The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski

I thought he’d say no! Lunch with a student and how were the classes today?

-Didn’t figure it out until the last class! Oops.

Smog a go go, is it because of El Nino? Whatever it is, it’s going to cause more pollution throughout China. Ok?

Transferring files all over the place, apparently I have duplicates and my drives are getting full. What could we get rid of? And where are those compilations?

Markets are crashing! WTF?! Damn Trump! Or… is it just the October sell off?

And there’s been an earthquake in Tibet!

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com

Episode summaries in Chinese: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Tibet Earthquake and Beijing Time

03:19 Testing Creative Class Ideas

05:46 Bungled Group Discussion Instructions

09:42 Finance Students and Mr. Sirski

11:34 Group Discussion and Drawing Problems

15:03 Third Iteration Fixes

17:15 Standing Picture Presentations

20:34 DeepSeek Picks Presenters

22:27 Fluency vs Accuracy in Class

23:56 Personal PowerPoint Checklist

25:23 Cafeteria Lunch Decision

28:25 Lunch With a Student

31:08 Dry Noodle Recommendations

33:04 Smog and El Niño

34:17 AI Workflow and E-Book Drafts

36:11 Hard Drives Filling Up

37:57 Rolls-Royce Selloff

43:09 S&P 500 and Market Outlook

44:48 Links and Support

Stevie, you sound distracted! You said you wanted to focus and then you never explained how you got stuck in the gym!

Closing the windows and trying to stay warm! Trees are thinning and leaves slowly changing colour.

Creating creative projects for the class, will they work?

Alberta had a referendum?! How did that go?

And a new piece of technology in my apartment, am I okay with this?

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com

Episode summaries in Chinese: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Episode Preview

00:37 China Telecom Visit

02:25 Xiao Yi Guan Jia Device

07:57 Always Listening Concerns

10:21 Wi-Fi Trouble and Mining

14:20 Hard Drives and ESL Folder

16:33 Lack of Chinese Practice

17:45 Stuck in the Gym

21:38 Skipping Today's Workout

23:11 Cold Weather and Mornings

25:39 Writing Chinese Characters

28:56 Creative Class Projects

32:28 Personal Presentation Project

35:02 Video Game Distractions

37:36 Alberta Referendum

38:30 Quebec Separatism

44:24 Sign-Off and Links

How were the steaks? One was over done, the other was alright… that’s what I get for leaving them in the oven while I recorded the podcast.

Sorry about the botched intro to yesterday’s episode, it felt a bit weak. To say nothing about the technical issues!

Workout in! Got stuck in the gym! Am I not supposed to be taking a week off? Hit the major lifts today: squats, rows and shoulder press.

And student questions:

-How do you use Claude?

-How much do you pay?

-Do you think AI will take your job?

-And why doesn’t Canada extradite the Chinese national?

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com

Episode summaries in Chinese: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Steak Check

01:01 Yesterday's Recording Failure

03:15 Focusing the Podcast

05:48 Halloween Reading Tradition

06:53 Chinese Studies and Student Envy

08:19 Halloween Audiobook Ideas

11:48 Gym Stuck Workout

14:03 Gym Pass Cycles

16:47 Strong Lifts Numbers

17:52 Creatine and Bench Press

20:14 IOT Class Dynamics

24:17 Office Hours Interview

26:26 Claude Terminal and Pricing

28:24 AI Prompting and Verbosity

30:38 Claude Workflow Replacing Descript

31:14 Will AI Take My Job

35:32 Extradition Question

40:32 Links and Support

Academic English? What’s the difference?!

Had a very good IELTS talk with one of the students today. Positive vs negative responses. And should we record these to playback and analyze?

Thinking… what would an online degree in Chinese be like? And why would I want to do one?

-More recognition than HSK

-A variety of topics

-In depth knowledge (but why do I need this?)

And there seems to be more Jesus and God talk as of late. Why? Well, I think it’s become clear that the USA has some issues as of late and the Church has especially been sidelined. New Pope is USAmerica, is that the only reason?

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com

Episode summaries in Chinese: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Cold Open Setup and Teasers

00:46 Show Intro and Monolingual Classrooms

02:28 Academic English and Contractions

06:14 Third Person Review Assignment

08:47 Semester Classes and Exam Rubric

11:28 Speaking vs Writing Exams

13:06 Casual English and Attendance

14:48 Office Hours and IELTS Buddies

18:07 IELTS Practice Session

24:21 Recording and Transcribing Speech

29:16 Online Chinese Degree Idea

31:20 HSK vs IELTS

33:05 Motivations for Chinese Degree

37:14 Adam Curry Leaving No Agenda

39:53 Catholicism and Religion Sensitivities

42:02 Good vs Evil and the Bible

43:24 American Pope and DEI

45:27 Skepticism About the Bible

47:04 Concise History of the Church

48:38 Wrap Up Links and Support

AI continues to astound me! Editable titles in FCP? No problem! Website for the podcast? Sure! Show analysis? Done! Now if I could only get this to work offline.

Thinking about focusing the podcast a little more, or at least a little more often. Chinese history, language, finance, etc.

Workouts in and how is the creatine going, Steve? Getting big? Yea, kinda.

-125 kg deadlift on Saturday x 1 rep

-Quick leg workout yesterday morning

-Squats and bench this morning, run done in the afternoon (7 km in 45.05, why do I run faster after gym workouts?)

-And gaining weight, up ~1 kg in the last week.

And I met the parents! What’s next?! We’ll see!

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks available on stevensirski.com

Episode summaries in Chinese: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Intro

00:50 AI Replacing Video Editors

02:57 Editable Final Cut Pro Titles

03:54 Explainer Videos for Toronto Footage

05:23 Automated Clip Workflow

06:59 Computering Fun Again

08:47 Ebooks and Humanizing AI Text

11:31 Explainers Replacing Plugins

13:42 Claude Usage and Security Risks

17:57 Blackmagic Cam and Offline AI

21:27 Focusing the Podcast

24:11 ESL Brand and Podcast Focus

29:01 Creatine and Body Changes

32:39 Canada Weight Gain and Protein

35:05 Bench and Deadlift Progress

40:06 Run and Muscle Priming

41:20 Meeting Her Parents

44:20 Wrap Up Links and Support

Steve! Enough with the AI! Or is this podcast simply going to be all about your little workflow?! (Well, next job is to create a Super Folder of ESL Content)

New gym cycle begins (or at least a new pass). Still recovering from Wednesday’s session.

They’re changing the elevator! Finally!

Blueberries a falling?! Why are they getting CHEAPER?!

WOW did I get the price movement of COAL wrong! I was thinking Guanghui Energy was a coal company when really they’re an LNG company… or they are now?

And Adam Curry is leaving the No Agenda Show, but not leaving podcasting. Will have to talk a little more about this next week.

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great weekend!

God Bless!

00:00 Cold Open Headlines

00:33 Intro and Week of AI

02:43 ESL Content Backlog

04:57 Six Months of Content

06:55 ESL Repository Idea

09:19 AI Game Changer

10:26 Classroom AI Essay Exercise

13:57 Super ESL Folder Plan

15:41 New Gym Cycle

19:02 Blackmagic Controller Glitch

20:29 Cluttered Recording Setup

21:25 Creatine and Supplements

25:07 Elevator Replacement

27:31 Blueberry Price Drop

31:51 Milk and Egg Prices

35:25 Coal Price Mistake

39:12 Adam Curry Leaving No Agenda

45:23 Thanks to Adam Curry

47:06 Wrap Up Links and Support

Quick! Before the good lighting disappears!

AI tooling and training continues! How about some code-driven animations? Do I still have to flag them as “AI generated”? Gives me an idea for May You Make Your Movie.

Chinese markets a moving! It’s that time of year for the Chinese markets to move to the groove played by the big man! What’s moving and where?

And listener question: Steve, do you have any microphone recommendations? A few. :)

-DJI microphones,

-Shure MV7+ (SM7B is the one that Joe Rogan uses),

-Blue Yeti,

-iPhone microphone is pretty good on its own,

-Rode which makes both lapel mics and standalone mics.

-Other than that, a gaming headset or the later editions of the Airpods would be good enough for most situations.

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Chinese summaries: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Cold Open Teasers

00:32 Good Lighting and Going Video

02:17 TikTok Snapchat and Substack

04:42 Claude Motion Discovery

05:29 Talking Heads Need B-Roll

07:54 Claude Code Post-Production Workflow

10:42 Remotion vs Code Animations

15:26 What the Automation Produces

17:42 Chinese Translation and ElevenLabs

18:49 Letting AI Edit Substack

20:44 Clips and Publishing

22:28 Podcast as Therapy

23:56 Labeling AI Animations

26:08 Chinese Markets Are Moving

28:57 Banks Oil and Coal Dust

32:53 Micron and NVIDIA Slide

34:02 Bitcoin Golden Cross

35:38 Jingdong NIO and Alibaba

36:25 SSAB Stock Tracker Updates

38:00 Microphone Recommendations

44:11 Wrap Up Links and Support

More tests! But having fun! Just like English class! Today’s test: using Quicktime as a monitor, pros and cons.

The Garrison of Content seems within reach as we speak!

Should I charge for Chinese site access??

IELTS cancellation debacle continues! Who’s fault? Have they been hacked? What happens now?

And I think YouTube Shorts are paying more? Better keep publishing!

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Chinese summaries: https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00:00 Intro Takes and Rehearsals

00:01:33 Show Open and Today's Headlines

00:02:17 Lasagna at Home

00:03:35 Claude in the Terminal and the Automated Workflow

00:06:49 Bluehost Bill and the Chinese Summary Website

00:08:50 Camera Tests and Video Resolution

00:11:33 Hard Drives and Leaving a Video Record

00:13:52 Gary Vaynerchuk and Being Everywhere

00:14:48 Account Risks and the Muse App

00:15:40 Branding and Musicians Who Podcast

00:17:52 Childhood Dreams of Music and Movies

00:19:05 The Garrison of Content: This Podcast

00:20:53 Platforms: TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube

00:23:47 Building My Own Publishing System

00:25:13 Why I Keep Doing This Podcast

00:26:02 Ideas for Targeted Topics

00:27:06 Microphones and Audio Sources

00:28:44 English Class or AI Class?

00:30:59 Recording Voices and Analyzing Them with DeepSeek

00:35:22 AI Tutors and Keeping a Project

00:36:27 The Upcoming Writing Unit

00:36:58 Should I Charge for the Chinese Website?

00:37:20 IELTS Cancellation Debacle

00:43:02 YouTube Shorts Paying More

00:44:23 Wrap-Up and Show Notes

More camera tests! Trying out the BlackMagic Cam APP with remote control, might replace the need for any external monitor.

Github repo up live! What could go wrong? https://stevensirski.github.io/ssab-zh/

And what about those vibe cloned Adobe APPs? Any good? A few things to keep in mind:

-Open source has been around a while (Audacity, Kdenlive, Blender, Inkscape)

-Just because you download these APPs don’t mean they don’t have other charges (hello AI subscriptions)

-Thinking of programming your own? Good luck maintaining it!

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Cold Open Setup Tests

00:45 iPhone Framing Problem

02:14 Blackmagic Camera Solution

04:19 Audio Backup Workflow

07:37 Current Portable Rig

08:51 Lighting and Bitrate Findings

11:18 Storage and Resolution Tradeoffs

14:03 GitHub Chinese Repo Launch

15:44 Why Translate for Characters

20:17 Automation and Security Risks

24:40 GitHub Pages Features Limits

28:46 Grammar Learning Ideas

32:22 Vibe Cloned Adobe Apps

35:22 Maintainability and Hidden Costs

39:48 Wrap Up Links and Support

Cycle completed! Deadlifts done! How’s the creatine?

AI making things fun again but being blocked by limits! How and why? Don’t forget those limits! How to work around?

-The trap is… hey, now I can do this, but I can ALSO do that!

-Camera tests

-Workflows

Working on a github repository.

And in memoriam, hometown neighbour Lynda, and long time fellow expat and former colleague, Octavio. Good bye to my hometown neighbour, Lynda, and good bye to a former colleague, Octavio. He appeared on Episode 34 of my big podcast (recorded on October 1, 2022).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6OS3PY5JNb4GNzDwh1FWB0?si=olAARxFfS4erHPo9qHBQoQ

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you have a great start of week!

00:00:08 Opening

00:00:36 A Change in the Recording Workflow

00:02:40 Camera Tests or Workflow First? The One-File Drop Idea

00:03:59 Claude Builds the Automated Workflow

00:07:48 Vertical Clips with Burned-in Captions

00:10:11 Replacing Descript: What the Workflow Produces

00:13:37 A GitHub Repository, and the Security Risk

00:16:07 Usage Limits, Credits, and Modular Scripts

00:18:03 Transcription Accuracy and Captions

00:18:46 B-Roll and More Than a Talking Head

00:19:28 The Camera Tests

00:24:36 Gary Vee, 400 Clips a Day, and Account-Specific Topics

00:30:02 Shooting on the iPhone: Video vs. Podcast Audio

00:30:50 A Productive Weekend: Rough Cuts, Voiceovers, and AI Making Things Fun

00:33:30 Creatine: Reading the Label

00:34:48 Deadlifts, 120 Kilos, and Weight Belts

00:36:57 Creatine: Effects, Water, and Looking Puffier

00:38:17 The 30-Day Gym Cycle

00:40:06 Creatine Dosage and the Cycling Plan

00:42:54 In Memoriam: Linda, My Neighbour in Winnipeg

00:45:35 In Memoriam: Octavio

00:48:40 Things Come in Threes: Reach Out to People

00:50:10 Closing