Bob's Tool Shop

  A few days ago, Seth Godin wrote a fascinating post on all kinds of "tools If it's a tool, not a destination, what's the tool for?

  In grade school, I helped my grandmother mow her small yard in Galesburg, IL. She had a corded electric reel lawn mower, a brilliant piece of kit. Quiet, simple to operate, and cut the grass very neatly. The rest of the lawn work was done by hand, trimming, edging, etc. Now that I am a grandfather, I want a different kind of simplicity and help from my outdoor power tools. For decades I have been using gasoline-powered lawnmowers. I have used corded string trimmers, hedge trimmers, and leaf blowers. A few years ago, I got a Stihl gas blower, and chain saw. I also purchased a battery-powered string trimmer. I have been roto-tilling my garden with a 50-year-old gas tiller that needs a new engine and using a hand-me-down AC-powered cultivator. This system requires keeping two kinds of gasoline, two types of oil, multiple extension cords, and battery chargers. It is too much! Over the last few weeks, I have been burning up my Internet bandwidth by studying outdoor power equipment. I have