin with 128GB of storage. The cost to upgrade storage is also the same here—a simple $100 markup—although the Pixel 10 Pro does uniquely offer capacities over 256GB.

I'll miss Pixelsnap, but the Pixel 10a is probably months away

I’ve been pretty high on the Pixel 9a so far, but I will make one concession—it doesn’t have PixelSnap, and I will miss that.

While the iPhone has had MagSafe since the iPhone 12, it took until this year for the Pixel to get its own version. Called Pixelsnap, it allows you to magnetically connect your phone right to compatible accessories and chargers on their own, with no need for cables or adhesive metal circles.

The Pixel 10 resting on a Pixelsnap Carger with Stand
The Pixel 10 resting on a Pixelsnap Carger with Stand Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

I won’t lie, it’s convenient. It works with Qi2 charging for faster wireless top-offs, and while Google has its own official Pixelsnap accessories, it also worked fine with my Belkin iPhone charger, as well as a third-party MagSafe wallet I bought for my iPhone.

I’d miss that convenience by opting for the Pixel 9a instead of the Pixel 10, but I don’t know if I’d miss it enough to spend another $300 to $500. If there's one reason to get a Pixel 10 model phone instead of a Pixel 9a, I think this would be it.

But what about the Pixel 10a?

As it did with the 9a, Google is sure to release a budget version of the Pixel 10 series down the line, and at that point, this article will probably become irrelevant. Granted, it’s not guaranteed to have Pixelsnap, but given how close the 9a already is to the 10, I bet it will—it’ll be an easy way to set the 10a apart from its predecessor.

However, the 9a didn’t come out until this April, and you can bet the 10a will follow a similar pattern. That means waiting over half a year from now, and frankly, I don’t like to prognosticate quite that much. Better tech is always on the horizon, but when making purchasing decisions, we have to live in the here and now. And right now, the Pixel 9a is still the best Google phone for most people.

[ SECRET POST #6825 ]

Sep. 12th, 2025 06:16 pm
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⌈ Secret Post #6825 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

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