Iterate Weekly - Issue 203
This week we're looking at Home Assistant, US Scientists considering relocation, charging our e-bikes with USB-C cables, the NFL switching from refs to cameras, and "Goodrich"!
Welcome to issue 203 of Iterate Weekly.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories shall we?
Thank you as always for reading!
🖥️ Tech
I’ve finally installed Home Assistant
I consider myself to be pretty experienced with the world of smart home automation.
I’ve been scheduling all sorts of routines for my lights, smart locks, and a host of other devices. But until last week, I had never used Home Assistant.
For those who don’t know, Home Assistant has become the de facto open source software option for people to control all of their smart home technology. It’s basically a place where all of your smart devices can live together in harmony no matter (smart home pun intended?) what company made them or what smart language they speak.
This software can be run on pretty much any hardware that can support it. You can rig up your own Raspberry Pi setup or take the easy road like I did. I purchased a Home Assistant Green device that only needs to be plugged into a power source and internet connection to instantly import all of your devices.
Was it as easy as advertised? Yes and no.
Sure, it was up and running in no time at all. But since I already had so many existing smart home devices installed on my network, the import process was a bit confusing. Most of the confusion can be chalked up to new user error but when you’re importing devices, routines, room data, light presets, etc, it can be daunting to organize them all.
So I’m pleased to report that the system is up and running! And I am slowly weaning myself off of the other systems I used to control all of my gadgets. The Google Home App, the Philips Hue App, Kasa, just to name a few.
I’m holding off on setting up the Home Assistant local voice assistant until all of the bugs are worked out, but I can see that being the next logical step as we look for smart home solutions that aren’t entirely controlled by Apple, Google, and Amazon.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
US scientists are strongly considering relocation
I promise, I don’t want this section to be all about depressing political news each week!
But here we are again. Another week, and another story about Americans being concerned about future funding of government initiatives.
I was blown away to read a recent study that said 75% of American scientists are considering relocating to another country!
The data comes from a Nature poll of over 1,600 respondents. Perhaps it’s a knee-jerk reaction in the heat of the current political moment. Or perhaps these people are serious about high-tailing it to Canada, Europe, or beyond.
It’s not the most comprehensive study, but I think it paints a very clear picture of the panic being faced by many people in academic research right now.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
Will USB-C e-bike chargers be the next big thing?
When I first saw this story, I was pretty excited.
This model comes from Ampler and it is a pretty good example of a hopefully not-too-distant future where we aren’t relying on proprietary technology to charge our micromobility devices.
So what’s the catch?
Well, it’s still a matter of getting high-capacity batteries that can be charged safely and efficiently. The battery found in the Ampler example is paltry when compared to some of the beefier e-bike batteries out there. And the USB-C charging standard can’t quite match some of the higher speed cables that include a proper power brick.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a cool concept. And for plenty of people, this would be a workable solution to charge their bike! I think the technology could be even better served on something like an electric scooter where range/battery capacity is less of a concern.
If my portable electric scooter could easily fold up in a bag and charge from a standard USB charging bank while I take it into a cafe or on a bus or train, that would be phenomenal!
For right now though, I’m still bullish on my Bosch-powered e-bikes that require toting around a hefty charging brick. I’m mostly just charging them in my garage, but I’m excited for the day when USB-C charging is just as fast and convenient as the other options.
🛍 Grab Bag
The NFL ditches refs for 8K cameras
It’s the NFL off-season and that means that any changes to rules or procedures are on the table.
One interesting one is the idea of using fancy Sony cameras to accurately spot where the ball is in relation to the first down marker.
This has always been a manual process of having a game official keep their eye on the ball when the player is tackled. It’s clearly somewhat of an inexact science akin to an umpire calling balls and strikes in baseball (another antiquated rule that’s being impacted by technology).
Most of the time it works just fine, until it doesn’t. Why rely on an aging pair of human eyes to do the work of an 8K camera?
Sony’s “Hawk-Eye” technology will be able to accurately assess whether a player has obtained a first down or not. But rest assured all you traditionalists! The zebra-clad chain gang of officials will still be there to act as a secondary resource in case the cameras glitch out.
Humans and high-tech cameras can live in perfect harmony right? I guess we’ll find out this upcoming football season!
💬 Quote of the Week
"Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever."
-Charles Lamb
🎥 Content Review
Goodrich
This weekend I enjoyed a little film called “Goodrich”.
It managed to slip through the cracks of all the heavy-hitting Oscar contenders of last year and was totally off my radar.
The film stars Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis as a father-daughter team who are progressing through a new stage in their relationship I guess you’d say?
They both deliver fantastic performances with a good balance of humor and sincerity. It’s the perfect emotional comedy that will especially resonate with parents, grandparents, and grandparent-aged new parents.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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