Breaktime Tech Talks

In this episode, I’m following up on a few things I’ve mentioned before. I dive into some updates on the Aura CLI (the official product version). I also explored the Neo4j GenAI Java library a bit more, including a connection hiccup I ran into with Neo4j Desktop. Then, I get into my experience with the Cypher DSL library and how Cypher fits into the retrieval part of RAG systems. Finally, I take a...

In this episode, hear updates on a few projects, including Neo4j's new Aura CLI and NeoConverse . Plus, the promised blog post from last week's episode on Spring Data Neo4j entity updates . Shout-out to the JAXJUG and TampaJUG groups. If you're not involved with a tech group, there are options! Finally, a review of the DZone RefCard on Java containerization with its clear guidance on Docker contai...

Dive into my latest experiences with Spring Data Neo4j, specifically exploring new methods for updating nodes. After revisiting my 2023 blog post on this topic, I share insights on custom Cypher queries  and projections . I also discuss the challenges of finding good examples for update operations. In addition, Neo4j announced the release of The Developer's Guide: How to Build a Knowledge Graph ,...

In this episode, dive into a few exciting areas I've been exploring, including generative AI and graph technologies. I worked with Neo4j’s generative AI plugin for an experiment, and it wasn't all smooth sailing. Next, my highlights from an article in the Descript community on how to expand your educational YouTube audience —especially applied for those creating technical content. Key tips include...

Take a moment to reflect on 2024, exploring highlights in AI advancements, personal growth, and professional achievements, along with exciting 2025 goals. Then delve into an article that discusses marketing strategies but aligns well with developer advocacy.

Explore the distinction between lexical and semantic search technologies, the growing use of vector databases , and the potential challenges and solutions that may arise as these technologies mature.

Git issues, finally resetting local branch , cherry-picking , and cleaning up . Then a fun graph presentation - Dungeons, Dragons, and Graph Databases .

In this episode, hear some positive tech experiences from the week: the upgrade from GitHub Actions ( upload/download artifact ) to v4 through a  3rd party repo , and the new AI coding assistant feature in IntelliJ IDEA.

This episode, my refresher with the Graph Data Science library with highlights and challenges. Then an overview of the Building Knowledge Graphs book , a guide on everything from concepts to technical details.

Hear learnings from the new Spring Data Neo4j course - building blocks, updates/deletes, and modeling. Then recap XtremeJ and  NODES 2024 , + upcoming at CJUG .

In this episode, get my latest experiences with the Neo4j LLM Graph Builder , both the benefits and challenges. Then, an article focusing on the concept of the "Aha moment" —a key moment when developers discover the value of a technology.

In this episode, hear why data (a less glamorous topic) is actually fascinating and crucial. Then, look forward with a preview of next week's NODES 2024 event, which features a range of sessions on graph technologies, AI, data science, and security. Finally, get a teaser for the next episode.

Cover the basics of graphs , explaining mathematical roots and applications. Introduce Goodhart's Law and highlight the risks of over-focusing on metrics, whether in tech or personal growth.

Explore agents in AI, distinguishing them from RAG ( article1 , article2 ). And discuss naming and the importance of conveying relevance and clarity.

Want to take our previous vector topic a step further with vector similarity search . Then, I’ll give my thoughts on 2 recent tech conferences - JConf and dev2next .

The Asciidoc markup language is powerful and useful for developers and technical writing. Also highlighting productivity books - Atomic Habits and Deep Work - and applications for a developer.

Documenting how to map relationship entities from a database to an application. Then, delving into one author’s viewpoint on software project estimates and some ideas to adapt this inaccurate process for better results.

The term GraphRAG has recently popped up in the current AI industry, so I review a blog post on what it is and how it fits into the current landscape. I also read an article on ways to improve software development .

I’m always refreshing my memory and learning new things. How to explain technical concepts to broader audiences, then a question from the community took me into the Java driver docs and entity mapping/ OGMs .

Happy Fall! This week, we talk about confusion around GraphQL , GQL , and graph query languages. Then, I am excited to gear up for NODES 2024 by showcasing pre-conference workshops called Road to NODES !

This week, we discuss retrieval augmented generation (RAG) and how it’s being used to improve responses (or prevent hallucinations) from an LLM. We also chat about an article on how tech conferences have changed and how you can still find value in speaking or attending, plus how to justify the benefits at your organization.

A recent blog post defines "knowledge graph", a term that has been around awhile and is part of many recent AI conversations. And then we chat about the DevUp conference I attended last week. Hopefully my thoughts will help you decide how to choose the best event for you.

With the amount of new information, sometimes it’s hard to review earlier concepts. In this episode, we explain what an embedding is and talk about aligning your prompt with your use case for improving LLM answers ( example app code repository ).

In preparing for the NODES 2024 conference, I’ll talk about how my colleague and I made scheduling easier by using Neo4j (a database). Spring AI also moved to a 1.0 milestone, and I’ll talk about the easier-than-expected migration (more in my related blog post ).

Do you ever feel like some people have all the luck? Sometimes we need to see things in a new light to break through the barrier or overcome the obstacle. Plus, I took a look at a new-ish tool from Neo4j called the LLM Graph Builder . I’ll give a quick intro on that, plus what I’m doing with it and how it’s going.