Ghost alarm

My phone has a ghost alarm and I need to rant about it.

I googled but there is hardly any material on this. Its pandemic world and I don't have to be dependent on all the wide range of morning alarms. But now this is something to deal with.

The bug is that my phone starts a typical alarm sound, as soon as I plug it to power charger - whether at night or in the middle of the day. And then for added measure, it goes off again at 2-ish am & 4-ish am. Keeps me up all night. It stops only after pressing any button. Gwad how I hate that particular alarm tune ! Hate it.

I called Apple Support - which first of all is hard to find. Their solution was to delete all apps, backup only photos. Then erase the phone & reconfigure it. I just upgraded to their latest phone & I have to bear with this low-grade bug ! I have borne with this for more than a year now and its severe problem now. 

So after simmering for some more time, I decided to delete apps in iterations, to find the culprit. First to go were the million games my kids had downloaded. No difference. Then went news and other miscellaneous apps. Now remaining were my favorite Facebook, essential Gmail and financials ones. Before sacrificing the Bank and Mail apps, I decided to delete Facebook. My screen-time usage of FB was through the roof anyway. Oh how peacefully I slept that night. Like a baby.

Omg, so the FB app wanted me to be online forever ? Even skipping on phone charging obligation ? Oh how much more devious could FB be !?!? All those stories to increase our mobile on app or online presense times, were perfectly true. No scope for being in denial. It worked.

Then I switched to Instagram for my dose of showing & viewing Art. Few peaceful days and then it started again. Oh my ! Ofcourse FB & IN are the same family of apps. ! Ridiculous. Off went INSTA too, from my phone.

Now the only way to get my fix was Mobile Browser for FB & IN. Few peaceful days. And here it is again. Solution, is to close the tab with FB & IN on it. My gosh, that leaves me laptop browser to access these sites; like all other sane people are doing. 

Then I switched to watching shows on Prime, all day long. And now the alarm is back again. Which means its Apple bug - to keep me hooked on using it all the time.

I am this close to throwing my phone away and switching to flip-phone.

Update 9/12: Fixed after I took it to the Apple store, vented at them. They reinstalled the OS and erased everything. Basically started fresh without any backup except photos.

Winter Running 101

I got a few inquiries about how to get into Winter walking. Here I share my checklist which is handy for running. But I guess it will apply to other winter outdoors too with minor changes.

Few things to remember with Winter Running/Walking

1. Oft repeated phrase: There is no bad weather, just bad clothes. Very true. Any temp is fine. Just make sure roads are fine. Not icy or black ice.
2. Cotton is sin. No garment on your body should be Cotton. It soaks up the sweat, stays wet & chills your skin.
3. Once back home, get out of every SINGLE garment and get into hot shower. All kids & chores can wait. If not there will be chill & shivers that sometimes stays for the entire day; and worst case frostbite.
4. Remember that the run/walk times will be slower or different from your other weather performances. More caution will go into checking the road for black-ice, slushy snow or plain ice; and then zig-zag ahead via alternate path. 

CLOTHING:

Here is the list for running in sub 30F weather. These are my personal recommendations and I am not affiliate and do not stand to get paid for promotion.

Tech shirts - Layering tech shirts is very useful. In sub-30F, 2-3 shirts and in sub-10F, 3-4 shirts will be needed. What is different about tech shirts, is that they are made of synthetic material and designed to wick the sweat away from your skin. If the cloth touching you skin is wet, pretty soon it will freeze up and frostbite that area of your body. On those lines, cotton is sin in cold weather running. Because cotton absorbs the moisture and keeps it there. So always look for "wick dry". 

Wind-sheeter jacket - to stop wind from entering inside and cooling your core.

Baselayer: Thermal clothing. Target brand and also other brands like Craft & Mizuno.

 

Compression tights - those pants are a blessing to run outside in temps below 60F.

Wool Socks - or ski socks if you like. Here are some from Target brand. Your toes will thank you later.

 

Gloves - if you are looking for lightweight ones there are many options. Most of them allow you to use your touchscreen phones without removing the glove.

Underwear - should absolutely not be cotton. Never. Link to C9 products in Amazon.

Neck gaiter - protects neck from cold wind. Also from breathing in that freezing air.

Cap - Any comfortable one 

Headbands - are useful and best when they shield ears from the burning freeze.

 

Chapstick or lipbalm

Face cream for drying skin.

Links:

1. This video is the best resource I could find about the right clothing for cold weather running or snow running: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eC5toC0vms
2. 22 Genius Running Hacks For When It’s Cold AF Outside: https://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/winter-is-coming