Josh Withers, the group chat

This podcast with Dave Cheng and Jerry Saltx changed me

When I open an airport hotel, my slogan will be “we don’t smell like an airport hotel plus we have those mattresses that come in boxes”

I’m sorry guys, apparently you can’t trust my glowing Star Wars review because, according to Britt, apparently I’m “too sunny about shit things”

Any other parents carefully curate playlists so it looks to your toddler like you wrote all the songs? Just me?

11:51pm, Wednesday night, Hoyts Sunnybank, current status:

Arguing with two strangers, at the cinema urinal, about the plausibility of jumping between spaceships.

Also, Rise of the Skywalker is an A+ Star Wars movie, and I will fight you over this.

Cr8zy if tru

Li Jin has beautifully named the current era of creative work: the passion economy

If you ever see me being arrested by the Police it’s probably because I tucked in the tag on someone’s top and they didn’t appreciate it:

I felt seen but not herd in today’s ceremony

How to prepare for the 29 Days Club content challenge

Considering getting a full body tattoo to save on clothes. Please discuss.

My idea of a luxury car is one that does not beep.

Luna: Can I ask you an equestrian?

I’ve heard a few people say that they run out of ideas on what to post on their business' social media accounts.

I’ve got a long history in daily content creation, I did it on breakfast radio for three hours a day every workday for a decade, and today I do it across all of our businesses.

My strategy is to be multi-discipline in my creation, to aim to reach people in many places in many different ways, whilst aiming to be at least inspiring, educational, entertaining, relevant, and demonstrable, if not all five.

If you’re one of those people looking for a kick up the content butt, commit to a 29 day challenge in February

$29 for 29 days of content creation challenges in the 29 Day Club. Sign up at 29days.substack.com and the first email goes out on February 1.

May your day be Australian, your onions be on top of the sausage, and your empathy for Australia’s First Nation people be full.

Imagine if there were no casinos today, and someone tried to introduce the first casino. They would be protested out of town for building a business on the backs of everyone’s financial insecurities.

The day you vote me in as your Primal Munster I will mandate that all toilets will always be available. Wait, you shalt not.

I’m not at liberty to disclose how I know this information, but the Airpods Pro case is remarkably waterproof and soap-proof for something that is clearly not waterproof.

When elected as your Primal Minister, I will standardise coffee cup sizes. No more fancy names. You’ll either get a small, medium, or large.

Honestly, I’m ok with the music industry just pumping out covers of Higher Love from here on out. Why would anyone try and make more or better songs?

If you choose me as your leader, in the first 100 days of my government, we will eliminate all middle seats on aircraft.

As your Prime Minister I vow to make turbulence illegal. We are helping Qantas and Virgin all of the time on so many other issues, and yet they refuse to fly smoothly. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AUSTRALIA GREAT AGAIN.

This is a really well written and even more importantly, well researched, article on the ‘whole 5G thing’ and whether or not it (or wifi or 3G or 4G or radio) causes cancer

When you, the fine burghers of our town, Australia, elect me as your King, I promise that all coffee cup handles will be big enough for at least one, if not two, fingers to go in.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is staying kind with profound disagreement—and staying kind when a mechanism has been set up to make money and power out of hate.” — Penn Jillette

University of SoCal has a class on friendship. It has the longest waiting list for enrolments. This is the world in 2020

The beach at Broken Head, NSW, is blackened by the soot from the Australian bushfires

It’s all ok guys, everyone settle down. The massive spider I was going to burn down the house to kill, is just a gecho. Nothing to see here, move along.

Here’s a (hopefully) possible and good idea for Apple and the FBI. Instead of Apple building unhealthy encryption-breaking backdoors and the FBI generally complaining about iPhone security, what if iOS often looked for a wifi network that it could always backup to.

Maybe it’s called “Apple Backup” and if a phone has power and it sees that network, it knows the password because Apple has decided the password is something like P@ssw0rd, and when all those stars align the phone backs up to iCloud. Law enforcement agencies can then take the opportunity to take the regular route of making a request through a court to Apple for that data in iCloud.

It seems like a good time to tell you that Britt, Luna, and I are also taking a step back from our royal duties. Don’t @ me bro.

Imagine being the person that created a situation which required people to clarify exactly what kind of farewell they were issuing.

“Bye!”

“Which kind of bye?”

“Oh, sorry, a really good bye!”

Man, John Mulaney’s Sack Lunch Bunch is pure magic.

Great dietary advice

Taumarunui, New Zealand

New Zealand thus afternoon

Welcome to the Twenties, the decade where your Twenties themed wedding will take its inspiration from The Jetsons instead of The Great Gatsby.

Starting 2020 on the Gold Coast

Last sunset of 2019

Last sunset of 2019

Me at the end of 2019.

Me at the end of 2009.

Luna’s about three flights away from starting her travel tips blog.

‪The year is 2200, an elder has gathered children to tell them the story of how many generations ago we would light the sky with fire on the last night of the year, every year, but on one fateful New Year’s Eve we didn’t, and society fell apart and now we all live in caves.‬

A Sydney Morning Herald crime reporter is reporting on one of my family members

Just under three years ago I flew a drone for the first time, and started clicking the shutter button. I had no idea what I was doing, and luckily the original Mavic Pro camera operated at about the same level of tech as an iPhone camera.

I never knew what to do with the photos I made.

I shared them on social media, which was lovely. Some of them even got 10 likes!

I invested in an online gallery, well, a few online galleries, and I sold about three prints.

I submitted photos to stock photo libraries, but nothing really sold there. You can find me on Getty, iStock, Stocksy, all making about zero dollars a year.

So then there’s Unsplash, which feels like a melting pot of loser photographers like me, where the photos I made have earned me zero dollars, I know that over 40 million people have at least seen the photos. About 200,000 people have downloaded and used my photos. This particular one has been viewed over 4 million times in the past 4 days.

Money’s nice, and exposure doesn’t pay the bills, but there’s something about my nothing becoming something, something about being seen, that fills my heart up.

A really intelligent and moderated 15 minute report on the decade ahead in Australia regarding domestic issues, politics, and our position in the global ranks. Must listen.

Please send help, I think our village is being gentrified.

A failing cafe has reopened as a trendy bar with a meaningless name, and this afternoon trendy people wearing colourful bodysuits and fancy earrings are walking out streets.

What should I do?

Journalists are just grown up dibber dobbers. Discuss.

12 months ago we bought a house, today we have a home

Luna’s becoming less and less keen on this Santa bloke

‪Guys, Big Exercise just wants us to keep on doing exercise so we live longer so we can do more exercise. This whole exercise thing is a corporate scam! #BigExercise‬

Finally, a hero has risen, to liberate nerds from the shackles of conventional manliness by making an offering of a ute, but for nerds.

All hail, Master Elon Musk, saviour of the nerds, the Steve Jobs of utes.

#tesla #cybertruck

“If a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” - American Novelist, E.W. Howe

The Mandalorian is like a soap opera for nerds. I have spoken.

I’d like to dedicate this award to the gent sat next to me on this flight, in the middle of three seats, who chose to sleep on the other guy’s shoulder.

Breaking news: Qantas flight attendants to start wearing body cameras.

A local truth teller has scribbled out the T off the Tweed Heads northbound exit sign off the Pacific Motorway.

A few years ago I had that blog and podcast called Unpopular, and what @cabel is talking about is what I was trying to explore.

For context, this tweet is about @1Password taking on $200M investment for growth.

I think about this “often unexplored middle ground” daily.

Here’s a #VeryGC story. In Apple Store, dodgy guy next to me was owed $150, so the debtor gives the guy (I reckon he’s a dealer) an Apple Watch & the alleged drug dealer is in the Apple Store looking for a valuation. He “doesn’t really do Apple stuff so I’ve got no idea”

Finally, a piece of mobile computing hardware that could drag me from the Apple ecosystem.

If only it didn’t run Android.

www.inverse.com/article/6…

Peeps interested in podcasting will really enjoy this state of the union chat between Jordan Michaelides and James Cridland on the Uncommon podcast - overcast.fm

The real life of social mediaing

On the road again // Iceland

Dynjandi, Westfjords, Iceland

Zain, Luke, me, slowly broiled

This hot pool is the only source of water for a local farm, so to get cold water they have to literally cool down the natural hot water!

As emo as they look, Icelandic horses are still pretty cool.

Did you know that Iceland has the most purebred horses on the planet? Google has better info on it than I do.

Loo with a view. Ísafjörður, Iceland.

Buoakirkja Black Church, Búðir, Iceland. Not the boudior church, rookies mistake.

Friday

Watch out fellow youths, I spotted a wild boomer this morning just walking around the shopping centre stealing our homes and futures.

Carry an avocado on you to smash in their face in case they approach you wanting to know what their Apple ID password is.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Friday

Vick’s black sand beach, which is next to the famous Black Sand Beach. Iceland is confusing.

Iceland‘ s Black Sand Beach

Police are now targeting people who taste too many ice-cream flavours before ordering at Baskin Robbins, like, they’re all ice-cream dude, there are literally no bad flavours, gosh.

According to the recipient of a domestic violence at the Coolangatta Court House just now, there is just too much paperwork around DV.

Have you considered not violently offending you partner, DV boy?

Jetlag is real. Welcome to my TED Talk.

Icelandic moss

Found some Icelandic volcanic activity on the drone

Bridge over icey waters

Selfie with Harley

Around þórufoss, Iceland

þórufoss, Iceland

Reykjavik, Iceland

PSA: the next two weeks of Josh-flavoured spam will be Icelandic, Finnish, and Japanese in flavour.

Luna’s first birthday party!

Insert an interesting comment here about how the most popular Christian worship album this weekend won’t be heard in churches because it has Kanye’s name on it.

Dads love bringing backpacks to weddings.

Would you rather fight a Hillsong sized Kanye or a Kanye sized Hillsong?

The first meeting of earth’s most disrespectful people wraps up today at Uluru.

Well-produced, true, meaningful, helpful, locally relevant, news and information publishing/distribution that isn’t rooted in fear or control, is under siege.

Four stories about the news are on my mind today.

The first is about Newsweek, once a stable of American news publishing. Today however, the publication is fighting, not for life, but for clicks, views, and dollars, all whilst whittling away what trust anyone had in its pages. The lede for the story tells it all: “No one working at Newsweek can tell me why it still exists.” Newsweek used to set the agenda, now it writes viral headlines that Google will throw searchers to.

The second is about a radio station where I worked for about two years, Brisbane’s news and talk radio station 4BC. The Courier Mail reports that the automation computer that identfies as a ‘radio station’ is moving to its new owner’s premises, Channel Nine’s Brisbane studios. When I was there the radio station was local from 5am to midnight, with every single hour on-air being dedicated to creating content that informed and helped the Brisbane community. Now it’s just a Sydney radio station that plays Brisbane ads in between. There was a team of producers scouring the region for great stories to tell, and a newsroom dedicated to describing the current state of Brisbane. The radio station once had a massive staff, and now 4BC is literally a computer with a soundcard.

The third is from Stratechery’s Ben Thompson in his article The Internet and the Third Estate: “The first three estates are commonly thought to be the three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial. It is the press that holds all three accountable, and in Zuckerberg’s telling, the Fifth Estate that gives everyone else a voice.” Ben goes on in great detail about how the first, second, and third estates, across America and Europe have not only evolved over time, but been the cause for great changes in power. Mark Zuckerberg is really pushing for Facebook to lead the fifth estate revolution that can only end terribly, because social media doesn’t make you an asshole, you already were one and social media can shine a light on it.

The fourth story is simply how Australian newspapers this week redacted their front pages in protest to the limitations our federal government has been imposing on the press.

Many of us are indulging in retrospection as we mourn the news as we knew it, but the fourth estate, and the fifth, as we once knew it wasn’t the healthiest lion in the pride. 4BC was launched so that John Chandler, of Chandlers fame, could sell more radios. Many Australian newspapers find their roots in manipulative power and control, instead of the noble cause of telling the news as it is. Facebook started as Mark Zuckerberg’s answer to finding out whether girls really were hot, or not.

Meanwhile there is a community trying to wring something good out of the bloody cloth that we have known as the news. Organisations like The Guardian, New Matilda, and Crikey, are working on new and different business models for the news while Australia’s publicly provided media, the ABC and SBS, are being defunded quicker than our Prime Minister can ask ‘how good is the media?!’

In an industry plauged by so much corruption, failing business models, and excessive noise, the future of the news looks bleak and on fire.

But I wonder if what we need is for the entire house to burn down so we can actually rebuild on the remaining foundations?

Billy’s dealing with the real issues.

A home day (Tugun, Australia)

Australian newspapers today … #righttoknow

When I’m rich I’m going to email airplane manufacturers asking for quotes on new planes whilst letting them know I’m on a budget.

Friday night road trip

The hardest thing as an adult is to push a shopping trolley through the supermarket without lifting yourself up onto it after a good push screaming ‘weeeee!’

When Britt leaves Luna alone with me for a week…

Pixar is simulating real camera lenses and mimicking techniques like split focus diopters in its movies and it’s amazing. The real fake cameras of Toy Story 4

This is the garage where Apple Inc started. It felt surreal to stand here today, a place of so much myth. An origin story like many, that actually resulted in the world’s biggest company today.

My favourite part is how the iPhone wasn’t even a thought at this stage.

The first rule of wifi club is that you don’t upload or download on wifi club

I put effort into my AirBnb reviews

Bad news about Donald Trump, he’s high in calories

The best thing about sharing a Lyft ride is the look the riders give each other when they enter the car, all knowing that none of us are as cheap as all of us.

Le Labo

Broads

Echoing the thoughts of every other basic b* that has bought a Series 5 Apple Watch: always on is a game changer. Even after a few hours you appreciate the watch more. Also, because I bought it in the USA, I’ve got an ECG!

🦆 for dinner

Many have messaged us about travelling with a baby, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts about bringing Lu to New York.

So firstly, we’re not travelling with a baby, we’re travelling with Luna, she’s almost a fully formed influencer with diet shakes and essential oils ready to sell you. Seriously though, Luna’s just one of us, eating the food we eat, going to the places we go.

Secondly, prams in New York are a bit tough if you want to take the subway. We’re rocking a Babyzen YoYo which I recommend highly, but you’ve got to carry it up and down the stairs. The rare subway station has an elevator, but most don’t. Lord knows how people in wheelchairs get around.

Thirdly, the drug stores and supermarkets here have some pretty good baby food. At home we make her food, but out here she’ll eat off our plate but mainly she’ll demolish/suck the organic goodness out of the plastic sleeves Whole Foods sells.

Finally, I appreciate the slightly slower pace a baby brings. Too many people want to see New York in a day. It just doesn’t work like that, and having to stop for nappy changes, sidewalk bottles, or not leaving the Airbnb until after her first nap is a reminder to take it slow and to smell the roses (or the stench on the sidewalk).

Georgia & Tim + me marrying them + Luke Fletcher shooting them @ the Wythe Hotel, Williamsburg

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🏨

🍺

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Not many stores in New York have a line simply to enter and peruse

The bus

Casa Magazines with my two

The proprietor of Fashionable Male

🐦👤

Luna, in the hood

Me, at work, in the greatest city in the world

🍦

🌙

🤮 Street Photography

⚰️

NYC streets

1WTC

Google Maps AR is super helpful in NYC

🥰 // Britt

🌙 Luna // In New York before her 1st birthday

Call mum

Content creation

🐘

Slide to the left, slide to the ride

Subway: wedding transport

I miss Mr Robot

Please donate to this guy’s GoFundMe

“Hi, can I please speak to the It’Sugar CEO about correct grammar?”

Went to camera heaven & a Jewish guy sold me a lense

If you want a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge, ask Ash

NYC subway crew

“We have fallen into the culture of adjectives and adverbs, and we have forgotten the strength of nouns … beauty manifests itself from the noun itself, without strawberries on the cake" — Pope Francis

Who ever thought we’d be quoting the Pope on adjectives. But here we are, and I like it.

Does anyone have a mum or a grandma (even in a nursing home) in Leura, Katoomba, or Wentworth Falls? I’ve got an extra (unused) an amazing bridal bouquet that needs a home tonight.

Please, please, please, subscribe to my Youtube channel so I can get past 100 subscribers and get a youtube URL. xoxo www.youtube.com/channel/U…

That face when you’re pooing on your father

Do it yurtself

I’m sick of being judged by dogs in cars for not driving with my head out the window and tongue out of my mouth.

Police are now targeting people who call the phone or computer wallpaper, a screensaver.

To celebrate our almost 200th member at the Celebrant Institute I’ve redesigned our home page … I highly recommend hiring a web designer …

We live a few hundred meters from Gold Coast Airport T1 & T2 so I’m a little worried about finding this spray painted on our kerb this morning.

“He had some rote knowledge of cockpit procedures as handed down from the big manufacturers, but he was weak in an essential quality known as airmanship.”

This piece in the NYT is not dissimilar in narrative to stories I’ve heard from two Qantas pilots.

This story 😟 One man’s 33-year fight for his daughter takes him to second royal commission

For Yoey, that move would be the start of a three-decade journey.

In May 2018 I theorised that Apple’s ultra personal computing platform would diverge into a Wrist-first CPU and an Apple Camera. As I read @gruber’s iCamera piece I wondered whether my theory might not be far off.

They said I could be anything

The makers of Mini Metro have made a new game for Apple Arcade called Mini Motorways. Shut up and take my money, Apple.

One day, when I grow up, I’m going to open a cafe where the tables do not wobble. I’ll call it ‘The Good Cafe’ because that’s obviously what it is.

A sunrise tour of Currumbin Beach’s Swell Sculpture Festival

Whatchathinkbout?

The latest in private cloud storage technology // Swell Sculpture Festival

The city that rocks together stays together 🤘🏻 #brisbane #theamityaffliction

The new ABC Head of Editorial is being shown around the ABC Gold Coast Studios.

What a time to be alive. You can watch a live stream of Ikea furniture making it’s way from Sweden to Australia. It takes two weeks, today is day two. Captivating.

www.youtube.com/watch

The number one thing I’m asked for help on is writing wedding vows, so here’s a rebel’s guide

Wednesday sunset at the Gold Coast fires

‪On August 10 someone in Brazil made a $1.62 AUD payment through my manual payment page on my website. It allows people to pay their invoices in ful or part by entering their details and how much they want to pay, and Stripe processes the payment.‬

‪It seemed weird at the time.‬

This week the assumed scammer has disputed the transaction.

At the time of the transaction I notified Stripe that I believed it was a scam of some sort, and now that they want to charge me a $25 dispute fee I’m reminding them of that conversation, but …

What do you think the scam is? I’m always fascinated by internet scams and how they actually make money. How is paying me $1.62 then disputing it actually making the scammer money?

Mount Warning // Monday afternoon // sunset// bushfires nearby

Monday morning on Australia’s Gold Coast as the bushfires continue to destroy our hinterland

Chasing

I guested on the Wedding Photo Hangover podcast with Steven & Dustin, I think you’ll like it: Adventurous Elopements and Drone Photos

My series three Apple Watch decided to become vulnerable and reveal itself to me today

Sunrise at the Glass House Mountains

Neighbourhood Watch, reporting for duty

Live from Mackay, it’s Thursday night!

Sunset from Lamberts Beach, Mackay, Queensland

Burleigh Heads

“Mature people choose joy, immature people chase joy” - Dan Gorry

So glad to be a dad on Father’s Day 😊

‪I think I’m now involved in a game of internet Chinese whispers? Pass it on?‬

Good morning, Gold Coast

Good Coast Show Day #goldcoast #goldcoastshow

I saw recently that Ricky Gervais recently let go of the band names he’d been holding on to and I felt inspired to do the same.

Here’s my wedding business names I’ve realised I’ll never start. Feel free to use them.

Isle Marry You – for celebrants who do weddings on islands.

Aeiou – a stock standard vow service.

I Donut – a rebrand for the celebrant trying work less so they can spend more time with their family and donuts.

I Due – a celebrant who specialises in weddings for pregnant women.

Something Burrowed – for the Cooper Pedy celebrant.

Canaloupe – a celebrant who can offer elopements and also likes fruit puns.

Meowied By Name – if you’re a cat lady and a celebrant.

Maui’d By Name - for celebrants on the island of Maui.

In Tents Ceremonies – a celebrant service that offers really intense ceremonies but is packaged with a tipi.

For Butter Or Worse – for a celebrant who is out of the ordindairy.

Pitcher Perfect Weddings – one if you’re a wedding photographer who also brews beer and serves it in your photo shoot.

The Rodecaster 2.0 upgrade is really good … I wish I had more time to use my unit, I’m just abrely at home at the moment.

Green mountain blue II 1978 - more details

Home time

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🏔

🏔 Kosciusko

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Today’s office

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Can you see your first phone in this collection at the Telstra Heritage Exhibition?

Can you see your first phone in this collection at the Telstra Heritage Exhibition?

T

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror,
The wide brown land for me! — Dorothea Mackellar

Surprise, I’m an #avgeek