It was 9 years ago

Exactly 9 years ago our first daughter was born. Here some memories.

The Nias Island Vinyl Quiz

Here are 20 squares, representing 20 famous album covers. Can you name them all 20? And for a bonus point : what is the name of the iconic LP that was used to house these 20 squares?

Oh, and do you know why this quiz is called "the Nias Island quiz?"

Help needed from industrial archeologists!

I recently came across the following tool or machine in a Welsh field. Does anybody have an idea what its use could have been?

Climbing Everest: The Last Mile is the Longest

A view of the new building from the outside.

The most important machine is already up and running

Some final touches before this meeting room is ready to use

Working together and sharing a common work space

The IT department...my home away from home until 2032?

Our new Concept Restaurant

ISS Belgium's ICT Manager taking a break from the hard work

Our Window Cleaning department is helping out.

ISS Nordic Light Restaurant Concept

Starting this Monday, the Belgian ISS Headquarters in Vilvoorde will be serving a completely new restaurant concept, aptly named "Nordic Light".

Based on a Scandinavian concept, the restaurant offers 3 different choices: a warm & cold buffet, a salad bar or a sandwich bar.

There will always be a vegetarian option and the promise of healthy, wholesome food.

The ISS chef offers food that has to fit the 4 four pillars: Quality, Sustainability, Experience & Service.

Let us shave it all off!

10 years ago I travelled to India.

The weather was so warm that I decided to get a total hair-cut. Enjoy the pictures :)

Results of Acerta Ekiden run 2015

On October 17th, my birthday, I ran with 35 other colleagues from ISS at the annual Acerta Ekiden run 2015

The Acerta Brussels Ekiden is a relay marathon run by 6 runners per team. All teams start together at 1PM as a team they will span the mythical marathon distance. The distances (in order) are as follows: 5 km + 10 km + 5 km + 10 km + 5 km + 7.195 km (total 42.195 km).

Marathons and long distance running are immensely popular in Japan. A popular form, especially around New Year's, is the Ekiden. It's from "the land of the rising sun" that this form of athletics has made its way to us.

In Japanese, Ekiden is combination of two words: "Eki" meaning place and "Den" meaning delivery. In the olden days important documents were transported across Japan by different runners at lightning speeds.

The Ekiden is based on this classic courier service. The bundle of documents is represented by a sash, the Tasuki.

Six people form a team in which every team member runs their own distance.

The relays are done by handing over the special relay sash, called a tasuki, which is worn diagonally from the shoulder over the chest to the hip. An Ekiden is always an exciting competition, as the success of the team is dependent on each of the six runners.

Every member of the team has an important function.

This is the reason the competition is popular in a business setting.

My team, "Go For IT", came in second place within our company, with a speed of approximately 11,16 km/hour.

We welcome a new addition to our ever-growing family!

Good news! Caitlin and Ciara are no longer alone, and have the little "brother" they have always wanted.

His name is Caramel and he joined us yesterday. A two-year old rabbit with good manners and a happy face. What more can we want. I think he will settle in very quickly :)

Central & Eastern Europe - July 2000

Looking through my old pictures, I found memories of our trip to Germany, Hungary and Poland.

We visited Aschaffenburg, Vienna, Györ, Budapest and also the Puszta.

We also went to the Salt mines in Poland, visited Krakow and ended up in the East of Germany

In the pictures Mariann, Zsolt and Gary

Looking for schoolfriends from Sint-Joris Instituut

Hey hey, I am looking for the names of my old schoolfriends from the Sint-Jorisinstituut in Brussels.

I am notoriously bad at remembering names, so I hope somebody recognizes them.

Here is the picture: (sorry for the blood hehe)

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11. Pascal Van Obbergen
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29. Frank Van Den Block
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Understanding the Norwegian language

In the Summer of 2015 I am planning a trip to Norway. And normally I always try to learn at least a bit of the local language. I tried so with Estonian (failed dismally), Hungary (a bit more luck) and Turkey (long forgotten, but at least I didn't starve when I went across the border.

And now I will start to learn Norwegian. Which is a bit problematic, as I don't know *which* Norwegian to learn. According to wikipedia, they have Bokmål, Nynorsk, Riksmål and Høgnorsk.
I understand that some are for written use, and others for talking, although apparently most Norwegians write one thing and speak another thing (often dialect).

So which one should I learn? It helps to say that I have a basic understanding of Danish vocabulary and pronunciation (but not grammar), so something that would use that as a basis might be practical.

KSJ Grimbergen

My daughter recently joined KSJ Grimbergen, a Flemish Catholic youth movement for kids aged 6 or older.

Best Hot Chocolate at The Apple Tree

On my way to Liverpool I was invited by an old friend and ex-colleague from Pirelli for a harty breakfast at The Apple Tree Coffee Shop in Barton Under Needwood.

The place has an excellent reputation, having received UK's best Hot Chocolate Award and many other prizes. Naturally I had to try their famous "Hot Chocolate" with everything on top, followed by the famous Staffordshire Oatcake.

As you can see from the picture, they really put everything on top!

The taste was smooth, strong, very aromatic and spicy with touches of cinnamon

Klasgenoten Grimbergen 1973 - 1974 gezocht!

Ik ben op zoek naar klasgenoten die samen met mij in het schooljaar 1973 - 1974 in het eerste leerjaar zaten op de gemeenteschool van Grimbergen, bij juffrouw De Win (klaslokaal gelegen op de hoogste verdieping van het bureau voor toerisme).

Hieronder een vergeelde foto waarop alle 15 jongens te zien zijn. Klik op de foto om een hogere resolutie te zien

1. Kris Van Thillo
2. Patrice Van Hauwermeiren
3. Geert Cauwelier
4. Frank Van Den Block
5. Philippe Van Hoeymissen
6. Ivan Tersago
7. Filip Jans
8. Patrick Bruylandt
9. Ludwig Ducuroir
10. Marc Van Campenhoudt
11. Luc Van Hemelrijck
12. Patrick Vanderborght
13. Didier De Vinck
14. Hans Vander Perre
15. Patrick Vandersteen

Klasgenoten Grimbergen 1972 - 1973 gezocht!

Ik ben op zoek naar klasgenoten die samen met mij in het schooljaar 1972 - 1973 in de derde kleuterklas zaten op de gemeenteschool van Grimbergen.

Hieronder een vergeelde foto waarop alle 20 kleuters te zien zijn. Klik op de foto om een hogere resolutie te zien

Graag jullie hulp!

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2. Frank Van Den Block
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6. Hans Vander Perre
7. Wim Salu
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9. Kristien Paternoster
10.Inge De Wit
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12. Geert of Jo Cauwelier
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14.Philippe Van Hoeymissen
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16. Jan Timmermans
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19. Koen Vermeulen
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Yesterday I went to see "Captain America: The Winter Solderier during the Belgian Marvel Fan Night. And boy was it a fan night! Everywhere giant statutes of Marvel Comics heroes, a Marvel Quiz (too difficult for me) and lots of side animation with fans dressed up as Thor, Hulk or Iron Man.

Oh, and the movie was great! It was not only a super hero sequel, but even more a clever 70's style conspiracy thriller like 3 Days of the Condor or The Parallax View. Not a big suprise to see Robert Redford in the cast.

With the success of the recent marvel films, it will come as no suprise that this one will also do well at the box office. I personally think Captain America 2 was even better than The Avengers, and that means something!

For a super hero movie, the acting was top notch: Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson were excellent. Robert Redford was a pleasant surprise and Marvel did the right thing by bringing the Falcon in the movie (an excellent Anthony Mackie.

BTW stay for the end credits for an extra bonus, as always

Antwerp 10 Miles: Week 1 Endurance Training

I have started my preparations for the Antwerp 10 Miles. In 7 weeks I will try to increase my endurance and stamina from somebody who can run 5km effortless to a 16km long-distance runner

Training Schedule Week 1 (out of 7)

Tuesday

- 10 minutes running: Long Slow Distance (LSD)
- 8 minutes increased tempo: Intensive Endurance Training (IET)
- 3 minutes jogging
- 8 minutes increased tempo: Intensive Endurance Training (IET)
- 3 minutes jogging
- 10 minutes running: Long Slow Distance (LSD)

Total: 42 minutes

Thursday

- 40 minutes running: Long Slow Distance (LSD)

Total: 40 minutes

Sunday

- 50 minutes running: Long Slow Distance (LSD)

Total: 50 minutes

What is Extensive Endurance Training (EET)?

Part of the training for the Antwerp 10 Miles consists of "Extensive Endurance Training" (EET), but what does it mean? Is it just the same as Easy Training (ET) or are there noticeable differences?

Let me begin by saying that Easy Training is just that....EASY :) It is often a relatively short training (no endurance) and easy (so no sweat). Extensive Endurance Training is a training over a longer period of time, and in the end you will experience some fatigue. Not because of the intensity, but because of the length of the training.

Characteristics of Extensive Endurance Training are:

- comfortable feeling

- possibility to keep on running for a longer time

- regular breathing

- you can talk while exercising

If we list the different kinds of training, starting with the easiest and then more difficult, you would come to the following list:

- Easy Training (ET)

- Extensive Endurance (EET)

- Intermediate Endurace

- Intensive Endurance (IET)

- Tempo Interval (TIT)

- Hard Interval (HIT)

What is LSD in Athletics?

No, don't worry, when we talk about LSD in Athletics, we are not referring to mind-altering drugs, but to the concept of Long Slow distance. This is a form of aerobic endurance training in running and cycling, and the main type of training I will use to get into shape for my Antwerp 10 Miles.

Benefits of this LSD Training are:

- increased oxidative capacity of skeletal muscles

- improved mitochondrial energy production (no, not midi-chlorian like the Jedi's have :) )

- improved cardiovascular function

- improved thermoregulatory function

- increased utilization of fat for fuel

On the internet you can find various variations on this training, but I will stick to the one used for preparing for the Honolulu Marathon. It comes with a few easy to follow rules:

(a) No fewer than three runs per week

(b) No more than five runs per week

(c) No less than one hour per run

(d) No further than 15 miles on any run

What is the Antwerp 10 Miles

The Antwerp 10 Miles is a street run in Antwerp that has been held every year around Easter since 1986.

On the same day several other street runs are held in the capital of the Antwerp province: the 5km, the Antwerp Marathon and many more, including a kids' run.

A nice touch is that during the Antwerp 10 Miles, participants are allowed to run through the (in)famous Kennedy Tunnel and Waasland Tunnel.

The first editions only had a limited success (a couple of hundred participants) but the most recent runs brought more than 20,000 runners on their feet.

In 2013, about 22,000 runners appeared on the starting grid.

And this year you can add one more, since I will also be participating!