🛩️ Pacific Air Show is here | Raygun the immortal | Corrupt Winamp skin finds | Greenmount trees cut down for mega-development | Elon Musk's unhinged AI image generator and more!

Volume 76: Today's newsletter is 1,425 words, a 6.5-minute read.

Welcome back to Thursday, this time August 15, and finally caught up after the Paris Olympics binge-watching.

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✒️ Fun and final Olympic fact: Following the hotly debated inclusion of ‘Breaking’ at the Paris 2024 Olympics, did you know poetry was an event from 1912 to 1948 where artists competed in activities like painting, sculpture, music, and architecture!

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In today's email:

1. One Big Thing: The Pacific Airshow is back this weekend!

2. Trust Exchange: The Government’s new digital ID announced

3. Six beautiful Gold Coast homes for: Sale for under $1 million

4. Trending: Real Estate Agents ignoring letterbox instructions

5. Around The Web (Snippets): Greenmount resort trees chopped down, Elon Musk’s unhinged AI image generator, extra tram services announced and more!

6. Upcoming Events

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Weekend Weather and Surf

Looking perfect for the Gold Coast Pacific Airshow 2024!

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Live Gold Coast Housing Price Index

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1. One Big Thing: The Pacific Airshow is back this weekend!

What’s Happening

This weekend, Surfers Paradise will witness a spectacle as the Pacific Airshow takes to the skies once again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 16 to 18.

Why It Matters

With last year’s event attracting over 300,000 spectators, this year’s is looking to be as big, if not even bigger, cementing itself as one of the most anticipated and entertaining annual events on the Gold Coast’s calendar.

By the Numbers

• $25 million is the expected economic injection locally from the event

• 300,000 spectators and over 20 aircraft and performance teams

• 1.5 kilometres is the distance along the Surfers Esplanade designated to official areas

• 9:00 AM is when gates will open, with aerial activities start at 10:00 AM.

• 4+ hours of non-stop action will comprise this year’s epic airshow experience

Zoom In

The incredible lineup will feature spectacles that include the:

1. USAF F-22 Raptors x2

2. RAAF F-35A Display

3. Gravity Industries: Jet Suits

4. United States Marine Corps MV-22s

5. Jeff Boerboon: Yak 110

6. RAAF Roulettes

7. United States Air For C-17

And heaps more!

Local Impact

The Pacific Airshow isn’t just entertainment; it’s a rare chance to see heart-pounding world-class aviation displays, highlighting the strategic partnership between Australian and international defence forces and allies.

With the Show Centre in Surfers Paradise and the trams helping people easily get into the event zone, local businesses will benefit from the influx of visitors, boosting the Gold Coast’s economy as a whole.

What To Look For Next

After a wild week of rain, the weekend weather ahead is looking perfect.

So, get some last-minute tickets here, or, sign up here to their newsletter for the schedule, which they keep secret until the last minute!

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Vote now for Earth’s can design and win GABs Festival tickets! [Ad Partner]

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2. Trust Exchange - The Government’s new digital ID announced

By Marianne Zander

What's Happening

Australia’s Trust Exchange (TEx) has been announced in the last few days and is a new digital ID system that lets people verify their identity through myGov, using a secure digital token.

Why It Matters

TEx aims to enhance privacy and security by letting users control which personal details are shared.

It could reduce data breaches and streamline processes for both consumers and businesses.

By the Numbers

• $11M: government investment in TEx as part of Digital ID development has been invested so far

• $500M: amount scammers got away with due to previous flaws in MyGov system

• 2024 in November or December: Is when government plans to roll out the Trust exchange

What To Look For Next

The full article by Marianne Zander, below 👇

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3.

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4. Trending

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5. Around The Web (Snippets)

• All the trees around Greenmount Resort have been: Cut down to make way for another mega-development, with neighbours expressing concerns for the local loss of habitation for Tawny Frogmouth Owls

• It’s the final curtain call for Bluesfest: After 35 years of celebration, 2025 marks the final festival

• Weird secrets found in old corrupted: Winamp skins have recently been uncovered

• Extra tram services have been: Announced to help the massive crowds expected for the Pacific Airshow 2024

• Elon Musk’s unhinged AI image generator, Grok AI, was released on: Tuesday without any guardrails around creating images of political figures (in a year full of elections)

• Ashley Bines reveals another: Unfortunate health setback

• The World’s largest iceberg, which broke off in 1986, is stuck in: A spinning ocean vortex

• A well-known Gold Coast coach was one: A prestigious Business Xcellence award

• 30 August is the last day you have to apply for a grant for: Revive Live, the new program to support original live Australian music

• A 46-year-old woman has been charged with murder following: The death of a 10-year-old girl in Carrara on Tuesday night

• The east coast tour for the Birth of the Endless Summer documentary includes: Stops on the Gold Coast, in Lennox, Byron Bay and more, with tickets here and a trailer you can watch now, below 👇

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In a final wrap of Olympic references, an ode to poetry once being an Olympic event, and, the most famous Aussie of 2024..

The breaker from Hornsby Creek

There was buzz across the city, for the news had quickly spread 
That Raygun, the Aussie's top break performer had hit the stage, 
And joined the Paris competitors – her moves supposed cutting-edge, 
So all the best had gathered for the rage.  

But when Raygun hit the floor, the crowd was left in shock, 
For her steps were more a stumble than a dance; 
She bounced around the stage like a kangaroo on rocks!  

And the crowd, instead of cheering, threw an awkward glance. 
The breakers there had gathered, the finest in the world, 
But Raygun’s moves were far from what they’d planned. 
Her performance stole the headlines, but not in the way she’d hoped— 
For the viewers now saw her fumble, not her stand.

And though she came with promise, with fire in her stride, 
She surely left the stage an echo of regret. 
The world was there to witness you see, and all the breakers sighed, 
As Raygun became immortal, her dance the internet’s viral new bet,

A moment in the spotlight, but not the one she sought— 
A lesson learned on the world stage in Paris, in the harshest dance there is. 
For Breaking needs precision not just participation, and Raygun, sadly, forgot, 
In games for real Olympians, judges had no room for foolishness and fizz.

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6. Upcoming Events

✈️ Pacific Airshow® Gold Coast: August 16 to August 18 from 9 am onwards; an exhilarating experience in the skies and a whole heap of fun on the sand at Surfers Paradise Beach

❄️ Not Cold - Winter: August 16 from 6 pm to 9 pm; a contemporary fine art group exhibition by Superwow Gallery at Mint Art House

🤘🏽 Tina: August 16 from 8 pm onwards; the ultimate tribute to the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll at The Star Gold Coast

⚡ Bon But Not Forgotten: August 16 from 8 pm onwards; an epic Australian tour to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic AC/DC at Wallaby Hotel

🏈 Gold Coast Suns vs Melbourne Demons: August 17 from 11:45 am; Round 23 at People First Stadium

🇧🇷 One Night in Rio: August 17 from 6 pm onwards; Australasian samba competition at Broadbeach Cultural Centre

🥋 South East Queensland Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Circuit: from August 18 onwards; Queensland's premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament at Runaway Bay Indoor Stadium

🛟 Lifesaving World Championships: from August 20 onwards; the biggest competition in life-saving sport worldwide at Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club

🎵 Blues Jam: August 21 from 7 pm onwards; a celebration of blues music at Den Devine, Gold Coast's Home of the Blues

🎼 The Songwriting Prize Gold Coast Semi-Final: August 21 from 7 pm to 11 pm; Australia's largest live music songwriting competition, and the first with a mental health focus at Mo's Desert Clubhouse

🎤 Telenova - Time is a Flower: August 22 from 7 pm onwards; the tour comes alongside the announcement of their debut album ‘Time Is A Flower’ at Mo's Desert Clubhouse

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