GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX

The warm winter led GaGu to place himself in front of the barbeque, turning ever-more lobstery under the burning sun. Turns out (or at least this is the story he told Mrs Guru) that the grill was definitely broken. While the price of getting a Lynx Smart Grill express-shipped from the States didn’t quite match up to the immense value of its Wi-Fi connectivity, rotisserie features and app-directed meat-placement advice, Guru did at least get a Big Green Egg. Inside, a Meater beams the meat’s internal goings-on directly to GaGu’s phone.

Guru is a little alarmed at the ability of his youngest child to wiggle his little brain into any tech put in front of him – particularly if that tech is protected by parental controls. More severe sanctions have been made necessary – router-level parental controls, specifically the Disney-fied variety found in the Netgear Orbi mesh system ($499 for two nodes) are doing the trick at keeping him on the straight and narrow for now.

Technology couldn’t fix GaGu’s cat’s recent predilection for what the vet calls ‘middening’ – even the mighty Feliway face-hormone diffusers ($30-ish, or a lot more if you get it from the vet) didn’t stop the agoraphobic tyke from leaving presents throughout Guru Towers. GaGu can, however, heartily recommend both cat litter tray liners, which simplify an otherwise disgusting process, and the microchipdetecting SureFlap cat flap ($169), which (as long as batteries are live) does a strong job at keeping out unwanted intruders.