The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski

Steve, if people wanted to pay you for your services, where would they go? Good question. Website building 101, here we go. Can’t I just AI this? Workout in, how’s the watch holding up? Good, but the APP is slow. It does have a food tracker, particularly good for Chinese foods, but doesn’t seem to have a function to add custom entries. Apparently has a 21-day battery. The apostille process continu...

Authentication continues, can’t I just get this done here? Paying $300 for a certified photocopy?! Why DID my TikTok video get so many views? Apparently there was some sort of trending song with “Taiwan museum”… no idea. Most of the views were only a second or two long. Re-assessing how often I’ll post, and thinking it might be time to scale back. We got the watch! Discount and all! But we had to...

Some rain! Finally things will cool down. Up and out to the gym I go! The cleaning lady… didn’t really clean. Barbell rows, shoulder press and then 100 pull ups (no push ups or squats). 7km run done in two parts. Update on the Beijing ID card sale: you have to choose whether to get it in store (more expensive) or buy it online. Once you choose, you can’t change it. And not applicable to foreigners...

Ow, I’m sore! Guess the leg workout was good enough. Steve, sounds like you don’t like Warren Buffett, nor Mohnish Pabrai. But what if they offered you a job? Would you take it? What would YOUR value proposition be? (Or what if Codi Sanchez offered you a job, would you take it? What would your offer be? She has a podcast studio!) Key takeaways: -Keep your job (Buffett was employed in several capac...

Workout in! Leg day truncated by a tweak in the back. Did get a run in Hey, Steve, did you buy SpaceX?! NO! Why not?! Stupid buying GOLD! Warren Buffett and the circle of competence… WTF does that even mean?!? I don’t know SpaceX so I shouldn’t buy? But who am I to disagree with a billionaire who got stock investing right? And I don’t mean Mr. Buffett, but Mr. Mohnish Pabrai on the Cody Sanchez Po...

Back to the regular set up, it’s just easier. Rough cuts done! Gotta work on those AI prompts! More people playing and downloading! What does that mean? There are more plays and downloads overall, but I don’t know those exact figures. -320 impressions -84 plays (can only be 30 seconds) -97.5% completion rate… meaning those who tune in finish listening. Trump signs a deal, OIL goes down and GOLD go...

Workouts in! The QR scanner worked! So… how long do you stay in the gym if you know it’s priced PER VISIT? Thinking about a YouTube rebrand… something a little more… generic? Or, generically specific! You’re doing social wrong! Boost those posts that go viral! Send them to your website! TikTok shorts going crazy! New podcast app for Chinese! Thanks teacher! And why did that Video Night in Taipei v...

Is GOLD dead?! Let’s take a look at those options. And a note about option pricing, especially after-market. Workout in! Went to the gym but couldn’t get in! The scanner wouldn’t recognize my QR Code! (I bought a coupon!) Pull ups done! 106, 212, 318! 1hr 1 min 34 sec, no weight vest today. Live stream in! Continuing on with the TikTonks! Sports games a go go! World Cup starts! NHL wrapping up! An...

Hey, is podcast equipment a tax write off? Only if it makes money, Steve. Is this the benefit of working from home? Publishing continues. A difference in numbers, but YouTube is the only one that pays. Video night in Taipei TikTok = 0 YouTube = 79 Instagram = 118 XHS = not published yet How long do you stay in a museum? TikTok = 27194 (and climbing) YouTube = 49 Instagram = not published yet XHS =...

Chinese classes continue! How is your Chinese? Bought a few packages in an effort to bolster my speaking. Thinking… new YouTube series? Speaking to a Billion? One man’s quest to speak with every single Chinese-speaking person? Chinese subtitle workflow getting easier to do, continuing on with the basic FCP caption workflow. FM! Missed DELL! Micron! Markets continue to crash! (I put them on the lis...

The YouTube dream is dying! Down to 5 cents a day! Steve, what would you do if someone gave you $1000? Not sure Substack live will continue. It feels a little weird. Maybe something to do every now and then. Following up from yesterday’s episode: “Money you hold with Wise, in any currency, is not insured by any deposit protection scheme, including the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) an...

Let’s live stream this one! Will it work?! Got some ideas… Feeling sniffly! What a weekend! Is it sickness? Is it the heat? Is it China? Or is it allergies?! Off to the gym this morning, how much did it cost? (33 RMB, up from 14 RMB when I put more money on it.) Run done, 4.5 km a struggle in 35min 34 sec. Still hurtin form Friday’s workout anyway! Markets get slammed! Sell in May and go away, not...

How was the health check? Did you pass? New bank account opened! CAN’T BUY GOLD! Why not? FOREIGNER! Workout in! Not only did I cycle to AND from the health check, I once again tried my modified Murph workout: a couple laps around the compound, 104 pull ups, 208 push ups, 312 squats with a 6kg weight vest, all in 1hr 5min and 8sec. Did NOT want to! Post workout elixir of coffee, cola, water, soda...

A quick thank you to the elderly lady from yesterday… she gave me the content for the episode! Today is that day that which we shall not speak of! Jeffery Wasserstrom on Lex Friedman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7udd0SkbSHI Health check tomorrow, gotta go through the hoops. Workout in! 6.5 km run done in 40.57… I need a new watch. Garmin? Meta glasses?! Also got some kettlebell work done… and...

Slowly getting better, got up before 7.00! Workout in! No gym membership just yet. Live stream done! And the challenge of living in Beijing continues… connection issues. And what is the state of my Chinese? STILL having trouble talking to the elderly lady on the compound! Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA *** Show notes n tracks up on stevensi...

Still knackered! No run done today, but late day kettlebell work. hot and humid, smoggy too! Job application continues and a reminder why I want to build something up online! BA! MA! Transcripts! Name changes, etc.! New method of social media marketing is to create multiple accounts for your different brands. OMG, when does it end?? And Household registration done! Don’t forget! Twenty four hours!...

New month, new city, new country! Yes, I’m back in Beijing. How was the trip back? Taipei > Shanghai > Beijing, 3hr layover in Pudong… I WOULD’VE been bored but I had something to keep me entertained: reconnecting to the outside world! Did I focus overly much on my content creation talk? Maybe, but I think that was because I was getting really tired along the travels. Wasn’t sleeping all the best...

Well, you’ll either love the way I travel… or hate it. One more night in Taipei, I promise! Why?? Went to Taipei 101… wasn’t going to go up the tower but… gotta get the content done. And met an apparently famous Singaporean YouTuber. Live streams done, walking down Taipei, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. And, Steve, given all this hubbub, do you have a philosophy of travel? Donate to the show! PayPal li...

One more night in Taipei! Hostel change, no problem with that. Didn’t sleep well last night… maybe too much coffee and… can you sleep with the taste of garlic in your mouth? May have to get going tomorrow anyway, what’s the cost of staying another night?? BIG MONEY! Workout in! Body weight at the park, and waving to my new friend who has a beer at 8.30 am! To the National Palace Museum I go. How w...

Fingerprints done, that’s a load off! How much did it cost?! Did you enjoy yesterday’s episode? Didn’t get it published till this morning… I was SO TIRED! Am I done with Taipei? Maybe not just yet. But the weather is about to turn. Run done, 7km, tomorrow, go again or take a rest? Looking forward to getting back to my old routine. And more people working online and travelling in their spare time…...

Steve, if you’re not going to do cultural stuff, why are you still in Taiwan? Off to the museum today, how as it? Cheap! Fingerprints, apostille and visa applications, how is it going? How is the hostel? YOUNG! Lots of recent grads taking a few weeks off before finding or starting a job. They talk about going to all the places I’ve been! And an interview with another expat, Russ, from the USA! Hea...

Fukuoka - why did you stay? Thinking about the costs. To Osaka, thinking it would be better to fly out, it just cost me more. To Taipei, why didn’t I come here earlier? How long will I stay? AND HF! The size of a spider in Taiwan! 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://stevensirs...

Recording this one quietly because I’m not sure if this is a cult! 9Hours capsule hotel… complicated set up. Different floors, reception, storage, capsules… all through one elevator per gender. Still in Fukuoka, will I be able to make it out tomorrow, or will I have to leave another way? Busan ferry SOLD OUT! Manila at midnight? Is it safe? Taipei, what do you say? Can we make it tomorrow, eh? And...

Steve! Enough with the content talk, how is Japan?? Have you done anything else?! YES! Staying one more night in Fukuoka, debating whether it’s a good idea to take the boat to Busan, stay a day or so, and then fly to Taipei. I feel like I’d be repeating myself. Of course, I could just always return to Beijing. Went to the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum… lots of China/Taiwan stuff. It’s Museum Week and i...

520! Did you forget? What if you’re in another country? The lady at the front desk speaks Chinese, from Xiamen. Lives and works in Fukuoka now. Hostel is nice, got to make good use of it today cause I slept most of it. Did venture out a little bit, through the Kawabata shopping lane and stopped by a cafe that smelled really good. Carried on and somehow (again) found the red light district, which w...