2022-11-29 17:33:26 CET Damn, how time passes quickly! A new month is almost upon us. Not just any month, but the Christmas month. Times of joy and happiness... or so they say. I find that it sounds a bit miss placed and strange in the times that we are in with war, greed and conflicts. But maybe it is extra important to celebrate this year just for those reasons?!.
My workdays are completely full, a lot of things to do, which is of course good and it's what I prefer. It's just a matter of priority and accepting that some things have to wait.
One interesting thing that I have spent some of my private time on is researching and watching YouTube clips on is related to AI tools and machine learning. A lot of interesting things are happening in AI and specifically in the area of writing- and video-/image and audio creation. AI tools is actually helping out with the research and writing the text.
2022-11-29 19:28:08 CET OK, interesting... So, when you'd search for STL files - models to 3D print - you will at some point come across Skådis, the pegboard system from IKEA. I guarantee that you will. I have a Prusa printer so I logically use Printables.com (these days it's not specifically for Prusa printers, even though it's owned by Prusa) and there there are loads of objects for Skådis Have a look here on the search result for "Skådis". It will give you an idea on how much there is!. And it looks like a fantastic system and there are loads of tailor made stuff... so, I just bought two Skådis boards with some basic stuff (for storing some 3D printing related parts and tools). There are LOADS of stuff to print and design for it, I'll keep you updated for sure...
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-29 12:22:13 CET Did you know that today in 1877 Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph Read more about it on Wikipedia. for the first time.
2022-11-26 17:00:33 CET Today we could enjoy a relaxed morning before today's chores. Tonight we are meeting up with friends M. and W. at their place.
It was a very busy work week which ended on Friday in the office in Brussels. The important presentation I mentioned earlier went great, so that was a big relief. Especially when I had to squeeze it in with everything else that went on at work. Exhausted but a very satisfying week overall!
We also had Thanksgiving in the week. I read an article (I can't find it back) that the history is really dark - the history of the first settlers coming with the Mayflower Read more about it on Wikipedia. - for the native people who remembers the day (in 1626, if I remember correctly) as the "mourning day".
OK, I have to get ready now...
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-26 16:40:48 CET Did you know that today it is the National Cake Day
2022-11-23 20:09:17 CET Just another normal day, a very unnormal normal day, I'd say. Work wise it was busy and I had to prepare for a big European presentation tomorrow...with everything else going on...
We are all in the same house, most of the evening, even though we've all been out and about. That's always very nice! I even could book the appointment to exchange my tyres today, winter is upon us... I guess.
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-23 19:59:36 CET Did you know that today in 1991 Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury Read more on Wikipedia. announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day.
2022-11-22 18:23:40 CET Has it been two days without updating already? Hang on, it's three days?!? How can that even be possible??? I also have to do the weekly clean-up...
Where do I start? It's been a busy last couple of days at work and private. The business trip to Germany is all arranged and done. Some critical items were done in the biggest European wide project that I am the Program Manager (solution architect, project manager are also roles that applies to me) for. Demanding but interesting for sure.
2022-11-22 18:49:09 CET One of the things that kept me busy, after work, is the interesting project that J. is the technical director of. I can not say too much, but it involves buying a domain and creating a website. There is also some 3D printing involved (yeeey) for prototyping that I am involved in. Super interesting!
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-22 18:27:38 CET Did you know that today in 1995 that Toy Story Read more about Toy Story, such a cool movie and Tom Hanks is doing the voice acting, on Wikipedia. is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.
2022-11-19 13:46:20 CET I was blessed to have a slow start and easy going morning before starting with chores. Everyone in the family went off to do their thing; guitar lesson, helping out with clean-up and giving away Mokkas stuff (finally a suitable time slot).
All the stuff from Mokka have been tucked away in the trunk of the car for a week now. Out of sight. The animal caretaker O. was really happy getting all that stuff - it was more than I remembered - and it will help stray cats.
I managed to squeeze in a mini 3D print today as well - it was only a 15 minutes print - one of the quickest I've ever done. It was a dual color print again and it's a top secret project. It's a new way of printing for me, but I really like doing it since it's very easy to change filament (the print job will pause for you to make the change and then resumes the print) on the Prusa Mini+ printer.
Yesterday drove to the office in Brussels. It was a really busy day, but I was lucky with traffic; in both directions. The hotel is booked for the trip to Germany, still pending are the flights. I decided to fly from Brussels (and not Amsterdam), even though I prefer flying from Schiphol airport with KLM. The flight times were not ideal this time - the flight back was either too early or too late. We'll see if the options I requested are still available.
Thursday was a very strange day - nice but many of last second planning solutions. J. travelled to Leuven to meet up with friends, he was delayed from school so it was basically getting home, packing his bag and then we had to drive like crazy to the train station to be in time. We just made it. It screwed with our timing a bit, so we decided to go for dinner in a restaurant. It turned out - Google search (thanks Polestar) for the nearest restaurant - to be a great Thai restaurant Fantastic food at the Thai restaurant called "Mu Daeng".. The quality was fantastic!
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-19 13:45:38 CET Did you know that today in 1946 Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden join the United Nations Read more about it on Wikipedia..
2022-11-16 11:05:56 CET While I am writing this this site is still down. Something happened (probably stupid user error. I was fiddling around in the DNS maintenance section of the domain registration) and the site was broken. I have just been in contact with Namecheap support department and they instructed what I had to do. Now I have to wait until the changes are applied. Time will tell if it is resolved...
We met with friends yesterday in a very nice restaurant This is the cosy restaurant called "Tines Stoof" in Malle. called "Tines Stoof" (translates to Tine's stove) in Malle. The cool thing was that you're almost eating in someones kitchen. The cook is actually preparing the food where we were sitting. The center piece of the interior is that old solid AGA stove. The owners of the restaurant is a keen whiskey collector and he also brewing his own beer (called Tornado This is the beer that the owner brews, we bought 3 of them and a bag of his coffee to try out.) and they even have their own coffee brand.
For the rest, it's very busy at work. In one of my projects there are a specific "unwanted behavior" that the customers are making a big fuss about. Almost all the resources are utilized on trying to resolve that specific issue.
Another interesting development related to work, is that it looks like I have to travel to the Munich office in the beginning of December. That will be very interesting and actually rather nice to do. I will visit the team there which is always nice. The only small hassle is the current traveling policy at the moment, it's still very restricted and needs approvals on a very high level. I'll see how it goes, the process started at least...
2022-11-16 19:14:30 CET Interesting! So, this site was down for a while due to an "internal glitch" according to the support of Namecheap.com. A fantastic support service by the way. After the 3rd time contacting them over the online chat, it was resolved. The means of communicating (the location was for sure in an "exotic location"), safety policies followed and resolution is simply brilliant. I am dealing with these kind of questions on a daily basis and I am impressed of the service that they delivered. So, apparently the DNS entries, the host details, were somehow corrupted. The only strange thing is that it happens at the same time as I am fiddling around with my new registration (J's project) of RatRaceAntwerpen.com.
..
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-16 11:10:44 CET Did you know that today in 1632 King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed at the Battle of Lützen Read more about it on Wikipedia. during the Thirty Years' War.
2022-11-13 18:58:46 CET It was a particularly nice day today. Nice and relaxed Sunday breakfast with matching cup of coffee. The weather was super nice today, a bit too nice? Does it have to do with the fact that we are destroying it, or that earth is turning one second faster per year or is it simply that we are heading to a new ice age..? No matter what, today was a nice day!
We decided to go for a walk, while the earth is still spinning (too fast?), in one of the nice parks that we have here around the corner. It was a nice little walk (at least 6 km) through the forest to a shop where we could buy the dinner. We are doing a nNice piece of meat with Chinese cabbage (cooked in butter and olive oil, salt and pepper). No carbs tonight.
The open fire is has been lit and we feel the Sunday mood. It's certainly been a couple of days full of emotions, it feels almost like we've been on a 3 weeks holiday. In a way. A new university schedule is about to start which we have to align into.
We will see what's on the horizon, what will tomorrow bring? I only wish that what ever it is, we have our health with us, that we are able to continue like my ever ongoing 3D prints..!
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-13 19:23:44 CET Did you know that today is the World Kindness Day Read more about this day here. Kindness! Something that is really needed in these crazy, egoistic times!. "Kindness", do you remember what that is?
2022-11-12 23:43:37 CET The last couple of days - luck for us that Friday was a public holiday - have been dedicated around arranging the practical stuff around Mokka's passing. We have been cleaning out and packed away all her stuff, getting it ready for donation. We decided to give it all away to the person/organization that cares for cats like Mokka.
Yesterday H and I decided to drop everything and enjoy the evening at a restaurant, the distraction was certainly needed with some cosy time. The food and drinks did wonders as well.
We had our friends A. and P. from The Netherlands over for lunch today. It was great sharing some laughs and silliness with our friends.
It's strange how Mokka is still with us, it's almost that I can hear her sometimes. When I go down the stairs to get to the ground floor, I automatically look for her through the front door. For a split second I expect her to come running. Today I found flowers and a card placed where her little house used to stand. It was from "an animal lover". Not sure who that is, but I have my suspicion...
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-12 23:55:34 CET Did you know that today in 1954 Ellis Island Read more about it on Wikipedia. ceases operations.
2022-11-10 14:39:13 CET It's with heavy heart that I let you know that Mokka - our beloved street cat One of the very last pictures of Mokka, I am trying to get her in the cage. This is one of the last attempts late in the evening. The morning after she gave up and followed into the cage. You are missed! - that we cared for - passed away. We had to take the difficult decision (by the strong recommendation of the veterinarian) to put her to sleep. Her health was declining rapidly (common with street cats) and she was starting to suffer.
We are very sad at the moment, the wound is open and it is difficult to handle, she was a part of the family and now we have lost her. It's a small comfort that we made sure that the "second part" of her life was full of love and life quality.
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-10 15:00:09 CET Today ... we are remembering Mokka. Rest in peace dearest Mokka!
2022-11-09 12:28:02 CET You know, the days when everything happens, when accumulated stuff falls into that one specific day. When "shit hits the fan" , to express is vividly. Well, today is one of THOSE days. Let me give you an idea; J has his exam today, there is a huge national strike (no public transportation drives reliably which means that I have to drive J and his friend into Antwerp), we have to capture our street cat Mocka to go the the veterinarian (a huge effort practically and emotionally as it might be the last time we see her), J has a doctor's appointment (just a check-up, but of course it happens today) and tonight we will meetup with a friend on a restaurant in Mechelen. Oh, and it just started raining as well...
I must say, I have had better days off.
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-09 12:08:12 CET Did you know that today in 1520 more than 50 people are sentenced and executed in the Stockholm Bloodbath.
2022-11-07 22:52:27 CET It's been a heavy day, a lot of stuff to be on top of. Taking the outcome, it was not a bad day at all. Exciting and challenging is how I would summarize it. Spice that with great batches of coffee and you'll be pretty close to my reality.
A lot of frictions between teams to deal with, heavy duty project management and some coordination as well... that is what I had to deal with at work today. Again, not negative. In fact, it was really inspiring actually! I had to squeeze everything in today as I have taken tomorrow and Wednesday off. Friday is a public holiday here as well, so I do not have a lot of days to play with. One cool thing is the support that I had from my direct management, which made it a bit easier to deal with.
J had his first exam in the university today as well. Apparently it went OK, but impossible to judge exactly how good. Or even if the result was OK, could have gone either way...everything is new... so, we just have to wait and see. Another experience richer though.
So for now, that is it. I just wanted to do a quick update on the very latest. Tomorrow is also an eventful day; a bit more studying/planning, try to take Mokka to the veterinarian and we will see how it goes with the Arborist appointment that is booked for tomorrow...
2022-11-07 23:14:21 CET Ohhh, I also did some 3D prints today ...and one of them was super cool - my first dual colour one. I have the pictures to prove it. More later...
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-07 22:52:32 CET Did you know that today in 1504 Christopher Columbus Read more about him on Wikipedia. returns from his fourth and last voyage
2022-11-05 20:34:59 CET It's been a special day today. As family were we separated in sa sense. Location wise we were together, yet separated. J. and H. did the studying (very much what J. and I did a couple of days ago) together while I did my stuff - writing, personal project planning (ok, that sounded very ambitious for hobby like activities), checking out a new backup solution (called URbackup here I am not so convinced yet, I'll see what I will make of it.) and caring for Mokka.
I wonder how she (our stray cat that we have adopted as our cat for the last ...oh 15 years I think) is really doing? She's been acting strange lately. We didn't think too much about it initially, but now she is getting "old" really fast. We have been talking of taking her to the vet to get her checked out. We'll see what happens, there is one really good vet that we know...
OK, we ordered some Pizza for dinner a day like today. Everyone are tired and we needed it. Now time for bed...
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-05 20:37:55 CET Did you know that today in 1895 George B. Selden Read more about it on Wikipedia. is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
2022-11-04 18:28:38 CET The busy work continued today and I could only stop just now. That makes the week, I am so glad it's Friday and weekend is here. I am looking forward to a shorter work-week next week with the public holiday on the 11th and the two days that I have taken off.
It's been a struggle at work, a lot of unnecessary noise and complaints to deal with. I do not understand how certain people think it's a good idea working against me, when it's in their interest to work with me. They have absolutely nothing to gain by being difficult ... but, it's behind me for now.
Now, it's time to kick back and relax, enjoy a glass of wine and look forward to the weekend.
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-04 18:04:38 CET Did you know that today in 1493 Christopher Columbus Read more about him on Wikipedia. reaches Leeward Island and Puerto Rico
2022-11-02 22:37:39 CET Today was a day starting at 100% at work and kept on going full speed ahead until the late evening. Constant in calls and I had hardly time for anything else. The rest of the family were busy as well.
It was a special night yesterday with our neighbour ladies. Special on so many levels that it's difficult to even put words to such an evening giving so many conflicting feelings. It spans from the positive news all to taking in the great ordeal that is also happening. Well, it needs to be sinking in for a while I guess. It's also comes at a time when there are other news that still sits with me.
We also recently started to think concretely on that this year we celebrate 20 years being married. Of course it's been ups and downs, but seeing the phot album today from that special day in December 2002 just makes it so obvious how right our gut feelings were. I am truly a lucky, lucky individual how things finally turned out!
As a small little side project I decided to buy two domain names today with my trusted provider Namecheap again. Let's just say that I saved two of the most important dates - 21st of December 2002 and 14th of January 2014 - in my life. More to come...
2022-11-02 23:06:34 CET Darn it. I forgot to mention that we saw the recent movie called Elvis Read more about it on IMDB. My mom, a huge fan of Elvis, will certainly love this movie. Austin Butler makes the performance of his life... this evening. It's a fantastic movie that I can not recommend enough. Absolutely great!
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-02 22:21:19 CET Did you know that today it is the National Stress Awareness Day Read more about it here, a fitting awareness day for me on a day as today..
2022-11-01 17:29:28 CET A new month today and we are rapidly getting closer to a new year. I can't believe that we are already in November. My older brother J turns 54 soon, which is also another proof on how fast time goes...
Plans changed a bit (=completely changed) today - it was a complete day of studying more Excel with J. It's not easy at all and some stuff I actually learned as well.
We are visiting our neighbour ladies M and D this evening. Looking forward hearing how things are going with them and how it is progressing with D.
Did you know that..? I try to find an interesting historical event that occurred on this day. 2022-11-01 17:29:35 CET Did you know that today in 1894 Buffalo Bill, 15 of his Indians, and Annie Oakley were filmed Read more about it on Wikipedia. by Thomas Edison in his Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey.