{"id":867,"date":"2008-08-10T16:22:41","date_gmt":"2008-08-10T21:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/?p=867"},"modified":"2008-08-10T16:22:41","modified_gmt":"2008-08-10T21:22:41","slug":"any-suggestions-for-cool-lawnmowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2008\/08\/10\/any-suggestions-for-cool-lawnmowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Any suggestions for cool lawnmowers?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/42346519@N00\/130311751\/\" title=\"goat see\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/50\/130311751_fa86088503_m.jpg?w=840\" alt=\"goat see\" border=\"0\" align='right' hspace='10' vspace='10' data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><br \/><small><a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/2.0\/\" title=\"Attribution-NoDerivs License\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-content\/plugins\/photo-dropper\/images\/cc.png?resize=16%2C16&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" border=\"0\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" align=\"absmiddle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.photodropper.com\/photos\/\" target=\"_blank\">photo<\/a> credit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/42346519@N00\/130311751\/\" title=\"maessive\" target=\"_blank\">maessive<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n<p>First, let&#8217;s set the stage:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I <em>really<\/em> don&#8217;t like the traditional suburban lawn.  Tons of chemical, energy, and effort to create and maintain a biologically unstable mono culture so that I can &#8230; putt &#8230; or something.  So, so silly.<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;m also a big non-fan of petrol powered lawnmowers.  They&#8217;re noisy, smelly, polluting beasts that beat the crap out of the grass, ripping it instead of actually cutting it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a consequence we&#8217;ve explored a bunch of alternatives, but none have really worked terribly well.  We really liked the idea of reel mowers, but our experience with several of them makes it clear that our lawn is way too uneven and bumpy for a reel mower.  Sigh.<\/p>\n<p>What would be perfect would be a solar powered Roomba-like robot mower.  WeatherGirl correctly pointed out that this is frequently known as a &#8220;goat&#8221;; sadly, the city classifies goats as livestock rather than lawn tools, and we aren&#8217;t allowed keep livestock in town.  Damn.<\/p>\n<p>So, anyone have any ideas for an interesting alternative to buying a stinky petrol powered monster?<\/p>\n<p>Thanks in advance!<\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"st-post-tags \">\n\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/alternative\/\" title=\"alternative\">alternative<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/energy\/\" title=\"energy\">energy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/garden\/\" title=\"garden\">garden<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/goat\/\" title=\"goat\">goat<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/grass\/\" title=\"grass\">grass<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/lawn\/\" title=\"lawn\">lawn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/lawnmowers\/\" title=\"lawnmowers\">lawnmowers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/mower\/\" title=\"mower\">mower<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/reel-mowers\/\" title=\"reel mowers\">reel mowers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/robot\/\" title=\"robot\">robot<\/a><br \/><\/div>\n\n\n\t<h4>Related posts<\/h4>\n\t<ul class=\"st-related-posts\">\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2012\/08\/17\/us-dept-of-energy-digging-sustainability-at-umm\/\" title=\"US Dep&#8217;t of Energy digging sustainability at UMM (17 Aug 12)\">US Dep&#8217;t of Energy digging sustainability at UMM<\/a> (0)<\/li>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2011\/06\/30\/thinning-apples-colleges\/\" title=\"Thinning (apples &#038; colleges) (30 Jun 11)\">Thinning (apples &#038; colleges)<\/a> (1)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking for alternatives to stinky petrol powered mowers and (for us) ineffective reel mowers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[16,25,18,9],"tags":[350,147,195,345,343,344,346,349,347,348],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p90sy-dZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":863,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2008\/07\/10\/maybe-some-science-would-be-useful-in-this-situation\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":0},"title":"Maybe some science would be useful in this situation?","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"10 Jul 08","format":false,"excerpt":"Hmmm... Applying vaunted American know-how to find new solutions to the problem of energy independence? What an odd, odd thought, especially when McCain supports a tiny, slow band-aid that ... well ... won't really help at all. We were in Fargo a few days ago buying a car. We sold\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":773,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2008\/01\/14\/randomoid-stuff-from-the-tubes-of-the-intarweb\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":1},"title":"Randomoid stuff from the tubes of the Intarweb","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"14 Jan 08","format":false,"excerpt":"While I realize that this is little more than incoherent link propagation (unlike my normally focussed prose-o-wonderment), hopefully pulling some of this fluff from the mighty tubes that connect us all will help clarify our various connections and communications. A couple that our amazing progeny sent my way: How I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Computing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Computing","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/computing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1521,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2011\/08\/02\/the-incident-at-tower-37-wonderful-film-making-and-amazing-student-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":2},"title":"&#8220;The incident at Tower 37&#8221;: Wonderful film making, and amazing student work","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"2 Aug 11","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The incident at Tower 37\" is a wonderful example of the splendid student work we saw when Tom and I visited Hampshire College last month. Great animation and storytelling, and highly recommended.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1055,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2009\/07\/30\/another-one-bites-the-dust\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":3},"title":"Another one bites the dust","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"30 Jul 09","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo from the removal of yet another elm in our neighborhood has succumbed to Dutch Elm.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The remains of a fine old elm removed due to Dutch Elm.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3499\/3772568065_75c3f3bb78.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1006,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2009\/06\/14\/everything-old-is-new-again-bicycle-tricks-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":4},"title":"Everything old is new again, bicycle tricks edition","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"14 Jun 09","format":false,"excerpt":"If you haven't seen this amazing show reel from Danny MacAskill, it's time to stop what you're doing and gawk. In fairness, I think the opening trick on the cast iron fence is perhaps the best thing in the video, but it's totally worth the price of admission - hard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;history&quot;","block_context":{"text":"history","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":523,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2007\/03\/22\/anyone-know-whos-paying-this-bozo\/","url_meta":{"origin":867,"position":5},"title":"Anyone know who&#8217;s paying Barton?","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"22 Mar 07","format":false,"excerpt":"clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Al Gore makes global warming plea He said the US should freeze carbon dioxide emissions and push for a strong climate change treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. Representative Joe Barton, the leading Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, challenged global\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}