Posts

Three categories I keep reaching for lately 🚀

Azure / AWS ☁️

• Connect straight to S3 or Azure Storage and query files directly
• Use secure, modern auth like RBAC, tokens and CLI creds

JSON / CSV 📄

• Load and explore semi-structured or flat files from anywhere
• Automatic schema inference that feels like magic
• Use asterisk wildcard to easily load multiple files

Postgres / MySQL 🗄️

• Attach external databases as if they were part of DuckDB
• Join and query across multiple systems without friction
• Stream data both ways for fast ETL and rapid prototyping

Still not on the “ducktrain”? Have a look at duckdb.org.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Ever get stuck on a problem and think the solution is to grind harder? Lock yourself in a room, stare at the screen, and power through?

Yeah… no. Just imagining that makes my eyes water 😢.

It’s not only miserable - it’s actively worse for solving the problem.

Here’s the counter-intuitive truth: walk away. 🚶‍♂️💨

Literally leave the task and come back later. And the tougher the problem, the more it benefits from that break.

But Agoston, this sounds like something you made up.

Nope. This is one of the most robust findings in creativity and problem-solving research: the incubation effect - stepping away improves solutions 🧠✨.

But Agoston, you haven’t been in uni for a decade.

Fair. So here are two solid studies from the last 10 years:

• Henok et al., 2018 - Incubation and interactivity in insight problem solving
• Gilhooly et al., 2016 - Incubation and Intuition in Creative Problem Solving

Don’t be scared by the word incubation - it’s science-speak for “leave the problem alone for a bit” 🌱.

And if you want more studies (there are plenty), just ask ChatGPT 🤖.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

To be an engineer, you need at least a BSc and an MSc in Computer Science. ❌ Wrong.

If you have imposter syndrome, you’re not cut out for engineering. ❌ Wrong.

If you burn out and take a career break, it means you’re not meant for this field. ❌ Wrong.

If you’re 30 and still figuring out whether coding is for you, it’s probably not. ❌ Wrong.

If you sometimes hate coding, you should quit. ❌ Wrong.

These are myths I’ve come across - and wrestled with - over 20 years in software development. 🧑‍💻

Here’s what’s actually true:

❤️ Passion and frustration come as a pair. You can love your craft and still have days you want to throw your laptop out the window.

🎢 Ambition comes with doubt. Feeling like an imposter doesn’t mean you’re unfit - it often means you’re growing.

🌱 Breaks are healthy. Trying something new, resting, exploring another path - none of these disqualify you from being an engineer.

If you’re struggling with any of these feelings, you’re not alone. 💬 Send me a message - happy to chat and share perspective.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

My memory is basically that of a goldfish. I only remember what truly matters - and SQL syntax does not make the cut.

The other day I needed to change a column type in my database, so I wrote something like:

ALTER TABLE rxc.trial change column drugs to text instead of varchar;

Yes, I know. There are mistakes. Parts of it are basically fan-fiction.

And at this point, some of you are already judging me. You probably call yourself a “data engineer” or an “SQL magician.” You wake up at 3 AM reciting the differences between Postgres 10 and 11. You speak SQL better than your native language.

I am not you.

I wrote that line purely so I could add this right under it:

//TODO: fix the syntax of this statement

Then I asked Copilot to “fix the TODO in this file.” Because I’m not just lazy - I’m committed to not learning. Goldfish, remember?

But here’s the thing: Copilot didn’t warn me that this change could cause downtime or even cost the company $50k. (It didn’t happen - but it could have.) And that’s exactly why I still need the SQL magician. They would have told me. Right after making fun of me for the syntax.

So no, AI didn’t replace you. It liberated you - from people like me - so you can focus on real problems instead of listening to my existential crisis about SQL.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

AI has already replaced junior and mid-level developers. 🚫

Wrong.

There has never been a better time to start a career in software. Here’s why 👇

1. 📚 Resources have never been better - courses, tutorials, and tools are at their peak after 20+ years of evolution.
2. 🤖 You have a 24/7 private tutor - in any topic, any language, any framework (yes, I mean ChatGPT).
3. 💻 Endless paths to explore - frontend, backend, mobile, data, gaming - all accessible if you’re curious and motivated.

Yes, the landscape is changing - fewer internships, tighter competition. But if you’re passionate about building, solving problems, and creating through code, the best time to start is right now. 🚀

💬 Feeling lost about where to start? Send me a message - I’m happy to offer a free consultation to help you get started.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Developers aren’t just adapting to AI - we’re grieving. Software development has changed forever, and that’s a kind of loss. Each of us goes through the 5 stages in our own way 👇

🩶 Stage 1 - Denial

• “It’s just another hype cycle.”
• “We had LLMs in the 1950s too.”
• “My job is way too creative for AI.”

🔥 Stage 2 - Anger

• “I write better code than this thing.”
• “It hallucinates!”
• “Stop suggesting console.log()!”

🤝 Stage 3 - Bargaining

• “Maybe I’ll just use it for boilerplate.”
• “It’s OK as long as it’s free.”
• “If I supervise it closely, it’s basically still my code.”

😞 Stage 4 - Depression

• “I can’t believe I’m installing the Copilot extension.”
• “What if my PR gets reviewed by a bot next?”
• “It writes faster than me — and doesn’t complain about Jira.”

🧘 Stage 5 - Acceptance

• “Let me enable this MCP for my emails.”
• “I just asked my AI to write my onboarding doc.”
• “Remember when we thought Stack Overflow was cheating?”
• “Is there an auto-accept option somewhere in settings?”

Any of this sound familiar? Where are you in the five stages right now? 👇

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Are you into data analytics? 🗃️

Then if you haven’t heard of DuckDB, you’re missing out BIG TIME! This bad boy is the newest game-changer in the field. If you haven’t checked it out yet - omg, saddle up!

Here’s what I love about it:

1. Ridiculously easy CSV ingestion and joins

SELECT *
FROM read_csv_auto('/Users/aston/company.csv') c
JOIN read_csv_auto('/Users/aston/company_revenue.csv') cr
  ON c."Company Name Column" ILIKE cr."Some Other Column";

And BAM! You’ve got your joined dataset.

2. Serverless simplicity

Your database is literally just a file on your machine. Open it in DBeaver and use it like any other DB server — no setup, no daemon, no fuss. You don’t even need to install a binary! (But if you want to, it’s in basically every package manager.)

3. Blazing fast

Joins, aggregations, gigabytes of data - no sweat. Forget uploading to a remote PostgreSQL server - DuckDB flies circles around Postgres and SQLite for analytics.

Give it a go - once you go DuckDB, you never go back.

(Okay, maybe not as catchy as “once you go Mac,” but you get the idea 😎)

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

What do I want? 🤔

It’s a question I’ve asked myself countless times - and one that others have asked me just as often.

For years, my answer was confident: “Of course I know what I want.” Then one day, it shifted to: “Wait… do I actually know?”

Over the past 20 years, I’ve tried different ways to find that answer. Here are 7 strategies that helped me figure it out - maybe they’ll help you too.

1. Career Break

I took two career breaks - each one deeply transformative in its own way. During my second break, I tried streaming PUBG, one of the fastest-growing games at the time. It didn’t take long to realize: being on camera wasn’t for me. But that clarity was gold.

2. Travel and Have Fun

In 2014, I packed up my life into storage, bought a one-way ticket to Asia, and spent three months exploring. No plans, no pressure - just doing the things I’d always dreamed of. It was freedom, pure and simple.

3. Changing Companies & Roles

Fifteen years ago, I dreamed of becoming a manager — it looked cool, important, and like the next step beyond being “just the tech guy.” The path turned out to be the hardest one I’ve ever taken, full of challenges I never saw coming.

4. Study

In 2012, I was bored with my job and felt drawn to psychology. Instead of overthinking it, I went back to school for a second master’s degree - and ended up becoming a published scientist.

5. Personal Projects

While my friends were out partying, I often spent nights and weekends building passion projects. Those projects became my playground for learning - about networking, business, and the startup mindset.

6. Books & Self-Education

There’s a book for almost everything in life. Over the years, learning from the best through books has been one of my biggest advantages - it’s like having mentors on every shelf.

7. Counselling & Psychotherapy

I’ve spent six years in therapy and therapy training - facing my inner demons and learning to understand myself. That inner work gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone and try all six strategies before this one.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.