My Monday's MLB Game is less than an hour away. The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to start playing at 5:40 PM CDT. As I usually do, I'll follow the game's score and stats in real time via MLB's Gameday Service where we can also find links to the radio-call of the game provided by announcers of either team we choose.

And the adventure continues.

Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Alaric	Human	Paladin level 4	Big, doe eyed country boy with wavy blond hair and willingness to do the right thing. Paladin of Tyr.
Aurella	Elf	Fighter level 1 / magic-user level 1	Exiled and chased out of her tree commune, she now wanders the Wilderlands.
Ignaeus	Elf	Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5	An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Jacob Vin	Human	Assassin level 4	Slick black hair, inconspicuous dress, youthful for his age, and of keen instincts.
Kenso San	Human	Fighter level 2	An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Petrus	Human	Paladin level 1	Follower of Surya, God of the Sun and Ruler of the Planets, sporting a large sun motif on his shield.
Wilbalt Abendeurer	Human	Fighter level 2	A burly blonde barbarian; Warmund's younger brother and a better swordsman of the two.

Thawmist 16th, Airday

Alaric led a party of seven to a tumuls two leagues north-west from Ironburg. He led them there after baron Sig informed him that scouts have spotted goblins digging out skeletal remains. “Alaric, get rid of the denizens. You can keep whatever you find. But you must bring me a list of everything you find.”

Having had enough of the accursed ruin known as Castle Yukanthur, adventurers gathered up and jumped at the opportunity to kick some goblin ass. They were joined by two newcomers—Aurella the Elf, and Petrus the Paladin—and set out for the tumulus with the first ray of sun.

Adventurers opted to take the longer route, following the hilly terrain instead. This, they reasoned, would give them a vantage point. They arrived around noon. Their assumption was accurate, and they spotted the tumulus nearly a thousand yards away.

It was a rectangular affair, roughly three hundred feet wide, three hundred feet long, and between thirty and fifty feet tall. Dugouts were noticeable on the southern side. A singular, albeit large, tree adorned the top. It stood proud on the south-west side.

The party spent an hour circling the barrow. This preventive scouting paid of handsomely for they spotted a large vaulted entrance into the burial mound, as well as its guarding. A large, obese beast, munching on something, sat by the entrance.

“An ogre.” more experienced adventurers muttered.

“Leave it to me.” Aurella offered.

She got down on all fours and prowled towards the foul beast. She went from bush to bush. From tree trunk to tree trunk. And when she got in position, some one hundred and forty yards away, she gingerly got up to kneeling position, and took out her longbow.

The ogre waved at her. It was munching on what appeared to be a humanoid leg. Aurella stood up and fired at the beast, twice. She hit he dirt behind it, twice.

The monster laughed and ran forward.

Aurella shoot again, twice. Her first arrow nicked the beast, making it laugh even harder. Second arrow flew into void.

But Aurella was not alone.

Alaric and Kenso ran forth, checking the ogre's progress. Wilbalt, Petrus, and Jacob were right behind.

Ogre smacked Alaric with its gnarly, half-eaten leg. The paladin recoiled from blunt force trauma, but stood still. Wilbalt used the opportunity to drive glaive straight into the beast's neck. It gurgled blood, and then toppled over.

It wore nothing but loincloth. It also had a large sack tied to a rope. Inspecting it revealed disgusting snacks—one human left arm, one elves right arm, one kneecap, and one half-chewed hobbit head.

Wilbalt took an interest into the last one. He picked out the head and fingered it. Lo and behold, a golden ring was stuck in what little remained of its gullet. While he did that, others advanced toward the tumulus.

Kenso and Jacob climbed it, and investigated the tree. Alaric and Ignaeus flanked the large vaulted entrance, twenty feet wide, and thirty feet tall at the apex. Stone doors laid smashed on the ground in front of them. Aurella and Petrus continued forth, inside.

Light shone all the way in, down the sixty feet wide corridor, and into a square chamber forty feet long and wide. Doors were straight ahead. The duo moved forth, laser-focused on them.

They heard a whistle the their right.

They turned just in time to receive three javelins to the face.

Aurella went down.

Petrus dodged and blocked.

Three filthy goblins giggled behind portcullis.

Petrus jumped to the side, flattening himself against the east wall.

Ignaeus and Wilbalt ran in, and killed all three goblins in seconds, extinguishing their mocking voices forever. Little fools remained too close to the iron grates. Two fled into the darkness beyond.

Adventurers dragged Aurella outside. She survived hear ordeal, but was properly banged up. Still, she offered to carry the torch and be useful however she can.

Kenso and Jacob informed the party that there is a hole beneath the tree, leading down, alongside its roots. It is deep and dark, so they did not see where exactly it leads.

“Let's go in!”

And so they went in. Jacob shone a light down the portcullis. A rectangular chamber, thirty feet wide and forty feet long, with an arched exit to the south-east.

North doors were locked.

Jacob stepped forth. He picked the lock like a Master Thief.

“SNAP!”

“Uh-oh.”

Within seconds Jacob, Petrus, and Kenso were doused in thick and sticky military oil.

“TZUNK! TZUNK!”

Two small quartz-stones hit against each other.

They failed to produce a spark.

And luckily, neither of the three held a torch.

“Look at them, the Greasy Boys!”

“Oh, open the doors already!”

“They are stuck.”

With a little bit of muscle and grease, the adventures forced their way into a rather disgusting chamber. It measured forty by thirty feet, and was filled with sacks of various sizes, covered with writhing maggots and buzzing flies, and sitting in pools of coagulated blood. Half a dozen of barrels contained frothing brown liquid, a rancid mix of piss and ale. Since Tam was not present, the quality of ale remains undetermined.

But west wall is what preoccupied Ignaeus and Aurella the most. A carved relief of a skeleton warrior laid in a coffin dominated the central portion.

“Aha!”

Upon a closer inspection, Ignaeus observed that the eyes are recessed. He promptly poked both of the sockets. Left eye depressed, and the relief slid to the side, revealing a thirty foot long corridor. Seven more, identical reliefs adorned the corridor.

The elf moved in, while others observed from the filthy chamber. He systematically checked each relief. Only two had the same style of recessed eyeballs—both at the end of the corridor.

He pressed the south one.

It rotated south.

Dank air assailed his nostrils. Before him was a tunnel, but not hewn stone nor natural cave. It was packed soil reinforced with wooden beams. Puddle of stagnant water were visible here and there. Water seeped through the sides.

Ignaeus and Alaric took the lead. Several alcoves were visible. Approaching the first revealed its inhabitant: a skeleton dressed in ancient leather armour and horned helmet, holding a rusty blade. Wilbalt spotted a large bronze band around its left biceps. “Would it fit me?” he thought. The skeleton's head turned towards Ignaeus. It did not move.

The elf made a few more steps forth. The head followed. Body did not move. Similar skeleton, with similar behaviour, was in the next alcove as well.

“let's go back. I don't like this. Could collapse on us anytime.”

Adventurers fell back into the corridor. Secret doors they came through had close. There was no skeletal relief on their side.

“Uh-oh.” somebody uttered.

Ignoring that, Ignaeus pressed the eyes of the northern relief.

It swung open, revealing a hewn corridor leading forth. Jacob's lantern shone the full length of it, revealing it opens up into a chamber.

Stepping in, all felt frigid cold. Their breaths became visible.

Ignaeus marched first.

Jacob and Alaric behind him.

Aurella and Kenso in step.

Petrus at the rear.

Wilbalt behind him. Daydreaming about bicep bands.

Alaric felt a presence of great evil. He knew that he cannot leave this place until he cleanses it. Nay, he was compelled to do so.

Ignaeus came to the archway.

Onyx black slab, nine inches tall, and ten feet wide and long, dominated the chamber.

Upon it a pale human laid, of taut skin and wild, white mane. Dried flowers and broken twigs adorned its flowing hair. Hundreds of copper pieces were strewn over the creatures chests, genitalia, and thighs. At its waist, on a girdle, an impeccable looking broadsword with a wolf-head pommel rested.

Pale figure raised its head, an gazed at Ignaeus with otherworldly malice.

Ignaeus quadrupled himself.

Secret doors shut behind them.

“Oh no, now we are entombed for real!” somebody eeked out.

“I think if the thing would want to attack us, it would've done already.” Wilbalt whispered “Maybe we can get out of a situation with talking for once?”

He could not believe the words he had just said...

Aurella's account by After.

Meme by Lord Jubalon Flux.

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

Fortitude lapses on the furnace of my chill like ripples cascading across an abandoned minefield. All it takes is one surprise snap, and suddenly it's Splash Mountain —arms all akimbo— in feat retracting clamber.

Void of spotlight shenanigans, I sink into the murky peace, and allow the temptation of hesitation to be clobbered by its own path of mutual resistance. Another step of tape-strung prep saving the splay.

It'll be okay. Speed is not for today.

Repetition quotes a diver-tranced “Again!” Pain is my friend. Ascend to the mend. Red lines may welt across this forwarded moment... Uhhhhmmm. ...but I'm fraught with survival, and an excess of laughing matter.

Written August 3, 2026. © 2026 AnOublietteofThought.

I managed ¾ of a mile this morning. It frustrates me to no end, but I'm reminding myself that all movement forward is still movement. I think learning compassion for myself has been one of the most challenging life lessons. It remains ongoing, and likely will continue to do so.

I was once involved with an organization whose motto is “adapt and overcome.” Who knew it'd become a very important mindset in my life. Of course, the definition of “overcome” has gone through its own metamorphosis. Kind of like me.

Chin up, Buttercup! Life may break your body, but your wit and spirit are unconquerable!

Fantastic documentary on Enki Bilal from Standart.

Finally got around to reading Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's 2008 novel UTOPIA (in its original Arabic), which is just brilliant and in 2026 eerily close to reality.

Started watching SILO which I am enjoying enough, though I can't stand Rebecca Ferguson.

#radar

Most mornings when I'm walking to work I listen to music. The playlists I choose are generally like the music version of comfort food, or a favorite pair of comfortable shoes. It is something I enjoy for that twenty minutes or so on my way to work where generally there isn't any enjoyment. Or maybe I shouldn't say there isn't any enjoyment. I think from time to time my coworkers and I intoxicate and entertain each other with sarcasm about how stupid our f'n job is. Is fabricating joy by hurling insults toward a corporate employer behind their back better than no joy at all? I don't know. Probably.

Most days when I listen to music on the way there I usually end up with one of the songs stuck in my head. One morning I had a rather strange and unexpected thing happen. When I got to the edge of the parking lot at work I decided to sit for a moment on the picnic table and finish the song that was playing, which happened to be Empty by Metric.

I removed my phone from my pocket before sitting down. Right after I sat down I unlocked it with my fingertip so I could check and see how much of the song was remaining. Just as the screen illuminated a lyric in the song played, “ask the line on your face what the line on your hand meant”. Not only did I hear it as it was playing, but the lyrics were also showing up below the little picture of the album cover. I also read the words while hearing them.

I had heard the song likely a hundred or more times over the years but I hadn't heard it in awhile. All day at work I could not stop thinking about that one lyric. It was not something that ever stood out to me on previous listens, and I found myself wondering if it even would have stood out this time if I hadn't sat down just then and read the words on my phone while they were being sung.

The lyric seemed to have an implication that maybe (most likely) it would not have had to me earlier in life. Sort of like regret, or like I had missed something fundamental along the way. At the same time though I felt a kind of freedom in knowing there is fuck all I can do about any of it now. The past can haunt me all it wants, but I can't change it. I can only live with the consequences of my bad decisions and enjoy the rewards of the good ones. Try to learn from all of it, and hopefully use what I have learned to make better decisions in the present.

• ✒️ I’ve been using a Bullet Journal for 2 months now. I’m starting to get a feel for what works for me, and I realized I don’t miss most of the digital tools I was using before. I still use a digital calendar, email and Standard Notes, but I’ve been very satisfied having my to-dos in analog form.
• 📘 I started reading the last book of The Expanse series, “Leviathan Falls” by James S.A. Corey. I love to have these beloved series to get back to, and I might be unconsciously taking longer to read it because I don’t want it to end?! 🫣
• 📕 Another series I’m almost done is The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. I finished “Captain Vorpatril's Alliance” and I can’t wait to go to the next book.
• 🥳 I am now closer to being 50 years old than 45 years old, somewhere in between. And I feel great about it, no regrets.
• 🔎 I started doing the weekly Word Search and Sudoku that comes in a free weekly flyer with local store sales in my neighbourhood. It’s been ages since I’ve done any of these, and I am enjoying the experience. I love that the section on the flyer is called “Your Moment of Zen”. Anyway, I rediscovered Sudoku, and I heard about this thing called Murdoku that I now want to explore!
• 🎬 I went to see “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan in a regular IMAX cinema. I haven’t been to the movies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so that was interesting. The movie is great; it was more gory and bloody than I was expecting, but I enjoyed the narrative choices and the excellent sound design.
• 🤘 I discovered a new metal band! And by new, I mean really new: they have released only 2 albums so far. The band is called Castle Rat, led by a woman, with a sound clearly inspired by early doom metal and Black Sabbath. Also, they use this over-the-top medieval fantasy 80’s aesthetic that is retro and quirky and amazing.
• 📝 I decided to join the Blaugust Festival of Blogging !! My first post is here.
• 📺 I’ve been enjoying the series Connections by James Burke on Curiosity Stream.

Post 02 of #Blaugust #weeknotes

JOURNAL 3 août 2026

La nuit est chaude. Pas de ciel Pas d'étoiles Nuit noire tout autour On s'est assise pour regarder sur la mer. Au loin les lumières clignotantes. Je suppose que c’est la distance et le mouvement des bateaux qui produisent cette impression. Petites lucioles aux parcours mystérieux.

On aime être comme ça, côte à côte, en silence, à contempler le monde. C'est presque de la méditation On se sent si petites L'océan produit une idée précise de l'immensité de l'univers et forcément nous rappelle la fragilité et la brièveté de nos vies.

Alors on se donne la main pour se rassurer en silence

⚓️ Poesie.

Gerade noch saßen sie da,

die Segler,

in offenen Camper vor ihren Wäscheleinen,

an denen die Taucheranzüge im Wind flatterten.

Aus aller Herren Länder leuchteten die Flaggen

international in den kleinen Küstenort.

Gerade noch zogen sie morgens ihre Boote

über den Sand ins Meer und doch sind sie jetzt

wieder fort, setzen an anderer Stelle ihre Segel,

fortgeweht wie die gelben Blätter, die über die Promenade

wehen.

Die Einheimischen gehen wieder ihrem Alltag nach,

schwimmen im Morgenlicht,

treffen sich auf der Promenade zum Boule,

oder auf dem Markt.

Es ist, als hätte es die Travemünder Woche nie gegeben.

🌊 Strandgut.

Wenn die Segler sich auf dem Meer tummeln oder die großen Pötte am Horizont sichtbar werden, näher kommen und sich am kleinen Leuchtturm vorbeischieben, geht mir das Herz auf. Während ich über die Promenade radle, entsteht in mir das Gefühl, auf dem Strand zu leben. Ich fühle das Vibrieren der Menschen, die ihre Köpfe in die Sonne halten, die eine Sommernacht durchtanzen, die ihre Subs ins Meer schieben … Die Melodie von Gershwins “Summertime” erklingt in meinem Kopf, und gleich setze ich mich ans Klavier und klimpere sie nach.

Gleichzeitig erinnere ich mich an frühere Strandaufenthalte in anderen Teilen der Welt. An Zelturlaube in Frankreich, an eine kleine Familienpension in Italien, an Sportsbars auf Hawaii und es entsteht ein Gefühl der Verbundenheit mit meinem früheren Dasein und den Küsten untereinander. Weltumfassend.

📖 Gelesen. Gesehen. Gehört.

#gelesen

Haben oder Sein – Die seelischen Grundlagen einer neuen Gesellschaft von Erich Fromm – Das Buch ist mir in einem Büchertausch-Regal in die Hände gefallen und hat mich von den ersten Seiten an, in den Bann gezogen, weil die Auseinandersetzung mit der Frage nichts an Aktualität verloren hat. Im Gegenteil!

#gesehen

Eine feine Überraschung war der Film “The Map that leads to you” (Liebe findet uns). Der Film erzählt die Geschichte von Heather, die mit Freundinnen durch Europa reist, bevor ihr perfekt geplantes Leben beginnen soll. Der Film war für mich persönlich nicht nur ein wundervoller Flashback an vielfältige Europareisen kreuz und quer mit dem Zug, sondern auch die Entdeckung des Schriftstellers J.P. Monninger, der den Roman geschrieben hat und damit auf wundervolle Weise Hemingways Roman “Fiesta” verarbeitet. Das Leben ist ein Fest! Die stilvolle Machart des Films ist dem schwedischen Regisseur Lasse Hallström zu verdanken.

#gehört

Copenhagen Cinnamon von Stefanie Neeb entführt die Zuhörenden in die herbstlichen Viertel der dänischen Hauptstadt bis hin zum Küstenort Rungsted, wo die Schriftstellerin Karen Blixen gelebt hat. Zwischen Kaffee und Zimtschnecken knistert es zwischen den Hauptfiguren Mads und Jonna vor der Kulisse eines gemütlichen Coffee Shops.

☕️ Zum Schluss.

… eines meiner Lieblingszitate in “Haben oder Sein”:

“Es gibt kein Sein, das nicht gleichzeitig ein Werden und sich verändern ist. Lebende Strukturen können nur sein, indem sie werden, können nur existieren, indem sie sich verändern. Wachstum und Veränderung sind inhärente Eigenschaften des Lernprozesses.”

Starting with a tension and staying with it long enough for something previously invisible to become visible has increasingly become the centre of my writing practice.

The essay linked below is an example of that approach. It begins with work that shaped my belief in the possibilities of dialogue, participation and persuasion, then follows a line of enquiry towards a conclusion I had resisted for many years.

Rather than resolving the tension, the piece attempts to remain with it long enough for its underlying structure to reveal itself.

Published in The Marshall Review: rvw.ie Read the essay

David Marshall Sna Sceirí

 

When argument has nothing to stand on

Some years back I was awarded a DPhil for work I had published two decades earlier, work that was judged to make an original contribution to knowledge. The first revealed a structure for presenting a defence of nurses accused of wrongdoing. It explored how to advance an argument inside a recognised hierarchy with actors who largely behaved with integrity. The second revealed a structure for engaging public sector workers in discussion. It examined how people could draw on their own experience and develop their opinions about a major shift in government policy that would affect both their work and their representation.

In both pieces of work the environments carried a particular character. A kind of liberal consensus that was so familiar at the time that we barely noticed it. In the tribunal cases the hierarchy itself provided the frame. Everyone in the room recognised the authority of the structure. Everyone understood the rules and the evidential standards. Everyone behaved broadly with enough integrity for argument to matter. It was possible to advance a defence because the structure could hold the weight of disagreement. Power was present of course. It always is. But it was channelled and contained. Given form by the procedures that governed the room. Argument belonged there because the environment itself supported the activity of argument.

The second situation shared the same assumptions though expressed differently. These were not formal hearings but part of a national conversation involving more than 650,000 public sector workers attempting to make sense of a significant policy shift. There was no hierarchy and no tribunal procedure. There was however mutual recognition. Despite the scale of the undertaking people listened because they recognised their own concerns in those of others. They were willing to explore and revise their views because the structure we built together made that possible. Their opinions shifted not because one person persuaded them but because they persuaded each other. Consensus emerged because the conditions allowed it. Shared experience. Trust in the process. A sense that everyone was participating in good faith.

Power was present here too but moderated by familiarity and reciprocity. Both environments rested on the same quiet assumptions. That argument is meaningful. That persuasion is possible. That norms are broadly shared. That the structures we inhabit can contain the power within them. These were not abstract ideals. They were the material conditions that made argument possible. They shaped the liberal imagination of the time and they shaped my own understanding of how people reason together. They convinced me that though we may differ in our wants needs and desires there is often a path to resolution if we place in our way the machinery through which disagreement can be managed. The participation of everyone involved is not incidental to that process. It is one of its essential ingredients.

At the same time as those two pieces of work and for some years afterwards I was engaged in a programme I titled Tackling Racism. That work took me into closed rooms where regard for others was not shared in the way it had been in tribunals or workplace discussions. The assumptions that had quietly underpinned those earlier environments were simply absent. The expectation that people would listen. The expectation that they would recognise each other. The expectation that they would accept the legitimacy of the process itself. In those rooms the role of some participants emerged very quickly. A desire to bully. To intimidate. To dominate.

These were not the anti-racism workshops familiar in workplaces and trade union halls where we were often dealing with prejudice born of distance or unfamiliarity. Misunderstandings that could sometimes be worked through. These meetings were different. For some participants they became opportunities for larger scale bullying and repression. The same behaviours that had already shown themselves in abuse directed at individuals on the shop floor in corridors in car parks and on the street. The structure could not contain it.

Sometimes a realisation arrives in an instant. Sometimes it comes slowly as if the mind is adjusting itself grain by grain. This one arrived neither way. It was prolonged. And it was punishing. I denied it. I fought it. I kept returning to the belief that there had to be a way. That if I could only find the right structure the right approach the right moment then the same regard for others that had shaped my earlier work would re-emerge. I had seen people change their minds. I had seen consensus form. I had seen argument work. Surely it could work here too.

But the more I failed the more I felt the realisation rising. Not as an idea but as a physical sensation. Something welling up from the pit of my stomach. The assumptions I had carried from those earlier environments simply did not apply. The quiet respect for others. The willingness to listen. The expectation of integrity. The belief that everyone in the room was engaged in the same activity. None of these could be assumed.

What confronted me was not a breakdown in argument. It was the absence of the conditions that make argument possible.

I had spent years believing that good structures could enable disagreement to become something productive. That if people could be brought into the same space then understanding could emerge. That persuasion remained possible.

What I discovered was the limit of that belief. Argument is not a universal tool. It depends upon conditions that cannot be assumed. It depends upon structures capable of holding power. It depends upon shared norms however imperfect. It depends upon a willingness to recognise others not merely as opponents but as participants in a common endeavour. Remove those conditions and argument does not fail.

It ceases to exist.

David Marshall Sna Sceirí

Humboldt Forum: 18. Juli

Gestern haben wir mit Nandita bis zwei Uhr nachts geredet. Als heute Morgen der Wecker um sieben Uhr klingelte, fühlte ich mich, als hätte ich den Kopf voller Sand. Ich bin mir allerdings nicht sicher, ob dieses Bild auf Deutsch überhaupt etwas bedeutet. Auf Litauisch beschreiben wir diesen Zustand – wenn der Kopf einfach nicht richtig funktioniert – mit zwei Redewendungen. Entweder sagen wir, dass jemand „wie mit einem Sack geschlagen“ aussieht, oder eben, dass er „einen Kopf voller Sand“ hat. Darüber muss ich unbedingt noch mit meinen deutschen Freunden diskutieren. Übrigens beziehen sich beide Redewendungen eigentlich auf den Zustand nach einer durchfeierten Nacht mit Alkohol.

Nandita trinkt allerdings überhaupt keinen Alkohol. Sie trinkt nicht einmal Kaffee oder Tee – nur Wasser. Ich dagegen trinke je nach Stimmung eigentlich alles, meistens allerdings in Gesellschaft von Freunden, die ebenfalls Alkohol trinken. Mit Nandita braucht man jedoch überhaupt keinen Alkohol. Nach einem Abend mit ihr fühlt man sich auch ganz ohne das, als hätte man viel zu viel getrunken!

Zunächst noch ein paar Worte über unsere Hunde. Früher hatte Nandita in Indien große Angst vor Hunden. Deshalb fühlt sie sich selbst mit unseren Hunden noch etwas unwohl, obwohl sie sich eigentlich überhaupt nicht für sie interessieren. Wie ich schon erzählt habe, reagiert Pipiras allerdings sehr empfindlich auf neue Menschen und ungewöhnliche Situationen. Als Nandita ankam und laut rufend auf mich zugelaufen kam, fing Pipiras sofort laut an zu bellen. Dadurch bekam Nandita noch mehr Angst und versuchte förmlich, auf mich hinaufzuklettern. Pipiras wiederum war überzeugt, dass sie mich angreifen wollte, und bellte noch lauter. Am Ende war die ganze Rezeption voller Lärm. Eigentlich, würde ich sagen, ist Nandita die menschliche Version von Pipiras. Sie hat ebenfalls eine unglaublich laute Stimme. Wenn die beiden gleichzeitig aus Angst ihre Sirenen einschalten, könnte man wirklich einen Großalarm auslösen. Zum Glück gelang es mir, beide Sirenen wieder auszuschalten, und wir konnten endlich spazieren gehen.

Mindaugas fühlte sich heute leider nicht besonders gut. Deshalb gingen Nandita und ich allein mit den Hunden zur Morgenrunde. Endlich stellte Nandita fest, dass unsere Hunde sich überhaupt nicht für sie interessieren – solange sie nicht schreit. Deshalb konnten unsere Nachbarn am Samstagmorgen endlich wieder etwas ruhiger schlafen. Unser Plan für heute war, ein bisschen Arbeit mit ein bisschen Vergnügen zu verbinden.

Wir gingen noch einmal zur Museumsinsel. Nach dem Frühstück wollte ich dort eine weitere Wegbeschreibung testen. Ich wusste schon vorher, dass das wieder viel Zeit kosten würde. Deshalb beschlossen wir, den Tag zunächst ganz entspannt mit einem Frühstück zu beginnen. Dabei entdeckten wir ein wirklich schönes Café in der Nähe des Berliner Doms. Leider war es für Mindaugas nicht besonders gut zugänglich, weil es sich halb im Keller befand. Aber wenn er zu Hause geblieben ist, konnte ich auch ein bisschen die unzugängliche Orte kennenlernen. Die Panini und die Waffeln waren wirklich lecker – und dazu noch überraschend günstig.

Dieses Mal beschäftigte ich mich mit der Wegbeschreibung zum Humboldt Forum. Alle Einzelheiten werde ich diesmal nicht beschreiben, trotzdem möchte ich ein paar Beobachtungen zusammenfassen:

1. Dieses Mal musste ich einen anderen Ausgang aus dem U-Bahnhof finden. Da ich das System der Treppen inzwischen schon viel besser kannte, klappte das erstaunlich gut. Die Wegbeschreibung führte mich zum Treppenaufgang. Allerdings wurde nicht erwähnt, dass sich die normale Treppe zwischen zwei Rolltreppen befindet. Ich vermute, dass das für die Berliner ohnehin selbstverständlich ist – nur ich musste erst einmal lange danach suchen.

2. Vor dem zweiten Treppenaufgang sollte ich zweimal rechts entlang gehen und dabei eine Wand auf meiner rechten Seite haben. Den Treppenaufgang fand ich allerdings eher nach einer Rechtskurve. Ist das falsch? Hoffentlich nicht. Da ich die ganze Zeit die Wand auf meiner rechten Seite hatte, war ich ziemlich überzeugt, auf dem richtigen Weg zu sein, und fand den Fußgängerweg auch recht schnell.

3. Anschließend musste ich im Innenhof wieder ein Leitsystem finden. Aber auf welcher Seite? Und wohin sollte mich dieses Leitsystem überhaupt führen? Das wurde leider nicht erklärt. Also ging ich einfach „bis zum Leitsystem“, wie es in der Beschreibung stand, und folgte anschließend der metallenen Ablaufrinne bis zum Humboldt Forum.

4. Nandita filmte mich diesmal von außen. Eigentlich verlief fast alles richtig. Nur die Glastür am Ende fand ich nicht. Nandita erklärte mir schließlich, dass ich mich inzwischen auf der anderen Seite des Gebäudes befand. Wir überprüften die Beschreibung noch einmal gemeinsam. Da wir das System selbst noch nicht ganz verstanden hatten, beschlossen wir schließlich, die Suche zu beenden und stattdessen einfach über die Museumsinsel zu spazieren.

Außerdem wussten wir bereits, dass das Humboldt Forum an diesem Tag ein Berliner Festival veranstaltete und wir am Abend zu einem Konzert willkommen sein würden. Darüber freuten wir uns sehr – wir wollten den Abend einfach mit Musik, Tanzen und guter Stimmung genießen. Nach unserem Spaziergang und ein paar Fotos vor Ort waren wir ziemlich müde. Deshalb legten wir uns auf eine der erstaunlich bequemen Bänke auf der Museumsinsel. Dort kann man sich wirklich wunderbar ausruhen. Gleichzeitig konnten wir noch ein bisschen die Sonne genießen.

Was den Spaziergang mit Nandita außerdem besonders macht: Sie kommt unglaublich leicht mit Menschen ins Gespräch. Die ganze Zeit bat sie irgendwelche Passanten, Fotos von uns zu machen, und stellte mich anschließend vor den verschiedensten Gebäuden der Museumsinsel auf. Während unserer kleinen Pause erzählte sie mir von den Fotos und freute sich darüber, dass wir so nette und talentierte Fotografen gefunden hatten. Dabei wurde mir auch bewusst, dass ich mich im Zentrum von Vilnius wahrscheinlich gar nicht so entspannt erholen könnte. Dort kennen mich einfach zu viele Menschen, und deshalb habe ich oft das Gefühl, mich etwas „ordentlicher“ verhalten zu müssen. Hier in Berlin dagegen genieße ich es, einfach auf einer Bank zu liegen und mich zu entspannen. Nandita brachte uns außerdem Pommes und Kaffee, und unsere kleine Sommerpause wurde dadurch noch gemütlicher und lustiger. Die Sonne wechselte sich übrigens ständig mit einem angenehm kühlen Wind ab. Manchmal war uns richtig warm, im nächsten Moment wieder kühl. Ich vermutete allerdings mit Sorge, dass das genau die Art von Wetter ist, bei der man sich besonders leicht einen Sonnenbrand holt.

Zur Mittagspause kehrten wir ins Hotel zurück. Dort wollten wir uns noch etwas ausruhen, Mindaugas etwas zu essen bringen und außerdem einen kleinen Auftrag für die Universität erledigen. Ich bin Studierendenvertreterin und muss deshalb regelmäßig kleine Tests zu universitären Themen absolvieren. Darin geht es zum Beispiel um Fragen wie: Wie viele Vertreterinnen und Vertreter gibt es im Studierendenparlament? An wen kann ich mich bei Problemen im Studium wenden? Wo finde ich welche Informationen? Eigentlich sind diese Tests gar nicht so einfach, weil man sich an viele offizielle Einzelheiten erinnern muss. Die meisten Informationen hatte ich allerdings schon früher gesammelt. Deshalb konnte ich den Test innerhalb einer knappen Stunde abschließen und meine Qualifikation als Studierendenvertreterin wieder verlängern.

Am Abend erwartete uns schließlich ein wunderschönes Konzert. Es traten mehrere Bands aus Korea auf. Die Sängerinnen waren unglaublich sympathisch und verstanden es hervorragend, mit dem Publikum zu kommunizieren. Ich kannte koreanische Musik bisher kaum. Sie klang für mich zunächst etwas fremd, wurde aber gleichzeitig auf eine sehr attraktive Weise präsentiert. Besonders die Art zu singen fand ich faszinierend. Gemeinsam mit dem unglaublich freundlichen Berliner Publikum verbrachten wir einen wunderschönen Abend. Später gingen wir noch ein Eis essen und anschließend bis zum Alexanderplatz spazieren. Draußen waren unglaublich viele Menschen unterwegs. Ähnlich wie tagsüber waren alle mit den unterschiedlichsten Dingen beschäftigt – so verschieden und doch oft irgendwie einsam. Der Alexanderplatz wirkte auf mich wie ein gemeinsamer Treffpunkt all dieser Unterschiede. Und genau deshalb fühlte es sich schön an, selbst ein kleiner Teil dieser Vielfalt zu sein. Dieses Gefühl erlebe ich immer wieder in großen Städten. Ich habe den Eindruck, dass ihre Bewegung, ihre Geräusche und ihre Atmosphäre mir helfen, den Mangel an visuellen Informationen irgendwie auszugleichen. In der Natur empfinde ich das anders. Dort entdecke ich wiederum andere wunderbare Dinge. Aber die Stadt ist für mich wie ein ganz besonderer Teil meines Inneren.

So kamen wir schließlich mit sommerlichen, städtischen, freundlichen und fröhlichen Eindrücken nach Hause zurück.

I. Overall Market Phased adjustment against a high base

From the overall market performance, China's surgical robot market recorded sales of RMB 777 million and volume of 141 units in the first five months of 2026.

Reviewing data for the same period over the past three years:

From January to May 2024, the market recorded sales of approximately RMB 644 million, up 41.48% YoY, with volume of 83 units, up 23.88% YoY.

In 2025, the market expanded further to RMB 1.137 billion, with volume reaching 152 units. Sales value increased 76.51% YoY and volume increased 83.13% YoY, hitting the highest level for the same period in recent years.

Entering 2026, the market saw a phased pullback. Sales value fell 31.66% YoY and volume fell 7.24% YoY.

On June 3, 2026, the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) showed that Beijing Surgerii​ Robotics Company Limited and its sponsor​ CITIC Securities had submitted the Report on Completion of Tutoring Work to the Beijing Bureau of the CSRC. This marks the completion of Surgeri Robotics' STAR Market IPO tutoring, bringing it one step closer to formally submitting its listing application.

This progress is not an isolated event.

Over the past few years, China's surgical robot industry has completed the first round of industrialization validation spanning R&D, clinical verification, registration approval, and capital market listing. TINAVl Medical Technologies, MicroPort MedBot, and Shenzhen Edge Medical have successively entered the public capital markets; Edge Medical's STAR Market IPO passed review in 2023; Shanghai Simple Touch Robot has also submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, reflecting continued capital-market activity among percutaneous intervention robotics companies.

The fact that a growing number of enterprises are entering the IPO stage signals a shift in industry competition.

The focus of capital market attention is no longer whether an enterprise owns a robotic product, but whether the product can achieve scaled installation, sustained clinical application, and stable commercialization revenue. In other words, China's surgical robot industry is gradually transitioning from the “technology validation phase” to the “commercialization validation phase.”

Market data has thus become the most direct window through which to observe this transformation.

It is worth noting that the decline in volume was significantly smaller than the decline in sales value.

This phenomenon indicates that the current market is not experiencing rapid demand contraction, but rather that the product mix is undergoing changes. As Chinese products continue to scale up and more mid-to-low-priced products enter the market, the proportion of high-priced models has declined, driving the industry's overall transaction prices to gradually return to rational levels.

From the perspective of industry development patterns, this is typically an important characteristic of the market transitioning from the demonstration-and-application stage to the scaled-popularization stage.

II. Segment Breakdown

Orthopedic and Laparoscopic Robots as Dual Core Driver

From the perspective of segment structure, orthopedic surgical robots and laparoscopic surgical robots remain the two largest categories by market size.

Among them: Orthopedic surgical robots achieved sales of RMB 275 million and volume of 42 units; laparoscopic surgical robots achieved sales of RMB 269 million and volume of 22 units. The two major tracks together contributed approximately RMB 544 million in sales value, accounting for nearly 70% of the overall market, and remain the core pillars of industry development.

Unlike laparoscopic robots, which are subject to large medical equipment configuration license regulations, orthopedic robots do not require such a license. With a relatively lower procurement threshold, they hold certain advantages in installation and promotion.

From the perspective of volume, neurosurgical robots have gradually formed a trend of scaled procurement, reflecting the continuously increasing acceptance of brain surgery navigation and robot-assisted positioning technology in clinical applications.

In addition, natural orifice robots achieved sales of nearly RMB 70 million and volume of 10 units; dental robots achieved sales of RMB 39 million and volume of 21 units; percutaneous puncture robots achieved sales of RMB 15 million and volume of 3 units.

Overall, China's surgical robot market is gradually breaking away from the past pattern of “laparoscopic robots standing alone,” entering a new stage of coordinated development across multiple specialties including orthopedics, neurosurgery, dentistry, and natural orifice surgery.

III. Brand Competitive Landscape

International Leaders Retain Advantages; Domestic Enterprises Accelerate Catch-up

From the perspective of sales value ranking, international leading enterprises still maintain their leading advantage.

In the first five months of 2026, Intuitive Surgical ranked first in the market with sales of RMB 149 million, occupying an industry-leading position. As the owner of the da Vinci surgical robot, Intuitive Surgical retains strong market influence by virtue of its mature product system and long-accumulated clinical foundation.

Among Chinese enterprises, TINAVI Medical Technologies ranked second with RMB 94 million in sales. SenseRobot, Huake Precision, Tuodao Medical, MicroPort MedBot and other Chinese brands followed closely behind, together forming the first echelon of Chinese robots.

Observing from the perspective of sales volume, the market pattern presents different characteristics. Huake Precision ranked first in the industry with 22 units; Yake Smart and TINAVI Medical Technologies both achieved sales of 10 units; Intuitive Surgical and Medtronic sold 9 and 8 units respectively.

From the above analysis, it can be found that leading sales value does not completely equate to leading sales volume.

Some high-end robots occupy the sales value advantage by virtue of their higher unit prices, while specialty robots such as neurosurgical and dental robots achieve market penetration through higher installation volumes. Industry competition is gradually shifting from product R&D competition to commercialization capability competition.

Whoever can enter more hospitals, cover more departments, and achieve sustained clinical application will become the core of future market competition.

IV. Procurement Entities Grade 3 Class A Hospitals Remain the Market Core

From the perspective of procurement entity structure, Grade 3 Class A hospitals remain the most important procurement force in the current surgical robot market. Data shows that Grade 3 Class A hospitals contributed 75.78% of market sales value and accounted for 69.50% of total volume. Whether from the perspective of procurement amount or procurement quantity, Grade 3 Class A hospitals still constitute the fundamental base of the market.

Non-medical institutions accounted for 8.42% of market sales value, ranking second, reflecting that research institutions, teaching platforms, and related experimental centers remain an important component of robot procurement. Grade 3 Class B hospitals, other Grade 3 hospitals, and Grade 2 medical institutions together contributed approximately 9% of market sales value. Although their share is still low, they have begun to form sustained procurement demand.

Overall, the current surgical robot market remains highly dependent on top-tier hospitals. However, as product prices gradually decline and the medical insurance payment system continues to improve, the downstream market is expected to become an important incremental source for the future.

Conclusion

2026 marks an important turning point for the surgical robot industry.

If the core task of China's surgical robot industry over the past decade was to complete technological breakthroughs and obtain product approvals, then the current industry is entering a new stage of commercialization capability validation.

From the perspective of market data, although the surgical robot market experienced a phased adjustment in the first five months of 2026, the underlying logic of industry development has not changed.

On one hand, orthopedic and laparoscopic robots still constitute the main body of the market; on the other hand, segments such as neurosurgery, dentistry, and natural orifice surgery are gradually opening up market space, and the industrial pattern of multi-specialty coordinated development has initially taken shape.

For enterprises, the key to future competition is no longer just the number of registration certificates and technical parameters, but rather hospital installation capability, clinical promotion capability, and commercial operation capability.

At the same time, the number of approved products continues to increase, the supply capacity of domestic enterprises continues to grow, and market competition is gradually shifting from “whether one has a product” to “who can achieve scaled application”.

For hospitals, as the medical insurance payment system gradually improves and the product pricing system continuously optimizes, surgical robots are gradually penetrating from being an innovative configuration of a few large medical centers toward more specialties and medical institutions.

And for the capital market, the fact that a growing number of surgical robot enterprises are entering the IPO stage essentially reflects that the industry has walked through the technology-validation cycle and is beginning to enter the commercial-value realization cycle.

What will determine enterprise value in the future may no longer be how many innovative technologies one possesses, but rather who can truly transform technology into clinical value, and ultimately form sustainable market demand.

From this perspective, 2026 may not be the year of fastest growth for China's surgical robot market, but it is likely to become an important watershed for the industry's transition from technology-driven to commercialization-driven development.

Unfortunately, I won Catan today. I say unfortunately, because there were a few people I was playing with that were being somewhat competitive and were a little bit of a sore loser at the end. I understand that this is not my responsibility, but at the same time I recognize that some people are sore losers and I am completely fine losing games. My biggest priority is that everyone is having fun, and the way I see it is if I win someone else may be unhappy if someone else wins I won’t be unhappy at that, and they will likely be more happy and so I don’t mind. But unfortunately, that’s just how the game went and I guess I could have thrown more than just sharing information or strategy against myself, but at the same time I feel like that’s kind of excessive. It’s not like it’s my responsibility to make sure that the other people will not be sore. Losers, that is on them. Do it right there?