Diary Ramblings

I saw that Fanqie Novel was embroiled in another controversy about AI-written content in the past couple of days. My initial reaction wasn’t surprise, but rather a sense that this issue will eventually come to the surface. Considering the combination of free platforms, the pressure for daily updates, and algorithmic distribution, it is almost inevitable that authors will turn to AI to supplement their content capacity.

But honestly, I have a consistent feeling about many books on Fanqie: they are readable, and even the first hundred chapters are often quite good. However, the further along you get, they tend to be nothing more than tropes and speed, lacking that inherent power that classic Xuanhuan or cultivation novels possess. This ‘power’ is hard to explain—it’s probably that feeling when you know it’s a bit over-the-top/cringey (“zhong er”), but you still want to follow the characters all the way through.

It’s something worth noting, and this isn’t meant to criticize the platform. Fanqie being completely free definitely attracts a lot of readers; there’s no arguing that point. However, for someone like me whose taste was spoiled early on by Tian Can Tu Dou, Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi, Er Gen, and Chen Dong, AI can match the output volume, but it cannot replicate the flavor/quality.

In the last few months, while writing code using tools like Claude or Codex, my most striking realization wasn’t that “programmers are obsolete,” but rather that many tasks that used to be given to newcomers for practice can now generate a basic first draft themselves. Whether it’s creating a scaffold, adding several tests, or making small modifications on the fly—after running through these operations, the speed is genuinely fast, so fast it feels almost bittersweet.

For someone like me, who graduated ten years ago, frankly, this is more about increasing efficiency. Because I generally know where it’s reliable and where it isn’t; where something looks functional but actually has pitfalls hidden further down the line. But for fresh graduates, this topic isn’t so straightforward. AI isn’t just here to take over a few hours of manual labor; it feels more like it is compressing the traditional path of how a newcomer goes from zero knowledge to proficiency. This is also why I wanted to write about it separately.

Over the past few days, I came across the news that Zhang Xuefeng passed away due to sudden cardiac death, and it truly made my heart drop. It wasn’t because I usually pay much attention to him, but rather, when something like this happens to someone who looks so vigorous—who is still running and working—people naturally project it onto themselves. Recently, I sometimes experience chest tightness myself. After scrolling through too many such updates, a thought popped into my head that was incredibly foolish yet profoundly real: Could next be me?

To be honest, I am increasingly feeling that this chest tightness isn’t necessarily purely a heart problem. Of course, you have to take your body seriously—especially with recurring chest discomfort that worsens after activity but slightly eases after rest. These signals cannot be ignored; public health campaigns have already warned quite clearly about this. But the other half is probably because people have been suspended in life’s limbo for too long. Long-distance couples, jobs that are stagnant, savings built up without knowing what purpose they serve. Even when taking occasional leave and not working, you don’t feel relaxed; you just feel emptier. Any news of sudden death, when you are in this state, turns into a persistent question: What exactly are you striving for

“Loa A” is a recently trending internet meme (particularly on platforms like Bilibili, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu) in China, primarily referring to an overseas blogger named “Squish the King” (also known as Squish), and his narrative system about American society.

Simply put, you can understand this term from the following dimensions:

1. Origin of the Name: Playful References and Nicknames

• “Lao” Generation (Surname “Lao”): This prefix originates from the internet meme “Mamba Mentality” and the Kobe Bryant reference (“Lao Da,” “Lao K,” etc.). Within the current Chinese internet subculture, “Lao” has evolved into a playful and slightly mocking term used to refer to certain figures with specific controversial or profound labels.
• “A”: Represents America (United States).
• Combined Name: Due to this blogger’s long-standing coverage of the harsh realities of American life, netizens adopted the “Lao” generation naming rule and playfully nicknamed him “Lao A.”

2. Core Concept: “The American Kill Shot Line”

“牢A” went viral because he introduced a highly contagious concept – “The American Kill Shot Line.”

I’ve gotten used to buying investments on Alipay, and I plan to handle my personal pension all in one place, investing entirely in broad market indices. After a lot of trouble finding customer service and getting the account properly linked, I was completely blindsided: Alipay only showed an account balance, and I couldn’t see any details of the funds I’d previously purchased. The data synchronization is really lacking! Is this some kind of bug?

Yesterday after watching the match, the feeling of “unsettledness” lingered in my heart for a long time. I happened to see a netizen’s words and felt a deep connection – he started his engagement with this sport from elementary school, while I only began to get involved in university.

• This morning between 7:30 and 8:30, the internet at my house went down silently. The external service deployed on my computer precisely recorded the moment it disconnected, everything happening without warning.

Recently, I’ve been focusing on reducing fat and shaping my body, primarily through running at the gym to burn calories. I’m also supplementing this with some basic strength training to boost my basal metabolism. I’ve noticed a pattern: muscle soreness always lags behind, and not working out every day doesn’t cause as much pain; it’s really noticeable 48-72 hours after exercise.

My training goals are mainly to return to my ideal weight, so the intensity of strength training isn’t planned to be particularly high. Based on my experience hiking Mount Lu in September, this type of soreness usually takes about three days to fully resolve (when I was younger, I had some experiences with dieting and my physical condition was much better, recovery was much faster). Now that my leg muscles have adapted and recovered, but I feel like the main muscle groups throughout my body still need to be reactivated and adjusted one by one.