I spent the last week in Phoenix "working" which means that I had another few hours to kill on the airplane. Opened up the Skymall catalog to look for a few more gems to put in this column and I managed to find a number of them.
Sidebar - Who the heck ever thought living in Phoenix was a good idea? They may complain about our winters, but their summer is equally bad. It was hotter than Satan's ass crack there all week. It hovered in the 45 to 47 degree range all week. When it gets too hot to drink beer you KNOW it's too hot. The first thing I noticed when I landed back in Calgary was that my balls were no longer stuck to the inside of my leg. I'll leave you with that image. Any of my male readers know exactly what I am talking about. End Sidebar
Anyhow - the next Supergadget of the week is a good one. I have no use for it since there are no trees in my neighborhood that are big enough to cause this problem. Those of you in Dutch Acres may find more use for it.
And I present to you - the Gutter Clearing Robot
From the SkyMall Catalog:
This is the only remote-controlled robot that removes leaves, small branches, and dirt from gutters, eliminating the need for ineffective and laborious manual methods. Made by iRobot, a company founded by roboticists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and renowned for their tactical robots used in U.S. military reconnaissance missions, the robot is controlled by a 100'-range handheld remote. After it is placed in a gutter, the robot begins to clean at the touch of a button, rotating its powerful auger at 500 rpm while the durable rubber and plastic blades dislodge and remove stubborn detritus; polypropylene brushes finish the process by wiping the gutter clean.
The robot's low-profile allows it to move under gutter supports while its tank-like, belt-driven treads allow it to easily cross downspout openings; waterproof design allows for use in wet conditions. When cleaning is complete, the remote attaches to the top of the robot, forming a handle for transport to the next gutter. Includes a holster and belt for transporting the robot and a rechargeable battery that runs for one hour after a 15-hour charge. Remote requires two AAA batteries. For use in all standard K-style gutters with 21/4" clearance.
The robot's low-profile allows it to move under gutter supports while its tank-like, belt-driven treads allow it to easily cross downspout openings; waterproof design allows for use in wet conditions. When cleaning is complete, the remote attaches to the top of the robot, forming a handle for transport to the next gutter. Includes a holster and belt for transporting the robot and a rechargeable battery that runs for one hour after a 15-hour charge. Remote requires two AAA batteries. For use in all standard K-style gutters with 21/4" clearance.
WOW! Who would not want one of those? Leave it to those bright folks at MIT and the US Military to finally put all that classified technology to good use! The only thing it is missing is a flamethrower. Why brush all the crap out of your gutters when you could burn it out?
DC
3 comments:
LO(Freakin)L
I have yet to experience anything hotter than 36 degrees, and I'd image that five or six degrees hotter than that can't be that big a deal. ;-)
After cleaning my gutters this spring and cursing the gloriously huge and otherwise beautifying trees in my yard for their rampant disregard for me and their copious deposits of sh** in my gutters I find myself having a strong desire to never have to clean gutters again, therefore I really like this gadget and think that those brainiacs at MIT are onto something. I vote to remove this item from the so-called useless supergadget file and put it right up there with those life-essential items, such as misting hats with fans for anything above say 33 degrees.
Only problem, is I'm thinking this thing does not corner like its on rails. I have 12 on my house.
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