Iterate Weekly - Issue 71
This week we're looking at Amazon's purchase of iRobot, Do habit trackers really work?, The Aptera solar EV, is PEBL a bike or car? And Nicholas Cage as Nick Cage!
Welcome to issue 71 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I read all of them, and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Amazon Buys Roomba
Big news in the robotics world this week as Amazon has agreed to buy Roomba manufacturer iRobot.
I have been a huge fan of Roomba vacuums for years. The i7+ model is still programmed to clean my house three days a week. The smart base station empties the robot after each session and requires essentially no work on my part. I’ll get a notification on the app letting me know when I need to change the filters or empty the bag in the base station. But that only happens every couple of months.
Needless to say I’m extremely pleased at the current state of iRobot and I’m a bit nervous to see what Amazon is planning to do with it. My first fear is that the excellent Google Assistant integration (i.e. “hey google, clean the kitchen!) will be removed in favor of only using Amazon’s Alexa instead. But who knows what else Amazon has up its sleeve.
Along with the purchase of the hardware comes the purchase of all the data that the Roomba software houses. Most importantly, maps of the interiors of homes around the world. I’m typically not the too frightened of big tech overstepping its boundaries but Amazon is getting a ton of our information here. Sure, they already know every item that you’re buying. And their Ring Doorbells see every time you enter and leave your house. And now they’ll know the layout of your home and those corners that attract a ridiculous amount of crumbs.
iRobot makes some fantastic products Amazon, please don’t screw this up.
Any other Roomba fans worried?
🎓 Education/Productivity
Do habit trackers really work?
Here is another fantastic blog post from the folks over at Ness Labs. It looks at how useful trackers can be when trying to build new habits or vanquish old ones.
Here are 3 takeaways for me:
We are all “bundles of habits” - You know how they always say “you are what you eat”? Well we are also what we do. Specifically, we’re all just a big bundle of habits that shape how we function on a daily basis. These habits also shape how the world perceives us. While you can’t change every habit overnight, you can start to make small changes to unwind the existing habit bundle and build it in a new direction
Habit tracking does work - There is evidence that shows that tracking your behaviors can make them more likely to stick. The good news is that this habit tracking doesn’t need to be tedious or elaborate. It can be as easy as the old Jerry Seinfeld “X on the calendar” Strategy trick or a simple checkmark in the margin of your daily planner.
Celebrate the micro-wins - Let’s face it, habits can be boring. We need to celebrate the tiny victories even if they seem insignificant. It’s a device that we employ daily at Caveday. Even if you don’t get all your work done in a given sprint, you can still be appreciative of the small efforts your put forth. Small, consistent daily efforts will always yield better results than sporadic spurts of work.
What kinds of habit trackers are you using?
♻️ Health & Environment
A solar powered EV that may never need to be charged
This week I had a conversation with an excited neighbor about a new “car” he was looking to buy. It’s from a company called Aptera and it’s unlike any other vehicle I’ve ever seen.
The neighbor mentioned putting down a deposit for a new car that doesn’t really have a name yet. I guess they refer to it as the Aptera Vehicle on their website. But he touted it as the perfect mode of transportation. It’s an electric car that has solar panels that will easily charge up daily in his driveway in our mostly sunny Northern California climate. The panels alone can generate up to 40 miles of driving juice each day. You can do the math yourself, but depending on your daily mileage, you may never even need to plug this car in.
Naturally, I was intrigued. With the base model starting at $25,900, it’s actually far less than most electric vehicles. Of course, you’re betting on a new company based out of San Diego that hasn’t actually released any product before, so it’s natural to be skeptical.
And yes, you have a keen eye if you noticed only three wheels on the Aptera in the photo above. Can it still be considered a car? Well this is where things get confusing, but it’s officially classified as a motor cycle in the United States. And you would need to wear a helmet when riding it, but it has an enclosed cabin so you can ditch the helmet. There are 2 standard seats in the cockpit with plenty of cargo room in the back. And technically you can keep your dog in the back if you have the pet cargo net accessory. Oh, no you can never transport a child in the Aptera since it doesn’t have the proper safety requirements for car seats.
Hmm, so it’s not perfect but it’s still super exciting to see a vehicle like this come to market. A few months back, I’m pretty sure I saw one of the test models cruise past while I was walking my dog and I was really confused if it was legal or not. You can join my neighbor and plunk down as little as $100 to get yourself on the list to snag an actual product hopefully later this year or next. I’ll give them some time to work out the kinks and hopefully we can revisit this story in 2024.
Would you buy a 3-wheeled EV car/motorcycle hybrid like this?
🛍 Grab Bag
PEBL - A micro-car e-bike
Of course I went down a bit of an alternative transportation rabbit hole after learning about the Aptera. If that is the future of transportation, are there other examples that don’t fit cleanly into the category of car or bike?
The Velomobile is an old concept that seems to be coming back to life. It’s not quite a car, but it’s more than just a bike. And I think the best example today comes from a company out of Massachusetts called Better Bike. Their line of PEBL e-bikes may look a little goofy, but I see them having a real niche in our complicated transportation market.
It’s a fully enclosed bike that lets you carry groceries, your kids, your pets, and whatever else you may want to transport around town. It is classified as an e-bike so you can use bike lanes and take it wherever you’d take your bike. But it’s ready for the elements and can be outfitted with all sorts of internal bells and whistles. It has headlights and tail lights with some models also having solar panels on the roof to power everything.
I love my e-bike, but it has its limitations. Mostly not being able to take my dog around. I’m lucky to not deal with too much inclement weather but having it be fully enclosed could be nice too. I’m able to do small grocery trips, but the PEBL could handle pretty much any grocery load I could think of.
With prices hovering around $10,000 USD, it’s not a cheap solution. But if you’re comparing it to a second car to run errands around town, it’s not too bad.
What do you think, would you buy a PEBL?
💬 Quote of the Week
“The Earth is what we all have in common.”
- Wendell Berry
🎥 Content Recommendation
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
I’ve never been a huge fan of Nicholas Cage. Some of his movies are fine, some have been a bit over the top for me. But wherever you stand on his movies, you have to admit that he seems like a really interesting person. He carries a sort of “larger than life” persona coming from a famous Hollywood family.
The commercials for his latest film, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” piqued my interest. And when I saw it available for viewing on a recent flight, I had to check it out.
It’s a fun way to spend 1 hour and 47 minutes. I thought that the middle dragged a little bit but the end was fantastic. Cage is able to poke fun at himself while still maintaining integrity and having an artistic vision. His schtick is just too good in this movie. It’s hard to tell where the character ends and where the man begins, but that’s exactly what he was going for.
Even if you’re not a fan of Cage movies, the excellent supporting cast makes this one worth checking out.
Hey! I’m testing out some new polling tools that Substack has recently added. Keep your eyes on this section and please help me get some feedback by taking a second to choose an answer in my poll. Thank you!
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
P.S. - Are you looking for a coach? I’m looking to work with some potential new clients and would love to help you out. If you’d like a free 30-minute consultation chat, feel free to book some time with me here!
The poll is a great idea, Chris! I will implement it for sure in the next edition of Hello Universe. 😀