iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 01/07/2026

Never thought I'd be one of those people holding my macbook open while boarding an airplane but here we are. Bye Lisbon, till next time! I make my escape to Belgian weather! 😅

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 10/06/2026

The last Belgian #Java User Group before the summer stop is in the books! Thank you again to @oniryx.be for hosting us every year in June since we started! A big massive thank you to @glycin.bsky.social and @ted.dev for presenting #spring and #eventsourcing See you all after summer! ☀️

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 09/06/2026

First thing my kid says to me when he woke up: "Daddy, that's Duke on your tshirt" Proud dad moment. 😅 #java We have a @bejug.bsky.social event today, so was already wearing this.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 08/06/2026

Life is a matter of perspective. Sometimes all you need to do is take a few steps to the side and what looked like "stop believing" turns out to say "never stop believing." ✨ Thank you Wintercircus Ghent (our Timefold homebase) for such a clear example that where you stand changes what you see. 🎪 😅

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 04/05/2026

Hi folks! If you are @devoxx.uk this week, i'd love to meet you there! Come to my session on "dealing with change" on wednesday, or just tap me on the shoulder for a nice conversation... i am bringing belgian! 🍫

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 07/04/2026

A project I've wanted to build for a while, mainly to remind myself to submit talks to CFPs. - Get the data from javaconferences.org - Create a video with the data using Remotion Could be less obnoxious, but that's for the next iteration. 😇 #java #conferences

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 13/10/2025

One of the coolest things about our @bejug.bsky.social community? Everyone can participate and help out. Check out this amazing banner @lomagnette.bsky.social made!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 10/10/2025

A @kevlin.bsky.social during my informal #speakertour after the @devoxx.com conference! Seen on the Meir shopping street. Spotted by @lomagnette.bsky.social, picture by @hanneslowette.net. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 06/10/2025

First talk of my #devoxx, @mydeveloperplanet.com talking about...what else... AI agents.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 05/10/2025

#Devoxx talk trial run in front of a "live" audience. 😅 If you are at the conference, do say hello when you see me. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 21/09/2025

Nope, Vergauwen belongs to Belgium mostly. 😅 I am surrounded by these people since I live in the green area.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 09/09/2025

# Meetup telling me interesting group in Belgium no longer has an organizer. Me:

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 17/07/2025

Finished it today and immediately bought the sequel 😅

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 17/07/2025

Books and Wine, lose track of time. 😊 #luddites #antwerp.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 12/06/2025

Sorry for intruding. Didn't realize this was a safe space. Please accept this gift of cat picture as an appology.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 26/05/2025

Working on a new talk! Got inspired for this one after talking with the rest of the crew at the BeJUG 30y #java drink. It always make me happy to work on something new and then see it evolve. I am gonna try to blog about this one piece by piece, so stay tuned. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 15/05/2025

Finished my first #lego build in about 20+ years. So relaxing with a nice cup of tea. ☺️ Now to read a nice book and this evening is gonna be exactly what I needed after the conference season.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 14/05/2025

@jcon.one was excellent! Gave a talk, had many meaningful conversations and was most impressed by the impact of the MentoringHub. 😊 This "formalized hallway track" really led to some deep conversations and I think is a valuable add to any conference. Congratz to @richard.fichtner.dev and team!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 13/05/2025

Hey @jcon.one, join my talk in 30 minutes (13u30), where we talk about dealing with #change. 😊 I'd you are feeling overwhelmed sometimes with all the changes coming at you, I got some stories that might help you out.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 09/05/2025

Sorry to miss it... but just arrived at St Pancras station. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 09/05/2025

Good morning @devoxx.uk! Want to kick the day of with some talk about making the world a slightly better place... with #java and #ai? LlJoin my talk in Room A. As a bonus, I do have delicious Belgian cookies to compliment your coffee 😊 see you there? #eatingwhileothersareworking

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 05/05/2025

See you later this week @devoxx.uk 😍 If you see me walking around, don't hesitate to say hi! It's not because I get up on a stage sometimes that I only like to hear the sound of my own voice... I'd love to chat about almost anything! 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 02/05/2025

FYI: it's all good 😉 just weird positioning when viewed from our door.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 02/05/2025

This passive-aggressive sign right outside our office always gets me 😅.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 24/04/2025

I was more concerned of putting "child"-ren in modules and compiling them... but then I saw it! 😡 There is a minifig for that!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 17/04/2025

Books and Wine at my usual spot, great way to start our extended Easter Weekend. 🥰

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 16/04/2025

Back home after a nice day @devoxx.fr 😊. Was great to connect with #java minded people in Paris! Merci et au revoir! 🥰

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 16/04/2025

Always great to catch a talk of @jbaru.ch and @gamussa.dev, even better together. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 16/04/2025

Merci @devoxx.fr! It was great to be with you and talk about #llm and Timefold. All resources can be found on: solver.timefold.ai 😊 Until next time!

A picture of Tom and Geoff standing on a stage at Devoxx France. In the background, you can see the title slide of the talk: "LLMs can't optimize schedules... but AI can."

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 16/04/2025

Alright @devoxx.fr! See you in 1.5h for our session about something #llms can't do, but #ai can... in #java even! 🤩

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 10/04/2025

I have not bought or been gifted any Lego in the last 25 years... but looking forward to some hours of fully disconnecting, listening to some appropriate music and building this!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 08/04/2025

My genuine happy face after spotting @ddoutsiopoulos.bsky.social behind the camera. 😊 great set or pictures once again!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 04/04/2025

"Just going to record a quick video today" ending up in more tickets on the board. 🤣

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 03/04/2025

Rise and shine! It's @amsterdam.voxxeddays.com time! 😊 See you in room 10 at 13:35 for a talk which will show you that you can indeed solve complex planning problems in Java. 🤩

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 02/04/2025

Arrived in Amsterdam for @amsterdam.voxxeddays.com 😊 looking forward to tomorrow!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 25/03/2025

Excited to be going to the Netherlands once again, this time for a brand new #voxxed conference! Will I see you there? 👀 @amsterdam.voxxeddays.com 😘 #catpicturesincluded

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 24/03/2025

The coming couple of weeks are filled with conference/meetup talks, fun times ahead 🤩 . I can’t wait to hit the stage, share ideas, and connect with awesome folks from the hashtag#java community. Let’s go! 🎤✨

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 28/02/2025

Time to add another animal to the GenAI farm. Listening to a talk about #goose by the people from Block. 🪿 I can see why @angiejones.tech is excited about all the work Block is doing.

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 28/02/2025

Tech check done all. Ready for my #llm and #ai talk @devworldconference.bsky.social. See you at the last slot to conclude the conference. 😊

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 21/02/2025

At our old company's seminar (had already resigned, notice period) I did a talk where half was real content, other half semi-fake crazy #tinfoil conspiracy rant (laughing with the company and colleagues a bit) in Takahashi style: 140+ slides in just over 30 minutes 😅. Going out in style 🤣

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 20/02/2025

Surely not me opening my talk with a picture of my cat. Nope nope, no sir-y, surely not me. 🐈‍⬛ Then again, 🙃 there might be logic to this madness... come find out next week at @devworldconference.bsky.social, where I'll present "LLM's can't optimize schedules, but AI can". See you in Amsterdam!

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 14/02/2025

Timefold hitting the front-page of @newsycombinator.bsky.social 😍. The blog post @geoffreydesmet.bsky.social wrote is probably the best explainer why I switched companies after 11.5 years at my first employer. It's heartfelt, personal and excellent: timefold.ai/blog/how-i-b...

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 14/02/2025

Looking forward to speak DEVWorld Conference. 😁 Let's talk about the things LLMs aren't good at, what ancient technology can resolve these gaps and how we can #fuse these 2 together. See you in 2 weeks! You're gonna want to stay for this one. 🪿 🦙 🐈‍⬛ #llm #planningai

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Tom Cools @tomcools.be · 05/02/2025

Allons-y! 🥖🍷🇫🇷 Looking forward to speaking at DevoxxFR for the first time. It's gonna be an #llm #ai and #java presentation on creating schedules together with my co-speaker @geoffreydesmet.bsky.social 😁 Looking forward to sharing that with you all. 😇

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