The burger is gone… because I had another pilates class or whatever it is! Went to PanemorFit. Smaller classes, a touch more difficult, but mainly because of holding the poses for so long. Run in! 7.02km in 43.36. Went fast today. Also managed to get the squats and bench in today too! Returned one of the cell phone sticks I bought, easy as pie! Apply for refund and they send a guy to pick it up! New SLV podcast out! Am thinking… is this what I want to do? What else would I want to do? Throwing o...
Jul 16, 2025•36 min
Monday and back at it! But slow going. Got my Zapier AI Agents working again. Chinese done, thinking… should I do the HSK 5 test this year? Build it up on YouTube? SLV podcast recorded, will edit tomorrow. Didn’t know I could view my iPad screen from QuickTime! Workout in! 6.5 km in 43 min 56 sec. Tried to do the skips, push ups, tuck jumps and pistol squats but only got through three rounds. Knees were hurting! Off to Blue Frog for two for ones… ooof ate one and that was too much! And have anot...
Jul 15, 2025•37 min
SSAB - July 14, 2025 Monday and back at it! But slow going. Got my Zapier AI Agents working again. Chinese done, thinking… should I do the HSK 5 test this year? Build it up on YouTube? SLV podcast recorded, will edit tomorrow. Didn’t know I could view my iPad screen from QuickTime! Workout in! 6.5 km in 43 min 56 sec. Tried to do the skips, push ups, tuck jumps and pistol squats but only got through three rounds. Knees were hurting! Off to Blue Frog for two for ones… ooof ate one and that was to...
Jul 14, 2025•33 min
Hot and humid but getting things done! Early morning Chinese character review. Workouts in, the gym was no cooler! Up early for a run (5.82km in 46.41), midday gym visit for 55 pull ups, push ups and squats + Turkish get ups, farmers carries, dips. Then out for another run (it was cooler outside) to finish up the pull ups by the tree and to run another 1.33 km. Stuff gone! Weights are moved and it gives me a bit more room to maneuver BUT! These stands I got? Add to the clutter. Time to start sho...
Jul 11, 2025•33 min
Feeling stuffy for some reason, not sure if it’s allergies or sickness. Stuff’s a moving! Got rid of one box (Chinese flash cards!) with another bundle of stuff promised to move tomorrow and more next week! Made an APP! Micro APPs a go go! Claude to Replit to PUBLISHED! Looks spiffy. Now, how to make this language-independent? Gearing up for live streams and content creation. DID buy two stands for my iPhone and iPad so I can record easier (it’s actually why I went to the JD mall over the weeken...
Jul 10, 2025•37 min
Live stream failed! Gotta do it earlier! Workouts in! Squats, bench, rows, run (6.5km in 47.26), slam ball. Talking to a guy doing my old job, he’s leaving already! Started up at 6 am, worked till 11.30 or so, is this it? Do I really want to move? Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com And on Notion: https://stevensirski.notion.site/SSAB-The-Audio-Blog-of-Steven-Sirski-00acfe344e164bfab191d3cddf6952b...
Jul 09, 2025•30 min
Pilates again! How will my glutes fare for this one? Humid again, so feeling sluggish. What’s this Airtable thing? Replit, worth it? We’ll see. Chinese characters done! But no livestream. Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com And on Notion: https://stevensirski.notion.site/SSAB-The-Audio-Blog-of-Steven-Sirski-00acfe344e164bfab191d3cddf6952b2?pvs=4 Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com Languag...
Jul 08, 2025•33 min
Busy day but workouts in! SLV podcast recorded and set up to go, thinking… should I turn the transcripts into a membership offer? Going back to the body lab tomorrow! Run done today, slow going! 7km in 51 min or so, then skips, push ups, tuck jumps and pistol squats. Followed by mace and clubs workout. Chinese characters getting done, but how many do I really want to do? A visit to the new JingDong mall… a bit of a disappointment. Not much needed there, but they did have a Page One bookstore tha...
Jul 07, 2025•34 min
How are those glutes? Happy USAmerican Independence Day! Thought about recording, but why did I not? In talks to do some funny English videos, should be interesting to see how this goes. Hot and humid all over, workout in and done but slow going. 6km in 1hr 6min 2sec… very much dehydrated. Chinese character writing and live streaming. Content is king. Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com And on Not...
Jul 04, 2025•34 min
Feeling it today! Glutes are a sore! Getting up and getting busy - productive days all day. How long will this last? New SLV podcast out! Episode 46 all about our trip to Australia… and quick downloads! Learned a new term today: Forward deployed engineer. Basically a software engineer who does sales. That is, they meet with clients and then develop the products or services that the client needs. No middle man. How does this apply to ESL?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL5QnLrOjqk Foreigner a l...
Jul 04, 2025•30 min
I’m feeling it! TWO workouts in today, one at the Body Lab (kinda like the Sanlitun Rich Women’s club), another on my own. Out for dinner, then came back and was like: let’s see if I can get my run in. Second workout in at night, slow but done. 4km in 39.37, then 20 minutes of slam ball work at night. Tuna sandwich with… mustard, mayonnaise, wasabi aaaaand VEGEMITE! A bit too salty. Good thing is… The TimTams are the perfect melty! SLV podcast has been recorded, will have that up tomorrow. Lives...
Jul 02, 2025•32 min
Happy Canada Day! July 1, 1867 and now 158 years old! Chinese taxes done and done, how will this change if I have my own company? Back to live streaming… on ALL platforms. Will AI be able to do movie creation? Yes, but you still need a good story. It will just make it easier and cheaper for more people to do it. Idea for my own animation… but going old school. AI movie article: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-film-google-veo-runway-3918ae28?mod=article_inline Beijing is hot and humid, so sweaty s...
Jul 01, 2025•33 min
Back in Beijing and Chinese taxes done. How was Sydney? How was Melbourne? Wake Up Hostel Sydney. Power banks. Steven, did you say it was the Lord Arch? Or Loch Ard Gorge? FFS! Whole episode! How was the flight? My screen didn’t work. Wifi was slow. Free ten minutes. Movies watched: Moscow Mission Christmas on Cobbler Street Her Story Money Honey Phoney Nanjing overnight. Flight was uneventful. https://wgrrjkxt.maxvisioncloud.com/h5/#/ Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me...
Jun 30, 2025•43 min
Tour of Melbourne! Probably should’ve done that first! will be the tour guide’s LAST one for a while as he’s off to Chengdu to study Chinese! -Library -Gaol (death of Ned Kelly) -888 movement - 8 hours work, 8 rest, 8 relax -RMIT brain goo -Old houses -Australian influencer pays 30 million for a condo atop a building, brings up his McLaren (forget his name) -Carlton Gardens (right by Melbourne Museum) -Parliament and theatre -Chinatown -graffiti lane(s) -The Block -back lanes -Under the clocks a...
Jun 27, 2025•36 min
Aaaand we’re all but done! Chinese road trip accomplished! -Big tour group, big bus of people, 45-minute stays in each location How was it understanding everything? ViiTor Translation - use this for live translation 30 people * $20 = $600 $60 x 12 hours = $720·hour$720 for the driver Driver was from Shandong, been in Australia for 20 years, makes $60 an hour driving a bus (and we had to tip?). -asked him why Australia doesn’t have a high speed train system yet - says that corruption stops it = s...
Jun 27, 2025•38 min
To the museum we go! Lego exhibit but we never made it. Another section of the museum (different building) was being used for exams. Workout in! At least a token effort. Laundry done. What have we seen so far? Library, Parliament, Flinders Street Station. Gold nugget stolen from library: https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/our-stories/ask-a-librarian/the-unsolved-mystery-of-the-pride-of-australia/ Read the comments here: https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/our-stories/ask-a-librarian/the-unsolved-mystery-of-t...
Jun 25, 2025•38 min
Oi 麻烦啦that wine was no good. Rough. Not getting out of the hostel until midday, but why rush it? Cold and windy today. Victoria Market for the afternoon, walked over to the Parliament building (tours were closed), The Windsor, then back for a nap before out with a former colleague at Le Mitre Why did he leave China? Have done some shopping, spend more than $300 in one store, get $100 back at the airport. Votes seem to be in favour of 12 apostles and Great Ocean Road, not Uluru. Donate to the sho...
Jun 24, 2025•35 min
Off and into Melbourne! It’s colder here! Saw the fam, they’re doing well. Hostels are a popping, some even have families staying. Hit the gym this morning, no morning run. Cold and… oi, we just got in! Maybe tomorrow? What’s my laundry schedule like? Did some pull ups with a modified pull up bar. The gents in their 20s couldn’t lol! Tried a kangaroo burger, Walker’s donuts. Forgot to send out the SLV newsletter this weekend! Life of a working traveller! What if this was my life?! What’s Melbour...
Jun 23, 2025•42 min
Tomorrow’s the solstice! Shortest day of the year and I’ll be in… Melbourne? Run in and done! 8.73km in 59.48. Took some convincing to get out but had to get it done. Laundry day n all. Sydney’s nice, people are big here. Lots of drinking downtown, gf was surprised to see people having beers at lunch time. You wouldn’t see that in China. Tried McDonald’s today. Double Big Mac, triple cheeseburger, large fries and two pies: one apple, one chocolate. Good, but WOW that’s a lot of calories and salt...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr
Martin Place, not MacQuarie Place! That’s what I was trying to think of yesterday. Up early cause… another guy was leaving. And he came in late, too. The life of a hostelite. Went for a run, 5.68km in 41.54, just to the Royal Botanical Gardens and back. Always surprised at how many other people can be out at that time. These people seemed much more fit than the people who were out running at 2pm. Got through the SLV podcast this morning, so Episode 45 is now up and available. Didn’t intend for i...
Jun 19, 2025•39 min
Walk around the city, what did we see? Australian Stock Exchange? ALL DIGITAL! Talk with the only “business man” in the district: was at a sandwich shop across the street and doing some work. He usually works remote but had to come into the city centre for a dentist appointment. Talked a little about what he did (something with sales), sales he would rather work with the Mom and Pop shops than the CIOs and other execs cause they’re not as demanding! Wants to learn AI and probably sees himself ou...
Jun 19, 2025•37 min
Hello Sydney! How was the flight? Mostly uneventful, except for one guy sneezing during the evening which woke me up from my sit up slumber. How’s the city? Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, The Rocks. Expensive, $16 for a pint, $9 for a middy. SIM card bought at the airport, $25 for 60 GBs, bought TWO so I could swap them out. Talking to people and what’s the word? Swiss lady and then Leo the Bartender… who agreed to be recorded for today’s episode! What is the state of the economy here in Au...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 1 min
From Shanghai Pudong! Happy Father’s Day! Guess I forgot to wish this on Friday. Off to Australia! AND TWENTY DOLLARS FOR A VISA?!? WTF did THIS happen? Are we excited yet? Well, will be meeting up with some family and a former colleague! SLV podcast recorded, so doing this one now. Will edit other pcast on the plane, this one right away. Will be trying to post as much as possible, want to try vlogging every day. Why? Cause I never have, despite having harddrives of videos. So here goes. And onc...
Jun 16, 2025•31 min
It’s Friday the 13th! Chinese classes over! First livestream done in a long time. Workouts in: 7.06 km in 47.19, then afternoon run n pull ups x five rounds of 20 pull ups, 40 push ups, 60 squats, plus lunges n all with a 6kg vest. Kinda hot out there today. Off to Australia! Why are we not excited?! One thing at a time, but… time to rebrand? Or just change focus? Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.c...
Jun 13, 2025•34 min
Getting hot and humid! But still nice enough. Hard to walk through the sunny parts of the street. Catching up on some of the backlog (prepping podcast clips for the Language Vlog). Listening to SaaStr and YCombinator podcasts Transcribing Chinese classes, putting that into Google NotebookLM, creating a review podcast. Uses familiar words, repeats them, and gives extra study materials. AI isn’t going to replace your job, it’s going to enable more people to do more things which means companies or ...
Jun 12, 2025•36 min
Visa and permit secured! Gotta to check into the police station. Wonder what they will say. Workout in, a bit slow on the run, but some fun with the slam ball work… had a crew with me. 6.5 km done in 41.31, slam ball for 30 minutes or so. China oil and energy stocks a moving, what does this mean? Company office for 2350 RMB, worth it? Chinese classes continue, not as nervous before class, but I still tend to talk a lot which means they listen and I don’t get practice listening to them. Also, iTa...
Jun 11, 2025•33 min
That’s why I don’t record earlier… I get busy doing other stuff. What if I recorded BEFORE dinner? About that company, costs, and animation, what’s going on? Got a few more automations going today. Still no progress on the digital products, but possibly on the services. New SLV podcast out! Episode 44! How is Chinese class going? Wanted to try out iTalki Plus but… teachers aren’t using the platform! Hey! Now we can trade securities at 4am! Why not? Who needs sleep?! SILVER popping! GOLD dropping...
Jun 10, 2025•34 min
What a day! What a weekend! Back in Shuangjing, out of Changping! Setting up, to move on out! Learning new things (animation), re-learning old things (Chinese). Workout in! May need to split these up! 7.00 kms in 47.47. Four rounds of skips, jumps, push ups and pistol squats. Then mace bells and steel clubs for 45 minutes. And new episode of the language vlog recorded, if this was a typical Monday, is it sustainable?! Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?loca...
Jun 09, 2025•32 min
All over! Grades are in and done! Is this what it feels like? How do you leave campus? Just walk out or? Workout in! 105 pull ups + push ups, + squats + lunges + farmers’ carriers. Then 7.01 km run in 47.04. Was a bit dehydrated after. Hotel for dinner, 138RMB for a BBQ roast! Free flow drinks! Hadn’t really eaten much all day so sure piled up. Evening walk, how nice! Time to pack! No more creaking when sleeping (what was that?) Could I record these in the morning? Donate to the show! PayPal lin...
Jun 07, 2025•34 min
Nearing the end! What was it like for the other teachers? TIRED! One more class to go! (Tomorrow morning.) How ceremonious should it all be? SLV Podcast out! YouTube views jumping… but engagement down. Why? A call to Vietnam? Could it be? How and why? Not sure how much I want to bounce around, but… why not? Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com And on Notion: https://stevensirski.notion.site/SSAB-Th...
Jun 05, 2025•31 min
