The downside to Twitter is don’t get context, you don’t get explanations, you don’t get the meaningful conversations that can only happen in a blog (YMMV)! So I thought I’d follow this series of tweets with a bit more background and discussion.
jessmilligan Seems our $50 lawn mower has died. Might be time to start spending real $ on these things.11:30 AM May 18th from Twitterrific
JohnnyCanuck Shouldn’t you of all peeps have a reliable mower? Tell Sean he can borrow my enviro-electric one of he needs it today.11:41 AM May 18th from Twitterrific
schultzter @jessmilligan @JohnnyCanuck there’s nothing like the smell of a 2-stroke in the morning!about 23 hours ago from txt
The thing about all gas powered tools is the inherent safety of a pull-start. At the best of times I can barely start my lawn trimmer after 18 pulls – there’s no way my 2-year old daughter (or any neighbour’s kid) is accidentally going to start it and chop their fingers off. The same goes for my lawn mower and all the other gas powered tools I’d like (chain saw, hedge trimmer, and generator)
I’m all for the environment and clean water and fresh air and stuff.
But I guess my moment of epiphany on gas vs. electric (especially battery, because power cords and rapidly chopping blades were always a bad combination in my opinion) came at a local big-box hardware store. I was shopping for a lawn trimmer and looking at the different models they had. As I took them off the shelf tried them for weight and balance and over-all feel I’d just naturally hit the trigger to see how that felt.
One particular model I picked up was FULLY CHARGED and ready to go!!! You can imagine my surprise – and that of the shoppers around me – when a potentially deadly tool whirred to life!!!
I gently set down the homicidal lawn trimmer, pointed out to a sales clerk in no uncertain terms how bonedheadly dangerous it was to have operational model on display, and then moved on to the gas powered models…
Cross-posted on Cameron-Schultz at There’s nothing like the smell of a 2-stroke in the morning!
Comments
5 responses to “There’s nothing like the smell of a 2-stroke in the morning!”
Two things I picked up on this as I read through a very funny post by a good friend.
1. Do you remember the commercial of the badly tuned gas mower producing more CO2 than a bridge load of idling cars.
2. I don’t let my kids anywhere near the mower or the tools in the garage, the power cords are up high enough they can’t hang themselves with or randomly plug them in anywhere.
[OH and a third]
3. Wear thick clothing when going to home depot in case Schultz kids are playing with whipper snippers.
[…] said Schultzter’s recent post about the “Safety of Gas Engines” just killed the David Suzuki in me. The reality is […]
I just love the image you create of my kids wielding whipper snippers under the noses of unsuspecting shoppers – they can do it, Home Depot can help!!!
Only you guys would worry about children and mowers. What do you do in the kitchen you have outlets and knives more blades and power all in the same place. Here is the solution. For the lawn buy a push mower of course then it would be two skinny dads and the website would struggle and in the kitchen oh right you guys don’t go in the kitchen you view it as that really big walk in closet your wives use a lot. There you go no power and if you have to actually work the lawn mower won’t get used so no moving parts thus no risk. For the record referencing your “children’s safety” we all know you are talking about your own safety as you are not the most coordinated group.
The Fat Dads spend a lot of time in the kitchen – the beer is in the fridge and we’re man enough to get our own beer (most of the time).
As for the electricity and knives; the plugs all have covered and we trained the cats to run and hide when a knife comes out. And since Lindsay took art class we moved all the scissors to the back of the top most drawer so we’re safe on that front too.
You’re definitely right about one thing: it’s a lot of work to stay one step ahead of our kids, and one day, like it or not, they will get ahead of us and then we’ll really be “old”!!!