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The Firehose Feed

This is a chronological feed of everything I’ve published.

AI asia Being a Writer Being Chinese Birds blog blogging books cat CDrama ChatGPT China Chinese culture Chinese Drama COVID COVID19 culture digitalgardens Fediverse Fiction geopolitics indieweb Internet Language Learning life Malaysia Mandarin mental health movie review Obsidian Penang PKM Politics productivity reading science fiction seedling socialmedia StayAtHome Substack tech Technology television Travel writing

  • Weekend Tales #4: My focus in 2024 is ‘beauty’

    The new approach my little newsletter, Tai Tales is taking in 2024. Standing up against outrage culture on the Internet. And some articles about the Substack / Platformer drama. πŸ“§Subscribe to read the post.

  • Why I am learning Mandarin in 2024

    In 2024, I’m determined to improve my Mandarin vocabulary to a point where I can understand Chinese dramas without subtitles. Here’s how I plan to do it.

  • 2023 Recap: Concepts and discoveries that made the year better for me

    I reflect on the concepts and ideas that have improved my life in 2023.

  • Year-end reflections and how I do them

    In the last week of every year, I reflect on the year that is about to end and prepare for the new one. Here’s what I do, day by day.

  • Now on Substack – elitism, condescension and dogpiles

    Substack’s design and content choices is fostering a social “class” system of elites, followers and outsiders. Can we escape this game? πŸ“§Subscribe to read the post.

  • The Vigil at the Manor (Part 4/7)

    In the world of the Silent, secrets can be found behind doors and words. A Distant Stars mosaic novel story. πŸ“§ To read, subscribe to the blog.

  • When Sunbirds built a nest in my balcony

    This was one of the most special things that had happened to me when living in this apartment on top of a hill. A pair of sunbirds decided to build a nest in my balcony and I got to watch life happen.

  • The vigil at the manor (Part 3/7)

    Mister Meadows finds out the truth. Miss Brahms skirts it. A Distant Stars mosaic novel story. πŸ“§ To read, subscribe to the blog.

  • The Vigil at the Manor (Part 2/7)

    Mister Meadows finds a clue that reveals more than it should. Part 2 of a seven-part short story in the Distant Stars mosaic novel. πŸ“§ To read, subscribe to the blog.

  • Is the Internet really broken?

    My thoughts about The Verge’s article, The people who ruined the Internet and Danny Sullivan’s response, and the conversation swirling around SEO and the suckiness of the Internet.

  • Although I prefer journaling by hand, I have to admit that digital journaling is far more practical, safer and more secure, and I’ve been journaling so much more.

  • The vigil at the Manor (Part 1/7)

    The Silent are happy to serve. To be useful is to live well. A seven-part short story in the Distant Stars mosaic novel. πŸ“§ To read, subscribe to the blog.

  • Racism, bias in entertainment

    Can we agree on one thing? Racism, bias and cringe-worthy depictions of foreign nations is not unique to Chinese entertainment.

  • What I learned from one year of Substack

    Personal and random observations on what it takes to “make it” on this platform. Caution: Some of it can be brutally honest and rub you the wrong way. This post will be gated after a week. πŸ˜‰

  • Wars and politics have turned into a form of entertainment for keyboard warriors. There’s nothing simple about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and taking sides while you are ignorant about their history is probably the worst thing you can do.

  • My Activitypub wordpress.com adventures continues…