What is Digg?68 Comments
- Observant1, on 10/25/2008, -0/+45there was a great one invented centuries ago called goat on a rope.
- AmyVernon, on 10/26/2008, -0/+27This is how skynet got started.
- AmusedToDeath, on 10/26/2008, -0/+18Yes, I'm glad you "love" in a condo too. We certainly don't want to see it.
- helloluke, on 10/26/2008, -0/+18the grass feeds off the sun, the lawn mower feeds off the sun... nature vs machine in an all out battle
- henis, on 10/26/2008, -0/+17I have an automatic one, i call it the kids
- Peko, on 10/26/2008, -0/+15Listen, and understand. That Lawn Mower is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, unless it hits a hazard, then it backs up, turns around and goes in a new direction.
- inactive, on 10/25/2008, -2/+14 Im to lazy for even that. Glad I love in a condo
- cory849, on 10/26/2008, -0/+10Ooh! A mindless robot machine with rapidly rotating blades. Well, nothing could possibly go wrong here. I'm off for lunch.
- Peko, on 10/26/2008, -0/+9cue "The Final Countdown"
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+9i do
- cowsgonemadd3, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7You actually pay someone to do this for you?
- Omek, on 10/26/2008, -0/+6First the lawn, then your pets, and then it will plot to mow the entire family down. Skynet approaches...
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+5Lawns are terrible for the environment to start with, unless you have grazing animals.
I replaced my lawn with a permaculture floral arrangement and some concrete slabs.
It takes one day a year of care. No water, no pesticides, nothing.
I did that because I was tired of trying to have a decent lawn with two Belgian Malinois dogs. It always looked like *****. - PhilMoskowitz, on 10/26/2008, -0/+44 grand? I'm sure I can hire someone to cut my lawn in perpetuity for that.
- selesse, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXGdyZZjad0
...hmm... - edilclyde, on 10/26/2008, -1/+5my lawnmower is taco and burrito powered.
- cowsgonemadd3, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4But this does not complain.
- BullHunter, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Beats the Irish Solar Powered Torch!
- phosphite, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I will definitely be stealing one of these from somebody's lawn! (Or, luring it away with some fresh sod!)
- DangerCollie, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I have one of the older Friendly Robotics RL-800's and it used to do a capable job managing our lawn when we had a 1/2 acre. You can see how it works in this video:
http://www.dangercollie.com/video/robomow.wmv
That one you still had to move into position and start manually but it would mow on its own after that. I could go do other things while the robot mowed. I still had to edge and weed whack the spots the bot couldn't get to. But I have to tell you, hanging out on the porch in the shade and watching the mower run around when the temps were pushing 100 was a real joy. I feel asleep mowing the lawn more than once.
I had it doing a small section at the new place but it's a lot faster to just cut that section with the riding mower. The bulk of the lawn mowing, weed whacking and brush control here is being handled by the goats. With the added advantage that they also love to eat dried leaves. I don't have to rake this fall. At this moment my lawn mowers are on strike, standing over by the fence waiting for their sweet feed and grain. - CarStan, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3£2,000? Thanks, but no thanks
- protodon, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3They still have those. Free-Range Geese do a great job, too.
- cowsgonemadd3, on 10/26/2008, -1/+4Or if you want a more fertile yard you would use cow on a rope.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAg5KjnAhuU
- repotxtx, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3Long, boring review...
I have the Lawnbott Evolution, which has been out for a few years. The lawn is wired in the same way, kind of like an electric dog fence. The lawnbott has a small recharging station at a certain point along the wire. It will head straight there when the batteries get low, or also if it starts raining. It is completely scheduled. Once setup, you leave it alone. This particular model is rated for up to an acre and a half. The reality is not quite so great. After wiring up our entire acre we ran into a fair number of issues. Our acre has trees along two sides. Branches constantly drop. Even a fairly small branch can lodge in the blade causing it to hang. In one case the blade snapped and a $50 blade replacement was necessary. Same problem with kid or dog toys. Had to disassemble for the dog frisbee. The yard must be kept perfectly clear. The yard is flat, but a little rough in spots. We were constantly rescuing the mower when the small front wheels would get caught in a rough spot of the yard, or when it would attempt to climb a tree and hang up, or also when it would clip the containing wire and lose signal. After a season, I ripped the whole thing out and bought a riding mower. Bored this year and frustrated that it cost $30 to fill up the gas can for the rider I tried again with the robot, but on a smaller scale. Initially I limited it to a small section that had no trees and nice grass. I also buried the wire slightly, which they did not recommend, but I wanted no cut wire issues this time. It ran for a month with no issues. I then doubled the area, still staying clear of trees and rough spots, again with no problems. I extended again using the same rules and it ran for the rest of the season. I will be extending again next year up to about 1/2 acre initially.
Basically, if you have a smallish city type yard with a small number, or no, trees. These work ok. If you have anything less than a nicely manicured lawn, they probably are not worth the hassle, let alone money at this point. We felt like we were debugging a beta version the whole time. I think no matter what, you would need a backup mower. It can trim fairly close to things, but I still need to edge. If you are determined to own one, the iterative approach works best, start small and work your way up to it's limitations. Mow/trim whatever is left. My vote would be skip it at this point. - inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Why is a site about "being green" pushing this? having a lawn is about as far from "being green" as you can get.
- mickstephenson, on 10/26/2008, -1/+3Lawns hold rainwater and prevent drainage systems from being overrun in heavy rain. If everyone concretes over their lawn, rivers burst their banks.
- RGSPro, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2No no, poor you...
- nilsalb, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2It's a Hybrid!
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2I have my doubts about this since the Roomba, the automatic vacuum failed to deliver.
- sponeil, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2I'm sure that 4-digit code will be impossible for thieves to crack.
- mickstephenson, on 10/26/2008, -1/+3http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/postpn28 ...
This should demonstrate it is common knowledge, and taken seriously by government agencies.
I can't be bothered to educate you in basic geography, the cause is quite obvious the quicker the run off in a catchment area can reach a river, the higher the peak discharge rate in the river will be, the total water discharged is the same but the time it takes to reach the river is shorter, hence the river level is really high for a short period, instead of slightly higher for a long period, research it yourself. Over here it is taught at GCSE level. - scottysmith, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1cool...i can eat my cow now!
- wilf_brim, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1My neighbor has the regular electric version. Short story: it doesn't work for *****. Maybe in climates where the grass doesn't grow very fast, and you have a small flat lawn it may be a useful solution, but here in the South, it just doesn't get the job done.
- KaJuN4, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1I would rather use that money to convert my lawn to field turf. Besides being easier to maintain it would allow for some sweet football games. Although getting turf toe while barbecuing would be an unfortunate side effect...
- RGSPro, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1Step 1: Wait for neighbor's expensive lawn mower to start all by itself.
Step 2: Take expensive robotic lawn mower.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: $$Profit!!$$ - neocreo, on 10/26/2008, -1/+2That is more a question of price than anything else. Had a cheap robot vacuum before, and it worked nicely, if only you can convince your girlfriend that "since it is your hair everywhere, then it is your job to remove it from the vacuum"
- Pruvmerong, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1Wow, a Digg debate that isn't retarded.
*creepy Twilight Zone music plays in the background* - ZippyV, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1If you want to advertise your crappy site on Digg, you go to this url: http://advertising.microsoft.com/advertise/digg
- mickstephenson, on 10/26/2008, -1/+2Oh, blanket dismissal now I am convinced. Not everyone lives in a desert, some people don't need to water their lawn, but they do need to consider how river discharge rates will be effected by increasing the speed at which water enters the drainage system as it causes rivers to burst their banks more frequently.
In the UK this is a common problem as fashions have turned to having paved gardens. Not everywhere is California.. so Yes - HonestAbe, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1Does it still use wildly spinning blades, though? Seems like overkill to me. Tiny little leaves don't take very much energy to slice, and the wildly spinning blades cause all kinds of injuries, kill small animals, etc.
A quiet electric engine is much better than a loud noise pollution atmospheric pollution gasoline engine, at least.
Also, why do they go in irregular random patterns? Wouldn't it be better to detect where you've cut already and follow the line? - solarweasel, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1yeah i can't wait to get out there and touch up all the spots that robo-mower missed
- philz, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1It has an alarm system and you need to put wire into the ground (at least the old generation had and needed it)
(see my post below) - leland1, on 10/27/2008, -0/+1Yes, but will it sound an alert when the family dog starts humping it on a hot summer afternoon?
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+2Non-permeable ground =/= grass.
The only point you can make, and should've made, is that in urban areas of the UK and only in the UK, a lack of proper infrastructure causes flooding and pavement over grass plays a tiny little part in that.
"ageing drainage infrastructure. A lot of the sewerage
and drainage network is old and its condition is
unknown."
The solution remains an update of infrastructure, not grass. Your original statement was a ridiculous hyperbole and you're an idiot for even trying to defend such a ridiculous claim. - mykool, on 10/26/2008, -1/+2Does it weed-eat and edge too?
No.
Better not cancel that landscaper just yet. - mykool, on 11/06/2008, -0/+1Ever hear of asthma? ( yeah I'm an inhaler puffing geek) so yeah, I pay to have it done, much cheaper than an emergency room visit.
- HonestAbe, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1If it had a manual remote control mode, you wouldn't need a backup mower, right?
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+2"This note deals with urban flooding caused by rainfall
overwhelming drainage capacity. Other types of flooding,
such as river and coastal flooding, are not considered."
"rivers burst their banks."
First fail.
The words grass and lawn are not in this document. Second fail.
Your document speaks of poor infrastructure and has absolutely nothing to do with lawns. It also promotes sustainable drainage systems, none of which have anything to do with lawns.
The recomendations are an upgrade to the water evacuation system.
This has absolutely nothing to back up your claim.
Do you have anything else? -
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