SerpentZA and Other Vloggers

[Randy W]

Another new one is Taylor R, who is vlogging from Hong Kong - I pretty sure that one of the Dai Pai Dongs was near my hotel in Lan Kwai Fong. The language spoken and on the menu just seemed a little too Chinese for me to handle - there are plenty of bi-lingual (and even mono-lingual English) restaurants nearby.

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

An interesting East vs. West talk video about Naomi Wu (see SexyCyborg above) and why she lost her Patreon account. A 'maker' is what we would call a hobbyist or breadboarder - someone who basically plugs digital electronic components together and can turn them into a finished product. For me, it's VERY believable that she could do what she's doing WITHOUT someone behind the scenes.

 

Knowledgeable women interfacing with the public with a male manager or technician behind the scenes is very common in my experience. At the computer store here in Yulin, the girls out the counter can usually help me out with what I need, while only occasionally calling in their male technician. The same is true in most other specialty stores, such as ceramics or building materials.

 

. . . or in text :

Why Vice’s Reporting on Naomi Wu Could Get Her Arrested in China

 

[Randy W]

. . . and the article from VICE - I'm not seeing anything that "could get her arrested", or for her to even really complain about. Nor am I seeing any wholesale release of personal information.

 

It IS an interesting article, though, about her, Shenzhen, and the whole 'maker' thing.

 

edit: It sounds to me like she simply over-reacted to the Skype call to discuss her Reddit rumors. But she has a point - male technicians wouldn't be put through that wringer,

 

Shenzhen's Homegrown Cyborg

 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2018 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Naomi on Reddit

 

Sure, I dress like a skank, my video gets half a million views- and then I send that to our best female open source developers and help them raise funds for their projects.

I lend my name to academic journals so they get more traffic.

I fundraise to get young women to local Maker Faires.

When our little sisters in tech get bullied online I'm there fighting and sending out emails.

I go into local factories to encourage bosses to embraces Open Source and comply with licensing terms.

I crowdsource the development of replacement parts for outdated medical equipment.

I use my builds to drive foot traffic to local woman-owned businesses.

I travel abroad to promote STEM education to young people (I like to give out digital calipers I get donated by Chinese companies)

I create low-cost Open Source educational platforms that incorporate Chinese educational traditions and the importance of our written language.

I do all this, and much of it I am in a position to do precisely because I dress like a sex worker most of the time out of personal preference or sometimes just weird and I make people laugh when I am clumsy or realize when I hurt myself that everyone makes mistakes and if I can do this stuff they can probably do it better.

 

 

[Greg.D.]

I Read the VICE article. Makes you wish you were young, had an abundance of carefree spare time and lived in Shenzhen.

 

It doesn't tell us who, if anybody, is bringing capital into the mix to get things moving. At times in the U.S. you would have hoards of desperate VCs outbidding each other, afraid they might miss out on the next big thing.

 

Still waiting for my flying car.

[Randy W]

I Read the VICE article. Makes you wish you were young, had an abundance of carefree spare time and lived in Shenzhen.

 

It doesn't tell us who, if anybody, is bringing capital into the mix to get things moving. At times in the U.S. you would have hoards of desperate VCs outbidding each other, afraid they might miss out on the next big thing.

 

Still waiting for my flying car.

I think China's Venture Capitol source is pretty much the government - a few years back, the directive came down to local governments to develop centers for AI without much in the way of guidance, resulting in a whole new slate of World's Records

 

https://youtu.be/X7qjNg-4S-c

 

Considering that we're already using AI to kill humans through autonomous vehicles, it's not clear that we're doing much better.

 

But Shenzhen seems to be one of their major success stories, along with the high speed train system.

[Randy W]

Winston lets it all out!

 

 

[Randy W]

Another update


I Never WANTED to be on Chinese TV but I had no Choice!

serpentza

Published on Aug 11, 2018

China Central Television, the national government studio has been watching my every move, come and find out why...

 

[Randy W]

Winston either goes on an extended rant, or gets a little windy to make it to the 10 min. threshold - but it's a good point!

 

(No food allergies, personally)

 

He's with a crew filming in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

As you know I usually don't watch Winston any longer but I thought that this one was important and it was.

 

We had this same experience with the nephew. Every spring he would get what they thought was a sinus and chest infection. The local doctors knew nothing and I mean nothing about allergies. His grandmother is a doctor and knew nothing about allergies. So every single day for about two months it was to the clinic to get the all-curing IV drip. I felt so sorry for him. I was begging them to take him to an allergy specialist in Beijing. After 4-5 years they decided to try what I was saying. They took him to Beijing and had the test done and found out what he was allergic to and started the injections. He improved very quickly so that they could see that what I was telling them was true. Now that we know what is wrong and we know that the injections work the doctor increases the price by four times as much for the injections. They were already expensive as you can imagine.

[Randy W]

I think Winston's a good guy, but just doesn't know how to handle it when people perceive him as arrogant. See his mini-rant about "teaching doctors" at about 5:30 in the video. His wife had done a video explaining that he teaches doctors ENGLISH, not necessarily medical information.

 

Poor C-Milk is another story - he seems to be between careers for now. He may not have even BEEN in China since last November. His wife is pregnant with their second child, which he has said WILL be born in the U.S.

[amberjack1234]

I agree. Perhaps he has a glass heart. I don't think that he can take a little criticism or disagreement very well. We can disagree but can still be good friends. No one is exactly the same and thinks exactly alike. C-Milk still has some growing up to do. Winston seems to have gotten there a long time ago. Just my two cents worth. Pozzie??? I don't think will ever grow up. I like him and kina feel sorry for him for being left behind.

Edited September 4, 2018 by amberjack1234 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

I agree. Perhaps he has a glass heart. I don't think that he can take a little criticism or disagreement very well. We can disagree but can still be good friends. No one is exactly the same and thinks exactly alike. C-Milk still has some growing up to do. Winston seems to have gotten there a long time ago. Just my two cents worth. Pozzie??? I don't think will ever grow up. I like him and kina feel sorry for him for being left behind.

 

Prozzie is also a good guy, but pretty much a fish out of water, both on YouTube, and in China (now Taiwan), although he does have a cute Taiwanese girlfriend.

 

Gweilo60 headed back home to Vancouver Island with his wife, and has dropped off the YouTube radar - but he may be coming back to Nanning soon.

[amberjack1234]

Yep, I have seen some of Pozzie's Taiwan videos. He does have a very pretty girlfriend. I hope she knows that he will be moving on one day. Winston has a knockout wife.

 

I wish Pozzie luck.

[Randy W]

A fairly good discussion of the vaccine scandal - and C-Milk finally admits to moving to the U.S. (Vivi's had her green card since Dec., 2017)

 

Speaking for myself, I don't have any LESS confidence in China's medicine and food supplies than I did in the U.S.' - that is, I'm fairly confident in what we buy here for our own use.

 

Edited September 17, 2018 by Randy W (see edit history)