Wed Feb 28 2024, 10:49:40 pm CET It's been a satisfying day so far. A lot of chores done around the house and a refreshing walk and soon we will go to a restaurant Read more about the restaurant called The Country Club 5 minutes walk from where we live. here in the neighbourhood. Nice to be able to have some nice choices within walking distance (to the golf course The golf course with a restaurant that we'll enjoy this evening.).
It was a leap year this year, thus February was one day longer. We have to wait another 4 years until next time. Then I will be 55 years old. How weird that sounds. Will I still post stories here then..?
One of the chores on my list was to finally fix the pump in the pond, now and then it stops (most of the times it is simply clogged and it turns off automatically as a safety feature). While I was cleaning it, I notice that the hose between the pump to the filter (3 chamber filter) it cracks almost straight through. The first thought is that I have to turn it off until I buy a new 38 mm in diameter and 5 m long spiral reinforced pond hose. Then I started to analyse how I could fix it. As a temporary solution I decided to do as professionals - loads of Duct Tape. I found two types of Duct Tape and made sure to use enough It's working great, at least as a temporary fix! You can see that I have two types of Duct tape, the traditional silver coloured one and then I also used a black one. I am such a DIY guy ;-) and it proved to work fine. At least until I have a new one. I checked the price online to get an idea of the price before I went to the local hardware store. Lucky that I did, the price is exactly double in the store, 50 EUR for a piece of hose!? I left it in the store (I do support local business, but I am not stupid) and went home to order it online (I also bought other stuff for the pond in preparation for the seasonal starting up).
Another cool little project I completed in the last days was replacing the broken keyboard on the laptop. It was a little bit fiddly, but the keyboard unit I gave it a try, a cheap keyboard replacement unit from AliExpress and so far it's really working great! In the background, top of the image, you can spot the laptop without a keyboard. It's actually very interesting how it is assembled... I bought from AliExpress is really working great.
Now we will get us - the youth will also come with us - ready for the restaurant and then start...walking.
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Sat Mar 2 2024, 3:25:35 pm CET Did you know that today in 1978 is when the late iconic actor Charlie Chaplin Read more about him on Wikipedia.'s coffin is stolen from his grave in Switzerland.
Wed Feb 28 2024, 10:49:40 pm CET Today was a memorable day, it was the day when our solar panel provider company finally turned up. They have managed to get all the teams (well, all the two of them) aligned and agreed to actually be here. It was a complicated task, they actually had to get up ON our roof and check if the additional weights were placed there during installation (they informed us that it looks like they are definitely not there). The car was moved from the driveway, all the neighbours were informed (for the 3rd time) and we all were anxiously waited the result as they bravely rose to the occasion and took the task of exploring the uncharted territory and... Yes, our heroes found that the additional weights are already there. Mission accomplished and all are happy...
Now, time for bed...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Wed Feb 28 2024, 7:28:18 pm CET Did you know that today in 1997 is when a Turkish military memorandum Read more about it on Wikipedia. resulted in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey
Mon Feb 26 2024, 1:35:56 pm CET Another workweek to look forward to and by the end of it we are already in March. It is just craziness that February 2024 is almost done. Anyway, we can only fasten the seat-belt and enjoy the ride. What do we have to look forward to this week? I ordered coffee that will be delivered today. Also today we will finally know how Hungary votes for Swedish NATO membership (much like Turkey, Hungary is delaying the process for own benefit, delayed by greed). Tomorrow is a super busy workday, seems a lot of the meetings were condensed to that day. Our cleaning lady A. will also be here. Wednesday will be an interesting day as well. Hopefully, third time lucky, the solar panel provider company will be here to install the added fixation weights.
What happened since last post? Last Friday we had our neighbour ladies over for a super nice dinner. The youth was also with us for a while before a birthday party they had to be at. It was nice to have them with us. On Saturday we had great plans together with J's girlfriend K. It was time for the planned surprise party that we'd been planning for so long and finally the day had come. It was a total and an utterly surprise for J who suspected nothing, completely oblivious to all the secret activities we had done for the last weeks. Everyone who was invited turned up on time and all the arrangements went as good as we hoped for, all the decorations (after ski theme, with fake snow, firepit etc) everything were just perfect. It was a lot of work - before and during - but so worth it when Sunday was there that we just enjoyed the memories we created and that we were a part of.
I spent a little bit of the free time yesterday to work on and update my IamPrinting.xyz Have a look at my 3D printing site that I am developing. Still to be considered as being under construction, but I can start envisioning the final result more concretely... It is also a great learning experience working with Hugo. site.
Mon Feb 26 2024, 2:23:31 pm CET Yes, the coffee was delivered The coffee was delivered perfectly in time!! Now we have 4 kg of the "Gran Maestro Italiano Orginale".
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Mon Feb 26 2024, 10:35:20 am CET Did you know that today in 1616 is when Galileo Galilei is formally banned Read more about it on Wikipedia. by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
Tue Feb 20 2024, 7:18:21 pm CET OK, today is today (that's a weird start) and this post is only about today. But reflecting back of course. With the perspective of today...thus. Alright then, here we go...
I do not think that I mentioned the most upsetting thing happening on a personal level this week. So far, at least. Yesterday we were supposed to have the solar panel guys over again. Yes indeed it was the second try around. Last time they "forgot about it" and they felt so bad about it. This time we made sure to do the same thing again and have it all sorted out - informing neighbours, strategically blocking the street with our cars upfront if they would need space with the mobile crane...and being ready at 07:00 in the morning. At 09:30 still nothing! Not even an SMS... I was furious. H. did her magic and talked with all parties involved, she even did the work of the internal communication in their company. Absolutely unbelievable...(a rant about us being the customer paying for a certain minimum service and quality), to say the least! Anyways... Apparently one of the guys had been in an accident and could not come. To make a long and very painful story short, they will try the third time next Wednesday. We will see how it plays out...
...oh well. I have to calm myself down. Try to, at least. It will be difficult in the weather we are having here at the moment. They are forecasting storm and I really do not like that...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Thu Feb 22 2024, 7:37:26 pm CET Did you know that today is the Be Humble Day Be humble today on this special day. Read more about it here....
Thu Feb 22 2024, 7:40:01 pm CET I started writing this post yesterday, but I could not complete and publish it. Normally I start with the "did you know...", the one entry you see below, and then I continue with the daily update post itself.
The page called "Bookmarks" was updated a couple of times actually, for your information one of the added entries is about coffee etc. This site (consists of multiple pages thus and not only the one page you are reading now... you need to keep your eyes open and actively check it out) is updated and worked on almost on a daily basis...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Wed Feb 21 2024, 8:22:30 pm CET Did you know that today in 1245 is when Thomas Read more about him on Wikipedia. It's very interesting knowing that something similar in Sweden only happened 300 years later....we were still full on with the asa gods in Sweden., the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
Tue Feb 20 2024, 7:18:21 pm CET So, yesterday was my birthday, yes another year worth of experience gained. And thus, a darker view of it, one year closer to death. It was a great day yesterday, I was spoiled with nice and thoughtful messages and gifts. It was a very humbling experience and I have the feeling that I am feeling it more and more with age.
I have to mention that the restaurant Read more here about this fantastic restaurant., which H had arranged for me, in Antwerp last evening, was absolutely brilliant. It is now one of my absolute favourites! The food is inspired by Asian street food , read more about it from the provided link, it's an interesting story and you will get a good glimpse on what it's all about! We had a fantastic evening with the youth, I am very fortunate to celebrate a perfect night with the loved ones!
OK, now I will quickly go and get J. at the tram station...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Tue Feb 20 2024, 7:12:43 pm CET Did you know that today in 2003 is when during a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze Read more about it on Wikipedia., killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
Sun Feb 18 2024, 12:07:03 pm CET It feels like the weekend just started and all of a sudden here I am sitting contemplating about everything and nothing on a Sunday afternoon (even if it turned into afternoon only 10 minutes ago, but still). I was looking forward to a longer walk today, but the weather is holding me back - it is windy, gray and rainy at the moment.
How fitting, "what a wonderful world" Have a listen to this great song by Louis Armstrong here on Youtube. is playing on the radio at this very moment.
Yesterday we were at a family party (family on my father in-law's side) in Turnhout Read more about it on Wikipedia.. It was nice to see them again, last time was before Covid, at least about 5-6 years ago.
OK, the coffee pot is empty and I have to get going. I think I will start checking the water pump/filter in the garden pond that stopped working. It usually does that when the intake is clogged.
Sun Feb 18 2024, 3:12:08 pm CET Some time back I ordered new freezer department doors/flaps, because two of them cracked They easily break if you forget to close the flap and close the main freezer door. It happened multiple times.... I have been putting it off for a while because I thought it would be a tedious job, first to unload the freezer then unscrewing the mounts holding the flaps in place... But today I took the time to investigate the matter. I started searching internet for someone who's been through the same issue (and preferably documented how it's done in a Youtube clip). Surely I am not the only one, I thought. To my excitement I only found one video clip, namely this one This was exactly what I was searching for! Short and concise instructions.. A German guy equipped with a lamp strapped to his head speaking directly into the camera. Much like me, it is clear that he has his freezer also in his garage... I followed the instructions and 15 minutes later I had replaced both flaps. Extremely satisfying!
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Sun Feb 18 2024, 12:04:41 pm CET Did you know that today in 2013 is when armed robbers steal Read more about it on Wikipedia. a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
Mon Feb 12 2024, 7:29:42 pm CET So far this week has been a rather ordinary (yet interesting) work related week. Nice progress on most projects and the normal portion of frustration for a few of them . Nothing extraordinary thus.
Talking about frustrations, on Tuesday we had booked an appointment with the solar panels provider to add additional weights to them (to prevent that they end up at the neighbours during a storm...) Now, do you think they showed up? No, they never showed up and had apparently forgotten to plan for all the teams. Extremely disappointing! Especially if you also take into consideration that they forgot the "extra weights" during installation. People are getting fired for less...
Yesterday it was Valentine's day and I am terrible in planning/remembering that day. I did some last minute romantic 3D printing stuff and a super romantic letter (with drawings). Simply next level. The evening was really nice and cosy together with J.
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Thu Feb 15 2024, 12:04:58 pm CET Did you know that today in 1493 is when while on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter Read more about it on Wikipedia. (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
Mon Feb 12 2024, 7:29:42 pm CET OK, so last update was last Friday before a fully planned weekend - after a typical crazy workday Monday - and now it all seems so long ago. It was such a perfect city trip together with our loved son J. and his girlfriend K. We spent such a cosy, fun and interesting weekend together. I can keep on going like that, but it's a fact (and I have the pictures to prove it at older age)!
I did not have too much time over for anything more than work, it was an unusual Monday (normally I try to schedule Monday's for "admin work" with no meetings) with a lot of scheduled calls. Never the less, in between we are connecting fine during the school holiday that we have here this week. Actually, just a week of school holiday is simply an overkill to me!
J. and K. went back this afternoon to Antwerp for a couple of days for studying, a triple-date and well, just their own life. We have enjoyed the evening with...well, our life. Our life living in parallel with him, is how I should see it. To enjoy (and cherish every moments when it comes together) from the side lines. I will fall asleep with a content feeling tonight!
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Mon Feb 12 2024, 7:28:36 pm CET Did you know that today in 1771 is when Gustav III Read more about him on Wikipedia. becomes the King of Sweden.
Fri Feb 9 2024, 9:47:43 pm CET Today was a rather productive day at work, I got a lot of admin stuff done in between some calls. We also had nice progress in preparing for an important rollout in two weeks.
We are just back from a family visit to the granny in the family. It was a get-together with Pizza for celebrating the New Year. The youth were also with us - they met up with us when we were driving to granny. We are all a little bit tired after the busy week behind us, looking forward to chilling out with tea.
Concerning 3D printing, I mentioned that I have upgraded the firmware and sliced an existing object with "input shaping" activated. It used to print in almost 2 hours, now it was printed in 49 minutes with PERFECT result. To see it getting printed in that speed is just unreal! Sooooo cool! There are also a lot of new functions coming in this release. More will come and I am planning to post a little movie about it...
Tomorrow we are off to Maastricht for a little city trip with the youth, we'll spend one night in a cool hotel and some small excursion in the city are planned as well. I will for sure share some pics Sunday night...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Fri Feb 9 2024, 9:47:00 pm CET Did you know that today in 1986 is when Halley's Comet Read more about it on Wikipedia last appeared in the inner Solar System.
Wed Feb 7 2024, 6:47:11 pm CET Today was a day like any other day. At least that is what I started writing. My strong belief is that NO day is like the other! Everyday is an unwritten page... Everyone should be more thankful and think every every morning as they open their eyes, "thank god that the sun rises today"... Especially these days, these crazy days that we all are experiencing! That is a fact, right?
Both J. and H. are out of the home this evening, I am home alone thus . J. will come home tomorrow, he is enjoying the evening with friends and his loved one. Fantastic! H. is meeting up with old friends and I am enjoying the evening alone. Good for an evening...
I have done some updates here (one small cool thing is visible on this page, can you spot it) on the site; the monthly update is done and I have extended a new cool set of icons (from Nerdfonts.com) that you will enjoy as time goes by. There are also some cool resources added to my Bookmarks page (all about a very interesting text editor in Linux/Mac world related to Vim, called Neovim ).
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Wed Feb 7 2024, 6:52:00 pm CET Did you know that today in 1365 is when Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila Read more about about it on Wikipedia. (Swedish: Ulvsby).
Tue Feb 6 2024, 6:19:12 pm CET A typical Monday morning... wait just a second, it is not Monday today at all. What am I writing?! Seriously, it was just one of THOSE days when you run around putting out fires without have the feeling of any control. If I hear how J's and H's day were it seems I am certainly not the only one.
I have also done - yesterday and the day before - something 3D printing related. I will write the details on my dedicated website The place to be for anything 3D printing related! ;-) , but only to let you know that I have updated the firmware on the Prusa printer. It is actually a big thing because it It's specifically explained here on the Prusa site! means that the input shaper Simply said, it will dramatically increase the printing speed as it enables you to can turn up the speed during slicing as it will cancel out the resonance vibrations! feature is available! Is that all? Well, only that was certainly not a small thing! But, I also installed the Wifi module on the same machine. Again, more details on my dedicated website but just to let you know that the adapter I bought the ESP module some time ago, finally I could install it! was installed to bring the 3D printer natively on the network. I already have it with OctoPi, but this is also... well, cool!
OK, tonight we will eat spareribs with corn. It is one of my absolute favourite and it is happening now...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Tue Feb 6 2024, 6:16:18 pm CET Did you know that today in 1833 is when Otto Read more about him on Wikipedia. becomes the first modern King of Greece.
Sat Feb 3 2024, 1:07:59 pm CET Ohh, today we have really been chilling out which is something that is a luxury treat of today.
We have been on a cloud the whole day and were allowed to do what ever we had to do and had J. with us to freely plan stuff. There are some cool travels/excursions planned, birthday plans and schedules to settle. We have to take into consideration immediate travel plans to Marrakesh, Prague and Maastricht etc. All these are of course nice plans to look forward to on one hand, but scary on the other hand for obvious reasons. Anyways, just some thoughts flying around on this Sunday evening.
For the rest, it's been great. I also wrote an article on my latest 3D printing project here Welcome to this great 3D printing website of mine! Here I am writing about my latest 3D printing project.
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Sun Feb 4 2024, 7:39:40 pm CET Did you know that today is the World Cancer Day Read more about it, this important day, here..
Sat Feb 3 2024, 1:07:59 pm CET It is a grey day with drizzle but it makes it even cosier indoors. We are all relaxed doing our things here and there. I ran through the Raspberry Pi backup process I am using the great RaspiBackup solution! You can find the details on my Bookmark page and I also needed to upgrade my Octopi I use Octopi on both of my 3D printers. servers. Small housekeeping chores thus.
Soon I have to drive K. to the train station and then later in the evening H. and I will go and support H's brother K. who is performing in an event This is where we are going to listen to brother in law K. playing in a band. against cancer.
I think that is it for now. Let's see what the rest of the day brings...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Sat Feb 3 2024, 12:57:30 pm CET Did you know that today is Elmo's birthday Read more about it here..
Fri Feb 2 2024, 7:50:44 pm CET As you can see, I started writing this post yesterday, but then things came in between and I never got around to publish it. But I decided to keep what I wrote in the entry here below.
The youths are back home from the trip to Narvik and Tromsö (Norway). Safe and sound. We, the four of us, have just enjoyed dinner with all the stories from the past week. It's a great feeling to have them back from their adventures and see how they enjoy life! I am sure they are enjoying life a little bit extra, both of them received their results from their past exams and they have passed everything!
Yesterday we really enjoyed a dinner with our neighbour ladies. We ordered out from our favourite Asian restaurant, talked, laughed and played a dice game (called "keer op keer"). And laughed some more. It was just a fantastic time...
It was a crazy week for the rest. The TV installation is working, the solar panels are also OK and then we had a strange power outage. A long story short; the electrician had to pass by and it was discovered that one damaged connection was the issue causing an isolated power outage in the bedroom and my office (obviously an critical issue for my work). It is just madness how it all happened the same day (have I ever said that before?) when both our cleaning woman A and the window washer Y are here, I also received a lot of deliveries and some of my calls I had to use my cellular phone... just to mention a few things that went on. Oh and yes, we had to replace our TV decoder as well during this ordeal...Anyway, all ended good.
Thu Feb 1 2024, 10:22:04 am CET January is history and we entered February of 2024. A lot happened the last days, it was really like a lot of stuff were squeezed in and scheduled to happen in the first month of 2024. I tell you right away...
Did you know that today in ... is when ... Randomly picked historical events that occurred on this day. Fri Feb 2 2024, 9:54:46 pm CET Did you know that today in 1709 is when Alexander Selkirk Read more about him on Wikipedia. is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
