Fortress Of Freedom Board

[Maurice Ali]

Now the vacation becomes a regular vacation.



For Wednesday I take my sister to get her hair done in the morning. Maybe go for groceries after. Then I climb on my roof and tuck point and waterproof the chimney. Thursday has the “Maytag Repairman” come in to hopefully fix a one year old commercial washing machine we have. Maybe Friday I paint my front door. That is a regular vacation - and I love it.



Tuesday had me finally get another replacement eyeglass frame for that current pair of glasses that I broke on the trip. The guy sending my glasses to be repaired said he may have one somewhere and he found it! So after several years of looking I finally have another set of frames - that is huge to me…..



Also on Tuesday I bought a new mount for my Canon camcorder to mount the new Portkeys video monitor on it.




The Portkeys monitor on the Canon Camcorder!



This actually takes care of the difference between my older XA50 and the current XA70 camcorder. The only change was a better screen with more resolution but it is tiny and the new monitor renders all that as moot. Actually my camcorder’s sensor is the same up the line now, so with Canon you can’t get a better image in their camcorders so I’m not upgrading.




The Portkeys monitor on the Pocket 4K!



However, the monitor is really for the Pocket 4K. It actually has a cellphone sized screen on the back, but it is fixed meaning you can’t record yourself and monitor at the same time. The fully articulating new monitor solves all this and has remote controls on the screen that actually work on both cameras! No regrets buying this! I could have saved a few bucks buying off Amazon but I wanted to sort this all out on vacation and expensive stuff worries me when dealing with Amazon delivery. Twice in the last few weeks they have dropped stuff off to other houses and I have to match the photo to the other house to find the package. With the small stuff you take the gamble but if it’s hundreds of dollars or approaching a grand you go to brick and mortar stores.



I also found some blogging gear for the new iPhone I had put away, originally for the 12 Pro Max. The desk tripod is actually an expensive Manfrotto tripod and Manfrotto head. The rest is just generic plastic stuff but at least I can stabilize the new phone now.




This is why you need 2tb - storage gone in two hours at this rate!



I have some data in on data rates and me getting 2tb in the phone. At the maximum rate and frame rate I will burn through 2tb in a little over 1.5 hours! Now you know why. Even staying away from Raw you only have seven or eight hours of video on the maxed out model like I have - crazy stuff! Again, no buyer’s remorse but you have to pay for it!


Oh - It took five days to fully set up the new phone, that was the shortest time yet - but still - five days! For those new here, I will recap what we are trying to do at the United Nations and its satellites tomorrow…..



Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

As promised here is a quick overview of what we are all about at the United Nations and its satellite organizations such as the ITU and UNESCO:



https://fortressoffreedom.com/sof-iaij-input-zero-draft-pact-for-future.pdf



Realize that to regulars here we have been prattling about this for decades. But that is a quick overview of what we are up to…..




As for me I’m waiting on the Maytag repairman right now. Yes that moment has finally arrived. This will only mean something to old people as the “Maytag Repairman” was one of the most famous icons of all time back then. Then he got a bit greedy before retirement and Maytag replaced him with the Radio station owner actor from “WKRP in Cincinnati” TV show. I actually wonder if the original Maytag guy is still alive?



Anyway after the repair it’s back to finish waterproofing the chimney and then figure out how to paint my front door. Life has hit me hard with mundane reality…..



I’m still working on making that new iPhone fully functional. So forget what I said before - it will take you a week to sort it all out!


Goodnight…..




(NSFW)
https://youtu.be/wWdH0jSuJ-8?si=hyGi2oyean03C2P8


https://youtu.be/8ZHsxPEAUOI?si=Gl3J0Qp4K2LSwk39

[Maurice Ali]

So here we go - back to the United Nations stuff…..







Remember I told you about a push to have a unified front at the UN for AI matters of interest. Well it fell apart as one nation with veto status nixed it. This is not that much of a surprise but showcases the limitations of that one particular house at the UN and its issues with the Charter in geopolitical matters. My idea for a new global layer of human interaction dodges the issue of the United Nations Security Council Veto…..




My idea of a new global layer separate from geopolitics/religion/cultures would not have these limitations. Just global consensus by billions of people around the world. That would have an effect. It doesn’t need approval for a change in the Charter as I already showed that it could be implemented today at ECOSOC if they at ECOSOC had the will to just do it. The ITU could do it if they wanted. The idea is to just get it started!




That is why last week was such a thrill!



https://fortressoffreedom.com/Goal.mp3



Yes - goal!



What drives me crazy was the UN Secretary General bitching about the limitations in the UN Charter and looking for a way around it. So I applied to speak in 2023 at the Commission for Social Development and just before I did I got security to let me in an elevator that took me to the delegate’s mailroom and they promised to deliver two packages to the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General showing them a way around this issue! When I appeared through the doors of the delegate’s mailroom the two people there looked at me as if they’d seen a ghost - too funny! Then I ran back (yes, some guy in a suit running around the shipping docks deep in the Secretariat Building) from the shipping and loading docks in a suit and tie and delivered my speech about that same subject! Like something out of a James Bond movie. I just love this clandestine stuff….. Whatever works…..



https://youtu.be/9NdRjjfp3bY?si=ERUeIXpKaFsZjBIk



I’m just putting the idea out there…..




Back in the real world where I am now:



I will go to my dad’s place and have some more stuff washed to ensure the washing machine is truly fixed. They replaced the complete circuit board of that commercial washer and the guy left without seeing if the machine truly worked - he has done this before - many times - it seems! Then back to my place to paint some exterior doors. Yes, a pivot from a new global layer of interaction free from UN stalemates to something trivial like one guy in Canada painting the doors to his hovel. What else? - I guess it took six days to sort out a new iPhone 17 Pro Max. I had one company app that took a half a hour to sort out yesterday so that added the extra day, so again - you need a week to migrate a phone to a new one - and don’t wipe the old one while this goes on. My issue was I could have migrated the company app via bluetooth if the other phone was not wiped - live and learn. This also applies to a few forgotten email accounts I have, Google refuses to open them up until I open them in a device I used before migration. Use that information and don’t make things harder on yourself.



The cameras are done and paid for now. This totally re-invigorates and updates FOF as a video production company! Sorting out the monitor and buying the new iPhone with compatible codecs used in the editor and that can be matched to the other cameras was successful. It was all costly but I had the cash in the bank and the credit card accounts are back to zero so it got done.





Me at YDS - nope!



Sankofa Square sent me an email about event registrations for 2026 - not happening as that ship has sailed!



FOFSTOCK!



I’m still pissed about all the bad luck and money that went with it to get success at the United Nations. Shattering the glasses lens really pissed me off. Air Canada took me for two hundred dollars on a bait and switch scheme. I did think about taking them to small claims court but this would take years and then probably get thrown out as is the norm now. I’m just glad my 3.8 billion dollar case against the Provincial Government seems to actually be on its way to a hearing. Anyway, I got lucky and this had to be paid for in bad luck - a figure with a dollar sign in front of it is the least all ways to bring it all back to balance. Things are starting to happen again. The Fates want to see all this play out…..




The Fates



I regretted letting https://thefortressexperiment.com lapse. So I purchased it again and forgot I never deleted the website files - so bingo - the website was up immediately - like magic…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/NVg23yjKl1g?si=RARezhsZkFIi9H2v

[Maurice Ali]

I took some shots in New York that I shared with others but not you guys, so here we go:




The tiny hotel room!



This was my hotel room that saved me enough cash to put down half the price that expensive 2tb iPhone! Yes it is that small but with this large bathroom - go figure. I was on the fourth floor with no elevator. That would all have been good if my glasses did not break and with Air Canada ripping me off for 200.00 bucks and all that. I get it - luck is even handed…..










I was up on 8th Avenue and figured I may as well walk up to the other side of Manhattan like to Hell’s Kitchen. What I found was a museum of navy ships! You can see the Intrepid from the street and this submarine beside it: above.




Me at the fountain in the John Wick 2 movie!



The end of John Wick 2 always bothered me and now I know why. In the clip Wick gets dropped off at the Central Park entrance to that massive fountain but if you do that your only way is enter by the sides and not underneath. Wick would have to walk the opposite direction but was shown to go underneath to meet the manager of the Continental the way the director did it. I get it - it’s more majestic doing it that way, but something did not sit right and now I know why. Leaving the fountain makes you walk under the roadway and you end up at this small band shell that was being set up for some Jazz festival.



I did get the bluetooth working in that new monitor and yes directly from the monitor’s touch screen - You basically have full control on the Pocket 4K! So that turned into a score right there!




The Portkeys monitor on the Canon Camcorder!



That ProKeys monitor was a score! Total control through the monitor itself or through the camera buttons all showing on the monitor. You basically could just turn off the camera monitor and just use the remote and all would be good. I like the all metal construction. It’s all metal in this camera and it weighs a bit heavy but a much more professional feel. This thing should live on the Pocket 4K. It has some wires controls for the Canon buy the Canon has an articulating screen already. If I just need a larger screen monitor I will probably just use the iPhone and if that is also not in use as a “C” camera. I will just rough it with to onboard screen which is more useful than the fixed Pocket 4K screen.



I’m looking at the guitars again. Many ask why a guy my age would take up and get interested in guitars at my age. Well I’ve been in the music industry for two decades and technically I am also a musician, so I may as well have sealed the deal. I like guitars so that’s where I landed. I still have to take some photos with my favourite guitars.




The back of the iPhone 17 Pro Max in its military case!



The iPhone 17 Pro Max is now my “daily driver” phone. Everything is sorted out and now I get to play with the thing. No buyer’s remorse spending all that money for a 2tb phone. The reality is that I used to come to the UN with a suitcase and a laptop bag with a laptop and all the cables and stuff to go with it. These days I backpack it and I ditched the laptop and bag because quite frankly the phone is just as powerful as a business laptop I usually come with. The A19 processor is as good as a M3 Mac processor and the phone now comes with 12gb of ram. My M1 Macbook Air only has 8gig of ram and 250gig of storage. So why bring the laptop? That being the case, when you rock only your cellphone, you do not want to run out of storage. I needed that comfort zone to know when I travel I can record videos and pictures in maximum resolutions and not run out of room on trips that could go on for weeks at a time. So that is why I pulled the trigger on the iPhone 17 Pro Max 2tb. I was going to settle on 1tb but all they had was one 2tb and in the end after paying for it - I’m happy with the selection.



As for the advocacy. That was a score, but I could have done it a bit better. I should have pitched the Positive Mandate for Humanity when everyone was checking out the Worldwide Vote. I see on The Fortress News was the article on the voting apps (posted just before the trip) and we got a quick 12 grand of views - so the idea got out there! So something to keep in mind when the next opportunity arrives…..




Goodnight…..





(A comtinuity error as John Wick could not enter the fountain scene the way he was dorected to go. Small but for fans of the films it is just some more trivia!
https://youtu.be/b6YwM6WevRE?si=F6kbGLi4ku3lhrpa

[Maurice Ali]

Coming to the end of my vacation…..



The big deal was advocacy at the UN mostly on Tuesday but also a bit on Thursday. This was a goal to enter a more direct “person to person” advocacy at the United Nations while also expanding the advocacy to its satellite agencies like the ITU and UNESCO. All that got accomplished and was more successful than anticipated. Don’t count on anything major happening - but I was in this “futility funk” that has now been erased by the UN trip.



For those new here we have the first thing I ever did when we got Consultive Status at the United Nations - the Worldwide Vote idea. I literally started the side event by myself with only the A/V guy in the booth. This was strange to me as initial reception to the idea was enthusiastic with some wanting to get others involved and then - nothing but the sound of crickets….. I did get about ten people into that lavish conference room at the end (I should note that at the time I was embarrassed by the lack of bodies in the turnout but in the passage of time I am proud of that and that I forged ahead with the event undeterred!). Normally NGOs don’t get that conference room but since I was paying for it I guess some figured it would be a none event anyway, so to give it to me and then have it called off due to lack of interest and I would pay for it anyway? That couldn’t be it as I was live feeding it out of the UN to the world at large. So who knows how many people saw it but didn’t want their faces counted by physically being there.



I should note that very afternoon I did have a meeting with the Director of Social Development in her office on the 29th floor of the Secretariat Building, so all of that happened at the same time. Nine years later I’m still at it but also with the Positive Mandate for Humanity and all that woven into a new Global Social Contract. Anyway, here is the link to that Worldwide Vote side event:



https://youtu.be/QyONpXCLd2I?si=VgnbPWeA67vVqIe3



Here is a short speech that encapsulated the Positive Mandate for Humanity.



https://youtu.be/d1OxmTR-RU8?si=i5pd3GZl7BZTozEb



Here is a side event for the Positive Mandate for Humanity (I had a decent audience for this event):



https://youtu.be/R-dPx1LPOpU?si=l2sXWO7ty0Uk5vtL



That speech in 2023 basically opened up the idea to a new Global Social Contract at the United Nations:



https://youtu.be/9NdRjjfp3bY?si=ZQTS07xgb5fkS6t1



Here is that zero draft pact contribution to The Summit of the Future defining better that new Global Social Contract I and other supporters are advocating on:



https://fortressoffreedom.com/sof-iaij-input-zero-draft-pact-for-future.pdf



In other news:




Aside from the UN business, I did take the remainder of my vacation to mow and clear all that “jungle vegetation” at both homes. Then I pointed and waterproofed my chimney, and painted three exterior doors at my house. I also bought that new iPhone Pro Max and set it up. I also bought the best monitor for the Pocket 4K that can also be used with the Canon camcorder in a pinch.



A last minute purchase was a Smallrig kit for smartphones that I found at Henry’s Photo on Saturday. I was surprised to see it was a mid-development model - so I pounced on it and bought it then and there. The earliest cage for this kit was a four piece cage where the side handles could turn with the two sides if they were not tightly screwed in. The next version had a one piece cage that prevented that and added two cold-shoe mounts on the underside. The newest version has all plastic handles (I hate plastic on structural parts as they always break) And a weak magsafe plate that does t hold the phone securely offering up a weaker clamp to go with it. The mid-development system is better with all major skeleton parts made of metal with improved design. The latest version adds insult to injury by being almost sixty bucks more and relying on magsafe and a cheap bluetooth recording button slapped on one of those plastic handles to give the perception of innovation and value but decreasing costs for the manufacture. Smallrig has been like this with other parts like their battery plate that always goes bad after a year even though the layout is better than the Tilta plate I got which is simpler but lasts and lasts.



So I got the all metal cage and metal handles and metal SSD holder and that all metal stand - to replace the cheap all plastic kit I got with the iPhone 12 Pro Max. So in the end I was happy with that outcome as Smallrig really wants to push its new and improved “plastic fantastic” price increased kit on the unsuspecting public.



And so ends my vacation…..




Later…..

[Maurice Ali]

Back to my usual reality today…..


Vacation is over and back to work. It did occur to me that if I retired, every day would be like being on vacation - but less mad money to spend so there is always that!




The new Smallrig cage and kit for an iPhone!



In the photo above, you can see the cage and rigged accessories for the new iPhone. This kit met my desire to have as much metal as possible on all the parts. I bought plastic stuff with the iPhone 12 and that - while usable - was low quality crap if I’m honest. This was not a planned purchase but a “target of opportunity” as this kit in its present form is more plastic with dodgy quick release connectors for the side handles and weak MagSafe attachment for the phone and a flimsy bracket attachment if you don’t use MagSafe. The new kit does come with a button trigger for the shutter or to record - but I bought two of these on Amazon for 25 bucks and they slide in that cold shoe attachment I have on the left handle.




My kit for the iPhone 12 Pro Max!



The light is cheap and throwaway quality, but did surprise me with its brightness. It will probably never be used. That shotgun microphone - we will see. I got a similar one with the plastic stuff years ago and they have a different pickup pattern so if usable I will probably carry both around to use. I also had an extra SSD holder for the Pocket 4K and it now resides on the top between the light and the mic. There is also a large metal clamp for an external battery charger in the middle of the rig - heavy duty and all metal! That small desk top tripod is basically all metal as I like - so really I love this setup as it’s the most no-nonsense professional accessory I could find for the new phone.




Regular 4K video coming in just under 100 hours!



Now: I have some screen captures to show you why you would buy a 2tb storage option from the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. First one is ordinary 4K recording with about 100 hours for 2tb. You kind of expect that but see what happens as you move up to professional codecs. ProRes 422 gives you five hours of recording time - and ProRes Raw gives you 2-3 hours that makes you nervous out and about with 2tb only on your phone. Then if you go all out on ProRes Raw HQ at 4K and 60fps Opengate you get only one hour and three minutes of recording time!




Regular ProRes coming in at 5 hours to fill 2tb!




ProRes Raw filling 2tb in 2-3 hours!




All our highest bit rate, ProRes Raw fills 2tb in just over an hour!


I hope that puts things in perspective. ProRes Raw has to be shot on an external SSD (the hack no longer works) so have at it in that media. But going on trips makes you maybe use ProRes 422 HQ or just ProRes 422 for video and 24/48mp for photos. That can actually work in a 2tb phone traveling. So in the end the 2tb purchase sits fine with me right now - it’s just so expensive!




At the UN shooting the East River at night!



Aside from that I would like to thank all of you from the General Assembly at the United Nations and its satellite organizations like the ITU for your interest and possible help in disseminating this idea of a global vote - once again: Thank You!









Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

I’m still going over all the video and photographic equipment in the studio.



For any of you new here, realize that two months or so ago I decided to update our movie and when I tested our current equipment, one expensive camcorder was dead. I also noted many video files had only one or two copies because we figured the tape was the third. But going on 20 years you can count on tape especially without the camcorder to play it, so I bought huge terabyte drives and started copying the remaining files. We lost one whole external enclosure of drives with a short in the enclosure - thankfully these were just rendered files and the original video now has three copies. I then continued to make sure the editors worked and got the Pocket 4K, set it up and now the new iPhone 17 Pro Max all kitted out. Refined FOF Entertainment Inc. as a video distribution company and started https://beyondthefortressexperiment.com and so on. It continues today with me checking all lenses for fungus and thankfully there aren’t any. Then I sprayed down all the photography bags just to be sure and that’s now all good to go.



On the music front the closing of Cosmo Music months ago has turned into a new music store by takeover company Long&Mcquade that opened a couple of weeks ago. So I went down there to see what changes they made.




Cosmo Music back in the day all sectioned out inside!

A big change was that Cosmo Music had these almost separate areas for sheet music and records, drums, wind instruments, and guitar with pianos upstairs. In each of the non-guitar areas was some disgruntled musician there covering it. Long and Mcquade knocked down the separating walls and moved the pianos downstairs with one or maybe two staff covering what was covered by 2-3 times the personnel. That saves a lot of money as the rest was lucrative rentals and warehouse with lessons upstairs which is lucrative subscriptions. Cosmos also had the school music contracts which Long&Mcquade now takes over. This huge location (largest in North America) actually has a chance to survive. Many of the staff are still there minus the disgruntled ones. I get it, it is also hard as a single store owner to get rid of long standing employees. Anyway, I now see why Long&Mcquade bought out Cosmo Music!




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/6QJ8I-41XKw?si=a8_BESrlJEa_vc1b

[Maurice Ali]

Actually, it was nice to get all the video equipment bought and sorted out during the tail end of that vacation.



I just don’t have the time anymore to enjoy these purchases with everything going on. Take the cellphone, that’s a major pain in the ass to set up, especially when you are working and taking care of everything. Anyway the phone is doing fine. My only concern is that USBC plug that became stuck to an Apple dongle to 3.5mm headphone jack. I really had to wrench that out because it was stuck and I won’t use it again. Apart from that, everything else is fine with the phone. Of course I turned off all the Apple AI features and Apple’s hesitation on AI generally works with my philosophy.







I laugh that in the Western World I can’t turn a buck personally with music or film and videos - but the only tangible cash in the pocket I make is through book sales and mostly the AI book! Who would have ever thought!



So after buying all that video stuff I can start saving again? Don’t be so sure on that as the Mustang may need new brake pads. So it never ends, but at least I got the guitar stuff and most of the expensive video stuff sorted out. I can keep the advocacy going forward - and actually go it on the cheap, but the expenses that happened on that vacation won’t happen when I’m truly retired. Certainly buying expensive cellphones isn’t necessary if you know where to look. Anyway the Mustang gets a close look now as working on cars when it gets cold is just another pain in the ass…..




My trusty old Mustang!



One final thought about closing brick and mortar stores in the music world. I watched another video on the Long&Mcquade takeover of Cosmo Music. Long&Mcquade now have over a hundred physical stores across Canada. How do they survive when every one else has failed or is one step away from failure?



It seems that they don’t do Brick and Mortar stores like others. What they have is over 100 warehouses across Canada and what they do is simply take some product out of the boxes and put them on display for sale in what would have been large reception at the warehouse and call that a store! The big one in Richmond Hill is actually a warehouse in an industrial area of town. So that is what gives the appearance of a traditional brick and mortar store. Furthermore, Long&Mcquade basically now have a monopoly on distribution of musical instruments, so they don’t need any middleman or traditional store in their business model. They just keep a healthy profit margin on sales. So that along with the lessons and rentals and school contracts - keep Long&Mcquade afloat. I just thought it was cool how they do business. That huge warehouse in Richmond hill also has become a head office of sorts for them also. That will take up space in the second floor, but poking around a bit showed they still kept the full sized stage for events there. Just a cool sophisticated business model!




Goodnight…..








https://youtu.be/8Ra_PmbMdik?si=JrdPtyHFObJ1T50D

[Maurice Ali]

I’m running around doing things.






You would think a guy with an idea to improve people lives through a philosophy of increasing happiness through freedom of expression, and a roadmap to make this happen outside the current geopolitical system as a new layer of interaction and self governance through worldwide votes on smartphones, would get more traction? You would think - but then there is reality - but anyway, I carry on with the advocacy…..




Camcorder!



I finally got the time to make sure the new phone’s MagSafe system works - almost two weeks to check that out? Yes, and it holds solidly and charges as well all the through one of the thickest cases you can buy!



Cinema camera!


One of the reasons I got the new iPhone 17 Pro Max was because I could shoot “open gate”. This works well as you need this for YouTube deliverables as you can shoot once and deliver in landscape and portrait mode just buy using the full real estate of the sensor - open gate - and just crop the same video for the different display formats. The iPhone is the only camera I have that can do this at my studio! The camcorder, cinema camera and smartphone all work together to give me all the flexibility to do anything I wanted so all that got done - and I’m like of proud of it…..




Smartphone rig!





Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

A long weekend begins - not there - yet but you make plans.



The car for one as it needs to be rustproofed and I want to check out the brakes. Love this car and they do not make them like this anymore. I like the fact that this was the last model truly off the grid. Later Mustangs have satellite connectivity and internet dependencies for the stereo, and now engine tunes and such are over the air and encrypted making adjustments by the owner hard or even worse. Leave my phone at home and you travel invisibly for the most part. I could take my Linux phone and just power up when needed. That is as good as you get. Speed cameras and red light cameras and just plain cameras as web cams on cars leave you with no privacy anymore. I’m old enough to appreciate that so I do the old man thing and present the options to the younger folk - mostly to deaf ears…..



Like with AI. I turn it all off on the new phone and Apple’s ineptness at integrating it is a plus for me. Again, I am older and see the pre and post AI world.




iPhone 17 Pro Max



Me and the new phone are getting along just fine now. I’m not a luddite but my dad was big in the start of computer science and he said in a TV interview that we had nothing to worry about when it came to computers literally taking over. That was like around 1969 or so. It was a big deal to be on TV back then me and mom huddled up to see dad on TV (he was also later interviewed (CBC Newsworld) about a CBC virus/hack (he helped set up the i total computer systems there) and was very calm and eloquent on the air - back home was different - but we won’t on there- hahaha…..). So 56 years later and computers are taking over - go figure. Never saw that happening - not!




New phone just like the old phone!



That’s why I go to AI conferences and why I wrote that book. The sins of the father visited in his sons - whatever that quote was. I inherited the AI file and I wonder what the other kids of these computer pioneers are doing now. Not much I bet - anyway, I added this advocacy to the others I’m pushing the United Nations.







I also purchased that John Wick (universe) movie called “Ballerina” and will check it out over the weekend.





Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

So we finally got around to a review and thanks to the United Nations and the ITU meetings during the 80th General Assembly:

[Maurice Ali]

I finally got around to using the cameras - for a change…..



I hate the actual videos because I tried an experiment to look what looked like looking as old as I could. Basically an old fart prattling away looking old. So I’ll preen myself up a bit and crop in more and use that going forward. As you can see I really did use all three cameras. you can also see my skyscraper of old newspapers on the right along with a rolling fold up bed I put in there when editing the movie (it never left after that!), and to the right is a wall of DVD and Bluray movies!




All three video cameras set up to record my update!



The iPhone video actually surprised me out of the box in regular ProRes. The Canon was the usual look, but I will have to tweak the Pocket 4K as it is washed out in Braw.




me weatkng my Manfrotto vest back in the day!



I’m finally throwing out my old Manfrotto photography vest as it never got used. I do not even think pros wear them anymore - so it gets tossed.



Sunday is a work on the house day - just like everyone else…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

This long weekend…..



Actually stuff got done. Busted my secondary glasses Friday night and was super depressed about that. Then the eyeglass store fixed it to like new condition for free with parts I had! Took that saved cash to buy an overpriced Manfrotto plate and head for my iPhone cage rig. Then videotaped myself in high resolution 4K which totally screwed up my hair which was this black mostly salt and pepper thing I thought would look good on me - not!




At the very left you can see one high intensity light stainless steel reflector!



I just looked like this tired old guy - which may be the reality - but you lose your audience which is targeting young people with ideas that will impact them. So when I finish posting this update I will color my hair to jet carpet black. In real life it will look jet carpet black - but in 4K video with bright blue lights on me in-front of a big stainless steel reflector - now I will get a salt and pepper look! You can see one of these in the far left corner of that photo of my office.



So for those that see me rocking jet black hair tomorrow - now you know why! I suppose I could get rid of the lights and in totally normal light the hair should look normal; but when you cram in too much pixels into a camera to get you your 4K or 6K or 8K - you need as much light as possible and when you give the camera what it wants the subject looks a bit strange. If you are young and with solid color hair this works and when you are completely grey it works but in between it doesn’t work easily. If you are white it’s easier but if you have brown skin it is a nightmare. So when you see Morgan Freeman or other black actors, they stay with hair as black as it can get. Then if they have to add some grey it becomes a big lighting problem. Like it is for me right now.



I am soaking in the tub right now staring at the “Just for Men” hair colouring box on the counter dreading having to color my hair and all the hassle involved. You may think colouring hair is a vanity, but mostly it’s a hassle for guys and guys are lazy…..




Me as I am these days - there is grey but its not screaming at you like it is in 4K!



take this photo of me a few weeks ago. That is me with normal looking hair. Then I got this ridiculous idea of looking as old as possible for “dramatic effect” and it failed miserably. The funny part is that I had no pot belly sitting in the chair. With black hair he looks younger, but looking old ass decrepit - he looks like he might be dying of some terminal disease instead of staying in shape. See the conundrum? So I guess I have to color my hair and set up the cameras again and crop way in so you don’t see a 30 year old body on a 66 year old head. Filmmaking is fun and I’m back at it!



I’m also getting back into the funk I had before the vacation. Looking at what could have been and what is. That is for another day and the reality is that it could only have been this way. Any anthropologist would have looked at my race and ethnicity and where and when I was born and grew up and predicted my life as it panned out. Slipping out of that life and going internationally has changed it greatly but only internationally. Back home it is as it always is. And you all wonder why I’m trying it change all that?




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/EKXzahSHKo0?si=-pyIb9dMRcCmVp2e


https://youtu.be/Rd9Ooh5sMYA?si=TIO7da3A9rgWnBcf

[Maurice Ali]

Back to work…..



I did everything I wanted to do or get done. The car is rustproofed underneath having jacked up the thing and crawled underneath. My only bitch is that the top of the underside tunnel never gets sprayed as that is hard to reach with the driveshaft and the metal heat shielding they have glued in spots. Not a big deal but it just bothers me.



I colored the hair and the video now shows me with the salt and pepper vibe. Washed out in Log, you would never believe I blacked out the hair! Then I recorded video on those three cameras and imported the files into my editor. The Canon and Pocket 4K went in smoothly as always but the iPhone video would not show! It was there in photos but invisible on the Win 10 Editor. On my personal Win 11 PC that has iTunes it shows and transfers - but - it transfers a 51gig file! Yes, a 12 minute update recorded internally on the iPhone as ProRes 422HQ at 24fps used up 51gigs of space. So on the base storage models with apps and music you have used half of your storage already. 51gigs for 12 minutes! My usual recording sessions are at least one hour which is over 250gigs and 1.7tb of storage left on a 2tb phone. 256 and 512 are simply not enough for a phone with this video capability! So I do not regret getting the 2tb version in the end. It would probably be closer to half a terabyte at 4k 60, and maxed out at the top ProRes Raw codec in an hour - but that requires an external SSD. What a relief! No regrets anymore about the extra cash spent on 2tb. What a reality check!




iPhone 17 Pro Max



Aside from that - what is my final verdict in the iPhone 17 Pro Max? Only get it if you do photography or video and then max out the storage. Everyone else can get by with the base 17 now. I don’t find the case ugly anymore and take it out of the case now to admire it. So the lenses and sensors and new selfie cam are a huge upgrade from my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Battery is capped at 80% in the settings giving me about the same battery life as the 14 PM at 100% new without degrading the battery as fast. Charging and top ups are noticeably faster so. Camera control button is only used to open and take a quick shot. Action button stays at silence function. And I can use my third gen AirBuds as microphones in video - but it only worked in the Blackmagic Camera app - but it does work out to the bluetooth limits of about 40 feet.




The back of the iPhone 17 Pro Max in its military case!



Other things are less noticeable. It never got specifically hot in any area so it really does handle heat better. This is the fattest iPhone I have ever had and weighs almost the same as the 14PM with the big case on it. Hum, apart from that nothing else jumps out. The rear photos from 15 iPhone up are almost the same but 14 Pro Max you will see a difference, and the selfie is superior to all previous models. It was worth it for me as I’m at the video shooting things again - I can match codecs and make color matching easier with the new codecs but with huge file sizes - but the option is there! The scratchgate thing is always on your mind along with dents from drops even with a case on. People do notice the new phone even though my case doesn’t advertise it. Aside from all that, you can disregard and just go for the maximum flex with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in 2tb as it is one of the most expensive mainstream phones - a real flex there for sure! If I’m this CEO at some UN event my phone costing $3,322.37(CAD) wont betray me for a couple of years anyway.




All our highest bit rate, ProRes Raw fills 2tb in just over an hour!



And that is about it for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Just a quickie…..



We will prioritize the various versions of advocacy and I guess the Worldwide Vote is top of list.







I have figured out how to get the iPhone humungous files into the editor. I had to use the Apple Devices app and this will show you the files, but it wants to synch files which I don’t want. Instead I have the files mirrored in Photos and after the app was installed the file shows up there like on my PC in my bedroom. Basically the Apple Devices App is just another version of iTunes - fair enough as long as it works!







We may also do a cinematic short to go with the main movie and make use of that cinematic camera we have now (Blackmagic Pocket 4K). Just a short one like 15 minutes as in the Real Life: Real Lives short that aired with the original Fortress Experiment Movie.



I really want to air these at a real cinema just like the ones in 2018! One more kick at the can and do the festival circuit again knowing what we know now and pitch the film distribution company while we do that.



Anyway, that is the plan on several fronts…..




Goodnight…..