May 1, 2026 · 16:42

The tourist enticer

That is what I saw yesterday (among other ideas). Although this morning I hoped to run into Mal Lanyon APM (police commissioner Sydney), he got into this job today, making my giggle moment even better. You see, I was going to walk up to him and inform him that I increased in rank today as the new Commodore (I turned 64 today) and see how that goes over. I am not anything but a dedicated glutton for chaos when the setting gives me the opportunity. 

But that is neither here nor there.

The setting is tourism in the Middle East and as I have given a few ideas to the UAE, it only stands to right I do something similar for Saudi Arabia. The first thing that came to mind was what was there’ and we can see that Hollywood Boulevard is there, but as I see it nearly 249 million Europeans (aged 15+) made at least one personal tourism trip in 2024, as well tens of millions of Canadians make travel their touristic setting and I am happy to see more than 90% that will no longer make the United States that destination. A lot will seek out Europe and Asia their destination, yet it would be nice to see a lot more going to the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) as such I thought of reasons for them to seek the locations out. The UAE has its pigeons in a row and I added an idea or two there, but now it is time for Saudi Arabia to get a few ideas. They have several options, but I reckon not enough. You need to ‘entertain’ these flocks for over a week and here I see options. One of them is that the Netherlands has the holy land foundation, the idea is nice, but what if this village is more representing an educational view of Saudi Arabia from before it was founded? A place representing the looks of an Arabian village (circa 1700-1900) complete with the guides and ‘local’ population to give it form? It could serve as an educational setting for the local population as well. Combine this with a few of the 1001 tales, not the politically correct ‘adjusted’ version of Ali Baba and the 40 fighters for the Palestinian cause. So consider that the 1001 tales includes numerous stories depict jinn, ghouls, ape people, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, I reckon that you could have at least a dozen stories all over the place and there are more to include or even replace the ones that have been there for a few seasons making the attraction a long term want to see idea. I reckon that it should be in Riyadh, but that would be up to the Saudi government to decide upon. In addition, the Dutch also have the Archeon, a place with historic settings of three villages, a bronze age dwelling, a Roman dwelling (complete with a fighting rink), a bathhouse and a few other settings and a middle age village (from around 1400), these places are built using the materials that were available in those days and they had their own cuisine. The roman lamb was magnificent and the Abbeys Waffles with hot cherry sauce and whipped cream has to be tried to be believed. There are merely two settings and there is a lot more. Stockholm has the Vasa museum, and it has power because of the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. The idea cannot be replicated, but France has the Puy du Fou in the Vendée region being the most prominent, offering an immersive walkthrough attraction titled Le Mystère de La Pérouse. That idea can be translated to a walk though on a replication of a VOC ship (I wrote about this earlier) and these settings are for the Saudi population just as entertaining as it is for tourists. Add to that a eating place (you cannot call that a restaurant) in the image of the galley of a Man of War which should hold enough place and it could evolve into a place with more than this, optionally a modern submarine (complete with periscope) would be the tourist setting that Saudi Arabia adds to this collection. It was my thought to stay away from the ‘American’ entertaining ideas. Abu Dhabi already has these settings in place and they did this rather well. As such the idea is to create things that are NOT there. And these are the three ideas I see. So whilst we are now given ‘Most Americans Now Say U.S. Foreign Policy Ignores the Interests of Other Countries’ it is now the goal to isolate ‘that’ United States from the rest of the world and fortunately Europe and Asia have plenty of ideas to fuel the beacons of Saudi Arabia and its tourism attractions. It might be shallow but I came up with these settings in merely a few days and these setting s could be transferred to other places. It might not all be placed in Riyadh, for example the Puy du Fou could be added to the Sindalah resort, right next to its Marina. And other places could be considered as well as Saudi Arabia seeks to franchise a new setting that is created with branding and visibility, so that tourists and Saudi’s see the places they recognise from other places and they need not be identical. It was one of the attraction that gave places like Planet Hollywood its attraction on a global setting. 

So as I see it, there is plenty to do and as Saudi Arabia gets a slice of these 249,000,000 tourists, the setting is to do this now, when the United States is creating global disgust. A good place to start I say. 

Have a great day, Vancouver joins us to today in 15 minutes.

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April 30, 2026 · 22:50

Out of my mind

Yup, this happens. We sometimes lose it and after a few days without sleep. My mind went bah bah too (a black sheep reference) and as such I was driven between the Ubisoft setting (and Article in UK Metro), the options that Saudi Arabia has in entertainment, the NEOM setting and a few more things. As such lets start at the beginning. 

UK Metro is giving us (at https://metro.co.uk/2026/04/30/assassins-creed-doesnt-need-remakes-needs-a-complete-overhaul-28169243/) where we are given ‘Assassin’s Creed doesn’t need remakes, it needs a complete overhaul’, I have had a few thoughts on that in the past, especially when anger hits me as you approach your first fort and tornado’s swirl around that fortress (until you destroyed its canons), it gave me the rudest most violent thoughts (I’ll spare you the details). You see, I know it is a game and not a very realistic one. My largest issue is that it is not really an Assassins Creed game, it could have been a legendary upgrade from Sid Meier’s Pirates, it never went there. And beside the excellent graphics there was a lot more, but there were annoying parts too (like running like the Prince of Persia after shanties), it was the setting that I gave the phrase ‘If you want to appease everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one’ it came to blows there and more afterwards. Then we get “The original Assassin’s Creed failed to live up to this promise. It was highly repetitive and pretty shoddy despite its visual splendour, while the sci-fi Animus twist largely got in the way of the 12th century hijinks. The series, however, executed on its original promise with Assassin’s Creed 2, which replicated the Italian Renaissance period with a dynamite (and still series’ best) protagonist in Ezio, who led its two sequels Brotherhood and Revelations.” I disagree, there is truth in all that, but Assassins Creed delivered originality and a stellar script. Running around in Accra and Jerusalem was a boyhood dream come true. Yes, there was repetition, it was originally release on the PS3 20 years ago. A system with 512MB memory with a 20GB hard drive. There were still limitations in those days, but the game gave as good as we can expect from any system in those days and AC2 surpassed it beautifully. So whilst I created the setting for new updates in usage for the Ubisoft titles, Metro also gives us “Assassin’s Creed games aren’t known for their bold narratives, but maybe a radical, unexpected shift in setting could spark some creative verve. Go more contemporary with a Second World War spy slant, or lean into the sci-fi premise and shoot forwards in time instead. Fundamentally, surprise people with something fresh beyond the swords and sandals.” A setting I disagree with, don’t get me wrong. They are partially right with that view, but there were only three greats in RPG like story telling. There was Bethesda (something about scrolls), there was Bioware with Dragons and Mass Effect and there was Ubisoft. In those days these made the hits and the lines. As far as I know there was nothing like Assassins Creed and I never got all the flags (at least three attempts were made playing from start to stop) and I never regretted any hours I played that game. Could more be done? Perhaps, but then I would have to do this. I don’t hod anything against the makers of the first three games. They delivered. 

So a rewrite of the entire Assassins creed is possible, but where? Consider that the Playstation and Switch2 are there, so is the PC and whatever console Microsoft has. An entire overhaul would have been possible on streaming systems, but that is wet stuff under the bridge (I believe they call this water). The next part of the disagreed issues is given with “Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, and was once a creative force in the realm of third person action games, but Ubisoft has allowed it to coast into an outdated and predictable mould. It’s about time it stopped dredging up the past, and gave players an exciting, rejuvenated reason to be excited about its future.” I agree with this, but there is some disagreement. Especially the ‘outdated and predictable mould’ yes they are outdated, but they were good, there is a reason heart beat faster at the sight of the Ezio collection, there is genuine love for AC Shadows and that is not outdated. And as the predictability, there is a partial agreement, but I want Stealth games, I want that rush of  sneaking up on a person (in a game mind you) from behind and use a karambit to give him a necktie red colouring scheme (those who know, know). 

An overhaul might be called for to get rid off the prince of Persia parts. I don’t mind the shanties, which makes for a lovely pirate lore, but they should go about it different. Including buying them from entertainers, buying musical instruments in general stores and a few other places (like in a commanders room in a fortress). All options and the difference of the attempts gives us the diversification. As I have been replaying Black Flag the last few days (I only opened 70% of the achievements), there is a need to get more of them, although I do not think I will get them all. 

So I agree with the overhaul, but not because of the ‘outdated and predictable mould’, I believe that if Ubisoft slams (and deletes) the setting of ‘If you want to appease everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one’ because that was the undoing of that franchise. On the other side. I already handed Ubisoft 2 directions, one with the language approach as over 3 billion people are learning languages and the next one is the creation of immersive storylines, making it a collection of books and that can be done with a whole range of locations in Assassins Creed and Watchdogs, although 1 and 2 are in the United States and they haven’t spoken English in decades, so there is that. I placed in my blog the Idea for a Watchdogs 4 which I placed in Kyoto, it was essential to do it there and have a hard mode which would stumble the gamer in Japanese, but there would be glasses, like smart glasses and I did that somewhere in 2018/2019.

But for Assassins Creed, there are a few other settings, but the bulk is OK as far as I can tell, going all the way back to the first Assassins Creed, which was in 1191 (sorry, a Dr. Who joke). The part that was stellar was the storyline, the entire assassins/templar setting was never given to a gamer before, no one ever had the ‘audacity’ to give us the combination of reality with storyline before (as far as I know), so when we look at an overhaul we tend to agree, because the game has taken such a large setting over the last 20 years that everyone agrees with one of more games. I reckon except the ‘Ezio’ games, they are close to perfect it had a 90%, a 87% and a 82%. Revelations made the mistake of too much Prince of Persia, but I could live with that. The only part I disagree on was Brotherhood, the stealth was more demanding and better and whilst some ‘complain’ the tasks were much more on par and defining, I haven’t touched this game close to a decade, so I might pick it up again.

So there is much to agree to and even more to disagree to. Even my stuff is subjective and I get that it might rub people the wrong way, this is simply as gaming is highly personal and we all have our own cloud of gaming in mind, I get that. So am I against the article in Metro or in favour? That’s hard to say, they touch on issues that are real, but it goes against 20 years of programming and the fact that we all play according to our desire in play, so overall I am is disagreement on the article, but it touches on a few very real settings that we all agree with and with a franchise this big that is to be expected, one last part is that I haven’t played AC Shadows for a while and I haven’t finished it as I never beat Joken Hokkyo, after a dozen times I just gave up. That happens too. I am not always in the best headspace for some moments in time. The open fight at the end was too taking and not very Assassins Creed.

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April 30, 2026 · 14:17

The syrup of some

Deutsche Welle gave me a view, it is a optional view and I am using optional because I know much too little about this. The story (at https://www.dw.com/en/why-uaes-opec-exit-is-a-blow-to-saudi-arabia/a-76975354) gives us ‘Why UAE’s OPEC exit is a blow to Saudi Arabia’ it feels different from other views stating that the break up of OPEC is a win for President Trump, which is another view to have. But here we see “The United Arab Emirates is leaving OPEC to pump more oil on its own terms. The break strips Saudi Arabia of a key partner and adds to growing uncertainty over the cartel’s future.” Yes, the UAE could pump more, but I don’t think it will lead to the uncertainty of the oil cartel (named Open and Opec+) You see, this large blip on all our radars will come with other settings. It will give the gulf states a claim for Iranian oil (repair costs) and that could be sold directly to China and Europe, they will exclude the United States as it is the cause of all this mess. At which point others will reject offers from Brent oil as it is American oil and there is no telling how deep the rejection goes and the weird part is that this might open up European talks with Iran as it reimburses damages to the gulf states (namely: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq) it is not the win Iran was looking for, but it is a win as they can make a case that the United States lost. Will it go that way? Time will tell.

It all reminded me towards an old feud (1985) where a colleague accused me from hoarding the ‘Rinse Appelstroop’ on my sandwich, all whilst the sandwich can only contain a mere part of the entire tub. So when we see “For years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has clashed with Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most powerful member, over these quotas. The UAE has invested heavily to expand its oil industry and grow its market share, but OPEC limits have repeatedly held it back.” And it reminded me of the feud my co worker gave me over the syrup, almost like oil. I have no idea on where it is all set in the oil industry, but the idea to give into America is nothing less than a joke. They claimed that they have all the oil they need, so why would they need some handhold over oil? The one commercial thing I do know is that as the offer of oil increases the price goes down, as such the Middle East needs to take care of how they deal with this, because oil even as a commodity has a lifespan, once you get to the bottom of the barrel, the amount of oil you can still produce come close to that number shaped like an ‘O’ (hint: it is zero). 

So whilst I get that they all have needs, the idea that there might be an imbalanced amount towards one country is dangerous, but I get it, the UAE must do what is best for the UAE, Saudi Arabia must do what what is best for Saudi Arabia. But underneath all that we see “The UAE currently produces roughly 3.2 to 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) under quotas but holds spare capacity of nearly 4.8 million bpd, Reuters news agency reported. Plans call for a hike in output toward 5 million bpd by next year.” And no one is looking at the amounts that might still be available for drilling. So what happens when that finishes? Everyone claps to attention but there is no clear vision for the future. And all the ‘influencers’ giving us the YouTube version of what comes tomorrow better find a good news source, because no one has an answer toward the ‘what now’ equation when the oils run out. 

So whilst we are getting “OPEC has already been under strain from repeated quota breaches by members such as Iraq and Nigeria, and from Russia’s inconsistent compliance within OPEC+. The UAE’s departure adds to that sense of fragmentation. In his analysis for Capital Economics,  Oxley warned that, in the medium term, if other producers with spare capacity “see the UAE successfully gaining flexibility and market share” outside OPEC, “others may follow.”” I understand that point of view, but I don’t think I can agree. The bully tactics of the United States will also give strength to Saudi Arabia as they might want to get issues resolved through Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon and the Congo. There is definitely data that OPEC will be slightly weaker, but the oil that is gained in output will most likely go to China and the setting as of 9 April 2026, the UAE has intercepted and destroyed 537 ballistic missiles, 2,256 drone attacks and 26 cruise missiles fired from Iran, and that is mostly due to the acts of the United States. It is hard to hold them accountable as Iran attacked with the missiles, as such it is on Iran and as some state over 90% were allegedly aimed on civilian targets, as such the UAE demands reparations and so they should, but after that, should oil still be delivered to the instigator of these attacks? I don’t think it is that clear cut even as some state that Iran’s nuclear options were ludicrously limited (I don’t believe they were non-existent). So whilst the UAE could benefit from their withdrawal from OPEC, I see that the weak response from the gulf states towards the UAE is partially to blame for this. 

The conversation had some additional things (at https://theconversation.com/the-uae-is-leaving-the-opec-oil-cartel-what-could-that-mean-for-oil-prices-281734) here we see ‘The UAE is leaving the OPEC oil cartel. What could that mean for oil prices?’, we see here “the UAE is one of the world’s top ten oil producers. The country also has the capacity to increase its output by about one million barrels per day”, which amounts to 6 million barrels a week (one day of rest) and that gives us at least and additional half a billion dollars a week, something the UAE can likely use, especially if it goes towards a solution avoiding the Strait of Hormuz which I wrote about in ‘Sinking a dilemma’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/02/01/sinking-a-dilemma/) I have no idea if that is the path the UAE will sail, but that makes sense, the Strait and the issues with Iran are massively out of play and it also helps with the other gulf states as they (for a fee) use that solution and that is all before the massive attention the harbours of Abu Dhabi and Dubai will enjoy with all these loaded skippers who can now avoid Iranian waters. I only see upsides here, but that channel will require a serious amount cash, there is no doubt about that and it is not merely now, whenever Iran throws a tantrum, the strait becomes the bottleneck for all gulf states. Better to remove that problem completely.

So whilst we are given “OPEC’s influence on the oil price depends on coordinated changes in production. By agreeing to collectively limit, or to expand, the supply of oil in the market, OPEC can manipulate the price to meet its objectives. The UAE alone is the world’s eighth-largest oil producer, and accounts for about 4% of the world’s oil production.” As such I might imagine that the UAE has an issue with the imposed limits and that is before we consider if Das Island is under limits as well. As such it makes sense that the UAE ight want to leave OPEC, but let it be clear, Iran forced this on the rest of OPEC and as such their desperation will also amount to the wrath that these members have as their grip on maximized profits wane. 

Merely a small view on the setting and I get that not everyone agrees, not everyone is charmed by Appelstroop (a Dutch product). Have a great day.

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April 29, 2026 · 20:57

Reselling is the art

Is it? Or is the art of reselling the game? And they might sound the same, but they are not exactly the same. Confused? That is not the goal, but it comes with the territory. To get this setting, I have to take you back to last September when I gave you (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/09/09/one-thought-of-many/) ‘One thought of many’ I gave that seeing at least twice more, but that might be one of the first times. You see, I was replaying Black Flag and it got me thinking and for some reason I was thinking of some corny advertisement of a romantic novella setting. I never read them, but in the Netherlands they were famous.

I reckon that every nation has these in their local language, optionally they are translated, but that is a fact I have no idea on. What does matter that this series has appeal with over 2.5 billion female readers. There are also these novella’s for the male, optionally they are pirate, spy, Jetsetter stories. What matter is that there is now a 5 billion target area. And Ubisoft ha the inner track on this. So as I was playing Black Flag and walking through Havana and Nassau the idea hit me. So when you take away the assassin setting and you keep the places the same, and it would be limited to a location (like Havana/Nassau) and optionally other locations in other games and you can only walk in these places and optionally through a Apple Vision Pro/MetaQuest and you don’t read the story, you play and live the story. I reckon that you can have 5 stories per location and optionally the eagle vision shows the people you need to talk to and progress through the story. You could make more of it, but at first we have the storyline and the way to proceed and that is the story. The story is the live played on the places you normally read about. The next step in novella’s and Ubisoft already has the locations. Consider Jerusalem, Florence, Venice, Forli, Rome, Boston, New York City, Havana, Nassau, Kingston, Paris, Versailles, Alexandria, Memphis, Heraklion, Bagdad, Kyoto, Osaka and several more. This needs no creation, Ubisoft already made the locations, made the art. Now you only need the engine to be altered to let the story flow and you can have 5-9 stories per location and even there, there are short cuts. They merely need to use one location to see if it has the appeal. My voice goes towards Rome with stories for the masses regardless of gender. And with DML and a small investment in these novels you can make  several of them, all unique and perhaps with a creation system and it is all additional revenue for Ubisoft. It becomes what matters in a new direction, not what it was meant for, but what else can be done with this and I reckon with the MetaQuest, it becomes a lot more engaging, the nice side is that there is a massive lack of innovation for these devices, so Ubisoft could enjoy a much larger share of that attention. As everything is due to evolution, why not how we read stories? An engaged form of literature, brought to your eyesight. And when in Rome, you could always consider The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses) by Apuleius. From modern, to classic and educational. This is the age of reinventing the idea that already is and Ubisoft has a tremendous advantage here.

Just my idea on how to go next. And whilst Ubisoft get another version of the same in a new coat with a new audience, they might consider even other paths. Paths I never thought of. So this was the third setting that started messing with my mind two days ago. I have not completed that journey and made you aware. 

Have a great day. Still three hours to go until I wish myself a good morning.

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April 29, 2026 · 11:05

The bad news

That is what was going through my mind the day before yesterday and yesterday I saw something by Al Jazeera who illustrates it to you in a more profound way. They ‘quoted’ “Iran says US no longer in position to ’dictate’ policy to other nations”

I don’t give in to the setting to Iran on anything because they are regarded as utterly evil by me, but as I see it, this one they got right. You see, the United States is as far as I see it the United States is insolvent. All other parties are so ready to debate the fine ‘tactics’ of what is insolvent. But the setting is now that the United States is a liability of 47.1 trillion dollars (according to some), their debt has now surpassed to 38 trillion and if the first set of numbers is correct, the interest is will in 2026 surpass $1,500,000,000,000 and that is a whole range of zero’s. To understand how I got to be this clever (the Dutch singer Herman Brood disagrees because he told me that I would never be clever). I wrote the story (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2014/08/26/about-america-chapter-11/) ‘About America, chapter 11’, I wrote it on August 26th 2014. You think that this was too early, but at that point the debt had surpassed 18 trillion then and there was no exit strategy, there still isn’t one, but the debt has more than doubled and the IRS allegedly collected approximately $5.23 trillion, that implies that a third is spend on interest and in that setting President Trump wants to spend a trillion more in defense spending? You have got to be kidding. And whilst we are on the Trump discussion. He pissed of whatever ally he had and they will all let him drown with all his debt. So, he is playing nice with the Middle East and the members of the Gulf States that have cash. I also stated that the AI court cases will increase and I was right “As of April 2026, AI-related court cases are rapidly increasing, focusing on two main areas: AI misuse in legal filings (hallucinated case law) and intellectual property disputes over AI training data.” And I have seen first hand that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg considering “intellectual property disputes over AI training data” and these disgruntled parties are international and those not having some agreement in place will get their payday and their golden checks all whilst they come out of the coffers of the United States, leaving the United States more destitute than ever before. 

So in this case Iran might be correct, the days that the United States is “in position to ’dictate’ policy to other nations” are over. They might do so, for a few weeks, but when the larger bills come calling, we will see a different America and at that point I fear for the well being of my Canadian brothers (sisters too), because whatever Canada has, the United States will need and they will blame on the world their own inability to keep their spending habits in order. As I see it, the only path for the Commonwealth is a path that partners with China and Europe to create one big block (not the cheesy kind) but this is what I expect to happen, because as I see it, the intercepted Iranian tankers are heading wherever the US Navy wants to take them and according to some this is called ‘Western Piracy’, I am unsure what to call it, but it does give more weight to the insolvency issues I am seeing. And whilst some see this as the beginning of a Ponzi scheme of handling things (I am on that boat too), how long do you think that this will continue before all allies that the United States once had will see this as unacceptable and the new allies will almost immediately shy away and whilst the Media has a shrinking reliability, it merely fuels that Middle Eastern media in gaining a more prominent traction with the west. 

So feel free to disagree with what I write, but also take time to investigated the news as it is and compare it to what you know. As such I ended the article in 2014 with “I reckon soon enough we will get more and more long winded talks, but in the end no one is saying anything because those who will be making the speeches are at the heart of what went wrong and no one wants to hold on to that guilt when those left without their house ask them the question ‘where are my savings?’.”

As such I wonder where are some of the saving left, because a Ponzi scheme approach will more easily use the funds of any bank and replace it with an IOU. 

So you all have a decent day, if possible a great day and I call on all Commonwealthians to consider the plight of the Canadians, because no matter how good they are doing, due to PM Mark Carney, they will soon have over 300,000,000 angry Americans looking for a way out and a better way than the hollow shell they are (allegedly) in at present.

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April 28, 2026 · 19:53

Battle lines

As per yesterday several things occupy my brain, even a new technology (which I will discuss at a later stage) today is about OpenAI and Microsoft. I was ‘alerted’ to this yesterday through through Seeking alpha. I think I heard it before that, but I ignored it. Seeking Alpha (at https://seekingalpha.com/news/4579947-microsoft-falls-as-openai-partnership-evolves-says-it-will-no-longer-pay-revenue-share) gives us ‘Microsoft in focus as OpenAI partnership evolves, says it will no longer pay revenue share’ and we are given “Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose fractionally on Monday as the tech giant and OpenAI (OPENAI) said their partnership has continued to evolve, and OpenAI’s license will become non-exclusive. “Today, we are announcing an amended agreement to simplify our partnership and the way we work together, grounded in flexibility, certainty and a focus on delivering the benefits of AI broadly,” Microsoft wrote in a statement on its website. “The greater predictability in the amended agreement strengthens our joint ability to build and operate AI platforms at scale while providing both companies the flexibility to pursue new opportunities.”” In my mind I hear “Someone has figured out that this setting is based on shallow settings, the reality is dawning on them”, so whilst we are given “As part of the altered agreement, Microsoft will remain OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will ship on Azure first. However, there is now a tweak that says if Microsoft “cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities,” OpenAI can go elsewhere. Julian Lin, Investing Group Leader for Best Of Breed Growth Stocks, said the deal is actually a “net positive” for Microsoft, despite the share price reaction.” I personally believe that OpenAI might present a hardcore liability for Microsoft and they are seeking to insulate from that fallout. And it might be merely my feelings in this and that is fine, but when you see the Anthropic setting, the DeepSeek setting there are several other elements that are roaring is near ugly heard and that has to go somewhere, something has got to break and it seems the ‘staged’ setting of evolutionary contract agree ments, might be part of all that. In retrospect I have no idea how OpenAI and Musk will battle their settings (and I partially do not care either). But the elements are there and whilst we are all about OpenAI, this concept selling setting rubs me the wrong way. So whilst we ‘might’ see ‘OpenAI Misses Key Revenue, User Targets in High-Stakes Sprint Toward IPO’, all whilst some say “do you guys even use ChatGPT/OpenAI anymore? I find myself preferring Claude/Gemini to be honest”, I take a different turn, I don’t use any of them. Basically because they are all fake AI. Real AI is about a decade away, if not 2 decades. I might die before real AI is released, so I kinda do not care.

ComputerWorld, only today (a mere few hours ago) gave us (at https://www.computerworld.com/article/4163971/microsoft-openai-change-contract-terms-again.html) ‘Microsoft, OpenAI change contract terms–again’ starts with “When the two firms announced a revised agreement on Monday, it reinforced the need for enterprise IT executives to work with as many major AI players as possible, given the constantly changing landscape.” I do not disagree, but remember that Microsoft went all out about 5 years ago and whilst we saw all kinds of ‘total wreck approaches’ the ‘partnership’ went on and now that we see “the need for enterprise IT executives to work with as many major AI players as possible”, we might accept that, but we see no DeepSeek, do we? So whilst we see that Microsoft increased its stake and solidified its position as a major investor less than 6 months ago, these plans are now changing. So does Microsoft see something, or do they fear something? And then ComputerWorld gives us “One key component within earlier versions of the Microsoft-OpenAI deal was the change in the relationship if OpenAI ever achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI), a term that eludes a concrete definition but generally refers to AI that equals or exceeds human capabilities.” I find it funny because of all these definitions across the fake AI field. Do they really not see that it is about to fall apart? (Story to follow likely tomorrow). And when this war of the fakers is seen (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic) there is every chance that OpenAI ends up in last position (see another ‘winner’ chosen by Microsoft), but this war setting is almost real, but until there is a real revenue stream coming in, there is unlikely to be a real winner. So whilst ComputerWorld focusses on the market changes with “Analysts and consultants generally agreed that this altered agreement will reinforce, and should extend, the current enterprise IT trend of hedging bets by striking arrangements with a variety of AI providers, including the major hyperscalers. Beyond future-proofing enterprises’ AI efforts, some of those agreements are for practical issues, such as the need to work with global AI firms specializing in different languages that the enterprise needs.” And you already know where this goes next. So, when was the last time you saw this kinda bla bla settings in the last 45 years? I tend to go back to the early 90’s where they all tried to sign businesses up to concept selling, all whilst there was no revenue stream detectable. We see it now here. I get that analysts are not the most revenue sturdy people, but consultants need their revenue streams. It is their bread and butter. And what was that “for practical issues” about? You see ComputerWorld writes a good story and revenue is mentioned four times, three is shown next “In addition, the company’s role as a major investor in OpenAI is driving a different revenue relationship, it said: “Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI. Revenue share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft continue through 2030, independent of OpenAI’s technology progress, at the same percentage but subject to a total cap. ”” interesting how salespeople are not that fuzzed about revenue. It is their income and bonus setting. So what was this really about?

Wouldn’t we like to know this? Just a few settings for todays stride in the coming week. And now I need to contemplate what I next write about the bad news, or the new technology. My conundrum  for the last 4 hours of the day.

Have a great one today.

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April 27, 2026 · 18:26

Tomorrow came today

That is the setting and it is given to us by the Khaleej Times. There are two articles, the first one (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/carry-less-do-more-the-huawei-matepad-mini-advantage) gives us ‘Carry less, do more: The HUAWEI MatePad mini advantage’ it shows us the new Huawei setting, all in Harmony Next, so while we might consider “The 8.8-inch OLED PaperMatte display is considerably larger than any other ebook reader of this size and offers incredibly vibrant colours. Saying this is the best ebook reader ever is not a hyperbolic statement. While that alone makes the tablet worth having, it is only the tip of what the MatePad Mini has to offer.” It is not the real power that comes from the mindset of the consumer. You see I’m what some call a brand bitch. I like my Sony TV (and my playstation more) I like my Apple devices (except that Apple phone thingamajig) and I love my Android phone. We are what we embrace and now Huawei in a world where the United States claim that China is evil we are given the new settings. You see, that anti China voice is kinda nice, but as the confidence in the United States is waning with 6 billion people, that anti-China rhetoric becomes stale and lacks credibility. And now Huawei who awaited their time is voicing into the Middle East that there is an non-United States alternative. And that comes with a few additional loopholes.

So whist we are given “Beyond readability, the MatePad Mini supports a peak brightness of 1800 nits, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and a P3 wide colour gamut for rich, lifelike visuals. Easily pocketable and featuring a vibrant, high-resolution, paper-like display, the MatePad Mini is a strong alternative to traditional eBook readers.”as well as “Powering all of this is a 6400 mAh battery, capable of delivering up to 9.5 hours of usage under dynamic conditions, and it can be filled up from zero in just 60 minutes using Turbo mode. The HUAWEI MatePad Mini is compact enough to carry anywhere, yet powerful enough to handle everything from reading to serious productivity and creative work.” And that is beyond the additional apps that give is a rather large function area. This is the first time that Apple faces a competitor larger then they are, more of more and all at a reduced price. So whilst I am Apple minded for my iPad, Huawei now had an alternative and it is loaded with functionality. Is it enough? I am not certain, but as the anti-United States feeling emerge (due to the current administration) and the feeling of resentment grows, Huawei now has a clear path into Europe and people are fed up with the anti China sentiment. Especially as it lacked evidence for the longest times and now that the United States is told to stay in its place. The sentiment for American corporations grow too and there are two settings that fuel this.

The second setting is given to us (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/ai-without-the-hype-the-new-honor-600-redefines-the-smartest-smartphone-experience) where we see ‘AI without the hype: The new HONOR 600 redefines the smartest smartphone experience’ and that is the missing element ‘without the hype’ it redefines the setting of DML and ML, because that is the setting of these Fake AI worlds. Fake AI is hyped by the United States and some resent it (like me) because it is stupid. DML and ML are great tools and they come with LLM settings, which is also a great tool but it is no AI, so as we are given this, we are more easily in acceptance of this. So whilst we see “In a market flooded with overpromised AI features, the HONOR 600 stands apart, pairing a stunning 200MP camera, intuitive AI tools, and marathon battery life into a device that feels as premium as it performs” we see a delivery well beyond any phone out there today the 200MP camera. So whilst we are given “I’ve spent a little time with the new HONOR 600 these last few days, and from the moment I picked it up, it felt like I was holding something far more premium than its category suggests. The design immediately stands out. It’s slim, sleek, and beautifully balanced in the hand. The finish of our test mule in the “Golden White” colourway (there are two other colours available: Black and Orange) catches the light in a subtle but striking way, and the overall build feels refined without being flashy. It’s the kind of phone you instinctively want to show off, not because it’s loud, but because it’s quietly elegant.” We see the next device in HarmonyOS and it will be a threat to Android and iOS. Their 200 MP made it so and whilst we see the stages where some will debate (the ‘but this’ and ‘but that’ people) we see a setting that is water-mouthing for people and influencers alike (influencers are considered to be non-people). 

What we have is the setting for the new stages. We see that Huawei is more readily excepted and that comes with the optional Huawei data centers and that is where the United States will truly be shown the door. And as Huawei gains traction vie the Middle East, there is every indication that the larger stages in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia will embrace that setting as these two places are over half a billion people and Huawei will gain traction to over 2 billion people in this year alone. That is the setting everyone missed and that is what is likely propping to happen. And this is the stage that the United States fears, because their ‘big beautiful whatever’ depends on an audience and one third of the global stage when somewhere else. I reckon that Germany is the first to gain Huawei powers in the EU, followed by some of the other members. My money is on the Scandinavian members driven by Denmark (because of Greenland) and Norway (because of Microsoft) and that will merely be more and more movement towards China. And whilst some will debate the bad things that is China. You forget about the 8 billion people, they are driven by consumerism and quality stuff and Huawei is showing quality and as I see it, it is the first time they are outdoing Apple and when you consider the Huawei Matebook fold. So when the new applications hit these solutions and when (perhaps they already are) we see interaction between the three you know that Apple is outdone and Google will be in a tough spot. It was never their ambition to be in this situation but some idiot in the American administration made China develop their own OS, because Android was no longer available to them, who was that again?

So we now get a new setting and I reckon it will come to blows in 2027, even as Huawei is already ready in 2026. It is a stage that is now up for grabs and when these 4 factors Tablet, phone, laptop and data center becomes available, the United States will be pricing itself out of all the above. So we are likely to see Gulf States, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Europe all switching and whilst the United States sees its influence shrinking from 6.5 to 6.2 to 4.9 to 4.5 to a 4.1 to a 3.8 billion audience panic will hit because that implies that there is an expected grow in Huawei data centers and even as it might not all go for a Huawei data center, the premise that it all remains with America data centers is absolutely ludicrous. So whilst the United States depletes its weapons even further on Iranian soil, it is merely fueling it disgust in the rest of the global population. A setting that was almost clear from the start. So where do you think this audience go when it is reduced to a mere 4.1 billion? You might think that it is clear, but the Muslim population is almost 2 billion, so do you thin that Iran will entice them to stay? Or will they merely fuel the drive towards Huawei?

Have a great day this day.

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April 26, 2026 · 21:15

Delaying the matter

That is what I see, but it does not mean that this is the real setting. It might be a simple setting that resides between my two ears, but the story given is making me wonder what is going on. The story started 15 hours ago in Inside the Magic where (at https://insidethemagic.net/2026/04/conflicting-reports-about-a-possible-delay-at-disneys-disneyland-abu-dhabi-project-over-iran-tensions-rl1/) I was given ‘Disneyland Abu Dhabi Delayed? Conflicting Reports Swirl as Middle East Tensions Cloud Disney’s $10 Billion Dream’ Inside that article we see

“Due to the continuing situation in the region it’s likely that #AbuDhabi and #Disneyland will be delayed for several years.  Doesn’t mean the idea is abandoned, just delayed.  Following this story on http://YouTube.com/jimhshull”

I never met Jim Shull, he is a Former Walt Disney Imagineer with 33 years of experience under his belt, who worked on projects like Shanghai Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. I have an issue with this ‘timed’ delay. It sounds like the next average Disney setting to bring forth delay so the only they are allowed there (besides all who are there already) and throwing amounts across like that $10,000,000,000 is the piece of cheese to let the others bite the dust. I do not favour this setting and as I see it, America has a lot of problems coming up in 2026 and 2027, their tourism numbers are highly likely to drop further. As such anyone (serious parties) should be allowed to get to Abu Dhabi and if Disney is about to drop delay after delay, their place in the best stream of tourism on the planet will be set to forfeit. But this is only my view on the matter and there is likely enough opposition to my idea. Don’t get me wrong, there is likely a delay, but as I see it 6 months to a year. Nothing more and if Iran will resume its attacks on the UAE and other gulf states. I handed my Military IP to the UAE free of charge, as such I have done my duty to the UAE (to Saudi Arabia too). Whilst the crypto-bitches are heralding the downfall of the UAE, I gave the UAE optional settings of defence, to destroy the infrastructure of Iran, without bombing it to the stone age (that is too America a solution) and whilst they are alleged to have used up to of April 2026, the U.S. military has severely depleted its missile stockpiles, expending roughly $24 billion in major munitions during the first seven weeks of the Iran war. Over 45% of Precision Strike Missiles, 50% of THAAD interceptors, and 1,100 long-range cruise missiles were used, leading to critical shortages that could take 4 years to replenish. Funny, because the weapons I designed would cost no more that one billion max (for all three solutions) and would also be ready for sale increasing the coffers of the UAE. So, it is fun to see my optional solutions outperform DARPA by a lot (or so I say).

But this is not about me, it is about Disney. So as we are shown “In a tweet from late April 2026, Shull highlighted the conflicting reports” about the park’s progress. Shull, who often emphasizes the reality of “lines on paper” vs. “boots on the ground,” suggested that the current regional instability makes the ambitious construction timeline virtually unattainable.” It is hard for me to comment on that, it would be his word against Disney, but a delay of years is seemingly out of the question (my personal view) and I also think that the executive council – government t of Abu Dhabi should talk to the Dutch player ‘the Efteling’ and this is not some random place. I saw it several times in my youth, it has been a contender for the big prices for a long time and they were able to capture 2026 IAAPA Brass Ring Excellence Award (Best Sustainability Program), 2025 Golden Ticket Award (Best New Family Attraction), 2025 Thea Award (Outstanding Achievement), 2018 Thea Award & Park World Excellence Awards, 2017 & 2018 Best Theme Park in the World, ANWB Best Day Out in the Netherlands, the last one is a Dutch award and they won that several times, including 2024, 2021, 2019, 2017.  I think it would be a good idea to introduce the UAE to other solutions (beyond WB and Disney) and the alleged delays might be a good reason to look to additional sources. The UAE will need every option to be used if there is to be traction to gain tourists, that is clear. 

Inside the Magic shows one side that is missing almost everywhere else. “Shull’s commentary points to a fundamental reality: theme parks are not just creative endeavors; they are massive infrastructure projects that require stable supply chains, thousands of international workers, and a secure environment for future tourists. With missile strikes recently reported in nearby Dubai and the temporary “darkness” of several parks at Dubai Parks and Resorts, Shull’s skepticism carries weight. Many industry watchers interpreted his tweet as a sign that internal discussions at Disney may be far more focused on “risk mitigation” than “exchange of ideas.”” There is a good side to risk mitigation, any business needs to do this and Iran is throwing sand in every cog they can. I personally see this as an act of desperation. The Iranians are allegedly tired of their republic, the people are tired of the Iranian republic and that includes the Gulf states the people in charge are scared of their options outside of that republic, as such their desperation. But the Inside the Magic article illuminated that there are people who are scared of risk, they have had their cushy jobs for too long and consider the wheeling and dealing of a nation where they are gaining wealth whilst sleeping. Disney is allegedly looking at what is real and that is fine, but the delay of years is about something else. They fear the competition and they fear their infrastructure in the United States collapsing. So they want some form of exclusivity, which is a big no-no in my view. Exclusivity is fine if you are building and participating, not so much as you are delaying. The UAE must do what is best for the UAE and its citizens and the word ‘delay’ does not hold water in that equation. It seems like these business analysts are all about maximizing profits at zero risk, when did that happen? Because any endeavour comes with risks, it always has. 

The article also has two views and they sound good. 

  1. The Optimists (Reid/Sylt/Miral): This group argues that theme parks are 50-year investments. They view the current conflict as a “small blip” in a 15- to 20-year master plan. To them, Disney’s “exchange of ideas” is proof that the gears are still turning behind the scenes, and the domain registration is evidence of long-term ambition.
  2. The Realists (Shull/Niles): This group believes that “external factors show no respect for developers’ plans.” They argue that the longer the conflict continues, the more likely it is to face a “silent delay,” which means construction is quietly pushed back. At the same time, the company waits for a more favorable global climate.

The views are good, but I have a personal issue with “the company waits for a more favorable global climate” it is a realistic view, but lets remember that their own President started this. And the conflict is in a state where we have no idea where anything is going and that is not good for the UAE, but until Iran is resolved (optionally deleted from existence) that is what it is. I cannot change this or make it better, only to do what might be of use to the UAE, it is all I can do.

Have a great day.

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April 25, 2026 · 23:45

Accusation without evidence

That is the path I saw today on the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqxgxx9nrqo), now hear me out. Even as we are being told ‘White House memo claims mass AI theft by Chinese firms’ we have to acknowledge that it comes from that same place that gave us that “‘someone’ claimed “$18 trillion” in new investments”, “prices are down” and “Ukraine for starting the war with Russia, suggesting they should have surrendered territory to avoid it” as such I am willing to disbelief this. Also China has DeepSeek and it does so (it’s speculations) at a fraction of the cost.

And whilst we are getting “The White House has said it will work more closely with US artificial intelligence (AI) firms to combat “industrial-scale campaigns” by foreign actors to steal advances in the technology. Michael Kratsios, Director of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in an internal memo that the administration had new information indicating “foreign entities, principally based in China” were exploiting American firms.” My mind goes not different directions. The first being:

If you have shattering IP valued at billions of dollars you have proper cyber security installed. That is merely my thought, others might have another opinion. 

My mind is racing towards a different setting. You see, OpenAI and its ‘co-conspirators’ are not delivering on the premise that gave too many people well over half a trillion dollars want to see return on investment and none is coming and now (not unlike the concept sellers in the 90’s) they need a blamable party. So what is easier than to blame China? Now, I am not saying that China is innocent, but in all this one might need evidence to make a case and none of it seems to be coming. As such we are given ““foreign entities, principally based in China” were exploiting American firms. Through a process called “distilling”, such firms are essentially copying AI technology developed by US companies, he said.” OK, I’ll bite, so where is the evidence? Why, if this distilling is a problem are these outputs not better protected, so there is no ‘distilling’? Simple question, perhaps when Oracle was needed, the cheapskates decided to rely on Azure? I have no idea, I am merely offering options as the evidence is clearly lacking. 

So whilst the article ens with “While Kratsios did not name any foreign entities, leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have said they are dealing with such distillation activity.” I reckon that the distillation culprits like House Spirits Distillery and Angostura Distillery were made exempt? 

You think that I am making a funny and I was, but this has been going on for months and these so called high priced (fake) AI corporations have been absent in their cyber security? How does this distilling happen? All things missing from the BBC article and are unlikely on the mind of the White House as the article seems to imply it comes from the very beginning where we saw “it will work more closely with US artificial intelligence (AI) firms to combat “industrial-scale campaigns” by foreign actors to steal advances in the technology” you see, the first part would be ‘How did they achieve this?’ Which we do not see and the state of cyber security we don’t see either, both seem rather obvious in that setting. 

So as I said China might not be innocent, but in that same setting we see that the United States and their (fake) AI firms are apparently clueless. Don’t take my word for it, just look at the scraps on this table and see where the crumbs aren’t dealt with and I see no part in all this that shouts ‘China is guilty’ that would require actual evidence. So if that is seemingly is not required counter the idea of this AI scheme to be the part of a scam to wipe out trillions on the exchange, which might be the case, but the setting of ‘no evidence’ is apparently in effect and that goes both ways. As I see it, someone wants to see evidence of AI and whilst they invested billions, there is a greed driven setting that the profits all go to China as they stole the plans, but is that really so? Even distilled plans need refinement and the source data is missing. So, how would they proceed? The setting does not make complete sense to me. Any innovation requires a foundation, even DeepSeek would like to have one, or it is simply a sifting solution and the power remains with these innovative wannabe’s (sorry, a paraphrased term).

So have a great day and wonder why the accusation was made, because that setting is likely to be in dollar numbers and where is that money now? Have a great day.

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April 25, 2026 · 14:21

How many?

ABC just told me that an hour ago ‘US boosts Iran war assets with third aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush’ (at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-25/uss-george-hw-bush-arrives-middle-east-military-assets-boost/106601060) with “About 5,000 troops and dozens of fighter jets are aboard USS George HW Bush.” The additional “The USS George HW Bush entered waters near Iran after a week of chaos in the Strait of Hormuz, with no sign of peace talks resuming.” The setting we have been given “We won, Iran is lost” should be casually dismissed. We are given “The USS George HW Bush strike group is comprised of nearly 5,000 sailors, the US Navy said. It includes the flagship carrier, which comes with nine aircraft squadrons. The George HW Bush is also accompanied by the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Ross, USS Donald Cook and USS Mason. The US describes Arleigh Burke-class destroyers as the “backbone” of the navy’s surface fleet, designed to provide mission capabilities such as anti-aircraft, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare.” All whilst we now see that The Bush is joining the carriers USS Gerald R Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln. It is a little off putting that there are three carriers there now. I am not the most tactical person you have ever met, but when you consider that the IRGC would consider an aircraft carrier to be a nice trophy, why do you think they consider three of these bad boys are? But, they have nothing to fear, as President Trump stated that they had already defeated Iran, they were bombed into the stone age (I am paraphrasing here), so those three carriers have nothing to fear, do they?

We also get a list of deployed units, from ships to drones and I realised that the IRGC needs but a spare to unite this in a full blown war. One visionary act and it could be anything, a tanker rigged as a kamikaze item, a modern version of the fire ships of 1588. Now ships are more defended against fires, but what about acid probes on the keel of the boat? You can defend all you want, but the idea that was overlooked can scuttle a fleet and that is the setting that the United States is overlooking. The IRGC is for all intent and purposes desperate they will try anything. Ad in this strait, this small patch of water, the United States deployed 24 vessels, all on that small patch of water. It takes merely a spark to ignite it all. I personally belief that this is the latest folly in a whole range of bad decisions. 

So whilst some give us ‘US envoy and Trump’s son-in-law to travel to Pakistan amid hopes for renewed Iran peace talks’ the delays and denials of issues makes me think that Iran is not done plotting yet, it is not done scheming and no matter how desperate they are, the desperate will make unpredictable jumps and here we have a unique setting with three aircraft carriers in one patch of water. I have no idea what Iran will do, but they would want to send a signal heard all over the world and as I see it, the United States is currently ‘fueling’ that. In addition we get words from Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City giving us ‘The Ponzi Economy Is Breaking’, yesterday on April 24th we are given “Is another financial crisis brewing in the US economy? Economist Michael Hudson explains the dangers.” Reports suggest the US economy may be on the verge of another financial crisis, with major problems in the $3 trillion private credit market. Economist Michael Hudson explains the dangers of Wall Street’s Ponzi schemes.” This is funny, because on April 2nd in ‘The idea is not novel’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/04/02/the-idea-is-not-novel/) I gave the world “That is what I feel at present. CNBC gave us all 12 hour ago the ominous title ‘Trump is paying TSA agents — but where is the money coming from?’” Where I raised “Where does the money Trump is using come from? How much is available? How long can Trump continue to pay TSA agents if Congress doesn’t soon come to a deal?” You think they are unrelated, yes they are unrelated, but there is cause and effect. If the IRGC ignites that spark, what do you think happens next? 3 carriers and 5000 troops bring a while’s range of bad media to the surface. It would be a range of “United States doomed” to “Iran beats United States” and every media will be howling for digital dollars attention.

And most likely I am wrong, remember? Iran lost the war weeks ago, they have nothing to bring to the table. But what happens if I am proven right? Think about that and think on the United States economy when that Ponzi scheme setting blows up in the faces of Wall Street. Just something to think about. Have a great day.

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