Tag Archives: London

November 23, 2025 · 10:29

Driving the herds

OK, I am over my anger spat from yesterday (still growling though) and in other news I noticed that Grok (Musk’s baby) cannot truly deal with multidimensional viewpoints, which is good to know. But today I tried to focus on Oracle. You know whatever AI bubble will hit us (and it will) Oracle shouldn’t be as affected as some of the Data vendors who claim that they have the golden AI child in their crib (a good term to use a month before Christmas). I get that some people are ‘sensitive’ to doom speakers we see all over the internet and some will dump whatever they have to ‘secure’ what they have, but the setting of those doom speakers is to align THEIR alleged profit needs to others dumping their future. I do not agree. You see Oracle, Snowflake and a few others offer services and they are captured by others. Snowflake has a data setting that can be used whether AI comes or not, whether people need it or not. And they will be hurt when the firms go ‘belly up’ because it will count as lost revenue. But that is all it is, lost revenue. And yes both will be hurting when the AI bubble comes crashing down on all of us. But the stage that we see is that they will skate off the dust (in one case snow) and that is the larger picture. So I took a look at Oracle and behold on Simple Wall Street we get ‘Oracle (ORCL) Is Down 10.8% After Securing $30 Billion Annual Cloud Deal – Has The Bull Case Changed?’ (At https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/software/nyse-orcl/oracle/news/oracle-orcl-is-down-108-after-securing-30-billion-annual-clo) With these sub-line points:

  • Oracle recently announced a major cloud services contract worth US$30 billion annually, set to begin generating revenue in fiscal 2028 and nearly tripling the size of its existing cloud infrastructure business.
  • This deal offers Oracle significantly greater long-term growth visibility and serves as a major endorsement of the company’s aggressive cloud and artificial intelligence strategy, even as investors remain focused on rising debt and credit risks.
  • We’ll examine how this multi-billion-dollar cloud contract could reshape Oracle’s investment narrative, particularly given its bold AI infrastructure expansion.

So they triple their ‘business’ and they lose 10.8%? It leads to questions. As I personally see it, Wall Street is trying to insulate themselves from the bubble that other (mostly) software vendors bring to the table. And Simply Wall Street gives us “To believe in Oracle as a shareholder right now is to trust in its transformation into a major provider of cloud and AI infrastructure to sustain growth, despite high debt and reliance on major AI customers. The recent announcement of a US$30 billion annual cloud contract brings welcome long-term visibility, but it does not change the near-term risk: heavy capital spending and dependence on sustained AI demand from a small set of large clients remain the central issues for the stock.” And I can get behind that train of thought, although I think that Oracle and a few others are decently protected from that setting. No matter how the non existent AI goes, DML needs data and data needs secure and reliable storage. So in comes Oracle in plenty of these places and they do their job. If 90% business goes boom, they will already have collected on these service terms for that year at least, 3-5 years if they were clever. So no biggy, Collect on 3-5 years is collected revenue, even if that firm goes bust after 30 days, they might get over it (not really). 

And then we get two parts “Oracle Health’s next-generation EHR earning ONC Health IT certification stands out. This development showcases Oracle’s commitment to embedding AI into essential enterprise applications, which supports a key catalyst: broadening the addressable market and stickiness of its cloud offerings as adoption grows across sectors, particularly healthcare. In contrast, investors should be aware that the scale of Oracle’s capital commitment brings risks that could magnify if…” OK, I am on board with these settings. I kinda disagree, but then I lack economic degrees and a few people I do know will completely see this part. You see, I personally see “Oracle’s commitment to embedding AI into essential enterprise applications” as a plus all across the board. Even if I do believe that AI doesn’t exist, the data will be coming and when it is ironed out, Oracle was ready from the get go (when they translate their solutions to a trinary setting) and I do get (but personally disagree) with “the scale of Oracle’s capital commitment brings risks that could magnify if”. Yes, there is risk but as I see it Oracle brings a solution that is applicable to this frontier, even if it cannot be used to its full potential at present. So there is a risk, but when these vendors pay 5 years upfront, it becomes instant profit at no use of their clouds. You get a cloud with a population of 15 million, but it is inhabited by 1.5 million. As such they have a decade of resources to spare. I know that things are not that simple and there is more, but what I am trying to say is that there is a level of protection that some have and many will not. Oracle is on the good side of that equation (as is Snowflake, Azure, iCloud, Google Gemini and whatever IBM has, oh, and the chips of nVidia are also decently safe until we know how Huawei is doing. 

And the setting we are also given “Oracle’s outlook forecasts $99.5 billion in revenue and $25.3 billion in earnings by 2028. This is based on annual revenue growth of 20.1% and an earnings increase of $12.9 billion from current earnings of $12.4 billion” matters as Oracle is predicting that revenue comes calling in 2028, so anyone trying to dump their stock now is as stupid as they can be. They are telling their shareholders that for now revenue is thimble sized, but after 2028 which is basically 24 months away, the big guns come calling and the revenue pie is being shared with its shareholders. So you do need brass balls to do this and you should not do this with your savings, that is where hedge funds come in, but the view is realistic. The other day I saw Snowflake use DML in the most innovative way (one of their speakers) showed me a new lost and found application and it was groundbreaking. Considering the amounts of lost and found is out there at airports and bus stations, they showed me how a setting of a month was reduced to a 10 minute solution. As I saw it, places like Dubai, London and Abu Dhabi airport could make is beneficial for their 90 million passengers is almost unheard of and I am merely mentioning three of dozens upon dozens of needy customers all over the world. A direct consequence of ‘AI’ particulars (I still think it is DML with LLM) but no matter the label, it is directly applicable to whomever has such a setting and whilst we see the stage of ‘most usage fails in its first instance’ this is not one of them and as such in those places Oracle/Snowflake is a direct win. A simple setting that has groundbreaking impact. So where is the risk there? I know places have risks, but to see this simple application work shows that some are out there showing the good fight on an achievable setting and no IP was trained upon and no class actions are to follow. I call that a clear win.

So, before you sell your stock in Oracle like a little girl, consider what you have bought and consider who wants you to sell, and why, because they are not telling you this for your sake, they have their own sake. I am not telling you to sell anything. I am merely telling you to consider what you bought and what actual risks you are running if you sell before 2029. It is that simple.

Have a great day (yes Americans too, I was angry yesterday), These bastards in Vancouver and Toronto are still enjoying their Saturday. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, IT, Media, Science

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

October 19, 2025 · 16:15

Sharing was caring

That is the setting I am seeing, and the setting is available to nearly every make in the world. To see this you need to take notice of the following

This is a pop mart selling system. It does not matter if you like it, or if you loathe it, but the setting is that the device is there. Now consider that many malls have a ‘preferred’ offerer of ‘free internet’, now combine these two and you get a whole range of addition suppliers entering the same field. In the Australian Westfield malls the preferred ‘offerer’ of free internet is Optus and that is fine, but the others (like Telstra, Amaysim and Vodafone) might want to get into this field as well. Now consider that this setting allows for a build in router (and there is enough space for a large one), what is preventing these mall devices to adjust their cost (downwards) by adding a mobile offerer and set this device in its new setting in the same place. Optionally it allows for others like that ugly google firm to get in on the action as well. So what is stopping them? If the mall has ‘extreme’ measures to prevent this, than the setting become a discriminatory one. If not the setting is easy, and it will be up to these devices to get the right party interested and as I see it there should be little issues perhaps this is true for other countries, but the setting as it is seen like London, Dubai, Los Angeles and a few other places. There is a larger need to get creative with the options and this is one that (as I personally see it) too many left on the floor and I honestly (at present) do not see why this was done.

So, as we are seeing the need to double up on spaces and abilities, I am rather confused as to why this was left on the floor (perhaps there is a massive good reason), but that was the idea that boggled my mind this morning. And there was a need to make President Trump eat crow as he was having trolls making his 51st state case, which makes me give a few settings forward on that and I am still working on this. But the sweet spot is that the Department of Labour set the measurement to an expected 911,000 jobs that were double counted. I don’t think this is a big issue, America has after all a population of 340 million and an expected 4% unemployed, which is still 13.6 million and I do not believe that this is accurate because of the impacted losses of tourism in America as well as the secondary triggers it released. But that is for another day. For now we look at the setting of revenue and that is always a hit on demand, no matter where in the world you are. In the meantime, as I created (read: embellished) at least three gaming IP’s, I want to set that more into stone as it also gives a larger connection to the Real Estate IP I released almost 2 years ago and now that I see that it was near darn of perfect, the question becomes how to test this out. I had the sights of Monaco, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but that is a mere pilot setting. I reckon that the larger settings become London, New York and Los Angeles soon enough. But as I merely looked to the implementation in Dubai (made the most sense to me) where the 2025 revenue is about to become $693.53 billion, I reckon that showing an additional 2-3% would amount to $14-$21 million and achieving more than that would make it a surrounding success. And when that works places like Abu Dhabi and Monaco would be literally the next step. The setting is that these area’s are ‘decently’ contained and I have a little less issues with places like Zillow and Trulia. I have nothing against them, they merely make it harder to get traction, when the proof is given, they would want to implement this as soon as possible. And that would be fine by me. Getting the proof would be the hard part but as I see it, an achievable part.

So as I was given light to other solutions, the idea to implement these solutions could reign in a few markers as they all want to reduce cost and why not alter the view to share that success in a few ways. Well that is all for now, my Sunday is almost gone whilst Vancouver is still 2 hours away from Sunday. I can tell them that over the next 15 hours nearly nothing happens. Oh, yes, the ‘No King’ demonstration got a following of millions according to CNN (in 14 hours time) well have a great day and enjoy your coffee on Sunday. I did and will do so again soon.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, IT, Law, Media, Science

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

September 26, 2025 · 15:44

That one idea

This is not about me, this is about someone else. I watched a presentation in the STUG (Snowflake Technical User Group) and I was pretty much blown away. Yes, I don’t suddenly believe in AI, the only AI reference is by Alan Turing and this is not it. It is however an excellent example of what great DML and LLM can achieve and this is one of those ideas. They took on what takes months in an airport and with pictures and little programming they did in seconds what Airports take (optionally) days, if not months to achieve. This program did in minutes optionally seconds the same. That is a massive manpower saving. So, some will not care. Others will think ‘meh’ but I reckon that Dubai going towards 100,000,000 annual travelers will have another take on this. Then we get Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and from there, the sky is pretty literally the limit. As I see it, this will be a required software enhancement in any airport with well over 25 million visitors and from there we get the little people like Translations, London Waterloo for one. You see, there is an applause to come. I watched a great idea come alive in this world and I reckon that any transport person alive will see the resources squandered in lost and found parlors. This is a massive step in resolving that setting. Optionally it will resolve at least one nightmare that Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is having.

So as Roger Garcia (Interworks) I was seeing greatness come alive. I reckon that he should pick up the phone and offer the solution to Dubai Airport (and I told him that). Dubai International Airport is as per 2024 the busiest airport on the planet. Last year that airport handled over 92 million passengers, over 2.2 million tonnes of cargo and registered over 440,000 aircraft movements. And they are expected to surpass the 100 million passengers this year. So what do you think that lost and found department has to deal with? 

Spread over an area of 2,900 hectares it will have to deal with a lost item of two (or three) every minute and that amounts to 172,800 lost items a day. (259,200 if three items a second are lost) and that is merely per day, so when we take the conservative number we 63,072,000 a year. OK, that might be a bit much, but set this to 25 million items per year, this solution is giving that airport a real breath of air and there are 40,000 airports in the world, the setting is easily seen. OK, only 10,000 are served by commercial airlines as such there is a little less to go for, but when did you last see a solution applicable to even 1,000 customers? That this is 1,000% more. So when I said that Javier Garcia brought a global solution to bare, I am not kidding. We see the larger players (Dubai, Heathrow, Istanbul) and a few others. That solution is offering real solutions in real time and this solution was shown to me. It also gives a rise to Snowflake and its global options. One application is all it needs to get global recognition in fields it never considered before and I saw in on September 25th 2025. 

These are the moments you live for. It isn’t merely what IP I bring to the world. It is recognizing when others do so too. Have a great day today and soon your lost item might be returned to you the same day you lost it. (That solutions doesn’t process life people, so you can still safely lose your mother in law).

2 Comments

Filed under IT, Science, Tourism

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

September 6, 2025 · 05:31

Under budget

That is at time the setting, but I kinda forget about that. It’s not that I am forgetting the setting, but it is that when I am pushed into a hotel, I usually have a high setting on security. There is nothing as annoying as getting to a hotel, quickly change into something easy so you can enjoy a quick bite to eat, to return to your room and learn that your room has been ransacked and your devices are gone. But in the UAE this is different. Everything is top notch there. The safety of you and yours is almost a given anywhere in the UAE. So I looked at the list of the hotels under 250 Dirham (which amounts to €58, or C$94, £50) and they all look good, but that amounts to a lot less than anything London, Toronto, Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris is likely to offer ever. Oh and there are more, but they are near Dubai, it is a short ride (half an hour by train, but that negates the exercise). 

So we get the list of Holiday Inn Dubai Al-Maktoum Airport, Tryp By Wyndham, Southern Sun, and the City Seasons Al Hamra Hotel. 4 hotels that offer a wealth of luxuries and amenities in one of the most attractive places in the world. As such Your trip doesn’t need to be expensive and these 4 will give you a reason to make the trip more than once a year, one must get their Apple extensions tax free, doesn’t one? I tend to focus on the free daily pass that the Warner Bros Hotel offers (more do that in Abu Dhabi), but it is right across from the Warner Bros Theme park and Water World is a less than 5 minute stroll as well. The others are either a happy stroll, or a free bus ride away (like the Yass Mall where your Ferrari fun starts). I just learned that charging your car on a Tesla station there is possible for less than 1.5 Dirham per kWh, making it one of the cheapest places to charge anywhere. I believe that some places offer it for free, well basically for guests, making it a place where you can fill up your tummy whilst your car charges. Seems like a steal at twice the price.

The more I learn of Abu Dhabi, the more I think it is the perfect place to retire your weary old bones (mine are old and weary, as such I think all retirees have that condition). And for the price? There are some newly built places available for a mere AED 760,000 (€177K, C$287K, or £153K), making also the cheapest in any of the aforementioned spaces. I am pretty sure it merely gets you a studio, but try getting that in London, Sydney or Paris, I dare you. 

I reckon there was a reason why thousands of millionaires are pooling in this place, I just didn’t think it was for this reason. And I merely looked at the Yas Island properties, there are dozens more all over Abu Dhabi. But the call of 5 theme parks, a mall and a Formula one track are pretty sensational to say the least. And when you get to retirement, you need to flex every dollar you have and there is no place better as I see it. As such (as prices go) that you can get a pass for access to these parks all year round starting at 1800 Dirham (€420, C$680, or £365) which gets you 20% discount in Yas mall, in plenty of places and taking into account that a single day ticket I usually 300 Dirham, these passes pay for themself in under a dozen visits. So what would you like to do the other 340 days? 

The more I see what Abu Dhabi has to offer, the more it appeals and you are a mere 35 minutes away from Dubai and what they have to offer. I am officially over the retirement plans that America, Europe and other places offer. 

And the more I see what Yas Mall offers, the more I like it. We all have issues we overlook, but as It stands with crime at an all time high in Europe and America and safety at an all time low. The UAE has the goods that any family would want. Because as I see it, it will get nasty out there and the appeal that the UAE gives might want you to go merely to feel complete again. 

Oh, and did you know that there are places like Indeed that are trying to find 7000 people for jobs there too? It is overwhelmingly appealing at present, especially as the current ‘safety’ places are shedding jobs by the thousands. 

As I see it, it pays to stay under budget for the obvious reasons of course, but when you are in Abu Dhabi you will be introduced to the not so obvious reasons as well. I think that this level of politeness was only seen in Canada, the UAE is something else and that shows in the manner of the people, the efficiency and the drive for excellence. Now where is my 401K?

Have a great day, its Saturday 05:30 now. Almost time for breakfast.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Tourism

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

August 15, 2025 · 18:08

Walking back needs

I was in a rush to find another topic to look at and no sooner was it said when my brain told me to look behind me and no sooner was it done when I noticed a Bloomberg article 

This sounds odd (and correct) as the Houston Business Journal gives us a little less than 18 hour ago ‘Texans face potential electricity price surge as power demand skyrockets’, it is odd as I noticed that term was a setting a mere 2-3 years ago. I gave the setting towards an IP idea I had. It was clear that this setting would be needed in Dubai, London and a few other places. I gave the Texan setting of Austin as a reference. As such I gave the idea that a few people should talk to Elon Musk as he is sitting on a trillion dollar idea and it would be needed all over the world. So, as some ‘now’ see that there is a larger problem, which I illustrated in ‘Is it a public service’ on November 16th 2024 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/16/is-it-a-public-service/) where I clearly stated that the energy is mission for a lot of this. We get the setting three months later in Bloomberg and now we get the Houston Business Journal giving us “With new data center developments, population growth and the electrification of oil fields, power demand growth is tightening the electricity market. Here’s what experts predict for the coming years.” As well as “With a rise in data center developments, population growth, and the electrification of oilfields, power demand growth is tightening the electricity market.” The latter part is a little hilarious. A setting that could be construed as the headline for the new comedy capers. What makes it a lot harder is the need Bloomberg gave us (and me months before that) that as I see it, corporate America has to foot that bill as the Data Centre needs will be required to get filled from day one, and as I see it the people of Texas need to pay ZERO. I do like the idea that corporate America will decrease the cost of living for Americans, especially when they are ‘required’ to remain carbon zero and 30 nuclear reactors are not the way to go. And this is given a lot more urgency as Americans are faced with the needs to make more electricity and the timelines to not align, especially in light of the news by Houston Business Journal given less than 24 hours ago. The other setting is that nuclear reactors require time and experience to build. As I see it, the Need for at least 3 GEN3+ reactors require at least 5 years and that is setting the reactors close to Houston and Austin. The third one should be right next to the data centre that Texas is handed. Oh, and these reactors need to be started within the next 3 months. So, when were these plans approved that fast? If not, there is little reason for a data centre when the electricity is apparently missing. 

The fact that the American people (the HBJ too) were apparently missing this information whilst I using a simple slide ruler (classic model shown below)

Got there in mere seconds almost a year ago, and I was courteous enough to write about it. So there is that to consider. Funny enough America has the solution employing the solutions by Elon Musk. I advice then to act, before the UAE (and Saudi Arabia) asks for all the batteries that Elon has in stock. That is one idea, there are more ideas and they are out there. Yet the settings are now given by the HBJ and will set Texas on a stampede for solutions I reckon no later than coming Monday. 

So when it does come, I would advice some people to walk back the needs of energy requirements and see where that leads them. The funny part is that this was a given BEFORE the Stargate project was on everyones retinas. Even as I gave my setting BEFORE Stargate, the setting becomes on why this wasn’t clearly given as project Stargate was drawn up? As we see the answers, more questions are shown on our eyes and this is the mere start of this. At present there are two operational nuclear power plants: Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant and the South Texas Project. Each plant has two reactors, and together they provide about 10% of the state’s electricity. So when we see this, we might understand the crazy presentation on AI and the setting of available energy. So when I gave my feelings on the three reactors, we see a much larger need, but is that a given? I know that I can be wrong, even if I am proven right months later. Causality does not mean proven effect, that requires a whole different setting of statistics and proof leading to this. 

So feel free to doubt me, but there are the stories and there are the newscasts and the data that nuclear reactors require time is pretty much a given. So feel free to doubt it all, I don’t mind. Just consider the setting that the Data centers require energy and who do you want that energy to get? Your fridge and microwave or an AI data center whilst we know that AI isn’t real. I leave it up to you.

Have a great day and feel free to look around you. The data is all around us all.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, IT, Media, Science

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

August 11, 2025 · 23:44

The setting stage

There is a setting stage is sight, but is it truly a sewing stage? It is a valid question because these things matter. This who only see doom tend to be conspiracy sayers, not conspiracy slayers. We all have the rational of insight, but to what degree?

As I said in ‘The Implied stage’ five days ago (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/08/06/the-implied-stage/) that the expected damage to American Tourism would be a lot worse than $29 billion. I speculatively expect it to be at least 80 billion. Now we get in the first instance mere hours ago (at https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/las-vegas-tourism-figures-plummet-as-potential-us-downturn-looms/news-story/1a3f72933d35041549684453c0756cc2) “The figures coincide with a downturn in international tourism to the United States and come amid President Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war, which has frustrated travelers. Las Vegas saw around 400,000 fewer visitors in June 2025 compared with the same month in 2024.” This is only at the halfway point so the damage is still intensifying. We are seeing this in several articles all over the internet. Then we get, AS (aka Diario AS S.L.,  at https://en.as.com/latest_news/these-states-are-feeling-the-pain-the-number-of-canadians-travelling-to-the-us-has-dropped-by-more-than-30-n/) giving us “Data from Statistics Canada shows the number of people driving back to the Great White North from the U.S. in June was down 33.1% compared with the same month last year. It was the sixth consecutive month in which a year-over-year decline was recorded. As for air travelers, the same figure dropped by 22.1%.” Lets make this clear, this is just Canadian data, I reckon that globally there is a clear slump and the whole of America is feeling that slap and even as it is not everywhere as bad as it is, the impact on tourism related settings is massive and they all have to pay monthly bills. This is the the largest unexplored setting. So as News also gives us “The city’s fortunes, buoyed by its large gambling market and appeal to travelers with disposable income, are often seen as a bellwether for the broader US economy.” The one fact that is not seen here is that these hotels made investments and in that setting payments are due. So as we ignore the fact that these hotels might be going short for at least a year, we get a edited setting. A setting  where Las Vegas (and other places) will drain whatever they bring to the banks to overcome these shortfalls. In addition we are given ““This is a wake-up call for the US government,” said Julia Simpson, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council. “While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.” The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment. While some industries have benefited from the tariffs, others have struggled and may be forced to pass costs on to customers. Some travelers have also pledged to avoid visiting the United States as a form of protest against the administration’s policies.” It is the last sentence “Some travelers have also pledged to avoid visiting the United States as a form of protest” I would be in this group as I take offense of our Canadian sisters (and brothers) being seen as part of the 51st state, as do most Canadians. Then there are the LGTBBQ groups that took offense to Florida taking a hostile stance on their lifestyle. Yes, I was making a funny, I don’t understand these groups, but I am not hostile to them. I don’t become violent to them, I tend to deflect with humor (or what I consider to be humor). 

That is the larger setting we all should have. There are too many hate groups all over the map. Anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, racial groups, the list goes on and as America showed that they were not ‘welcome’ they and their friends took offense and decided to go somewhere else. Now this might not amount to much, perhaps a 2% impact, but these are merely 3 groups and now we get to 6% and as they have larger groups of friends the impact merely increases. And friends are a weird group, they tend to feel that they do not want to be seen as ‘offensive’ to their friends and as such they have no problems with realigning their destination. As such Canadians go somewhere else and so do the Europeans. When you consider these elements there is no way that this damage is limited to $29 billion. And as they leave America, so will bed and breakfast places look at 30% less guests. They will suddenly have to fire staff all over the place making this tumble-block events all over the place. So, whilst we tend to focus on Orlando and Las Vegas as the impact is sene the clearest there, but take the larger tourist traps like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Miami they will all feel the pinch and the escalating of a downturned economy. 

Yet it isn’t all negative. Gambling News (at https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/las-vegas-casino-boss-challenges-claims-of-tourism-downturn/) gives us ‘Las Vegas Casino Boss Challenges Claims of Tourism Downturn’ I don’t believe he is right to the larger degree, but he makes a fair point. He gives us “Circa Resort & Casino CEO Derek Stevens argued that claims of declining interest in visiting Las Vegas do not apply across the board, describing the broader “Vegas is dying” narrative as overstated”, as well as “The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that 3.1 million people visited the city in June, which is 11.3% less than the same month last year. This has led some to think that fewer people want to visit. Yet Stevens said this is not true for all parts of the industry, calling the wider “Vegas is dying” story an exaggeration, reported Fox News.” He gives a fair point and I do not support the thoughts that FoxNews gives us all with “Vegas is dying”. As I see it, Vegas will get wounded, it will lose air, but it will not go down. When it all comes to blows Las Vegas will survive. Still Derek Stevens has a valid point that it will not hit across the board. Some will get hit harder, some less so. I reckon those who diversified their income settings have a much bigger chance to make it through. The one statement I disagree with is “He thought that by next year, both tourism and the broader Las Vegas economy would be on more solid ground.” I disagree because President Trump will at present remain in office until 2029 and if he doesn’t do an about face, America will suffer until at least 2028. By next year some other tourist places will gain momentum in part at present by all the people who took it as ‘an alternative’ will now see that their alternative was excellent and that will drive more people to alternative destinations. So many places will not be dead, but they will suffer the hardship of over-tourism getting replaced by a massive streak of under-tourism and there is a chance that it will set a new record explosion of crimes in America, so they will see what London has been experiencing for 5-10 years. We are given “In London, the most recent crime data (April 2024 – March 2025) indicates a rise in overall crime, with approximately 132.6 crimes per 1,000 people, according to Plumplot.” This implies that a tourist to London has a one in eight chance of getting robbed, or some other setting towards losing what they have. At that point people are reassessing their chances and when that comes to America, the tourist settings will merely dwindle down to a much larger degree. It is a new setting of cause and effect now to a string of domino’s. One domino pushed over the next and the next, but now we get a domino chain effect. The first domino pushes over the next which is up to 50% larger than the previous one, the second pushed over the third domino up to 50% larger than the second domino and so on. This stage is overlooked as people focus on one field but this setting is larger, it affects a lot more and that becomes an increasing scope. This is what I predicted 5 days ago and now we see the domino’s topple. I might have been ‘cautious’ with my $80 billion damage, I know that but as far as I can see it, I got there ahead of media (yet again) and when the people wake up because the media tried to keep them asleep there will be a larger impact. How is anyones guess and I have no clue because this is the kind of impact no one can really predict as there is no data aiding us. So how is AI helping you now? Will it have a meltdown calling itself a failure or will it show that capital punishment is the only solution? The fact that there is no data on this, is why I never considered it a solution, not yet anyway. 

So have a great day and I reckon that you need to look at where your next vacation should be, there is every chance that it will be the last vacation a lot of us will be able to afford for some time to come.

1 Comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics, Tourism

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

August 8, 2025 · 04:49

What the flip?

Roughly 10 hours ago the TTW (Travel and Tour World) released an article (at https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/saudi-arabia-joins-france-turkey-uk-mexico-and-egypt-as-australia-issues-new-travel-advisory-amid-unstable-security-conditions/) called ‘Saudi Arabia Joins France, Turkey, UK, Mexico, and Egypt as Australia Issues New Travel Advisory Amid Unstable Security Conditions’ and my first thought was “what the hell”. You see, American tourism is mostly at an all time low and now we get that these countries are called ‘dangerous’?

Lets be clear, EVERY country has some risk, this is nearly undeniable. The two exceptions as I see it are the United Arab Emirates and Iceland. For Iceland there are two risks. The first is falling into a volcano (yes, it happens) and being attacked by a Arctic tern because you got too close to its nest. For the UAE it is a little larger and involves cobra’s and scorpions, but unlikely to be in any of their cities. 

But back to the article and lets keep a few things clear.

Saudi Arabia
I get that some parts of Saudi Arabia are not the greatest settings to go view and we get “Travelers are advised not to travel within 30 km of the border with Yemen due to ongoing conflict in Yemen and the associated risks of missile and drone strikes.” With the additional “Australians are encouraged to read the general advice on terrorism risks and personal safety during conflicts.”

Now, first of all, when you are as dim as a soup plate, you need to realise that common sense is expected from EVERY person on the planet. You might be one of the biggest idiots and featured in YouTube videos for doing stupid things, but that doesn’t make it the problem of that nation. You are expected to get an apartment with a balcony and spend your vacation in said balcony. As such when considering the distances from Yemen “approximately 200 km for cities like Jizan and Abha to over 1,000 km for Riyadh.” As such if your vacation is in Medina, Riyadh (most likely), Dammam or Jeddah, you are unlikely to travel within that 30 km. In the second part (it is said) that “personal safety during conflicts” is a bit vague. A conflict could exist during a misunderstanding in a shop or restaurant and that is not a likely case. Muslims are proud of their shops (restaurants too) and they have a set standard of hospitality (something you are less likely to experience in London) in further noticing ‘conflicts’ Saudi Arabia strikes down any military conflict in Saudi Arabia with extreme prejudice. As such you are seemingly less safe on the Sydney Harbour bridge in Sydney during a pro-Palestinian rally then ever in Saudi Arabia. 

Turkey
Here we see a more changing setting. I went to Istanbul once and I never ever felt unsafe or unwelcome. But it is the only part of Turkey I have ever see and as there are issues. The one that strikes me as a plausible setting is “Smart Traveller has specifically warned Australians to avoid public demonstrations and large gatherings, as these events are often strictly enforced by the government, with severe penalties for suspected participants. Monitoring local news and following the advice of local authorities is crucial.” And this setting makes sense on a few levels as you need to be fluent in Turkish to avoid certain complications, as such this travel advice makes sense.

United Kingdom
We are given “The national terrorism threat level in the UK remains substantial, indicating that an attack is likely. Smart Traveller has warned travelers that the possibility of terrorist activities, particularly in crowded public places, is elevated.” As well as “Travelers are reminded that petty crime, such as pickpocketing, mobile phone snatching, and theft from cars, is widespread across the UK. Visitors, especially in busy areas like London, should be extra cautious with their belongings.” There is no contest in any of this. But this was already the case for years. Still it requires mention.

France
Has a similar spread of issues, so there is no contest. But people traveling to these places should have been aware from them at least two years. There is no contest on any of this. You tend to get unlucky when you get in this situation. You would be in a similar setting when traveling to Amsterdam or Berlin.

Mexico and Egypt have their own settings and these are fair as I know the published facts to be (I have never been to Mexico).

My issue is why Saudi Arabia was added, was it because Saudi Tourism grew by over 100% and America is losing dozens of billions at present? The Netherlands (Amsterdam) and Germany (Berlin) are not on this list and I reckon a lot less safe than Riyadh, Dammam, Medina or Jeddah are. There is something of being too prepared for bad luck (as I call it) and I am not saying that this was bad advice, but you tell me, how likely are you to go within 30km of Yemen? The fact is that as far as I can tell, every major city in Saudi Arabia is well over 200km away from Yemen. Even the Neom projects are way too far away from that setting. As such you are likely to walk into the desert getting stung by a scorpion or ripped apart by a pack of hyena’s long before you get close to Yemen. So why the mention and why the instillment of fear towards Saudi Arabia? Now, lets be clear. There is some need to be aware of terrorism, but as I personally see it, these tend to be ‘confined’ to Houthi terrorist attacks and so far there has not been any serious incidents in the major cities of Saudi Arabia. So why the addition of Saudi Arabia? These terrorist issues have been in play for over 10 years. So, why the addition now?

Is it to make other places to seem less appealing over America? This is pure speculation from my side, but I reckon someone saw the 102% tourism growth I illuminated yesterday and someone must have seen that number in the source article and thought, lets make Saudi Arabia less appealing. This might be the wrong thought, but it is the speculated one I am having. You see, the warning given were in play for at least half a decade, so why now?

Have a great day and don’t get mauled by a pack of hyena’s today.

Leave a comment

Filed under Tourism

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

August 2, 2025 · 21:20

As Hogwarts expands

That is the setting. We are given ‘Miral extends deadline for tender to build Abu Dhabi’s ‘Harry Potter’ land’ (at https://blooloop.com/theme-park/news/miral-construction-tender-harry-potter-land-abu-dhabi/) the quote is that “Miral has extended a bid submission deadline for a tender to build the new Harry Potter-themed land at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi on Yas Island. Per a report from Middle East media publishing company MEED, the deadline has been extended from 28 July to 4 August.” Implying that next week the Start of a  $545 million – $816m expansion is due to begin. And in addition we are given “Three new rides in Harry Potter land Miral announced the Middle East’s first Harry Potter-themed land in 2022. It will feature iconic locations from the Wizarding World, as well as three new rides, retail outlets, and F&B facilities. The 40,000 M2 addition to Warner Bros. World will join six existing zones in the park – Warner Bros. Plaza, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch, Cartoon Junction, Gotham City and Metropolis.” As such The staff of Hogwarts will have to endure a rush of people howling “Yabadabadoo” whilst assaulting the death eaters. These death eaters are in a pincer setting as the other side will be shouting “Yibbity-Yabbity-Doo!”, those poor death eaters won’t know what hit them (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

And as I see it, the quote “Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Miral, said: “This is yet another testament to our commitment to continue to position Yas Island as a top global destination for entertainment and leisure, and a great addition to Abu Dhabi’s tourism offerings, contributing to the growth and economic diversification of the emirate.”” Is not entirely accurate. It is that international tourism will see Abu Dhabi as a much more appealing destination and with the ‘idiocy’ (as I personally see it) settings that America is setting with immigration, the costly ‘visa integrity fee’ and several other settings. So as I see it, Universal just dished out $7.7 billion USD (Hogwarts is merely a part of it) and the other park in Orlando will have a rather large problem. With the Hogwarts expansion, Yas Island becomes the most appealing choice for a whole flock of tourists, now definitely deciding that there will be a viable alternative for Orlando, and when Disney arrives in 2027/2028 also on Yas Island, Florida will see the largest downfall in economy they have ever had. When millions of tourists will select Abu Dhabi over Florida, the rest will become a mere escalation of something you could have seen coming miles away. But not to worry, I had the setting in view even as the media seems to be coming up short. In addition Abu Dhabi has the Formula 1® Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 4-7 December 2025. I have no idea yet when the 2026 race is on, but for a lot of people combining the two would be preferable. Also there is a lot more around Yas Island. And the UAE has a much better visa setting where it is offered at a mere fraction of what America offers it. The setting was debatable (at best) when America was the only option, but that hasn’t been the case for almost 4 years. So now as America is bleeding money in almost every direction, the people in Europe, Canada, UK, India, Australia, New Zealand and China will consider Abu Dhabi and Yas Island as their destination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. So how many million of people will seek their preferred choice in EuroDisney (Paris), Efteling (Netherlands) and parks in Belgium, Sweden and several others. A setting that was there from the start. 

A setting that will also propel the UAE as a global tourist destination. They already were that, but the millions of Harry Potter fans had Florida, London and Tokyo in their sight, with Abu Dhabi added to the HP arsenal, I reckon that Florida (at present) is allegedly decently  much done for.

Have a great day and when in Abu Dhabi try the Emirati Chabab, it is a famous dish and decently yummy. 

1 Comment

Filed under Finance, Politics, Tourism

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

July 28, 2025 · 22:07

On the cheap

That is at times a worry, when things go on the cheap it tends to be the more expensive setting you are driven to select. But as I see it, it isn’t always bad. Abu Dhabi (capital of United Arab Emirates) have a few options here. So to show this lets take the ‘normal’ setting.

Warner Brothers Theme park $129
WaterWorld $123
Sea World $177
Ferrari Them park $144
Yas Mall Free

You would think that this will be the master of all bills, but you would be wrong. You see when you get into the Warner Brothers hotel you automatically get a ticket EVERY DAY to one of the theme parks for that day. There are more hotels on Yas Island that give that option. In case of the Warner Brothers hotel, its theme park is across the street (WaterWorld is its neighbour). Oh, and enjoy breakfast there is to be cherished. Don’t take my word for this, YouTube is filled with walkthrough videos of the Hotel and the Theme parks, see for yourself what you could be enjoying.

There is however more. Tourists have the option of buying a 4 Park Ticket for a mere $184 which allows you to visit any of the Yas Island theme parks within 6 days of activating your pass. You have to consider this setting as this implies hundreds of dollars saved per person and you get to select which park you will select. You could spend 4 days in the same park. To give you a comparison a Universal theme park ticket will set you back $600 and that is also per person. So that implies a saving of an easy $400, so what would you select? The added benefit is that the UAE is a zero tax country, so there is a decent reason to visit the Apple Store in Yas Mall and get yourself the apple extension you always wanted. 

So as America is setting the additional $250 visa cost, as such Abu Dhabi becomes the premiere location for people wanting the theme park experience. The news (up to recent) was that America is getting a $29,000,000,000 pain invoice from lost international tourists and as I was looking at the presented data from several sources pretty much anywhere, I reckon that by late September, the presented damage will be worse, much worse. 

So, why am I focussing on Abu Dhabi? Well, the theme parks are advertised by people who were there as top notch and when you consider the setting that the Diamond pass is annually AED 3,295 ($900) for a whole year with additional discounts all over Yas Island. A full year of access for $900? It is worth retiring there and cool down and soak twice a week in WaterWorld. Nearly all theme parks are indoors in air-conditioned settings and as I see it, next year we get the Harry Potter expansion and the year after that Disney will grace that setting too. In addition (at present) you also get a Unlimited Quick Pass Access, also there is the 25% discount on Dining (at places that support this and also the 25% Discount on Shopping and several other benefits. That implies that the price of the pass will be earned back in just over a week, as such you have 50 weeks of true profit. So what retirement setting offers that? The universal annual pass is seemingly set to $1,095 before taxes. As such Abu Dhabi is seemingly giving you a blast for your bucks. 

As I see it, Universal has blacked out dates, Abu Dhabi gives you 365 days of fun. Seems like the optimal saving.

So what is behind this? I am not paid by Miral Experiences (the operator on Yas Island), there is nothing in it for me. But this shows you the utter stupidity of the Trump administration adding a new $250 ‘visa integrity fee’ and when you consider that in 2023, Florida’s theme parks welcomed close to 77 million visitors, merely one state, so when you consider that a massive part of International tourists now have an alternative and a much bigger resentment of America, that are merely two of a bigger set of anti-America setting. Together with decreased rights of privacy at the border. To be clear, I am not anti America, I am merely anti-stupid and at present America is no longer worth it. This is beside America trying to push the 51st State into the face of Mark Carney (Prime Minister of Canada) and his 40,100,000 Canadian brothers and sisters. As such America is getting massive doses of hardship. So when Florida and California loses millions of tourists, what do you think will happen. I see the adjusted ‘videos’ that it will not get back to normal until 2026. Well, that time has gone. As I see it, as there are alternatives America will see this hardship in 2026, 2027 and 2028. There might be some revival in 2028, yet I doubt it, as America sees hardship beyond 2026, crime numbers will accelerate and the quality of life in America is unlikely to see any bright spots before 2029. And that is if America stops being stupid tomorrow morning before 03:00. After that the setting becomes near disastrous and that is merely the summer, at this point their winter seasons are not looking too great either. Winter is a different chicken, most ski and boarding fanatics have their slopes and that’s fine, but at present as places lose control over staff, infrastructures almost everywhere will be near collapse and without infrastructure the tourists will become absent. As a source gave me “Tourists, particularly from Australia and Canada, are increasingly rebooking or cancelling trips away from America due to concerns about border security, perceived political tensions, and a general sentiment of unease, leading to a significant drop in visitors to the US and a surge in interest for alternative destinations like Europe and Bermuda.” As such the setting for America looks grim, very grim. 

In an age and a stage of seeing the cheap route thee is a massive setting of people who will be resetting their vacation to the UAE and Abu Dhabi with Dubai a mere 35 minutes away per train. And when you consider that a 30-day tourist visa fee: AED 200 ($54). A 60-day tourist visa fee: AED 300 ($81), seems a lot less than the ‘added’ $250. So how was their ‘visa integrity fee’ a good idea? If my initial understanding is correct and America is utterly broke, then America stops being the place to go until far beyond 2030, but in the meantime the UAE and Saudi Arabia become places to go to. And that is not all, there is every chance that Europeans will return to places like Acorn Adventure (UK), as I see it, there are several places in Europe who will see a returning tourist option. 

For me there is this dish which I enjoyed in Ghent in the 11th century (before embarking on the Crusades) and that was possible as the Medieval times are set in the Archeon. They also have a Roman age (complete with gladiator arena and bathing house) and a prehistoric area. 

And the Netherlands has more. The Efteling, a theme park that won the biggest theme park award at least twice, making it the biggest contender for Disney parks. And it has its own charm. All places that will feel increased attention as America is slowly strangling its influx of tourists to death.

As such America is due a massive downturn, they forgot that they are not all powerful and other nations have alternatives to what they offer and as they are now raising prices by at least $250 the stage changes. Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, France, London (UK), Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia are all in the running of welcoming the tourists who are now over the American BS (that stuff that makes grass grow in Texas). As I see it, $29 billion was a understated and that will go on for at least 3 years. With border controls impeding out privacy, the setting for business tourists will go down more and more as well. But not to fret, Canada has a welcoming position for these business vendors as well,  a visitor visa (single or multiple entry) costs CAD 100 ($72) per person, also a lot less than $250 and that setting will continue for some time. 

It is a shame for some, but if America prices itself out of the running, the impact is on themselves. Have a great day and feel free to dream yourself into the past with pastries, I am still dreaming of Dutch poffertjes. And I have an art work by Anton Pieck to assist me in this matter. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics, Tourism

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

July 18, 2025 · 18:35

The path of New Technology

That was the setting that I had in mind. You see, some time ago I saw the ‘idea’ that Elon Musk allegedly has. There is nothing wrong with the idea, but in this day and age, with all the settings going on, who is interested in going to New York? Been there, done that I say (in 1999), but the larger setting isn’t the place. There is nothing wrong with the place. Yet as I see it, like the HS2 (UK) the hyper-loop from London to New York seems to be a less then stellar idea. I know that allegedly Elon Musk is setting the stage so that he can get everything as much tested as possible before he is off to Mars (the planet, not the candy bar) and that is fine. Good luck to him.

Yet the setting of a hyper loop in NEOM makes a lot more sense. As I see it, three lines in NEOM seems to be the idea that could attract even more people and more advanced travel options.

Consider the first line connecting Sindalah, the Line and Aquellum (optionally more), the second line connecting Neon bay Airport, the line and Trojena. The third line would be over the length of the line itself allowing people to traverse west to east line in a little over 30 minutes. Optionally with a few stops. 

Basically allow the larger places in minutes. From Sindalah to Aquellum in less than an hour and that is just for starters. It would also allow the people in the line to go towards their destinations in mere minutes. There could be additional benefits too, consider that the people over the larger part in Neom could be off to the ski-resort in an hour, driving the desire to Trojena towards an all time high and the same could be said for Sindalah. 

This is not the easiest setting and perhaps that Elon Musk has the required equipment already as I reckon that these drills don’t grow on trees (I checked) the fabrication of these drills takes several months (if not longer) and we are in 2025, as such the creation of these lines might take more than  the 5 years required, so some haste is due. And with that setting Saudi Arabia will create a new worlds first. A hyper loop that connects these places would also push tourism to a larger degree, with additional connections that allow travel to Riyadh, Jeddah and Medina could grow tourism beyond anything they had expected and  considering that there are 1800 million Muslims, only 33 million living in Saudi Arabia could expand on expectations, desires and wonder and that would make it another first in the world. There are additional considerations as the hyper loop could transport the injured over a larger area, reducing the needs for a more equipped Hospital to the line and several smaller hospitals to other areas. That is, if the setting of a hyper loop would appeal to the Saudi government. 

There were some additional thought to combine lines one and two, but that is hat some would call the micro management (not meant for me) and the idea to live in the line, work in Aquellum and play in Trojena has massive appeal. I wonder how many Canadians might like the idea of skiing there. The setting seeing Neom would be great, if only I am still alive when these places were completed (five years with my butterfingers?) 

Still, the thought of hyper loop trains in Neom should spark any person who enjoys trips on the train. Ill try to get other IP thoughts sorted out tomorrow. Have a great day.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Science, Tourism

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