May 5, 2026 · 15:16

The path we make

The path we make is often set, for one, you cannot walk the path of (fake) AI without considering the side-roads called Data Verification and Data Validation. They are intertwined. And whenever I get to Data Validation, NASA tends to be own my mind. They have been on the Data Validation path as early as the 70’s, long before whomever runs IBM/Microsoft/Google now, they were already looking at ways to support their validation tracks. So when I see the combination of NASA and DATA I tend to look up and take notice. So when we get ‘NASA POWER’s PRUVE Tool Streamlines Data Validation’ (at https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/blog/nasa-powers-pruve-tool-streamlines-data-validation) where we see “NASA’s archive of Earth observation and modeling datasets has an incredibly diverse range of uses, and assessing data uncertainty is a critical step toward ensuring the data and analyses are accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Several factors, such as instrument calibration, atmospheric corrections, and land-surface albedo, can affect the quality of satellite data. For users working with solar and meteorological datasets, quantifying uncertainty is especially critical, as these data often inform decisions and policymaking at the community level.” And this introduction leads towards the two quotes “NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project, which provides datasets from NASA in support of energy, buildings, and agroclimatology decisions, developed a tool that enables users to assess data uncertainty for selected surface variables from POWER’s data catalog with corresponding surface measurements.” And “The cloud-based tool — the PaRameter Uncertainty ViEwer (PRUVE) — makes assessing data uncertainty more straightforward for users across disciplines and skill levels. PRUVE uses surface observed site meteorological data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and surface radiation data from Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) to compare against POWER-provided surface meteorological and radiation data values. This user-friendly application gives users an opportunity to quickly confirm data validation through customizable queries.”

So when we see “By creating the free, easy-to-use PRUVE tool, the POWER team instills an additional layer of trust, empowering users to tackle some of the most important long-term weather challenges facing our planet.” I feel doubt and I do know that this is in me, not because of what is promised, but consider the settings in the example we see “a student wanting to install a small wind turbine for a study project at their college. They are limited by size and cost, so they need to make sure the predictions and analyses are reliable. As part of the study, they can use wind and other historical data parameters available through POWER to forecast how much energy will be produced from the wind turbine system. The student wants to limit the level of uncertainty in their prediction calculations as much as possible.” All whilst we also see:

  • No-coding access.
  • More than 3,000 surface sites.
  • Dynamic data visualization available for each site.
  • Ability to create maps and plots and to conduct spatial analysis on the fly.
  • User-selectable point-based descriptive statistics.
  • User-selectable site-based intercomparisons.
  • Advanced custom plotting for specific uses.

So where is the doubt? You see for the most there is no doubt in the powers that ‘reside’ within NASA, but when you see these facts, why this system is not ‘coexisting’ in the Google, IBM or Microsoft clouds? This system should (read: optionally could) be adjustable to these fake AI systems to smooth over validation and reduce error in whatever data there is. And I do know that it is not that simple, but consider the settings that are lacking now, the transference of these options might also fill the coffers of NASA and there is no way they don’t need that. And as my skeptical self realizes nearly all the data systems on the planet require additional layers of trust, but that might merely be me. 

So as I see it, nearly all data systems are set towards some setting that there is some side solution towards data validity, all whilst there is a direct need to make checking the validity of data a main priority. So what happens when this solution gets additional layers of data validation, in part in statistics to see if the validation sets statistical boundaries whether the data set in some normal way, but that limits the setting is an outlier is found, so how can that be validated? Then there are multiple factors where a value should behave in certain ways, but it would not be easy. I reckon that NASA could pull it off and it would be a tool that everyone needs. I merely wonder why no-one has considered it before. Now, I do understand that it is a tall order and I might be incorrect (read: full of it) but consider how meteorological numbers are achieved, consider that there will be error, but a setting that reduces error in validation. A system that reiterates the data given and considers whether validation passes of fails. A system like that could be made, but the issue are the outliers, so what makes an outlier valid, because if one outlier is wrongfully ‘deleted’ the data set could become invalid. So is this possible? I think that only NASA with its expertise could make such a system a reality, making data validation more readily available. Because no matter what verification process follows and whilst we await the coming of real AI, validation will still be a setting that is required in whatever data system comes to the surface of true AI. And perhaps the system will become a verification setting, both are required and neither system seems to be ‘correctly’ developed at present. It is a horrible conundrum, but it requires contemplating as such a system is needed by the time Real AI comes to all our doorsteps. 

The additional issues I see is that in this case the PRUVE tool has all these connecting data segments, but what happens when it is a little more complex? We have all our minds set to ‘connected’ data, but it isn’t that simple at times. Consider the ludicrous setting of length and shoe size. Now we can understand the setting of a 4’8” person with 17” shoes (he wishes), but is it out of the realm of possibilities? There is a girl named Shae, who claims she knows one person with that description (Game of Thrones joke). So how would you be able to validate this? Perhaps other data is required to make the clear distinction valid and how could such a system make validation reliable? As I see it, the biggest problem into validating data is being able to recognise the outliers. I see the deletion of outliers as a problem, the data loses reliability and verification become next to impossible. Its like watching a dataset limited without data from the Interquartile Range (or 3-Sigma Rule) and as I see it, whatever data you remain with makes actions like fraud detection close to impossible (unless that transgressor is extraordinary stupid). You see there is the ‘old’ premise that “Outliers can bias statistical estimates, causing inaccurate results in predictive models or misrepresentations in descriptive statistics.” I am not saying it is incorrect, but the absence of outliers could make the validity of that data a lot more dubious and finding this is a real challenge, so as far as I see it, That is a job for NASA (the keyword Superman was already taken by DC comics). 

So see this as a little trip on the brainstorming front, I definitely need a hobby and I am all out of licorice.

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May 4, 2026 · 21:58

I call it fake for a reason

I was battling what to write about and there was Elon Musk giving me a perfectly good reason right of the bat. Well, it wasn’t Elon who gave me the idea, it was his product Grok. I have always said that AI is not real because of the missing parts, and it comes with a few constraints by certain (so called) captains of industry who are lacking in several ways. It is also connected to some other things I do. You see, no matter how you come, how much you innovate the idea, you will end up with a mere 0.1%-1% of the true value of the product. Todays ‘captains’ are utterly set into the exploitation of everything they see. As such I put it on my blog. When my stuff is in the open they cannot really claim any innovation. You see the IP is no longer protected by intellectual property laws, and the public is free to use, share, and build upon these works without seeking permission from the original creator. I might get something out of it but for the most I get the satisfaction that these ‘captains’ see the loss of an idea towards everyone. If I am unable to get something out of it, it will become Public Domain and perhaps it will spread my fame in that way. Some will smile at this and call me stupid (or a fool) but I am out of their reach for exploitation. As I see it, I gave the world over a dozen options for enrichment and in this way the Indie developers get a leg up without fear that a larger player will cut them out. Small comfort. But that is what is.

So, whilst I diverted, it was for a reason. You see the AI of now is fake AI (at best), all of them are because the two elements missing are evolved versions of Shallow circuits, as stated (for as far as I know) IBM has the strongest version of this, but still another system is required, a trinary operating system. Binary will not do for AI, the setting of Null, False, True and both is required for a true AI to come and no-one has that yet. A dutch physician got the Epsilon particle made (or found), this was going to be instrumental and to evolve this in an IT setting (most likely through yet undetermined means), but I digress, what I believe to be a weakness, doesn’t make it true. Alternative evidence is needed and I found it a few times over, but in this case I will revert to my last story ‘As oil burns’ which I published on May 4th, 2026 at 12:33. About an hour later I used Grok to look at my story. The first view after an hour was:

Lawrence van Rijn’s post links to his new blog article “As Oil Burns” on lawlordtobe.com, discussing surging oil prices triggered by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating US-Iran and regional tensions. The author, a postgraduate IT student and Master of IP Law candidate at UTS, regularly analyzes geopolitical issues like oil production shifts, UAE’s OPEC exit, Iranian attacks, and US military deployments in his personal blog. As of May 4, 2026, the X post shows very low visibility with only 4 views and zero interactions, typical of his niche personal commentary on current events.

This is what AI does? Is that really a view on what I wrote on: https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/05/04/as-oil-burns/

A story containing 986 words with more than 523 words (which is 54%) on Russia, the top line gives zero consideration on Russia, it gave me another thought, but Ill get to that later. The second view (on the same text) was after 6 hours and there we see:

Lawrence van Rijn’s X post shares a link to his own blog article titled “As oil burns,” published May 4, 2026, focusing on Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil tankers and infrastructure during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The article cites a BBC report on Zelensky’s claims of attacks damaging three shadow fleet tankers, a warship, and a patrol boat, estimating 300,000-500,000 barrels per day reduction in Russian oil transshipments and over $7 billion in total losses from such strikes. It highlights Russia’s high military losses including over 11,900 tanks and 1.3 million soldiers, diminishing oil revenues forcing production cuts, and predicts further geopolitical isolation with limited export options remaining.

So what AI requires 6 hours to give better show of the same text? So, is my view of ‘Fake AI’ still wrong? As you can see the first part also gives no mention of the BBC and a few other parts. I got to the thought that this DML/LLM engine is allegedly used to filter out certain parts, until it can no longer hide a few things. Don’t forget whatever is done in DML/LLM is programmed by engineers, and whatever they say it is, that is what it becomes. People forget that and it is why thy fall in the AI trap, even though some clearly see that it is a fake solution. Don’t get me wrong DML and LLM are amazing inventions, but the courts will see through this and someone will blame the programmers and their bosses, this is why I saw the court cases come to blows in 2026. I particularly liked AI Misuse in Australian Courts (2026) where we see “over 73 cases identified where GenAI produced false citations.” So what AI does produce false citations? That requires a programmer. In addition, related to that is Warner v. Gilbarco, Inc. (February 2026) where we see the quote “AI to assist in case preparation does not automatically waive attorney-client privilege, characterizing broad requests for AI-generated documentation as a “fishing expedition”” Does this imply the AI uses deception to give us a “fishing expedition” or did (a massive perhaps) a programmer set this situation? As the evidence is added up, we get to see a different setting, a setting that gives notice that we should aim our attention to the programmers and their bosses. So at some point the influencers will be called into court and it is already happening “legal battles surrounding AI influencers, digital replicas, and content generation have shifted toward establishing liability for harmful outputs and defining the limits of AI-generated content protection. Key developments in early 2026 include lawsuits over AI-generated sexual content and major court decisions regarding copyright of AI-driven work.” Where we see (at present):

  • Ashley St. Clair v. xAI (Deepfakes and Platform Liability)
  • Tennessee Teens v. xAI (Child Safety)
  • Thaler v. Perlmutter (Copyright of AI Art)

And as these cases are resolved, the influencer drive of AI will dissipate and we get these bosses to ‘present’ their view, but they will be careful as they are decently unwilling (as I see it) to become liable. So whilst I will look to find a party to allocate $5M (post taxation) to my coffers, I will try to remain vigilant and see what other things some of these ‘Captains of industry’ have been overlooking. Apparently some say I need a hobby, time will tell. Have a great day.

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May 4, 2026 · 12:33

As oil burns

That is the lesson the Russians are learning. The BBC gives us (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp41v1n1go) ‘Russian strikes kill 10 as Zelensky says Ukraine hits oil tankers and terminal’ where we see “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat were struck in separate attacks on two Russian ports. There are no details on damage to the ships, but Zelensky said the tankers were part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s full-scale invasion launched in 2022.” So whilst the Russians struck 10 people, 5 ‘commodity’ items were taken of the Russian board. Paraphrased that comes down to a taker for every 2 Ukrainian lives. I think it is not a proper way to say things, but in value it does ring true. And as Russia is losing more and more, the option to replenish through the selling of oil is also fading. Yes, I know it is not the most elegant way to state things, but it seems that the world needs a wake up call and as I foresee that soon this might be a solo fight between Russia and the United States, as the rest have isolated these two players. So the world sees two megalomaniacs praise and banter all over the field whilst they have to tough it out alone. It remains me of that old hit by Frankie Goes to Hollywood called Two Tribes (1984) and whilst some might remember that hit, some will see the light of the reality that it gives. And Russia? Their option is pretty simple and it was phrased by former Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin in one easy step and it was out there for over 3 years “In October 2022, she stated that the only way to end the conflict is for Russia to leave Ukraine. Her direct response, “The way out of the conflict is for Russia to leave Ukraine,”” seems simple, but the effect that the ego of megalomaniacs is that lead ing equals defeat, they cannot comprehend this concept. President Trump not in Iran and President Putin not in the Ukraine and as I see it, the rest of the world is ready to isolate both and they can banter to each other. 

So whilst some will ‘comment’ that Russia only lost 2 tanks, the reality is that they already lost 11,908 tanks, they might not have that many more open to the western front. They apparently only have about 2,500 tanks left and for any ground offensive that is not that much and we have no idea how many of those are the T34 ‘juggernauts’ (from 1939) and when you consider that these encounters are now set to UAV’s and the Ukraine did away with 269,813 of them bad boys and 2,224 of them in the last week alone, Russia has a problem as their supplier (Iran) is dealing with its own losses all over the field, so Russia is almost forced to rely on 1,334,030 dead soldiers, with 1,080 removed from the roll call of life in the last week alone. I reckon that over 900,000 might still be alive if someone in the Kremlin would have taken the words of Sanna Marin in their heart. The likely disadvantage of listening to someone’s ego. So when Russia wants to sell its oil, it needs to remember that 93,556 automotive and fuel tanks can no longer deliver anything, that being said, three oil tankers, for some unexplainable reason, cannot bring oil deliveries either. As I see it, the Russian options are getting fewer and fewer and soon they can only knock on the doors of the United States and whilst the Republican Party is in power, they might not get turned away. So there is every chance that Russia’s state oil firm Transneft will not report income for some time to come. So whilst we hear that the Ukraine has delivered Russia an estimated $7 billion in losses, with March alone seeing over $2.3 billion in revenue losses. These attacks have reduced oil transshipments by 300,000–500,000 barrels per day (bpd), forcing production cuts, reducing exports to their lowest level since 2024, and leaving half of Russia’s oil companies unprofitable. (Source: Al Jazeera) So as most doesn’t have the ability to suffer losses to this degree (I can honestly state that my wallet was never in a position to carry that much revenue) and that is the hidden setting that a lot of the media is not clearly stating. How much losses can any place (like Russia) endure? The media seems to paint with the same brush all matters so that the clarity is not seen, but when you sit and think if it the picture doesn’t make sense. Russia as well as Houthi terrorists rely on Iranian UAV’s and their space parts, but that was scuttled by the United States (as far as we know). Oil is shown its combustable properties by the Ukrainian forces and there is no clear setting for Iran which is getting an explanation by the forces of the United States and Israel. The stage is that both Russia and Iran seems to ‘fare’ in normal ways, but that setting could never be in such a setting. The image is wrong and there is every indication that I am missing parts of the image or revenue streams, but the media has lost reliability and I lack that knowledge to fill in the blanks and no one seems to be answering these questions. So whilst we see oil burning, no one is wondering what replaces that. 

So, have a great day and consider the issues I brought to the surface at this moment.

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May 3, 2026 · 12:03

That turning point

We see all kinds of turning points. We see the mess some leave others and when they get ‘hindered’ by their own ego, the damage can be massively debilitating. So as the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9pn541jjlo) gives us ‘Germany says US troop withdrawal ‘foreseeable’ as Nato seeks clarification’ with “Germany’s defence minister has said the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from his country was “foreseeable”, as the Nato military alliance says it is seeking clarification from Washington.” I see a turning point. A turning point that takes away whatever credit they still had in Europe. Let me explain, the 5,000 troops are not there for a gimmick. Russia could see a (delusional) massive opportunity to make Europe theirs, but that fictive setting is now an option for China to become the ‘salvation’ for the fictive danger Russia presents. There is no longer a United States, as such China could come in and offer help. There will be cautious settings by Germany, but as the danger from Russia is ‘presented’ as real, they will accept and that s the sign for Huawei to offer its infrastructure to Germany. Its data centers, its optional DeepSeek and whatever else China can offer and Germany gives China the opportunity too show its technological prowess to The Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg and France. When Germany goes over, all other nations will see the direct benefit that Huawei and others bring and the United States lose these settings. It might ‘threaten’ with its tariff game, but they are soon to become a population of one. China will take this route for the tremendous benefits their industrials get and as they represent a population of 1.4 billion consumers, Europe will take the setting as the United States merely represents the options to be a consumer base of 25% of what China represents, there will be captains of industry who will chomp at the bit to get into that market. The allegedly viagra overdosing captains of industry in the United States will have to consider what to do next. I reckon that they will go after that President of the United States on a mere need for the loss of industry that this president is exposing the United States to, especially as they have a debt that surpasses their GDP now (source: Financial Times). And let me explain, the same person who stated in March 2026 that the U.S. had “decimated” the Iranian regime and achieved a “total and complete victory”, In early April 2026, this same president said the U.S. was “finishing the job” and that the military objectives would be completed in “maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer”, which was followed by the U.S. would leave Iran “very soon,” but only when it was certain the regime could not build a nuclear weapon and threatened that if Iran did not comply with demands, “lots of bombs start going off”. It is now may and he is pulling troops out of Germany after President Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the US had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war. It was not humiliating. Humiliating is me stating that the Secretary of war Pete Hegseth could’t win a war against a self opening tin of baby carrots even if he was armed with a tin opener. The rest are simple statements of facts. Deal with it and now as he is pulling troops out of Germany, China gets the inside track on a new setting, a direct triangle with China, the Gulf States and Europe all connected to each other, optionally connected through Huawei centers, A Chinese opportunity. And that is before the 2027 setting of the Vatican where the Pope gets his new and lasting nickname “Leonardo da Vici” when he decimates the Republican Party even more. A final lasting tombstone and it will be written by Tatiana Schlossberg when she publishes her book “Before 300” a lasting story about the United States and how it went wrong with the final chapters speaking about the downfall of the United States due to the mindless settings of President Donald J. Trump, he was not the actual cause but he removed whatever escape points Wall Street gave them. Some say it is mere ‘Science Fiction’, but I advice you to preorder that first edition hardcover when it comes in 2031, those hardcovers will be worth a lot down the track.

We can debate all the settings we want, but the settings China is about to get because of the ego of some is beyond belief. So enjoy this Sunday, although Vancouver and Toronto are slow, it is still Saturday there. Enjoy this day and see the opportunities that come knocking all over Europe. 

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May 2, 2026 · 14:41

The clambake that counts

That is what I believe to see when I look at the NDTV World article. The NDTV World is a global news channel launched by NDTV in October 2024, focused on providing international news from an Indian perspective. And it is giving us ‘Israel Sent UAE Laser Weapon Called ‘Iron Beam’ That Can Vapourise Iranian Drones’ (at https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/israel-sent-uae-laser-weapon-called-iron-beam-that-can-vapourise-iranian-drones-11436712) where we are given “Tel Aviv sent a version of its Iron Beam laser defence system to the UAE, which vaporises short-range rockets and drones. It was first used by Israel against Hezbollah projectiles from Lebanon” together with “Israel had not just sent its iconic Iron Dome air defence system to the United Arab Emirates when Iran was attacking the Gulf country. According to a report by the Financial Times, Israel also sent an advanced laser to the UAE for it to defend itself from Iranian missiles and drones. The deployment of the advanced laser would be one of the first examples of major defence co-operation between Israel and the UAE. The two countries did not have diplomatic relations until US President Donald Trump brokered the 2020 Abraham Accords.” I reckon it is a step in the right direction, a setting that ‘should’ come with the destruction of its weapon systems as well as its infrastructure. My (stated limited view) on this is that when Iran infrastructure goes down, all Iran has it a surplus of trucks now needed to give the infrastructure parts to places using trucks, especially as its trains fail to work from A to B, or they are forced to use part A via C,D,F towards B, you can see the haunting delays that give and should someone take care of the out the harbours, than the equation is simplified from the second part of the Alphabet to get to locations A and B. We are also given “A regional official told the publication that the laser system was a display of “the value of being Israel’s friend”. Israel also sent over an advanced surveillance system known as ‘Spectro’ to the UAE for it to defend itself against incoming drones from as far as 20 kilometers away, especially the Shahed’s.” It seems that the attacks from Iran will have the nasty side effect that the gulf states are now ready to accept Israel cautiously in the midst, another failure of the IRGC I reckon. Add to that the systems I ‘gifted’ to the UAE and Saudi Arabia and we see an evolving setting that that should become the end of Iran and whatever teeth it imagined it had. 

And whilst the article ends with “A western official noted that the UAE became one of Iran’s primary targets in part due to its “enthusiastic” embrace of the Abraham Accords.” This could be the case, but it merely did they opposite and I wonder what the real reason could be for Iran to attack the UAE so viciously. We could speculate all we want, but I reckon my creativity is better served by creating optional weapons to aid the UAE (Saudi Arabia too) to counter whatever Iran throws at the UAE. It seems more productive to me. And as I completed my three sided attacks on the infrastructure of Iran, the one part missing seems to be the destruction of water and energy. I am partially against that, because water is life and that tends to be a one way ticket to the destruction of ones soul and at that point Iran validly start crying like a little girl. I wrote in the past a way to deal with its oil refineries, which could also be used for its energy settings, but I wonder whether bombing is the right call. I see a version that ‘eats’ away at the energy settings of Iran, but it is not immediate, still that damage would take month to fix (at the least), but here I am worried that it could escalate setting tool, because the ‘innovator’ the think its opponent is taking this lying down is delusional. So the Bushehr nuclear plant and aging hydroelectric facilities should be taken care of, I already wrote a solution to the Bushehr plant some time ago (somewhere in December 2021) but I have no knowledge of Hydroelectric facilities, so I don’t know what would be optimal and just bombing it to the stone age is not a good solution because that is a long term solution that is never a solution. I prefer a surgical trike that sets the ‘repairs’ of such a place towards months. That’s just how I am, taking it all away from an enemy frees up ‘resources’ to strike back, optional repairs commits whatever he has to resolving the issue, it seems a much better approach to dealing with an enemy like that and make no mistake, at present Iran is an enemy to the west and the gulf states at present and whilst it emits whatever friends it has, it will see that his ‘friends’ are anything but that making their own plights fail most of the time. 

So whilst I have no real setting towards the NDTV stage, I am willing to live by the setting that as long as the UAE embraces that solution, it will be fine by me. You all have a great day, almost time for me to contemplate what’s for dinner (in about 4 hours).

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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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