Read my takes on the biggest tech swoop of the decade.

On The Punch: Another billion reasons to hate Mark Zuckerberg

And Cairns.com.au: How is a company with zero revenue worth $1 billion?

Hello beautiful: Mum had fun in the desert!

Check out the photos over at Facebook: http://crerar.me/ExtraordinaryWA

We stayed in Asakusa, bombed like most of Tokyo in 1945, but still with surviving pockets of Edo-era delights. Our ryokan was perfect, with futons on tatami mats, sliding screens, unbelievable service and incredible hot baths (morning and night soaks for me). Here too we marvelled and paid tribute at the Senso-ji Buddhist temple complex, and shopped for goodies on the 300m long Nakamise Street.

We ate a sushi breakfast at Tsukiyi fishmarket, shopped for stationary at Itoya and books at Tsutaya, and sampled the Kabukicho red light district and the world’s best stocked whisky bar.

We even found time for the  Jackson Pollock retrospective at MOMA Tokyo.

Five things I learned
1 Everything works. Everything is clean.
2 There are no bins. Everything is clean.
3 Everyone has a push bike and looks very cool
4 Kirin, Asashi, Sapporo: these are not just beers, they make everything
5  Sushi, sashimi, soba, teppinyaki, yakatori: Japanese cuisine rocks

Check the photos at facebook.com/simoncrerar

Why does Australia rock? Beer, beaches, barbecues and sun have something to do with it: mateship and lifestyle seal the deal!

Why is it so great to be an Aussie? What makes Australia the best country on Earth? The Cairns Post asked our readers to share their reasons at facebook.com/CairnsComAu.

Happy Australia Day!

Australia Day wordcloud by Adelaide Now's Jamie Seidel

I am 10,000 miles from Scotland, and, despite my best efforts, have failed to find a haggis anywhere in Queensland.

So instead I raise a vicarious toast to Rabbie’s immortal memory and wish Scots everywhere a Happy Burns Night: slàinte!

Midnight update: I couldnae find any haggis, but managed an alternative supper featuring smoked salmon on oatcakes, cullen skink soup and rasberries on shortbread, all washed down with whisky and Irn-Bru! Too hot for the kilt, but not fae Scottish soup!

Haggis free Burns Night chez Simon McCrerar

http://crerar.me/CullenSkink

I saw loads of wonderful shorts. My highlight was Brick Novax’s Diary, whereby penniless former international super legend Brick (with only weeks to live), records his amazing tales as an astronaut, movie star, corporate CEO, and famous musician to preserve his legacy as the coolest guy in the history of the universe. If that sounds good, the reality is even better!

Beyond Flickerfest I drank deep from the cultural cup over the opening weekend of the Sydney Festival, enjoying Sir Norman Jay, Gurrumul and Manu Chao at the Festival First Night in the Domain, plus Brook Andrew’s Travelling Colony,  the Barefoot Divas and I Am Eora at Black Capital in Redfern’s Carriageworks. No breather required.

And, being in Sydney on the sunniest summer weekend of the year, I wasn’t going to miss Bronte and Tamarama, the Royal Botanical Gardens and a few languid laps of Andrew Boy Charlton Pool. Plus Picasso at the Art Gallery of NSW, House at the Museum of Sydney and Mapping Antarctica at the Mitchell Library when the splendid sun got too hot.

Mental stimulation of the highest order available this side of The Line for your poor, starved Far North Queensland culture vulture.

If there’s a prettier city in the world than Sydney, I’ve yet to see it.

Australia’s sole king rules a rich, fertile land of 158 sq km bounded by turquoise seas and white sand beaches dotted with palm trees. Honouring the past, embracing the future, he’s a very 21st century king. Read my article and take a tour of the kingdom via Holden Ute: http://crerar.me/TheTradieKing

Amangalla’s perfect blend of incredible history and impeccable service makes it our favourite of all hotels. We are eternally grateful to Olivia and her wonderful staff for the stunning show they put on.

If you visited Ayubowan.asia or read any of our regular countdown emails you’ll already have had some insight into how special Sri Lanka is.

Nestling like a jewel beneath the subcontinent in the dazzlingly aquamarine Indian Ocean, this lush and ancient island boasts a tropical climate, beautiful white sand beaches, wonderful wildlife and an incredible cuisine.

Our wedding ceremony fused Sri Lankan tradition with Western influences and we are eternally grateful to Henri for the brilliant job she did jollying us through and conveying the magic of this special island of Serendip on such a special day for us.

My stag do cricket match was about as ad hoc game of sport as Galle has ever seen, but with the band, scorer, commentator and crowd looking on from the ramparts I certainly enjoyed myself enormously.

Zoe organized a truly wonderful ladies afternoon at Why Beach.  Rachelle managed to get pretty much all of the Mr & Mrs answers right so I won’t hold it against her that she got the year we met wrong: the last nearly four years have been such a whirlwind of London, around-the-world, After the Apple and Far North Queensland adventures it’s been hard to keep up.

In my speech earlier I particularly wanted to remember my dear Grandmother Aline, age 94, who said she feared she would be leaving Sri Lanka in a coffin if she ventured this far form the safety of home: and wouldn’t be tempted even when I said I’d pay for the coffin!

More photos to follow asap…

Anyways, has been fantastic to spend a few days with my most cherished parents and siblings, plus their perfect partners and offspring.

Roll on the next family reunion, and until then, we’ll always have Skye House: check out the snaps!

Pictures over on Facebook