Tag Archives: Dubai Mall

This is not centerfield

You might think that doesn’t make sense, but for me it does. I have been all over the field, mainly because a few things are hitting me at the same time. First there is the setting that I feel for, the Attacks on the UAE and a few other matters made me want to shout out towards the UAE. I ‘handed’ them the IP to hurt Iran, as well as a few other matters. So as I saw today ‘Disney (DIS) Increases Peak Ticket Prices to Record Highs’ source: Gurufocus news) I realized that the UAE has a larger recovery plan in place, as long as we deal with Iran and their missiles, the Trump setting does not help and a solution needs to be found, but the UN is useless as I see it, as such there is no expected help from that side. Then we get the false information (usually from people wishing they would become influencers) so that is a side that needs attending to (by the proper authorities) and I have little solution there. I can illuminate these losers, but it is like mopping the floor whilst the tap is still running. So whilst that Disney news is out there, there is a clear side for the UAE to increase the settings in that field But there is one side that could be dealt with, gaining traction through free options. My issue with this is that it is nice, but why should the Emirati government have to pay for it all. It then hit me that one thing that WaterWorld Abu Dhabi has is the Al Raha River. It seems like such fun and especially in Summer. It then hit me that this is one entertainment version that could be implemented near hotels. It seems like a low cost setting that beside the initial building, could offer entertainment, without the high cost. So consider places like Capital Park (Abu Dhabi) it has several hotels around the corner, people visit that place, what could be more inviting than something like the Al Raha River (with a different name of course) where people could relax, without paying a large amount (optionally the tubes have to be bought, or people bring their own). And this is merely one location, you could have a few of these in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, preferably in a place where several hotels are found. There is also the ‘need’ for webcams, or publicly accessible form of CCTV in public places, so that people can see that these wannabe influencers are full of idiocy. So that the world sees that the UAE is open for business and that people are there to have fun. It is a small step to increase the tourist settings as Gurufocus gave me is that Disney (at peak times) of $219 per person, this is nuts, because that amounts to 805 Dirham per person. I reckon that will feed a person for a week (an assumption from my side) the first thing that people who price themselves out of a market need to realise that their audience goes somewhere else. 

Places like Al Baik can feed two people for a meal for AED 55, so that amounts to 15 meals, so my assumption of feeding someone for a week can be achieved, you need even less if you go to a place like Carrefour. But it is not about food, it is about the UAE getting new and more visitors to their location. So whilst the UAE is hit with all kinds of nonsense not unlike “As of April 2026, Smartraveller advises Australians “Do Not Travel” to the UAE due to volatile security, high regional tensions, and risk of military conflict”, we can all agree that there is a risk of military conflict, but what exactly is “volatile security”? The UAE has been one of the safest places on the planet for years. We can agree that there are regional tensions, but this is what Iran threw at them, not in any form what the locals (read: Emirati’s) do. As I see it, it is still one of the most safe places, even with the military tension that exists to some degree. 

As I see it, there is always a need for free entertainment, the USA has it on TV and it is called C-SPAN (or was that C-SPAM)? There is a lot more in focus and places like Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) should get global views, you see when that happens the bulk of the streaming solutions we are given (at a price), gets competition from Dubai TV, which is generally free-to-air, and now consider that the new Dubai+ streaming app offers free, ad-supported access to 30,000+ hours of content. This was the setting I was considering whilst I was working on ‘Just a Game’ for its part two. It is still a short film, but I tend to be a man of my word and I promised the Director of the NSA (now Army Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd) and the Director of GCHQ (still Anne Keast-Butler) a heart attack, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the institutions or the directors in charge, I just needed a hobby and this was the best I could come up with my lacking resources. 

Sometimes I walk through the park (to think things through) and I am watching what is in the park and I wonder, do they have this in the UAE? Totally irrelevant to my setting, but a nation, innocent of anything other then the welfare of its citizens is currently under attack from Iran, it made me consider what else I could do. Even as we are given (13 minutes ago) ‘Trump tells CNBC he expects U.S. to make ‘great deal’ with Iran’, it seems folly as the Islam Times gives us 40 minutes ago ‘Trump Turning Negotiating Table into “Table of Surrender”’ and in all this, the UAE is caught in the middle. So what to do?

I ‘handed’ them my military IP (free of charge) and I have one optional adjustment for the road solution, but that is a little matter. The real deal is what will help the UAE (or Saudi Arabia for that matter). I currently have absolutely no faith in any solution the United States administration brings. 

And there is no need for my actions, but when you see the world burning I want to do something and I tend to go in creative mode, it is just the person I am. It is clear that that this solution is not coming in a day, but there is the need to adjust what there is to improve the pull of tourism and also the joy of the Emirati’s, who serve to let of steam in the meantime. And I believe that tourism will improve if people know what is possible and what is expected and the idea that DMI goes global might be a first step towards getting there and this could be done before the dust settles and as these solutions come forward it would also improve the offer of scripts and talent towards the UAE, but it requires the global audiences to realise that the UAE is more than the Dubai Mall and zero taxation. As more options are shown, more solutions will become available to the UAE and optionally even solutions I never realized, I don’t know everything, so that makes sense. Then there is the setting that places like ADNOC requires staff, only yesterday places were advertising for 929 Marine ADNOC job opportunities, in this world where people don’t have a job because AWS, Microsoft, Oracle and IBM (optionally others too) have shedded over 55,000 employees, they might consider the UAE as a worthy place for their skillset, one can only hope. 

So as you can see, my brain is all over the place and not always in the best of state, but that is me, always skating in his little square like a goalie watching for the puck to come his way, so that he can slam it in the other direction.

So, I am not a centerfielder, I am a goalie (a wannabe goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs at best) and I am doing the best I can as such I am relying on my creativity (at almost 64 I have to) and I am doing the best I seemingly know. So answer for yourself. Who thought of visibility of the UAE by giving the Dubai Media Incorporated a global stage? Who thought of seeing what parks have and considering the concrete table tennis in Burwood (near Sydney) how many of these tables do the parks in the UAE (Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi) have? All thought of consideration and there are more sports that could be promoted in this way. The first step in doing something is to have the thought and instilling this in others. Only then will any action make sense. But that is merely me having a thought and optionally a useless one, but that is merely on me.

Have a great day.

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The bare numbers

Politico gave us less than I day ago that Iran fired over 90% of its missiles and drones on civilian infrastructure targets. With ‘UAE official: More than 90% of Iran’s targets were civilian infrastructure’ (at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/19/united-arab-emirates-iran-civilian-infrastructure-00880064) we see a few facts. The first is the absolute worthlessness of António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations and from me there is no reason to call him ‘His Excellency’, his silence on this matter is deafening. We are given “Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation, said during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that Iran was seeking to destroy the UAE’s “model of prosperity and tolerance.” With the additional ““We used our oil wealth to build an economic powerhouse. They used their wealth for nuclear programs that are nefarious, for missiles, drones, proxies, etc.,” she told host Jonathan Karl. “So whereas we tried to become and have become an international, global, responsible player, they are a pariah state. And they wanted to break that model, but they underestimated our resolve.” The UAE has faced a barrage of attacks from Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran in late February. While the Gulf state, like many of its neighbors, initially opposed the war, it has since shifted its tone as it considers how to avoid the breakout of a larger regional war.

It seems to me that the United Nations is failing is plenty of ways, but perhaps they are busy playing host to another mission at present.  He ends with “Asked if she harbored concerns about Trump’s threats, Al Hashimy said the UAE believes that “maximum pressure” is necessary to move forward, while cautioning against civilian attacks. “Ultimately, we don’t want to hurt the Iranian people. That’s very important to mention. But at the same time, it’s the Revolutionary Guard that have taken forward a military stance and a posture not against the U.S. and Israel alone, but against the very neighborhood that they operate in through the Gulf states.”” I hope that the UAE optionally is willing to test the solutions I handed them (and the KSA as well) to destroy the infrastructures of Iran as well (I published them over the last month, one for shipping, one for trains and optionally one for trucking). It was my personal believe that Iran options come to a stand still when all three are hit. 

The fact that it seemingly is Politico illuminating that side of the nastiness of the Iranian war will find its way to the mainstream media soon enough. 

On the other side, the BS setting of influencers who give us that the Dubai mall is empty, usually with a picture of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the starting page is making me angry, as such an image of the entrance to the mall of Dubai less than 24 hours ago.

I think that Google needs to do something about the use of misinformation on its YouTube pages. I am all for freedom of speech, but that comes with a healthy dose of accountability.

It seems that the UAE is under attack from several parties, not just Iran, it is easy to hide behind the bare numbers in the middle of Ramadan, but Ramadan is now over so whilst over a million people are attending the Hajj, an event that Saudi Arabia just officially opened the doors to, we need to see what is real and what is not. Perhaps the idea of a web view outside of the Dubai mall and perhaps some other places, so that the world can see the BS that these wannabe influencers are handing you.

Just a thought to entertain, I remain a decent ally of the UAE and the prosperity and goodwill they advertise. And even as Iran is still attacking Abu Dhabi, visiting Yas Island remains a firm number one on my bucket list for now, so it is my wish that the Harry Potter addition to Warner Brothers Theme parks, especially as the ones in the United States are basically no longer a good idea.

Have a great day

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A digital setting

That was always in the works, especially as those so called ‘influencers’ were trying to get traction at the expanse of both Saudi Arabia and the UAE on LinkedIn and YouTube (optionally also on TikTok, but I do not venture there). So as we see the Defense Post (at https://thedefensepost.com/2026/03/25/lig-nex1-palantir-defense-uae/) give us ‘LIG Nex1, Palantir Expand Defense Cooperation in UAE’ which comes with the hidden byline, the image shows a soldier with a Saudi patch, but that might have a different alignment issue. Where we see “The deal was signed at Palantir’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California, with senior executives present, but no details on programs, timelines, or contract value were disclosed. Under the initiative, South Korean firm LIG Nex1 will contribute its experience in integrated air defense and unmanned systems. US-based Palantir will provide data integration and analytics software designed to support defense operations and connect sensors, platforms, and command systems.” And it seems that there are optionally additional settings. The Dutch organisation Trollrensics might be well suited to expand its horizons to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. That firm has had expertise in dealing with the data to ‘unveil’ Russian trolls and give defense abilities to the Ukrainian IT forces. As I see it, it also has seen its shares of Chinese trolls and when comparing Palantir to Trollrensics there is no question that Palantir wins. But taken the price of a seat, I reckon that Trollrensics would be great at prototyping the requirements to unveil these fake influencers. And rolling out Palantir to an organisation is kinda big. Getting a small team onto Trollrensics seems a little easier. As such both nations could be deploying both solutions in the field giving prototyping abilities in almost no time flat and when more is needed in comes Palantir with the the driven questions that have been parsed to some extent, without draining the AI pool of credits (as the saying goes) a simple setting that I was aware of at least. So as we are given that the Dubai mall is empty (according to an influencer on YouTube) we need to realise that this was in the middle of Ramadan. I reckon that most Muslims will avoid the temptations that the Dubai Mall gives the fasting Muslim community. It might be small, but the underlying setting is ‘abused’ by that influencer giving the watcher that the mall was empty for another reason. So as I give the world

The image of Gulf News that the crowds at the Dubai Mall (Dubai) are just fine, remember that you also get loads of information from people who have no idea what they are doing and they are merely in it to get the numbers and their YouTube Subscriber Milestone award, all whilst they have no idea what they are doing to the truth of the matter. 

So, you all have a great day and consider where you are in the larger setting of things.

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How some see this

That happens, not everyone sees things like me and that is OK. It is the setting of freedom of perspective and as we see that this is not a mere 1-2 people, but a multitude of people, we get a setting where a dozen people give an average view to the settings in the world. Still, some are not on the field and I was introduced to this yesterday (or is that mere hours ago). I saw Arab News giving us ‘UAE, Qatar reject Bloomberg reports on defense capabilities’ and as Bloomberg is behind a paywall, I cannot say what they give us. Yet we see “The UAE and Qatar have rejected Bloomberg’s reporting on their defensive capabilities, describing the claims as inaccurate and misleading. In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the report did not reflect the country’s level of preparedness, technological sophistication or operational readiness. It said the UAE operates diverse, integrated and multi-layered air defense systems capable of countering a full spectrum of aerial threats, including long, medium and short-range systems that provide comprehensive protection of national airspace.” And in this I offer 

Consider that Iran fired 1184 drones into the UAE, this costs Iran on average $29,600,000. The prices of a Shahed drone is set between $20K and $50K, so I set the value at $25K, the UAE caught over 93% before they could do any damage. And as we ‘trust’ some influencers with:

There is a problem with the way that the news is given in regard to the settings of this one sided war against the UAE, as the UAE is still in a stage where there should be talks, Iran keeps on attacking it without provocation. More in later news. 

As I see it, the setting for my idea given (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/02/01/sinking-a-dilemma/) called ‘Sinking a dilemma’ is now gaining speed as Iran is closing of the Strait of Hormuz. It seems that my canal is averting that danger and avoiding the strength Iran has in the strait and from there we see the Iranian setting to be diminishing sooner than snow melting in a volcano. Although the canal is not built yet, I have no doubt that it would push UAE economic benefits stronger and larger. 

And the UAE is not alone, Iran has made unprovoked attacks on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq and the world is not asking why these holy nations were attacked. As far as I can see, the only ‘valid’ targets for Iran at present are the United States of America and Israel. We could also project that American targets in the gulf states are not valid as these gulf nations have not given the USA any clearance to attack Iran from these bases. 

Some will see this different as Iran is the head of the Axis of evil, but there was never a formal declaration of war, making this a debatable issue and as I see it, the United Nations is not calling back the USA (or Israel) and that might be the weirdest part yet.

So at present, I cannot see how the Bloomberg report would have anything negative to add to this, In America they were unable to stop 3 passenger flights from hitting New York and Washington DC. As such 3 versus 1397 is a very different setting and speculative as I see it Bloomberg needs to apologise to both Qatar and the UAE, but that would merely be me. So as we contemplate the level of preparedness and technological sophistication of the UAE, it is seemingly top notch.

Have a great day and if you are in the Dubai Mall enjoy a lovely coffee, or perhaps a Street ice cream. It apparently is warm enough to enjoy some ice cream. It will be nice and sunny there in less than 12 hours. 

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Where is the edge?

That was where I was, I had no idea what to write about for the first time in 11 years, but fortunately the BBC helped me out in two occasions. The first one (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkrkd2xlx6o) gives us ‘YouTube’s $60bn revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push’, which his not surprising. The people who initially turned down that offer must befitting themselves over the head with this. So when we see “The figure, which totals the money generated through advertising on YouTube as well as paid subscriptions, far surpasses streaming rival Netflix’s $45bn revenue. It appears to be the first time Google has individually highlighted its video platform’s yearly revenue since acquiring it in 2006.” I reckon that all these data centres require Google (aka Alphabet) to show that they are doing well in regards to other expenses. So when we see ““YouTube is one of – if not the – most-used of all digital offerings, with over 70% of international consumers using it weekly, and over 50% using it daily,” she told the BBC, citing Midia consumer survey data. Kahlert said the different ways the platform makes money – such as through adverts, or charging a monthly subscription to remove them – means it can “capitalise well” on its large audience.” And I reckon it is a way to thwart Netflix with “Netflix has recently sought to ink deals with content creators, including popular YouTubers, in an effort to boost its own offerings.” I reckon that a company getting 33% more revenue than their competition is a decent way to thwart that setting. But what am I thinking? You see, there is more in play here and I reckon that Google will let us now that as soon as they are ready. Perhaps they might be considering the stage I gave with Augmented Reality in malls. You see, malls need an overhaul and rather quick. The eyes of the consumers are too adjusted to malls and at present one mall is as good as another (with the exception of Harrods and the Dubai Mall I think) but outside of these two, they are nearly all the same and an overhaul is required. I think that there is a new level of revenue coming from that, but what do I know?

I think that the optional damage that Netflix might bring and the Data Centre setting is reason why we now see YouTube revenue and that also brings a decent danger, because stable isn’t sexy and the revenue require an annual boost, but how? That is the setting when you make $60,000,000,000 per year and when you consider that this is $500M per month and when that falls down with an expected quarter not being reached, the game changes and that might have been the reason why Google never gave that number, so either Google is stretched too think with the Data Centres, or Netflix is making headway into YouTube content creator. I don’t know which one and it might be both to some degree. 

What is a given is that Google needs to look into new areas of advertising and digital awareness creation. I gave then (via my blog) more than one solution for over two years, so it is up to them to pick up that ball. Pretty simple, not?

But there is more to consider, you see Nintendo just announced (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglk543x3go) that ‘Nintendo Switch becomes gaming giant’s best-selling console in history’ with “The Switch is now the best-selling Nintendo console in history, having surpassed 155 million sales since it launched in 2017.” As such, Nintendo is just short 5 million from the Sony achievement and Sony had 25 years to get here, Nintendo did it in only 8, so it is a given that the Switch will break the PS2. That is not a bad thing for the PS2, it was surpassed by the PS3, PS4 and PS5. It had its day, for me it was more important to see Microsoft fall down to a lousy third place with nowhere near the numbers Nintendo or Sony had to give ad I am still ager to dwindle it down to 4th position, but that requires a few people to move their asses in gear. And with Tencent, the chances are that Microsoft will end up in 5th place. They would be the worthy winner of the wooden spoon (I have a nasty sense of humor).

But this could also drive Googles ‘revenue’, or at least a more global awareness. You see, what I saw as a Sony setting (which they never pushed for) is now up to Google. The option for your Google account to link a secondary account, a gaming account where the gamer decides whether they are openly linked or not. With the secondary account that gives the goods on your gaming settings to an account site and connecting with your friends there so that you have complete communications with them (or not) and show off your achievements in that page and it could connect to all your consoles, so you get a Nintendo account, A Sony account ad a streaming account. (Amazon Luna, Tencent) so now you have your abilities online too, and it is one directional, from the console TOWARDS the account. The same account, but a distinguisher whether it is Nintendo (1), Sony (2), or Streaming (3). And you can set a singular connect (Sony people only see your Sony dealings) and you can add the other accounts to that, with the stage that they are connected over all the devices or not. This gives Google a large benefit towards gaming advertisement and so on. And as Google gets more and more data, the gaming setting becomes more and more important. But it should be left to the gamer if they want that connection open or not. No matter what is done, Google wins and so do the gamers. Because the gamer is central in this. I am weirded out that Google seemingly never considered that, especially as they left billions on the floor with the Google Stadia. But that isn’t really my concern.

What does matter that with the publication of the YouTube revenue, more players will come because they want to capture their grains for greedy purposes. I am considering that like the revenue display, the advertisement revenue and gaming revenue will enable this isn advertisement too much, It is becoming a behemoth of revenue and these ‘princes’ of advertisement (lets call them Mad Men Wannabe’s) are too willing to strike into anything that they can exploit, but that might be merely my distrustful personality. So you all have a great day today. I am melting in the evening with 30 degrees and no relief for me in sight until 06:00.

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A coincidence by any other name

That happens. We walk in small social circles, so there is a point that where we see repetition, likeminded people have likeminded thoughts. That was my first instinct. You see, I saw something in the Khaleej Times yesterday and I merely saw it as read. That was until several hours ago when I saw almost exactly the same in the SBS News. Now, that doesn’t mean that there is an issue. But wait, let me set the stage by adding the articles here.

This what I saw yesterday (at a glance)

And today we get:

Now there is a chance of coincidence as there is an upcoming setting that involves more than we currently see. But at first I was take by surprise.

Lets get back to the Khaleej Times. Where the reader is hit with ‘UAE obesity rates to hit 95% by 2050, highest globally: Report’, where we are met with “The number of people in the UAE suffering from obesity—both males and females—will see a significant increase over the next two-and-a-half decades, says a new study.”, as well as “Co-lead author Dr Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia said preventing obesity must be at the forefront of all government policies.” She is also in the other article. And this leads me to the following questions:

  1. What new Study?
  2. Where is that study?
  3. What were the parameters and how were they captured?
  4. How is this insight of “95% in 25 years” ascertained?
  5. What are the qualifications of Dr Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute?

As I see it simple questions that need to be addressed. The first question is partially addressed in “As per the Lancet study, overweight and obesity prevalence among adult males in the UAE aged 25-plus will increase from 84 per cent in 2021 to 94 per cent in 2050, the highest globally along with Kuwait and a few other countries.” So were the 2021 numbers matched? Was there correlation? Simple questions really and they are important as the writer Waheed Abbas paints across the article in acceptable ways, but this is related to science and we need more, especially as Dr Jessica Kerr and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute are mentioned only once. Like it was a ‘matter-of-fact’ that everyone knows. I am pretty sure that is not the case as the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is in Australia and I never heard of them (I also have no kids). 

So off we go to the SBS article where we see:

A new forecast estimates half of Australian children will be obese or overweight by 2050. But experts say it’s much more complicated.” As well as “The study, coinciding with World Obesity Day, used an established forecast model and Body Mass Index (BMI) data from 204 countries and territories.” OK, this is definitely more, but how was it all collected? You see, in Australia the amount of women how are size 14 and 45 KG is almost staggering, so was there any scientific principle at play here (just asking). The SBS article gives us more, like “What this means is that even if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s really difficult to do when you’re surrounded by an environment that’s telling you to do the opposite and is promoting obesity.” OK, I can get behind that, but the markers of how 50% of Australian Children are likely to become obese is still in the air. And here we also see some of my questions in action. We are given “But advanced accredited practicing dietitian and lecturer at Queensland University of Technology, Dr Fiona Willer, questioned the study’s methodology and its emphasis on children’s body size. “We now know, without a shadow of a doubt, that body size does not equate to healthiness and nor does it reflect people’s dietary patterns,” she said.” OK, not my area of expertise, but what Dr. Fiona Willer gives us makes a lot of sense and I do have questions, but what about the data and what makes the UAE child more likely to be obese than Australian children, it is a mere 85% versus 50%, but the difference counts. 

And then the SBS article gives us additional questions raised by Georgia Bates when we are given  “Georgia Bates, dietitian and committee member of Size Inclusive Health Australia adds that the complexities of obesity go beyond health implications,” including:

– Weight stigma and chronic stress, which can impact cardiovascular health and metabolic function.

– Weight bias in healthcare, which can delay or complicate diagnoses and treatment.

– Healthcare discrimination, where “people of a higher weight are often dismissed or have their health concerns attributed solely to their weight,” leading to delays in care.

– Workplace bias, where weight discrimination can impact hiring decisions, pay rates, and promotions.

– Interpersonal stigma, leading to bullying, unsolicited advice, or judgment about eating and exercise.

– Mental health impacts, with chronic exposure to stigma and bias contributing to anxiety, depression, and disordered eating patterns.

Kerr says that part of the recommended changes is to reduce individual stigma.

Proper questions, I still have my side of the issue, but I am a data guy, that is how I roll.

But in the interim I designed a new solution, which is based on Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A walk way and bicycle way that is partially ‘roofed’, A setting where we have 2/3 roof where a side and the top is covered with solar panels, allowing people to walk and cycle under the shade (avoiding pesky sun issues) and doubles as power generation for the area. Consider the Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Nakheel Mall, Yass mall and so on (I don’t know them all). Having this walkway saves the people from the sun and let them walk off some of the calories they just ate. In addition the roof captures the sun’s energy and the sun sets the side of the panel, left/top, top or top/right. The panels align to the sun These walkways do not need to be long, no more than 2 miles around the malls, but that could increase activity among people and allow some people to cycle. To that I will offer additional options over time (still considering a few parts). But whilst others talk that something needs to be done, I created an option for the UAE to consider and when you consider the walk around Dubai mall or Yas Mall many will agree that getting out in the open might be a nice idea (when you are protected from the blistering sun). 

Have a great day.

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Bee, Bee, Bee, the Eye Pee

Yup, I am going off the simulated drive straight to the edge of what I consider wonky space (aka idea town). I have two reasons to do this. In the first there are a few indicators that LVMH is already on route to this and there is nothing more fun than to blow the surprise of the biggest baddest luxury brand on the planet, so that they know they are less ahead of the pack than they think they are. As for the second reason. It is always fun for a blogger to be able to say that I got there two years ahead of the rest and that is done by publishing the idea now and not when they want it to be published. Its al connected towards he said, she said and I merely show the published article to prove my point.

As such we get to the first hurdle. I was walking around in nowhere land and I got to mix what I designed two years ago after seeing malls impacted by COVID issues. At that point I designed a new technology for interacting retails and consumers. It was based on mobiles and glasses to give the people more. As such I had a thought today. To get you on board I need to take you on a mission of mercy (to protect your mind) to something that is 70 years old.

We get to so see two images, one red based (for the left eye) and one green based (for the right eye) these two images do not interfere, but with the glasses you get to see a 3D image of the image. One image for the left eye, the other for the right eye. Almost like a mono coloured view-master. We adapted the technology to use grey scaled glasses and that is how I saw Gravity in 3D in the IMAX theatre. A movie by Alfonso Cuarón with George the Nespresso man Clooney and Sandra Speedster Bullock. Gravity was the most impactful movie in my life and I still think of that movie has had the most impact on me. The technology employed that is, it was a great movie all around. You see, I thought of another ploy. The grey screen with glasses can give us an additional privacy filter. We have a mobile screen where we can filter what people see and only if you are directly facing the screen can you see the information. On an angle you can not. So this already exists, so what the beef? Well, I reckoned that a screen with ‘intelligence’ could interface with the grey glasses.

Now consider that the glasses could be given a setting that gives any wearer of these glasses individual privacy and in the second setting 3D capabilities. And with the interactions you get a new level of 3D interactions (and privacy) to new tablets (and mobiles). 

The main event
Yup, now we get to the main event. You see as I stated, I was there over 2 years ago and I wrote about it in ‘The mind it continues regardless’ on June 6th 2022 (and before that) where I saw a new application to augmented reality. Eaton Centre was the first application where I saw it, but it would be highly regarded in places like the Dubai centre. I also wrote ‘A Promise kept’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/04/05/a-promise-kept/) that is more up to date to this story. You see what people fail to see is that malls rely on engagement and these times (the COVID era) are bringing that need to the surface. As such I also I got to an idea that would offer a lot more to jewellers (see A promise kept). You see, there are two phases. The first is a QR code.

This code could be outside any jeweller, but in my view I saw the jewellers in Monaco and the millions of tourists they have to ‘appease’ to. As such I formed the idea that we would add the code to the image of a hand and the image of your hand (your finger) will be placed inside of the image of the ring you wanted and there we have an approximation of Deeper Machine Learning in use with a mobile and the retail industry. I worked out parts of it and I gather that LVMH has even gotten further with this. Well, you gotta admit that they are are being paid to work on it every day and I thought that android systems (iOS too) and by next week Huawei could implement this using HarmonyOS, this could have an interesting setting where everyone could have an image of an unaffordable ring on their finger, without LVHM endangering their stock and this would be an eye catching ability in Monaco to say the least. And this could be pushed even further when we consider the privacy shield with 3D capabilities and glasses. The Deeper Machine Learning options we now have could design an image from the 3D stage and the ring (as a QR code) and create a perfect fitting ring where a $26,500 ring might merely be owned by a few, but in this setting millions could see themselves graced with such a ring and when LVMH does this every quarter you get more than a return population, you create a global wave. And that is what I saw and now with the alternative idea we could see our hand graced (in 3D) with rings we could never image ever holding (I reckon that gets 98.3433% of the female population eager to try it).

Just my sneaky sneaky sense of humour. Because I wanted to state (for some kind of record) that I got there first, well kinda anyway. So all those people making claims, I have 3288 articles in my blog showing for over 10 years a few ideas that others dream of (or so I hope). It was a stage of innovation, which is why I can call Microsoft as the masters of mediocrity. I am ahead of them by miles.

You all have a great day, I am now 4 hours from Monday and perhaps another new idea.

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Puzzlement

That happens and it does not matter how bright you are. At times you get the message and it makes no sense (at that moment). I had that yesterday with an article by Fortune (at https://fortune.com/2024/11/17/luxury-goods-lvmh-kering-bain-broken-promises/) we get ‘50 million people have stopped buying luxury brands like Dior and Burberry after ‘broken promises’ to customers’. The first question that pops into my head was ‘How do they get to these numbers?’, lets be clear I am not accusing anyone of anything. Yet that gives us the 100% of Tokyo and Sao Paulo together. To collect that amount of data requires a mind boggling amount of data. I lost track to the article as Fortune hides behind a paywall and I am not that stupid to fall for the ‘disaster’ sales technique. The article gives us brands like Burberry and Dior. As such Simple questions become apparent. 

What form of verification was used?
Data in itself is the biggest liar of all. A simple mistake of cleaning and verifying the data is essential. Example is the question ‘Are you pregnant?’ Is a nice one, when the men are not cleaned out of this setting we get an astounding 50% offset (if we are lucky). The man (always trying to be funny) will answer no, because it is the truth. 

Then we get the broken promises. 

What evidence is there?
I get that Fortune gives us “On some level, brands have broken their promises to consumers” the voice (read: writing) of Marie Driscoll an equity partner. So what evidence are we given. The to some degree aggregated setting gives us LVMH, Burberry and Kering. There is a mention that they missed revenue targets. And suddenly we see that they are surpassed by Ozempic (a Pharma solution). We see not mention of any broken promises. We see all kinds of excuses and no actual mention of broken promises. At best we get the term brand fatigue. Actually I made mention of this in an article in January 2024 called ‘That one sided conversation’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/27/that-one-sided-conversation/) my issue is that malls (and brands) need to set their focus to engagement. I even created the setting to do just that And I had the Toronto Eaton Centre as an example as well as the Dubai Mall (and a few other places in Dubai). I never considered broken promises, and as I see it Fortune has no real setting for that either. If you have 50,000,000 consumers. You have data. Whether the consumer told a porky pie (read: lie) or there is another reason like they ran out of cash. The simple setting is data and the article does not give us any. The article is (as I personally see it) a sham. We are given “an equity Analyst told Fortune” the name appears later. Yet, if I had this to say you mention that name EVERYWHERE. And the article goes one step further “Now 50 million luxury consumers have either ditched buying designer bag, scarves, watches and more — or have been priced out, Bain & company’s new annual luxury report warns

I personally believe that LVMH, Burberry, Gucci (et all) need to demand that data from Fortune. I wonder how long I need to shift through that data to see an astounding amount of gaps that could get Fortune into hot waters? 

I got to see the article in my mobile, but not my laptop (another fine mess I got myself into). 

In these troubled times I have no issue with missed revenue targets and I feel certain that their investors do not have that issue either. The very rich know how they are doing and for the most they also know that of their peers. So if only 2 get their numbers that quarter, they are certain that about 80% will not go shopping everywhere. Optionally they will push back their Burberry suit or dress. There is no shame as I personally see it (and for the record I have never had enough money for a Burberry suit). 

As such my puzzlement. Fortune was always seen by me as a straight error in ‘reporting’ and this article basically threw their credibility in the trashcan.

The Second sight
That comes from the reference to Bain and Company and the stage that was referred to. The headline there was ‘Global luxury spending to land near €1.5 trillion in 2024, remaining relatively flat as consumers prioritise experiences over products amid uncertainty’ an article by Claudia D’Arpizio and Federica Levato. There we see “And yet, 50 million luxury consumers have either opted out of the luxury goods market or been forced out of it in the last two years. This is a signal for brands that it’s time to readjust their value propositions. To win back customers, particularly the younger ones, brands will need to lead with creativity and expand conversation topics. Simultaneously, they must keep their top customers front and center, surprising and delighting them while rediscovering one-to-one human interactions. For all customers, it will be critical to double down on personalisation, leveraging technology to achieve it at scale.” That is a view I can get behind and there is no mention at all of ‘Broken Promises’ (anywhere in the article). These two youthful young sprouts basically confirms my believes that it is about engagement. It does not matter how (I personally chose a generic setting) to engage the consumers in a much larger setting of a place and not a specific brand. I do not disagree with “rediscovering one-to-one human interactions” but as a technologist I prefer my Chicken Shawarma in a one to many configuration. And I do get that to address the very wealthy (aka filthy rich), a one on one setting is likely preferable. But that was never the reason for the IP I created in that setting.

And I for one personally believe that you can ditch the Fortune story and go straight for Bain & Company (at https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2024/global-luxury-spending-to-land-near-1.5-trillion-in-2024-remaining-relatively-flat-as-consumers-prioritize-experiences-over-products-amid-uncertainty/) the article is quite remarkable. And it was a pleasure to read too. I get that the numbers game can be nerdy and dry, but this story is uplifting and a good thought to address, for anyone in retail that is.

In the end what did Fortune do? Very little, all praise to Bain & Company here.

Have a great day all.

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When books are more

That was the setting I saw myself in this morning. As you (optionally) read this morning, I had given a walk down on a piece of IP by Meta, with the reference to stories more then two years old on my view on what is now the Orion with references to tourism advertising and a few settings towards creating awareness. But whilst I was writing that setting, I thought of another stage. The stage that reverts by to books. 

Consider the TV series I, Claudius. A drama that is the best drama ever written. Now I had the ‘initial’ version released in the 80’s, now it’s a Penguin title. The nice part of Penguin is that it is cheap. But my mind took it to a new direction and with augmented reality it is possible. Consider the story (which plays in ancient Rome) but now add augmented reality and at that point we have access to artwork like the statues of the old Romans like Augustus (Brian Blessed), Tiberius (George Baker), Caligula (John Hurt), Sejanus (Patrick Steward) and many more. Not the actors (or optionally included), but the art work, the statues, the places like the Colosseum, the royal palace and many more places that we might have seen. Draw the reader in with the art and references of how those people likely looked with ‘A.I.’ as the sculptures are drawn the the living version of these people. The stage is never ending. We could enable a much larger realm that some books give us. I, Claudius might show us how that world might have looked. Even as there are still issues to be resolved (Meta does little for free), but the sights could open a much larger world and Orion could bring that to the living room of anyone who has an Orion, the spectacle that brings a spectacle to the living room (to coin a phrase). 

I for one would like a little more spice with some of my books. It is OK if this title has these views added to a new version (like a limited edition), but the art still needs to be initially created. And there is no reason that these works of art cannot be accessible by the Orion glasses. Especially if one grows the tourism stage with these places and items. Consider if you are at the Colosseum, you put on your glasses, or see though your mobile art and stages of places at the simple connections? Wouldn’t that be great? I took this example as this is the best series the BBC ever created. But in my writing of ‘The opportunity for 2022’ on February 1st 2022, I used the option of Monte Carlo, through QR codes the people saw a much larger stage using a mobile. There is no reason that the Orion glasses couldn’t be used. I reckon that these glasses paired with your mobile wouldn’t do the trick too (a lot more comfortable) and with that we see the new tier of these glasses as it fuels tourism. Seeing the augmented reality of the winner William Grover-Williams driving his Bugatti Type 35B on 14 April 1929 on the track (which in Monte Carlo still exists), it gives the people more then they had and now we are literally off to the races. Augmented Reality is merely constraint by the limitation of the creative thinker and Meta removed several borders. That is the larger stage we need to embrace. I get that some people will state that there is enough tourism there. But the early bird will gain access to the revenue worms that are out there. Like the malls they need to push borders to engage the people and the malls are now feeling the pressure to create engagement and you merely need to see the amount of people who attended the malls in 2019 versus 2024 to see that places like Eaton centre mall (Toronto) and Dubai Mall (Dubai) have lost visitors (Dubai not that much) but the keep on top of matters is done by offering people more then before. That has always been proven (again and again).

America had 116,000 malls and there is no real list where I could read the numbers. But the Dubai Mall has a good amount of visitors. Now the top three malls in Dubai are the Dubai Mall, the mall of the emirates and Nakheel mall. Still there is (or soon will be) the Dubai Hills Mall. So how will you keep people engaged? By offering more and optionally something that the others do no have, as such there is apace and place for augmented reality and I saw that years ago. Now that Meta has the Orion there will be space and a place for growing that market. Funny, this was out in the open for years and both Google and Amazon were both asleep at the wheel. Now Meta has a new realm to grow a few markets and could end up being the game changer in certain fields.

Have a great day and for the Vancouverians out there, nothing will happen at 21:21 in the evening. I just learned that. I love my time based jokes, like photo bombing, it is an acquired guilty pleasure.

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That one sided conversation

We all have them, we tend to have them with ourselves. We see things, at time we extrapolate and we come to singular conclusions. I did too. You see, ever since we have been treated to Pretty Woman (1990) we al wanted to see Rodeo drive, we wanted to see the shops and during the first covid we all took that option and had a look. However, most of us felt slightly betrayed. The view was not what we expected and today I looked at three other YouTube videos. The bulk is concentrated on the block surrounded the via Rodeo. The shops seem empty, some shops show nothing outside (or very little) and Rodeo drive is diminished to a crowd of tourists and vloggers with here and there a person quickly walking to or from their jobs. The other side is that Dubai has the mall of the emirates, the Nakheel mall that are on par with Rodeo drive and the Dubai Mall outshines Rodeo drive by a lot. And you might wonder why Dubai is such a sought after destination? The Americans let things slip all over the place and the turning point is just about here. I reckon it is already here for Las Vegas and as we see what tranquility, cleanliness and amazing views we get from these malls, as well as malls in Riyadh and you wonder why. London might have Harrods and it is amazing, but London is showing additional issues making Harrods and the streets surrounding it unsafe for tourists and shoppers. The downfall will be harsh and it is getting worse. The malls in the UAE and KSA have options towards driving engagement, making these places even more appealing. Places like Rodeo Drive and London have waited too long and there is a clear indication that their revenues cannot be maintained and the solution was online (my blog) well over two years ago. It was creating engagement. Engagement is only working if you have a population that you can serve and that is missing outside the middle east. Where was the Rodeo drive diner, preferably filled with people? Where were the real shoppers? They might show revenue for now, but when did we see a real stage of physical versus online revenue? In the Dubai mall I see shops and well over 75% show shopping and buying people during the YouTube pass. People eating, people drinking, people walking (not vlogging) dozens of eateries and many of them filled with people. The vlogging and posing women on via rodeo aren’t showing too much shopping, are they? Now, lets be clear. I could be wrong, but I feel certain I am not. I warned about creating engagement, they did nothing. I warned about creating awareness and too little was done. Now we see things changing. Even the Eaton Centre Mall in Toronto shows more live and living shoppers than Rodeo drive does, so how’s that for leaving it in the middle east? I get the distinct feeling that should Riyadh and Dubai embrace engagement, the impact on London, Paris, Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles will be felt to a much larger degree. The equation was not a mystery, it was simple and it has been simple for over a decade. The customers expect more and too many places aren’t showing any. Engagement was key in this and it was ignored. The moment some of the jewellers in Dubai show the engagement solutions I had thought up the change will be close to immediate a race in time will happen. Oh, I almost forgot about Monaco. They are good for now, but they too need to embrace an engaging nature. They recorded 218,400 tourists and they are not doing bad, but the idea is to address this before it turns bad and so far they (seemingly) haven’t done enough. The dozen of hot women and fast cars videos seem nice, but one video tells it nearly all. Monaco has a lot more to offer and videos clearly show this, but when the  numbers dwindle the act of engagement is shoddy and optionally too late. These solutions tend to work when there is too much to see, too much to do and too many places left that alone for too long. Optionally they relied on the wrong numbers and the wrong stories, but this is pure speculation from my side.

Consider that the Dubai Mall has all the best brands of the world, all the sought after brands and articles for purchase and they are a zero tax nation. You still think that my feel is wrong? Some people travel to Dubai just to get the new iPhone at 0% taxation. If you are willing to do that, the rest seems easy to place and engaging your customers becomes a dream ride to keep revenues up. Oh, and here (unlike in London) you can buy a watch and walk safely home. So this might be one sided, but I am leaving you with enough pointers that you can verify for yourself.

In a one sided conversation, the best you can hope for is for someone else to listen (or read), I leave it up to you to decide.

75 minutes to Sunday for me. Have fun.

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