SSAB – March 1, 2024
It begins! Busy weekend!
4x4x48 all weekend, started at 7.30am cause I had to work at 8.20. The schedule:
The food: muesli, oats, milks, dried sweet potatoes, fruit juice, Biscotti crunchy spread, tuna and pasta and others
Yes, I’m using compression garments and so far so good.
Re-read part in Living with a SEAL by Jesse Itzler, apparently they only got through three segments because Jesse strained his groin. Ended up doing 700 push ups instead.
Goggins posted about the challenge in 2020 saying that the worst thing about the challenge is that it gets annoying. Yes! It does!
March Motion underway! YouTube and Instagram to follow. A video a day made in Apple Motion.
I thought I created enough tracks for STVSKRSKI but apparently not! Will get to those tomorrow most likely.
Tomorrow will be easier as I won’t be at work all day.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one and good luck with your challenges!
SSAB – March 4, 2024
4x4x48 done and done! 56 miles ~90.12kms all told. Why the difference? How did it go?
What did I end up eating, sleeping, stretching, running? Any walking?
Some articles on completing an ultra:
Preparing for running an ultramarathon and how it’s different from running a marathon:
https://runnersconnect.net/ultra-marathon-guide-learn-maximize-performance/
On recovery:
https://runnersconnect.net/ultra-recover-quickly/
On how thinking about other things can take away from your ability to do anything physical:
https://runnersconnect.net/running-tired-work-stress/
What’s recovery like and what’s next?
How are those other projects doing?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 5, 2024
Feeling better, but not healed! Up at 5m cause of the hip, or is that a groin pull?!
March Motion in the works, what’s the reason for this again? To learn how to create composite graphics. It’s okay if it takes time, but it still needs to be done.
Newsletter in the works! Should have that out tonight, all about Ditan Park Temple Fair. Will get the Goggins challenge written up and done soon.
Thinking… transcripts + ChatGPT = newsletter? This might be how I have to approach this production schedule. Simply put, I’ve moved more towards a spoken format (hello podcasting) than written (ie, blogging).
STVSKRSKI with new tracks up on Youtube1
Have yet to look at Episode 44, but will do that soon. This one should be easier than others since we used Riverside.fm to record.
Russian class done, learning my declensions! Teacher is from Kyrgyzstan!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 6, 2024
Workouts in! How’s the hip? 6.46km in 51.08, a 7.45 avg pace. Slam ball work done too.
Newsletter out! Ditan Park temple fair, and will make this into a video.
Work a slowing, time to get some other things done.
This time … 1, 3, 25 years ago today!
Bilboard Top 40
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!☝️
SSAB – March 7, 2024
Internet issues… it’s times like these… we have to remind ourselves that this can happen anywhere.
Posting to the Language Vlog… working on another vid for that channel.
STVSKRSKI, March Motion and looking ahead to… trying After Effects again? What about DaVinci Resolve?
Gold a moving, how are them stonks?
Warmer temperatures on the horizon!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 8, 2024
Friday end of week! Still work tomorrow!
Happy International Women’s Day!
How did Goggins do it: record audiobooks, author books, work out, ultras, etc.? And when does he do laundry?
AI tech a go go: Canva, DALL-E, and others all jumping in and I’d say it is getting a little bit better. Again, this isn’t ground-breaking art here, but neither were meme-quotes, gifs, or even posters, yet they all had significant impact.
Workouts in! 6.44 km at lunch, but not too many pull ups, maybe 3 or 4 plus push ups and squats per round. Did get some kbells done after work. Is this age or is this just a lack of motivation? What would change this?
Internet still wonky, didn’t get yesterday’s episode up till midday.
And a bit of a change up in my Chinese studies, I actually PAID for Du Chinese so I could read while I walked in the morning. So what about the characters?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a great weekend!
SSAB – March 11, 2024
Finally! Time stamps done and done for the podcast! Only took three years! Head on over to Youtube and you can see the chapter breaks. Next, I’ll get them done on Spotify.
Episode 44… where are you?!?!?! In the works!
Successfully did NOT workout after work today, why? We’ll see if this new schedule works:
-MWF: lunchtime run + short intense workout
-TTh: lunchtime weights
-F: heavy workout to end the week?
-Sat/Sun: light runs with light weights?
Did get the lunchtime run in: 7km in 47.35, 6.45 avg pace. Eech! Seemed quick!
Watching these videos of YouTubers quitting. Lots mention they were stressed and didn’t like the fact that their dream job became work, like a trap. Reminds me of why I didn’t like editing travel videos so many years ago. Now, I have far fewer millions to cry into then they do, but the sentiment seems to be the same: is the stress and money worth it? Still looks like YouTubing is a fun job.
All that being said… looking into other products. Not services. Products. This is something I’ve been thinking of for a while and am starting to think if / how I can get this to work. Will keep you posted.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good start of week!
SSAB – March 12, 2024
Lunch time workout done! Full on like they used to be! Wondering, what if I DID add a morning jog to the mix? Could I ALSO study Chinese at the same time?
How is Chinese going? No classes scheduled, but I am using Du Chinese for reading every morning, so far so good.
How is Russian going? Another class today. This is an easier language to pick up given its proximity to other European languages.
Further thoughts on social media and getting it up and running.
Created another study sounds video for the language vlog. This is a larger project I’m working on that I’m surprised is taking so long to build up despite knowing what needs to be done. Further, will this here podcast succumb to burnout and abandonment? The thoughts of an old man…
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 13, 2024
Hey did I tell you about the apartment debacle?! Shut down, scolded, removed and then refurbished!
Spring is here with grass and all!
Newsletter in the works! Thinking… no pictures in the email, will post those onto the website.
Another Russian class done! All the fun talking about life in China. Learning more conjugations and parts of speech, so doing better.
Could you live without parts of the internet? Keep in mind, what would you do with your time? Do you think social media can be used as a tool to build, or is it only to distract? Keep in mind how much you look at any one day.
Made a new video for the language vlog, will get to that soon! Lots to do! Get up earlier!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 14, 2024
Podcasting tip: brush your teeth beforehand, and use mouth wash before an interview. You’ll feel better.
Smog in, spring warmth in! Winter jackets out!
Another Russian class done! Sounding better, but still rough on the declensions.
Spent some time making memes for TikTok, do you have to be on every platform? I wanted to learn how to do these things, to see if they’d even be fun to do. Some are, but I still can’t say I like editing video too much.
Thinking I might place the extended travel-commentary videos on the language vlog channel.
Workout at lunch! Kbell swings, lifts and steel clubs. Considering what I might get done tomorrow.
RANCH CHIPS ARE AMAZING.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
SSAB – March 15, 2024
Beware the Ides of March!
Newsletter prepped for the weekend, text only, will send these out when they’re ready.
Working on a music track for SLV
Is YouTube the new TV publication schedule?
Russian class done – working on ovat’ verbs = usually borrowed words from another language.
No workout after work but did do a 4.97 km ruck type slow run indoors in 47.17 min. A bit smoggy so didn’t want to go outside. Thinking, could 100 pull ups be done on a daily basis? 25, 25, 25, 25, right?
Looking for a hydration vest for summer months, or should I get a belt?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – March 18, 2024
Beginning of the week! Does it ever end?! Where will you be in another year??
How are those pull ups doing? 101 on Saturday, 55 or so on Sunday, at 75 right now I think.
Lunchtime run: 6.47km in 35.18.
Tubestation pizza tastes like what I remember Domino’s to be like.
Looking for other Chinese teachers, more speaking and writing practice! Will let you know how it goes!
Went to the National Art Gallery! First time ever! BIG exhibit curated from art galleries around the country. Free, it took us about two hours to get through. Didn’t entirely smell like paint, but it was bustling as it was a Sunday afternoon.
While there, met a family who wanted exposure to the English language. The daughter, nine years old, was supposed to practice speaking, though I think my Chinese was better than their English… even though they didn’t understand what I said. The daughter corrected my tones! 葡萄 grapes!
Show notes and tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good start of week!
SSAB – March 19, 2024
100 pull ups done! Lunch time workout done!
Episode 44… some disappointing news… it won’t happen. Riverside.fm didn’t record the whole thing so, out of the three-hour conversation, I only have 35 minutes! Very disappointing!
Lined up a bunch of Apple Motion tutorials and ideas and I’m thinking I might just sit down and bang through these all at once. That way I can check off doing the project, learning some things, and still getting it all done in the month of March. What’s up for April? Thinking animation or After Effects again.
Tuesdays is for YouTube Shorts? Wednesday for long form? Still figuring out a good work schedule to follow for my language vlog.
Russian class done, working on perfective and imperfective forms of verbs. Good to have this low-level and slow practice because it is what I need.
So, this book, “The Mountain is You” by Brianna Wiest, what is it? All about self-sabotage in all its minuscule forms. Interesting read in that it talks not only about the big ones “I don’t deserve this,” “I can’t do this because…”, to the smaller “this doesn’t feel right” and, simply, re-thinking some of your long-held beliefs.
And again, thinking ahead a year, what will change? What would you want to change?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 20, 2024
Russian class done! Talking about doing pull ups, work outs and… push ups to a song?
Which song? Bring Sally Up which is based on Moby’s 1996 song “Flower”. Why am I only hearing about this now? Cause I found a David Goggins clips of him doing the challenge… and struggling. Apparently the song has roots in a song sung by slaves:
Green Sally up, Green Sally down, last one squat gotta tear the ground,
Old miss Lucy’s dead and gone, left me here to weep alone,
If you hate it fold your arms, if you love it clap your hands
Riverside.fm has reached out to see if they can help with the failed podcast. I’m not holding my breath as it looks like the video was just not recorded properly.
Bro, do you even know how to automate? Looking into 3rd party automation software as I’m tired of trying to figure out how to code it. Looking at Zapier but then realizing… shouldn’t there be a way to connect all the Google APPs? I just want a spreadsheet of all the videos I upload. Then do other things.
Chinese classes start again tomorrow but with some different teachers. We’ll see how this goes.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
SSAB – March 21, 2024
Is it the Spring solstice?
Spent the evening trying to automate! Again! Steve when will you give up?!?! Got some things done and couldn’t do other things.
Tried out Zapier and connected a bunch of APPs to it, Google Sheets, Descript, YouTube, etc. Managed to get YouTube titles etc pulled into a spreadsheet that updates automatically so now I have a record of all of the videos I uploaded to my language vlog.
HOWEVER, how much more automation could I do? Can I automate transcription? Emails? And how much of this would break if I changed something?
And yes, Google does enable you to script all of this without using a third party such as Zaper. But when do you want this done by?
Pull ups NOT done! 72 total as of this recording and owww does the back of my arms and lats hurt!
How did Bring Sally up go? ONLY one minute!
Russian class done after work, followed by a Chinese class at 9.30. Didn’t feel nervous at all before my Chinese class which is probably a first in a very long time. I’m aiming to have this teacher just focus on grammar with me.
Horrible guobaorou 锅包肉 for dinner, should’ve made something at home instead!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 22, 2024
Friday night at the river! 同事们！Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk??
Lunch time run, 6.49 km in 49.18, brought out the 5kg steel clubs and weight vest cause I can’t do pull ups at the moment! Got like 10 done!
Russian class done, has homework changed? Using ChatGPT…
Chinese class done… on the way home! Should’ve been a writing class but no assignment before class.
No alcohol for a month! First time since I was like 12! Why have you stopped drinking?
Jianbing for the close of the night, 好吃！
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – March 25, 2024
New week! Easter week! What do you do?
Visit to the Beijing Capital Museum… the city has been around a loong time, much longer than the 5,000 years most people talk about.
Working on automation, Make.com vs Zapier.com, which seems to be the best fit?
Haven’t heard anything form Riverside.fm regarding the pcast so I’m going to assume that if it hasn’t been altogether lost, then there’s some problem that has damaged it beyond repair. How many redundancies do I need?!
Workout in! Lunchtime run 6.47km in 37.37, 5.42 avg min/km. Followed by some rope work and plyometrics.
And how is Starbucks’ new olive oil latte? Worth the trip?
Show notes and tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 26, 2024![]()
Out for a bike ride, is that smog in the air?! Or just a change in the air pressure?
Got a little Xiaomi photo printer, the idea is to keep track of some of my photos a little more. I question how long the photos will last.
Setting up another pcast episode, looks like April will be busy.
How are those pull ups doing? 10 done today. Push ups? None. It’s okay, this doesn’t have to be done right away but it has to be done.
Nice and chill week before yet another crazy month begins. Feeling a bit knackered, not sure why, change of weather? What will the rest of the year look like?
And now… HARDWELL on Garageband?! Here’s a sample!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – March 27, 2024
How was Hardwell?
What’s that smoke smell? What are they doing in that apartment over there?!
Midweek means it’s a workout day! But had to pull up cause something got strained so now I hurt even more!
Could you own a business? Could you take over a business? The Knowledge is Power Podcast on YouTube had on a few guests that were by no means household names but still had a lot to share.
Brad Jacobs on how to make a few billion dollars (has a recently published book) and April Dunford on marketing and positioning. She offers up a couple books to read:
1. “The lean startup” by Eric Ries
2.”Positioning the battle for your mind” by Jack
Trout and Al Ries
3. Jolt Effect by Matt Dixon
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
xxx
SSAB – March 28, 2024
Holy Thursday, this is the last day for Stations of the Cross. I’ve always liked the Church music from Easter.
What happened to Chinese stonks? Falling again? Gold with the surprise move (is it USD-related?). Canadian oil still chugging along.
Did not know Canva could actually publish websites. Just as I’ve been looking to switch my hosting provider, might be time to scale down and make the move.
Pumpkin soup recipe:
-pumpkin
-kale
-broccoli
-tomatos
-beef (just cuz)
-cream (optional)
-ground pepper
-ground cinnamon
-ground clove
-salt
-water
Boil the pumpkin and mash it all up, cook beef in another pan (I did just to be safe), add all together, let simmer for a few minutes till broccoli et al are soft. Can throw in rice if you want or pasta to tamper the flavour a little.
Hearty!
Shows notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
xxx
SSAB – March 29, 2024
Good Friday! And it’s the weekend! Have you confessed your sins yet?
Spent the day on a video for the language vlog, should be up this weekend. Is this what it would be like to be a content creator? Amazing how technology has changed.
Doing some numbers:
- $600 to make five videos, 15 seconds long
- initial consult
- research
- scripting
- -editing
Workout in! Lunch time run 6.48km in 1 hour 1 min 16 sec. Weighted vest, but was wary on the pull ups. DID manage to do some both weighted and unweighted in the morning.
I can fly nearly anywhere else in the world round trip cheaper than it costs to go to my hometown!
- South Korea: $330
- Sydney: $505
- London: $800
- Brussels: $830
- South Africa: $1175
- New York: $1500
- Buenos Aires: $1690 (2 stops)
- Ghana: $1690
- Winnipeg: $1860 (2 stops)
Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend and Happy Easter!