Friday evening, I gave in to geek temptation (and a sale at Costco) and bought a Roomba. (That’s a robotic vacuum cleaner, for those who’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few years.) I set it up to charge last night, and let it loose in our living room this afternoon.

I don’t know how long it worked (I didn’t think to time it), but it seemed like a long time. We’d just vacuumed in there a few days before, so I didn’t expect it to pick up much. But when I went to empty it, after it was finally satisfied that the floor was clean — the bin was full! Cat fur filled the entire thing, sitting on a carpet of dust that was packed more than a sixteenth of an inch thick! I knew our cheap little upright vacuum cleaner wasn’t the best in the world, but I was still shocked at seeing what the Roomba had picked up.

We turned it loose in the dining room/kitchen area next, but it decided that it needed a rest before it was even halfway through, and returned to it’s charger. Even in that small amount of time, it again filled the bin, though less thoroughly than in the living room.

Ah, the wonders of technology. 🙂