Jump – Hercules Trophy 2011 (6023), originally uploaded by Koen BL.

This picture was taken a couple of days ago on the Hercules Trophy in Mechelen, Belgium. Besides being involved in the international organisation, and besides it being amongst the best informal networking events I know, is it a great photo-shoot opportunity as well
More to come. (And more images on Flickr and www.herculesfan.com)

Via Flickr:
The Hercules Trophy in Belgium featured a labour (sport) called Belly Slide, where the members of the team had to glide trough an inflatable castle, hoping they would have enough speed to reach the pool at the end…

If you do believe in giving, rather than taking, this is the extra feature you have been looking for. If you are only looking for even more channels to sell, stop reading as this is not your turf.

When I talk to some young folks that are about to startup their own company, they seem to have this fear of cold calling senior managers, potential mentors, VC’s, etc… And on the other side there is this hesitance not to waste time with just anyone who found you online. Making yourself available trough office hours solves these issues:  Users on Ohours publish free timeslots, in blocks of 20 minutes or more. They are clear in who they are and what it is they are (not) willing to talk about. It takes away the awkward first cold call to that person and opens you up with a conversation. Of course, depending on what you are likely to discuss with him/her, he or she can decline or accept your meeting request. After all, we all care about being productive.

Ohours has no complicated signup system or a very extended profile manager, so when you make yourself available for office hours, you can pretty much expect anyone to show up and ask a meeting. Some folks could feel scared by that, but for me this is an opportunity to meet interesting people that for whatever reason are not inside my usual network.

(You do not have to take my word for it: I found ohours via  the blog of Fred Wilson, a fanous NYC VC – The vision of Nate Westheimer is in line with what this community needs now! )

By the way: my office hours are available on http://ohr.me/jIlrRD

Toen in aan het einde van de 21ste20ste eeuw een aantal spoorlijnen werden opgedoekt, heeft het Waalse gewest beslist om daarvan paden voor traag verkeer te maken. Daardoor lopen er nu over lange trajecten mooi geasfalteerde paden die enkel toegankelijk zijn voor wandelaars, fietsers en ruiters. Wij waren de drukte van de Scheldedijken in Sint-Amands en de dijken aan het kanaal Leuven-Mechelen gewoon. De Ravels zijn – voor het stuk dat wij hebben gezien – een heel deel kalmer…

De Ravel die achter ons nieuwe huis start, is gekend als Ravel2. Deze loopt van Hoegaarden tot in Mariembourg.

Een volgende project wordt om per fiets naar Namen te rijden.  En dan later uiteraard ook eens van Les Jardin d’abondance, een bed & breakfast opengehouden door vrienden vlakbij Philippeville naar huis, waarmee we zowat de hele Ravel2 gaan afleggen – voornamelijk bergaf uiteraard 

IMG_5358, originally uploaded by DoornBoosje.

De lieveheersbeestje zijn er duidelijk ook door geinspireerd
(foto door mijn kersverse echtgenote)