Time, Gadgets

Finally finding time to post here...speaking of which...

Time is beginning to fly by for us. In two weeks, Isabelle's sister Medgeé will arrive to be with us until February. Two weeks after she arrives, she'll visit Aunt Monique and her clan in Quebec for about two weeks. Then, after she's back with us for about two weeks, we are expecting Chloe to arrive. My dad will join us for Thanksgiving, and my mom, who will be newly retired as of November 1, will join us for Christmas and probably more than that.

And now for some truth about a time saver that also has wasted plenty of time along the way...

Last night, one of our most interesting gadgets, our robot vacuum, cleaned our living and dining room floors. When I first got this guy, a Roomba made by iRobot, I expected them to take over the world. But by now I have learned why they haven't. What's the opposite of a perfect storm? Conditions have to be just right for our Roomba to succeed. Maybe it's a little like flying a blimp. Isabelle can't understand how I can have enough patience to put up with all the little gotchas we've discovered. In order to have a successful vacuuming, we must have charged the Roomba no less than about 36 hours, and no more than about 72 hours. If we're outside this window, then, irrespective of the green light battery indicator, we will find that the battery becomes suddenly depleted. Also, we have to clean the long hairs and debris out of the brushes. Battery operation requires that brushing rather than suction be the primary source of collecting dust and debris. The latest discovery we made was that sometimes the Roomba would suddenly act like the battery wasn't there even when it was. So our final requirement is that we have to remove the battery, hold the power button for 20 seconds to recycle the battery charging mechanism, and place the Roomba upside down and on an incline to insure that the battery gets charged fully.

There are also periodic mechanical cleanings that have been necessary. I found out from iRobot that now that I'm outside the warranty, about all they offer is a discount on my next Roomba. I have had to blow forced air so the cliff sensors don't constantly go off and cause the Roomba to start, jerk backward, stop, start, jerk backward, stop, start, etc. I also had to open up the whole case and clean the leftover beagle hair out of everywhere. The dimensions of the filter and collection compartment seem to have been designed without pet hair on the radar.

However, there is nothing quite like having a robot do our chores for us. We set it to work in a room every couple of days, and it cleans every inch, including under the bed and certain other low riding furniture.