February 3, 2026 · 06:05

There is a problem

These are words you are unlikely to hear from tourist boards and they don’t like to give out that kind of information, because when you go on vacation, the numbers are always good. That has been the setting for almost 2 months, but today the Financial Times (at https://www.ft.com/content/5230100f-dfbd-428a-a554-f671e46ba3db) gives its readers ‘Disney warns of hit to US theme parks as foreign tourist numbers fall’, I saw the writing on that wall the moment we saw YouTube videos on how deserted the Epic Universe was. We saw the ‘negative’ views on rides and many other settings, the kind which puzzled me because that should have been addressed at the staging times and the makers of Epic Universe should have known better, but now we see “Disney said there would only be modest growth in its experiences business in the current quarter. The guidance comes after a 6 per cent drop in foreign visitors to the US last year, according to industry body the World Travel & Tourism Council, amid tensions between the Trump administration and other countries, including Mexico and Canada.” I personally believe that the damage is greater, but that might be a pure subjective thought process. There are a few thoughts that “Some investors, analysts and former company executives see D’Amaro, who is expanding the cruise fleet to 13 and overseeing the construction of a new theme park in Abu Dhabi, as the likeliest internal candidate to succeed Iger. “Investors are expecting it to be Josh D’Amaro,” said Rich Greenfield, veteran media analyst at LightShed Partners. “I don’t think anyone owns Disney [stock] for any reason other than the theme parks now.” Revenue from Disney’s streaming business, led by Walden, rose 11 per cent in the quarter. The company’s film studios had a number of hits in the holiday season, including Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2. But marketing costs for the new releases offset the higher theatrical revenue in the quarter” evoke, but that too is subjective. As I see it, Disney lucked out by setting the Abu Dhabi stage, but there is seemingly more. We see this from “marketing costs for the new releases offset the higher theatrical revenue in the quarter” it hands the setting that I have been seeing over the last two years. It isn’t the marketing cost, it has been the turnaround from awareness to booking the outing (or vacation) and it is based on numbers and thoughts that are the foundations of a relic. You see, it comes back to the old Direct Marketing setting of the 90’s. People thought that throwing more money at it gets you the numbers, but in this instance there are two hindrances. The first is the Trump administration and the negativity that ‘America’ now brings. Add to that issues with rides and costs. A new kind of marketing is required and tourism isn’t ready for that, just like the Direct Marketeers had in the 90’s. In the marketing industry is was the step that augmented ‘engagement’, that is now the number one setting, not blatant advertising. And it comes with a hindsight issue. The numbers they are collecting now no longer suffices, but that is a lesson they will learn soon enough. So even if the negativity is dealt with, there is still the catering to engagement. I gave a few ideas in the past (in my blog) and there are further needs. As places like Disney is catering to children, that needs to come across as essential. Weirdly enough Supermarkets are doing it to engage with the children thought Disney and Harry Potter collections, I saw that as key to engagement, by catering to that side and one example I had given was to create placemats that could be used as ‘stages’ in this with the characters in this. Like Disney or Harry Potter characters that were handed out. The stage was to set the background of the event you catered to and as younger ones now had access to mobiles to create their own movies, these elements could be used to create an imaginary repartee. Get influencers to create settings that these younger targets could use to boost creativity because that is pure engagement. The job for Disney and like minded places need to create optional software (a mere example) that gives these people that creativity, and the nice part is that these solutions have no ‘use by’ data and they could be expanded through every event a year has. By tapping into that creativity you will be creating yearning and desire to be part of that story. And you know when a younger player wants it bad enough, it tends to happen, no matter that it costs the parents $209-$229 per person (less for kids 3-9 years old) and that is merely the beginning. You see food and snacks will set you back around $100 per adult per day for a mix of snacks and meals. So at $700 you are out of pocket for two adults and additional cost for the child and in this economy you need a more than mere awareness. That is the setting that Abu Dhabi seems to be avoiding, but it comes at other prices. And engagement can solve a lot of these issues right of the bat. As such operators like Miral have a steep path to go, but the fun pat is that they can use the approach of all their parks and that implies to some degree that one solution serves all, a pretty nice setting to have. But that is merely the first step, to get the younger players on board, get the right influencers to head the engagement setting all using the nearly same solution to cater to all.

Is this a figment?

That is the right question, but when we consider player like Cristiano Ronaldo (with 670,000,000 followers) we get ‘smaller’ influencers like Selena Gomez, Lionel Messi, MrBeast, but we aren’t vying to them, you see getting the people behind Bluey, PAW Patrol, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Numberblocks, and Sesame Street, can be much more effective and they can be found in any country and seeing where your people are coming from is a first to set up that requirement and other countries have other favourite but the same solution applies. Get these people to drive engagement and you get a new engine of engagement, because the TV is already vying for engagement, as such why invent the wheel two times over? Use that solution to create engagement. 

And as we see the stage of engagement, we can wonder what solutions will be invoked by Disney, Universal and Warner Brothers and as such places like Miral can head them all off by heading that way before the others have figured out what they need to do. A seemingly simple setting, but it comes with the hidden traps that need to be avoided, a stage all trendsetters face.

Have a great day.

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February 2, 2026 · 11:46

And we’re off

That sounds like the starting noise of a race and you might not be wrong. You see, Abu Dhabi News gives us ‘Non-oil trade reaches 38.8 billion dirhams in nine months’ that boils down to C$15 billion in Canadian terms (A$ 15.2 billion in Australian settings). That is massive and this is excluding their largest stage, oil. As such it reflects on Real estate, groceries, Apple products and entry tickets to the attractions on Yas Island. This is big! 

We are given “The UAE and Kuwait continue to strengthen their economic and commercial relations through sustained bilateral trade growth, with non-oil trade reaching 50 billion dirhams in 2024, reflecting a 9% increase compared to 45.7 billion dirhams in 2023. This UAE-Kuwait economic partnership demonstrates the strategic depth of cooperation between the two Gulf nations, according to official data from the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism.” The idea that they surpassed their 2024 numbers by well over 9% is reason to give it more attention. It implies that the UAE is surpassing their non-oil stage by approximately 9% year on year. I personally think that their windfall is coming from tourism (with people being fed up with the United States) might speculative, but when you look at the presented windfall that Yas Island is giving Abu Dhabi that  speculation is not that much of a stretch. 

And the settings for a pairing of Kuwait and UAE stage seems a stretch, but as we are given “Kuwait ranks as the 14th largest global trading partner for the UAE in 2024 and fourth among Arab nations. Meanwhile, the UAE serves as Kuwait’s second-largest trading partner worldwide and first among Arab and Gulf states. The Emirates captures approximately 20% of Kuwait’s non-oil exports, according to official statistics.

Additionally, trade between the two countries represented nearly two-thirds of Kuwait’s total trade with GCC countries during 2024. The UAE holds the top position globally in receiving Kuwait’s non-oil exports, accounting for more than 15.7% of Kuwait’s total non-oil export volume. In imports, the Emirates ranked second globally for Kuwait in 2023.” It might not seems that much of a reach. I personally felt that over 5 years ago, the stabilizing factor that Saudi Arabia and the UAE might become to the Arabian table of economic placement was overreach (stated by some) but this news is sounding that I was right all along. As the western press seems to relish breaking up this winning team, there is a setting that we are not looking at. Even if there was some discord between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the need that this is properly looked at requires us all to consider Al Arabiya and the Khaleej Times to be a much better source of information than most of the Western media a they are in league with whatever influencers are baiting their digital dollars and the flames that these players like to present. In addition to the previous quote, it seems relevant to include “The UAE hosts more than 1,700 Kuwaiti trademarks, 13 registered commercial agencies, and 15 Kuwaiti companies, according to Ministry of Economy and Tourism data. Key Kuwaiti investment sectors in the Emirates include financial services and insurance, manufacturing, real estate, information and communications, wholesale and retail trade, mining, construction, hospitality, transportation, and professional services.” It implies that the stabilizing influence of the UAE is growing. Should Bahrain, Oman and Egypt find the solution on this stabilizing dinner table then there is no reason to see the Arab world anything else than part of a new world order where Islam could find its solace that they are well represented. If Saudi Arabia gets Turkey, Libya and Morocco onboard then we get a new setting, not merely an Arab world stage, but an expanding Arab world (something that makes both the United States and Israel frightening) but the reality is that the United States are pretty much done for and they always ‘screamed’ the phrase “Money Talks and bullshit walks”, now that they are held to the same premise might not seem nice but it is the reality they created and now that the $38 trillion of debt is biting them hard as the interest of over a trillion dollars is due every year is downing whatever they have left and as Canada is a commonwealth nation that is liking their optional EU setting and their optional new trading connections to China is setting themselves up for a larger slice of the economic pie, whilst the pie of the United States is getting smaller by the quarter. In that setting The Arab World is the new larger stage player that is seen in a positive light by both China and the EU and those Islamophobic influencer stories will be actively banned from the media (about a decade to late) and as such the stabilizing effect that I foresaw about a decade ago is coming to pass into reality. As such the story given to us by Sami Mohamed is not merely reporting it is prophecy coming to pass, but I must admit that it was seemingly my prophecy alone and I am kinda happy that this is happening. It means that I saw the stages over the last decade correctly and whatever ‘pseudo’ economists and journalists who were stating that the US economy is doing great are now in a ratchet state of denial and hiding behind excuses like ‘it was a complex situation’ my response? I saw it as a non-economist, you should have been on board from the get go. And I might do this later as I put it in my blog and recall their responses holding my non-economic degrees against their so called decades of expertise and time is my ally here. As the reports are set to Internet and their publications, I merely need to keep record and that might be frightening to them, but it is what it is and the settings by others are proving me right.

Within half a century the Arab world went from ‘appeasing nation’ into the invited head setting of any table and they waited long enough. Now those who called them ally (at a cost) are pulled into the limelight and held in front of a mirror. As such the Abu Dhabi News gave me more than one reason to celebrate and I reckon there is more to come, we only concluded one month in 2026, I reckon that by month 8 a lot more clarity is seen in several connections. 

So you all have a great day, I am feeling fine at present.

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February 1, 2026 · 14:14

Sinking a dilemma

It was what I was thinking not just this morning, but in the past as well You see, people are so ‘upset’ about the danger towards the setting of Iran, that they seemingly are overlooking the obvious. The Strait of Hormuz is seemingly the blockade that Iran would like to ‘enforce’ if at all possible, but when you consider that the solution to this might be a lot less when you consider that a canal could be dug, starting north of Sharjah, going south south east towards Adhen and after that east towards Sharm and then out and straight into the Gulf of Oman. I reckon that this will also give the UAE several financial options. 

First there is the toll that ships have to pay to avoid any complications with Iran, then there are options for crew and vessels to optionally restock and refresh what they have in either Umm Al Quwain, Adhen or Sharm. This setting might bring several opportunities and there is the national pride of a canal though the UAE which might be an eye-catcher to all those yachts getting to Dubai. And there are risks but some can be levied beforehand and I reckon there might be plenty of oil companies happy to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, especially if there are any complications with the American clambake in Iran (they are trying to have one, but getting anything reliable form the White House is dodgy at best. And as a non-geologist, I have no idea what these hills (optional mountain ranges east of Adhen) will bring. But the professionals in this business will be able to ascertain what are dangers and what are mere complications that can be ‘negated’ and the Salmon canal I drew is a bit arbitrary (read: random) perhaps a canal more south towards Sharjah would be preferred. There are plenty of other thoughts, but I looked at the problem and I thought “What if we just avoid the Straight of Hormuz?” A simple thought and drawing a line is also simple, but I reckon that is when the professionals come into play and they have their own settings. Another benefit is that the Al Bidya Mosque is likely to get hundreds more visitors and there are multiple other opportunities, but also I think risk, because when tourists suddenly swarm a area, other not so nice settings come out the woodwork. But those are thoughts for another day. I am merely happy that I had another idea in a non-related area of expertise. For me it means that my brain is working creatively and optionally correctly. 

There is merely the setting that could open the eyes of others and considering what could be gained, I reckon it is something from the UAE who needs to do this. Another setting is that with the Straight of Hormuz out of the way, plenty of other yachters might consider setting their eyesight on Dubai. And optionally through the Suez Canal, but that might be overthinking it. It is merely the other side of opportunity that is at times the drag we all have. 

Have a great day and enjoy your coffee today (I am resorting to ice coffee as it is 30 degrees in my room now).

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January 31, 2026 · 17:14

What is true?

That is at time the question. You see there are settings where we see accusations and at times I wonder what is true. The setting given to us is given by Memri (at https://www.memri.org/reports/saudi-arabia-draws-closer-pro-muslim-brotherhood-axis-terror-–-and-wages-intensive-media) and we see:

Now, I have questions, because as much as I understand the given settings from Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood. And some sources give me “As of 2015, it is considered a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.” As such I have doubt that this is the settings that Saudi Arabia is embracing. It makes much more sense (in light of what we see here) that the quote “Saudi Arabia has recently made a sharp turn in policy. While drawing closer to Qatar and Turkey – the patrons of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization some of whose branches are designated as terrorist in the U.S. –  it is simultaneously waging an unprecedented media campaign against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is leading a determined global campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood axis of terrorism.” Is a misleading one. There is the definite chance that it is the intention of 

Saudi Arabia for guide Qatar and Turkey away from the Muslim brotherhood as there is much to be gained for all three to see the Muslim brotherhood lose sources of their enablement. Now, I am not Muslim and I don’t see any merit in questioning these settings, but when I look at the critics on Memri, I am given “Critics argue that MEMRI often provides selective, out-of-context translations to portray the Arab and Muslim world negatively, functioning as a pro-Israel propaganda machine.” And as such we would never see any pro-israeli source misrepresent Saudi needs would it? (In case you missed this, the previous part was sarcasm) there are a few settings that don’t ring true (or non-authentic). You see, this was about the Muslim brotherhood as such why do we get “Al-Tuwaijri accused Abu Dhabi of assisting Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza by spying against this organization, providing the location of its rocket launchers, and supplying equipment and ammunition to Israel via bases in Yemen, Eritrea, and Somalia. Finally, he claimed that Abu Dhabi is involved in combating the Muslims and Islamic organizations in the West, which apparently refers to the UAE’s campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood and similar extremist Islamic groups.” It is out of context and to that setting I say ‘Where is the evidence that this is happening?’ I for one do not believe this because the oldest ‘premise’ is that Israel only trusts what Israel can find themselves and they would never ‘rely’ in Arabic intelligence and even if that was the case, no journalist or think tank would ever have that kind of intelligence and from that setting the article sounds another degree of untrue. And whilst some might ‘trust’ the Muslim Brotherhood. To me it comes at a price no one would ever want to pay, not Saudi Arabia and not the UAE. This sounds like an Iranian ploy to drive people asunder and not in a nice way. And at present Iran cannot do anything because the Americans are breathing down there necks and with Hamas out of commission the dubious honor is given to the Muslim Brotherhood. As such there is optional debate on a lot of things, not in the least regarding Y. Yehoshua who in 2026 is said to be working on “As of January 2026, he has been reporting on the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks, including investigations into failures, leadership changes within the IDF, and operations against Hamas leaders.” As I personally see it Hamas and the MB are as much a threat to Saudi Arabia as any enemy they currently have and as such things ring untrue. So when we look at H. Varulkar I get more questions than answers, mainly because I am not Muslim and I do not look at Muslim issues, as such there is a lot I do not know, but the news here does not sound correct. As I see it, at present the ‘job’ of Memri seems to be to create a larger rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Is this true? What is true? I believe it to be the essential repair of the rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. And the time is essential for those who want to create a rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE need to strike now, because as I see it Iran cannot make any moves in the near future and as such they got an Israeli journalist to do their dirty work (it is seemingly the case, whether this is correct is beyond me), but the entire setting comes across as untrue and hollow. And me for one wonders about the article, there is a certain lack off evidence. We merely get the alleged ‘stopgap’ “Bin Bakhit cited the Quranic verse which states that “Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but rather a Muslim monotheist” (Quran 3:67), and emphasized that these two narratives cannot be reconciled.” Perhaps this is an explanation, but if it was, it would be a lot more ‘fattened’ with reason as to why it was an explanation. But here my non-Muslim side comes rearing its head as the meaning by me is diminished to some extent. And for these ‘journalists’ to merely ‘assume’ that one direction is in play is another failing of the article. The fact that the interests of Saudi Arabia was to diminish the hold the Muslim Brotherhood has on Qatar and Turkey is not even contemplated in the article (perhaps it wasn’t needed) and then there is the third setting, Egypt has 120 million people and they regard the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation and recently we were given “In January 2026, the U.S. and Egypt recognized the group as a threat due to its alleged continued involvement in extremist ideologies, terror, and links to organizations like Hamas.” As such I see more reasons why there is a debatable setting to this article and it pushes Saudi Arabia in a setting of distrust by too many ‘allies’ Saudi Arabia has. As such the article comes across as untrue, but then I have been wrong before and I am not Muslim, as such I might not see the elements that matter, but that is my view and as the Western media is currently not to be trusted there are a few settings that allow certain people and organisations to play the cards they have to seed mistrust in too many eyes. 

So am I right? Am I wrong? I reckon it is anyones guess. Have a great day today.

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January 30, 2026 · 19:57

Filters

If life is filtering, we are thrown between conspiracy theories and perceived loyalty information. Then there are the setting of media influencer and media de influencing. We are thrown in these 4 battles and the media is part of at least two of them, almost all time. And there is no going back. Yes, this is highly speculative but there is an underlying consideration to that. I am forgoing the first two for now (even as my view might be seen as ‘evidence’ of the first view. 

When we go for the second two there is ‘new’ evidence. I have said over the last 5 years that nothing gets printed by the media unless it has approval of the shareholders, the stake holders and the advertisers. That is how the media tends to work and then there is a new layer that works for some of the media. Flames are published at the bequest of the designers (or the editors) through which the digital dollar elopers work. Flames get people riled up, they respond to flames more eagerly and that results in clicks, hence digital dollars. As such the media has lost their point of neutral view and left us with the view that captures their clicks. This is not only detrimental to the truthful view (aka the news they bring) but it also gives us their wanted view, their ‘click-ability’ as views go. 

So the new ‘evidence’ is seen in a few ways. There is Forbes who gives us “Over the past decade, Oracle stock has emerged as a premier capital-return engine, distributing a remarkable $158 billion to shareholders—the 9th highest total in corporate history. This payout is composed of $35 billion in dividends and a massive $123 billion in share buybacks, representing roughly 31.5% of the company’s current market capitalization. Separately, earnings and revenues beat expectations, but the stock went down? Supported by resilient cash flows from its shift to cloud-based infrastructure and database services, Oracle’s strategy emphasizes enhancing earnings per share through aggressive stock repurchases. While it trails leaders like Apple ($847 billion) and Microsoft ($368 billion) in sheer volume, Oracle’s consistent return of capital highlights a mature balance between funding its high-growth cloud and AI initiatives and rewarding its long-term investor base with reliable financial yields.” Forbes gives us this news (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2026/01/29/how-oracle-stock-returned-158b-to-shareholders/) and could be seen as ‘news’, some will see it that way (including me) but what caused this all? Was it a mere setting that players like the Motley Fool (at https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/29/why-oracle-stock-slumped-on-thursday/) who gives us ‘Why Oracle Stock Slumped on Thursday’ with the subtext “There was no company-specific news to explain the enterprise database and artificial intelligence (AI) specialist’s decline. However, a cloud competitor posted results that investors found wanting. Oracle released the results that were greeted with a similar, chilly reception. Revenue of $16.1 billion grew 14% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $2.26 jumped 54%. Its remaining performance obligation (RPO) jumped 438% to $523 billion, highlighting Oracle’s vast backlog.” It could be seen as news and perhaps it merely is. There is however a new power in play and I cannot see the full form because the bulk of the media is hovering away from visibility and they no longer have trustworthiness. I believe that a new power is rising to undo what corporations are doing, I merely believe that it works at the bequest of some governments to either short sell whatever these companies have or represent, or to gain through short selling. I know it is merely speculation but this is my belief. Now there are ‘hairy’ investment settings and they are on Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle to some degree, but there is another force at work here and I cannot see the complete stage, merely shadows and shims of it, the media has become too unreliable and they want to cut back on the value of these three participant (optionally more participants). I know I have spoken out against AI on numerous occasions, but now we get certain parties illuminating the parts the required no illumination and I don’t think it is by accident.

What Gives?
SO, am I the conspiracy theorist, or the perceived loyalty information giver? I could be the second part (the first one too). I almost blindly belief in the good of Oracle, so the second is an option and it is perceived as I do not work for Oracle, as such I am not in the know. Oracle has been a force for good for over 30 years, as such the faith in Oracle is almost blindly, is that a correct setting to take?

I know that Oracle is in the deep with all these data centres, but are then all owned by Oracle? Are certain governmental parties driving the price down so they can cut costs? As per now Major hyperscalers (Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta) are expected to invest approximately $400 billion in 2026 alone to meet this demand. In the U.S. specifically, nearly 3,000 new data centers are planned or under construction, adding to over 4,000 already operational. 3,000 planned per 2026 as such Oracle stock should be going through the roof (Alpha, Amazon and Microsoft wouldn’t be doing so badly either), but that is not what we are seeing. And I have to wonder why. There are of-course energy issues, but Oracle is providing the technology. So how many data centres are owned by oracle? The image does not compute (as the term goes) and the image is not being given to us clearly by the media and that gives us the two second filters. So isn’t anyone wondering what is in play here? Most will not care either way and for the most neither do I, but in the current political situation where the United States does what it damn well likes regardless of all other voices now gives us a new setting, the transference of powers to a new wielder and neither of them likes the power the current 4 biotech are wielding and they might have gotten away with it if they left Oracle alone, that gave me the lights and some might say they are merely pretty Christmas lights, they are a little out of time, but I am seeing dashboard warning lights and not the good kind. As such is it me (it could be) or is there more to this all?

That is now the question and as such as the weekend is starting for me and Vancouver has to go through today, find your way to coffee because there is never a bad time to have a cup of that.

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January 29, 2026 · 23:52

The sales-price is considered

Yes, that is at times a simple setting, and sometimes it is more like watching for clarity in a bowl of pea soup. Something that simply isn’t ever happening. As such I tend to stay away from these things. Here I took a dabble for the reason that this most certainly will impact Hogwarts Legacy 2 and that is a troublesome setting. There was a second setting that AOL (via the LA Times) alerted me to. It is ‘Paramount outlines plans for Warner Bros. Cuts’ which we see (at https://www.aol.com/articles/paramount-outlines-plans-warner-bros-172016776.html) I have seen several cut articles pas by my eyes and as such we are given “Many in Hollywood fear Warner Bros. Discovery’s sale will trigger steep job losses — at a time when the industry already has been ravaged by dramatic downsizing and the flight of productions from Los Angeles.” I feel I disagree, but it is a disagreement done via a lack of American business sense and the ‘insight’ that there are too many captains and too many ships. It is like the length of a project has 5 stages, each stage with its own captain, quartermaster and boatswain, whilst these ships require to be moored 5 times which comes with additional costs. It is the perception I see and perhaps I am wrong, but that is the setting that is almost never seen in Canada, the UAE, Saudi Arabia. Not sure about Australia and the United Kingdom, as such the others get a much larger slice of their revenue, hence they can focus on quality, not quantity. 

I’ll admit it is a non-professional view as I am not in that business, me writing a few scripts don’t make me in any way a professional view here. So as we are given and we see “David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is seeking to allay some of those concerns by detailing its plans to save $6 billion, including job cuts, should Paramount succeed in its bid to buy the larger Warner Bros. Discovery.” Will it work? I honestly don’t know, but this setting is weirding me out especially as we see “Paramount previously disclosed that it would target $6 billion in synergies. And it has stressed the proposed merger would make Hollywood stronger — not weaker. The firm, however, recently acknowledged that it would shave about 10% from program spending should it succeed in combining Paramount and Warner Bros.” We see ‘cutting’, ‘a merger’, ‘shaving’ and that makes Hollywood stronger? I don’t know, but I feel a string sense of doubt. Not merely because of that, but the UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia are fine tuning their own streaming services, their production facilities and distribution channels and I haven’t even considered India in all this. The time for people who want to succeed in Hollywood is over. Hollywood has to content for resources with the UK, Canada, UAE and Saudi Arabia and several of these channels have resources, as such the pond where Hollywood is fishing is a lot smaller and whilst people are ‘cut’ from the business they had, they will look towards the other ponds to see if they can make a living there. The shine of Hollywood stopped shining about 10 years ago and people aren’t catching on. And whilst we see “Paramount said that it would become Hollywood’s biggest spender — shelling out about $30 billion a year on programming.” This setting comes with a counter setting. You see if they don’t make at least $100,000,000,000 from that, the money spenders walk away and that is where the cogs start to hamper work. And at present Paramount had 2 movies in the top 10. Primate which made $23,890,679 and the SpongeBob movie which made $23,410,013. You think this is good? It is an actual question because these two movies made 0.47% of the required revenue. Still think this is a healthy setting? I know there is a lot more, TV series and all kinds of streaming solutions and they do bring in the cash but will it be enough? There is now a lot more than Hollywood and those players are also vying for the same revenue and the people have less to spend. For me it is simple I was only able to afford 4 cinema movies and for now my 2026 budget is limited to The Odyssey and the third dune move at present. And I am not in as bad a setting as many others are and I don’t think that Hollywood is realising this (or they are hiding that ignorance), but the Analysts have another view “Some analysts have wondered whether Paramount would sell one of its most valuable assets — the historic Melrose Avenue movie lot — to raise money to pay down debt that a Warner acquisition would bring.” I have no idea, the moment I hear Melrose, my mind changes settings to Melrose place and that sitcom with Heather Locklear (I was young once) and I have no idea about Hollywood, but the idea that this is an option and still they believe that Hollywood would not become stronger, merely more diverse and that does not translate to strength, it translates to revenue moving into more and smaller buckets. I remain driven into offering my scrips to Dubai except for the NSA heart attack script, I am now working on, which is meant for Canada and optionally Matt Damon’s Artists Equity. Still working on this, but I will finish it within the next few months (two months ahead of schedule, because a rewrite will become essential). 

So whilst I am in no way savvy in the workings of Hollywood, I am well versed in Business Intelligence and the settings I am seeing do not add up (to me at least). It is not entirely without doubt that this might be a setting that these studios are setting themselves up for a non-administration time and therefor much more abled to be hiding certain matters. Because stronger and the diminishing parts we see don’t add up. It only makes sense if certain players aren’t making the numbers they are supposed to be making. But perhaps I am the eternal sarcasm driven entity in this. 

And beyond what we see now with “Paramount also has filed proxy materials to ask Warner shareholders to reject the Netflix deal at an upcoming stockholder meeting. Earlier this month, Netflix amended its bid, converting its $27.75-a-share offer to all-cash to defuse some of Paramount’s arguments that it had a stronger bid. Should Paramount win Warner Bros., it would need to line up $94.65 billion in debt and equity.” The numbers might be adding up, but I have some doubts here, but it is Hollywood, who do I know about that place (answer: zilch)

Have a great day you all, its almost Thursday now, merely 300 seconds remaining.

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January 29, 2026 · 05:07

A comedian makes a funny

That is every now and then the question, the actor, the comedian (which is weird as the original Heimdall had zero sense of humor) flexed his funny muscle when he used his own wax figurine to unlock his own phone. 

I saw the news last night and it didn’t hit me then, but 1-2 hours later something occurred to me, if that is possible, something else becomes possible too. As I couldn’t find the story anymore, I found this story (which is basically the same, at https://www.mandatory.com/news/1705735-idris-elba-wax-figure-unlock-his-phone) and when I reread it, just to make sure that I was on the right track, the other thought perturbed my brain. You see, when that works, the altered setting of projecting a high res photo (over 30MP) projected against a styrofoam head (to give it proper 3D settings) might work as well. 

As such those ‘relying’ on FaceID optionally get a new problem, because the world at large is overly happy with all the selfies they are making. 

So I got to thinking, should the next camera be equipped with an additional infrared or ultraviolet setting, the premise changes, because either of those will not be transmitted and should the system use the two images (infrared might be better) combined with a normal picture, we get a setting of non repudiation, a setting I applaud and I think we should rely on, as such FaceID becomes more secure and an optional setting towards non repudiation.

As such the makers of phones (Granny Smith and Google) as well as other phone makers might want to consider this step to secure their safety features. I reckon that Google might be the first to take this step and optionally the Pixel 12 might be the first one to hold this setting. The Pixel 11 is already in pre production, as such it might be too late to set that alteration in motion and lets face it, it is not an issue yet and lets face it as it stands, the members who need this feature have other ways to get this done and by the time this trickles down a year would have passed. 

So as someone in a ver funny way used his own wax figuring to unlock his phone, as such there are only 11,500 in ‘peril’ from getting their phone unlocked, whilst my styrofoam solution brings ‘unease’ to the 2,500,000 origanised crime bosses globally and as Salvatore Maranzano passed away before the smartphone, because of a novelty item, his secrets are still safe. But the need for non repudiation might once again have been pushed to the forefront of the brain of whomever needs this, so that’s good.

Well, that was fun. Got to use the noggin to create another piece of IP and the world might be better for it. And for me a story emerged a few hours ago that has me puzzled. You see, some in the American Administration as saying their economy is doing good (I think someone used the expression ‘robust’) which I think is not that sincere, but then again a block of iron is ‘robust’ when facing a piece of carton, but there is a difference between iron and steel and that difference when we see that one is $106.03 and the other is $951.00, so we have some fluctuation here and that is at the core of my puzzlement. You see, the news I saw gives us “The pound to dollar exchange rate has cracked into the 1.38’s in midweek trade following a remarkable 1.20% daily gain.” And as far as I know, the UK economy isn’t doing great as such how did this happen? Is the US economy in a lot more problems than the US stakeholders are allowing for the media to be released? Your guess is as good as mine as I have less knowledge of this than Heimdall has on humor. But there is something afoot and even if I did like the setting that I am correct yet another time, the impact of a stalling American economy due to the $38,665,000,000,000 debt they are having and as that debt is over 200 billion more than in the last two weeks, as I personally see it time might be running out for America. But that is a story for another day. At present I am gloating for my IP towards a solution for non repudiation and that is enough for now.

Almost time for my morning routine (coffee and breakfast) so you all have a great day.

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January 28, 2026 · 11:13

As the gaming sense enters

That was the setting I faced yesterday. I ‘suddenly’ had an idea for gaming IP. This setting was for Sony, Nintendo and the streamers Amazon and Tencent. The idea is to separate the parts of a game. The story, the stage and the character. It can to me as I was watching Battle of the 5 armies and that gave me an idea. The Lord of the rings gave me the settings of Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, Helm’s Deep, Lake Town, Dale, Mines of Moria but also Acre, Antioch, Jerusalem, Plassey, Buxar but also more ‘modern’ wars like the the war in Leiden and Rotterdam these are mere stages, but the characters are the ones you define from some of the lord of the Rings characters (based on, not characters as is). During the movie my mind went into the setting what an one man do? So you could be stealth based like a ranger (or elf) a close quarter knight like templar or saracen, German or Dutch resistance. The idea is that these settings are separate, even though they can net er ‘bleed’ into other areas. So, the first character is YOUR choice. LOTR, Crusades or WW2 and you select warrior or ranger and that is your first setting, when you get to a higher level (3 or 5) you get the option to get to an exit and ave your upgraded character. At which point time you get the other character in one of the other levels (or your first choice was an LOTR character you will be able to select the Crusader/Saracen or German/Dutch resistance) and you will ALWAYS get the other type, so if you selected stealth based in the first instance you will be forced to select the warrior in the other timeframe, but you get to select the timeframe. 

It force a more open setting and after that you get to select the next iteration. Whilst the safe will give you more health, a passive attribute and more weapon abilities. The control are slightly based on For Honor. It was not my choice, but it was a whole lot better then what we had before, but the sticks are for the left and right arms, and this will enable more agility for left handed players, whilst  the adaptive trigger is the action for that arm and movement are done via the buttons (triangle, Square, Circle and cross) and their Nintendo equivalents. It will through over the world of the button masher and beyond that I haven’t worked out all the knacks that this brings but I reckon that the left directions are for abilities/tools and the shoulder buttons will have another function.

So as we set these worlds there are more settings to come, but the variable worlds gave me the idea to have some kind of story which only opens up after you enter the second world the it will become enabled and that I got from:

It seems that this might open up other settings too, and whilst you are trying to find things in the worlds you are visiting, it might give a clue towards your goals. You see, the goals that are always tied to your mini-map are merely traverse points whilst the setting becomes the joy of where you are (an RPG quirk I guess). But that setting will be another level of acceptance and whilst this game could start small (merely three maps) a startup company could add the other maps over time (like three maps per month) And the setting of the character you ‘envision’ yourself as might be another setting entirely. I have some ideas about the story but I will not put them here now. And as I set out the game possibilities in under two days I feel pretty proud of myself. It beats having to read the BS the media gives us on what President Trump is up to now and whilst I do not agree with the setting that Secretary general Mark Rutte is giving the world and he might just be ‘appeasing’ president Trump, but as far as I can tell, NATO is pretty much ready for whatever non nuclear solution Russia is pushing down their throats, but that might be merely the delusion I am seeing. Still when I see the Danish parliament howling with laughter on what President Trump was sending them, I feel pretty much correct on my sentiments. It is also the first time a foreign government is howling with laughter on what any president of the United States is offering them, so it is not merely me who is seeing him as a joke.

Still, the creation of new gaming IP is more value by me and as such I got to this and setting this game in a 4K setting makes it ready for Sony, Nintendo (Switch 2) and streaming solutions. The idea I had with the 4 ‘time frames’ Tolkien, Crusades, British India and WW2 is important to the story of the game, but not essential. Optional a 5th setting which gives us Khartoum and Battle of Rorke’s Drift, Falkland Islands, Invasion of Darfur and at least two more are needed but that is a matter of a later day. Consider that these settings could be played almost anytime (when all regions are unlocked) it feeds the gaming need when people can play the battle of Dale or Osgiliath after they watch the movie. It is a strange presence all gamers have and I reckon that this approach might be the next setting in gaming because when the characters are ironed out, including a WW2 character with the wars in Iraq or Yemen would be relatively easy as the architecture would allow additional maps. A game that feeds the next war in the setting of gaming is one that has not been considered before (as far as I can tell) and it allows for a stronger presence on these platforms, all whilst whomever does it for the Switch 2 might gain 10 million fans overnight, but that is a worry for the maker not for me.

Have a great day as I am relaxing now with some ice water as it is 28 degrees now and 31 degrees in my living room.

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January 27, 2026 · 14:46

What is the real alert?

That is the stage I am seeing. Not some (as I personally see it) an alert cry of Barclays getting out of Silver, offering $312 per ounce as the ‘alerting’ video is giving rise to, it looks lovely, but if you check even one setting, we see when we look deeper “a dramatic 2025 where, despite huge short positions, silver prices soared above $90, forcing institutions like TD Securities to close positions at significant losses, as retail and institutional demand causes a severe supply squeeze.” As such was the video a position so that others holding a short setting might unload it unto others? I have no knowledge of commodities, but Abu Dhabi and Dubai were ‘accused’ as the people ‘demanding’ silver as a real commodity, not a settlement or a dollar setting. As such I got curious. There is no 2 week calendar anywhere, but perhaps I wasn’t looking where I needed to look. At present we are given “Barclays holds a strongly bullish position on silver for 2026-2027, projecting significant price increases to $75 $75/oz and $65 $65/oz, respectively, due to expectations of a Federal Reserve easing cycle, a weaker U.S. dollar, and inflationary pressures. These forecasts represent a substantial upgrade in their precious metals outlook, marking a very constructive view on the sector.”, as such I see no closing any market in 2 weeks, or any $312 offering and then there are some questions on billions of ounces the do not exist. 

That setting and the accusation of  fraud is as far as I can tell a setting of optimal liability towards YouTube and its ‘deliverer’ as YouTuber ‘Crises Signal’ what is true? Is he right and is the complete media and banking system corrupt to the core? I would believe the first part, but there are issues with the second part and the accusations towards Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh does not sit well with me. As I see it, Islam does not reward the deceivers and these three places are loaded with true believers in Islam. Yes, I know that anything is fair in war, but these parties aren’t interested in war, they merely want what is due to them (as we get presented) and is this where the fish are captured to ‘buy’ the short positions. At least that is what I can get out of this and there is a loosely connected second part. 

It was given to me by the Guardian (at https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/26/death-penalty-saudi-arabia-executions-essam-shazly-human-rights) where we see ‘‘Don’t they have mercy?’: A mother on losing her son in a record year of Saudi executions’ and the Guardian always ready to collect on ‘human’ suffering. The story is seemingly about “Essam al-Shazly is the latest foreign national to die in a ‘horrifying’ surge in capital punishment under the rule of Mohammed bin Salman” but you are being lied to. Not outright lies, the stories are to ‘include’ and connect Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to what is happening here, but as I personally see it, he might not even be aware of what is going on. You see, Saudi Arabia has an absolute no tolerance on drugs. This is not new, this has been the case for a long time and as such this is Saudi law. As such the courts convict him and executed him. There is every chance that the Crown Prince might not be aware of the existence of Essam al-Shazly and we are getting shown “far from being a drug trafficker her son fished for a living and was coerced into smuggling, then forced into a confession by Saudi officials.” No matter what we are told, he did smuggle and that comes with the punishment of death. And the ‘forced into a confession’ sounds nice, but did that actually happen? It might, it might not. But the people reading this are thinking “oh, what a poor drug dealer” but you would be wrong. There is an absolute law in Saudi Arabia and it states that in this war on drugs “including the death penalty for smugglers and repeat offenders.” As such it was a given and this has been a given fact for years but these dealers finding mules or smugglers giving out an assumed story “that they have several profitable lines and only those who never done this have a good chance of coming through” all whilst 95% (a speculated number) is getting nabbed at the borders. I reckon that there profit margin is a thousand fold, so if one in a hundred makes it through they still make a fortune and as I see it Essam al-Shazly is one of the 99 who didn’t make it and that is a shame, but the punishment of these crimes is known. As such I wonder who is sacrificing these 99 people so that they get one through and they get the 100 times the investment. I think that these 100 all get send through at nearly the same time, which would buckle the Police system and the bigger the chance would be that 2 out of 100 get through, but this is a pure speculative thought on what is going on. 

So when we get to ““The fault lies with the judge; don’t they have any mercy at all? Drugs are harmful it is true, but you caught a carrier, he is not a dealer,” she says. “Punish him for that.”” No, it does not lie with the judge, the punishment was clear on all smugglers and a carriers is a smuggler, even if you call that person a mule. As such he got punished for that. So whilst we then get the actual price of the Guardian “While Saudi Arabia tries to project a benign international image through hosting major sporting and cultural events, including 2034 World Cup, the execution of hundreds of mostly impoverished foreigners for non-violent drug crimes has gone largely unnoticed and unreported. In some cases, they were sentenced to death for trafficking drugs in return for the promise of just a few hundred dollars.” And in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia there are no ‘non-violent’ drug crimes, there are drug crimes and most of them face the death penalty, and as I see it, merely the first time user who is caught might not get the death penalty. The setting might seem harsh, but Saudi Arabia is not in the market of waging a war on drugs, they are all sentenced to die. And considering that in 2024 we were given “Since 1971, the U.S. has spent more than a trillion dollars on the war on drugs”, I agree that something needs to be done and Saudi Arabia took the other path. And unless there is a better way to capture the people behind the drugs trade, it seems that Saudi Arabia has the only path available to them. Perhaps when the world realizes that any drug action towards Saudi Arabia comes with the death penalty, smugglers and mules will consider that they are in a useless battle they cannot win, because a 1%-3% survival chance is not a real chance you should ever consider. 

And the setting that the Guardian gives us all might seem humanitarian, but it is deceptive. The rules were out there in the open, the Guardian had access to them, So giving is a cry story about a mother exploiting her grief to get a story might be one of the lowest things they have ever done. But when it comes to Saudi hatred the Guardian has always done what it needed to do to get other Saudi haters on the same page of whatever they deem a worthy cause, but I think that America has had its days with the war on drugs and as such I think that the Saudi way might be best for Saudi Arabia and the 30-40 arrests Egyptian smugglers is a price to pay, lets face it, they have 118 million people, they can lose 50, considering the price that Saudi Arabia has to pay when 1000 get addicted you have to consider 0.00004237% versus 0.02832%, in the setting of numbers, the Egyptians lose. When you look at the numbers, the KSA is keeping its population as safe as it can and that is if only 1000 get affected, when the numbers increase the Egyptians end up having even less of a chance. The Guardian needs to get its head straight. We all have priorities and the KSA has its priority and it has capital punishment, as such it seems simple. Someone is making actual war on drugs and is showing no compassion. As such I might suggest an advertisement on Egyptian TV where the KSA makes its sentiment known on TV and newspapers, perhaps when less people take the dangerous step of heading down this path something might be resolved. Perhaps Egyptian authorities will get a name or a place where from they operate. Did the Guardian consider this step? Were they aware of what they were doing?

I don’t know, I am merely asking questions and I am not asking them from Saudi Arabia as their point of view is clear. I might not completely agree with it, but it is their country, they are their laws and 90% of that nation is Sunni Muslim, so are all these convicted people Muslims? As such there is a setting of Muslim law and there is a larger setting here that the Guardian is seemingly actively avoiding. 

Have a great day, make a profit today, but I foresee a danger if you depend on some silver stories out there. 

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January 27, 2026 · 05:22

What The Actual Fuck

That was the first thought that I had when US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra opened his mouth again. Then again, his lifetime service ends in 1089 days, so Canada survive his term for another three years? So what brought this about? Well, CBC gives us (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/norad-canada-us-f35-9.7059800) ‘NORAD pact would change if Canada pulls back from F-35 order, warns U.S. ambassador’ where we see “and would fly them more often into Canadian airspace to address threats approaching the U.S.” what does that flagrantly inappropriate piece of (whatever he is) think he is by violating Canadian airspace without consent of the Canadian government? A case might be made on Changing NORAD, they are usually too busy tracking Santa Claus with their systems, making these systems active one day a year. But to give Canada the setting that we  are given that “Ambassador Hoekstra describes the current defence relationship as “awesome,” but says such interventions by the U.S. military over Canada would increase if Canada does not increase its purchase of F-35s beyond the 16 currently on order.” And the setting that America has any input in HOW MANY and which airplanes come the Seraglio of the United States (their new nickname) is beyond his seat and beyond his entitlement (as I personally see it). So when I see “U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Canada is warning of consequences to the continental defence pact if Canada does not move forward with the purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets.” I feel entitled to loosely lose it. Canada is making his requirement known and it is THEIR opinion that the Saab JAS 39 Gripen can do the job as the choice for Canadian defence, that is up to the people who are empowered (in Canada) to do so, not for the White House, or are the losses that the White House enacted over themselves no longer paying for the electricity bill? You know that stuff that is coming from Canada and now comes with a 100% tariff?

In this light I would personally offer the setting that the 88 F-35’s are an option when it comes with a 63.4% discount, but then it would still be up for Minister Mélanie Joly and Minister David McGuinty to give that go ahead, but in no way is there any acceptance that this is up to American Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, or to even suggest that USA planes fly into Canada (without permission) and take optionally seen as hostile actions. And as NORAD is also in Alaska, there is enough time for the Canadian air force to take positive actions before there is an actual issue on United States soil. 

So even as the article in CBC ends with ““That’s crazy. We’re not a threat,” said Hoekstra.” I would like to add “Not we, you are the threat Ambassador Hoekstra” and you better realise that really soon before you run your mouth again in anti-Canadian outbursts, as the selling through threats of buying airlines to counter invasion tactics, it shows the ‘craft’ level of a lousy second hand car salesman and Canada made its choice when it selected the Saab to do the job at  25% of the cost and perhaps it was partially selected because your boss ran his mouth with those ‘51st state’ remarks. So at present there are concerns that the United States needs to sell at least 105 F-35 airplanes to counter the setting of “US Treasury bonds experienced a significant sell-off, with yields on 10-year notes reaching 4.3% and 30-year yields touching 4.9%. This surge in yields, the highest since September 2025, was driven by concerns over potential trade wars with Europe and geopolitical tensions. Foreign investors hold roughly 31% ($9.4 trillion) of US debt, and some European entities have signaled a re-evaluation of their holdings.” It comes with the unconfirmed information from a source that Goldman Sachs had sold over 800 billion in bonds. I only had one source and no validation of this, not with the SEC (who had over 4200 documents of actions by Goldman Sachs), but it might not be easy to find as 800 billion+ implies that the United States and its dollar are pretty much done for, not something you want to herald to the media. And I was ready to reject it, but in comes Ambassador Pete Hoekstra making demands that Canada takes a 100% of the 88 Lockheed Martin dinky toys (could be corgi toys), now that lose statement of sold bonds seems a little too ‘conveniently’ out there. But there is another setting, since when does any government bully its way to the purchase line with an overpriced drone that requires a pilot? So, are you feeling the animosity yet Ambassador Hoekstra? And I am a mere Australian, but that makes me a Commonwealthian and one that stands with its Canadian brothers (sisters too). You seemingly forgot that you are merely boasting towards Canadians, but as it stands you are offending Australians (aka Aussies), New Zealanders (aka Kiwi’s) and the United Kingdom (aka Britons) as well. As such you might want to pick up your book ‘101 ways for being clever in diplomacy’ up again, you might have looked into that in your first year in addressing negotiation, international relations, and conflict resolution. Optionally books given to you by UNITAR, but that is mere speculation by me. 

And perhaps you want to point pout where you can do such a thing as the 11 principles that govern NORAD include (as 6th principle) “No permanent change of station for forces under NORAD control can occur without national authority approval.” Or even principle 11 which gives us “The agreement includes provisions for review or renewal (originally set for 10 years).” When exactly is that renewal due? I might be foggy on this part. So exactly who is in charge of NORAD? We are given “The Commander and Deputy Commander will not be from the same country; appointments require approval from both nations.” So when did you discuss this matter with General Gregory Guillot of the United States Air Force? Or perhaps his deputy (which I personally doubt) which is General Iain S. Huddleston of the Royal Canadian Air Force. And perhaps you might want to refresh my mind on where it stands what flying materials each player brings to the NORAD table. As I stated, I might be foggy on that part and in this the media is no help at all.

But I reckon you know all this because you opened your mouth and as such you would have reviewed the materials before speaking. It might be an incorrect view on the matter but don’t several diplomacy books tell the diplomat to any table prepared for what is to come? Sun Tzu (not a diplomat) tells us that victory is secured through meticulous preparation and strategic calculation before a battle begins. And as you entered that field speaking, I gathered that you would have been prepared for that and as such you would have familiarised yourself with the doctrine of NORAD. Was I right?

So you all have a great day and as I stood up for my Canadian brethren (sisters too) I feel great and I am now 150 minutes from breakfast, so I feel good. Especially as I feel the urgent urge for coffee at this time.

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