Archive for the ‘Home Automation’ Category

How To Hack The LitterMaid Litter Box For Even Less Scooping

Monday, January 5th, 2009

For those of you who own cats, you’re well aware that litter-box maintenance is by far the most difficult, disgusting, and time-consuming dimension of cat ownership. Just how time-consuming? Well, my peculiar editor estimated somewhere around 15 hours per year (see the math below). This is obviously an unacceptable use of our time. So what is one to do? Well, this post explains how I reduced the time it takes to maintain my feline’s litter box from 15 hours to 5 hours per year (again, see my peculiar editor’s calculations below). I think you’ll find that my hard-learned methods will help optimize your time, reduce costs, and make you appreciate your little kitty just a bit more.

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Lawn Mowing Robots: Like The Roomba, But With Grass-Cutting Blades Of Steel Whirling At 5,000+ RPM

Sunday, May 25th, 2008

Next time you see a low-hovering spacecraft over your neighbor’s lawn, don’t panic. It’s not a UFO here to abduct and perform ungodly experiments on you. Rather, it’s a robotic lawn mower manufactured by Earth-based companies here to take the painstaking labor out of cutting and mulching your grass by doing it for you — automatically.

Inspired by the Roomba, robotic lawn mowers function just like their carpet counterparts. They self-charge at a docking station, run during programmable schedules and self-navigate within virtual boundaries set up along the perimeter of your lawn and garden.

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The Next-Generation Roomba Actually Sweeps For You, So You Don’t Have To

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Is your floor dirty, sticky, and downright disgusting? No time to vacuum? Then you’ll be elated to know that the new Roomba 500 series (510, 530, 560, 570, 580) actually sucks more (and supposedly scares pets less) than its predecessors. Its new and improved features offer greater time- and energy-saving benefits. Though the Roomba does require some maintenance, in my estimation, its dramatic improvements make the world’s most popular brand in vacuum robot cleaners a smart-life purchase.

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