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Hey there! I’m Joel Hanson, a Software Engineer at IBM, currently immersed in leveraging event streams for a smarter use of data. My past role was as an AI Engineer at impress.ai. Now, my focus is on making AI more user-friendly for everyone. Specifically, I’m diving into real-time machine learning, transitioning from batch to stream processing, and evolving architectures from request-driven to event-driven for a more dynamic AI world.

Server-Sent Events: Build Real-Time Web Apps with Minimal Code

In this technical deep-dive, we unravel the power of Server-Sent Events (SSE), a game-changing web technology that simplifies real-time communication. Developers often struggle with complex, resource-intensive methods for creating live updates, but SSE offers an elegant solution that’s both lightweight and powerful.

December 7, 2024 · 2 min · 337 words · Joel Hanson

Configuring Kafka Connector with Docker: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the process of setting up a Kafka connector using Docker and docker-compose.yml. We’ll focus on configuring a file connector, which is useful for reading data from files and writing data to files using Kafka. Link to repository Prerequisites Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system Basic understanding of Kafka and Docker concepts Project Structure Before we begin, let’s look at the files we’ll be working with:...

October 12, 2024 · 5 min · 1041 words · Joel Hanson

Setting Up a Kafka Cluster Without Zookeeper Using Docker

Introduction In this post, we will walk through the process of setting up an Apache Kafka cluster without using Zookeeper, leveraging Kafka’s KRaft mode for metadata management. Kafka no longer requires a Zookeeper instance, simplifying the cluster setup. We will use Docker to deploy this Kafka cluster with the latest version of Kafka. Prerequisites Ensure that you have the following: Docker installed Docker compose installed Basic understanding of Kafka concepts (e....

October 5, 2024 · 4 min · 685 words · Joel Hanson

Online Machine Learning: Real-time Image Classification with CIFAR10 Dataset and Kafka

This blog post explores online machine learning through a practical example using the CIFAR10 dataset and Apache Kafka.

October 2, 2024 · 7 min · 1360 words · Joel Hanson

Supercharging Your AI: Setting Up RAG with PostgreSQL and pgvector

Learn how to implement a powerful Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system using PostgreSQL and pgvector. This comprehensive guide covers everything from setting up a custom PostgreSQL Docker image to creating a fully functional RAG query system with vector embeddings and language model inference.

September 30, 2024 · 4 min · 761 words · Joel Hanson

Git Aliases to Supercharge Your Workflow

Git aliases are a powerful workflow tool that create shortcuts to frequently used Git commands.

March 21, 2024 · 12 min · 2384 words · Joel Hanson

Mastering the Find Command: Unleashing Unix File Management Power

Discover the unparalleled capabilities of the ‘find’ command in Unix systems. From basic file searches to advanced manipulations, mastering ‘find’ empowers users to efficiently navigate, search, and manage files. With practical examples and powerful techniques, this blog unveils the full potential of ‘find’, transforming your Unix experience into one of seamless productivity and control. Unlock the power of Unix file management with the mastery of the ‘find’ command.

February 28, 2024 · 6 min · 1145 words · Joel Hanson

Mastering the Egg Drop: A Math Heist Unveiled

Mastering the egg drop involves a careful blend of strategy, mathematics, and optimization. From crafting a plan with two replicas to understanding the arithmetic behind the sum formula, the jewel thief’s mission highlights the fascinating intersection of math and real-world problem-solving. As we unravel the complexities, we find that breaking a few eggs may require a dash of strategic brilliance and a pinch of mathematical finesse.

December 29, 2023 · 5 min · 942 words · Joel Hanson

Crafting Command-Line Magic with Ease

Different ways to accept arguments in a Bash script

December 24, 2023 · 3 min · 489 words · Joel Hanson

Building a CSV Reader in C with Python Integration

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files are a common format for storing tabular data. In this blog post, we’ll explore the process of creating a simple CSV reader in C using CPython standard library.

December 19, 2023 · 5 min · 1021 words · Joel Hanson