Tag Archives: Edmonton

February 5, 2026 · 17:40

Cut through the presentations

Yup, I have had enough of the presented media on how Canadians are not that much of a bother to America’s tourism setting. And for this I put attention on Now Toronto as we take a look at their side (at https://nowtoronto.com/news/are-toronto-residents-skipping-u-s-travel-heres-what-theyre-saying/) where we see ‘Are Toronto residents skipping U.S. travel? Here’s what they’re saying’ we are being told the first direct bullet points (a nice way of summary to the setting).

  • A new Abacus Data poll found nearly one in four Canadians have opted out of traveling to the U.S. due to feelings about the Trump administration, a trend reflected in Statistics Canada data showing sharp drops in both vehicle and air return trips from the U.S. in late 2025.
  • StatCan reported Canadian resident return trips by vehicle from the U.S. fell 28 per cent year-over-year in November 2025, while air travel dropped 12.1 per cent, even as overseas travel by Canadians increased 14 per cent during the same period.
  • Some Toronto residents told Now Toronto they are intentionally avoiding travel to the U.S. for political, ethical, and economic reasons, choosing alternative destinations instead, with younger Canadians more likely to scrutinize peers who continue to vacation there.

Three points that make sense and that accounts for a lot more damage than anyone would have guessed at any point in time. I particularly like the ‘peer pressure’ point. It’s like a parent gets to hear ‘Really? There?’ by their 5 year old. A nice figment of my imaginary pressure seen on the inside of my eyelids. 
And with the setting given at “Some Torontonians have told Now Toronto they’ve been boycotting travel to the U.S. in the time being. “I just feel like my dollar can be spent better elsewhere,” Olivia, a resident, said. “With all of the situation going on down there, I don’t feel like going.” Olivia said the decision to avoid the U.S. solidified in early 2025 as government policies and climate shifted. Instead, Olivia said she’s opting to travel to other regions.”

And it is this side that amounts to the bulk of other Commonwealthian’s who seem to decide on Abu Dhabi in the UAE over anywhere in the US where the vacation seems genuine and is also one of the safest places on the planet and whilst those are mere cost dressings, the food prices in America are getting out of hand and they are really fitting the budget aware traveller in Abu Dhabi, that is beside the other entertainment they have on one island and some hotels add entrance to one of these places every day for those staying in their hotels, as such we see benefit on benefit. So whilst the pressure seems to be adding to European places (like Euro Disney, Efteling and other locations) It seems that the pristine settings for Abu Dhabi is getting an amazing appeal and that is merely the first glance for a tourist. There is so much more to see and do in the UAE and now that Abu Dhabi is a mere 95 minutes from Dubai by train, that is a vacation that starlet tourist will wow for.

And whilst we still see “Olivia said she’s also more conscious of her spending choices, focusing on buying Canadian products to ensure she isn’t supporting the U.S. economy. Joel, a dual-citizen of both the U.S. and Canada says traveling there can be morally complicated. “Any political differences we have is outweighed by the fact that I have family there,” he said. “I have kids who want to see their aunts and uncles and cousins. Joel has noticed quite a difference in airport traffic in the last year or so when it comes to traveling south. “It’s faster at the border,” he said. “Because there’s no line-ups, there’s not a lot of people going.”” And as I see it, we are off to the races and as the UAE (Abu Dhabi) is erecting a massive Harry Potter addition to their Warner Brothers park, we see that also Disney is being added to Yas Island. As it is supposed to open in 2028, so there is time and there is already a lot to do, but these two players will undoubtedly become the death of American theme parks for many Canadians and now that they have an alternative, I reckon American tourism will get rightfully ignored by its northern neighbors and whilst the Winter-geese might be forced to keep their places for now. It seems that Florida will have a cruel awakening in the period 2025-2029. As as another source gave us a few hours ago that ‘Florida wants to win back its Canadian tourists’ and as we are given (at https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/florida-wants-to-win-back-its-canadian-tourists/) “Tourism leaders in Florida are reaching out to their Canadian counterparts as the U.S. has seen a travel backlash over the words and actions of President Donald Trump. As Visit Florida compiles 2025 tourism figures, the agency’s President and CEO Bryan Griffin and Carol Dover, the president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, are setting up a meeting with Canadian officials.” I’m certain that us useless as the settings of hardship were pushed through by Washington DC. So we might consider whatever we want but a vagrant in Orlando called Bumble Dora (I swear that was his name) waved a twig and whispered ‘Canadia Phohibitus’ as such Florida might wish for whatever they want, but foreign policy was dictated to all by Washington and everyone decided they have hd enough of America in that setting and when you consider what the UAE offers and what America doesn’t (or no longer) offers that reality is setting in for global tourism. So when we get the ‘presented’ “In December, Visit Florida estimated 34.339 million people traveled into the state between the start of July and end of September, up from 34.239 million during the same third quarter period in 2024. The numbers showed slight year-to-year growth in overseas visitors and domestic travelers.” You know that you are being presented a gamble with loaded dice and I reckon that not merely the Canadians have had enough of that. Consider the video that we are given (at https://youtu.be/hkr0WfTufJo?si=4gSmVZ9riFvUobmz) and the empty corridors and plane. As such a mere 100,000 less tourist is a BS setting that we are given, all whilst several sources are giving the world that the United States is getting hit by $12.5 Billion lower revenue. I think that they are off by well over $30 billion more than that (for settings that suddenly no longer matter), all whilst they were used to pump up their views when it dod matter. So whilst we understand that Florida is trying to save what it can, but to give it that swing whilst we see videos all over YouTube and TikTok appear of an empty Orlando International Airport (MCO) is not the way to go about it, but that might merely be my dubious view on the matter.

But now we get to the data that I didn’t know about. We are given “Abacus Data also reported that 33 per cent of Canadians would think less of peers who continued to travel to the U.S.

The data suggested the likelihood of those polled who would scrutinize anyone traveling increased the younger the person was. “Nearly half of those aged 18 to 29 say they would think less of someone close to them for vacationing in the United States,” Abacus Data stated. “That drops among those aged 30 to 44, falls further among those 45 to 59, and remains lower among those 60 and over.”” So consider this setting with University students, as I see it, that will stop people from traveling towards the United States in plenty of ways and whilst Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal all have their own Universities, I reckon that they will stop a lot more than currently seen. Consider that any shop would have to admit that they went to the United States for a vacation. They would lose so many customers in the blink of an eye. I reckon the hardship of Florida is merely just beginning. And with every event where President Trump opens his mouth, that hardship merely increases. Don’t take my word for it, but it seems that someone named Elisabeth Booth will do something about that really soon. No idea what she is inferring but I reckon she knows best (or at least I hope so).

And this setting is not merely apt for Canadians. I have heard similar settings in Sydney, we tend to support our Canadian brothers (sisters too). So we are also looking at places like Abu Dhabi and Europe. And whilst we are given “Australians can travel for short trips, without a visa, to the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period” and as I see it, I don’t know any vacation that ever goes beyond 30 days and set against that “U.S. nonimmigrant visa fees for 2026 generally cost US$185–$315 for tourist/student visas and A new $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” is expected for many nonimmigrant visas in 2026”, so free or a VISA well over $565 dollars? Yes, I’ll take the non-US option too. For the record a tourist visa for the UAE costs $150, a simple setting where the USA priced themselves out of a market who needs to stop costs in this hard driven economy. A setting that is now hurting the settings of the United States to well over 2029 air present. I reckon that vacation in the United States are done for until long after 2029, because when the first stories come into the many destination on how their vacation to Abu Dhabi was ‘magical’ the hesitaters will come running and that will bring serious money from every other place towards the UAE and not towards the United States. Seems simple, doesn’t it?

Have a great day today.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Tourism

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 28, 2023 · 01:55

Ways to skin a cat

Yes, it is an old expression, yet anytime I use it, the Cheshire Cat gets a little upset with me. Well thats all fine I say, he disagrees. To start this off, I need to take you back to the 21st of March when I wrote ‘The unplanned story’. The story (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/03/21/the-unplanned-story/) gives rise to new IP I had, but it is not about the IP. It is about the quote “The image is based on identity and interaction. You see, that need is not effort, it is engagement. Market Research (at least a few of them) have seen that engagement is the metric that really matters and Augmented reality is the core of that and that is what is missing in malls.” Yes, I saw that it was about Augmented Reality, or so I personally belief. Yet CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-mall-cashes-in-on-alternative-tenants-to-fight-canada-wide-slump-1.6787534) gives us ‘Edmonton mall cashes in on alternative tenants to fight Canada-wide slump’ and that is what I love. Someone found another way and that is great. With their “The Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre is reinventing itself with unconventional vendors and local clubs” I love it, they are creating a new way of engagement. It does not matter, I am firm in my believe that my IP will be a solution. What I love is that someone found another way it is great (and it gives rise to my train of thought). Local communities are often forgotten and now we get “Radio Control Racers Edmonton took over a storefront in the building last month. President Randy Van said the first few weeks have been a massive success for both the club and the mall” this opens up so many options, it does not hurt my IP (which is a little bit on my mind), it merely gives the rise to engagement (not the ring). Engaging with your audience is the solution, it always way. As I have no idea how Eaton Mall will use the 220,000 square foot to create engagement, but it shows what was missing. Even now whilst Eaton Mall is getting back on its feet, it is still well over 20% short of what was (a seeming impression made by the videos I watched). 

In the end there are many ways to skin a cat (sorry Cheshire Cat). It merely requires us to look at that equation differently and the Bonnie Doon Shopping centre in Edmonton (where the oilers are from) has done a decently remarkable thing and that also requires recognition. They took the equation in a different direction and yay to them, they pulled it off. 

This is he kind of ingenuity I applaud, because we see too little of it anywhere. So enjoy the day and consider what the mall in your area is missing. Perhaps they need to change the greed driven formula of dollars per square foot into the future of calling in people per square foot, because people per mall is what decides the success of such one place, not the amount of empty walking space (sorry Nordstrom).

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

December 23, 2021 · 02:19

That one scene

It was not dark, but the sun was setting. The man looked through the scope of a MTs-116M suppressed sniper rifle. The scope was not standard, the silenced MTs-116M was. The gun was important, it would lead people down the wrong path and that was the intent. He was 273 meters from the gate on a plateau. He saw the 4 men to the left of the house and the 2 on the right of the house. He saw that the men on the right were walking behind one another on a small path. He took aim and the steel round went quietly through both men. The men fell down, nicely in the dark spot of the house. In the mean time the 4 are walking behind each other, but not completely. He saw the path they walked. They were clearly untrained. The man waited another second and then fired one, quickly reloaded and took out the 4th man with the second bullet. They were all down, He saw one man moving his arm, he did not wait and used the third bullet straight through the skull. The outside of the house was now quiet. He switched to thermal, he saw that the window gave a decent view, but not completely. Two guards in the upstairs section seemed to be chatting.  He took aim and as the first one got the bullet through the chest, the second one got it in the throat, they both went down. He checked the house again with thermals. No one upstairs, three downstairs, one behind a desk, most likely the target and two man in opposite sides of the room. He set down the sniper rifle, and kept the AS Val ready. He quickly ran to the house. He had made preparations on the right, he quickly moved up, took one more look to see if there were no surprises. He then got down in moved to a door on the right, he had seen the guards come in and out from there. He looked at the door. No surprises, he quietly tried the door, it wasn’t even locked. He entered the house. It has weird smells, which was surprising. Not just tobacco, there was the smell of something he could not place. He checked the rooms with a dental mirror. No camera’s, what an amateurs. The men were still in their corners and as he got closer to the room there was no real movement. He hear the quiet voices of what was the boss, he was barking orders to the other two, there were submissive answers. He was ready, he quickly opened the door, shot the person in front of him, then turned to the left. The second man was quick, but not quick enough. He then looked at the boss. “I was clear, leave me alone or else…” He sized the boss up, a cowardly little shit. “I get it, I get it now”, clearly hoping to talk himself out of this. “Now it’s too late” and he shot the boss three times in the head. 

He methodically searched the room and the noticed that the safe door was open. He was wearing a mask, it would have taken too long to find the camera’s. He took the papers and the money. He then took one more look and he walked into the kitchen. He grabbed the newspapers and the vodka. He dropped the newspapers in small stacks in the house and covered the stacks with Vodka. He set the flames and as the papers started to burn, they would ignite more and more of the house. 6 stacks all over the lower floor of the house, the flames that would go upwards would finish the job. 

He quickly left the house the same way he came in leaving the door open and the draft would do the rest. He ran back to his sniper rifle, picked it up and left the scene. He has a 15 minute walk to the south and it would take him to his car that would take him back to Edmonton. 

It is the one scene that starts it. But what is it I want to start? The Russian hardware implies either spy story or organised crime. And in this there aren’t too many shown to play in Canada. So how will we continue? Is it Taken (Liam Neeson), Foreigner (Jackie Chan), 4th Protocol (governments) there are many options, but for the most they have been done and I like the new the novel and that is where two directions open up. The first is Industrial espionage (the 39 steps) by Alfred Hitchcock and espionage and deception (Eye of the Needle) written by Ken Follet and directed by Richard Marquand. The idea could be to unite the two into a larger story, a story that is not about protagonists and antagonists, but the man would be the antagonist, a new version of Professor Logan (Barry Jones). Whilst the professor has a larger field of view on the great operating stage, we would see that in this day and age it is no longer about governments and what they can do, but how the revenue could be spend. So what happens when the new Logan could walk in with the plans for a new jet, new missiles and the bill that could have been the ‘$768 Billion Defense Policy Bill’, now becomes the setting of ‘$259 Billion Defense Policy and IP Bill’, do you think that ANY government would walk away from such a saving? 

Yet to set that story you need a start, you need an incentive (money tends to work) and you need focal points. In Fedora it was the doctor, in I Claudius it was the narration, in too many movies it is the action offered, but the action loses focus as we go from target to target. There is a second issue. Who watched Slum dog Millionaire more than once? You see, like Ellery Queen, when the clue is up the story is merely a steeple chase on numbers. This is why story based suspense is better (like Anna). Yet to get that part we tend to refer to Life of Pi. All movies where the story carries the cast and the movies are better because of it. This gets me to another story. It is Ask me Anything. The movie is weird and prefect, the twist at the end is brilliant. Now I never read the book (still on my list), but the twist at the end made me watch the movie again.

That is the stuff we need and even as this movie does not fit the bill for this script, the setting might work. So I need to check out Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett. I wonder what else might be there. A stage setting needs to be complete. Especially when the antagonist is supposedly the good guy it reminds me (Firefox), but there is wisdom in leaving that revelation until the very end. And in all this, there is a setting that the antagonist could be a woman. I see the person as a man, because I am a guy writing a story. But the choice of antagonist is at present not set in stone

So as I go brooding off into a corner, I just realised I set the foundation of a 4th script. Lockdowns might not be nice, but it clearly keeps me creative.

Leave a comment

Filed under movies

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 12, 2020 · 20:43

When we reconsider

We reconsider at times, we all do. It is not merely a stage of changing of minds, it is a stage of giving a game another chance. In my case it is F1 2020. The last one I had was F1 2000, a game that I got with my PS2, I am not much of a racing fan, but I enjoyed the game to some extent. The ‘some extent’ is not to be mistaken with some critical view of the game. I do not have one, I like racing to some degree, I am not a lover of it. It’s a simple stage. Another game I had was Project Gotham 3, it came with my Xbox 360. That game I loved, it was fun, the F1 game is less fun, more of a simulator, till it is a nice challenge to have and at times we reconsider getting the game, so after 15 years I am willing to get another F1 game. Some go with statement like ‘cleansing the palette’, some go with ‘something else to devour’, some people (like me) never thought negative of the game, merely saw it as something that was not their cup of tea. Yet we all get to a stage that we want to try tea again. It is partially natural. For me, in part it was the stage where F1 2000 was actually a good looking game, I merely was decently lousy in racing. And the F1 game was a decent simulator. That in position to the fact that Project Gotham Racing III was more fun, slightly less of a simulator. Yet this is not about the F1 game, it is about FIFA. The BBC introduced me to ‘FIFA 21 review: ‘The virtual, beautiful game is passing off old as new’’, as well as the Verge giving us ‘FIFA 21 Is Limping Toward Retirement’. Now we should all accept that it is one hell of a test to prolong a franchise, even as soccer is one of the most favourite sports in the world, renewing it for 20+ years is still a massive task. Now, we can all go Monday morning quarterback on the makers, but in the end, I wonder if anyone could have done the job the way EA did. Now, I am not blowing their horn, they have a marketing department for that. In addition, I support their view that loot-boxes is not gambling. I have always supported that side, even as they clearly have made a few mistakes, the fact that they were made is open to debate. And even add the UK gives us “The Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (“DCMS”) has launched a call for evidence on the impact of loot boxes in video games to help it determine whether they should be classified as gambling products” I still have a personal nagging that this is is a rigged setting. 

Even as we see things evolve, we see a larger stage the is not explored, which is partially an option for discussion. Yet the stage is still in the open. Like the F1 game I looked at, others look at FIFA in a similar way, I am not a FIFA fan, I am an NHL fan and the disturbing part is the here in Australia, the game still cannot get ordered, which is an optional EA play push and a Xbox Billing wish. 

I get the stage that this is, not many Australians have a preference to Hockey. I played it when I was younger. Hence, my interest (and my delusional dream that San Jose, Ottawa, Edmonton, or Calgary calls me that they are in desperate need of a goalie and my name came up), who has not had that thought? Which soccer player does not want to be able to bend it like Beckham? There is a weird interaction with sports games, especially the one we really prefer. We go for the annual setting, but there too EA dropped the ball more than once. It is their right to drop it, but it seemingly gets them in the situation they are in now.

And the stage of sport games is larger than we consider NHL21, FIFA21, Madden NFL 21, EA UFC 2020, Rugby20 2020, F1 2020, NBA 2K21, PGA 2K21, a stage that is a lot bigger than we realise and even if we are not a great fan of some games, EA and others had the option to change the stage and get a much greater following, but they set the game to an event of capture the dough. We can all be or become Monday morning quarterbacks, yet what will this resolve?

We are in what I call a clear stage to reconsider, the gamers and the makers. This is not about sport games, yet this is the larger stage of gaming and to set the what is new, and the why renews. A stage the gaming seems to overlook again and again, As I personally see it it comes with the marketing field who increasingly limits the scope ‘How to acquire new money and how to get as much of it as we can’, it is a natural setting for marketing and that makes sense. But if gaming leads, it is time to set a very different stage. Even as some as in the setting of ‘What if that does not work?’ Nintendo faced that with the WiiU, yet that led to the Nintendo Switch, a system that broke all their records and pushed the Microsoft console from 2nd to 3rd position and as Switch is in 2nd position, still growing its markets, still growing after 3.5 Years. 

It is time to reconsider the plays that are currently being made.

1 Comment

Filed under Gaming, IT

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 11, 2020 · 01:21

The 51st State

Consider that the US just grew a little, it seems that Canada has become the 51st state, Governor of that state is Justin Trudeau, that is until President Trump decides that he is not allegiant enough. How did I get here? A few sources are giving us ‘US court issues summons for Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman’, under normal circumstances there wouldn’t be a big thing. Yet consider the events, an exiled person moves to Canada, when we are confronted with “Mohammed bin Salman attempted to send Tiger Squad to Canada to assassinate al-Jabri, according to a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in August 2020”, so a person went in exile in Canada and now relies on US jurisprudence? And if you are in doubt, the other element is (rephrased) “allegedly attempted to send a Tiger Squad to Canada to allegedly assassinate al-Jabri”, so in the first it was an alleged attempt, in that case where is the evidence of the alleged attempt? What evidence is there to assassinate al-Jabri? Beyond that, why is this case not heard in Canada? In the second, it is my personal belief that Saad al-Jabri needs to get evicted from Canada into America, he is so sure of their legal system. And of course there is the stage where we need to investigate on why an optional case of alleged events in another country are being heard in America, is that not a question that baffles you too?

And it does not end there, the only additional information is given by Gulf News. I am making mention of it as I cannot vouch for the information. I am not willing to use merely one source because it fits my speculation better. Gulf News (at https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/report-fugitive-saudi-official-misspent-11b-in-government-funds-1.72662340) gives us ‘Fugitive Saudi official misspent $11b in government funds’, and lets face it, if I walked away with $11,000,000,000 I would move to Canada, buy the Edmonton Oilers, or the Calgary Flames, buy a nice mansion in either city, train to be their goalie and live the life until I die. It is a plan, not a plan everyone will embrace, but I like that plan, especially if I have that much money. Oh, and the quote gives is “Al Jabri, a 61-year-old with a doctorate in computer science, was the virtual No 2 in the Saudi Interior Ministry, which was run for years by Mohammed bin Nayef. Al Jabri ran a special ministry fund that mixed government spending on high-priority antiterrorism efforts with bonuses for himself and others, according to documents reviewed bio y the Journal and interviews with Saudi officials and Al Jabri’s confidants,” the WSJ report read”. In all this and in fact of tha accusation of corruption and through that (as well as) “spending on high-priority antiterrorism efforts with bonuses for himself and others”, who else was paid? So in this, how much investigation was done by the FBI, for did they allegedly acquire enough self-funding to be above the law? I am merely asking!

So in this universe where Canada is the 51st state of the US, and as we see a quote by the Wall Street Journal, how much investigation did the US do? How much investigation did the Canadians do? The are mere questions but they matter, even as the newspapers on both countries are all about “A former top-ranking Saudi intelligence official living in exile in Canada alleged in a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a team to kill him in 2018 but the effort was foiled by Canadian authorities” if those are the facts, what investigation was done by the Canadians? Consider that I would be angry when someone steals $1,000,000 from me (an amount I do not own mind you), so an amount that is 11,000 times higher will get the blood boiling in many persons. So in all this, the entire matter does not make sense, Oh I get the need to add $11 billion to my bank account, that makes sense, although I would hope to use my own IP to get there, then there is the stage where I doubt that it was about ‘assassination’ I reckon the Saudi’s want their money back, so there would be a stage of alleged kidnapping, not assassination. And lastly, I reckon that the US would love Saad al-Jabri to move to the US so he can spend $11 billion (minus addition taxation) freely in the US and the US is so bankrupt, they are willing to set the legal stage in their nation, a nation of laws they will claim. 

Yes it is a brand new day as we see the optional stage of laws to whitewash money that was not the property of the person white washing it. It is my point of view and some will claim that it is not a valid one, but consider, how many papers set the stage of making the money link in all this? That is the $11 billion dollar question of the day, have a great one!

 

1 Comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,