5 ms·

Even today, with modern information available to us, people still woefully underestimate what it would take to live in a true wilderness.

lazystar 1y ago
I've got a great example of this. I'm renting a house that provides a gas powered lawnmower for tenants to use, and I've elected to just let the grass grow because I have no idea how to use the thing
- rpcope1 1y ago
  Are you joking or something? It's just check the gas and oil, hold down the brake lever on the handle, pull the crank a few times and away you go. Maybe it's old and has a fuel bulb or a choke, or fancy and has a transmission and the lever to engage it, but it's really not complicated at all.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
    I grew up around many different sorts of power tools. By my mid-20s I was comfortable using routers, table saws, sawzalls, jigsaws, jackhammers and more. But nobody in my family had any gas-powered motors for anything at all. I'm 61 now, and a volunteer firefighter. We have lots of gas powered chainsaws, circular saws, ventilation fans, and more. I'm still extremely uncomfortable with starting these engines.
- floren 1y ago
  Now look, there's debates to be had about whether or not lawns are good idea, or how long grass should grow, etc. but there's no excuse for not figuring out how a gas mower works. I could tell you here in a paragraph or you could watch a 30 minute Youtube which will contain in it somewhere the 1 minute of actual instructions you need. It's a pretty damn simple system.
- jf22 1y ago
  The colonists didn't have anything near this level of technology though...
- pizzafeelsright 1y ago
  Lazy, You cannot live this way. I can walk you through anything related to home care.
  - lazystar 1y ago
    just anxious. i live pretty remote; if i get hurt and cant get to a phone, no one will find me until my lease expires. one of the downsides of auto payments i think.
    - pizzafeelsright 1y ago
      use age1s6cz86s99unkfm2sqy045w5w79n8lyyulwu9qy3gkaeydmexwv5qvkh2pp reply with your contact if you want help.
      - lazystar 1y ago
        lol. not sure what age1s6cz86s99unkfm2sqy045w5w79n8lyyulwu9qy3gkaeydmexwv5qvkh2pp means, but if youre in the greater seattle area and want to teach me how to be an adult, shoot me a text. 360-624-3791
    - amanaplanacanal 1y ago
      On the other hand, just letting it grow isn't going to hurt anything.
    - cafard 1y ago
      With a modern mower, it's pretty hard to hurt yourself.
      - mikestew 1y ago
        I wouldn't necessarily assume it's at all modern. I've had Briggs-and-Stratton-powered mowers that had the deck rot from corrosion long before that B&S engine dies. Point being, if the mower was "provided", who knows the vintage? It sure isn't going to be the landlord's top-shelf mower fresh from the dealer.
- yawgmoth 1y ago
  Adjust the height to the highest setting. Put gas in it. If there's a soft rubber thing near the gas, hit it twice to provide some fuel but no more as you risk "flooding" the engine. Hold down any handle at the top of the mower, often the thing will require you to manually hold it down during start and all operations. Look for the starter pull. It's often on the right, on the motor or mower handles. It's a piece of plastic attached to a cable. Give it a yank with a full follow through. It doesn't have to be maximum effort but too gentle won't work either.
- timnetworks 1y ago
  this is maybe the most accidentally insightful post I have seen on HN. Or satire so sharp it cuts in line.
- anon84873628 1y ago
  Note that once the grass has grown past a certain height, you won't be able to use a mower anymore even if you want to. At that point it will require a line trimmer (a.k.a. weed whacker) which is a lot more work. Though personally I'm a fan of "kill your lawn" efforts. You can smother it with cardboard (or burn it, or till it, etc) and replace with native meadow.
  - ddingus 1y ago
    Sure you can! Ask me how I know. (Has cleared overgrowth consisting of both vines and grasses roughly a meter high give or take some) What you do is tip the mower up, holding the handle near the ground and push it right into the mess. Then lower it down, essentially taking a "bite", which will cut many folded over plants. Pull back, then tip and advance repeatedly, cutting more each time. I cleared a quarter acre this way. Took one hard afternoon and a couple tanks of gas.
  - lazystar 1y ago
    hmm ok. its mainly ryegrass, though, so i dont think itd be a problem to cut through. i just think its really pretty, plus the birds/squirrels/chipmunks seem to like it a lot.

lazystar 1y ago

I've got a great example of this. I'm renting a house that provides a gas powered lawnmower for tenants to use, and I've elected to just let the grass grow because I have no idea how to use the thing

rpcope1 1y ago
Are you joking or something? It's just check the gas and oil, hold down the brake lever on the handle, pull the crank a few times and away you go. Maybe it's old and has a fuel bulb or a choke, or fancy and has a transmission and the lever to engage it, but it's really not complicated at all.
- PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
  I grew up around many different sorts of power tools. By my mid-20s I was comfortable using routers, table saws, sawzalls, jigsaws, jackhammers and more. But nobody in my family had any gas-powered motors for anything at all. I'm 61 now, and a volunteer firefighter. We have lots of gas powered chainsaws, circular saws, ventilation fans, and more. I'm still extremely uncomfortable with starting these engines.
floren 1y ago
Now look, there's debates to be had about whether or not lawns are good idea, or how long grass should grow, etc. but there's no excuse for not figuring out how a gas mower works. I could tell you here in a paragraph or you could watch a 30 minute Youtube which will contain in it somewhere the 1 minute of actual instructions you need. It's a pretty damn simple system.
jf22 1y ago
The colonists didn't have anything near this level of technology though...
pizzafeelsright 1y ago
Lazy, You cannot live this way. I can walk you through anything related to home care.
- lazystar 1y ago
  just anxious. i live pretty remote; if i get hurt and cant get to a phone, no one will find me until my lease expires. one of the downsides of auto payments i think.
  - pizzafeelsright 1y ago
    use age1s6cz86s99unkfm2sqy045w5w79n8lyyulwu9qy3gkaeydmexwv5qvkh2pp reply with your contact if you want help.
    - lazystar 1y ago
      lol. not sure what age1s6cz86s99unkfm2sqy045w5w79n8lyyulwu9qy3gkaeydmexwv5qvkh2pp means, but if youre in the greater seattle area and want to teach me how to be an adult, shoot me a text. 360-624-3791
  - amanaplanacanal 1y ago
    On the other hand, just letting it grow isn't going to hurt anything.
  - cafard 1y ago
    With a modern mower, it's pretty hard to hurt yourself.
    - mikestew 1y ago
      I wouldn't necessarily assume it's at all modern. I've had Briggs-and-Stratton-powered mowers that had the deck rot from corrosion long before that B&S engine dies. Point being, if the mower was "provided", who knows the vintage? It sure isn't going to be the landlord's top-shelf mower fresh from the dealer.
yawgmoth 1y ago
Adjust the height to the highest setting. Put gas in it. If there's a soft rubber thing near the gas, hit it twice to provide some fuel but no more as you risk "flooding" the engine. Hold down any handle at the top of the mower, often the thing will require you to manually hold it down during start and all operations. Look for the starter pull. It's often on the right, on the motor or mower handles. It's a piece of plastic attached to a cable. Give it a yank with a full follow through. It doesn't have to be maximum effort but too gentle won't work either.
timnetworks 1y ago
this is maybe the most accidentally insightful post I have seen on HN. Or satire so sharp it cuts in line.
anon84873628 1y ago
Note that once the grass has grown past a certain height, you won't be able to use a mower anymore even if you want to. At that point it will require a line trimmer (a.k.a. weed whacker) which is a lot more work. Though personally I'm a fan of "kill your lawn" efforts. You can smother it with cardboard (or burn it, or till it, etc) and replace with native meadow.
- ddingus 1y ago
  Sure you can! Ask me how I know. (Has cleared overgrowth consisting of both vines and grasses roughly a meter high give or take some) What you do is tip the mower up, holding the handle near the ground and push it right into the mess. Then lower it down, essentially taking a "bite", which will cut many folded over plants. Pull back, then tip and advance repeatedly, cutting more each time. I cleared a quarter acre this way. Took one hard afternoon and a couple tanks of gas.
- lazystar 1y ago
  hmm ok. its mainly ryegrass, though, so i dont think itd be a problem to cut through. i just think its really pretty, plus the birds/squirrels/chipmunks seem to like it a lot.