The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski

By Steven SirskiSociety & Culture Places & Travel

The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski episodes

October 07, 2021 SSAB - October 7 2021
Cheaper to ChongQing? Only 18 hrs on the train? Later departure and only a small difference in arrival time?! // New HSK test prep book, is it enough? Brings my total HSK 5 textbook total to seven, including four textbooks and three prep books. // Do you need days off after a vacation? I think it's a good idea. // Getting ready! // Have a great Thursday! // stevensirski.com
11 min
October 06, 2021 SSAB - October 6 2021
Travel prep begins, tickets, hostels, hotels, scheduling. Chengdu >> ChongQing? // How do people even pack for a vacation? I'm not used to this short of trip! Is this what it's like being old? Or is this what it's like to be settled? // Dogs are back on the compound so things have gotten noisier. // Looking forward to warmer weather down South. // Also got some Python done: Snake, Pong, Turtle Crossing. // stevensirski.com
14 min
October 05, 2021 SSAB - October 5 2021
THREE HOUR WAR MOVIE! Battle of Changjin. Good movie / story, no cheesey love lines. Patriotic, the US doesn't win, but certainly not anti-War. Takes place during Korean War. CG is noticeable but not distracting, sound is good. Long, but well paced. Would recommend to see. // Have a good Tuesday! // stevensirski.com
16 min
October 04, 2021 SSAB - October 4, 2021
It's sooooooo quiiiieeeeeettttt! And it's nice. I ended up taking the weekend off from my studies as it was just so nice and quiet around the compound that I didn't feel like letting go a chance to enjoy some peace and quiet. It's what I think a sensory deprivation tank would be like. // Did take some time to play around with Logic Pro this weekend and came up with few tunes. No surprise, the best one was a bit chill. I've added to today's Episode. // Trip: Chengdu doesn't need a NAT result unless we come from a Medium to High-Risk area (we aren't). If we went to Xi'an, we'd need one no matter what. Guess no Xi'an. // Looking at hostels n hotels, is there much of a difference in price? Hostel doors are usually locked until a certain time in the morning, is this safe? // Will be the first time out of Beijing for non-work purposes in a very long time. // Which and that, do you know the difference? // Chapter 13 on HSK 5, Python Day 20-21: Snake Game = finished! // Have a good start of week! // stevensirski.com
17 min
October 01, 2021 SSAB - October 1 2021
National Day Golden Week beings! Qing Jie Kuai le as they say on the Chinese socials! // Feeling the crunch as my studies are taking a lot of time each day, but I'm seeing progress and there is an end to each, mid-October for Python, and the end of the units for HSK 5 vocab. // More turtle work in Python. Want to also work on simpler projects to test my abilities on the foundations of code. // Used Xiaomi's Reader APP to read for 30 min today. With its built-in dictionary it's a lot easier! // Interesting book: $12 Million Stuffed Shark - all about the fine art industry. // Are you doing Inktober? // Shuffling around archives for the audio blog archives, starting a new page for October! // Don't forget to check out Episode 27! // Have a great weekend! // stevensirski.com
14 min
September 30, 2021 SSAB - September 30, 2021
Episode 27 is done, up and posted on my website stevensirski.com. Take a look, have a listen, with the New Age of Decay! // Spent FOUR HOURS in contact with the Chinese language today, sounds like a lot, right? 30 min vocabulary, 30 min short video, 30 min reading, 90 min movie (watched Red Sorghum), 60 min classssssss! The good thing is that my head didn't feel tired, I only moved on because I was feeling the need to continue with my Python studies. // Python... working with the TURTLE function. Having fun with it and is a lot more interesting than the text-based input/output stuff we've been working on for the first 15 days. // National Day Golden Week start tomorrow, October 1st, seven days off in a row! 72 years of New China... a country that a lot of people will tell you has 5,000 years of history. // Hope Thursday is good to you! // stevensirski.com
14 min
September 29, 2021 SSAB - September 29, 2021
Kuaishou, Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok), or Bilibili? Which one would you choose? There are some differences, but all provide similar types of short video content. Anyone actually use Snapchat for something useful? Even the dramas available on Kuaishou put Snapchat to shame. // Python progress as I've started working with Object Oriented Programming aaaaand.... the Turtle! Got that working after a bit of mess around with PyCharm package installations. // SSP Episode 27 is literally in the works but I'll delay it another day to give myself some fresh eyes and ears tomorrow. I've attached two clips to today's Episode for you to preview. // Have a good middle of the week! // stevensirski.com
17 min
September 28, 2021 SSAB - September 28 2021
BIRDS! // Are people heading out for National Day break already? // Skipping rope is now a subject to be studied, how many skips can you do in a minute? // Programming #FAIL as I could barely string together a few lines of code to access a value in a dictionary. At least I got some of the program breakdown correct! // Have a good day! // stevensirski.com
16 min
September 27, 2021 SSAB - September 27 2021
Gotta fix Anchor RSS feed, it's not working. // SSP27 recorded and being edited, to be released later this week! // Finally finished that comic book! Now back to the magazines. // New blog post up! // Is there ever a good time to watch a plane crash documentary? // Have a good start of week! // stevensirski.com
20 min
September 25, 2021SSAB - FULL WEEK - Sept 20 - Sept 24, 2021
Sept 20, 2021: USA publishes lots of books about future tech, what about in China? // Red room with posters all around it outlining the duties of a good Party Member. What does it take to join the Party? Could that ever exist in Canada? // Found a good podcast to listen to in Chinese, slow, relevant. // Saturday was the air defense siren, could barely hear it. (Sound clip at end of Episode.) // Tims changed the cream cheese they use. No good! Have a good start of week!

Sept 21, 2021: Officially Mid-Autumn! Got a good shot of the moon! // Moon cakes, anyone? // Nice day but stayed inside to study Python! Randomisation, loops, and FizzBuzz! // The difference between a programming language and a human language... // Continuing on with HSK 5 vocabulary building. If only I could do the same for the grammar structures! // Hope your Tuesday is going well! // stevensirski.com

Sept 22, 2021: Tuna and pasta for dinner! Cheap! Easy! Quick! // Podcast Episode set up for this weekend! // Crushing Chinese studies early in the morning! Get it done! Put in the time! // Pythoning all day, Hangman, Ciphers, and more! // Hope Wednesday is good to you! // stevensirski.com

Sept 23, 2021: More Chinese grammar practice! One, S V1 O VS T! Two, no 为! // Food battle in a comic book: to dip or not to dip. // Today's movie: 秋菊打官司, The Story of Qiuju. Words learned: 兽医，理，说法了，只准载货，笔〔筆〕代，调解，干部，新潮发屋（髮），差错，产科。 // Python Day 8 and 9: Hangman and nested lists. // Hope Thursday is good! // stevensirski.com

Sept 24, 2021: Drilling drilling drilling! Why is there always a drill? // Chinese reading progress, but how is my pronunciation? // Hitting a wall with Python! Or is it too many carbs for breakfast because of the Pop Tarts? Change of weather? // Nesting dictionaries, function outputs, and recursion! // Started watching Silicon Valley, thinking back to 2014! // Tickets to Chengdu: fly or ride? Four hours by plane, 28 by the slow train. How committed am I? // End of week, have a good one! // stevensirski.com
1 hr 24 min