Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

It feels like I have been sick for quite a while now. Every night before sleep, I cough up phlegm. And when I wake up, a dry mouth awaits me. A constant stream of lozenges during the day may suppress the itchiness in the back of my throat during meetings. However, their too frequent usage has led to occasional bouts of diarrhea that forced me on a soup-and-bread diet for days at a time...graphic as this may all seem, it is a rather apt description of the week I have had since returning to Malta from an intercontinental journey less than a week ago.

A few days ago, a marathon held in Beijing marked the first time that specifically designed humanoid runner robots participated alongside actual human runners. Rather than a display of technological prowess, the publicity focused on just how much the humanoids lagged behind the humans, with the fastest robot finishing more than an hour after the human winner, and three-quarters of the robot entries dropped out of the race. The event became a testament to just how difficult it remains for robotics to fully mimic such basic human actions as running, despite advancements in AI and precision manufacturing.

Having lived in Malta for over a year, I visited the famed Hagar Qim Temple for the first time late last month. I was spurred on by unexpectedly waking up to a sunny and warm weekday without work. My trip was well worth it, as the UNESCO heritage site’s enigmatic beige stone blocks contrast beautifully with the yellow flowers in full bloom amidst the green grass and the blue Mediterranean in the distance.