Category Archives: IT

May 18, 2025 · 09:51

Delphi in a name

Yup, we are talking about Oracle, not Borland. And whenever I hear Oracle I tend to add the ‘of Delphi’ automatically. It is a Pavlovian thing. This is nothing negative about Oracle, I wanted to join their ranks in the 90’s, and beyond the millennium a few times too. My origin settings was a database programmer (I earned my stripes with Clipper, the Nantucket version). I think it is the very first program where I shelled out $650 (Dfl. 1,200) for a program and I learned a lot through Clipper. I also got the Clipper notes (Norton Notes) and these two kept my in my apartment (on a desk chair) for weeks and weeks at a time. I relish these happy days. Then of course I got into technical support and customer care through a precursor of IBM and my life at that point was pretty complete. I miss those days and I still think fondly of them. Not so much the upper ranks of that company with their political games, but them I was never a political player. 

So when I saw ‘Oracle commits to invest $14bn in Saudi Arabia over next 10 years’ (at https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/oracle-commits-to-invest-14bn-in-saudi-arabia-over-next-10-years/) my mind starting swirling and twirling (sorry JK Rowling) and my creative logging started to set new parameters. 

You see, we are given “Oracle has committed to investing $14 billion in Saudi Arabia over the next 10 years to expand its cloud and AI offerings in the region. The plans were announced by the company on May 13, and in the wake of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kingdom” this implies Technical Support, Customer Care and Trainings. Things I can do (all three) and I have had well over a decade of experience in these sections. As such I keep my eyes open for positions needed in either Riyadh, Mississauga or Abu Dhabi. I reckon that the investments are not just for Saudi Arabia, they are all spend in Saudi Arabia, but there will be essentially needed persons in Abu Dhabi because no one walks away from ADNOC and with ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia, a secondary call center would be needed in Abu Dhabi. And they too will have all three settings in that centre, beyond that I reckon that it will a location will be cheaper in the heart of ADNOC than in Dubai, so there.

When we see “Our expanded partnership with the Kingdom will create new opportunities for its economy, deliver better health outcomes for its people, and fortify its alliance with the United States, which will create a ripple effect of peace and prosperity across the Middle East and around the world.” The words “a ripple effect of peace and prosperity across the Middle East” merely implies (not confirms) the setting I see. You see, it makes sense to do this, but it requires knowledge of Oracle policies (and I don’t know those).

So when we see “Oracle has two existing cloud regions in Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia West, located in Jeddah, and Saudi Arabia Central in Riyadh. The former was launched in 2020, the latter launched in 2024, and is hosted in a Center3 data center. The company has been planning a third in the upcoming Neom City since October 2021, which remains listed on Oracle’s website as “coming soon.”” Someone would think that another cloud the UAE cloud should be there as well. Merely not mentioned in this stage, but ADNOC is too big to walk away from and Microsoft has dropped the ball too many times. There is a setting that implies that IBM and or AWS are already there, but that gives the larger setting that ADNOC becomes dependent on one supplier and they are as smart as they come. So I am betting that Oracle has that region (as well as Dubai) in mind when we consider DAMAC (valued at US$ 595 million) with the total revenue recorded by DAMAC Properties was AED 7.5 billion (2017), and they are not all. There is also Emaar Properties, which is said to be the biggest of them all and that are the kind of clients Oracle really likes to keep happy, as such I saw the stage evolve, even though they are already there and in January 2025 we were given ‘Oracle to increase Abu Dhabi investment five-fold’, as such I think that there might be a new need to seek employment with Oracle. Now add to that the quote “Earlier this month, the Abu Dhabi government put out a call for the development of a single multi-cloud system that will serve more than 40 government entities” and you’ll see that there might be space for me too, either in Abu Dhabi or in Mississauga and the two cover a little over 20 hours a day coverage in a 24:7 setting. The nice part is that it takes time to get people up to speed, so I might have an advantage (merely a slight one). 

So as I am about to dream the day away on this rainy Sunday. I see the cogs of industry revolve around the settings of the world and I keep having happy thoughts.

So have a great day everyone, preferably less rainy than it is here.

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May 17, 2025 · 10:09

Death is nigh

Yup, a bit gloomy and perhaps a little too doom speaking, but the news is there and I for one saw this coming a mile away. I mentioned this in the article ‘Utter insanity’ on October 4th 2020 (https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/10/04/utter-insanity/, aka World Animal Day), I mentioned in there the few articles where I also made mention of the US debt, one as early as 2020. So why now?

Well, Reuters (at https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/moodys-downgrades-us-aa1-rating-2025-05-16/) gives us that the credit rating of America has been downgraded. It went from AAA to AA1, this might not be a big thing, but it is, especially in current conditions. You see, Moody also gives us “Moody’s cites rising debt and interest costs” and with that one line the die is cast. Even if it is merely a rise of 0.1%, the implied setting of $36 trillion ($36,000,000,000,000) gives us an additional interest of $36,000,000,000 or $36 billion and the Americans cannot keep their budget as is. So how much larger will this debt become? You can all say that Saudi Arabia is now investing, the AI is coming. But the investment over years will not even pay for the interest increase and at present the top 10 least risky investments hold 10 countries and none of them is America. Makes you think doesn’t it? Then there is the second stage, the stage where some players might think that holding US Bonds might be a tat too risky for them and banker being the cowards that they are learned from the 2008 credit crises and they will be bailing at the first opportunity, especially as the UAE is a much safer and seemingly more rewarding venture at present. 

So is death really nigh?
That is a fair question and I am hesitant to answer either way because the reliability of the press is nowhere to be found (perhaps in a dozen places). So they cannot give us the goods and I saw this going as far back as 2011, as such we cannot see any press reasonably credible, especially when they quote market wannabe’s. And this is not on President Trump, although his actions did speed up the process. The World Travel & Tourism Council gave us “THE U.S. IS projected to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, falling to under $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024”then there are the losses in defense projects, the losses from allies regarding Canada and Greenland and that showed me that America is desperate, and it seems now that the hammer falls down on people realising that I have been right for over a decade, but bury your heads in the sand. All these presented ‘wins’ are a cloth covering the larger losses. The AFR gave us yesterday ‘China slams Trump’s new chip ban, reigniting trade tensions’ with “The US Commerce Department issued guidance this week that Huawei’s Ascend AI semiconductors are subject to export controls anywhere in the world on the basis that they were developed using American technology.” What a way to piss off your allies. We see this when we critically look at the statement “For Washington, restricting Beijing’s access to cutting-edge processors is a way to blunt China’s rise in artificial intelligence and military applications.” In the first, Huawei is using its own chips, making it doubtful that it is ‘cutting edge’ and in the second, you just tried to ‘beg’ Saudi Arabia for more money, do you think that they as well as the UAE will take that warning? Huawei already has a decent grip on that region with cutting edge development and Oracle is about to go there too. So is this the best way for the American administration to hedge their bets? Now that their credit rating dropped, I reckon the floodgates are no longer sealed, whatever they let through will cost America close to billions and there are people holding trillions in American debt, as such they are likely to get out while the going is good.

So what if I am wrong?
It is doubtful, but it is a fair question. Look at all the economy that America lost in this year and add the losses of next year too, because as I see it, tourism and all the connected spendings are close to gone until at least 2027. Then in 2029-2031 Saudi Arabia has its 2030 setting with all the new resorts (which was always going to happen) and as such you see, the strangling interest of 36 trillion on American and their dream settings. The fact that Tourism at present is “This significant shortfall represents a 22.5% decline compared to the previous peak” as such their current setting is a lot less than 2019 before COVID, it is that bad and we might not care for the income of Disney, or Warner Brothers but this also impacts all the places around them as people cannot afford it all in these places. These places will share in those losses, as such I reckon that Florida will have a few massively bad years (compared to the present). Do your own researching and never accept anyones word as gospel (not even from me), know that data, know your area and see where the losses can be seen. 

I reckon that Oracle is doing fine and will be doing fine for some time to come, but they too have shed employees in 2024 and 2025. 

As I see it, when the masses get the insight of how bad America is doing, that coffin will basically bury itself. So have a great day and don’t let the recession hit you in the head, it is an expected two weeks away at present and there is the setting we all received there hours ago ‘Why France, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, UK, Netherland, Belgium Issuing Travel Advisories to US, Making a Big Dent in American Tourism Revenue, The One Detail That Changes Everything’ as such the bulk of the EU is turning away from America on tourism, as you can see, I remained optimistic, it seems the news is pushing ahead of the settings we now see and when they catch on regarding bonds and America quality of life going down too, the panic will hit wall street and several other markets

So enjoy this Saturday.

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May 15, 2025 · 07:08

Operation Maybe

Yup, that happens. Although for the most we adhere to the two certainties in like (death and taxes), we automatically assume that hotlines remain available. It is just an automatic response, it is almost like the setting you get from “Our house was broken into, but the dog was home?” kinda like that. So when the news came to mind all the way from London (about 180 minutes ago) ‘Pentagon hotline linked to DC airport ‘inoperable’ since 2022’ (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgdmx1g1vzo) I initially thought the someone at the BBC had dropped the ball. But no, the hearing that followed gives clear voice that the BBC was on the ball. My initial thought was that both the airport and someone (likely reduced in rank a few minutes later) at the Pentagon were both equally to blame. The setting of “A hotline supposed to connect the Pentagon with local air traffic controllers in Washington DC has been “inoperable” since 2022, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official has testified.” It pains me to see the Pentagon advertising “At any given moment in time, we are ready to serve and come to the aid of Americans all over the world as well as out allies (pending hotlines operations)” it just doesn’t have that sparkle that finish has on your glasses in the dishwasher. Now before we go into the blame game (everyones favourite game), lets be clear. If the hotline was no longer ‘essential’ and someone switched off that hotline, it would have been nice to alert the US Senate before editors got “At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, FAA officials said they only learned of the problem this month after controllers at Ronald Reagan national airport had to wave off two flights attempting to land because of a nearby US Army helicopter.” Which gives light to the fact that the airport is every bit to blame was well as the (likely) degraded person at the Pentagon.

The setting of an at alert Pentagon is seemingly a ‘nice to have’ and not an essential issue. Lets face it, we can’t have a building consisting of with about 6.5 million square feet (600,000 m2) of floor space, 3.7 million square feet (340,000 m2) of which are used as offices with almost 25,000 headless chickens running around, that just won’t do. As such there are issues with the hotline not working. 

And the excuse “Deputy air traffic control head Franklin McIntosh told senators that the hotline was operated by the defence department and that his agency had been unaware of any problems” does not hold water with me. Hotline testing is an essential task I reckon that on an airport it would be once a day, but I’ll accept that once a week might be enough. As such at least 1226 checks were failed (optionally a mere 175 checks) and that is a much bigger issue, as such the nice game blamer Franklin McIntosh might wanna hang on to his retirement for dear life. Unless it is his first month they screwed the pooch on that one and I am not saying that the Pentagon is without blame, because a hotline has (at least) two ends and they were both missed. Just imagine that the get the setting of “Oi people, al-Qaeda is at it again” only to be missed because the hotline was out. As such we get the setting of “Peter, is your brother still delivering pizza at the Pentagon? Tell him there is an issue at the airport” which could be averted by dialing (703) 692–7100 and see if someone considers an attack by (a presumptuous) Al-Qaeda important enough to press the alert button. This is what could happen. What seemingly needs to happen is that people need to be purged (I still prefer self-flagellation as a solution, as Pope Urban II was a fan of it). There is the question that it should not affect me so intensely. But we have been shown that the Pentagon could be attacked, in other settings there are a number of flights that emerge from Washington DC, many of them connected to high ranking officials at any of the given Alphabet units (not Google), might be nice that immediate assistance is at hand (usually through a hotline). I just gave a few ways how this hotline might have been essential. As such when we see “The FAA, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the recent near-misses.” All this in regards of a issue surrounding the 64 people aboard the American Airlines-operated plane died, as well as three crew members of Blackhawk Helicopter which had taken off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia on a training mission. At this point the setting of “In the more recent incidents earlier this month, two aircraft from Delta and Republic Airways were told by air traffic controllers to perform “go-arounds” because of an approaching Army helicopter, similar to the one that had been involved in the crash.” And at that point the Hotline was not an issue (or perhaps it was the instigator of the Senate hearing). Whatever the reason, I reckon a complete investigation (and overhaul) of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is needed and I would say that an investigation in the Pentagon hotlines is equally needed, because if this was missed, other issues are likely to be found.

But it could be as simple as the maintenance hotline that ran out of battery power and a mere 2 AA batteries are needed.

Have a great, not hotline dependent day today.

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May 14, 2025 · 13:04

The price of stupidity

That is at the foundation of the severe conditioned setting of what can now laughingly called American stupidity. CBC reported yesterday ‘Conferences relocating to Canada over harsh new U.S. border measures’ (at https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6758054) with the underlying text “As Canadian travel to the U.S. continues to drop, CBC News has found several professional conferences relocated to Canada to avoid harsh new U.S. border security measures. One sociologist describes being grilled by U.S. customs officers who searched his phone and wallet.” As such not only is there grilling (and no grilled sandwich), but searching the phone and wallet? I wonder what deeds custom officers have to copy this all to third and fourth party intelligence gathering settings. I get that a passport needs to be checked (read: validated), but a phone? I might agree that a wallet could be seen as reasonable. But consider this. Tourism already is down and now conferences are the new goal? Consider that the CES has over 100,000 attendees and the SEMA show over 150,000 attendees. Then there are the defence shows and IT shows. How many events will it take for these show runners to go to Vancouver, Toronto, or Ottawa? Is this the price of stupidity? How many millions will America lose in 2026? How long until the larger players will offer their shows in Abu Dhabi where the tourism spike is going on. How long until only gamblers will visit Las Vegas? Nevada have poured serious cash into Las Vegas and now that it is regarded as hostile terrain, what will they lose? There is little interest to move to London or Paris (too touristy saturated), but Dubai and Abu Dhabi have options. Soon so will Monte Carlo and now there is already space in Toronto among the 14 locations are Metro Toronto Convention Centre and Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Ottawa has the Ottawa Convention Centre and a few others. Basically should you consider the Mississauga location (Oracle) for a place to show the CES, America will have close to two dozen locations for people no longer interested in America violating their privacy and as the Canadian places (optionally the UAE too) show bang for their bucks. Plenty of organizers will relocate their shows. 

And there is data. CBC reported in late April that ‘Nearly 900,000 fewer people went to the U.S. in March as cross-border travel plummets’ so what damage will Florida with their Universal and Disney parks endure? Especially as their is a great alternative in Abu Dhabi. As such there is a larger case we see when we consider the Oracle CloudWorld. It was in Las Vegas, September 9–12, 2024. As such Oracle now has a larger case to present their 2025 show in Mississauga or even in Dubai (if the clientele is enticing enough). Dubai has a whole highway of entertainment structures. There is the option of renting a boat for their guests and make a presentation on the Alexandra Dhow Cruise in Dubai Marina. A setting that reeks of elegance and fine foods. America is no longer the place to be, their U.S. customs protocols made sure of that. And I only mention two locations. And after the Guardian reported last week that ‘Stockholm rejects ‘bizarre’ US letter urging city to scrap diversity initiatives’, I reckon that Stockholm would be willing to cater to American shows that now seek entertainment elsewhere. Don’t let the location fool you. Stockholm is magical and it has an amazing cuisine all over town. I reckon that soon enough the high chefs in America will seek their fortune elsewhere. So how much longer will America cater to the stupid minded? I reckon this might be the last year and anyone thinking they will be safe is likely to unknowingly handing their IP to U.S. customs (they might be in denial, as these costume officers will claim that it is protocol). So how long until that damage becomes completely non-reversible?

I will let you decide. And as I see it, Iceland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France might have similar issues down the line. So how many tourists and conference dwellers will miss America out of from now on until December 2026? Oh and before I forget Saudi Arabia is about to set new settings in at least 3 locations, so there are these locations to consider too. 

So, good luck with the excuse of protocol and watch what the price of stupidity is about to cost America, as one source gives me “The index now sits just above the historical low of 50 in June 2022. Current Economic Conditions registered at 56.5, compared to 63.8 in March. The Index of Consumer Expectations was at 47.2, compared to 52.6 in March.” So economic expectations is at least 5 points down in about 2 months. So what more losses can we see? Canada looks forward to having a great year in catering to conferences and tourists. As is the UAE. But America is doing great (apparently), as Reuters gives us “Approval of Trump’s economic stewardship rose to 39% from 36%. Trump began his term with a 47% approval rating, and saw his popularity tick” as such how many more shocks to the system can America survive? As I personally see it: retail, tourism, and business have been hit and will be hit a few times more this year, so by the time high summer hits places like Venice beach and other tourist location will suffer the lack of tourist. But not to fret, you can find them in Canada and a few other places.

And as the larger places expand Mississauga and add a European location or one in the UAE, we will see a larger exodus to these safer places and that is a trend that is set to continue until deep into 2027, because conference are usually planned up to two years in advance. Oracle might be the most visible one but I reckon they are not alone. All these players (like Snowflake and Palantir) have customers very worried about their IP and they will press for change a lot louder than I am.

So have a great day and if you want to have fun, pass US customs with a box of 5.25” floppies and see the question marks on their eyes as they are uncertain how to proceed. 

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May 12, 2025 · 16:58

America’s shifting phase

This morning Arab News (at https://arab.news/9hjca) gave us ‘First Saudi-made THAAD system parts completed in Jeddah’ Saudi Arabia has been aiming for the need of internal national interests to have this done. We are given “Saudi Arabia has completed the first domestically manufactured components for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system launcher in Jeddah, marking a significant step forward in the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to localize its defense industry.” And as we are given “Tim Cahill, president of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin; Nawaf Al-Bawardi, assistant deputy of the General Authority for Military Industries; and Wasim Attieh, president of AIC.” We seemingly are all OK with this, this is not really news. Saudi Arabia was aiming for this all along. In this case the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system launcher (THAAD) was on show. But the story goes beyond that. I reckon that the FEINDEF 2025 (Spain) as from today was the second initial kick off, but there were other symptoms. There was the (DSA 2024) in Kuala Lumpur and the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX/NAVDEX) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I personally believe that Saudi Arabia kept close eyes on the ready date of this system as it allows them to gain interest from Bangladesh, Egypt and Indonesia, they might not be ‘big league’ material, but Bangladesh and Egypt represent almost $5 billion each and Indonesia represents $11 billion. Now, they don’t spend it all in one go, but Saudi Arabia is said to get a speculated part of that and even with a mere 200 million (over all three) that becomes a massive boost for the Saudi Defence industry, even more so, it would be revenue that America and Russia loses. Gives the expression “when two dogs fight for a bone, the third runs away with it” a new side to that equation. So as Lockheed Martin is locking in their services and consultancy for close to another decade, Saudi Arabia’s first delivery system is gaining strength in the defence industry. Bangladesh being 35th, Egypt 19th and Indonesia 16th. They are giving strength to the Saudi Defence industry. So as I saw that market evolve in February 10th 2022 in my story ‘Oh darn, I am missing out’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/02/10/oh-darn-i-am-missing-out/) with those decrepit tea grannies, it took Saudi Arabia a mere 3 years to evolve their own market. They now have their own industry. So cry “stop arming Saudi Arabia” all you like, the only thing they’d hurt was the British defence industry. And as I see it, they are about to do a lot more than hurt ‘the British business’, they are gaining political power by giving the Arabian nations and Asian nations their own voice, not hindered by America, Russian or British political powers. Now they (meaning Saudi Arabia) become the global political power player.

As I see that, I am reminded of the old setting that my granny complained about the essential need of the young to rely their technology, so I switched off her life support. How’s that for fun?

The world is getting smaller and the reach of every nation is increasing and now we see clear settings (not through alleged sport washing) that Saudi Arabia is becoming the larger power in the global arena. In the 2025 edition of “The Military Balance” from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is currently on the 7th place, yet if this takes off Saudi Arabia will be in a position to become 5th, optionally 4th and their defence industry will be making a profit as the Arabian nation will see that Saudi Arabia is the ‘friend’ to hold in esteem, as that starts happening Pakistan might also change vendor it is at present a mere $10 billion, but as it is only 12% of India, it might see reason to switch if Saudi Arabia is willing to talk shop and that is another slice of pie that will not end in America’s or England’s budget. As I personally see it a start has been made for Saudi Arabia to become less dependent on their oil industry. Starting ‘small’ is a beginning, so as Saudi Arabia creates more options. I reckon that they would likely evolve their drone industry next, Saudi Arabia is becoming a much larger industry. Only 5 years ago we would have seen an industry with America, Russia, China and the United Kingdom as players. Now even at 5th place, Saudi Arabia becomes the new player in town and that sets a new premise for global economies. Russia and America never had to share that revenue pie and I guess they will have to content with less as per 2026 onwards. 

A nice setting for Saudi Arabia who is likely to seek more revenue from Pakistan as it is outmatched to India at 2:1 in the best settings they can hope for and that allows for larger business benefits for Saudi Arabia. We tend to forget that war is business and their business is war. A little outdated setting, but we forget that it isn’t ugly to some, it is a payday. An essential need for any nation is to defend itself from enemies hostilities and that setting is over 2000 years old. It was given to us by Julius Caesar (that Italian dude). He did so in Commentarii de Bello Gallico at 50BC.

I reckon that the Saudi defence industry will be more than a simple blip by the time we get to 2027, still three years ahead of the schedule we saw 5 years ago. 

And as I personally see it, these tea grannies (CAAT) are still drinking tea, but the option for a biccie with that tea will soon be done for, because the revenue you hurt also impacts what you can have and they vied for less, so they will have less. I take my learning from someplace else. America decided to hurt Huawei as they were a threat, now we have HarmonyOS entering version 5.0, and Reuters gave us last November that ‘Huawei wants 100,000 apps on Harmony OS within a year’, and set that against Alphabet (Google) had announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce In January 2023, Amazon laying off 14,000 people in name of efficiency? (Source: MSN) and in 2023 Microsoft laid off approximately 10 000 employees followed by an additional 4 000 roles being cut in 2024. So with these big three ‘decimated’, who will counter Huawei? As I see it no one and now Huawei will have another industry to set foot in. Because all these Saudi systems require automation (as well as other options) as such HarmonyOS will be seen almost everywhere and that is only the beginning. Those who push to limit others, merely limit themselves and we have plenty of evidence there.

As I see it the shifting space of America is seeing that they never wanted other to be in certain places. This sounded like an idea in the 80’s when America was a global power, but they no longer are. They are mere steps away from becoming a third world country. You cannot remain a 3.4% military spending of GDP whilst being seen as a 37% of global spending. A 997 Billion invoice where in the fiscal year 2024, the U.S. federal government collected $4.92 trillion, not whilst you have $36.21 trillion in federal debt (and they cannot pass a budget either), it just cannot be done. As such the America setting will implode all whist their tech is set to impossible markers. 

As we consider this and we consider that the Russian stage merely sounds better (whilst it isn’t) there is every possibility that be 2027/2028 Saudi Arabia could become 4th or 3rd as a defence industry by that time. The idea that Saudi Arabia surpasses or equals America in three years is making me giggle. How the mighty fall, so how’s that for looking great, President Trump? It started on your watch in 2020 and almost a decade later you become allegedly surpassed by Saudi Arabia by 2027, a nice footnote in your memories and I reckon you will blame everyone but yourself in that writing. I am curious what the World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center will give us. I reckon that Saudi Arabia will have a few nice surprises in that show. I am willing to bet that Huawei will have a stand there to in showing us what the Internet of things driven by HarmonyOS will give the world.  I reckon you need to reserve tickets for the event  on February 8-12, 2026 now. As I see it the first day will be for the larger customers, so February 8th has been sold out to preferred customers. So, when will you optionally go? 

I won’t be invited, so let me know how the snacks were, they tend to be magnificent at these events. Now I’m hungry, time for some peppered crackers. Have a great day.

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May 11, 2025 · 22:32

Solemn Shady Sneaky Sinister Scoundrel (S5)

Yup, that is me and the S5 reference was the reference that NATO has when a person is unhinged (yea, lets call it that). This might be me, I would disagree, but there are plenty of others who would think that. So, at least four times I got to Melvin DARPA. It was a simple setting that I had the goods and seemingly DARPA does not. It was not a setting of pride, it was merely that my creativity brought me to this setting. In the first setting is was a simple approach to making (some of) the harbors of Iran useless. It was my response to the aggressive actions against Saudi Arabia using Houthi forces. The west was not doing anything, so I decided to something about it. As such I came up with a plan and an idea for a stealth submersible with a delivery system to make several Iranian harbors useless for some time like several months. Then there was the idea of making the Russian build nuclear reactors melt down (still a few kinks that need resolving as I am not a nuclear physicist, but there is no stopping creativity. This also enabled me to create two civil designs (piranha valve and hornet valve), so basically it is 6 times on DARPA (there was a painting solution as well). Now I basically get to Melvin the NSA. This is not a stance of pride these are not the people who are responsible for level 8 TCP/IP issues (user level problems). They know their stuff and they tend to be deep into the level 1 setting. But I just had an idea, which is set to layer one and it came about as I was setting a different issue (a script issue) and that was when this solution came to mind. Not sure if it could be done, but if so there is a larger setting that could enable mapping troll farms and even the tracks that they employ. Not sure about some of this, but if enabled a new mapping setting could be staged and that is where the fun begins. The people employing that solution could carpet the system and could optionally see where criminals and the media interact. I don’t think that is as simple as I state it to be, but as Jafar (from Aladdin) states ‘the idea has merit’ (or as I usually say, when in doubt stick to the classics). 

Would it work? Not sure, but the implications could be infested in mobiles, tablets, basically any system that has a camera. 

It might not be as much fun as melting down a nuclear reactor, but the results could be nearly as devastating, and we wouldn’t have to revert to explodable pagers (nicely done Mossad). This gets me to almost a second solution, lets first work out the first issue and then progress to the second one. 

This is a nice setting for me as it pushed my creativity to the top of mind issues and the is where I get to create in several directions. The intelligence part makes me shady, the melting down of reactors makes me sinister, the fact that I came to the aid of Saudi Arabia makes me solemn and the fact that it involves stealth makes me sneaky and the optional act against Russian hardware makes me a scoundrel. All 5 at the fingertip and does that make me unhinged? I will let you decide and that is where I am on this Sunday evening, a mere 10 hours from Monday morning breakfast. All in a days contemplation. As Monty Python would say: ‘And now for something completely different’ but I don’t want to do that. The Ukraine can use all the help they can get and as such the idea of melting down some of the Russian reactors has merit. I calculate a mere 3-4 reacts out of the 47 they allegedly have is enough to put Leningrad, Moscow and Vladivostok in darkness giving them a serious setting of problems their armies are already scattered over the winds (with a serious dent in their hardware and logistics) and as I see it, should their energy systems get the boot, then they are heading for one really cold winter. You see, not many lives lost, but the more alive, the quicker their energy systems will be completely depleted, which might be worse for them.

As such I remain humbly and sneaky (and deprived of coffee). Have a great day this weekend.

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May 3, 2025 · 02:25

Where is the gem?

That is the setting I am faced with. You see, like McCarthy had his Russian phobia, Trump is now delivering the Chinese phobia, also known as the yellow fear. We can argue how right McCarthy was in light of the events from the last few years (and a decade before that), But as the yellow fear is grasping America, the question becomes, is it a valid one? I am not denying that there are issues, the larger setting is now on big tech. You see Apple known for its multi trillion dollar value is now under the hammer. The article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86jx18y9e2o) gives us ‘Apple says most US-bound iPhones no longer made in China’ the issue is not that they aren’t made in China. The stage becomes where are they made now? At present Apple is giving us that “It comes as the technology giant estimated that US import taxes could add about $900m (£677.5m) to its costs in the current quarter, despite Trump’s decision to spare key electronics from the new tariffs.” Yet as I see it, the focus is in the wrong area. It is not where it is build now, the question becomes “At what loss?” And it is not money I am speaking of. These plants are Chinese in nature (as far as I can tell), and now we get a very new stage. No matter where they are set. China might not like it that certain IP manufacturing settings will leave China, which would be an acceptable move. Not for Apple and the losses they will receive because of it, and there the tariff war takes another bite out of the meat that is American Revenue. I am not stating that this will be great, but even at a mere 2% loss of quality it will impact numbers and it will hit Apple’s customer satisfaction. A simple setting that will impact the Apple revenue bottom line and it will be more than dollars. This could (could being the operative word) impact customer care numbers too. A whole new area for Apple to maneuver against the economic currents it is fishing in.

As Timmy the Cook gives us “He also said Apple is shifting its supply chain for US-bound products away from China, but it is India and Vietnam that are poised to be major beneficiaries of that move.” It is the setting that I fear, as China is pushed out, whomever gets the new ‘victory’ is likely to be no more than 95% of what China delivered and that impacts, so even if there is merely 1% impact (I fear it is larger) it impacts numbers of produced iPhones, as well as the QC of the product. So not only will Apple see less results, if this holds up the loss of quality (with an impact of more service patches) will upset its customers to no end and the speculative result is that this more merely impacts the need for a Huawei phone (I would be OK with the jump from Apple to Google), which will feel good for Google, but Apple will not be pleased. 

So as we consider “China will remain the country of origin for the vast majority of total products sold outside the US, he added.” With the setting that Made for America will not have the rosy stage that President Trump is hoping for. I might think that Apple will not like it either. And with “However moving production lines to India will take time and significant investment, costing billions of dollars”, with the added “Apple have said they want to invest $500B over the next few years.” And that still comes with my speculated expected loss of quality, a setting that Apple never wanted, or never opted for. 

So what is the real threat? Is it China or has it become President Trump?

Even as the Financial review gives us ‘Apple and Amazon have no idea what’s coming’, I myself don’t agree. They are very much aware that they know. The American Administration howling like little puppies that Amazon was making moves to give their customers a look at what the tariff was doing to their goods with ‘Donald Trump slams Amazon’s rejected plan to display cost of tariffs on goods’ (source: ABC News) I wonder when people will figure out to ask questions from an administration bend on hiding additional charges (to customers) and consider that the quote “US President Donald Trump has labelled a reported plan by online retailer Amazon to display the cost of US tariffs on its products as a “hostile and political act”.” Is clear evidence that this America Administration is all about a lack of transparency. It is the statement from Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at M&G Wealth where I have issues. I do not deny that her statement is true, but lacking “There will still be tariffs that impact the supply chains [for Apple] and a cost to move them and build new factories” It took years to get the Chinese factories to work at the level they are now working at. The other factories will have to go through all these pains to get them running and that is before you consider that there would also be staffing issues. China and India have different settings in mental achievements. So the pain for Apple is merely beginning. 

A setting that the bulk of people are overlooking, I wonder why.

So as Amazon scrapped the tariff mention on its pricing, the call was heard by a lot of people and they are now looking at Temu and Alibaba. Alibaba mentioned a net income up by 237.53%. Today the Alibaba group is up by 3.83%. I cannot say how much of an impact the tariff has had there, but as others are merely scraping by and some are even reporting losses, the view on Alibaba might not be seen as a good thing, yet Wall Street seems optimistic about Alibaba (not that I know anything about that). 

So this is where the gem requires seeking. Is it still Apple? And there is a second setting. Will there be a larger call to reject the Apple for American markets? This is not easily answered because it is all depending on what is yet to happen. But Americans might be required to smuggle their new Apple devices into America. All because of a setting that the American administration itself is hunkering down on the lack of transparency. The one weird thing I am noticing is that the tariff solution is setting the minds of others towards what is the right path and at present it is not an American First item. And there is more bad news on the horizon (for America) as we seek gems we should be aware that Huawei is a much larger gem than expected. You see, Huawei is making larger captures revenue that expected. The headline ‘Indonesia is hooked on Huawei’ (Source: ASPI) is important as Indonesia is 3% of the planet. This might not seem much, but it gives Huawei larger importance to get into Bangladesh which gives them another 2%, so in a few short weeks Huawei gets an improved 5% goalpost. They already had visibility all over the Arabian peninsula and as Egypt is becoming a larger slice of their business, we see that America basically lost out of a 7% market share. As I see it America First is having a few corners they slice off from themselves. As these stages are evolving and the setting for Europe changes, as America is fumbling the ball. They are now ready to ignore American ‘advice’ and reopen doors with Huawei (likely with conditions) and as I see it Huawei is likely to respond favorable to that. As I see it, the game is changing andAmerica is losing several base stations in delivered ‘revenue’, a state that was almost unimaginable  less than a year ago. That was shown a mere two months ago with ‘German telcos pool efforts to retain more ‘open’ Huawei – sources’ and as this is realised, the rest of Europe is likely to follow, at least the EU is. 

The gem were not the tech companies, they are found where these companies were not, mainly through the pains given to these companies. Apple was not the focus, the companies that profited by the pain given to Apple. The moment you see that, is the moment that you realise that this chaotic setting is giving Chinese companies the open doors they were waiting for. I have no idea what Russia is up to, but this reminds me of the Toshiba settings. I wonder if this is what was supposed to happen, but no matter what. It seems that Huawei is profiting because of this. And with HarmonyOS now at version 5, Apple and others don’t only have to deal wit Android, they now have a competitor in HarmonyOS devices. This is a time to remember the words of Richard Yu who stated that all Huawei devices the company will launch in 2025 will be powered by HarmonyOS Next. You might have forgotten that, but I did not. So as Apple and Google were given settings of diversification, Huawei combined all the strengths they had and that will also impact market share. 

So as some will be given and accepted that the gem is America First. Others might not agree with that and as some sources are diverted Chinese corporations are now focussed on Asia, Arabian countries and Europe (through TAWAL). A setting I warned for almost two years ago and now it is seemingly happening. So where were these captains of industry?

Have a great day and enjoy the smell of coffee in the morning.

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April 29, 2025 · 23:22

News and self reflection

That happens, we all have to reflect on ones self. And I was given, by Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2598647/business-economy) ‘Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surge 113% since Vision 2030 launch’ here we see “Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports reached an unprecedented SR515 billion ($137 billion) in 2024, marking the highest value in the Kingdom’s history.” It comes with the added “The robust growth spanned all export sectors. Merchandise exports climbed to SR217 billion (+4 percent), fueled by respective increases of 2 percent and 9 percent in petrochemical and non-petrochemical exports.” As such it seems that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is doing well. For me the quote “In 2024, the Kingdom exported goods, re-exports, and services to over 180 countries, with 37 countries registering record import values, including the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Spain, France, Poland, Libya, and Syria. Other countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Pakistan, Nigeria, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria, also achieved record import volumes” was important. You see, one of my IP ideas would add Egypt, Bahrain and Bangladesh to that list. Indonesia, Pakistan and Oman were already on that list.

As I see it, the first phase might be a simple $6 billion (﷼22,500,000,000), but after that, I personally believe that the annual revenue could grow to $20 billion (75,000,000,000﷼) I might have gotten the placement of the Saudi riyal symbol wrong. The nice side effect of mixing left to right and right to left issues, but that is what it amounts to, as such a nice 6 to 20 billion annual added to the frame, but neither the Saudi Consulate (or Amazon for that matter) was taking the bait and it was such a nice bait. Still the setting of creating IP with a phase one setting of 6 billion is nothing to laugh at. I wrote about it before and that was merely one of a few IP settings (the rest is not that valuable). Still, I feel strongly about this idea and it fits the Muslim stage for a few reasons and that is beside the idea that it might unite the Muslim nations. 

Still I wonder in light of this news, is my idea really worth that much and will it work? I believe so, the one factor I cannot predict is how Epic Games (the maker of the Unreal Engine 5) will react, because I am not certain if they ever considered other venues beside gaming, as such Tencent becomes a factor as they too could carry the IP and in light of TGP Box (Tencent Games Platform) could it support the stage? With the initial 50 million consoles and in a non gaming condition could they consider the new venture it goes along? With the data centre in Saudi Arabia they might. The setting is diverse and it gives them access to a whole new cluster of users. Then there is the secondary stage of gaming, with a strategy that gives this solution over 1000 games pushing them on par with Sony and Nintendo, are they ready for what comes? In this, on par is pretty much the stage as they will not replace these systems, but ride alongside with them. I don’t know enough of the strategists that Tencent has, I know that I cannot trust Microsoft, but Amazon was a first thought when Google dropped their Google Stadia. The internet of things and Cloud gaming had their pay offs as I saw it, especially as no one was looking in that direction and as two streams were taken from the Google ship it made sense to go to Google first (but they dropped their stadia), so the Luna was the only solution for me. Now that Tencent is up and running there is another option, but it is still a little dependent on what Saudi Arabia will do, they are the corner stone of this solution. 

So as I see this article, I wonder if I am right. Self reflection is important, especially when you are talking about billions, and I do not want to be wrong, which is why I try to be as conservative with the numbers I have. On the other hand, the thought that I have the jackpot idea and I cannot sell it is pretty much killing me and I don’t want Microsoft near this, they have screwed up too much IP as I see it as such I don’t want them near the ideas I have and there are a few more. Still the doubt  grips me, how could I have come up with the idea of billions whilst all the others cannot see what I see. Am I missing something?

The doubt can be debilitating. In other news of the good kind. Mark Carney won the elections, so that is at least something. Now if we could only make Donald Trump shut up about the 51st state, that would be really nice. So have a great day and if you are in Canada, raise your coffee in cheers for Mark Carney (it is 6:00 in Vancouver, way too early for alcohol). 

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April 27, 2025 · 14:51

Dynamic lore

Perhaps Dynamic interactive NPC’s is a better if not a little incomplete at this time. I have been loving every moment that I have been in Cyrodil, yet some of the missions are bland, redone over and over again and at this time (as there are more options), the setting seems a little absent of electricity. This is not the fault of Virtuos of Bethesda. I have over 1000 hours (perhaps even 2000 hours) in the game, so for the most I have already seen it. Still roaming the sights of the province is a delight. All the sights I forgot about over the 14 years that Skyrim graced my computers (PS3, Xbox360, PS4 and PS5) and there is more, but at some point I started to set out the idea of Dynamic Dialogue.

You see the first game you play remains always the same, but the subsequent versions, there could be a setting that some of the dialogues will be somewhere else. As such my mind set out the stage that at this point has never been done in any RPG.



Could be set to 
Pers001ArdantNadia
Location01BravilBravil
KindofPersonMerchantBeggar
ActionRumorRumor

And this is merely a sample. So we get a key part of information from a merchant, but this information could be from a beggar as well (not always an option), but the system of Dynamic Dialog will have within itself what the definition is. As such you can run to Bruma and ask the same person again and again, but what if the mage changes? Optionally you are given the name, but that is not a given. 

It changes the game, as the subsequent play is more of a setting that sets a new premise. A game  altered to the gamer who loves the challenge, not merely running the distance. In this there comes a second setting that loot in houses could alter, books might be in different locations (after the first play), It gives shine to a game that was good to be great over several play throughs. With the optional setting when you start the game of activate Dynamic Dialogue. As the database is set correctly the game could be reset to original when a new game is started. 

A setting we have never seen in RPG, but this is now possible, as such, I though of including this setting. Loot can always be randomized, but the people usually aren’t. Then there is the setting that a mission could get another parameter as well. Like the weapon shipment could give the added premise of saving miners and that is set to a clock within the moment you give the weapons to the three mercenaries. So there could be the option that you get a 10 minute timeframe to save a number of miners in that level (like 6 miners) and that gives the player a new chase. To get to the people in time. I am not saying that it should have been done, but when you get the second play through, some missions get to be a bit of a milk run, as such I devised the setting to add Dynamic Dialogue and optionally added achievements. 

There are places when that is not possible, but given the option, we have a good stage to improve RPG gaming, and in this case merely the additional times you play the game. I reckon that my mind will concoct a few more iterations of this in the near future as such I will keep you informed of the hair brain schemes I think of. Perhaps in the near future I will add to what I wrote yesterday, there was a lot more to be had.

Have a great day, time for me to close another Oblivion gate.

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April 25, 2025 · 17:25

Changing the reason

That is the setting and it is not a bad setting. The reporter, the spokespeople, no one broke any laws and no one created harm in the process. The latter reason is merely my reason, but with the tariff setting it matters. I am talking about the article in tech radar (at https://www.techradar.com/pro/pc-makers-are-planning-plants-in-saudi-arabia-to-try-and-avoid-us-tariffs) where we are given in the headline ‘PC makers are planning plants in Saudi Arabia to try and avoid US tariffs’, you see, it is not about tariffs at this time (perhaps partially).

You see, the article gives us “Major PC makers like Lenovo, HP and Dell are reportedly exploring building new manufacturing plants in Saudi Arabia in order to avoid high US tariffs on Chinese-made goods.” I reckon that ASUS is doing the same thing. There is a larger prospect. Consider NEOM Sindalah, NEOM Oxagon, NEOM Trojan, NEOM the Line, NEOM Magna and all its 12 subdivisions then we get the Mukaab project in Riyadh. These settings represent thousands of computers and most of them laptops and netbooks. A setting I predicted in January 2024 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) on the 25th of January 2024 I implied the need for Saudi Arabia (and the UAE) to change the way customer service was done in these places. With NICE as an example, Saudi Arabia could create a Muslim solution for this and considering the growth of travelers which is supposed to surpass 100,000,000, at present (last year) was over 800,000 people and NICE has that covered, but as it is an Israeli solution, it might not fly in Saudi Arabia or the UAE and as such the premise needed to be changed and in that article I set the premise out a little better (I had retyping my own words).

As such with these thousands of systems required, it makes perfect sense for Lenovo to get into the game on a local setting, I might not be a huge fan of the Lenovo, but plenty of people love them and as such I see tremendous strides forward for Lenovo, my personal vote goes to ASUS, but that does not make Lenovo a bad choice, it is merely not my cup of tea. 

As such when we see “DigiTimes says HP and Dell have also sent teams to Saudi Arabia to scout out potential factory sites following local government invitations. The biggest attraction for manufacturers to relocate to Saudi Arabia are the 10% reciprocal tariffs, compared with 245% for China.” As I personally see it, it needs close tracks to each of these centers, likely it needs to favor Oxagon and Riyadh, but that is merely my point of view. Likely there will be service centers in each of the 4 locations, and relying on how Magna plays out, a larger setting is required there, but other with more geolocating intelligence is required. 

As Lenovo goes there and as the others (DELL, HP) come too, the setting for Saudi Arabia increases, there is at the near coming time a setting where these brands could service clients in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria as well. It could explode service and sales settings a lot more for these regions than the EU and USA can. So when I see the quote “However, the PC market’s immediate future remains uncertain. “In addition to the direct impact of tariffs, the stop-start nature of announcements and delays have cast uncertainty around pricing for consumer electronics this year,” Canalys Analyst Greg Davis explained.” I merely mention “Go pull the other foot”, you see the tariffs are merely an excuse and an optionally bump in revenue for these companies. I reckon that these reasons Trump (oops typo) the tariff reason at present and as Saudi Arabia makes strides to completing these settings the need for systems increase a lot and the need for servers in these locations would explode the need for CISCO equipment as well. 

This is a larger setting in the need for these companies to get ready as they might require localization and as I see it, the one who is there will get a larger options and a larger slice of the revenue stream. But that could merely be me.

Have a great day and enjoy the weekend. I have to kill hundreds of people in a place called Cyrodil this weekend and I am buying a nice house in Skingrad, but they tell me that I have weird priorities.

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