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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had nothing to do so I took Sunday off....


Laura wrote:
"Positive Mandate for Humanity" Kindle on Sale at Amazon





By Laura Tommasone - FOF Inc.








The Fortress of Freedom Corporation is pleased to announce that our book "Positive Mandate for Humanity" is for sale at Amazon in Kindle form. The ISBN is (ebooks have a different ISBN):


978-1-988407-03-6



Currently the book is 188 pages. The book is very simple in design with a black cover and white title on it.



More news as it becomes available.




FORTRESS OF FREEDOM: BRINGING THE MASS MEDIA TO THE MASSES!



I did purchase the Kindle version of the book and once it is downloaded and on your phone the manuscript is the same as the book. The only difference that makes it 188 pages is that the footnotes now become endnotes after the last page. But it is all there there, just in case anyone was wondering.



Screen shot of the kindle book on my phone!


Since I couldn’t get the Canary email to do email independent on the Apple Watch on LTE, I brought back Apple’s Mail App. Now as long as the cellphone and the watch are connected to the internet - but not each other as in no bluetooth or wifi - you will receive emails and can reply to them. So leave the phone at home or in the car but in and you get email functionality on the watch. That sort of works and since I have no alternative it will have to
do.



On to business: The place where we have our office jacked up the rates like 4 percent even though I have a contract that has a fixed rate and expires at the end of 2020. So I will fix that Monday morning. While there I will pop by the printers and find out what is happening to my books. With printers the squeaky wheel gets the grease and while I don’t need the books for Christmas, they still have my money and I still want those books (and no - I won’t hand out the book to friends and family for Christmas). Also, the government wants an annual return for a company that isn’t mine - second time this has happened - so that gets done.



I also took care of more family and Christmas stuff on Sunday and even vacuumed the house. I also watched “First Man” on Saturday night, so for those interested in my social life - you now got it all.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shane Murphy wrote:
Tyler Craig Signs with FOF Records!



By Shane Murphy - FOF Records Inc. / Fortress of Freedom Inc.




Tyler Craig




The Fortress of Freedom Corporation and FOF Records Inc. are excited to announce that Toronto Heavy Metal artist Taylor Craig has signed a recording contract with FOF! The contract was signed and executed on December 23 (2019). In the weeks to follow we will tell you more about this exciting new addition to the FOF Records stable of artists, but for now we at FOF wish Tyler all the best with his opportunity to make new and innovative music with FOF Records!



More news as it becomes available.



https://fofrecords.com



FOF RECORDS: CUTTING EDGE MUSIC!





This day is beyond busy (currently proofing book files for the printer), but a big welcome to Tyler and his future work with us!
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Dec 25, 2019 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Christmas Eve went fast and no business was done....



It’s Christmas Day and I’m talking to friends before headed off for present opening and Christmas supper and all the usual. I did finally get that Canary email app all sorted out and working and have the confidence now to use it as my go-to email app. There is PGP encryption if you need it, read receipts on all emails now, and I now have aliases again. So I’m getting the most of that 30 plus bucks for the app.....



Aside from that it is just catching up on sleep. But I may sort out some filing and stuff like that. I’m taking Christmas Day off!




Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!





(NSFW)
https://youtu.be/18_l3MfEiXU
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So back to work.....



Christmas went as expected but now I really can relax and do things at my own pace. So I’m updating some websites but also making some New Year resolutions which is a change. I’m toying with the idea of making The Fortress an online affair now. We would go back to the tabloid format we had in the beginning and while at it make all previous editions online. I kept them offline for a reason, to keep the physical paper special, but times have changed. When we do this - very once in a while - we will print out a paper version just to keep proving it is a real newspaper and fill our newspaper box with fresh print!



Then there is the personal stuff, like take less soaking hot baths which I love but regret when the utility bill comes. Better sleep habits. Cut back on Starbucks and so on.



But everything thing at this org carries on. It would be nice to have the option to opt out and just live for yourself - but few do what I do and doors were opened to me for this reason. So I continue on with my mission that originally came from a moral imperative. The job finds the person and not the other way around - and it found me.



I’ll mention one other thing but I’m reticent to mention it lest I spur one of you to do it and that is reviews on our movies and shows. Movie reviews especially can be brutal and become legend with everyone doing parities of some poor cinematographer’s life’s work. Then everyone gets on board with the joke cementing his segment as “The worst ever _____”. I hope that does not happen to me - but whatever. People are watching and it’s just a matter of time.



Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/nAdniWncWu4


https://youtu.be/wzcG7CsIGTk


https://youtu.be/dDwSuc5-SPA


https://youtu.be/6LtYgW1MTJk


https://youtu.be/sZr9s0VKc8M


https://youtu.be/BAhOMvPMIn0


https://youtu.be/S6XOPyNaiq0


https://youtu.be/bLSOyh8yetc


https://youtu.be/D3kSph7ReV4


https://youtu.be/bki7ce98y8k


https://youtu.be/vELVzR3CPCA


https://youtu.be/tRgtQjMTNKY


https://youtu.be/IA-xusM6HJ0


https://youtu.be/8lDTglMLUVo


https://youtu.be/DmrPhVW33bM


https://youtu.be/6XJwStboj-w



https://youtu.be/lfTlHP7h5Gc



https://youtu.be/dmA5yoAlmU8
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So it’s back to the usual today.....





I did something strange on Thursday by updating my old Blackberry Passport to the last os update and - surprisingly - everything went well. This update updates the browser and fixes exploits like Krack/wifi issue and the rest. I played around with the phone and found it surprisingly “ok” as in I could actually function with this if my iPhone bit the dust. But that would be a temporary situation. The Passport’s Android runtime has “run out” and app developers are starting to abandoned support. Of course the phone is coming up on six years of age so what do you expect. Or what more could you ask of the phone. It gathered a crowd (when it was new) when one girl at this office shouted “Hey that’s a Passport!” and about 15 people gathered around as I showed them all its tricks with a square cellphone (that never happened before). It’s was by my side as a Canadian icon when I made my General Assembly speech in 2015. Back then Blackberry phones were still common around Manhattan and the UN and jealous eyes dogged me everywhere as we Canadians got the phone before they went on sale in the States. That was some rare nationalistic prestige when I first entered international advocacy. But it is now gone.....



Also, the TV series is finally - finally - updated with the title corrections! Funnily I found out surfing the net with the Passport. So now I can move on to other things. I’ll tell you more about the other things shortly but for now I am just happy to be back into routine!




Goodnight.....





https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iFLCadV7trw&feature=youtu.be
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It’s refreshing to do nothing!



I may start on The Fortress or get taxes ready or mess about with the car while it’s still warm. Try cleaning the inside and especially the inside windows when it’s -20. But it’s nice to see all the bits and pieces of the positive mandate idea coming together. You have no idea how hard it is to give birth to ideas from basically scratch - but for now I seem to be humming along just fine.



As with everything costs keep rising as my time to do things keeps shrinking. I can do something about costs but time is irreversible. I don’t care about trends because I’m trying to be one of those who sets the trends. I can’t judge progress by whether the hip people like you. They follow the trends which are subtly helped by marketing and advertising companies. And fashion is flaky and looks forever old fast. I am old enough to remember when leisure suits were the hottest thing. Particularly a tailored denim version where you could put a flower through the lapel - so cool! BTW the leisure suits on the web are only the shit designs that gave it a bad name - think no pockets and longer jacket below the ass, and thinner lighter colour denim. Now it’s a running joke. Same with Blackberry - at the beginning it was so cool to have one as the cellular costs were astronomic so using one showed you were “of means” or important in business or government. The Passport of mine was the last hurray and only for the middle aged business and government sect that still used them. Now Blackberries like leisure suits are something you don’t want to be seen in public with. But I kept the Passport as Blackberry security still runs through it but the EOL date is December 31. Even Blackberry world shuts down at the same time. It will still be there but no changes or additions - just downloads of static apps. But we are talking about almost six years of support for the Passport - which may be a record of sorts. Free ongoing best in class security just for me being loyal - it also works on my iPhone that I have but the folk in Waterloo have been good to me.



So I have some down time. I can walk around the malls exercising and taking it easy.....



Fidel Castro sporting a Rolex - and - another watch on one wrist!




Fidel Castro with son and watches everywhere!



Oh, and the Apple Watch series 5: I am not alone in declaring it the best watch you can buy on earth at the present moment. This includes the hard core set that will wear the lastest Apple Watch on one wrist with the changing favourite mechanical expensive watches on the other wrist - yes it has come to that! These people are everywhere - even Castro was a watch aficionado sporting multiple watches on one wrist and wearing a Rolex in photos with Che Guevara! He would flip them on his wrist so that the cases would not rub together. Sure it was pricey for me but with the premium materials and all the functionality, it is without question the best “watch” in the world; and for a guy who was once seriously into watches - this was money well spent!





Fidel Castro and Che and another Rolex!



Goodnight.....





https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=tkylMPBxqYc
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm up early in the morning backing up cell phones.


The Samsung Note 3 required the most data as it hasn't been updated in quite a while. I also let the Passport sit on the wifi for awhile doing anything that needed to be done. I will also back up the Blackberry one more time with the new OS in there. EOL is still December 31 but they will not shut down but rather just keep things going without updates; nice, if you simply need privacy you still have it. Apple claims privacy but this is a hollow claim as evidenced by the tracking of your location no matter what setting you have. Blackberries are so off the radar and only still used by business on contracts soon to end, but they are for real and I have the most advanced software you could ask for. So that is why I'm still with them.


One New Years resolution is austerity. I have only so much time left to retirement. Maybe seven years at most and while that can seem like a long time - it isn't! So while I focus on what has to be done, we will be looking at things around here and what gets the grease and what does not. But as I said before, everything stays open even if I put it into hibernation. So here we go:


1. Lotto Film Fest: My application for a theater through the library system mysteriously got lost and so I give up with those guys. All the others work on per movie basis which makes the lotto idea impossible financially so this one goes into hibernation. I will make that section of the forums invisible until things change. Hate to see this one go but I really tried.


2. Theater Play: This was some form of insanity that made me even consider it. Theater has bankrupted even wealthy Toronto socialites so what chance did I have here. This easily gets "disappeared from the forums - not killed but in hibernation like the film festival.


3. Worldwide phone access: This "was" nice to have at the time but never got used. People just called me direct or used Whatsapp. I may just trundle along with this for a while as it is cool to have global contact points and some prisons only allow land line phone access so I'm a bit hesitant here - but they are nevertheless on the chopping block. We will still have UK and Can numbers as we have offices in each country.


Print publications: We go paperless in 2020 and I hate to lose paper but all they do is plug up the office and warehouse room. It's really just an affectation for me as none of the staff or gang really helped me with distribution of the last Fortress. It is time to let it die and move on. The Positive Mandate Book is the last. If we publish more books we will still offer paperbacks on-demand through Amazon but we will not print anymore ourselves. I will allow myself the occasional ability to print a tabloid Fortress Newspaper as a one off whenever. Print has a history!



Still need newspapers to fill this box!


Websites. This costs money so we will gradually pair down domains and websites. I only pay for domains now but the money for them is still draining. Active artists will keep domains and websites while non-active artists will be static pages on FOF websites. I will only protect the FOF, IAIJ, and commercial company websites along with the voting app website and the positive mandate websites and the human destiny websites along with my own. That is still a lot but I have to start pruning things down.


Television: We are done except for news reporting and such with our smart phones. We may update things with regard to advocacy and I will keep the Fortress Variety Show alive with new acts. So we could put out a three show "series 2" of A Positive Mandate for Humanity. But I have changed my mind about making that public. If it happens it happens - but especially if we score. We will still do shorts and music videos and put them out. But TV shows are too much of a distraction and resource hog. No new equipment, if we need something we rent for the occasion, we are finished with this at the moment.



Music: Will carry on as I like it for its creative side. This is the one loss leader I can easily support even as the industry gets sucked into a black hole - In fact it gets support because of that alone. We no longer make the music in-house but support artists at the final stages onward. So things continue at the record label as always.



That about covers the New Year resolutions. When I finally got all the shows up for streaming it was a relief to finally forget about all that. The knee-jerk reaction is to keep it going, but given the years left that would be foolhardy, we got what we needed! If anything more happens without new resources or spending then it happens. From now on it is all about the advocacy and the creative endeavors that support it! That’s about it for now as an ice storm is coming and a stay at home day tweaking websites.


BTW: The advocacy will probably suck more money than any of the above - but that is what matters from now on!




Goodnight.....





https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=I2dfGC1oziE
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

With most FOF stuff done – I turned to my personal life of sorts and the resolution for the New Year…..



1. Starbucks: When I actually analyzed it I am healthier because of Starbucks. I was rocking a minimum of three coffees per day and with Starbucks it is usually one coffee a day! So it is as expensive as three but the caffeine content is way down. This is because those mochas with whipped cream on it are so thick and luscious that you are spoiled and can’t take the thin but potent coffee anymore. So this is a tough one. I like the idea of at least one coffee a day. Even though I am a brown guy I‘m still a Canadian and we drink coffee. In Canada this part of nationality stereotyping is true! So I don’t have a resolution on Starbucks as yes it actually cut me down on caffeine…..



2. Baths vs. Showers: I take both but the baths were becoming a habit and I was hooked. In fact I usually punched out these blog posts soaking in the tub. But they are wasteful. My last utility bill confirmed it. Now I also had a toilet leaking badly and the automated letter from the city (my meter is wified to the city) warned me and I fixed the toilet so I knew the bill was going to be high but this was getting ridiculous. But I love soaking in the tub. They say a tub bath is 70 gallons and a 5 minute shower is 10-25. I took a shower and plugged the drain – yup – they are about right. Worse yet I take hot ones and drain the tub a bit to keep filling it with hot water – I am so sad of a character.....

So this gets cut down - maybe two a week and the rest showers. I even checked out the meter to see if there wasn’t a leak in the line – nope – it was all me and my actions. So that resolution stands!



3.Car expenses: This is easy as in no changes. That Mustang just keeps going. Sooner or later something is going to break or wear out. But it looks like three years without a single issue. Maybe the water pump, or the brakes, but really I am just looking at potential wear on the seats as the only thing I noticed and we are barely talking about wear here. Everyone else seems to have a running nightmare with their Mustangs but this one works for me. Much better than buying a Hyundai Elantra – that quick decision to go with my heart and get another sports car was right even though I wanted economy style expense – so far so good!



4.Electronics: I got the Apple watch when it counted and that was with the always on display. It took months for me to get used to wearing a watch on my wrist again but there it is now. The itch is gone, but the utility of the thing remains. The watch helps wean me off the phone which is a good thing. You sit at Christmas dinner with the watch on and still have that security blanket of connectivity, but not the embarrassment of a phone on the table or at your feet. This is a more elegant solution! I will probably upgrade to the new iPhone 12 with 5G and probably Touch ID along with Face ID. There is more but this is the year I shell out big bucks for another iPhone and I will use it till it’s used up. The old iPhone get rotated as I have multiple sims.



That is about it for now. You now know my New Year’s Resolutions for 2020.....



Oh, the Positive Mandate Book seems to be most popular in India of all places – now only to get the TV stuff there – this brown guy is sure to be popular over there!







Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/XEwXOsmqFOM
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The end of another year.....


Like the sentiment - hate the execution!

So now we are into the end game. The experiment and the corporations that made it happen now operate for themselves via our gang that are interested in them. For me now it’s getting the word out. The probabilities always worked against me but here I am. We do it at the United Nations and it’s special agencies - and now - we are doing the ground game.


That’s government property - still cool!

I have always preached against change on the ground as it’s futile for one man. But through the media we may have a chance. It was easier than I thought to get our stuff in a popular streaming service (but still a nightmare) so that got done. The book was easier than I thought and done in a couple of months if even that long. I still have a chance and nobody is really doing what I am doing so I have to carry on - that moral imperative at work again!


If only

Will I make inroads at the UN? Well the idea was just to disseminate the idea so the concept of taking it further is a slight endorsement that I actually did disseminate my idea there! On the ground we are talking pop culture. Your words of wisdom mean nothing unless it takes hold in the populous. Your success may actually be shown on the graffiti on the walls as opposed to an interview on any popular talk show. The graffiti on the walls in places where they can’t say it openly. That is the true test of what is on their minds and in their hearts.



Happy New Year!





https://youtu.be/B48xIcvgzYM
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess I should punch out this update before the actual end of the year.....



I really don’t know what else to say actually. Things have gone my way but they have gone my way on a quest that is almost impossible - or so it would seem.....



All the bits and pieces are in place for this play of a lifetime but even so there is no “play book” for what I am trying to do which is: Messing with the machine! But even with the odds against me, this activity is so out of the norm you just have to go with it. So go with it I shall. Interestingly my past and CV mean little where I make my play - the arena - that one place where entry gets you into a place where anything and everything goes. All that matters is what you have to offer on or in your person. Like the Roman Chariot races but in my case the horses are replaced by ideas. The rules and entitlements that kept those of lesser means out - don’t apply there - there is no law in the arena. In fact it is in the area where the law is made if that makes any sense.







Like that quote from Ben Hur: “In the arena there is no law” and so it is where true power resides. You had better be prepared and sure of yourself entering this place - and lucky..... I’m prepared and sure of myself, and I know how to play luck. But nothing is for sure and for you doubters - that plays both ways. I have a chance and at this stage there are no degrees. You either make it or you don’t. So 50/50 - I’ll take those odds now.....





Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/ZCtG9wBqqBQ.


https://youtu.be/frE9rXnaHpE
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So New Year’s Day became an actual holiday for me and nothing got done.



I did go to Home Depot (they always have a store or two open) and bought a new dryer as the one at my dad’s place crapped out. It’s a new Samsung and I can monitor things on the phone so we will see what that is like. Then when I got to my dad’s place with the news - the cable crapped out. After about thirty minutes on the phone they found out it’s an area problem, so I just let it be. The rest of the day was just getting all my receipts ready for taxes and starting The Fortress covers. While buying the dryer I popped by Starbucks for my fix and they are at this Chapters book store and voila - staring me in the face is an issue of Today’s Philosoher! I heard about philosopher magazines from another philosophy major in the area. This woman was into philosophy big time and I tried over and over to woo her into the org - but she was obviously tempted - but would shy away and even hide from me if I was around. In this case, if the organization was just a vanity she would be all in and who knows where that might have lead - birds of a feather..... but I was already making home runs with ideas and that usually scares the fence sitters away. She worked two part time jobs at a Home Hardware store (now closed) and the funeral home across the street. So much possibility with another philosopher, and a women to boot! We flirted a bit, but what’s it like dating another philosopher? What’s the sex like- boring and predictable, or kinky monkey sex - I guess I’ll never know. And what happens afterward - do we just stare at the ceiling and argue points about Kierkegaard (“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”/“Once you label me you negate me”) or something like that - or go out for a pizza? This was many years ago, so I guess I’ll never know. Anyway that didn’t work out and I’m still by myself with the advocacy - but she had me on the lookout for magazines and here I had one. So I bought it!





And that was Wednesday. I’ll wait for Friday and bug the printers about the status on the book. After seeing the usual bull shit with these guys which is like all of them - I was wavering on the online all-in statement earlier. I was thinking about one last print run - but - nope, less hassle on-line here we come!




The original AirPods mine!



Oh and if you think I have buyer remorse getting the original AirPods over the pro model, well it turns out the pros have a habit of falling out after they are broken in. Those rubber tipped ear prices never worked for me and never stayed in. So I’m now happy with my choice and another reason never to buy the first generation product unless you have to.....


Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/8heLwhCD5RM
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well shucks, another trip to the United Nations it seems:



I’ll be there regardless but we may also speak there if we get lucky. Only time will tell.....



Meanwhile: Back at the ranch.....





So the big news is me finally getting possession of the books. I was actually headed down there to tell the folk to forget it and have Amazon make the things but when I got there the job was done. They were already sealed up in a box. Anyway, the lady there had an “Office Copy” and why they would want a copy of my book escapes me - but whatever. Wow - how things change on a dime as this book rocks! Everything came out well especially the photos that I figured were problematic. Best was the cover as I envisioned this bland matte black - but what I got was this thick wet looking super shiny black that looks tame enough lying there but as soon as you touch it the book comes alive with all sorts of refractive or reflective visions dancing in the surface. You can see it in some photos I took. It actually can look like some art deco cover in a photo but the cover is alive, dancing light all over the place when held and used!






The construction for a paperback is first rate so two copies go off to the government and the Library of Canada. I’m actually proud of this particular run of the book! I’ll let camera shy Laura make the announcement later. Yes she is real even though our announcements seem a cut and paste thing. Anyway, the wait was worth it!




Laura Tommasone



Postscript: I was wondering where the full sized image of Laura was since these are thumbnails. Why don’t I have the original - and now I know why:




Laura pretty as always and I have no idea who that deviate is giving the "thumbs up".



This was at a Twenty6hundred concert and Laura was posing for a photo when I turned and just instinctively gave a thumbs up. But in the photo it could be taken a different way. Oh well - I now know all about why Laura’s photo is so small. Me, the photo bomb guy.....




More on AirPod Pro gate:



YouTube long term videos are appearing with problems with the AirPod Pros. Sweat that dislodges the pods in workouts and substandard phone quality due to the shorter stem. The sweat thing also seems to degrade the audio quality, and still - AirPods falling out of ears after a few weeks. The guy (in the video I just watched) actually gets this look of horror on his face (it’s not good to criticize Apple but you actually have the conscience thing going on too), stammers and repeats things as he derides the AirPods with some constructive criticism - just too funny - no invite to Apple releases for him. He is going back to PowerBeats Pro BTW. The question for me is whether the AirPod Pros are really ”out of stock” or if Apple is stopping shipments to solve the problems..... Enquiring minds want to know - but the shortage while a fix is being made is a rather sneaky (and from a marketing view point - diabolical) way to dodge a bullet that could hurt the brand while keeping desirability on the item in question. But maybe I am reaching here - or maybe not - anyway, rubber insert earphones never worked for me. The Samsung ear pieces refused to stay in even when just sitting still. I even tried ditching the rubber ear pieces and ramming the plastic base ear pieces in my ear - still fell out. So I’m secretly pleased the pros don’t stay in for most which means they would never stay in for me - so no upgrade as I’m staying with the tried and true original AirPods.



Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/SRa4ImIjp0c
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A stay at home day as I thought I might be coming down with a cold and stuff has to get done.



The cold maybe was a false alarm but I will still stay in on Saturday. The kitchen table is full of receipts so I will add those up and then put them away in preparation for taxes. Then I take pictures of the positive mandate book on the white table to show you all about that book that I haven’t yet. Then the book thing gets forgotten until the government catalogs it. Right now it’s
all about The Fortress and getting that finished - then the UN stuff. That trip takes place in about a month and maybe later on in the year is Geneva, but I really should go there for some event and then soft-sell the positive mandate and voting app idea.



99.999999999866667% are not doing what I am doing so I really have to continue – that’s the calculation. In the whole world there maybe is just a handful (i.e. you could count them on your hands or hand) of people with the bravado doing what I am doing – and how many are reaching for the brass ring giving humanity (and a possible sentient AI) their marching orders? Well of course the answer is probably just me. That is how rare this is and I have an idea that has some legs. I have all the resources I need, so if an event comes up I’m there unless they don’t let me into the country. Even though I pine about expenses, the fact is this is just my business training kicking it. I can take this to its conclusion for better or worse.



This all comes back to my university days when very smart people would criticize me for my arrogance and tell me someday I will meet someone smarter or more creative than myself. That didn’t happen back then. Even when I talked to a psychology professor about why me and the class didn’t get along, he said that I’m more intelligent than them - - - and I know it….. Yes, that was the problem and compounded by me being a second class citizen where I lived – that’s an interesting and compelling story right there. Oh yes, there is a movie and TV series about it! Anyway, I’m an old man now but still spry and raring to go with new ideas. My age has given me the ability to start companies and organizations to get the ideas out there and so far so good. I could not do this in my twenties, but suffice to say the fact that I was never bested in my prime gives me the confidence or sureness to do what I am doing now. That also is why I have no way out not to do this. Otherwise people of lesser ability will do it and that could go bad. Society needs its best to show the way so I’m doing my part and that is the moral imperative. And see how arrogant I seem – just like the old days….. Anyway, I’m on a rant you have all heard before. Everything I am doing is still up in the air as per outcomes. We just carry on.



Goodnight…..



Oh: The weather has let up so I’m off to Starbucks. Maybe later I will read up on those poor AirPod Pro people who spent 400Canadian dollars on earphones that fall out. A group tried cheap foam inserts from China - that didn’t work. Then the 3M tape trick on 400 buck earphones that don’t stay in and can still be returned! But the exclusivity of walking around with expensive Apple earphones everyone knows you have is the lure – even if the earphones are shitty in a fundamental way. This is fashion and one-upmanship gone wrong, but is very amusing to say the least. They will say they hate to return them as you can’t buy them anywhere as Apple works on a fix – err – as Apple desperately tries to produce more AirPod Pros that have already sold out due to demand. Yup – that’s what happened.....




Goodnight…..
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2020 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It’s back to work!



Here are a few pictures of the actual book in print:





The back:






Inside:






Most of the book is text but photos and illustrations all came out good which is rare for me. So off to the government and into our storage room – and there is the rub. After a few examples of the print publications you just end up with a pile of print that goes nowhere until you move and they all get thrown out! There is this monument to our newspaper about 7 feet high that lays testament to that fact. So as a result we are going paperless now except for the rare time we print out an issue just to remind ourselves what print was. Same thing with the CDs, I have a warehouse of CDs. I will give more CDs to our artists and such but there is a pile there still. Nobody sells these things anymore, so they are just handouts. Maybe we will go to a few music festivals where they have tables and just give them away to create space or trade. But I digress, the next Fortress I am working on now is digital. I may print a few copies for the office but the days of thousands of sheets of newsprint are done!



I should have a preview of the front cover for tomorrow and then we plan out the UN stuff and all that. This past year started strong and had promise but ended up lame in the middle but with an incredibly strong finish. Getting the movies and TV shows on a streaming service was a big deal to us and that is done. We even got back into music on the metal side with Tyler and all. And of course getting the book made as we need the book as a prop or icon for the positive mandate concept and philosophy. So serious home runs there for 2019! Your really don’t know how a year is going to go until it is all done.....







I should tell you that if we had the voting app thing going on at the United Nations as a popular vote you would have billions and billions of people voting against another war in the Middle East. I pitched the idea in 2017 at the UN as a side event and we may return to the idea in a more formal way shortly – time will tell.....




Goodnight.....




(Not to beat a dead horse, but Jenna’s review of AirPods Pro had them
falling out about every 30 seconds literally - too funny - and she is an Apple Fan Girl! if you pay through the nose for this stuff - don’t blame me!):

https://youtu.be/K6kQHOP4MSY



(NSFW)
https://youtu.be/9VHA0H8peZ0
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jan 06, 2020 6:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As promised - here is what the front page of the 2019 Fortress will look like:




The rest only needs minor altering and then I add content. Then it goes online at: https://thefortressnewspaper.com . But breaking news here! If we are online, why not make it the actual tabloid news format of the original paper? Humm.....now that is an option.


I had hopped to make a few (expensive) but actual paper copies of The Fortress as every issue has been an actual paper issue. Going truly paperless gives me the tabloid option without the tabloid price. But I probably will stick with the magazine format for now as the material is less than the early days, but I will still consider it. We will know in a couple of days as there is no rush here.




My actual Sony Walkman today missing the rubber button cover!



If you were wondering why I’m so obsessed with AirPods Pro this is because I was litterally one of the first to have true stereo in both ears earphones. This goes back to the early 1980s when I bought a new product called the Sony Sports Walkman (which I still have and still works) which was a FM only thing but with two beefy stereo earphones never before seen. Until now, transistor radios (as they were called) had one mono earpiece which was large and usually had a large silicone or rubber earpiece. These had the more familiar design of today that lays in the ear passively. The looks and laughs (yes people actually pointed and laughed) at me with two wires going into his ears was a first to them. They even came with these rubber hooks to hold them in place while excersizing - that is how old the current designs are!


But the new thing today is active noise cancellation - only after 35 years - and this is what sparked my interest. While this is new and desirable tech, the human element seems to have stymied implementation. In the end it seems tech for tech’s sake still has to embrace user compatibility which with ears is almost impossible as each ear is different. Either the material and design of the tips has to change or you simply have to go with the tried and true passive (just lay there) model and do the best with it. I can get the current AirPods snugged up against my ear where the noise cancellation would have an effect. I would humbly suggest Apple make such a device for us deviates with ears that don’t fit a backward design that hasn’t changed since the 1980s. And I base the strength of my comments by having used these things from its inception until the present day. And so now you know why I am so intrigued with these things.


There is a Black guy Apple reviewer and he doesn’t even mince words about the problem - unlike the Apple Fan girls and guys who try to mitigate the basic design failure (like one guy reviewing the Pros when they popped out at the buffet table - another funny failure). Refreshing, and he even makes a “Apple Man” out of the two AirPods Designs at the end which was funny. But he is right that if it doesn’t fit, forget it, you will just not be able to rub people with the fact you have 400 dollar AirPods and they don’t - which is the real issue here anyway..... Too funny!



Goodnight.....





(Just go to 3:50)
https://youtu.be/1-sdSii44HE
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