Man And Machine aka Boys And Their Toys

Last year I bought an electric powered lawn blower/vacuum to make leaf pickup a breeze. A bit inconvenient — the electric part, that is — since I had to string several extension cords together and stretch them across the yard. About a month ago something happened when I was vacuuming that caused its motor to being screeching. Nothing was jammed and I had no success in an attempted repair by taking apart the externals of the unit.

With the demise of my electric one, I was now in the market for more manly equipment! It made me feel a bit, well, like Tim on Tool Time. Rah, rah, rah. (sp?) I've been admiring the gas-powered, backpack-style blower that my neighbor owns. I didn't go with the backpack style but did get one with a gas engine. I suppose it's butch enough for now.

I related this story to a friend and she chimed in with a chuckle that her husband had just done the same thing.

Now for the funny part: It takes me 4 times as long to blow the leaves than it would if I just raked them instead. But using the contraption makes the chore fun so the leaves get picked up, I have some fun, and la dee dah all's right with the world (he says with his best Phil Donohue impersonation).

I've also noticed it's only men in all the news stories regarding the lines for the new Sony Playstation. As I think about it, video games seem to be a male-centric phenomena.

What's up with boys and their toys?