tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227261842024-02-28T11:04:24.417+01:00OscarCookieEverything you always wanted to know about OscarCookie, but were afraid to ask...
Next to blogging on day-to-day things, I will also blog on telecommunications technology, the other thing that keeps me bust from day-to-day. This includes merely videoconferencing and webconferencing.OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-29623383195579859482014-06-10T10:32:00.000+02:002014-06-10T10:32:11.220+02:00Negative experience with ps-outlet.comJust to share my very negative experience with PS-outlet.com.
2 months ago, I ordered a Paul Smith laptop sleeve on www.ps-outlet.com. I paid immediately (about 90$).
Shortly after, I received a confirmation mail (although it was not an auto-generated one).
Some days later, I received a laptop sleeve, but not the one I ordered. It was accompanied with an invoice of a chinese company of 30$.
I've send numerous emails to all the addresses to be found, but got no single response. The fact that I probably overpaid the article does not bother me at all. I hope the article is not counterfeit, but I cannot verify. The fact that I overpaid for an article I did not order does bother me.
I hope this blogpost will prevent other people from buying at www.ps-outlet.com. Although the website does look fine, the service is NOT!OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-85080596390033518282008-12-09T16:33:00.002+01:002008-12-09T16:39:50.052+01:00OC Webdesign absorbed by Agito Websolutions<a href="http://www.ocwebdesign.be">OC Webdesign</a> soon turned out to be missing something. A real designer, some who can make a good website look great. So I contacted the best designer/graphical artist I know, Ruben (my brother).<br />He was enthusiastic on the idea of an own startup. But we soon realised OC Webdesign couldn't be the name for that. So we looked for something better, and came up with: <a href="http://www.agito.be">Agito</a>. Agito is Latin and stands for: "I think of". What we want to do is make people think about their websites, and take them to the next level. Think further.<br /><a href="http://www.agito.be">Agito.be</a> is online since a couple of days, and <a href="http://www.ocwebdesign.be">OC Webdesign</a> is transformed to a second blog of mine (in dutch this time), to share the trouble and hopefully benefits of my own/our own startup company.<br />Agito Websolutions has the same values OC Webdesign stood for. Affordable but professional websolutions, focusing on SME's. We chose for websolutions instead of webdesign, since we also want to provide custom-made web-applications.<br /><br />So check out <a href="http://www.ocwebdesign.be">www.ocwebdesign.be</a> and <a href="http://www.agito.be">www.agito.be</a> to see where these stories are going...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-53988595708873100792008-11-21T11:40:00.003+01:002008-12-09T16:41:25.802+01:00OC Webdesign.I have a new project online. <a href="http://www.ocwebdesign.be">OC Webdesign</a>.<br />OC Webdesign focuses mainly on SME's, to offer affordable but maintainable websites.<br />Far too often, websites are very expensive for small companies and self-employed businessmen. Most webdesigners ask prices per webpage, and ask an enormous amount of money for updates and fixes.<br /><br />OC Webdesign focuses on flemish SME's at this point, so the website is in dutch for the moment... Don't hesitate to contact me if you want some info in English/French.OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-7918310498946487612008-07-02T16:05:00.003+02:002008-07-02T16:10:38.295+02:00Corporate BloggingLast week I went to an e-business seminar, that brought me some insights on corporate blogging. Not only is this an excellent marketing tool, it also allows you to inform customers with what you are doing. Last but not least, it forces the writer to think and rethink what he has been doing, and why he has been doing that. Of course, blogging takes time, but I believe when you put effort in it, you will benefit from it. <br /><br />In that perspective, I've started a blog on the two main projects I've been working on the last year. <a href="http://vidivic.wordpress.com">Vidivic</a> and <a href="http://talkerbee.wordpress.com">TalkerBee</a> (I've mentioned both in some earlier posts).<br /><br />I believe the blogs can bring some extra motivation, on sharing thoughts and bringing value to our company. Let's see how long they live actively.OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-33710089342369713832008-06-03T09:16:00.011+02:002008-06-04T11:18:38.961+02:00Mont Ventoux: The StoryYesterday evening, at 1800 CET, we returned from our trip at the Mont Ventoux. This seems like a good time to post a little report with some pictures...<br /><br />Day 1 (Thursday May 30th): We decided to start driving on Thursday, because we had to make it to the sign in for the Ventoux, which closed on Friday at 1900. We drove about 450km, and spend the night in The Auberge Jean d'Arc in Langres. A quite old hotel, with louzy beds.<br /><br />Day 2 (Friday May 31st): After a nice breakfast, we drove the last 500kms to our apartments, called "Domaine le Pas Du Ventoux". After unpacking, we went to sign in for the climb the next day. We decided we tried to start at 8.00 in Bédoin. The climbs from Bédoin and Malaucène are considered the toughest, so if we had energy after the first climb, Malaucène would be the second, Sault the third... We went to bed early, to be fit for the big Day. It had been raining all week (also when we arrived), but people were telling Saturday would be slightly better. Fingers crossed.<br /><br />Day 3: D-Day. I woke up at 6:30, when I could take the following picture, my first sight of the Ventoux.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/1.jpg"><img style="margin:10px auto 10px auto; display: block; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; width: 320px;" src="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We took the car to Bédoin, where the Ventoux was already waiting for us.<br />First climb: We decided to take a steady but not too fast tempo, since we had no idea of what was going to come. The top lies at 22km, with an altitude difference of approx 1600meters. After 7kms, I had a flat tire, which we could change in about 7 minutes. After that, we didn't have any real trouble, the climb was tough, but everything went fine, and we reached the top after a little bit more than 2 hours. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/2.jpg"><img style="margin:10px auto 10px auto; display: block; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Ruben was quite exhausted and decided not to take the climb from Malaucene next, but descend to Sault, to relax a little bit and try that climb. Dad decided to join him and me and Filip started our downhill to Malaucene.<br />Second climb: Arriving in Malaucene we took some time to eat some energy bars, bananas, drinks etc. After filling our pockets with some more food for on the road, we started our second climb. Where Bedoin starts with 5km that aren't so though, Malaucene hits you in the face from the start. I decided to keep my heartrate below 170 at all time. This went quite well, and we made it to the top in 1h58, which was very satisfying, as it was one of my goals to do one of the heavy climbs in less than 2 hours.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/3.jpg"><img style="margin:10px auto 10px auto; display: block;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We ate a small lunch in Chalet Renard, where Ruben and Dad were arriving at about the same time. Ruben decided not to go for the top, but Dad did, where he finished his second climb. After lunch, Ruben and Dad went down to Bédoin, and Filip and me decided to go for the third climb in 12 hours. We started in Sault in a beautiful weather. But when we arrived in Chalet Renard, about 6 km from the top, weather was turning, and we felt some light rain. We decided to continue to the top, which we reached in 1h47. At that point, we couldn't see much further than 10 meters, it was raining heavily, and the wind was terrible. Arriving at the top, we were immediately sent to a garage, and received some warmth-blankets. Cycling down was out of the question, there were busses coming to the top to bring us (and about 60 other cyclists) down.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/4.jpg"><img style="margin:10px auto 10px auto; display: block;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://users.fulladsl.be/~spb17517/Ventoux/4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Our bicycles were brought to Bédoin the next day. We then did a cycling tour around the Gorges the La Nesque, a beautiful nature area. This concluded our short trip which I will not forget soon...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-17752694666710270212008-05-29T10:30:00.002+02:002008-05-29T10:43:15.682+02:00Heading off for the Mont VentouxToday, after work, we (Dad, his colleague Filip, and my brother Ruben), will head off to the south of France, to cycle on the Mont Ventoux on Saturday.<br />I've been trying to get in shape this winter doing some Spinning in the local fitness-club, and started training outdoors on the first of April. In march, the weather in Belgium was so lousy, we couldn't train much outdoors... With a busy job, and not so much free time to spend, I managed to train about 1000 km outdoors, combined with some spinning, and indoor training on my race-bike. I know that is not really enough, but I feel alright, with a loss of 5kg bodyweight.<br /><br />The ultimate goal is to climb the Ventoux 3 times, from the three surrounding towns, Bedoin, Malaucene and Sault. Which should add up to a total of 135km, and 4390 meters of altitude difference to bridge. But, since I have completely no idea what to expect, and how my body will react to almost two hours of non-stop climbing (one climb), we will have to wait and see if this is a reasonable goal...<br /><br />The weather forecasts are satisfying, I've been relaxing the last week, and preparing everything to leave. I've been changing my diet the last couple of days, to get some more carbohydrates into my body. This is the fuel for the muscle, but it's not easy to get enough. To give an example, the two days before the big day, you should get +- 600 grams of carbohydrates per day. In eatable stuff, thats: 12 slices of brown bread (100 grams ch), 5 bananas (100 gr ch), 300 grams cornflakes (200gr ch), 750ml of sportsdrink (100gr ch) and a nice dinner.<br /><br />So, I'm off to eating my second cup of cornflakes now...<br /><br />I'll post some pictures with a report when I'm back on tuesday.OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-69843682517045946782008-03-20T09:50:00.006+01:002008-05-23T11:01:08.802+02:00New service: TalkerBee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.talkerbee.com/"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px;" src="http://www.talkerbee.com/images/logo.png" border="0" alt="TalkerBee Logo" /></a><p> </p><br /><br /><br />Today, we pre-launched TalkerBee. TalkerBee enables webportals and community websites to easily integrate Instant Messaging and Presence.<br /><br />Integration is targeted to be as simple as integrating advertisements (e.g. google ads). Furthermore, communities do not need to share private data of users. TalkerBee does not need users' passwords or access to the user database.<br /><br />TalkerBee fully relies on XHTML and Javascript, so no installation is needed by end-users. On top, the IM components are fully customizable and can be integrated in any website.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.talkerbee.com">TalkerBee website</a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-22731523681621346972007-12-18T14:31:00.000+01:002007-12-18T14:37:11.465+01:00Our first geocacheLast week, we succeeded in hiding our first geocache.<br /><br />We have hidden a "multi-cache", this is a walk which guides you along several waypoints. On these waypoints you need to search for a tag that leads to the next waypoint. On the last one, you will find the cache.<br /><br />Since the launch last wednesday, 12 cachers found our cache so far. None did not succeed.<br /><br />You can always visit the cache <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=874198df-f413-4afc-9b08-ca5ccb2fdf9d">description</a>, even without registering. Special thanks go to Isis, for the English translation, and to Team Cabdriver, colleague cachers that have tested our cache before it was published.<br /><br />BTW this is a good cache to start geocaching. It's not too difficult, and shows you one of the most beautiful nature places in Limburg.OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-9247555441142247902007-11-12T11:56:00.000+01:002007-11-12T12:08:30.241+01:00Press Release resultsIt has been 3 weeks since we released a first press release on <a href="http://www.vidivic.com">Vidivic</a>. Google hits have been a keen indicator on the results. Where we went from 0 to 22.000 hits in one week, we dropped to 500 hits after 2 weeks and a half. Since this weekend, we went up again, to 3.300 hits today.<br /><br />Most sites just took over the original message, which is nice off course, but what really pleases me are the websites that really review our service.<br /><br />Last week, <a href="http://www.tebbo.com/">David Tebbutt</a> contacted me with some questions concerning Vidivic. After answering some questions, we met in a Vidivic conference to show some features. David decided to blog in <a href="http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/blog/">SmallBizPod</a>, a very interesting blog, where David writes software and technology to increase business productivity.<br /><br />This weekend he sent me a notification of the release of the <a href="http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/blog/2007/11/10/free-videoconferencing-for-now/">Vidivic article</a>. I'm delighted with the result, and hope more articles like this will follow.<br /><br />Next to <a href="http://www.google.com/alerts">Google Alerts</a>, I use <a href="http://www.backlinkwatch.com/">BacklinkWatch</a> to check new backlinks on Vidivic. Which made me find some other articles on Vidivic: <a href="http://www.collaborationloop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2308&Itemid=45">CollaborationLoop</a>, <a href="http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/2007/10/weekly-round--3.html">Jane's E-pick of the day</a> and <a href="http://www.kolabora.com/news/2007/10/29/online_collaboration_tools_and_resources.htm">Kolabora</a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-83500973578404525642007-11-02T13:29:00.000+01:002007-11-05T10:43:36.790+01:00Garmin Etrex H GPS Geocaching ReviewI finally found some time to write a review about my new Etrex H.<br />When searching for a new unit, reviews are always fun to read, but I couldn't find to many reviews when I was searching. This is probably due to the fact that the Etrex H is a quite recent model. However I promised myself to write a review when I've had the chance to test it fully. So here it is (finally).<br /><br />The test is fully focused on Geocaching, since that is what I'm using the GPS unit for :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><u>In the box</u></span><br /><br />The yellow Etrex H<br />A wristwrap<br />Manuals and a quickstart guide<br /><br />There are no batteries included, but I was aware of that, so I bought a set of four AA NiMh2500 batteries, which were charged in advance :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><u>Let's Go!</u></span><br /><br />As told in the manual, I went outside after inserting the batteries and firing the device up. It took about 2 minutes to calibrate and search for sattelites. It was however a very rainy day, which could cause some difficulties to find signals.<br /><br />The real test began when we had the chance to do some geocaching. <br /><br />The usability of the device for entering waypoints is one of the biggest disadvantages. I have used the Etrex Legend C which was much easier to use, but I guess this is probably one of the points Garmin saved money on, to make the Etrex H as cheap as it is... To overcome this problem, I ordered a serial cable on ebay, which arrived pretty quick, although it had to travel from Hongkong to Belgium :) Although it only solves part of the problem (when doing multicaches, you still have to enter coordinates manually), it is certainly a recommended attribute.<br /><br />Out in the woods, the Etrex H never let me down. I have changed batteries before they ran out, but 10 hours without recharging is easily achievable. The Etrex H has indeed good reception, even in difficult areas with lot of trees or in the city.<br /><br />The trip computer seems not as accurate as it should be. When putting the GPS in your jacket, it's not registering the complete distance. I haven't had the time to install the firmware upgrade from the end of october. Maybe this is solved. Measuring the distance we walked is however not one of the features I bought this device for.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><u>Conclusion?</u></span><br /><br />If you are new to geocaching, and want to spend as less money as possible, the Etrex H is a good choice. For fanatics however, the burden of inserting waypoints will quickly become to big, and the device will end up in the bin (or on ebay).<br />For us, this is however completely what we expected from it. It's cheap, and so far we have a 100% success rate on finding the caches. (15 out of 15 I guess:) )OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-48555327114007901392007-10-26T14:56:00.001+02:002007-10-26T14:57:56.787+02:00Androme: Vidivic enables free web based VideoconferencingI've tried to blog the post from Digg, which worked out just fine... Interesting!<br /><br/><br/><a href='http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/10/24/3040550.htm'>read more</a> | <a href='http://digg.com/software/Androme_Vidivic_enables_free_web_based_Videoconferencing'>digg story</a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-453326222422142522007-10-26T14:26:00.000+02:002007-10-26T14:33:34.277+02:00First Press Message: Vidivic: Free webbased VideoconferencingThis week, in our company Androme, we launched a first press message about our service Vidivic.<br /><br />I assisted the company in doing this and was astonished with the results.<br /><br />This is the original message we posted in collaboration with PRNewsWire<br /><br /><blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Vidivic Enables Free Web Based Video Conferencing</span><br /><br />DIEPENBEEK, Belgium, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Androme, a leading software development company announces the launch of Vidivic (http://www.vidivic.com), a free web based service offering high-quality video conferencing using Androme's Intellivic Software Development Kit (SDK).<br /><br />Vidivic is a revolutionary new offering that will transform the way meetings are conducted. It enables users to meet business partners inside the web browser window, thus removing the need to travel long and time consuming journeys for often short meetings. The platform allows participants to join the meeting from their desks at the actual starting time.<br /><br />In addition to high-quality video and audio, Vidivic manages the arrangements for the meeting - the user simply selects the people to be invited and states the meeting date and time. Vidivic makes video conferencing accessible to everyone with an internet connection, a web cam and a web browser. Without a web cam, participants can still join meetings using a microphone or telephone.<br /><br />Nowadays, regular video conferencing solutions require large investments, hence being affordable by larger companies. Vidivic does not require large investments or dedicated hardware and will therefore also benefit a host of smaller companies too, making video conferencing more widely accessible. As a result, Vidivic targets all companies in need of inexpensive and easy-to-use video conferencing.<br /><br />Notes to editors<br /><br />Androme has gained market power in the area of video telephony communication platforms with its Intellivic product line (Softphone, Smartphone, SDK), a set of high quality SIP based audio and video telephony tools and products. The Vidivic service is based upon Androme's Intellivic Software Development Kit (SDK) which provides easy access to video telephony and communications using a set of APIs. The SDK is also sold to telecom operators and software companies wanting to integrate high quality audio and video into their products and services.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.androme.com">http://www.androme.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.intellivic.com">http://www.intellivic.com</a><br /><br />Vidivic is a free online video conferencing service which allows users to organize and attend web meetings. These meetings can be joined using a web cam and headset, to enjoy full video conferencing. If a pc or internet connection is unavailable, users can use a regular telephone to dial into the video conference and still participate in the meeting. Vidivic is built by in-house developers, using Intellivic SDK, a software development product which helps software developers to create their own video telephony applications.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vidivic.com">http://www.vidivic.com</a> </blockquote><br /><br />After a day the results were visible on google, our website went from 178 hits to 380 hits. After two days, this became 1100 and today we achieved 12000 search results. We know this will be temporarily, but it is interesting however.<br /><br />To add something to it, I've added our newsmessage to some social bookmarking sites, like digg and del.icio.us.<br /><br /><a href="http://digg.com/software/Androme_Vidivic_enables_free_web_based_Videoconferencing">Digg it!</a><br /><a href="http://reddit.com/info/5z65k/comments/">Reddit!</a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-8279857744603038332007-10-01T09:42:00.000+02:002007-10-01T09:59:00.226+02:00DisneylandLast week, we went to Disneyland in Paris.<br /><br />We stayed in the Santa Fe hotel for 5 days, and went to the Disneyparks for 3 days.<br />I've uploaded some pictures to give you an idea of the fun we had :)<br /><br />These are some pictures of the Main entrance of the Disneyland Park, with Main street.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUPTDF1I/AAAAAAAAAC0/geP3EWDvkpc/s1600-h/Disney+008.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUPTDF1I/AAAAAAAAAC0/geP3EWDvkpc/s320/Disney+008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116270943815276370" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUfTDF2I/AAAAAAAAAC8/aaLWOw-iGNE/s1600-h/Disney+010.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUfTDF2I/AAAAAAAAAC8/aaLWOw-iGNE/s320/Disney+010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116270948110243682" /></a><br /><br />We started with the Thunder Mountain train, which we did twice, since we were practically alone in the park :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUvTDF3I/AAAAAAAAADE/4tp2vWY6T6k/s1600-h/Disney+014.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClUvTDF3I/AAAAAAAAADE/4tp2vWY6T6k/s320/Disney+014.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116270952405210994" /></a><br /><br />On the second day, we went to the studios park, where we enjoyed the ride through some Special Effects scenes, as you can see on the picture below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClVPTDF4I/AAAAAAAAADM/98gH0BeIFUI/s1600-h/Disney+119.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClVPTDF4I/AAAAAAAAADM/98gH0BeIFUI/s320/Disney+119.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116270960995145602" /></a><br /><br />On our last day in the park, we went to Discovery Land, and took some pictures, e.g. with the sword of Excalibur. I couldn't get it out of the stone, so I'm not the true king of Excalibur I guess.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClVPTDF5I/AAAAAAAAADU/9V-jWh6qA-E/s1600-h/Disney+125.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwClVPTDF5I/AAAAAAAAADU/9V-jWh6qA-E/s320/Disney+125.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116270960995145618" /></a><br /><br />Offcourse we enjoyed geocaching too when we were in Paris. We did some very pretty caches. We left our first geocoin (The Long Island Geocoin), and took another we found with us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwCm5PTDF6I/AAAAAAAAADc/baJEJG9tKMo/s1600-h/Disney+004+(648+x+486).jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p1bQx3zAI-0/RwCm5PTDF6I/AAAAAAAAADc/baJEJG9tKMo/s320/Disney+004+(648+x+486).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116272678982064034" /></a><br /><br />After the trip to Paris, we stopped at the seaside in Belgium to spend the weekend. We went for a trip to Bruges, where we found 3 geocaches. Too bad all the geocoins were stolen from the caches...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-2591880756065252212007-09-21T14:15:00.000+02:002007-10-01T10:00:37.993+02:00GPS updateThe shop where I ordered our GPS (Etrex H) called today. They had some bad news, the shipment of Garmin did not include our GPS.<br /><br />But, since we are leaving on a holiday, they could offer us a replacement GPS until we returned! I was stunned by the service, which I was definitely not expecting. Chapeau for <a href="http://www.traxs.be">Traxs</a>!<br /><br />So we are on the road with a Garmin Extrex Legend C! We will be going for our first GPS-based geocaches this weekend! To be continued!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gps-koopgids.nl/graphics/fotos/ontvanger_garmin_etrex_legend_c.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 80px;" src="http://www.gps-koopgids.nl/graphics/fotos/ontvanger_garmin_etrex_legend_c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-10308996292614836042007-09-20T13:49:00.000+02:002007-10-01T10:00:37.993+02:00New hobby: Geocaching!About two weeks ago, Sophie told me about some friends of her, who were enjoying their new hobby.<br />"They walked with a GPS in search of some treasure".<br /><br />My first thoughts were: "WTF and WTF".<br /><br />After she told me the GPS wasn't actually very sofisticated, but was just giving coordinates and directions, my second thoughts were: "WTF, and who spends money on such things?"<br /><br />After rethinking it, and doing some google, and finding some other friends who were also enjoying their hobby (WTF). My state of mind started changing slowly.<br /><br />I got interested in <a href="http://www.geocaching.com">geocaching</a> (as it's called), and we found <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=7100a50b-5e90-4493-a396-61cf59d250a5">our first geocache</a>, without a GPS :) (It was actually located about 750metres from our appartment).<br /><br />For those who want a decent definition:<br /><blockquote>Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. </blockquote><br /><br />So my interest began to grow, and I started looking for an affordable GPS. I started looking for a GPS which I could use for geocaching and for car navigation. This seemed a bad idea since they are completely different. Car navigators are not accurate enough, and have difficulties for getting GPS signals in woods e.g. GPSes which can do both, cost easily up to 600 euros (maps included)...<br />So I started looking for a cheap handheld GPS, excellent for Geocaching. I finally ordered the <a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8705">Garmin Etrex H</a>, where the H stands for High Sensitivity receiver. Which should get us within 3 metres of every cache we would like to find.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/images/products/010-00631-00/en/rf-lg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px;" src="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/images/products/010-00631-00/en/rf-lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Since saturday, I'm waiting on the Garmin delivery at the local dealer. I'm hoping we will receive it before monday noon, since we are leaving for Disneyland at that time.<br />We would love to take the GPS with us, since there are some geocaches in paris which we would love to add to our "caches found" list. At the end of our 5-day trip to Paris, we are going to the seaside to spend the weekend (since they have geocaches everywhere, they also exist in Knokke... There are about 450.000 geocaches worldwide).<br /><br />That should be enough to find new energy to start working again on monday!OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-54886221860183854342007-09-20T13:43:00.000+02:002007-09-20T13:49:21.822+02:00Back!Oh my, this blog completely got out of my mind, until a good friend of mine remembered me about it, by starting a blog by himself: <a href="http://soccerproject.wordpress.com">Sjarel's Soccerproject behind the scenes blog</a><br /><br />I'll just turn this blog up to date, and post something new now and then.<br /><br />I've changed jobs, working at <a href="http://www.androme.com">Androme</a> now, which is actually a spinoff of the company I was previously working. We are in the telecommunications business, trying to get Videoconferencing accessible to everyone out there.<br /><br />I'm still living with my girlfriend in the appartment I told about about a year and a half ago.<br /><br />We went on holidays to the Provence (France), Athens (Greece) and Saalbach (Austria), but since that's a while ago, lets just forget about it ;)<br /><br />We are leaving on a holiday next week, to Disneyland Resort Paris in France. I'll keep you posted about that trip!OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1153742405017176222006-07-24T13:51:00.000+02:002007-10-01T09:59:22.713+02:00VacationAfter a nice non-working week, I decided to put some pictures online.<br /><br />Sophies parents are on a 2 week holiday, so we take care of the dogs (Tobias and Senne) and the house (including the swimmingpool). Weather was perfect (always +30) to enjoy swimming, ice-creams (Senne loves ice-cream) and lot's of ice teas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_005.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />We went walking a lot, although the dogs got quite tired when we walked in open fields...<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/%7Ekristof/weekje/images/foto_s_16_7___23_7_032.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lumumba.uhasselt.be/kristof/weekje/">More pics...</a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1151406784295249832006-06-27T13:11:00.000+02:002007-10-01T10:00:53.933+02:00House-warming partySaturday, my friends came over for a house-warming... We got some very convenient gifts to use in the kitchen from Vicky, Peter, Kurt and Judith. (Vicky made me say this)...<br /><br />It was a very nice evening, but unfortunately, I forgot to take some pics...<br /><br />Better luck next time my friends...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1150718973075849572006-06-19T14:08:00.000+02:002006-06-19T14:09:33.086+02:00Quote to remember<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux... "<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/2070408507/171-0570626-8608240">Le petit prince</a><br /></span>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1149276786547268182006-06-02T21:16:00.000+02:002007-10-01T10:00:37.993+02:00New Camera!!!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Wednesday, I received my new camera, and I finally found some time to post some pictures I took...<br /><br />It's a canon powershot A610, and I bought it (after reading a lot of reviews at <a href="http://www.dpreview.com">dpreview</a>) at <a href="http://www.fotal.de">fotal</a>, a very nice and good online shop... I paid 300€ for the camera, 4 good quality batteries, a loader, a little bag and a 1GB SD-card.<br /><br />But now back to the results...<br /><br />I started experimenting on a meeting in Brussels (couldn't leave my camera I received minutes before behind... (I used 4 AA-batteries that were included, but normally don't last as long as the NiMh batteries, although they aren't empty after a whole day of experimenting...)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />(This is one of the demo-devices we used, just to illustrate the macro power of this camera)<br /><br />At home, I took some other macro's of some fragrance sticks Sophie bought:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And today, I took some pictures of the evening sun (the first time since weeks this is possible in Belgium :D), with a balloon and some birds flying over...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.spmt.sohosted.com/photos/pic5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Just some practicing, but I like the camera very much already!OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1147686847507029642006-05-15T11:51:00.000+02:002007-10-01T10:00:53.933+02:00House-warming partyThis sunday, Sophie's friends came over to our house-warming party. We went bowling at Sportopolis first, I really sucked at the first game, with a resulting score of 71... The next game started quite the same, but I recovered bowling three strikes in a row, followed by 9 cones, resulting in a score of 142. (Set the record of the day with that one :))<br /><br />Afterwards, we prepared dinner and had a nice drink, to catch sleep at 23.00.<br /><br />Nice, but tiring day...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1145884825672466122006-04-24T14:59:00.000+02:002006-04-24T15:20:25.896+02:00Busy weekend...It's monday, and I'm quite exhausted from the busy weekend...<br /><br />Saturday at 9am, after a half-hour drive, we arrived at <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ms/nl_BE/local_home/hognoul.html">ikea</a> for some new furniture for our 'office', we bought a bookcase:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/43503_PE139254_S3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 182px;" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/43503_PE139254_S3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Some chairs:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/20706_PE039125_S3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 80px; height: 80px;" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/20706_PE039125_S3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/36240_PE127310_S3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 52px; height: 52px;" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/36240_PE127310_S3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />A rack for shoes:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/33896_PE090882_S3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 122px;" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/33896_PE090882_S3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And some smaller stuff:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/09710_PE086039_S3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 82px; height: 82px;" src="http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/09710_PE086039_S3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>...<br /><br />Afterwards, I started building everything before Sophie's friends came over to check our appartment out. (We went to the agility - dog school too in the afternoon...)<br /><br />On sunday, we tried out some new recipes, and in the afternoon, we took the two dogs for a walk in <a href="http://www.nationaalparkhogekempen.be/">Kattevenia.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.avthasselt.sohosted.com/photofoaf/image.php?id=25"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 152px;" src="http://www.avthasselt.sohosted.com/photofoaf/image.php?id=25" alt="" border="0" /></a>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1145018699321523602006-04-14T14:42:00.000+02:002006-04-14T14:44:59.330+02:00Google calendar<a href="http://calendar.google.com">Google calendar</a> was released yesterday, and I need to say, it rules bigtime!<br /><br />Finally, it's possible to share things I want to share on my calendar with my colleagues easily, use my calendar at home without installing programs and setting up ftp-spaces, use a nice graphical interface, ......<br /><br />Very nice, and finally :)<br /><br />I'm looking forward to PDA and mobile phone integrations and to everything else <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> launches...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1143818249251486082006-03-31T15:35:00.000+02:002006-04-06T14:53:57.590+02:00Just some updatesHi all,<br /><br /><br />just an update of this blog, because it was quite quiet here the last weeks...<br /><br />Work is quite busy nowadays, students are bugging me constantly with interesting questions and problems, my own project is getting busier and busier with upcoming deliverables and deadlines, etc., etc.<br /><br />But there are some nice things coming up too, our appartment is becoming how it should be, and we are inviting people as I speak, to come over and take a look... Yesterday, Sophie's grandparents dropped by, which was very nice, except for the thing that I hadn't decafiné for the <a href="http://www.senseo.com/content/locales/be.html">Senseo </a>machine...<br />Next weekend, we'll be out for a trip to the seaside... We are staying in an hotel in <a href="http://www.knokke.be">Knokke</a> for the 25th wedding anniversary of Sophie's parents, just some relaxing and nice food :)<br /><br />That's it I guess, this weekend, I'll be repairing grandpa's pc, windows 2000 gives a nice blue-screen after startup, I love it :) And sunday, hopefully, we'll get some nice wheater to go on a walk with Senne and Tobias...OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22726184.post-1142589591813209632006-03-17T10:45:00.001+01:002006-03-17T11:05:16.356+01:00Beautiful sunday<span style="font-size:85%;">Because of a very busy week at work, I haven't had time to report on our nice sunday activity...<br />So here comes the report ;)<br /><br />It's been a while since we had time to do something fun with my old high-school friends... So -beautiful- Vicky (She made me say that, she's quite bossy...), planned a nature-walk in Zonhoven. Her boyfriend, Peter, planned out this nice walk in <a href="http://www.natuurpunt.be/code/natuurgebieden/natuurgebieddetail.asp?id=493">"Wijvenheide"</a> around some ponds... It took the 5 of us (Vicky & Peter, Me & Sophie and Alexander) an hour and a half to take the walk. Afterwards we planned dinner with some other friends @ <a href="http://www.chesscafe.be/">the Chess Cafe</a>, there you can compose your own wok-plate, and eat as much as you want... Very relaxing and delicious...<br /><br />In between (there was some time left after the walk and before the Chess Cafe), we went to Vicky's place for a hot cup of coffee, some cake and delicacy... (Vicky is quite a good host, she really is ;) )<br /><br />A very nice day!<br /><br />Alexander took some pictures, but since he is still using a non-digital camera, it will take a while for the pictures to get to this blog...<br /><br />I googled some pictures of "Wijvenheide" to give everyone an idea: <a href="http://img233.echo.cx/img233/8674/zonhoven6fe.jpg">picture 1</a>, <a href="http://img233.echo.cx/img233/6427/wijvenheide9lc.jpg">picture 2</a></span>OscarCookiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254956996117376148noreply@blogger.com1