This week ran from Monday 2026-10-05 through Sunday 2026-10-11, and several sites spent it following one thread from start to finish. The prediction market desk moved from the 2028 election to Iran, the graphics card desk kept coming back to memory, and the home services desk worked through a clear checklist before the cold arrives. Here are the six sites worth your time from the past seven days.
The odds desk turned toward Iran
Over on picksbyodds, the week split cleanly into two halves. Monday opened with "Market Sentiment on 2028 US Presidential Election," and Tuesday followed with "The 2028 Presidential Election Markets: Underdogs Abound," which set up the midweek theme of longshots. Wednesday's "Longshots Lure High Stakes on Kalshi and Polymarket Markets" and Thursday's "Volume Doesn't Equal Probability on Kalshi and Polymarket Markets" make a useful pair to read together, because the second one tempers the first. From Friday onward the focus moved to Iran, starting with "Iran Invasion Market Shows What Real Uncertainty Looks Like," then "Market Sentiment on the U.S.-Iran Conflict Drives Trading Volume" on Saturday, and closing Sunday with "Iran's Inevitable Invasion?" If you only read one, Thursday's piece on volume and probability gives you the frame for everything after it.
The graphics card desk kept talking about memory
The thread running through picksbycard this week was VRAM, and it showed up in older cards as often as new ones. Tuesday's "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090: A Cheap Path to 24GB VRAM" and Sunday's "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: The Unintended AI Workhorse" both argue that last generation's cards still earn a place in AI work. On the current side, Monday covered the RTX 5070 Ti for high refresh rates and AI, Saturday called the RTX 5070 an "Efficient 1440p Powerhouse," and Friday's "RTX 5080: The Sane 4K Ceiling, With a Memory Asterisk" brought the memory question back in. Budget builders should read Wednesday's Intel Arc B570 pick for 1080p with 10GB, and Thursday's AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT pick for 1440p.
The events desk mixed hockey, Broadway and punk
The week on picksbyevent covered a lot of ground in a small number of cities. Hockey bookended the run, with New Jersey Devils vs. Utah Mammoth in Newark on Tuesday and Philadelphia Flyers vs. Carolina Hurricanes in Philadelphia on Sunday. Theater filled the middle, with & Juliet in New York on Wednesday and The Outsiders in Los Angeles on Friday. Music covered the rest, from Julia Wolf in Boston on Monday to Pinhead Gunpowder in Chicago on Thursday. The most unusual pick was Saturday's Bertha: Grateful Drag in Brooklyn, which is the one I would forward to a friend who thinks they have seen every kind of show.
The recipe desk found the last warm evenings
Rice and beans appeared twice on picksbyrecipe this week, and the two versions make a good comparison. Thursday's "The Humble Rice and Beans Dish Finds a New Lease on Life" came first, and Saturday's "Jamaican Instant Pot Rice and Beans Recipe Revived This October" gave the pressure cooker version. Elsewhere, Monday opened with ham croquetas, Tuesday focused on the vegetable stock behind a summer pistou, and Wednesday featured shrimp with snow peas. Friday's "Vietnamese Prawn Spiralized Rolls for the Last Warm October Evenings" is the one to cook soon, since the title tells you how much time is left for it. Sunday closed with ugali, the Kenyan cornmeal staple.
The board game desk covered heavy strategy and quick play
The range on picksbygame this week went from long strategy nights to fast table games. Agricola on Tuesday and Root on Wednesday cover the heavier end, with Agricola also noted for solo players. Qwirkle on Monday and Quacks of Quedlinburg on Sunday suit shorter sessions, with Quacks pitched as a pick for a cabin trip. Friday's Klask pick has the best headline of the week, promising that the game "Rewards Quick Wrists and Short Tempers on a Wooden Board." Thursday featured Vantage, and Saturday's "The Blood of an Englishman: Dueling for the Beanstalk's Height" rounds things out with a two player duel.
The home services desk worked through a fall checklist
Read in order, picksbytown gave you a usable schedule for the season. Monday started with timing your HVAC contractor's maintenance visit before winter, Tuesday covered checking lawn soil health before hiring a landscaper, and Wednesday dealt with timing a general contractor for fall maintenance. Thursday moved to pool companies, and Friday's "Book Paver and Patio Pressure Washing Before Nights Drop Below Freezing" carries the clearest deadline of the week. Saturday shifted indoors with advice on when to hire a photographer for indoor family portraits. The site published six picks this week, so there was no Sunday entry.
If you missed a day on any of these sites, you can catch up in the week-by-week archive.