What’s most surprising about the metaverse is just how lacking in ambition it is. This is a half-hearted rehash of a 30-year-old idea. Read full article
1 commentAwooga! The metaverse was better 29 years ago
Archive — Shopping
We cracked the Crystal Maze in Manchester
My expectations were already high. But they were surpassed. Let me emphasise this: The Crystal Maze Experience was way better than I expected. Which was already very good. Read full article
CommentThe fall and rise of the Bull Ring —
An incredible set of photographs documenting life around Birmingham’s Bull Ring shopping centre, its decline, demolition, and rebirth.
The last Christmas Eve at Woolworths
There is a stereotype about mildly panicking male shoppers wandering around shops at the last minute on Christmas Eve, not quite knowing what to buy. I learnt that such people were not always male, and some of them were rather old enough to know better than to leave things at the last minute. Read full article
CommentPhoto — 2018-08-27
Epic drive-through beer shop near Spa!
It’s called Drive-In Andrien, and it’s one of the most surreal places I’ve been to. You drive in through a garage door, and you’re basically in the Costco of Belgian beer. Many beers were purchased, and our wallets are not that much lighter…
The dark art of stealing from self-checkouts
The dark art of stealing from self-checkouts
Anyone who pays for more than half of their stuff in self checkout is a total moron.
I have long wondered how much stealing goes on at self-checkouts. It turns out, quite a lot — but presumably not enough to make many retailers think twice about having them. What’s interesting is that many self-checkout thieves are apparently otherwise generally law-abiding.