SSAB – October 2, 2023
Trillion stars: depressing or inspiring?
Steve Bartlett podcast, young CEO, social media company
I gotta up my podcast game: mics, cameras, lights, production, everything
Thinking of rearranging the apt in some ways to make more room, or at least fit more stuff in.
Workout(s) in:
Outside
-6.5km run
-rope work
-high steps, push ups and pistol squat negatives
Inside
-mace bell and club swings
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good start of week!
SSAB – October 3, 2023
Moon cakes made! Late, but we tried.
Moving around files and prepping Episode 41.
Singapore next week, haven’t been in a while!
Expat life, what is it about it?
Last day before the noise starts again, or is that this weekend? Mainland stock market closed for the rest of the week.
Gotta find a new language partner.
心灵手巧：deft and clever
把天聊死了：dead communication
Thanks for listening!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 4, 2023
Preparations for Singapore begin! Chinatown I guess, though all of the hostels look nice.
How about the Raffles? Other hotels include The Strand in Yangoon and The Eastern and Oriental in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. Seen them all, never stayed.
Episode 41 in the works! Shorter episode, trying to convert / align audio today.
Workouts in!
Lunchtime:
5km run
Medicine ball
Push ups
Pistol squat negatives
Evening:
Kbells
Might need to focus more, and eat more.
Gold dropping, very oversold
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 5, 2023
What is the excitement of travel preparation other than trying to finish everything in your fridge before you leave?
Did you know you can buy rights to music royalties? Apparently there are quite a few for sale, though in my glance through it, I didn’t recognize too many names, My Chemical Romance being one exception.
Financials, rights, media, included tracks, etc. Interesting
https://www.wsj.com/finance/you-can-now-invest-in-shrek-music-rights-the-same-place-you-buy-stocks
https://auctions.royaltyexchange.com/
Didn’t know it was that easy.
Then there’s Flippa, a site where you can buy and sell businesses online. A look through says most would be a pass, but I’m sure you could start learning about the process.
Episode 41 in the works with a rough draft bounced. Hopefully I can get this done before departure!
Looking forward to Singapore, did you know there’s a Hershey’s Land there? I remember visiting it when I was there years ago.
Hip feeling good, stretching with an assisted pigeon whatever, so this is progress after all of these years.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 6, 2023
Connection issues…
End of the work week for sure this time as I’m off for yet another week! Don’t get jealous, this isn’t a paid vacation! Other people have to work. The Beijinger had an article explaining why China shifts its work days and it basically comes down to
Workouts in!
-6.5km run at lunch, weighted = seemed keep the heart rate lower than if I ran without a vest
-Back up to the apartment for ONLY 10 weighted pull ups / push ups / squats as I had to get going.
-After work kbell lifts
-Overall, the shorter lunchtime workout did mean I had more energy for the evening workout. Will look at different workouts I could fit in everyday as things will get busy once again.
Episode 41 is done and dusted! Curt Hamilton returns to Beijing and stops by the studio to talk about his new expat life in Ethiopia. He’s been gone for eight months and has had quite the experience in Addis Ababa, from having cell phones stolen to making sure he gets a receipt to trying the different foods available around town. Listen in to find out what life is like in Ethiopia!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – October 9, 2023
From Singapore!
Recording outside near the rain!
How has it been?
I don’t remember many specifically of being here before, but the generalities I recall. This thunderstorm brings back memories.
Midnight flight, how was it?
Very humid on Sunday, basically went through all of my clothes so had to do laundry.
Had a meeting today so was indoors all day, and now it’s raining. I’m outside cause there’s no one nearby.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 10, 2023
Knackered!
Little India for the day. Tekka Center, Mustafa Center, lots of food, great to be eating Indian food again, bought some spices and curries to take back. Also, ghee and coconut milk-spread? Apparently a Singaporean thing.
Indians are buying gold aplenty. Deepavali is starting.
Did a run yesterday, will try again tomorrow. Lots of gyms around too.
Bike sharing is present, but not as flexible as Beijing.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 11, 2023
13.68km run in morning, though only ran 10 of it. (Took 2 hrs 17 min 52 sec.)
Coconuts are cool
Botanical Gardens all day.
Seed dispersal: zoochory, hydrochory, autochory, anemochory
How did flowers know/ evolve to attract birds?
Those are the ones that evolved and survived.
Song Fa for dinner, famous Singaporean bone soup place, obvs more than just bone soup.
Starbucks for dessert, chocolate chunk cookie and a scone with butter and jam.
Talked to one lady who does research on volcanoes for the university. Partner is an engineer but currently not in S’pore. Rent is high, wages haven’t kept pace. Weather is always hot but she’s been here for eight years.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 12, 2023
Egg tarts, century eggs and no bringing in outside food!
Put your trays away!
Museum visit to the Museum of Asian Civilizations: two tours
Why was Prophet Mohammed the last?
Such commitment: cut his arm off because the guy was jealous, and so the calligrapher tried the brush to his arm stump and kept going!
Supplements: plasmalogen = brain food.
Quantitative and Comparative Investigation of Plasmalogen
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827193/#:~:text=Livestock%20and%20poultry%20showed%20abundant,%E2%80%93384.76%20nmol%2Fg)
“Livestock and poultry showed abundant total plasmalogen (530.83–944.94 nmol/g), higher than fish (46.08–399.75 nmol/g) and mollusk (10.00–384.76 nmol/g). While fish and mollusk samples expressed healthier fatty acyl composition, with higher eicosapentaenoyl and more beneficial n-6/n-3 ratio than the land animal meats, especially for squid and octopus, with eicosapentaenoyl of 98.4% and 94.5%, respectively.”
Not sure if you’re parents ever told you that chicken and fish were brain foods… well, cause they’re full of these supplements.
https://v360.nhb.gov.sg/acm/
Chinese people and the VOA to Malaysia.
Are silver coins worth it?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 13, 2023
Friday the 13th! Doesn’t matter when you travel
Little Caesar’s for lunch! Five Guys for dinner! Aieeee! Over 18,000 steps. Will try to do a run tomorrow, want to do a video of Chinatown in the morning.
National Gallery walk through, not into. Can always go back on Sunday.
Fort Canning: the Japanese took over the island. Released in 1945, then anti-colonial sentiment festered
Students rebel – Singapore independence 1966. What is it about students and rebellions? Did any one of them become the next leader?
Out to Orchard Road… shopping district. How much stuff do you need to buy in a globalized and internet-connected world? Maybe would be better if the Chinese yuan wasn’t being devalued.
Not everybody is on their cell phone all the time. Old Chinese couple in the hostel? All day watching Douyin. And if they are, they still talk with each other.
A lot of active people and midriffs
Molestation and bomb awareness campaigns on the subway. Ads on how to behave.
Tomorrow, Universal & The Zoo
If you’re coming over from China, check Taobao, Meituan and other Chinese travel apps to see if you can find deals. Yes, you’ll need to be able to read Chinese… or at least know how to take screenshots and translate them.
Aaaaannnddd bonus feature! An interview with a Mother and Daughter staying at the hostel in town to find a university, but also on a modelling gig. Mini Sr and Jr agreed to have a little talk about life as a model, what mechanical engineering and programming is really like, and how a Mother can encourage her children to follow their strengths and dreams. Following this episode!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – October 16, 2023
Back in the Jing!
Colder here! And must be tired, 20 minute nap turns into 4 hours!
Midnight flight = busy arrival time!
How was Universal Studios? Waterworld, Donkey from Shrek was just a computer image, rides were fun, only Cyclone had a long wait time. Waited 40 minutes for Sesame Street… just bad planning.
Night safari at the zoo, too! Two parts: tram ride then walk through.
National Museum of Singapore, exploring the history of the city and how it came to be. Is China trying to replicate this in each of its major centres?
THEN the Gf tells me she didn’t like the fact that I went for a run Saturday morning when we were supposed to be going to Universal. Missed three rides as a result!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one and safe travels!
SSAB – October 17, 2023
Last day in Singapore
National Museum of Singapore, exploring the history of the city and how it came to be. Is China trying to replicate this in each of its major centres?
Changi airport: how was it?
Singapore, what did I learn?
Bought a T-shirt… should complement the one I bought ten years ago?
Would we go again?
Talk with a guy who is living at the hostel for the time being. What’s it like to be a digital nomad? And why Singapore?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 18, 2023
I only got three things done: made a new show card for the audio blog, went to the bank to wire money to Canada (three hours!), worked out while listening to a podcast, then made dinner. Plus, the usual walk in the morning with Chinese flash cards.
Workouts in!
6.5 km
Medicine ball + rope work
Slow kettlebells indoors using the 20 kg
What were those supplements I got from Singapore?
- Bacopa extract (for memory) – Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine both have it. Apparently it helps the memory which I thought would be good for learning Chinese (just trying to get an edge). BUT, can decrease fertility and usually isn’t taken for more than 12 weeks.
- Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589635/
- Ashvagandha extract (stress wellness) – apparently calming but I seemed to have gone the opposite way as my anxiety levels skyrocketed today. Didn’t help that I was at the bank trying to do a wire transfer which is always a nerve-wracking experience.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252722/
- Green coffee bean (for weight loss) – According to the package “contain at least a minimum of 55% Chlorogenic Acid which is what causes weight loss. It reduces sugar absorption and increases metabolic (fat burning) rate, causing rapid weight loss.”
- How is this different from fasting for extended periods of time?
- Will the caffeine affect my sleep?
- Will it help reduce body fat or will it have an affect on muscle gains / retention as well?
- Cholorgenic acid – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8705492/
- Results of a study aiming at green coffee extract’s effect on blood glucose and insulin concentrations (nothing detected!) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25592006/
Why did I buy them?
Spotify taking down episodes! Can’t mix music with podcasts! Good thing I have these backed up on my site. But what if that goes down? How do I backup the backup?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 19, 2023
Back to work!
Green Coffee working? Dropped weight!
Stress of multiple, continuous meetings (pic) HBR magazine
Ashvagandha – creeping stress, why not just have a drink?
What if… the Audio Blog YouTube channel contained all the wonderful thinks and thoughts I had during the day or whenever recording? A little bit of show prep? A little tease of the show? It wouldn’t be much more involved than what I’m doing now.
And where’s my money? Oh… Vancoucer… you’re holding it. Fk m lyf
Also wondering if maybe I should group together some of these audio brilliances into an anthology of sorts so people can listen to just the travel portions or just the interviews from the travels.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 20, 2023
Over 650 episodes done! Or somewhere around there.
Down to 80.7! Green coffee might have an effect!
More people coming in, other people leaving, considering things to come over the next few years. How often should you change you job?
Workouts in!
Lunchtime:
1.6 km run (weighted 6 kg vest)
64 pull pus
128 push ups
192 squats (I hate doing this type of math)
another 1.6 km run
THEN:
-inside for another 40 pull ups, 80 push ups, 120 squats
After work: slow kbell lifts
Just how long do you work out for?
How are the supplements working? Do I feel smarter? So far? No.
There’s one more I need to try, the Plasmalogen from Japanese scallops… could it be any other kind?
Show notes and tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – October 23, 2023
Is that smog or just another fragrance in the air? Could that be the reason behind the sickness this weekend?
Workouts in! 6.5 km with a 6.13 pace
Watching The Godfather, and why was it Tessio? And was it Carlo, or his other girlfriend? Tom Hagen eventually gets drowned, apparently doesn’t appear in Godfather 3.
Get ready for Double 11!
Newsletter out! All about my trip to Singapore. What is the difference between writing and speaking? Ie, blogging and podcasting?
Yo-Yo Chinese – she left China! Focusing onusing English in the US, whereas I’m looking to improve my Chinese and looking to use Chinese social media outlets!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good week!
SSAB – October 24, 2023
Are you shopping this year? Double 11? Christmas? Black Friday (can we still say that?)
TikTok Shop… any good? It’s all the rage here in China. Douyin, Kuaishou, Taobao, Jingdong, all the major platforms are selling through TV. Not as set up as old-school infomercials but just as hard-selling.
https://www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-tiktok-online-shopping-rivals
Sounds from the S’pore… never did post any! Botanical Gardens, careful, high pitch!
Working on Episode 42
Who for Episode 43? Podcasting isn’t difficult, it’s the commitment that is.
New cameras… not just my compound apparently.
Make a chocolate cake, eat a chocolate cake.
Running home from Liangmaqiao, this used to be hard, lots easier now.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 25, 2023
How’s the weight going? Is the coffee extract working?
Stuffed up for some reason, is it allergies or sickness?
Working on Episode 42, got the project set up again.
Workouts in!
5.5km run
Medicine ball x 45 sec, 15 sec rest
Plyometrics (jumping around) x45 sec, 15 sec rest
x2.5 rounds
After work kettle bells and hangs
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 26, 2023
Feeling better? How long will it last?
Halloween upon us, what to do? Do you do anything? Is this date even needed?
Residence permit renewal, tomorrow is the day. Gotta prep documents. Fyi, I couldn’t print from Wechat so I had to export the webpage to Safari AND THEN export that to the desktop to print properly. Another reason I hate iOS.
After work run, just gotta move! What’s worse on the off day, another run or a beer?
Getting cold in the ‘Jing!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good one!
SSAB – October 27, 2023
Halloween weekend… snow in Canada already!
How I tried to get the podcast done… and it just couldn’t. It sounds better as a result, but it is taking longer than I’d like.
PSB visit: how was it? New way to apply: go to Beijing Fortune Centre (one of the big tall buildings), if you don’t have photos already taken then head over to the photo shop beside the bank on the main floor, 30 RMB, then up to the 3rd floor. Hope you brought your reservation number, if not, they do have a system there you can use. One of the guys spoke English, the others mostly used Chinese.
Ran home cause didn’t want to spend the 1.50 RMB nor take the 40 min walk. Avoided going to Jing-A!
Workouts in!
-A bunch of running at noon with weight vest
-60 weighted pull ups, push ups, squats
After work:
-Slow kettlebells, focusing more on legs
Aaaaand payday… the debate of to order in or just make it on my own.
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – October 30, 2023
Very not busy weekend! How enjoyable!
Episode 42, third of the way through which means it won’t get released till later this week.
Some burger fest was going on, Halloween parties, and… smog. Lots of smog!
Workouts in!
6.5km (I think) at lunch + steel club, rope work, jumps, pushups and pistol squat negatives.
After work: slow kbells, mace and club
Newsletter out! All about how not to expat.
Weight differences = not much, green coffee ain’t doing that much
This week will be a good one for the podcast(s): Halloween, a guest interview, and the big podcast. Will be busy!
Gold moving
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good start of week!
SSAB – October 31, 2023
12-hour work days continue!
Smog still here, leaves are nice and the ginko trees stink!
They’re washing windows on the compound while the delivery guys get their bikes locked up for riding around the compound.
New key lock installed but not functioning just yet.
Short story after tonight’s episode. Dagon, by HP Lovecraft.
Thinking ahead, just how much can you actually plan?
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com
Have a good Halloween!