Iterate Weekly - Issue 202
This week we're looking at the new(ish) Pebble watches, Trump dismantles the Department of Education, London gets new sidewalk EV chargers, repurposing BART cars, and "Running Point"!
Welcome to issue 202 of Iterate Weekly.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories shall we?
Thank you as always for reading!
🖥️ Tech
The new(ish) Pebble watches are here!
A few weeks back, I celebrated the news that Pebble smartwatches were being resurrected.
Now we have some more concrete details on what will be sold and when we’ll be able to get our hands on it.
The new Pebble store is up and running and you can pre-order two models.
The Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2 are the names. They don’t exactly roll off the tongue do they? I just liked calling them Pebble or Pebble 2, but that’s me.
The Core 2 Duo is more up my alley with a very minimal black and white e-ink display that should offer 30-day battery life. The Core Time 2 is a little more modern with the color display and some other bells and whistles.
I guess a lot has changed since the original Pebble Kickstarter launched, but these prices seem a little high in my opinion.$225 for the Core Time 2 make it only slightly less expensive than some of the more robust smartwatch offerings from the big competitors. I think the $149 price for the black and white model is far more palatable. But I suppose these watches aren’t really meant to compete with Apple Watches or Pixel Watches.
Thankfully, the style is very much in line with the original Pebble models. I personally love the look and can see myself wearing the white model and reliving the glory days of 2012!
Anyone else going to buy one?
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Trump dismantles the Department of Education
The headline above really tells the whole story here.
Politics seems to be creeping into every segment of this publication lately. It’s hard to avoid.
President Trump is dismantling the Department of Education.
What exactly does this mean? What better alternative is planned? There are certainly more questions than answers right now.
The shutdown of the department will likely get held up in congress. And the tentative plan is to give individual states the power to shape their own education systems.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, it does give you pause if you have school age children right now.
I’m sure there will be more on this subject in the months to come.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
London gets new “flat and flush” sidewalk EV chargers
Most people would agree that we need to make it easier for people to charge their electric vehicles.
For people who can’t installer a charger at home, public charging solutions are vital. But why should all chargers being in parking garages or shopping centers? Why can’t we have more sidewalk charging?
Well, a neighborhood in London is getting outfitted with some new “flat and flush” sidewalk chargers.
That terminology is important. When not in use, these chargers essentially disappear into the sidewalk. When someone wants to juice up, they can just insert one of their personal “nozzles” into the repository on the ground.
These are level 2 chargers that will take a few hours to fully charge your car, rather than a DC fast charger that would get you topped off in minutes. But even at the slower speeds, it’s perfect for 2-hour or longer parking arrangements. And this gives residents of the neighborhood a viable way to own an EV without charging anxiety.
Let’s hope this style of charger catches on in other cities.
🛍 Grab Bag
Repurposing BART train cars
Perhaps no one has ever wanted to spend more time inside of a BART train car than was absolutely necessary to make it to your destination.
However, if you’re a sucker for Bay Area public transit and you want to spend a few days sleeping (legally) inside a retired BART car, you are in luck!
I would absolutely pay money to stay a night or two in one of these babies. I’m super excited to see a number of retired BART cars finding new lives around California. Let’s hope these transitions go smoothly and we see other transit providers coming up with creative solutions like this when their rolling stock reaches end-of-life.
💬 Quote of the Week
"No heirloom of humankind captures the past as do art and language."
-Theodore Bikel
📺 Content Review
Running Point
If you’re looking for a silly comedy to take your mind off of all the heavy news stories in the world right now, “Running Point” is perfect for you!
Kate Hudson stars as an heiress who takes over her late father’s professional basketball team (only after her brothers screw it up). Yes, this is based on the story of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Buss family. Jeannie Buss is an executive producer on the show. The Buss family have spent a lot of time in the media spotlight over the past few years but this is a different take.
I typically hate shows that feature fictitious sports teams with particularly heinous fictitious sports jerseys. The LA Waves do not look great in their blue and red ensemble, but I digress. The acting is pretty solid here and there are plenty of laughs. You’ll breeze through the ten episode series pretty quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a second season in the works.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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