丰言豐语 · Thinking Out Loud with Yifeng

Flying desks, strict teachers, and the strange feeling of a video game crash-out. Sounds like a pretty normal day, right?

In this episode, I talk about school, gaming, and why a day can feel completely empty even when you've actually done plenty of things. Sometimes your brain is just weird.

Read my full diary here: https://yifengfeng.com/2026/11/02/flying-desks-strict-teachers-and-the-gaming-crash-out/

Today, I’m talking about something I call a “video game crashout.” Ever notice how playing video games can make your day feel super exciting, but once you stop, everything suddenly feels boring? Yeah, that happened to me.

And somehow, I also ended up talking about the world’s hottest husky. Don’t ask how these two things are connected. Just listen.

Welcome to another day inside my brain!

Read my full diary:

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/11/01/video-game-crashouts-and-the-worlds-hottest-husky/

Parent-teacher conferences. Just hearing those words is enough to make me nervous.

In this episode, I'm talking about something I've been dreading since the beginning of the school year: sitting in a room with my teachers and my mom while everyone discusses how I'm doing at school. Sounds fun, right? Not exactly.

The weird thing is, I know I've been trying. I participate, I do my work, and I actually enjoy a lot of my classes. But there's always that little voice wondering what the teachers are going to say.

Maybe conferences aren't really about being perfect. Maybe they're about figuring out what you're good at, what you need to work on, and how to get better.

Still, knowing that doesn't make them any less terrifying.

Read my full story: https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/30/the-conference-i-was-dreading/

Halloween is supposed to be the best day of the year. Candy, costumes, and absolutely no responsibilities. Unfortunately, my Halloween started with something much less exciting: a swimming meet at 6:45 in the morning. On a weekend. Seriously?

And somehow, things got even worse when the events I actually wanted to swim didn't happen.

But the real adventure began after sunset. Between trick-or-treating, hunting for full-size candy bars, and surviving the chaos of Halloween night, I had a mission to complete.

Was it worth all the trouble? Well, let's just say Halloween has terrible office hours, but the candy makes up for it.

Read my full story: https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/31/halloween-has-terrible-office-hours/

Ever wondered what it's like to become a giant inflatable red dinosaur at a cross-country race? Well, I have. And trust me, it's not as fun or as comfortable as it looks.

I was supposed to cheer for my Beaver teammates, but somehow I ended up overheating inside a giant plastic dinosaur, falling over on the grass, getting chased by little kids, and yelling motivational speeches about going extinct.

Oh, and did I mention my friend showed up dressed as a giant rat? Together, we might have been the weirdest unofficial mascots in school history.

I didn't run. I didn't win a medal. But I made people laugh, cheered for my team, and somehow walked away with enough snacks and Gatorade to consider launching a professional mascot career.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Well... maybe after I grow a few more inches.

🦖 Read the full story on my website:

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/30/the-day-i-became-a-dinosaur-mascot/

I thought wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume would feel like sitting inside an air-conditioned room. Turns out, it was more like being cooked alive in an oven. Four minutes in, and I was already sweating like crazy.

In this episode, I talk about my ridiculous Halloween costume, my brilliant (and probably terrible) plan to collect extra full-size candy bars, and a costume contest where some people looked amazing while I looked like a giant pile of scraps.

But Halloween isn't the only thing on my mind. Student–Parent Conferences are coming up, and honestly, I'm pretty nervous. What if my teachers say something bad? What if my parents get mad?

So yeah, this episode starts with a dinosaur turning into fried chicken and ends with me worrying about my future. Pretty normal day, right?

Read the full story: https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/27/my-halloween-costume-was-basically-an-oven/

I know, I know. Some people think eleven-year-olds are getting too old for Halloween costumes. But man, I still want to have a life!

In this episode, I'm talking about my last-minute Halloween plan: dressing up as a giant red inflatable dinosaur named Jimmy. Yes, Jimmy. Not exactly the most terrifying dinosaur name, but I'm sticking with it.

I found Jimmy on Amazon, and apparently he could arrive in just two hours and eleven minutes. Seriously? I need to see that to believe it.

But then I started thinking. What if the zipper breaks? What if the battery dies? What if I can't get out? Suddenly, my Halloween costume turned into an entire survival problem.

So now I'm trying to figure out how to enjoy Halloween, collect as much candy as possible, and avoid getting trapped inside a giant plastic dinosaur.

Hopefully, everything goes according to plan.

And hopefully, Jimmy's zipper works.

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/26/halloween-jimmy-the-dinosaur-and-my-survival-plan/

Have you ever wanted to build a Spider-Man web shooter? Well, I have. And trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks.

In this episode, I'm talking about how a school movie project turned into my obsession with web shooters. We had a $10 Spider-Man costume, a terrible mask, and dental floss that we literally colored green with a Sharpie. Somehow, we actually made it work.

Recently, I decided to build a new and improved version using a 3D printer. Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, there's one problem. My teacher isn't exactly a fan of things that shoot, and I can't get the spring I need.

So now I'm stuck trying to figure out another way to make it work. I guess that's engineering. You design something, discover a million problems, and then spend even more time trying to fix them.

But seriously, out of all the problems I could have had, my biggest problem is getting permission to use a spring.

A SPRING.

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/25/my-web-shooter-a-spider-man-project/

Ever tried taking apart a pen and turning it into something completely different? Well, I have. Probably more times than I should admit.

In today's episode, I'm talking about one of my favorite inventions: Spider-Man web shooters!

It all started with a cardboard prototype that could fire exactly ONE shot. Not very impressive, I know. But after countless experiments, broken designs, mysterious spring problems, and a lot of trial and error, I started designing my own mechanisms using CAD.

From V1 to V15, and now toward a web shooter capable of around 50 shots, I've learned that inventing something is easy compared to making it actually work.

And trust me, when you solve one engineering problem, three more usually show up.

So, is my latest web shooter perfect? Absolutely not. Is it awesome? I think so.

Join me as I share my journey from taking apart pens to designing my own Spider-Man-inspired gadgets.

Because every great invention starts somewhere. Mine started with a pen.

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/22/my-spider-man-web-shooter-from-v1-to-50-shots/

I thought contact lenses were the perfect solution. No ugly glasses, no annoying frames, just clear vision. Problem solved! Or so I thought.

Turns out, putting a tiny piece of plastic directly onto your EYEBALL is a lot harder than it sounds. In this episode, I share my first experience with “invisible glasses,” my battle with my own eyeballs, and why having better vision comes with a surprisingly uncomfortable price.

Invisible? Yes. Comfortable? That's another question entirely.

https://yifengfeng.com/2026/10/21/invisible-glasses-not-exactly-what-i-expected/