November 1, 2023 · 11:54

is their governmental fence broken?

That was the first question I had when I saw the events in Dagestan evolve. The BBC Article (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67269477) gives us ‘How social media fuelled antisemitic violence in Dagestan, Russia’, yet that is merely one symptom. You see, we might accept “At the designated time, hundreds of young men arrived at the airport, overwhelming security guards. They made their way onto the runway; some even got on to the roof.” I believe that is less than half the truth. I believe that Russia has OK’ed anti semitism and could be fuelling it. Their war is going south fart and they need new scapegoats. Israel fills that bill for them.

We are given “We also found other local Telegram chats sharing similar antisemitic rhetoric and calling for violence.” I believe that the FSB (Federal Security Service) has been told to stand down.

Consider the following video (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-odGhIBoCXA) the fact that such a mob got through and no actions were taken by the FSB (or at least a mere minimum) is concerning for two sides. The accusations by Russia are a joke. The fact that western powers would have such an impact on the FSB and the Russian army implies that there is no Russia left. The larger picture is that it is seemingly clear that the Kremlin is now relying on populist agenda’s to take views away from the Ukrainian – Russian events. In his (translated) words he is now siding with Palestine. The second part is seen with “its posts provided detailed instructions for those gathering at the airport, including forming a crowd to block the exit when passengers arriving from Israel left the plane” this implies (no proven) that airport officials are involved. The FSB and the army did not intervene. A mob got complete access to the airport and of course criminals and drug dealers got access too, and a simple way to walk out. The Telegram messages implies more than mere anti semitism, it implies government steering as the FSB would have had access too and they did not intervene. 

As such I wonder what comes next, because if Russia starts supporting Hamas, the setting for a much larger war stage with several added players. The other side is that by these acts they get access to all kinds of pro Palestinian lone wolves. 

In the UK alone that implies added dangers from thousands of lone wolves and Russia would love that. Then there are the lone wolves that ‘grace’ America and with one attack Russia has gained eager recruits in the Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. One action achieved that, as such tactically a brilliant operation, for the west a lot less so. The problem is that this will set a new breach between left and right and makes socialist parties nothing more than communist tools and after the gutting of intelligence operations all over the Commonwealth, I reckon that they aren’t ready for what comes next and I believe that was exactly what Russia have been waiting for, A smoking gun that they could exploit without it slamming back on them.

So, I wonder what happens when these socialists learn they were played by some top people for reasons they do not understand. I wonder what happens when they see again and again the simple truth “An apology is no defense” and they are prosecuted for acting for hostile states. These people when they are Palestinians will see their residency revoked. It is all good until you sign up for living in a war zone, because that is the reality that some protesters (the non no-violence protesters) will face in London, Toronto, Sydney and all over the USA. That is the stage we face and it is up to the political powers to make decisions, because they just unleashed the setting where they could be bothered by hundreds of lone wolves for years to come.

Enjoy today.

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October 30, 2023 · 23:00

Behind door number two

That article arrived a mere hour ago and had me on edge. It came from Reuters. The title ‘Graphic pro-Israel ads make their way into children’s video games’ (at https://www.reuters.com/world/graphic-pro-israel-ads-make-their-way-into-childrens-video-games-2023-10-30/) looks to me, a little bit like a hatchet job. 

The quote that does it is “The puzzle game on his Android phone had been interrupted by a video showing Hamas militants, terrified Israeli families and blurred graphic footage. Over a black screen, a message from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the first grader: “WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WHO HARM US PAY A HEAVY PRICE.”” You see, if you know you know. But for those who don’t lets educate you in this matter, there is no blame to you, you might never have considered these parts.

We know that Angry Birds was the game and I feel that this is not on them. What does bother me is “Spokesperson Lotta Backlund did not provide details on which of its “dozen or so ad partners” had supplied it with the ad.” The fact that the ad partner pushed this through Android and possible iOS too. So who was the culprit? We are also given “Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ head of digital, David Saranga, confirmed that the video was a government-promoted ad but said he had “no idea” how it ended up inside various games.” It makes sense that this was Israeli government and I am willing to believe that they didn’t push it through, but the ad partners could, someone laced this to get a negative spin going. You might not push this to a game, but this game has at present 263 million monthly users, as such up to a quarter of a billion people are being made aware. Now, all things being equal this means that the ad partner that pushed the ad is important to colour and classify this culprit. If only to learn whether this was a mere short sighted salesperson (these ads cost money) and these salespeople like their coin, or was this something more? I cannot tell. To give this kind of visibility to any political song requires a few issues and I get that a person like Lotta Backlund wants to play nice with all parties and she is likely seeking answers too, I get that.

You see an advertisement is made, a project is created, the advertisements are added, that project gets vetted and then pushed online and set against a budget. As such two parts of that stream were either ignored, diverted or altered. Whomever created the project is one, whomever vetted the project (on the game, android and/or iOS) side is the other. If it is only android it might be the same person, but I doubt it. Behind door number two is a new setting, one too many people did not worry about. Even when we ignore all the emotions games are exploited for advertisements and now they are ore and more likely show a message that should not be placed on children. In their defence there are plenty of Adults who like Angry Birds too, so there is that issue but until we get who pushed the advertisement campaign has that project, and as such it tells us how widespread this campaign went. To how many people, in what countries and optionally we get even more personalised data on the who were shown the advertisement. 

The budget will tell us how much interest was given to the project. Without that we cannot see the optional damage created. Yet that part is equally important, this might be the first event we see, but it will not be the last. The moment more and more people learn that THEIR political game can be pushed into a game, the more radical players will show up on the radar and that amounts to  really bad news for governments trying to limit the damage, yet with the populist agenda’s out there, there would be added desire to push messages to games. 

It is still the day before Halloween. So here is a little dark humour.

Question: What is red, in a corner and shrinking?
Answer: A toddler with a cheese grater.

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October 30, 2023 · 22:29

Out of two issues

I am confronted with 2 issues. The first one passed my eyes a few days ago. It came from Arab News (at https://arab.news/946db) where we are given ‘Saudi authorities seize 3.8 million amphetamine tablets in Riyadh’. This is the second event in a year and my doubts are increasing. Not on the Saudi government. What drug dealer ships in one go enough tablets to make over 10% of a population an addict? Weirdly apart from having no knowledge in this, the little knowledge I have comes from a video game named Elite. There we could ‘smuggle’ decently safe 2% of the cargo as narcotics. As such you could ‘decently’ safe smuggle up to 500Kg in a 20 ton carbo haul. There is another matter. This is either done by a really stupid Saudi (with a lot more money than common sense) or this is something else. I personally belief that this is something else. We see the ‘market’ value, but the people with other interests will merely have the manufacturing costs as an expense. 

You see, if this was a real exercise, it would have made sense to merely smuggle 0.1% of that haul per shipping and it would most likely go right, as such I personally feel that these people were always going to get caught, especially in a nation like Saudi Arabia, a nation with zero tolerance towards narcotics. 

Then the quote “Eleven defendants involved in these activities were arrested. They include seven residents of Syrian nationality, one resident of Nepalese nationality, and three citizens in Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail and Al-Jawf.” My personal belief is that a government hostile to Saudi Arabia is trying to make Saudi Arabia look bad. This might account for the 7 Syrians and one Nepalese. At that point I wonder how the remaining three were EXACTLY involved. Consider that this is a highly volatile situation. Would YOU trust foreigners to make you run such a risk on you? This is not about foreigners, but lets face it, Saudi’s are for all the right reasons not the most trusting in the world and I expect that the Nepalese person might not be Islamic. Too many red flags are going up and I cannot shake them. 

I wonder what deep investigations with something like Palantir Gotham (if it is still called that) would uncover. My thoughts go towards the manufacturer, 3.8 million tablets is (according to some) set to a manufacturing cost of $3 per tablet. So someone handed over $12 million with a 99% certainty to get caught. It does not make sense, $12,000,000 leaves a trail. There is close to no way that it remains invisible, as such Palantir Gotham is one solution to get somewhere. The reason for thinking in this direction is that this is the second catch within a year. Someone has too much money and someone else acquired a lot of money, way more than some hauls. The largest bust in America was a year ago and involved a little over 650,000 pills. That in a nation with over 300,000,000 people makes ‘sense’, still it was a lot, so to see over 600% in a nation with only 10% of that population makes absolutely no sense at all to me. So, I am in a setting where I believe that someone is out there making Saudi Arabia look bad. I have no idea who, or why. My blinkers make me think the only direct (former) enemy is Iran, but that has no foundation in evidence of any kind, merely a gut feeling. But someone was willing to spend well over 10 million twice over to get that done, it is more than I will ever make in a lifetime (unless Amazon, Kingdom Holdings or Tencent Technologies buys my IP). And all this is based on the purity being average, if these pills were more pure, the price tag changes a lot. 

Enjoy the day before Halloween.

 

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October 29, 2023 · 17:07

The students of Mediocrates

This is the setting I found myself in. Early this morning (0r late last night) I wrote ‘War never Changes’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/10/29/war-never-changes/). It was several hours after that when I got a message from JB-Hifi who was flogging the Microsoft laptop ‘Surface Laptop Studio 2’ and I decided to search on some reviews. I knew nothing of this device and soon enough I understood why. The Verge gives us ‘Surface Laptop Studio 2 review: this could be so much more’ with the byline “Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Studio 2 has new chips, a new touchpad, and a very, very high price tag”, the review was given to the people on October 4th (world animal day no less) and there we see “there’s the biggest problem for the Surface at this price, which is that its battery life is not anywhere near what Apple can offer. I only averaged four hours and 19 minutes of continuous use out of this device with Battery Saver on” as such this battery is a lot less then what the MacBook Air gave us in 2020, the new MacBook Air is even better. More importantly it loses 7 out of 8 tests against the MacBook Air with a M2 processor. I was horrified that it took Microsoft 47% longer to export 4K video. That is nothing less than a joke. The larger issue isn’t this, it is that Intel just announced its “Meteor Lake” CPU generation, and we expect to see those laptops roll out around December. I have no idea how Microsoft stacks up against that puppy, but I fear the worst for Microsoft.

You see, we get that not every laptop is a given for everyone, I am fine with that. Yet to rely on an I7 processor implies you need a sturdy battery to begin with and that one is missing from the get go.

This is the larger setting of Microsoft, wanting to be in a race merely to compete, never to win it. They lost 6 times over already and they are losing more. How much longer before the Microsoft sycophants give up on the brand? Microsoft always had competitors (Asus, Apple, Dell, HP) and now Intel is in a position to surpass them as well. That is the problem with Microsoft, they aren’t in it to win it. They can claim whatever they want, yet when you get “Unfortunately, the Studio 2’s benchmark scores were underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong: it’s certainly an improvement over the OG Studio. Whether exporting in Premiere or running Tomb Raider, it is faster. But these are far from the best numbers you’ll see among premium workstations today.” To be labelled underwhelming is a problem. They shouted for the longest time that their console was the most powerful in the world and within 2 years it was surpassed by the weakest console of them all (Nintendo Switch) and I am about to hand 50 million potential customers (in phase one) to another vendor (preferably Amazon).

Microsoft is now the favourite corporation to end up with the wooden spoon (dead last in a race). They lost against so many (see previous article for names) and now we see that Intel and Tencent Technologies are potential better players too.
It puts Microsoft on a sliding scale of revenue. It needs to get $4 billion in interest alone on current loans and when their so called mountain of revenue dwindles down because they are losing too many places where they are in the top 2 it becomes awkward and disappointing on several levels. This is the setting I spoke about yesterday and some still call me delusional. Not to worry, the facts are out there and the Verge (at https://www.theverge.com/23900932/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-2-2023-intel-review) added to the hardship of Microsoft. 

When you get quotes like “right now is a particularly not-great time to be buying a horrendously expensive 13th Gen laptop” especially when the 14th gen laptops are being released next month before Christmas. Then we get “the current Surface Laptop Studio is an okay convertible. For its price, it should be more than that”, as I see it it is Mediocrates all over again. He was the man famous for “Meh, good enough” and in IT that just doesn’t hold the mustard. If there is an upside then it would be the design and the screen. All these parts that I saw looked pretty spectacular. But does that warrant the $3,499.99 price-tag? I personally don’t believe so, but others might feel differently on that. It seemingly has more options to connect and that is good, but as stated lacks a full SD slot. That is an issue I had with the Lenovo Chromebook 5 years ago, but that thing was $349, for $3K more I expect better and the lack of a full slot tends to have other issues when working in laptop mode, but I will agree that could merely be me.

So on Sunday I learn that Microsoft still worships Mediocrates, not a good setting to be in, not at all.

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October 29, 2023 · 00:05

War never changes

I was about to look into something that bothered me in Saudi Arabia when news hit me. That news stopped me in my tracks. You see it is 15 years ago today that Bethesda launched Fallout 3. I had never forgotten about that game, I even missed it to some degree. Fallout 3 after Oblivion was a massive step forward and together they were the start of Skyrim. As Bethesda became a Microsoft subsidiary, Elder Scrolls VII: Restoration became lost to them and I started to push that game in parts towards public domain. But there was one part that was never part of this. The introduction and Fallout 3 reminded me on how important the introduction was. The entire introduction is seen in Vault 101. A simple but strong setting to get you into the game, to start the narrative and to give away a clue or two. I had forgotten about that part, I had forgotten on the importance of a start. In Dune (the book) the beginning is given to us as “A beginning is the time for the most delicate care that the balances are correct.” In the 1984 movie we hear “A beginning is a very delicate time” both are correct. I had never forgotten either, but I see that I overlooked parts of that. I didn’t in the movie I create ‘How to assassinate a politician’ or the TV series ‘Keno Diastima’ in both those settings the introduction is the start and the beginning are the connected prequels. There I have that space, in gaming you do not. In Restoration the game in the very beginning reflects back to Oblivion, a game too often overlooked. Bethesda did a really good job (until they became part of Microsoft). 

As such there were solutions. As a separate game it becomes a different puppy and that had be going. The entire setting is no longer on the elder scrolls list, as a separate game you need to set a different schooling and I did a dissimilar introduction, but now it becomes a much larger station. So what happens when we create not one, but three introductions? When we create introductions for the choices made we get a new gaming setting. We create a smaller infusion of longevity and that is the first step to LTG (Long Term Gaming) that is the stuff that streamers (Amazon, Tencent Technologies) require. Streaming relies on at least 2-3 LTG games and Microsoft has two, when we take those options away by creating a real LTG, we get a new setting, we deprive Microsoft of revenue, something they desperately need after spending $69,000,000,000. Soon they will be haemorrhaging all over the place and denied revenue is one, the other I keep for later. Those two will push Microsoft over the edge and I am driven to that because they invaded our safe gaming space by pushing THEIR needs on all gamers at the expense of everyone else. That angered me, they did nothing wrong in the legal sense, but they did in the spiritual sense and when Tencent technologies and Indies programming for them get that IP (as I am making it public domain) the Game pass loses value, especially as they denied certain games to be there in year one. The greedy will be served, that is what I always believed and now I am making it a reality. And as Microsoft seemingly invested $13,000,000,000 in genAI there shores are stacking up and a few more bad news (like missed revenue and less customers) will set their doomsday clock to 0:01, which works well for me in this case. As I said once before, I will hand my IP to Saudi Arabia for 35% of the value, before I will let Microsoft near it for 165% of that value and making a lot of it public domain works well for me, I might not get a dime of that, but Microsoft cannot make exclusive IP claims when it was published and that is the part everyone forgets about. You see “Software patents for computer-implemented inventions are treated as typical patent applications and must pass the same tests of novelty and inventiveness.” You see, when something is on the internet or a blog, it fails the novelty test. Microsoft will have to share space and cannot claim anything. I open the space for indie developers and they can go wherever they want to go and with thousands of indie developers in China, Tencent technologies will have an advantage and that mean more trouble for Microsoft.

They were warned, but they were eager to ignore everyone to the request of their board of directors. In the end they lose 5 times over. Apple took the tablet, Amazon the Web systems (AWS), Sony took the console, Tencent technologies is about to take streaming services (GaaS) and Google is biting into their office revenue (not as much as I hoped, but still). Bleeding on 5 sides and I will (hopefully) add two points of pressure. In the end their $82 billion investment will come up short. Yes GenAI is all the rage, but it needs a pedestal to grow from and that pedestal is vanishing fast. I wonder which banks will buckle first. Wall Street is at present obsessed with AI, but soon they will realise that this setting needs a platform top start from and the Microsoft platform is waning that much is a given all over. I wonder how long they will be able to keep the spin up. At some point these banks want evidence and if FTX is anything to go by, a lot of banks are starting to get worried, not in the least by my speculated weights of banks with too much US treasury bonds. We see the news on how 10-year treasury  bonds are a green light, but are they really? When that goose sparks a lot of people will be without savings and I fear that that moment is not too far away, giving more added pressure for Microsoft to perform. Consider that the ‘investments’ requires them to make AT LEAST 4 billion just to pay for the interest. Now consider that the media gives us that they made 198.3 billion USD, you would think that this is a no brainer and I would agree. Now consider that they lost 5 times over (6 if you include Bing) to competitors. They are still making some money, but the numbers aren’t adding up. Bing currently has a market share of 3.02%, which is nothing. There are too many cost issues that are not registering as I personally see it. So when we look at the whole picture, they are seemingly bleeding all over and the numbers cause me to show question marks. So am I wrong? I could be, but Microsoft has become too big, everyone is shouting against Amazon and Google, but they stay silent against Microsoft and they just got a new bigger player. 

War never changes the premise is sound, but you win the war by changing the stage the other one is stepping on, or you diffuse its support systems and the others all forgot one thing, the population is a support system in this war and Tencent Technologies is about to come into this field, Amazon had options for several years. They squandered it on I know not what. Now Tencent Technologies optionally with Huawei will get a larger stage to work from, all whilst the Microsoft stage is shrinking. As the middle East turned to China, Microsoft lost even more and that is what too many are trying to be in denial of. I wonder what Microsoft loses by the start of 2024, it will be something but I have no idea what they will lose at present. 

Enjoy the weekend.

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October 28, 2023 · 07:56

Escalations

This happens, things escalate. It is not always the intent, it is not always predicted, but it happens. I just saw one of the largest escalation events in a while unfold. It basically started with the attack on The Nova Festival in the Negev desert in southern Israel. A group of approximately 50 Hamas gunmen arrived in vans and sprayed gunfire in all directions. There were mention of paragliders and some YouTube videos seem to show just that. And whilst some news agencies report that at least 260 bodies from the party grounds. It becomes one of the deadliest concerts in history. It starts the offensive by Israel on the West Bank. I remember Rafah, I have personally seen it and I reckon that this is not a good place to be. The West bank becomes an exploding tinder and whilst we see all the media and all Humanitarian wannabe’s shout cease fire issues. They are all eager to step over a concert and the impact it has. We hear of rapes and kidnaps from eye witnesses, but the western media isn’t giving it too much attention. We are all given the impact of. Hospital and we see accusations from both sides. I cannot tell who is speaking the truth and who is making false accusations, the media is no longer the most reliable source, so who is?

I honestly cannot tell at this point. What I saw in 1982 versus what is now feels like my year with the United Nations Security Council was a waste of time. I don’t regret going there, I don’t regret the decision, I merely hoped it would have ended more positively.

Now we see the larger escalation. After all the hundreds of missile strikes, one got through and hit a building in Tel Aviv. So whilst Hamas is hiding in a mountain of Palestinians we see that the Palestinians is hiding Hamas and now Israel has had more then enough, the impact in Tel Aviv will fuel a lot of actions and it will fuel escalations. The Israeli people have faced inactions all over  Europe in 1933-1939 and they are no longer accepting that. Al Jazeera reports ‘Israel-Hamas war live: Israeli ground forces ‘expanding operations’ in Gaza’ we see “The General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted the non-binding resolution, 120 votes for, 14 against, and 45 abstentions” towards some humanitarian truce, but the Nova Festival in Negev makes that almost impossible and now that there was one successful strike on Tel Aviv, that truce becomes a delusional air castle. Palestinians allowed for Hamas to take the lead, Hamas hid between the people and now that there is no more hiding a lot of Palestinians will get hurt in the process. The attack on October 7th 2023 was a desperate act by Palestine to stop the normalisation between the state of Israel and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and this is the result. I reckon that within a week another 10% of all buildings will have been reduced to rubble. An official mention was given 22 hours ago. We are given that the total death toll is 7,028 Palestinians, including 2,913 minors, according to the ministry. I believe that this number will double soon enough, all through an attack on a music festival. We are also given that Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 220 hostages. The 260 dead people at the music festival was merely the beginning, even as Hamas is now ‘hiding’ behind 220 hostages it seemingly is not stopping the IDF, thy now want blood and the one successful hit on a building in Tel Aviv is fuelling them along as well. The BBC reports that the Israeli military has massed tens of thousands of soldiers along the territory’s perimeter fence, along with tanks and artillery. It has activated some 300,000 reservists, alongside its standing force of 160,000. That group will face Hamas with about 25,000 people in its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. As I see it, Hamas is facing a war machine in a place with no fuel and no electricity. It is facing a fight where rockets have little impact and ammunition will run out soon thereafter. No matter how many ammunition they have, it will be limited to the people who can carry it, their deployment options is most likely to be obsolete within 8 hours of that event. 

As I personally see it, Hamas will have ended Palestinian existence in the West Bank, no matter how they phrase it, the bulk of Palestinians are most likely to be dead before Halloween. As Hamas hides within the population, Israel will see both as a valid military target and the Nova festival gave them that option. I cannot tell how valid it is, Hamas has ben hiding within the Palestinian population for decades and the population led that happen, they will now be caught in the middle. There is no setting of fair, there merely is a military setting. Ghazi Hamad can run out of whatever interview he wants to, the consequence that no one is willing to give him a pedestal to make claims from, is gone now, unless he takes the next plane to Moscow. Hugo Bachega asked the hard question and Hamas had no answer, their footing is washing away on nearly evert front they once had. As I personally see it, the most stupid of all actions was to attack a music festival loaded with civilians, there is no coming back from that and the Tel Aviv strike will be making it worse soon enough.

Enjoy the weekend if possible, it might actually be a lot worse in some places soon enough.

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October 27, 2023 · 08:45

The added chapter

In continuation of yesterday’s part. I did more mulling (or brooding) on the setting of the case file. If you consider that the case file is a collection of three mini games, the first thing I considered that three did not make the cut, so I came up with two more mini games. That led me to two considerations. The first was on the setting of ‘evidence’ the second was on progression.

Danger One
The first danger was that you get too much of a “then I went there, then I did this then I saw that”. I need to consider another path. Almost like a diary, but with changing premisses. 

Even as we adhere to some setting we can start with the date, the action and the location can be programmable. As such, we get more than a dozen versions of the first element which contains the action and location. From there we get (as illustrated) 4 versions as a start that describes the event we ‘just played’. That part is set with actions and clues. The clues (hints we uncovered) are set to text parts and these elements make up for a chapter in the case file. The problem here is not that it is too detailed, it becomes what elements are required. On the other hand, if I set the larger wheels in motion, the re-engineer will solve the setting. 

Complication One
The 4 versions are the four versions of the text, it might be that ChatGPT can ‘solve’ it all making the solution easier to get up to two dozen versions and that is ‘painted’ with the writer style that is selected. So that every case-file has a different artsy approach resembling the thriller and espionage greats of the past. 

It is rather invigorating, trying to engineer a new solution from scratch. With the IP I made it was somewhat simple, now that I am getting to the nitty gritty part of the bottom layer, I need to set a different premise. The original solution that had 3 64KB mini games now becomes a lot more connecting. Each mini-game will not merely be larger, it will also give us more properties and more parameters to consider, to implement and to keep on the side to make the story work (or make it more of a story). 

From there I will need to consider the elements to make it a framework. As such it is not a framework, but a setting to create a framework for each case file. When I get that I avoid replication to a larger degree making it much more long term, or at least longer term. You see the case file is merely one side of the appeal. The cases need to have the appeal for the whole game to remain interesting, not a connection of repeated actions. The idea to enhance the original was for me a trigger to create a better game, the case file was merely an extra. Yet the idea to make it a way to connect your gaming to any other mobile solution (for the case file) will add to the larger interest for gamers and that could also be set to enhancing the gamer profiles of gamers (if the gamer desires). There are still several parts to dig into. The first is to let the gamer set the connections and data collectors in place. That gave me a few ideas to enhance the game further. The second was to set the game in a ’24 hour’ setting. 

Consider this example. Even as we see that action one and action two are interchangeable in the beginning, the setting past the second timeframes is that we could see different information in time frame three. When we add to the fact that action one and action two gives us different data we get a different and larger frame to work with, yet I also believe that any upside needs to receive a downside. We get on one side, but we are through that way denied other intelligence to work with (sorry for sounding cryptic). It becomes an altering frame within the game and now we get a new premise. We can create cases with altering time constraints. It adds to the dimensions of gaming enthusiasm. Adding the two ‘mini games’ was’t the challenge, it was how t fit it into the frame for players. Getting the introduction levels to get the first two ‘tools’ to teach the players what to do, then we get the ‘main tool’ and in the second intro mission we add one tool and in the third mission we add the second tool and after that the real missions start giving me a lot more challenges to upgrade the game from what was into what could be, but that is for soon enough.

Enjoy the day.

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October 26, 2023 · 09:25

The case file of linked technologies

That was the setting I was in yesterday. I love linked technologies. My first real interaction was connecting my Gameboy Advance to my Gamecube and in a game, the game boy was the map to the game I was playing on the Gameboy. This was neat (dorky but accurate). In the past I wrote about parts of this, but in a slightly different setting. In this case I am in the process of remastering IP (making it new or optionally innovative IP). The stage is that a game (or games) use a connection to something like ChatGPT to create case files based on writing styles like Chandler, Le Carre (an essential writer in my view), Desmond Bagley and Alistair McLean. That setting as the case file is merely a short story will not impede on the original writers. 

So why does this matter?
You see, games tend to have the EXACT SAME narrative. This is not on the games, but evolution is where you could create it. You see, even as Restoration has some alterations towards the narrative, this game requires a different approach to be a bigger hit. You see, the group of people who are gamers and are also bookworms (or enthusiast readers) is rather large. Another cluster that Amazon, Google and Microsoft missed. As such Amazon with the Luna and Kindle will have an advantage. That is until Tencent Technologies creates such a setting, or partners with Alibaba or Amazon to do the same thing. You see, what happens when a game you love creates (through ChatGPT, or an alike) create a case-file (read: narrative) that you can read and send to your friends, or place on your profile so that others can read these narratives. That makes the ChatGPT essential. Thousands of case files, similar but not exact copies. That create new waves, new interactions and new fans. All options that the larger three missed (a few times over). Now we get the narrative to a remaster all missed. 

You see, streaming games need to evolve and bring more to the game. They will never replace the Nintendo or the Sony consoles, but they will be a brother to the other two and that is where the larger gains can be made and that is where I am looking and the larger three are all missing the boat. Well, Google dumped the Stadia, so they aren’t even in the game anymore. But the larger setting with Kindle can create a double whammy, especially when you consider how small some margins are, that sets up all kinds of new connections and create new evolutions in gaming and I am all about evolving gaming, as I get better or more inclusive games, me, myself, I and all other gamers win and winning is the marker we all accept.

All innovative directions the big three either ignored, rejected or never saw and it is not about the Kindle. You could set this to a PDF. The setting is that you add to any profile to make the profile more, not more advertising, but more profile we all win and that is the second tier of creating waves. Let the game push all sides of gaming, not merely the game, or the narrative. As I personally see it another side ignored by the two remaining players (Amazon and Tencent Technologies). Now to be fair Tencent is new to this, but they are more and more in a position to take up a massive chunk of gaming marketshare and if they do it well, it is fine by me. I as a gamer win (other gamers too) and that is what I am after. More and better games, not Microsoft or Ubisoft iterations, but more and better games. 

So whilst we see iteration after iteration, gamers hunger for more and that time is already now. So, lets see what time and innovation will be brought to gamers and readers alike.

Enjoy the day before Friday.

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October 25, 2023 · 23:51

The alignment of views

That is what I am setting this conversation up for. Well conversation? As the blogger this is my monologue, a monologue plain and simple. I had another idea regarding the approach to gaming IP, but that ill be for another day. 

Today I am talking about the ABC article (at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-25/iran-saudi-china-middle-east-war-actress-nazanin-boniadi-profile/102996008). I am using this example for the simple reason that ABC is a good media outlet, they try to give us the real settings. As such taking the article apart in a different way might bring the points better across to the readers. 

You see, the media has squandered respectability, they squandered credibility and they squandered reliability. Not all media mind you, but a lot of them all decided to courtesan the digital dollar (whoring seems so harsh). In that setting we have a much larger station, but lets loo at the article. 

‘Actress Nazanin Boniadi on why China shouldn’t be mediator in the Middle East’ is the title.

Point 1
“Boniadi, who has dedicated much of her working life to advocating for human rights, including in Iran.” So who is Nazanin Boniadi? Is she an influencer? I never heard of her. Perhaps she is for real, but I cannot tell.

This is a setting that is partially on me. I never heard of her, but the larger media is using ‘influencers’ to taint the stories we see. It is a populist agenda that we are too often given (not accusing ABC of this) and as such we can no longer tell the difference between real, fake and deep fake. Populist sources are all about the flames, all about emotions and the larger corporations (as well as some governments) will give added ‘benefits’ to any anti-China story, that much is a given. That does not mean that there isn’t any valid anti-China materials out there. But the waves of deception have grown to a degree where we can no longer tell the difference. 

Point 2
““I think we will have to worry about autocracies taking that top spot in the world, and what that would look like for the rest of us,” Boniadi says.”

This could be seen as a valid question. Yet the sentiment is on ‘autocracies’ and the issues is that America and the EU have become such a mess that they cannot even stop in-fighting. They cannot decide on whether to counter Russia or hand over their governments to Putin, a sore setting indeed and the media is always there to push any flame that they can. You see China is regarded (to many) as a system of people’s congress with a unified state power. A communist nation. We can think what we want, but the setting of “a system of government by one person with absolute power” remains a debatable one. You see that is OUR point of view but others (especially in China) seem to believe that country’s recent economic achievements have actually come about because of, not despite, China’s authoritarian form of government. It is up in the air, but as we see that the EU and America are collapsing under their own weight of indecision, they might not be in such a setting. In addition Dutch political party New Social Contract with its leader Pieter Omtzigt was giving the press 7 minutes to time to prepare for the election papers. 7 minutes, that is a populist approach to getting votes and responses. How is that any way to treat voters? That is the setting we see and that is what we are given. 

The media has been shirking their responsibilities for close to a decade and it is getting worse. So whilst I would be willing to accept the story by the ABC, the larger setting is that the media has been flawed for some time and newspapers aren’t what they used to be. 

Point 3
The third point is a good one “We, the democratic countries, really have to unite in the same way that these autocracies are uniting to prevent that from happening.” I do have an issue with “in the same way”, you see getting them to ACTUALLY unite is one thing. America is in shambles and they are all there to address their own needs, then the needs of their ‘benefactors’ and then the rest is in play. The EU is no different, but with 19 nations all up in arms of each other, the larger station is lost to most of them. An example was seen last week when we were given “Boehringer Ingelheim and five other drugmakers have agreed to pay the European Commission €13.4 million in a hybrid settlement decision after admitting to participating in a global cartel to fix the price of an essential stomach medicine.” So, they make billions and they get a slap of €13.4 million? Things are getting worse and worse in the EU and I wonder if they even have an option to get back on track. Another example is seen with “U.S. measures to limit the export of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China may create an opening for Huawei to expand in its $7 billion home market as the curbs force Nvidia to retreat, analysts say”, it is funny as I gave the readers in ‘The definition of insanity’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/10/19/the-definition-of-insanity/) a day before that papers was published that very same setting. I did not give any numbers as I didn’t have any, but the larger station is now clear. The EU and USA broke their own systems a few times over and this isn’t helping any. This setting is important in light of the way that I am monologuing ‘unite’, but the lack of unity all over the western world is a clear sign that BRICS might end up being the next real power and as we are all up in arms on what  there is going on between China, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yet Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Saudi’s foreign minister is correct, something needs to happen and the wester nations are missing or fumbling the ball again and again. We get too much ego, too much presentations and no results and the media isn’t helping any.

So even a the article that is staging what we see now was all on the up and up, the questions are real. They are real because of all the Murdoch wannabe’s, glossy flames and influencer enablers we forgot what ACTUAL news is. A lot of people can no longer tell the difference and the press isn’t policing itself, so the people are on a short pier with nowhere to go. 

That is my point of view and in all this ABC is one of the more respectable sources. Too many are a lot less and the enabling of terrorist agenda’s by the media to get clicks is starting to be noticed by a lot of people. The populist agenda has never been a democratic view or a realistic democratic approach. Consider the autocracy that they will deliver when they are elected will cause a rapid decline in many nations and I might just live long enough to see that impact on a global scale. 

Enjoy the day as we move towards the middle of the week.

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October 25, 2023 · 00:10

LinkedIn has problems

That is the setting I have been looking at for the last few days. What was the number one BUSINESS solution on social media has become a populist self promoting machine of garbage. Yes, a treasure to some is garbage to others. 

Small Issue
See here the small issue. Aqualand Australia, it is more than just a method of presentation. 

We can all agree that presentation would be part of LinkedIn and I have zero issues with that. Yet the link goes to a place lacking all kinds of information and you MIGHT get more, if you only hand over your details and e-mail. A simple email grab, not unlike cybercriminals out for some phishing spots. I don’t mind them being bad at informing you, but the email grab? I have an issue with that. It is the lowest least acceptable form of sales technique done by people who lack sales skills. You see, if they were proper sales people, they would have included a PDF (example) with ALL the information. If the information is good, the real people would be in contact, they would be making the next move. Yet in Australia housing is expensive and I personally suspect that the lack of information is to ensure that these salespeople get every dime out of you that they can get. Not merely the price of the house, but the maximum drain they can get. Now, I accept that I might be wrong on a few things and it could have been resolved by giving us all the goods and the real deal, but we aren’t getting that are we?

Big Issue
This is becoming an actual nuisance. LinkedIn members are getting more and more hassled with fake polls. 

Consider “Is your job hunt in the Intelligence Community becoming more challenging and what specific challenges are you encountering?” Is this an actual Yes/No question? And I am seeing several a day. Some will actually try to connect to whomever answered the question, because the author can see how YOU voted. It is a sales technique that is not clever, it is not innovative. It is (as I personally see it) merely stupid and with groups becoming public, this issue will merely grow.

The larger issue is that LinkedIn was an established professional network, by changing the rules and through that increase traffic, they are now becoming their own words enemy. Consider that players like Xing (German version) is starting to get into a position where they could poach plenty of LinkedIn members by doing nothing and by preventing that these actions will be allowed. Less than half a dozen little actions that could diminish LinkedIn with their 950 million members in more than 200 countries could make them lose close to 10% annually. LinkedIn will be a larger network for some time, but the foundations are shifting. Players like Xing, Jobcase, Hired and Hirect are nowhere near that size, but people might decide to take up a second network and when that network is giving them what they need, LinkedIn will lose a lot more than they thought of. I personally see this that their need to increase traffic for all kinds of reasons is starting to have a more negative impact. 

The number one question becomes how wrong could I be? I could always be wrong, but the populist approach seldom has a positive outcome. It is only those seeking (and lacking) attention seek the populist method and as I personally see it, those lacking sales skills (marketing too) need  all kinds of attention, some valid, some questionable. Yet this is merely my point of view.

As such, LinkedIn need to reassess what they are doing and what they allow to be ‘collected’ A mere change in certain paths might solve part of the problem for LinkedIn for now.

Enjoy the day.

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