I guess there are people who believe that mowing the lawn is a relaxing, meditative and downright enjoyable way to spend a morning. Presumably, these are also people who never raise their voices in anger, have sweat-resistant skin and take a certain obsessive pride in one-upping the neighbors’ lawns.
I am not one of those people.
I want my house and lawn to look nice. But if it’s a choice between participating in manual labor or fiddling with electronics, there is little question which side of the battery I favor.
My wife likes to call me out for this passion. Of course, she’s one of those people who believe that four remote controls are too many to operate one television. And she doesn’t see the logic in spending more time studying electronics advertisements than contemplating ways to acquire draperies for our home.
But with the growing number of electronic gadgets available
in all price ranges, I expect her to come around one of these days.
For as much as she complains about the complexity of our multi-receiver satellite television hookup, she does her share of channel-surfing. And although she didn’t wipe away tears of joy during the holidays when she received an alarm clock with a “floating” date and time, she has positioned it prominently next to her pillow.
Now, budget-willing, we can all buy home lighting systems that can be operated from our cars, computer software that allows us to view the inside of our home from anywhere in the world, and inexpensive cameras connected to computers that make video-conferencing with grandparents simple enough for 10-year-olds.
This month’s annual Home Design magazine features a number of new toys such as these. Check out the lawnmower that mows on its own while you’re inside the house fiddling with your Internet connection. Or the robotic vacuum cleaner that roams the home while being considerate enough not to chase down the cat.
What’s new in home design even extends to low-tech cement, which is now available in an exterior siding product for homes or can be poured and stained to mimic otherwise-expensive rock patterns in the backyard, driveway or inside the house.
Granted, batteries and circuit boards will never replace old-fashioned sweat equity in the garden or elbow grease in the garage. But surely there must be a manufacturer close to marketing a product capable of simultaneously washing dishes, drying clothes and answering homework questions.
Come to think of it, we already have something like that in our house. We still need to do some work on her logic board, though.
