Author | Lightnews

Almog @almog.xyz · 13d

Calling database nerds in SF! I'm covering SlateDB at the systems meetup next Wednesday (10/29). If you're around, I'd love to meet you in person (that way you'll have proof I'm not just an AI bot).

👉 luma.com/e7feg2i6

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Almog @almog.xyz · Aug 8

I wonder why it hasn't made it's way to the US! The only time I get it is when I make it at home.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Aug 8

Beans on toast is underrated.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Aug 7

I recently implemented Gorilla encoding (www.vldb.org/pvldb/vol8/p...) for a SlateDB PR. Pretty cool stuff - easy to understand but really powerful. Here it is, explained by a gorilla.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Aug 5

I guess the answer to that is “technically, yes.”

Almog @almog.xyz · Aug 5

It's true. Every company eventually becomes a database company.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Jul 15

Despite using so many new technologies, I somehow never learn my lesson: read the docs sooner and read the docs thoroughly.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Jul 8

Reading the tokio-rs async documentation makes me feel like...

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Almog @almog.xyz · Jul 2

that's so cool - I love contraptions that are just there to show that we can do something!

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Almog @almog.xyz · Jul 1

No shame in appreciating bona fide nerd humor 😉

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Almog @almog.xyz · Jul 1

One day I'll open a coffee shop dedicated to the not-insignificant intersection between database nerds and coffee snobs. Until then, enjoy this comic.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 28

Maybe... just maybe, adding more features and complexity into stream processors is NOT what we need?

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 24

Fact.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 23

The new electric Caltrain cars have WiFi. 🙏

SF bay area has finally entered the 21st century (on this dimension of public transit only).

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Reposted by Almog

Chris @chris.blue · Apr 22

Today marks SlateDB’s one year anniversary! It’s been a lot of fun. Thanks to @rohanpd.bsky.social @flaneur2024.bsky.social @almog.ai @vigneshc.bsky.social @paulbutler.org Jason Gustafson, David Moravek, and many others for joining the project. 😀

SlateDB - An embedded storage engine built on object storage | SlateDB

Description will go into a meta tag in <head />

SlateDB.io

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

This got me thinking: Should MCP itself formally distinguish between request vs response context?

It could let LLMs be more intelligent about when to pull extra info. 🤔

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

I built a demo agent for hotel booking. My setup:

Inject request context into the prompt (user prefs, budget, pulled from account)

Fetch response context live using MCP tools (available hotels that match search params)

Result: the agent felt way smarter.

[5/N]

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

Back when we only had prompts, you could frame the task (request context).

Today, tools like MCP change the game. But should you use them?

[4/N]

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

Example: a hotel booking agent 🛌

Request context: "Book a hotel in Barcelona on April 28 under $400"

Response context: A list of hotels available in Barcelona that day, within budget.

[3/N]

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

⚖️ You need to balance two types of context:

Request Context = frames the task

Response Context = info needed to complete it

[2/N]

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Almog @almog.xyz · Apr 21

Prompt engineering was v0. Context engineering is v1.0.

How should you think about supplying LLMs with the right information? 📖

[1/N]

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Almog @almog.xyz · Feb 10

"Kafka Configs: A Rube Goldberg Machine?" - an actual quote from a customer after discussing cleanup.policy and Kafka Streams changelogs.

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Almog @almog.xyz · Feb 4

This is really neat, thanks for sharing. Little performance hacks like this require understanding how things work underneath the hood, and tend to have the most impact on overall performance!

Would love to know other similar tips you have.

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Reposted by Almog

Chris @chris.blue · Feb 3

SlateDB now has clones 🤯

Users can clone an existing DB's data to a new location. It's nearly instantaneous since it references the data from the old bucket rather than copying. Writes to the clone update the new location. Compaction lazily merges old data into the new directory./ht @responsive.dev

Initial clone implementation by hachikuji · Pull Request #430 · slatedb/slatedb

Fixes #315. This patch contains the logic to create and initialize clones as outlined in RFC-0004.

github.com

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Reposted by Almog

Apurva Mehta @apurvamehta.com · Feb 4

Should you use Kafka? If so, when? And what are the tradeoffs presented by the dizzying variety of Kafka-adjacent technologies? I hope that my latest blog post provides unique and useful answers to these questions.

Let me know what you all think!

👉 www.responsive.dev/blog/why-whe...

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