rimas silkaitis
the only wisdom comes from knowing that you know nothing
Latest posts
Understanding Postgres 19 Property Graphs
What SQL/PGQ property graphs are, how a relational schema maps onto them, what they compile to, and tables can be both a vertex and an edge.
Your Model Reads the Whole Database. What Counts as an Explanation?
Relational deep learning runs models directly over multi-table databases, with no human-written joins. That convenience makes the models hard to explain. Two 2025-2026 papers take opposite shots at the problem: SQL views versus meta-paths. A look at whether the space has legs.
Your Database Schema Is a Graph
A close read of the position paper that proposed treating relational databases as graphs.
Git for Data: What MatrixOne Gives Up to Diff a Table in 3 Seconds
MatrixOne brings git-like version control to database tables: clone, branch, diff, and merge terabyte-scale datasets using MVCC and immutable storage, with benchmarks showing 100-500x speedup over SQL-based approaches.
Enzyme: Incremental View Maintenance for Data Engineering
A practical teardown of Enzyme (Databricks’ IVM engine): what’s new, how it works end-to-end, when it wins, and where it breaks.
Case Practice: Enterprise Customer Product Judgment
Prioritization Isn't a Method. It's Context.
LEANN: The Vector Index That Throws Out the Vectors
Cultivating Product Management Teams with the Case Method: Why Practice Makes Insight
Why I Moved My Site from Hugo to Astro
Why AI Agents Still Need You
Cracking CodeWhisperer: How Developers Actually Use AI in Their IDEs
Agentic Property Testing
Markdown Style Guide
Here is a sample of some basic Markdown syntax that can be used when writing Markdown content in Astro.
Greenplum Going to Hybrid Transactional Analytical Processing
Exploring Greenplum's journey toward HTAP and what it means for the future of hybrid transactional and analytical databases
Running Crystal on an M1
Getting Node working on a Mac M1
The McElroy Memo
Arrow Native Storage
Framing New Product Opportunities
My framework for vetting opportunities before I decide to build something
REP Fitness Inventory Tracker
OctoSQL
Bases of Power for Product Managers
Understanding the different bases of power and how product managers can leverage them effectively
Planning Beyond Small Teams
How to scale planning practices from small teams to entire organizations
Generating a Date Series in Presto
Get to Know Branding
Reflections on the most valuable MBA class and lessons learned about branding in business
My Product Principles
Seldomly Used SQL: bool Aggregate Functions
A guide to using bool_or and bool_and aggregate functions in Postgres for more powerful data analysis
Data Modeling in Cassandra from a Postgres Perspective
Moving from Postgres to Cassandra isn’t just changing databases — it’s changing how you think about data modeling.
A Methodology for Retiring Products
A practical guide for product managers on how to sunset products and features with empathy and proper planning
From Postgres to Cassandra
What makes Cassandra different if you know relational databases
Designing Command Line Experiences
Web apps get all the design love, but the command line deserves delight too. Here’s a set of principles for designing command line experiences