Gadget Guru’s magic box

GaGu obviously doesn’t like to date these pieces, knowing full well that his oeuvre will one day act as the Manual for Civilisation by which a future society will rebuild their gadget acumen from the ashes, but damn: this staying at home business is tough. It’s not a great shift for Guru himself, you understand, as your favourite uncle basically never leaves Guru Towers in usual circumstances. But the family, coughing and wheezing outside Guru’s hermetically sealed office room, are struggling to cope. GaGu’s proposed solution was to purchase an Oculus Quest in order to entirely block out the horrors surrounding him.

Alas, Guru’s idea was far from unique. Apparently he is not the only one in need of a distraction, and new Quests (and Nintendo Switches, and all kind of other goodies) sell out within seconds of going on sale. And not all to consumers, if Ebay and Amazon’s third-party listings are to be believed.

This is not an uncommon thing in this day and age. Supply chains are a mess, factories are shut down, and gadget emporia are struggling to operate. GaGu is not angry about short supply, and neither should you be. But it does highlight the fact that the toys we surround ourselves with are probably a little less precious than the stuff we really need. With luck we’ll bounce back and soon be able to squander our liquid funds on as much fun stuff as we like; until then, don’t feed those gouging us for more.

To coin a phrase oft-uttered by Mrs Guru, the yearning will have to suffice.