Happy New Year! Since 1934, the government charged $200 just for permission to make your own silencer. As of 2026, that tax is finally $0. Thanks to technology, a 3D printer can now make one for a few bucks. Just filed the paperwork, can't wait for my first 3D printed project of the new year!
The AI camera surveillance system in China is called Skynet (天网). I only had to pay a fine to Skynet today, no killer robot with machine guns hunting me down
The violation was for “机动车通过有灯控路口时，不按所需行进方向
驶入导向车道”.
There are various ways to translate it, but basically the AI detected I was in a go straight lane and then detected my right turn. My friend who was in the car at the time told me that the violation is given when you illegally cross the solid white lane dividers.
Luckily I only got a fine, no points deducted. Illegal right turns are 3 points deducted, running a red light is 6 points, get 12 points in one year and you lose your license and have to go to driving school to get it back.
I never claimed I was innocent which is why I’m waiving my right to contest the ticket and paying it.
In China you are allowed to cross dashed white lines but not solid white lines. It also depends on each intersection as there are different cameras for different violations (speed, yielding to pedestrians, red lights, etc) and each camera is owned by a different department (public security bureau, traffic bureau, urban management bureau etc)
200 RMB is a lot for many Chinese workers. A taxi driver may need ~6 hours to earn that, one ticket can wipe out a day. Minimum wage is ~21 RMB/hour, so 200 RMB is roughly a full day’s work for a street sweeper or store clerk.
Most local Chinese governments are broke and heavily in debt with the slowing economy so they actually need the revenue
Getting a foot massage. Therapist says my muscles are tense and that I must not go often (no surprise, massages are expensive in the US).
I pay 138 RMB($20)/hour but he only gets 35 RMB ($5). He works 10am–midnight, 365 days a year, zero days off, for 7,000 RMB a month (~$1,000)
Got my first traffic ticket in China, the endless AI cameras are all knowing and all seeing, you can’t dodge them. Was fined 100 RMB (~$14) for crossing a white line from the straight turn lane into the right turn lane. The local government was kind enough to text me about it
Nothing like some miserable Chinese smog to start the day with, winter heating + a power grid that’s still over 50% coal = heavy smog.
Eh every hospital in China has metal detectors and a bunch of security guards.
A basket of fresh strawberries here in China costs 60 RMB (~$8). Local minimum wage is 21 RMB/hr ($3). That’s ~3 hours of work. In the US, a carton of $5 strawberries is 30 min at minimum wage. Same fruit, vastly different purchasing power.
https://blossom.primal.net/e4705a9f7d623895dcbf0a4c14fcbce30a9f067862594ff213781e45df6ee0b4.mov
Xiaomi YU7 SUV: $33k USD base, $45k fully loaded. I tested the full self driving which uses LIDAR + cameras, lane changes, right turns, yielding, zero input from me. ~350-mile range, air suspension, sub-3 second 0–60 on Max version. Built by $4/hr factory labor.
https://blossom.primal.net/90c332235c468a57bb60da05499e4ec3ccc3031cdb930882507751fb4b92b33b.mp4
40% of Chinese people make less than $150 a month, it’s just more expensive than other developing countries now
Even in low wage China I cannot escape the scourge of self checkout machines
First time driving in China, I’m in a used $2k Wuling Mini! No airbags, 100 mile range, 65 mph top speed, it’s cheap can’t complain. The new $5k models have airbags and ABS. This top seller is built by workers on ~$3/hr, pulling 12-hour shifts with only 4 days off a month.
https://video.nostr.build/916fde840701e80ebf0fc236d6c439e34285d135c9d3debb5cd1f220946522d7.mp4
Xiaomi used to just be a knockoff android phone manufacturer but now they sell high end electric sedans and SUVs alongside their smartphones
https://video.nostr.build/754d04e78d282fc56a2a5f34a4a895e5b0334ef25cff28b25768fed9c396d588.mov
Merry Christmas! I had a great time listening to a govt approved pastor give a govt approved sermon at Jingling Church. Although the sermon was dry, it was awesome to worship in the same venue where Sun Yat Sen’s wife and father in law/revolutionary financier used to worship
https://blossom.primal.net/de5eaa787792531945835caa9587996d6fc95a91a07ef13bdc034caffc785af2.mp4
Asked my hotel in Shanghai for a razor and they delivered it via robot
https://blossom.primal.net/f6387823cb8c926ff8a57d7ba05fae318fb10d68af94091a7e7f6c608b8f4b68.mov
The security camera at the Chinese DMV written test center. They have TSA security with a metal detector and wand to check for hidden electronics
https://blossom.primal.net/06233216ac590a32b2a52584a8f83e8d0cb1e9cae2ed93dd1a3b00dbbda61656.mov
At this Chinese clothing store, everything is on sale at 80-95% off but the prices are all 5-20x the normal price, so you just end up having to do non stop math while you shop to calculate the price 😂 I love the honesty it’s way funnier than American fake sales
The irony of the 24-hour registration rule in China: There are a million cameras tracking my every move, but the state still demands I fill out a paper form to tell them where I sleep.Since I'm with relatives in a smaller city I have to go to the Public Security Bureau. If you are in a large city you can register online, or if you are staying a hotel that accepts foreigners they register for you.
https://blossom.primal.net/0e137b33e5cd497dbf3973b76f1538cf226e74de02cf70fc20df9e4ccf467188.mov
China is one of the few places where an International Driving Permit is invalid. Most city folk just take public transit or taxis, but I have a strong itch to roadtrip and drive some Chinese EVs so I’m spending my limited time navigating the Chinese DMV. I’ve survived the California DMV before so I should be fine, wish me luck!
Song Dynasty poet Su Shi criticized imperial policies and the emperor through his poetry. In 1079, officials accused him of “slandering the court” in the infamous Crow Terrace Poetry Trial, leading to exile. Ironically 1,000 years ago China could tolerate dissent better than many governments treat artists and critics today. Was amazing to see his work in person today in Taipei.
Forgot to do a preflight selfie, just landed in Taipei for btc++, am running around the night market rn 
Had a blast paragliding Mauritius, landed in a sugarcane field, had to hike back on the highway with cars buzzing by, 10/10 worth it
https://video.nostr.build/514d0321afd946b16dc125e90a5b52f7635af5807488ed31f8fa28055640cecf.mp4