Iterate Weekly - Issue 213
This week we're looking at the boring Pixel 10 Pro, the final end of CreativeLive, EV Tax Credit is done, Harvest Thermal system is a go, and "Jurassic World Rebirth"!
Welcome to issue 213 of Iterate Weekly.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories shall we?
Thank you as always for reading!
🖥️ Tech
I have the Pixel 10 Pro. It feels like the Pixel 9 Pro
So I’ve been using the Pixel 10 Pro for just over a month now.
But to tell you the truth, you could have told me that I’ve still been using my Pixel 9 Pro this whole time and I would have believed you.
Would I say that I’m disappointed with the new phone? No, it isn’t disappointment, it’s just more like ambivalence. And I think this may be the first time I’ve had that feeling with a new phone.
Sure, the specs and form factor are very similar to the previous model, but it’s more than that. This phone just lacks a certain pizazz in my opinion. Maybe they needed to offer up one of those loud colors in the 10 Pro model. It would certainly feel different if it came in the bright orange color of the new iPhone model or even the punchy blue that only comes in the standard Pixel 10.
The Moonstone color is nice but it is just way too similar to the hazel gray of my Pixel 9 Pro. It would have almost been better if it was the same exact gray color. It just tries to be ever so slightly different but it really isn’t.
Has Google reached a milestone by creating a phone that just works with no glaring weaknesses? Yeah, I guess so. But they somehow also managed to make a phone that longtime fans may find to be boring.
🎓 Productivity/Work/Software/Gear
Last chance to download your CreativeLive courses!
For years, I worked at EdTech startup CreativeLive. Thousands of hours of amazing educational content were created within the walls of our studios in San Francisco and Seattle as well as on-location all over the world.
Well, if you purchased any of those courses to stream on the company’s site, the time has come to download them for offline viewing. Because the company who was acquired by Fiverr several years ago, is finally shuttering its website.
Yes, the CreativeLive site has been maintained since the acquisition even with few new courses being added over the past few years. But at the end of this year, the site will be no more. So if you want access to your content, you must download it to a local hard drive with their handy downloaded tool.
It’s been years since I’ve worked there but it’s still a sad day. You can still see my handsome mug in plenty of the courses that I produced and/or hosted. It was fun to go down memory lane from time to time to see some of the old content. It was nice that it actually lived somewhere online. It certainly doesn’t have the same cache when it’s just a bunch of videos saved locally.
Oh well, life goes on. If you want to retrieve any old courses from your class catalog, download them before December 31, 2025.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
The end of the EV Tax Credit
This is just one final goodbye to the EV tax credit. As of this writing, it has now expired.
Saving $7,500 on anything feels pretty darn good doesn’t it? Only $4,000 for a used EV, but still nice.
Oh and don’t forget that wonderful loophole to get the credit via lease! That helped push over the edge to get our BMW iX late last year.
If we’re looking for silver linings here, I’m hoping that a lot of used EV prices were inflated due to the tax credit. We may see prices actually come down in some corners of the used EV market now.
Let’s hope that EV momentum doesn’t stall in the country due to the abrupt ending of the credits.
🛍 Grab Bag
Harvest Thermal System is a go
In other electric infrastructure news, things are moving forward on the install of the Harvest Thermal system in our home.
We’re on the schedule to get this completed over the next few weeks and I’m excited to report back on how the installation goes.
For those who aren’t familiar, Harvest acts as a two-in-one solution to replace your HVAC system and hot water heater in one fell swoop. It relies on heat pump technology to keep your home comfortable, and also turns your water heater into a thermal battery.
Yes, all very exciting stuff! I hope to have some photos and installation details shortly.
💬 Quote of the Week
"I installed a skylight in my apartment... the people who live above me are furious!"
-Steven Wright
🎥 Content Review
Jurassic World Rebirth
If you’re bummed out about summer coming to and end, why not check out a fun summer action flick like…Jurassic World Rebirth?
I’ll tell you why. Because this movie is objectively horrible.
But hear me out! I still enjoyed getting through it in two sittings watching on the big screen of my backyard projector. It has some fun moments. There is plenty of nostalgia for 1993.
Yes, the storyline is atrocious. And the mutant dinosaurs somehow don’t even look cool. But Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali were somewhat believable?
There are worst ways to spend 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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