Welcome to Picks of the month, where I share a few things I have found useful the last month.

It can be anything from blog posts and software tools to books and techniques.

First “picks of the month” this year!

This month I have a few new obsessions of mine to share.

#1 Raspberry Pi

In my Smart Home series, I recently threw out Arduino from my project plans, and replaced it with Raspberry Pi as the primary device.

Never been happier about that choice! These cute, affordable machines that can run Linux really rubs me the right way. Linux <3

I look forward to having a bunch of these connected around in my home, being just an SSH connection away.

#2 Cross-Country Skiing

We recently had a bunch of snow fall at home, and since running outside in a bunch of snow is completely out of the question for me, I turned to Cross-Country Skiing.

Turns out, it’s super fun!

I have skied before, but it was almost 10 years ago, and probably not voluntarily.

After a couple of clumsy runs on the local ski track, I can finally get around at a pretty OK pace. It’s still not Petter Northug or Therese Johaug, but it’s enough to get me out of breath.

So, if you have snow, and want a fun way to exercise: try Cross-Country Skiing.

Follow me on Twitter: @gjermundbjaanes