Tuesday, September 16, 2025

table of contents

i hope everything i'm writing here is just garbage because one of the things that make me sad is when something VALUABLE gets WASTED. so if what i'm writing here is not valuable, it can't be wasted therefore there is nothing for me to worry about.

top articles

https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2025/09/common-sense-movement.html
https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/08/why-i-dont-have-thousands-of-ducklings.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2021/05/cebu-beach-resort-hack.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/04/my-street-cred.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/apple-falling-far-from-the-tree.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/03/picking-up-chicks-for-uglies.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/02/biographical-expose-on-evils-of-capitalism.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/11/tech-innovations-by-a-dummy.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/04/knowledge-bomb-on-self-esteem.html (photos and videos)
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-last-top-40-countdown.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-hazardous-golf-swing.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2012/11/right-wing-transformation.html

health and safety


investing and finance

     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/06/investing-for-dummies.html     
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/08/oracle-of-cebu.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/08/gold.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/08/refinance-catch.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/09/once-in-a-milenia-opportunity.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/you-may-be-burning-120k.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2012/01/cheapest-and-easiest-way-to-withdraw-from-your-US-acct.html


politics     

     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/politics-for-dummies.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-logical-debate-hell-has-frozen-over.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/chomsky.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/propaganda-scapegoat-of-the-left.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/stealing-from-your-grandkids.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/inborn-aptitudes-and-standards.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/it-is-ok-to-kill-socialists.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/democracy-is-overrated.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/socialism-demystified.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/04/iphone-originated-from-libertarian-socialism.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/04/thank-god-filipinos-are-prostitutes.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/12/frexit.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/11/pedigree-knowledge-bomb-on-open-borders.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/10/social-justice-warrior-without-agenda-baggage.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/09/thou-shall-not-post-political-opinions.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/07/conscience.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/07/unorthodox-perspectives-on-arrest-of-up-protesters.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-to-re-open-abs-cbn.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/02/dutertes-honest-mistake.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/stupidity-is-not-obsolete.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/08/trillanes.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/08/gut-wrenching-ejk.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/04/rare-perspectives-on-extra-judicial-killings.html                          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2016/12/incompetent-battle-commander.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/10/dear-mayor-duterte.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2014/10/objective-opinions-on-pnoy.html  
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/super-typhoon-retrospective.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/08/pork-barrel-scam.html       
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-to-get-your-share-of-200-billion.html

   

US politics

          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2022/10/black-adam.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/03/my-new-deal.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/leftists-mock-tiger-woods.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/state-developed-tech-lefts-worthless-trophy.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/rare-perspectives-on-huawei-issue.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/hamiltons-american-dream.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/ode-to-the-left.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/04/deconstructing-us-imperialism.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/04/dont-greece-the-hand.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/tony-stark-has-a-heart.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/01/my-trump-jokes.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/12/knowledge-bombs-on-us-immigration-issue.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/08/secret-friendship-of-dinesh-and-obama.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/12/brain-dead-ideologues.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/10/education-racket.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/09/united-states-of-libertarians.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/08/its-not-the-president-stupid.html   
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/08/taste-of-socialism.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/06/liberals-who-cried-wolf.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/02/why-i-dont-think-america-can-be-great.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/02/more-analysis-on-trumps-travel-ban.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/01/leftists-harming-the-palestinians.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/01/communication-pros-my-ass.html
          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/05/healthcareorg-retrospective.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/02/sir-matteo-and-mar-roxas.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/10/homelessness.html    
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/01/scorned-heroes.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/07/underrated-abilities.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-juramentado-knowledge-bomb.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2016/03/all-men-are-pigs.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/07/pakisama.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-endorphin-management-theory.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/family-conflict-resolution-for-dummies.html

   

philosophy and religion

          https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2021/07/if-you-are-an-animal-lover-eat-animals.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/03/stupid-tvs-and-stupid-scientists.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/01/apple-hates-old-people.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/10/social-prestige-of-wiki-collaboration.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/10/all-you-need-to-know-about-ntsc-or-pal.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/08/how-to-arrange-photos-in-iphone.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/03/removing-exes-of-huelar-virus-demo-on.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2016/12/efficient-way-of-creating-itunes-playlists.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/03/t61-repair-tips-and-techniques.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-make-vista-the-fastest-os.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/01/trying-out-applie-icloud.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2014/07/i-smile-when-my-iphone-or-laptop-is-gone.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/cool-habbits-for-information-age.html


home and auto

     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2022/09/testing-parasitic-drain-on-car-battery.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/08/bzigo-knowledge-bomb.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-untie-rice-sack.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/03/saved-10k-on-underground-gas-leak-repair.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/03/amazing-mazda5-versatility.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/02/low-beam-headlight-bulb-replacement.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/02/changing-in-cabin-filter-of-2007-mazda-5.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/02/checking-automatic-transmission-fluid.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/08/vacuum-your-split-aircon-system.html
     https://reyondit.blogspot.com/2019/06/lahug-repairs.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/06/prolong-your-life-by-organizing.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-mini-life-hacks.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-avoid-paint-splatter.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2018/10/knowledge-bomb-about-heat-energy.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/03/diy-replacing-the-sway-bar-bushings-on-my-mazda5.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/03/diy-automatic-gate-opener.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-ultimate-diy-replacing-my-ac.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-uber-xmas-gift.html


sports

     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/04/barrio-golf.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/01/maroon-500.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/01/star-wars-hover-bike.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/05/ian-and-steph-curry.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2014/05/san-antonio-spurs-is-most-impressive.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/12/counter-intuitive-snowboarding-tip.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/05/true-greatness.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweetest-victory-in-history-of-sports.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/07/pointed-toe-kick-in-soccer.html


movies

     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2017/07/thrones-concerns_19.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2015/11/tribute-to-world-trade-center-twin-towers.html
     https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/siskel-and-ebert-and-paeng-wannabee.html


misc

    https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/05/birthday-message-for-dear-friend.html
    https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2011/10/foodbookcom-mark-suckerberg-wannabee.html
    https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/misc-knowledge-cluster-bombs.html

i enjoy writing for my imaginary readers. also it allows my consciousness or a virtual part of me to exist and float in cyberspace long after i'm gone. anyone can read my blog and it's like they are talking to me. it's just a 1 way conversation but my blog attempts to anticipate the responses and addresses them. whether my blog is good or bad, useful or useless, life has taught me these things don't really matter. i won't trade it for the world.

but the biggest reason why i write is:

just in case it might help someone

when someone reads my blog, IT DOES NOT BENEFIT ME. my mom told me to shorten my writings so that people will read it. i told her if i shorten my writings, it will be incomplete and useless. she said but at least people will read it. i told her the reason why i write is: just in case it might help someone. if i have a charismatic personality or i have a high status in society and i'm admired by lots of people, then i can help people by writing a few words of inspiration and cliches. i can even just post in facebook, "i'm sleepy, goodnight everyone" and it will lift up the spirits of hundreds of friends and family who are going through difficulties. it will get hundreds of likes and spark long pleasant conversations. 

solutions to problems are just as important as words of comfort and motivation. i'm just a moron but i think maybe complicated problems require solutions that require lots and lots of words to describe. an uneducated vegetable vendor in the slums will need to say lots of words to albert einstein warning him of the dangers if he uses the toilet in the dangerous slum. and maybe give directions to a restroom in a safer area. the uneducated vegetable vendor may need to describe various options such as having a cop or tanod accompany him for a small tip. or if einstein just wants to urinate, maybe he can just pee behind the trees. 

when my friends tell me they will only read my writings if i shorten it, that would be like einstein telling the vegetable vendor "i will only listen to you if you use only a few words". i know i'm a bad writer. i have poor grammar and spelling. but not reading what i write COULD be like einstein refusing to listen to the uneducated vegetable vendor because the vegetable vendor has poor grammar. it's not the vegetable vendor who will get mugged or stabbed if einstein does not listen. not all important information in this world are written in books and scientific journals. maost china was governed by a council of experts, each with multiple phd's, who were dedicated to helping their country. yet their decisions lead to millions dying in famine. but when they dispersed the decision making to the uneducated farmers, productivity improved and there was no more famine.

i understand human nature precludes us from listening or following people who don't have likeable personalities regardless of the merits of their message. 4 years before the covid-19 pandemic, bill gates was going around warning the world that a very deadly pandemic has a very high probability of happening and we only need to spend less than $100 million to build the infrastructure around the world that can immediately stop the virus in it's tracks (you can search his speeches in youtube). bill gates is not likeable maybe because of his dorky look. if bill gates had a likeable personality like clinton or obama, enough people would have listened to him and covid-19 would not have been able to spread. but then again, it was not bill gates who died or suffered the loss of a love one due to covid. but maybe all the sufferings from covid was still less painful compared to the pain of having to listen or follow an unlikeable person like bill gates. 

if you say my writings are too long, a taxi driver would say the same thing about college - 4 years is too long. well sure you could shorten an engineering degree to a 2 year vocational but it won't make you an engineer. my writings are actually too short relative to it's POTENTIAL value in people's lives. example, with my political writings, you spend 1 hour reading but save thousands of hours that would have been wasted watching CNN and fox news that only deteriorates your spirit and makes your soul dark and angry. of course my writings are not for everyone, just like college is not for everyone.

i'm not saying my writings are great. what i'm saying is, it's not the length or even the writing skills that matter. it's the value of the message. there is no such thing as a free lunch. great rewards can only come with great sacrifices. a college degree requires 4 years. if you want to become a better person in terms of political views and expression, you need to spend some time and effort reading my blog. we don't learn by facts alone. we need to feel it and the only way to feel something is to know the context or background which can take long for me to illustrate with words. humans don't act according to facts and knowledge alone. humans act according to feelings or emotions. serial killers know murder is wrong but they can't help it. our political views mostly comes from emotions yet we pretend our political views are based on our knowledge and logic.

i regularly update the articles as time goes by. so for example, i might mention an event that happened in 2020 in a 2014 article.

common sense movement


-----------  11/8/2025 facebook post -------

Common Sense Movement
by ian crystal 11/8/2025

i'm feeling very HOPEFUL because there are brilliant solutions to our flooding problem that are gaining popularity and traction such as the need for reforestation and a comprehensive plan. it is important that we all continue to express our feelings and ideas in social media. it is much better to post something that is stupid than stay QUIET. i believe in freedom of speech and just allow public scrutiny to filter out the best ideas. so here's my 2 cents: 

first, answer this question: if an UNKNOWN professor with a humble STATUS in society saw the potential problem 5 years ago and sounded the alarm that cebu city is vulnerable to disastrous flooding, ran for elected office and kept shouting in his/her speeches that cebu city needs to spend a lot of money building infrastructure to prevent floods, would you have voted for that professor? of course not. what have you done to cure the cancers of our society? example, everyone knows vote buying is an accepted norm during elections. did you ever do anything to stop the tradition of vote buying? i admit i'm partly to blame for our societal woes.

we should stop focusing on political candidates. we should focus on ideas and solutions. instead of supporting political candidates, you should support ideas and solutions and force political candidates to fight over who can best achieve your ideas and solutions. politicians should be the cocks in the cockfight. right now, we are the cocks in the cockfight. no disrespect to the politicians because manny pacquiao is also like a cock in a cockfight when he fights.

political activism is USELESS if you only focus on political candidates and blurt out slogans that are too general to be useful. you should find and support SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound) solutions to the problems. then organize a group (which can easily grow via acebook groups) and in ONE VERY POWERFUL VOICE convince ALL CANDIDATES to support your solutions. then you support candidates who support your solutions and demonize candidates who don't support your solutions. the 2016 presidential elections in the US and Philippines have proven this theory.

don't get me wrong. i actually feel the FUTURE IS BRIGHT for our society. why? because for the first time we are finally angry and complaining. that means we are probably willing to change our bad habbits. what we need to do is actually REALISTIC and ACHIEVABLE. 

before i humbly suggest the solutions, be aware it would be stupid for anyone to tell you to vote for the right person. even if you vote for that flood expert professor, how in the world can anyone know that professor is not a scam artist? even if someone has a good track record of competence and integrity, you just need to glance at history to realize a good person will mostly become a bad person once they are in power. the most brutal dictators used to be saints before they came into power. just read george orwell's "ANIMAL FARM". but don't generalize politicians because i personally know politicians who are not corrupt and are simply dedicating their life to helping society.

GTD

one solution we should try to look into is "TRUST BUT VERIFY". we now have the technologies for government transprency, which makes it very difficult for corruption to occur. all government transactions in all levels of government should simply be logged to a central database. let's call it GTD (Government Transparency Database). 

all money coming in and coming out should be logged to GTD together with their complete details, such as who the money is going to and where it is coming from (e.g. taxes). the database is accessible by the public via READ ONLY permissions. anyone can develop a script or app that can inspect and mine the database for potential fraud. the database should be an ISOLATED module and should not affect the operation of any government system if it goes down. congress should pass a law that REWARDS, honors, and protects WHISTLEBLOWERS who expose any doctoring of the data or any corruption.

CSM

what you need to do is simple: join the group i just created in facebook called "CSM common sense movement". it's not really a political party because we will endorse all political candidate who supports our advocacies. our goal is for all candidates from different parties to support our common sense causes. we simply post in the facebook group their speeches, posts and videos pledging support for our common sense causes and what their plans and strategies are to achieve our goals.

NO DONATIONS. i won't accept any donation. i will resign from this movement once it gains traction because i'm sure there are many people more competent than me that can carry our platform to greater heights. i hate starting this movement because if our causes become successful, CSM might become famous and adopted by other countries. filipinos will be glorified and praised all over the world, which makes me feel UNCOMFORTABLE. i'm not a good person.

MAFHA

filipinos have a problem way way bigger than floods - there is a SILENT EPIDEMIC way worse than covid that is killing the filipinos - heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc ... - the solution is SIMPLE, CHEAP, ACHIEVABLE, AND REALISTIC. it also makes filipinos happier and energetic. it's just information or awareness campaign. just read my blog article. just append .com to ian-crystal.blogspot and click "make-filipinos-healthy-again" (MAFHA) in the table of contents. no need for government to pass new laws or regulations. it is very easy for anyone to help. example, if you are rich, you can buy or plant avocados and distribute frozen avocados in plastic tubes (the ones used to sell ice) for free in schools. this will make people realize frozen avocado can be a full meal that gives you energy for many hours and very good for your health. you can start or join the "malunggay bouquet challenge". you can use your creativity to add to my list of keto dishes that's affordable to filipinos masses. if you have a magnetic personality, you can start a youtube channel that promotes the ideas in my mafha blog and even come up with your own ideas. you can even start your own club, organization, or movement. you can learn all the science you need to know by going to the "diary of a ceo" yt channel and watching the videos in the playlist: "a full guide to optimal health & fitness".

IMPROVEMENTS TO ESTATE TAX LAWS

IT IS IMMORAL AND UNJUST FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO DEMAND TAXES EVEN IF THE MONEY DOES NOT EXIST YET. the citizen should pay taxes only when the MONEY EXISTS, whether through salary, business income, or sale of a property. that's just common sense. my proposal will generate more revenues for the government, and prevent bereaving heirs from being tortured by the BIR. the easy transfer of inheritance can help spur ECONOMIC GROWTH which elevates the living standards of all filipinos. my friend jun ledres, who is a regional directory of NEDA even gave up on the properties of his parents because he can't stand the sufferings he has to go through to pay the estate taxes. the solution is actually very simple and easy. just read my blog article. just append .com to ian-crystal.blogspot and click "the-estate-tax-law-tortures-the-bereaving-heirs" in the table of contents. also read the "philippine-doge" article.

PART TIME OPPORTUNITY LAW

i have other proposals. example is the "part time opportunity law". click "part-time-opportunity-law" in the table of contents of my blog to learn more.

you can share your own ideas and proposals in the CSM facebook group page.


-------------------- ORIGINAL POST -------------------------



news flash: ISKOLARS NG BAYAN INFORMING EVERYONE THAT CORRUPTION IS BAD.

it would be stupid to just shout slogans that are too general to be useful. if we call for the resignation of corrupt leaders, filipino masses are aware that leaders who are not corrupt also don't have the BIG BALLS to go against low level evils that make the poor filipino people suffer directly such as the tanim bala syndicates at the airport. i suggest "GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY and EFFICIENCY" as our slogan. the hearings on flood control ghost projects simply teaches corrupt people what not to do next time. flood control is just a tiny part of government responsibility and if the floods did not happen the corruption would not have been exposed. corruption related to flood control is probably only less than 1% of the corruption that is currently going on. we should call on the top computer scientists and engineers in our country to volunteer their time and effort to develop systems that make all government transactions transparent. 

let's wait for a psychopath to figure out this idea and be the next hero to the filipino masses. after my books and youtube channels are completed, i will talk to the top leaders in our country to propose my ideas that i think will improve the lives and even save the lives of millions of filipinos. it's usually bad people who think outside the box and compensate for their imperfections while good people don't feel the need to do anything extra. psychopaths will rule this world while good people shout slogans that are too general to be useful.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)

Friday, November 29, 2024

what you need to know about iphone backup and theft deterrence


about "find my" iphone:

ICLOUD needs to be on for "find my" to be on. 

if your iphone is LOST, go to any pc, log in to icloud.com and mark your iphone as "lost" in "find my". nobody can turn off "find my", erase, or re-install the iphone without your PASSWORD. so your iphone will be useless to anyone without your password. you can make your iphone display a message offering a reward and your contact info when it connects to the internet. you can make the iphone play a sound in case it's just misplaced. 

it is common to have MULTIPLE icloud accounts. if you can't see your iphone listed in "find my", try logging in to your other icloud accounts.

example, i used to have 2 icloud accounts - 1 for my main phone and another for my vlogging (camera) phones. my reason was a NOTEPAD with the same name in my vlogging phone used to overwrite the one in my main phone. but apple already fixed this. now, if i create a notepad with the same name in my vlogging phone, there will simply be 2 notepads having the same name in icloud and all my phones after the autosync.

about iphone to pc backup

you can MANAGE (view and delete) all your iphone backups in apple devices/manage backups (in the old days, backups were managed in itunes/edit/preferences).

everything is backed up EXCEPT MUSIC/songs. 

backup TIME and SPACE requirements:  42gb used storage (excluding music) took 18 minutes and 15gb of space on pc, restore took 28 minutes. 

before RESTORING: you need to remove all photos and apps because restore needs a lot of free storage space for the temporary files. 

(obsolete) if itunes says you need to update the ios version, do not do it via itunes. disconnect from itunes and update directly from internet to the phone (although this is moot because backup/restore is now done in "apple devices" app).

about iphone to icloud backup:

each icloud account has its own 5gb free icloud STORAGE. i only use 5% of my 5gb free storage because i only backup my text messages, notepads, contacts, calendar, and reminders to icloud. my text messages since 2007 is only 267mb. amazing !!! i don't need to backup my photos and videos to icloud because i post them to social media. i also keep a copy in my pc. therefore, i have 3 copies. if i backup my photos and videos to icloud, that would make it 4 copies which is overkill and a waste of money buying 100GB extra storage space. 

you CONTROL which apps sync to icloud in settings/<your name>/icloud. i disable the syncing of my photos to icloud to makes sure there is always enough space for the important data (e.g. notepads, text messages and contacts). it also prevents me from getting the annoying "icloud almost full" messages.

to be able to backup your text messages to icloud and send/receive photos via text message, your icloud account and IMESSAGE account name and password should be the same. there's a bug where sometimes, you can't change the imessage account. the solution is to turn off imessage in settings and restart the phone.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)

Monday, August 26, 2024

it is silly to compare du30 to ninoy

ninoy is much smarter than du30. it's not even close. there was less risk for ninoy to fight marcos because if marcos kills ninoy then there was a good chance the people will revolt. ninoy had some sort of insurance. when du30 started to fight the drug lords du30 was just a nobody so if the drug lords killed him there would be no consequence for the drug lords. most likely marcos will only kill ninoy but the drug lords could have easily massacred du30's entire family. if ninoy succeeded it was CLEAR the rewards would be so great he would surely have become the next president. when du30 started to fight the drug lords he did not know at that time of the possible big rewards. if du30 is really smart, he should just have just taken the bribes from the drug lords.

ninoy's fight for freedom and democracy was also a much more lofty goal compared to du30's goals. after the 1986 revolution, there was less corruption and people were able to vote for who they really wanted such as erap. du30 simply demoted the drug lords from tyrant kings of the slums to friendly businessmen. if you are an OFW who came home one day only to find out you can't allow your precious child to live in your house because he might harm you or steal from you, that's your fault. if you were worried your beautiful daughter will be seduced by untouchable drug lords, that's also your fault. you should have studied hard in school so you can get out of the slums and buy a house in a more secured condo or subdivision.

(if you want icecream for your brain, listen to those who agrees with you. if you want bitter vegetables for your brain, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" title at the top of this article and click on any article that interests you.)

BBM is very happy

BBM is the HAPPIEST man in the world right now. when he went to davos, he had no choice but to sign up to the program the world's powerful elites offered him. if he did not sign up, the "machine" of the world elites would have sabotaged and ruined his presidency which is very bad for the philippines. bbm knew he is not popular and savvy enough to outmanuever the "machine" so he signed up to the program for the good of the country and also self preservation or else another mt manunggal diosdado macapagal plane crash or JFK/RFK or richard nixon would have happened to him. so bbm is doing everything the world's powerful elites is asking him to do and at the same time hoping the plan of the powerful elites would fail. and that's what is happening right now. it's a brilliant chess move by bbm. he is banking on the fact that the "machine" has weakened ever since the cold war ended. 

during the cold war, the "machine" had lots of TALENT because they were fighting a true evil - communism. talents are good people. talents only do bad things if it's necessary for the overall good. so the talents in the free world simply went to the private sector after the cold war, causing an explosion in technological advancement and economic growth since the cold war ended. 

nowadays, the "machine" does not have enough talent to stop anti-establishment REVOLUTIONS all over the world. duterte, trump, elon musk, kamala, tim walz, and the arab spring caught them off guard. it's amazing how CNN and NBC are firing silent indirect hits on kamala (maybe because she and walz refuses to be their puppet). they can't stop the anti-establishment revolutions going on in canada and europe. whistleblowers are propping up all over the place. a whistleblower just revealed that the "machine" was spying on former democrat star tulsi gabbard (maybe so they can quickly orchestrate a "plane crash" or "accident" in case she became too popular). the machine failed badly in trying to turn mindanao into another syria when they sent their ISIS agents to marawi in 2017. they were not smart enough to know respect for elders is also very strong in the filipino muslim's spirit, which allowed the hostages to escape (and also there is no oil in mindanao). trump's assassin was "coincidentally" in a blackrock commercial just recently in 2023. blackrock is the financial arm of the "machine". 

what is happening in DAVAO right now is just another natural reaction or push back to the manipulations by the "machine". the protesters in davao won't even know or understand anything that i just wrote here.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" title at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest. for more on this issue, click the black-adam article.)

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

how to mirror your pc music folders to iphone playlists

if you have an "apple music" SUBSCRIPTION, you can just sync your songs and playlists from your old phone to your new phone. but if your old phone does not mirror the music folders on your pc, continue reading. 

i accidentally upgraded the IOS in my iphone. as usual, i immediately knelt down and prayed to god almighty that i would only waste 1 day of my life finding WORKAROUNDS for my favorite features that i'm sure will be removed in the newest IOS and not 1 week. my prayers were answered. only 1 day of my life was wasted. as usual, the workaround cannot be found in the internet so i'm adding it to my blog.

in the OLD IOS, i mirrored my pc music folders by connecting my iphone to itunes, creating the playlist on my iphone, deleting the entire itunes song library, importing a music folder containing HUNDREDS of songs to the library, selecting the entire library and drag and drop it to the playlist on the iphone, then deleting the entire library again, then repeating the process for the other folders.

with the NEW IOS, you can't connect your iphone to itunes anymore. you need to install 2 apps: "apple devices" and "apple music". you need to create and fill ALL your playlists in apple music then sync everything to your iphone using apple devices. you cannot transfer piecemeal or playlist by playlist. this means you can't have different iphones having different playlists. any song in your iphone that is not in your apple music library in the pc will be deleted. but that's ok i can live with that since 128gb iphone 8's and 11's are very cheap in ebay nowadays.

praise the lord i discovered the workaround in just 1 day and not 1 week. go to apple music and delete all songs in the library. then add a "DATE ADDED" column by right clicking the header and choosing "date added". click the "date added" heading so it will sort from newest to oldest (arrow pointing down). then do the following for each playlist:

1) add a music folder to the library by clicking the "..." at the upper left corner of the app then choose "library/add folder to library".
2) add the playlist in the left pane by clicking "+".
3) select the songs you just added and drag and drop it to the playlist
4) wait at least 1 minute to make sure the next folder you add will have a different time stamp
5) repeat the above process. the key here is you use the time stamp in the "date added" column to know which songs belong to the folder you just added.

next, connect your iphone to your pc and in apple devices, simply SYNC your music library to your iphone. click "skip backup" a few times until it skips the backup. you can sync just a playlist, but the problem is it will delete all other playlists on your phone. meaning you can't just add a playlist. you can only replace the entire library on your phone with a playlist. so don't get excited when you see the "selected ... playlists" option. that's just apple engineers teasing you and setting you up for a huge disappointment. 

you can add a playlist LOCALLY on your iphone and it will be added to the music library in your pc when you sync (that's why it's called "sync" and not "transfer").

(you might also wanna read my article "what you need to know about iphone BACKUP and theft deterrence". search "ian's knowledge bombs" in the internet and click the article in the table of contents.)

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)

tramph is stoopid


tramph is stoopid because he does not know kristians don't really mind if anyone performs a play about a gey djisus or makes a mockery about the last sapper.

i just watched this video by alternatino about open borders and it was very funny and spot on. it shows tramph is stoopid because he is acting as if meksikan children are just as valuable as wayt children. the truth is that only wayt people are valuable. tramph does not know that it is ok for thousands of meksikan gerls entering the boarder to be reyped by the coyotes.

besides, only 1% of meksikan children entering the boarder are reyped. 1% is a very small number. that's like saying he won't ride an airplane if 1% of airplanes crash. 1% is a very small number. he is just offending the people in the airline industry because he is generalizing that all airplanes crash. maybe he is just trying to wake people up to take a look at what really is going on at the boarder. but there really is nothing bad happening at the boarder because only 1% of gerls entering the boarder are reyped and they are not wayt gerls.

if you want icecream for your brain, listen to people who agree with you. if you want bitter vegetables for your brain, search "ian's knowledge bombs" in the internet and click "you-are-maga" in the table of contents.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)

Monday, January 22, 2024

microcharts in thinkorswim



facebook post:

this is very funny !!! websites and businesses usually compete to offer the best services and technology to their users. but the financial world is going the opposite direction. the big guys in wall street have finally woken up to my strategy which i wrote in my blog. to go to my blog, just append .com to the following: ian-crystal.blogspot. the big guys realized an average individual investor can EASILY beat their performance. so they keep removing the key features or tools in their websites that is essential to my strategy. what's really funny is there are many pajama traders like me who also discovered my strategy on their own and are complaining in reddit why the tools are being taken down FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. it only proves we were not just lucky. our strategy really works and is lethal to the big guys. it also proves there is a kabal or conspirancy because the features and tools are taken down in all the other brokerage firms and websites. HAHAHAHAHAHA !!! first they removed the ability to display 100 small charts in yahoo all at once which you can just scroll down. then they removed the microcharts feature in ameritrade/schwab. but too bad for them i found a way in thinkorswim to simulate microcharts. the setup is very tedious but you only need to do it once. just click "microcharts-in-thinkorswim" in the table of contents of my blog to follow it. unfortunately for the big guys, they can't destroy this feature because it will destroy the essential functionality of their website. because it's not really a feature. it's a collection of many features and each feature is essential to their website. CHECK MATE !!!

STEPS TO SIMULATE MICROCHARTS IN THINKORSWIM:

(just ignore the color link feature because it's used to cycle through a watchlist on 1 chart display. so it's a many-to-one feature and what we want is many-to-many or 1 chart per watchlist item) 

note there are 2 upper toolbars: support and setup toolbar and tabs toolbar

- click "charts" in the tabs toolbar then click charts in the toolbar below the tabs toolbar

- make sure ondemand is disabled by making sure it's in the rightmost end of the tabs toolbar. if it's near the middle, it's enabled. just click on it to disable it.

- at the rightmost end of the chart toolbar is the "chart actions" icon button. we'll just name it "chart actions". next to it is the "grid" icon button. we'll just name it "grid".

- click "chart actions/reset". there should be a 4th toolbar below the charts toolbar. let's call this the symbols toolbar. at the rightmost end of the symbols toolbar is the "symbol actions" icon button. we'll just name it "symbol actions".

- enter any stock symbol in the upper left corner (e.g. nvda)

create and save the different chart styles (time period):

- click "symbol actions/style/settings
   - time-axis tab: choose 5 days (1 hour aggregation period) 
   - appearance tab/chart type = line
   - uncheck all checkboxes in all the tabs in "chart settings" especially equities tab (this removes all annoying chart markers) except the "appearance/grid"
   - make sure the "appearance/grid" checkbox is checked
   - click ok
- click "symbol actions/style/set chart default", then (click yes)
- click "symbol actions/style/save style" then enter the name depending on duration (e.g. "clean 5-day chart"
- repeat the following for 1 month, 6 months, and  5 years:
        - click "symbol actions/style/settings
        - set time-axis tab: duration period: 1 month (day aggregation period) / 6 months (day aggregation period) / 5 years (month aggregation period)
        - click "symbol actions/style/save style" then enter  name (e.g. clean 1 month)

create and save the watchlists

- go to watchlist on the left subwindow. if no left subwindow, click the middle of the left edge of the main window. 
- if no watchlist gadget, click the + button in the bottom of the left subwindow and add the watchlist gadget
- you can remove and add any gadget you want in the left pane 
- to add a watchlist, click the middle button of the top watchlist gadget toolbar and choose "create watchlist". note the first input box is for the name, not the symbols. this really screwed me because the box is strangely very long. enter the name you want and then click import. 
- you can then copy the list of stocks to the clipboard then click "paste symbols from clipboard". it took me a month to get this to work. as it turns out, the problem was that the symbols need to be in ALL CAPS but my symbols were in lower caps. this is very stupid because there is no reason why they can't just make it case insensitive. note the symbols can be separated by newline, comma, space, or semi-colon. 
- if you have a fideliy account, you can click the download button in upper right corner of portfolio view. then open the file from excel or wps so you can copy the symbol column to clipboard (in excel, you first need to open an empty workbook then click "data/from text" to open the csv file then set the delimiter to comma). make sure to delete any heading or cash/money market rows so they don't get included.
- we will be choosing the 7 X 4 grid, which means each watchlist cannot be more than 28 stocks.
- so if you want to look at the charts of more than 28 stocks, you will need to break it up. example, my watchlists from my fidelity IRA are ira1, ira2, and ira3. always add SPY in the beginning so it's actually 27 stocks maximum per list.
- click save
- if not yet done do the following:
     - right click the watchlist headers bar and choose "customize"
     - remove and add such that you get the following headers in order: last, %change, %change 5 days, %change 1 month, %change 6 months, market cap M, div yield current, company name

create and save the 7 X 4 grids for the different time frames (5 day, 1 month, 6 months, 5 years)

- click "chart actions/reset".
- enter any stock symbol in the upper left corner (e.g. nvda)

do the following for the 5 day, 1 month, 6 months, and 5 year charts:
- click "symbol actions/style/load style/<name of saved style>
- click "symbol actions/style/set chart default" and click yes
- click the "grid" button (next to chart actions button). there should be 27 squares. click the last square (bottom right)
- click chart actions/clear symbols
- click "grid/save grid as" then enter the name (e.g. 5 day empty, 1 month empty, 6 months empty, 5 years empty)


displaying the charts

- click "grid/<name of grid> 
- click chart actions/load symbols to cells/personal/<watch list name>

- to make the micro-charts bigger, collapse the left and bottom subwindows (click the middle of the right edge and click the "down arrow" button in the upper left corner of each BOTTOM subwindow    
- also make sure the "show sidebar in cells" is unchecked in the grid menu

- just have 1 chart grid at a time or the system will hang. but if you want to open more than 1 chart grid, click the "chart actions/detach". you will need to remove the sidebars again by unchecking "show sidebar in cells" in the grid menu.

- you can actually increase the grid size (e.g. 8 X 5 = 40 cells) by choosing the "flexible grid" tab instead of charts. just keep splitting the windows horizontally and vertically until you get the desired grid. to remove the splitter toolbar in each cell, click "show grid actions/customize grid" (click it again to show the toolbar). 

- if the "symbol actions" button is not visible drag the right edge of any cell a little bit to the right so it becomes visible.


(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)

carpark sharing app

video: https://youtu.be/bQa_syryUdU

PIT SENYOR !!! the grand parade is over but the PARTY has just begun. loud speakers, dancing, and fireworks everywhere !!! in the above video, i was riding a motorbike. but i felt sorry for those who rode cars to the main events. i'm sure they thought they can just drive towards the event, park their car once the TRAFFIC gets too congested, and just walk the rest of the way. the problem is there were no more places to park, and they can't turn back because of the traffic. so they ended up getting TRAPPED in traffic for hours, only to MISS the event.

my suggestment is to create a map where destination ZONES are color coded. destination zones should include main event locations and all areas where people can watch the parade or procession. for each zone, mark places in the map where people can PARK their cars. residential and business owners can earn money by offering their parking spaces.

maybe we need to hire EXPERTS or traffic engineers similar to the late dr. primitivo cal, our dean in UP college who also architected the jeepney coding system which is unique only to cebu city.

a norwegian consulting firm who solves traffic problems all over the world told dr. cal that cebu city had the BEST public transportation system in the world. no other city even comes close. they used indicators such as walking distance from dooorstep to available transport vehicle, time it takes to wait, cost, safety, travel time, number of rides, then walking distance again to the final destination. that is why dr. cal was very much against government buses because jeepney drivers and tricycle drivers are much better than the government in "smelling" or predicting where the passengers will be at certain times. a UP professor who believed in free market capitalism? fake news !!! fake news !!!

i never believed the norwegian consultants until i was in singapore and i had to walk 15 minutes everyday from my airbnbn to the next bus stop, then usually had to wait another 10 minutes to catch the next bus. i was dreaming of habal-habal drivers, trisikads, and tricycles waiting near the airbnb i was staying at. I WISHED SINGAPORE was CEBU-LIKE.

the experts might designate the parking spaces around mango avenue and ramos as one of the many PARKING AREAS for a plaza independencia event. ramos to plaza independencia might seem far, but it's actually just a 40-minute WALK. at least it's much better than getting trapped in traffic for many hours, only to miss the event. not to mention the stress and anxiety. walking is very good exercise anyway. besides, long walks and enjoying the good vibes and small outdoor parties around the city are part of sinulog tradition. it will also increase the vendors and businesses that will benefit.

there are many ways to IMPLEMENT this idea. parking attendants can be stationed around the city to give advise to motorists on where they can park. we can use large colored flags to show the status of parking spaces from far away - green for available, red for full. parking attendants can coordinate with each other via text messaging or walkie-talkie.

we can even create an APP for this. i'm sure our country has lots of developers who can spit out these kinds of apps in their sleep (e.g. my golfing buddies louie tapayan, elmo nazareno, cloyd dedicatoria, and jeff llanto). the parking attendants can just update the status of parking spaces via the app and the motorists can use the app for directions to the nearest available parking space. this would make cebu city penang-like (penang is the silicon valley of the east).

you might suspect i'm trolling because of my attempts to inject humor in my writings and videos. but that's only because good journalism is boring. to verify my CREDENTIALS, search "ian's knowledge bombs" in the internet and click "tech-innovations-by-a-dummy" in the table of contents to read my amazing innovations and problem solving achievements.

there is a good chance this idea won't work. but just like in business, golf, and life in general, you don't need to get it right every time. i learned this from reading the weekly articles of businessman bunny pages in sunstar. what's important is you persevere and continue to take manageable RISKS. amazon is the most successful company in the world. but if you look at the list of their failures, you might think they are the biggest loser. they had a long list of failures such as amazon fire phone, pets.com, endless, askville, amazon destinations, auctions, a9 search engine, etc ...

the question now is, would it be a COSTLY failure for the city of cebu if the app does not help solve the problem? maybe not. because there is a good chance the developers will develop the app for free because they know that if it works, they can generalize it so it can be used for festivals and events all over the world (e.g. the carnaval in rio de janeiro). the app can make them very rich. if government pays them to make the app, then the rights to the app will belong to the government so they lose the chance to become insanely rich.

i'm not an expert in POLITICS. but i think people will support you more even if you fail because it shows you listen to others and you are only interested in solving problems.

the parking areas for motorbikes should be nearer to the destinations for obvious reasons. i also think it is politically beneficial if you are PRAGMATIC and show a sense of care towards motorbikers and less affluent citizens in general. this is why raffy tulfo is now a top presidential candidate.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)