Blog
In 2007, I started this website so I could share my MSc thesis easily. I started blogging random thoughts that were on my mind, mostly related to theology, culture, and humour. I moved part of this to Tumblr, and a dedicated culture review site in 2010 (it no longer exists), but when I joined Automattic in 2015, I revamped my blog. These days, it’s mostly a space where I share photography and thoughts on leadership and tech. The latter is what you’ll find on this page.
-
2–4 minutes
10 years at Automattic
In May 2015, WooThemes announced that Automattic had acquired it. I had been working for Woo since October 2014 — so just under 8 months — and in July 2015 we officially started as Automatticians. That’s a decade ago this month. 🤯 Ownership The time has gone incredibly fast, and I cannot emphasise enough how
-
3–5 minutes
Compatibility in an age of vibe coding
Anyone who offers code or support in the WordPress ecosystem knows this paradox: customisability is WordPress’ biggest strength, but it’s also its biggest risk. It’s a strength because nearly everything someone wants is possible. I’ve been working in support for a decade now, and I rarely needed to say: “that’s not possible.” If the functionality
-
2–4 minutes
Change my mind
The piece emphasizes the importance of being open to changing one’s mind in leadership, drawing on Hannah Arendt’s philosophy of shared understanding. Effective leaders invite early feedback, focus on arguments rather than opinions, and encourage exploration of diverse viewpoints to foster stronger strategies and collaborative decision-making, ultimately enhancing organizational outcomes.
-
3–5 minutes
Why I share my own performance reviews
A few years ago, I started sharing the feedback I get about my performance with my team. Some people are taken aback by that at first, but ultimately, it helps us as a group of leaders. If you’re a senior leader, you should consider sharing the feedback you get. Here’s why I think it matters.
-
2–3 minutes
Bum sweets
Our Easter weekend was pretty horrible: all four of us were sick somehow. Yesterday morning, we took our kids to the GP. When going over the medicine we had used, Kim burst out laughing. She couldn’t remember the English word “suppository”. I straight away knew why she was laughing. That is because in Flanders, we
-
1–2 minutes
Google Calendar’s appointments
For ages, it was a nightmare to easily set up appointments, and you’d have to rely on services like Calendly to do so. However, recently, Google Calendar started offering a bookable appointment schedule. I’ve started using that in my work context as well, but it’s available to any free Google Calendar user. You can easily:
-
1–2 minutes
Why your airport Wi-Fi may not work
Over the past few years, being able to connect to airport Wi-Fi seemed to be luck of the draw. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. The most frustrating was that I could never have the modal window to sign in to the Wi-Fi network. So what was the solution? I found that using custom DNS
-
2–3 minutes
Orval’s remembrance
In Belgium, when you order an abbey beer, tradition takes over. The waiter carefully finds the right glass, placing both bottle and glass with the label facing to you. Then, with a precision most Belgians will learn at some point throughout their life, pours the beer, forming a perfect collar that curves just over the
-
2–3 minutes
My 2024 in books
I consider myself a fairly avid reader, but parenting an infant for most of 2024 resulted in me being in a constant state of tiredness. In the first part, I barely read because I simply couldn’t concentrate on books, especially in the evening when normally is my prime reading time. After returning to South Africa
-
4–6 minutes
Moving to Twenty Twenty-Five
Every year, WordPress releases a new theme. Most years, I try to update my site to use this theme. I find this a great way to explore WordPress—the software I work with professionally on a daily basis—from a user perspective. The Twenty Twenty-Two theme was the first one to introduce full site editing, as I
-
3–5 minutes
2024 Running goals
In my 2023 running recap, I hinted at doing my first marathon. Our son had just been born, and I had no clue what was going to be possible, so I didn’t want to commit to anything just yet. My first marathon At the beginning of this year, I decided to enter the Sanlam Cape
-
1–2 minutes
Luca & Nijntje
Since Mila’s second birthday, I’ve started having fun with fondant to make cake toppers for her birthdays. At the end of November, we celebrated Luca’s first year on earth, so I guess it’s now two cake toppers per year. Luca is obsessed with a night light we have of Nijntje (Miffy), so it was an
-
2–3 minutes
Using AI to apply as Happiness Engineer
Since I posted that we’re hiring in Woo Happiness, my LinkedIn inbox has been flooded with people seeking advice on how to apply, wanting to share their résumé with me, and asking why they didn’t make it through to a next round. While I understand these questions, they ironically also often pose a red flag
-
3–4 minutes
Switching to Colemak
Shortly after WooThemes was acquired by Automattic, we went on “Grand Meetup”, the annual company-wide in-person meeting. There, I heard Matt talk about “Dvorak” for the first time: an alternative keyboard layout that was designed for both speed and comfort of writing. Rubber keyboard layovers were up for grabs and I tested it for a
-
1–2 minutes
Mila & the unicorn
Since her second birthday, I’ve made a topper for Mila’s birthday cake. After the more clearly defined characters of Shaun the Sheep and Bluey, Mila is now very much into unicorns, so the most recent cake topper’s creative direction was a lot more open, which was both a blessing and a curse: I had more
-
4–6 minutes
Using AI to discover IBS triggers 💩
A few years ago, I finally went to a gastroenterologist. I had done an allergy exclusion process before: a scratch test followed by an exclusion diet. Neither was conclusive: I still regularly had unreliable intestines. The gastroenterologist ran a few tests, but nothing was conclusive there either: just a bit of inflammation that didn’t worry
-
1–2 minutes
How Fossil lost me as a customer with a simple UX change
In 2018, Kim and I travelled to Malaysia around Christmas and New Years. We both purchased a Fossil hybrid watch. The huge advantage in our view was that those watches combined the looks/style of an analogue watch with having some basic tracking and notification options you find in smartwatches. For me, it’s important to have
-
1–2 minutes
TVs and privilege
I still encounter white people who don’t think white privilege is a reality. I’m on a mission to counter that, and examples are often the most tangible way to do so. Today, I sold our old TV via a closed Facebook neighbourhood group. When the buyer came to fetch it, he asked me if I
-
3–5 minutes
ZSA Moonlander
About a year ago, my Microsoft Sculpt broke: one of the keys just fell off after what I consider a fairly short use (only about 2 years). I loved the shape of the Sculpt, but this short lifespan made it clear that I needed something more sturdy. I started venturing around at our company to
-
2–3 minutes
Drawing our son’s birth card
As I mentioned when I drew our daughter’s birth card: One of the things I like a lot is that my dad drew my birth card. A birth card is an announcement we send in the mail when a baby is born, which is apparently not a global thing. My dad’s not a professional artist