Shorts
Sometimes I just want to put some thoughts on paper without talking too much about it :)
Winter 2025-2026
Today is March 15, 2026. Yet, here in Joensuu, Finland it feels like mid-April. Just look at this:
A strange winter. December was dark and warm, and the first real snow started just before Christmas. Cold struck around the same time. January and February were cold. By cold I mean -20C and lower, and it stayed cold for 2 months, yet we barely had any more snow. In March someone suddenly flipped the switch and it's warm again. Frankly speaking, it's rather hot for this time of year. Not that I complain (who doesn't like an early spring after all?), but it just doesn't feel right! Ah, and my downhill skiing season is over from nothing: it was too cold to ski in Jan-Feb, and now all the snow has melted :(. On the last note: YLE confirms, this is exceptionally rare weather.
Oho! GNU/Linux has just upgraded a plugged device firmware!
2025.09.16 - Things have changed... a lot! I got a second-hand HP G5 USB-C docking station and one question I had somewhere back in mind was "Where would I find Windows machine to upgrade its firmware?"
Imagine my surprise when this popped out:
That's how I got to know Linux Vendor Firmware Service. I clicked "Update" and in few minutes the dock was running the latest official proprietary firmware from HP. It's truly amazing! And btw, Framework Laptop BIOS (EFI firmware) updates also come through this channel. My warmest gratitude to people behind this service.
Update your password in a discontinued automotive service
2025.08.01 - Renault R-Link store was discontinued in mid-2024. But today I got an email:
And surprise-surprise, opening the link ends in an SSL error. This is interesting because the main service was turned off, but somewhere deep inside the infrastructure an authentication(?) service is still alive, sending emails about expired passwords.