The Wiki Man
Cashmere socks and the secret of happiness
I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…
Have the people who design trains and airports noticed that laptops exist?
It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…
Have airport designers noticed that laptops exist?
It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…
Why does Amazon think my friend is a kidnapper?
About four years ago, an irate father in Minneapolis walked into his local Target shop with a complaint. He wanted…
The dark secrets that your clicks reveal
About four years ago, an irate father in Minneapolis walked into his local Target shop with a complaint. He wanted…
S&M&B&Q: Why aren’t there sex-and-shopping novels for men?
I never got beyond page 20 in Fifty Shades of Grey. No one got shot in the first chapter, and…
S&M and B&Q
I never got beyond page 20 in Fifty Shades of Grey. No one got shot in the first chapter, and…
The best navigation idea I’ve seen since the Tube map
I stopped using London buses when some coward put doors on them. Twenty years ago, you could board any bus…
Putting words on the map
I stopped using London buses when some coward put doors on them. Twenty years ago, you could board any bus…
Why everywhere should be more like Essex
Apart from the Wye Valley, where I grew up, there are only two places in Britain I’d consider living: Kent…
Everywhere should be more like Essex
Apart from the Wye Valley, where I grew up, there are only two places in Britain I’d consider living: Kent…
Was the phrasing of the Scottish referendum question designed to create division?
It is a trick which often works on children. Do not tell them to eat vegetables; instead ask whether they…
The psychology of either/or
It is a trick which often works on children. Do not tell them to eat vegetables; instead ask whether they…
Why is nationalism OK when prefixed by the word ‘Scottish’ but not ‘British?’
My second favourite religious joke is an old Jewish joke (which I read in the Harvard Review, so I assume…
The pound sterling doesn’t buy happiness
My second favourite religious joke is an old Jewish joke (which I read in the Harvard Review, so I assume…
Why don’t more non-smokers try e-cigarettes?
I was waiting on an office forecourt recently puffing on an e-cigarette when a security guard came out. ‘You can’t…
The kick of the habit
I was waiting on an office forecourt recently puffing on an e-cigarette when a security guard came out. ‘You can’t…
How oneupmanship wrecks things for everyone
‘There’s a little bit of a fascist in all of us. For some, the tragedy of human want may provoke…
How oneupmanship ruins things for everyone
‘There’s a little bit of a fascist in all of us. For some, the tragedy of human want may provoke…
Four gadgets to take on holiday — and two to leave behind
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
Why we’ll never go back to smoking indoors
What would happen, I wonder, were we to rescind the smoking ban as Nigel Farage wants? My guess is not…
How good laws change our ways
What would happen, I wonder, were we to rescind the smoking ban as Nigel Farage wants? My guess is not…
Adam Smith is the father of more than one sort of economics
Gandhi would test his resolve by sleeping between two naked virgins, an avenue not really open to me, as my…
Adam Smith vs the measurebators
Gandhi would test his resolve by sleeping between two naked virgins, an avenue not really open to me, as my…
