Christmas Bork at London's Victoria Station: An It Nightmare

Today’s festive bork comes from London's busy Victoria train station, just as the holiday season kicks into gear. It’s a classic case of IT confusion, where the usual culprit—DNS—was dismissed in favor of an SSL-related issue.

Instead of a person manually changing posters, digital advertising screens in public spaces now provide real-time content updates. However, these high-tech displays are not immune to glitches. The latest example appears at one of the station's entrances, showcasing a malfunction with a familiar “Progress Bar of Lies.”

From what can be observed, the screen seems to be operating on an Android-based system. During an update, the system encountered a problem—possibly with an SSL library. The error message mentions BoringSSL, Google’s customized version of OpenSSL, designed specifically for their applications and not meant for general use.

This glitch temporarily leaves passengers without ads, and the display shows a frustrating update screen instead of useful information. Attempts to manually intervene—clicking “Update Immediately” or “Browse Update File”—are futile, as the device likely isn’t a touchscreen.

Ideally, a remote tech team will be alerted to fix the issue, or maybe someone will simply rotate the screen to improve readability, preventing passersby from knocking it over out of frustration.

While this “Progress Bar of Lies” is a minor annoyance, it’s a reminder that sometimes, digital signage is merely a mirror of broader operational challenges. Outside, at Victoria station, there's also a “Departure Board of Optimism,” where in UK transportation terms, SSL humorously stands for Signals, Staff shortages, and Leaves—additional reasons behind delays and disruptions.

And in a humorous twist, beyond the digital issues, a record-breaking Kia Niro electric vehicle has clocked an astonishing 114 million miles, defying the limits of physics.

Meanwhile, British train services face new challenges, including delays caused by solar storms, reminding us that even celestial events can interrupt the flow of UK transport.

In short, while our digital signs may be experiencing their own festive misfire, they’re just one part of a broader system that continues to adapt—and occasionally bork—in the modern age.