Sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet about archaic technology that should be obsolete, but for no good reason (other than inertia) is not. My perennial example is Fax Machines – why is anyone still using such a ridiculous & poor quality method of transmitting pictures when quality scanners/printers and email are available?
The recent snowstorm (Juno: Jan 26-27) got me thinking about snow-blowers. Like leaf-blowers, these are amazingly inefficient machines (especially with strong winds). They can accomplish the intended job faster than manual labor, but with significant wasted energy, contributing unnecessarily to fuel costs, hassle (more refills), pollution and all that entails.
Why don’t we have technology (using the same or less energy) to compress and deposit leaves & snow in blocks? This would reduce the piles on the side and eliminate the problem of wind blowing the top of the pile right back into the “clean” spot. It would also make removal much easier.
Prayer to the Deus ex Machina
snow blower don’t blow
create nice ice blocks instead
stack into neat rows
