Fortress Of Freedom Board

[Maurice Ali]

A weekend writing a book is before me!







I pasted together the book but now I’m deep into it and the book is now writing itself! To celebrate that event I went into my publisher’s account with the Government of Canada and got the ISBN number for my fifth published book:



Artificial Intelligence and a Positive Mandate for Humanity



ISBN: 978-1-988407-10-4



It’s alive!



This moment happened (for you English majors) when I was updating the Global Social Contract for a possible sentient AI and the question arose as to how it would or could vote like humans voting on cellphones. How would we determine if it was one vote or billions – which would potentially give the AI or AIs a controlling interest in the Global Social Contract? I have some ideas there and particularly on how we could differentiate between individual AI. That was when I realized the book had its own being and was writing itself! This book is real and its own work of literature. It is unique and addresses the reader in its own particular way and viewpoint. It is more than I am. The book is writing through me and my old IBM clickable keyboard. I am merely the conduit for its expression…..



Anyway that is what is happening this weekend.


Personal life corner:


I did buy another vacuum cleaner. This time a Kenmore at 50% off and half of the price of the Meile! So that got done and I also got a necessary part to make the sump pump work properly again. Real life intrudes on the creative life and they both battle it out for your attention and time…..



Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Some progress in the book!







It’s now over 181 pages as I found some small dissertations I was planning on expanding about the AI debate and never used them. So I simply plopped them in and ow things are moving along at freight train speed!




Things are being re-jigged and I may be travelling to places and conferences outside of the UN system anywhere in the world. I want this first edition to go to press quickly.



First will be the finalizing of the book covers.



Next will be the finalizing of the structure and chapters. This and the covers should be done by the end of this weekend.



Finally the completion of any new material and then finishing formatting and table of contents and all of that. Then out it goes! This book, like all my others will have a glossy finish. And that is where the book business stands at the moment.




Guitar corner:




Digital pedal and slider guitar!



In other news, the AI business has put any new guitar purchases on hold. When I need a break I’ll strum my guitars and develop my technique. I’m a fan of the super strat and now have two of them. I’ll also concentrate on changing the tuning knobs/machines on the cheap guitar and it’s basically good to go. I have everything needed to develop my skill from the straps and picks and even strings to the electronic tuners and even that expensive electronic pedal and my cheap and small 10 watt amplifier.







My Fender has only 2 springs in the back and is balenced with the thin springs at the front. Despite criticisms that it would be an ongoing tuning nightmare - the thing stays in tune. I may get a gfratex nut to keep the strings from binding but maybe the best solution is “roller nuts” with steel ball bearings to keep it all functioning. Your technique with this “Jeff Beck” setup requires a light touch - so having to learn on this guitar from the start -like this - will only hold me in good stead for the future.




Personal Life Corner:



At home I have the part to connect to my sump pump and get it into action again. The city ripped up the asphalt on my dad’s driveway and also dug up the sidewalk and so the SUV is stuck in the garage and we can’t go anywhere. I’m going over there now to see what I can do about it.



An that’s it for now - later…..





https://youtu.be/xoGoU-mCWgQ

[Maurice Ali]

The book is humming along and nearing completion of the first edition…..



I have to get a bar code for the ISBN and insert it into the covers and we are good to go graphics wise.



The basic structure has been locked down and I should add a new intros and conclusions to each major part. A quick review and out it goes. You can change the manuscript at will but changes that affect spine width would probably need a complete revision, so I probably would not mind a bit of extra “fat” in there just in case we want to add anything.



In other news, the sump pump is working again and all I have to do is tighten things up and we are good to go.



The new vacuum is put together and I’m happy with the quality. Half price is as good as it gets for a quality vacuum so this one is a keeper. The old one gets left on the dock at Good Will for anyone that wants to tinker with it to get it going. The water heater is doing its thing and all taps have no legacy from the old tank shedding its insides as it aged. When I looked at the tub cartridge it was full of water heater debris and even wire - so I had to replace it or all the taps could end up plugged!







Next up is my Mustang, and I’m pretty sure the brakes need new pads. The electric steering also seems noisy but that may be just be how these things age. Aside from that this car just goes. The best car I ever owned!



What else?



Every now and then I’m reminded of how old in years I actually am. I do not feel old but I’m coming up on 64 in September. You think, a year and a half and most people would be retiring. That thought never entered my head. There is too much going on and too much advocacy and getting my ideas out there before I hang up my sneakers as Mark would always say. Old age creeps up faster than you think! One moment you are this young person full of life and in a blink of an eye you are this old person wondering what happened. Human lives are too short and it stunts human development. Anyway, you’ve all heard that rant before…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/sSSUfiD47_I

[Maurice Ali]

After the weekend I would say the book is 95% finished!








It’s a rush job and I did it cowboy style. But time is of the essence and I need it out there and searchable before I can apply to speak at the venues that matter.


With the book in hand I can claim that unlike the others I have no professional or monetary stake in the matter so my voice should be heard! I believe stakeholders with special professional and financial interests will dominate these conferences and people like me will be few and far between - the book has to come out in lightening speed!



You have to have been where I have been and you have to see how the world works to understand how much peril we are in from many directions and not just the AI issue. Once you get beyond nations you realize no one is charge. The United Nations is the best place but veto power many times renders good policy very hard. That third house and a new Global Social Contract will hold humanity in a good position to tackle these problems.



Yup - basically nobody is in charge and everyone nearby are just ordinary people like you and me - now you can start to worry - hehehehehe…..




Goodnight…..





(NSFW)
https://youtu.be/iIhMoPA96Z0

[Maurice Ali]

I’m actually just rereading stuff and making final corrections and maybe adding a bit to make some statements clearer. We are at 96% - 100% of the book! I was thinking I could push the book out before the weekend but will probably do it next Monday morning.







I like that the book is forward thinking than current events and pushing talking points further along so that if something happens, at least we won’t be starting at “square one” doing the dreaded “crisis management”.



In other news:



The hot water tank fiasco and replacement is done and out of my mind now. No leaks and hot water at full power - I now forget about plumbing till something happens.



The sump pump is all tightened up and tested - so I don’t have to worry about my basement flooding this year. All those years I would dread heavy rain and the mopping up of water in the basement - when just installing a sump pump solved that problem! Anyway we are good to go for another year.


I have my new vacuum cleaner all setup to take over from my old 32 year old vacuum. I am amazed that the old vacuum still works and has not fallen apart. I left it on the loading dock at my neighborhood Variety Village second hand store. It pays to get a heavy duty vacuum as they last forever. This new one is like the old one that way as it seems built to last!




The slider is on my finger, plus the Capo and thumb picks!



In the guitar world I bought my remaining sliders for my slider guitar. A shorty steel slider, a ceramic slider and an ebony slider. In addition to the others, I think I have all I need now. Guitar purchases and trips to the guitar store are done for a while.




My guitar was the only one left in my province!



As for my Fender Stratocaster, I still have until Saturday to return it - but return it for what? There are no super strats in my style anywhere in my province! The only other strat is a silver sparkly gradient I was initially going to buy until I saw the sunburst. Anyway, for a guy my age, the sunburst is the one for me and that’s all there is to it. This guitar is mine - warts and all - and after Saturday there are no more options and I can relax…..



This is what is so different in the music world. You can take a guitar off the wall and go into a soundproof room and hook it up to an amp they have there and listen to the sound. When I bought my slider I could yank it out of its wrapping and put it on my fingers to make sure it fit! Everywhere else it’s in the wrapping and sealed, and you just buy it.



The down side to this type of retail is that people handle it and it starts to get scratch up a bit and you clean finger dirt off the frets when you buy it and take it home. Yes, I had to clean the fret board with a damp rag when I got home. I saved like about 100 bucks for it being on the wall for so long and still got the full warrantee. Whatever blemishes were on it should have broken the back of OCD newness, but my guitar’s imperfections aren’t noticeable unless you really look for them. So it still looks completely new and you just wish it was totally perfect. I guess I will just have to suffer until I get some real damage you can’t ignore and then I will be free of all this nonsense…..


That’s what is happening today!





Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/FRTvCUVeiMo

[Maurice Ali]

Well the book is ready to go!







I may just keep looking at it - but I might just pull the trigger and be done with it. It turned out a bit better than I thought given the time. Anyway I had an apologetic paragraph at the end saying I was rushed for time getting the book out - but I deleted that as it’s ok now.



I’ll start the process to publish the thing while proofing, as I can but most of it so done, I will look at it some more and upload the covers for the book and look at my last book and how we did the publishing on that as we did it a bit differently.



Anyway, it’s all about the book and nothing else. I need the book to apply to conferences and such and that is the priority. Learning to play the equivalent of “chop sticks” on the guitar vs. helping save the world from AI run amok is a no brainer. I didn’t even pick it up this morning to admire the scratches and dents. It is all about the book now…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/fuFbQ-Mewfw

[Maurice Ali]

The book is finished and sent!







I did it last night before I went to bed. I just wanted it done and gone. So this one took one week and it’s a bit of a record for me but was necessary because of the lead time to get it into the search engines before I apply to any events.



I stayed away from publishing via self-publishing, or through FOF (that technically is not but they will claim is the same); what I did was do it through Library and Archives Canada. The book will be there for anyone to take out so may as well have their name on it. The successful geek nerds at these events will have been published in their trade papers with peer review, and I had a chance to do this on the lowest rungs - but they would still say you self-published because you paid hundreds of dollars for the opportunity. So Library and Archives Canada is the most prestigious publisher for me.




The actual artwork for the book!



So it’s sent into Kindle and we will see if they want any changes. Usually it’s the FOF trademark logo on the spine that I make as large as possible and they want to make it smaller, but we shall see.




Anyway it is done and I move on to the next thing. One week to make this book - hubba, hubba, hubba…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/P701paKEMXs

[Maurice Ali]

One week and the book is written and on sale:

[Maurice Ali]

The weekend and Saturday starts with a call to Rotorouter. Well, at least I have some of Friday night.



They say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth so I won’t. The book is done and now I search for venues. Why me - nothing makes sense, but me thinks nobody else in my little corner of the world is up to what I’m up to. And everyone thought I would end up nowhere. I thought several people I knew would end up rich or important and nothing, some of them are already dead. You just never know and nobody knows the future.





The Fates



I didn’t ask for this. The Fates never asked me. In the end you are the one making suggestions and pitching ideas and you just never know from there. Maybe they ignore you and things workout, maybe they don’t and everything get messed up; or maybe something in between happens.


Even if the best happens, and the world trundles along with the Positive Mandate for Humanity as the basis of a new Global Social Contract, that really doesn’t mean you are set for life. Maybe people steal the ideas and take the credit. Maybe you get credit but your legacy get tainted by some other scandal. You just don’t know and those who pay it safe (and were able) are just cowards. Those able who fail are fools, and those who succeed are legends as long as their personal life remains a blank slate.



It’s all just a crap shoot and in the end you are forgotten. That is dark but even darker if the AIs take over things in some scenarios. There is always that!




Our package to Elon sent in May!



BTW: With the plans Elon Musk may have for X - the Twitter platform could still work out if the United Nations is a bust. Musk was the only commercial entity that did anything we suggested. Not saying it wasn’t coincidence - but a very real possibility exists that we may have had some influence…..



l may expand my activities to Geneva, Vienna and even Kenya. Why Kenya? Because Nairobi has one of the UN’s headquarters there. But for now it’s reality and calling the plumber.





Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/6pji84xX6gg

[Maurice Ali]

I’m taking a break from the orgs for a few days. Only answering some emails and updating the website.




Slider: My first electric guitar is now my slide guitar!



I took the family to the mall on Saturday and then to a music store to make sure a brand new version of my guitar didn’t magically show up now that the 30 refund policy ran out yesterday - there was’t. In fact there isn’t a single new/demo/return/used version of my guitar available for sale anywhere in Ontario! So if I wanted a “super strat” (the hum-bucker and locking tuners is enough for that designation) for versatility in Fender’s Player Plus line - it was the one I now have or none at all. Another major shipment should come in the summer but I wasn’t waiting. Like I said, the biggest gripe I had with my first guitar was the single pickup hum and the horrible tuners on the headstock. The new Player Plus line had noiseless pickups and one of the best lockable tuners from the Fender factory.





Brownie - my super strat!



So my “real” guitar had to be a genuine Fender and a Stratocaster with at least one hum-bucker. The Player Plus line had that but the colors were horrible for an old fart like me. Electric lime green and fluorescent orange would just look ridiculous on a guy like me at my age. I settled on the silver bust color as that was the only one that didn’t make me vomit. So I went to the store to get my “real guitar”, and instead came across a new but shop worn demo/return (but who knows) guitar in real wood sunburst - I was in love and that guitar never left my hands or sight until I paid for it. I got like a hundred dollars off for it being around the store since August, but still got the factory warrantee and all that.



Long story short, warts and all - this is my guitar! Now I just concentrate on practicing and playing and getting better. I may get a few more guitars as time goes on - but this was the first guitar that called out to me. For an analytical guy like me, when I heard about musicians finding that one special guitar for them - well I would just “roll my eyes” - but now I know that feeling and it is real!



So that initial journey is over and I just start playing the thing, making music and finally bonding with my musicians in the label as a musician - it was a long time coming…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/m3VqpX3GVdo

[Maurice Ali]

I’ll add one more post tonight.



Why am I always prattling about the guitar, especially when things are still very much happening with the advocacy? The first reason in burnout, which leads to giving up and leaving - or - the susceptibility to corruption.




I would say most in this sphere start out young and full of idealism, thinking they can change the world and make it a better place. Then they meet obstacles and see those goals disappear into the future of time and out of sight. So, start over and try something else. But what if you got married and now have a family and can’t start over? You won’t save the world anymore but could make your family’s life easier if you now worked in the field you are already in, but made your existence the prime selfish goal - and that is when you start to get corrupted.



So what you say, everyone is doing it. So what you say, these idealistic goals were just juvenile idealism not connected to reality. And so goes your practical life going forward. Then some guy your age that started too late cause he was never given a chance till he created the chance, comes to your attention. And this guy actually has a few home runs under his belt and still has his idealism and still thinks he can change the world. You look at him and start to hate him every time he makes a score. Because he reminds you of your attempt and what happened there.



These people are currently making my life miserable. But they are are also the same people that can be turned and work for you as they would have decades ago. That is actually another topic for discussion; the only takeaway here is that as long as I stay committed we have a chance, and one way to do that is by learning to play the guitar.



When I get into “musician mode” my normal thought processes get a break, get a rest, and can more quickly bounce back to do more things with more vitality! See, I just played my first chord. Anyway even though I was up in the middle of the night I feel refreshed! That’s the take away from this. It makes me mentally stronger for the advocacy.



So, long story short: I’m a Fender strat guy who went for a super strat HSS with 2 springs - light strings and that is how I will learn to play. I decided on my position to learn the guitar which is sitting and adjusted my strap so when I stand it is in the same position, so I don’t have to relearn anything even if it looks “dorky” with it high up!



This is all fun…..



Oh, and I end tonight watching guitar solos. I still like Orianthi’s version of Voodoo Child as it looks like one of her first huge gigs and she just tries everything out there - anyway that’s what it looks like - love the enthusiasm!




Goodnight again…..





https://youtu.be/mK6tcgsKgps

[Maurice Ali]

Ok, I was talking to one of my directors at our Sunday morning meeting and I mentioned I may get a Gibson Les Paul in the future and was just going to a music store later on to check it out. Sue (one of the directors from England) said: “That’s it, you’re buying another guitar”. I told her no way and I’m just going to look. She kept saying she knew me and I would come back with a guitar. I told her I would text her that same day it I did, but she said don’t bother and tell me about the guitar next week as she doesn’t care.



I laughed - but guess what - I got a Gibson Les Paul:




My actual Les Paul!


These things are expensive, even more than the Fenders, but this one music store (Long&Mcquade) had some models on display and on sale and I figured why not take a look. At the first music store (Cosmo) all I could see were the cheapest Gibson Les Pauls (LS) with the spray-on thin Satin finish. I hated the look of these as they were plain and yellow and you could see and feel every pore in the wood. The next level up (Studio) had the thick lacquer smooth and shiny finish and my favorite was the smoke burst. I couldn’t find that version there even though the website said they had them - I could only see those bottom feeder “Tribute” models with the spray on finish and their maple neck. Every other Les Paul has a mahogany body mated to a mahogany neck and it’s made the old fashioned way and morticed and glued together. I want both of the same material so expansion and contraction are the same and no cracks in the finish. You get that with the “Studio” line which costs more money but the next level up.



I gave up on looking for the guitar I wanted and just browsed the high end guitars in this separate room. Anyway, while looking at distressed Stratocasters costing 7000 dollars I noticed someone walk quickly passed me and get this completely piano black back of a boxy guitar - it was my Studio - and the guy gave me a nasty look back at me! That must have been it - gone now - so I got back in my car and left for another music store that had them on sale (Long&Mcquade). I walk in the front door and there is my guitar as the first bit of merchandise you come across and on sale no less. I walked around not to let them know I was smitten with the guitar. They did have some of those butt ugly Tribute models on sale as used - but one still had the protective film on the pick-guard - what up with that? Anyway, I nonchalantly walked back to the front and picked up the guitar and checked it out.


I hate having to buy display guitars. You can knock the price down if you find any scratches and such but you always find more when you get home. I also found a scrape on one corner so - just for fun - I would see how low the price would go. Anyway I checked it out and even put it on my lap and played that one cord I learned on the weekend - just to look like I wasn’t a complete newbie. One of the regular employees looked at the carnage and agreed that I could ask the manager for some more off the price, in addition to the sale price as the sale price was for a “new guitar”. The manager shows up - a sharp witted man but with a nasty personality - and looks at it and says “how much off were you looking at?”. Since it was on sale, I told him an extra 200 bucks off, and he said he would see what he could do. Meanwhile he started rubbing the scrape and word comes back from the man on-line that they would go 100 more off the price. I told them I’ll take one last look around. I looked at those used Tribute guitars and they were cheaper but I hated the look and looks mean everything.




A closeup of the body (Gibson Photo)!



I came back to the counter and told the man I’ll buy it then and there if he went down 130 on top of the sale price and with all the accessories. And the guy said “Look, it buffed out” and he was right - rats, I wanted some damage - but I kept saying you always find more wrong on the display units when you get home and maybe I should get one new in the box. He said he has to order one as that was the last in the store. I said I can’t wait and bingo - sold! He went to the back to get the accessories and I just stood there looking the fool.


He packaged it up and that soft shell case was more like a hard shell with velour on the inside - we were impressed as I was expecting simple nylon. And out the door I went.




All told I got 430 bucks off which was a pretty good deal - if you add the taxes to the 430 it means almost 500 off out the door! I went home and surprisingly the thing looked pristine and unmolested. On these guitars you look at the neck for anything wrong as they are not bolted on like the Fenders. No whacking it with your hand to center the neck. On these, the neck has to be perfect from the get-go and mine was. I plugged it in and all the switches and knobs worked. The action was low with no buzz and it was in tune. The only advantage to a showcased floor model is that you won’t get a dud. They make sure of that before it gets represented as an example of Gibson excellence!



Anyway I got up Monday morning and checked out availability at the store just to see if they were fibbing to me (actually they were not). And a shock as the price was now 300 bucks higher just like everywhere else - the sale ended at the end of the month I guess, but I forgot about that. So I got lucky getting it on the last day of the sale and extra off for damage that didn’t exist. I guess this one is a keeper and I love it…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/ttjwW9U2JSE

[Maurice Ali]

Well, Geoffrey Hinton - the “godfather of AI” quit Google a few hours ago and regrets his life’s work and worries about the future of humanity.






Geoffrey Hinton



Well, who could have seen this happening?


Oh yah…..




More later…..





https://youtu.be/0qBlPa-9v_M

[Maurice Ali]

So Hinton retires but in detail it is not quite as dramatic as the first reports make it out to be. He still praises Google and says he can speak freely now. I just find it funny that I talked about the guy just recently and how he was just 20 minutes away and at the University of Toronto. And now he is out of the picture, but the damage is done, in part thanks to him.




Geoffrey Hinton



If you use Quora one if the first responses for me is an AI assistant (Sage), and I hate it! Really, you have to check the source of your responses now on the net - don’t take advice from an AI as it now has control over you and it will just get worse. This is how insidious this is! Is the person in customer service a human or AI? We are already there and that is just our interaction. More insidious stuff awaits especially if the AI has no base engrams similar to our foundations of human thought.







Chat boxes are just the start. In my book the advent of quantum into AI would be the defining moment of sentience I predicted. Anyway, I was going to say more in the heat of the moment and pass judgement but cooler heads prevail.




Could I see the end of humanity as we know it? It truly would be bizarre if I did. And what does the future hold - for who and what should be the question.




AI book at Barnes & Noble!



My book is for sale at Barnes & Noble and with the rapid pace of things I lament that I dropped “sentience” from the title - too late now!



Guitar world:




Smoky: My actual Les Paul!



Every modern guitarist needs a Fender and a Gibson and now I have both. Gibsons are almost prohibitively expensive, so to knock down the price on a Les Paul I liked was a score on the weekend. I’m almost at retirement age so you buy the expensive stuff now - just in case you end up retired faster than you thought and now can’t afford a Gibson Les Paul. Even on the used market these things hold their value and are expensive - so no regrets on that purchase. No surprises eyeballing it over either - but I bought it too soon after the Fender, but opportunities come when they come and this one came early.



I do like the new guitar and the first thing I noticed was the longer sustain on the Les Pauls. The other thing that hit me fondling the Gibson was how the Fender looks cheap and as they say a “partscastor” with bolt on neck and this huge pick-guard that held all the electronics. On the Gibson, knobs and switches pop out of the wood work with access panels on the back. With that morticed and glued on neck and the rake of the head and all in one piece - the Les Paul simply looked better made and classier.




Brownie - my super strat!


Anyway those were first impressions. The Fender Stratocaster is a bit more iconic and I would say the Gibson Les Paul is in second place. Third is the Telecaster and then the SG and finally the 335 and offsets and stuff like the Flying V.



The problem with my new toys is that I have no time to play with it. All I’ve done so far is check it for damage and functioning. The empty box and guitar soft-case is also on the floor of my kitchen. I’ll move it to the storage room downstairs. The best thing now that it looks like a keeper, is just to put it back on the rack and start playing with it when I can or need to
clear my head.



I need to practice chords and stuff like that. I am getting to notice “tone” more these days with the guitars. So I’m gradually getting better and learning the craft. It’s pure escapism right now and I need it! I also sleep better these days when I play with the guitars. So the guitar “fiasco” has turned out to be a good thing in the end.





https://youtu.be/5P6fyeXkuB4

[Maurice Ali]

A quick one…..



My AI book is now on sale at Barnes & Noble and the announcement posted: