Home on Roel van der Ven

Someone drops a link in a chat: “I made a WhatsApp group for this, join here.”

Our youngest is six and deep in the phase where letters are magic.

For a while I was doing what most people do: one AI assistant, one big context window, everything in one place.

Finally re-watching the Star Wars series with Teun.

I self-host Planka on my homelab and use it to manage everything from software side projects to household finances to recurring chores.

Every time I ask an LLM to draft something for me, there’s a version of the output that reads like it was written by a committee of consultants who all attended the same TED talk.

Last updated: April 2026 This is a /now page.

Cillian Murphy so we must watch it.

January was very cold, the lake was frozen, I ran on it.

It’s been a while, but I still got it.

Here’s a thought experiment I’ve been using in conversations lately.

La Haine deserved a rewatch.

We went for a kayak trip with neighbours.

Vacationing in Skåne, Sweden.

I’ve rewatched The Andromeda Strain again.

In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen tremendous progress, particularly in the area of natural language processing.

The idea of something being “old-school”, “retro” or even “cyberpunk”, exists because we attach a feeling of nostalgia to it.

In a distributed workplace it can be challenging to understand each other as a whole person, so I’m trying to share some personal things about myself with anyone I might collaborate with.

While some of us might feel comfortable with working from home, there might be others who don’t.

Tony Sojka made this picture of Roel after visiting tape.tv for a coffee.

In June 2018 I’ve participated in a Vipassana 10 day meditation course.

There is something missing on the internet, but I can’t build it myself.

Ever since @marcohamersma pointed me to Going to the Store, I’m hooked on this kind of 3D art.

The internet became a terrible place.

Roel van der Ven is an experienced Senior Product Manager with more than a decade of experience in product management, software development, and strategic consulting.

Phil in Berlin After moving to New York, Phil visited Berlin and met up with me for a beer at Kasck.

My son loves trains, this was his first real train ride!

Since a couple of months we’ve been anxious, excited and proud.

We like to make funny faces, when someone pointed a camera at us we didn’t stop.

Fabian and me in the sun on a Berlin rooftop.

It was a great evening when we surprised Connor for his birthday at Lokal Photo by Jens.

My early learnings as an online media consultant still seem valid.

It’s past midnight in Berlin, happy new year!

I like Post-its As a product manager, you work with Post-its a lot.

Roel and Noortje being happy campers on their bikes.

I’ve always been fascinated by stories and what they do with us.

After moving in, we fed a hungry crew with these 1 meter pizzas from across the street.

We went for a walk when it was raining, but we had to reach the sea.

It was dark outside and we are taking a little trip.

On summer days we’d go on bike tours out of town.

Technology and music are two of the most important things that keep me inspired.

I haven’t been able to post anything lately because of a new and interesting adventure.

You can still hear the echoes!

After a splendid Music Hack Day London in 2011 we were lucky to be invited to a small tour in the National Physical Laboratory of London.

Photo by Ian Hooper Ian, Carsten and Roel went climbing at Bertha Bloc in Berlin.

A photo of Roel’s sweater with the Star Wars logo.

We rented a moped and explored the island together.

This cat is named Apie.

Yesterday Atoms for Peace released the music video for their track “Before your very Eyes”.