Boriss Mejias

About the Speaker

• Tell us about yourself: career, family, passions

  I’m a holistic system software engineer, which means that I try to apply all my experience when trying to find solutions, looking at the broad picture. The term holistic refers to my conviction that when we are trying to solve a problem, we are dealing with the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. That means that I try to solve problems taking the people having the problem into account. Then, when I realize that I have learned something worth sharing, I try to share it, and that can be within my family and friends, with my colleagues, or with the community. I am what we are.

• What is your icebreaker for PostgreSQL events?

  Global warming is destroying enough icebergs and glaciers, so I don’t do icebreakers anymore.

• Which book are you reading right now?

  Right now I’m reading “It ends with us”, by Colleen Hoover, recommended by my teenage daughter. Very interesting. Before that, I finished “Femina” by Janina Ramirez, recommended by a very good friend of mine. A great book that gives us a better understanding of the role of women in the middle-age. I definitely recommend this book. It even has some indirect references to heavy metal themes.

• What is your favorite hobby?

  Air Guitar \m/

About the Talk

• What will your talk be about, exactly? Why this topic?

  My talk is about a real problem with synchronous replication experienced by Adyen, an important financial company. The problem was solved thanks to a great collaboration between Adyen and EDB, with both teams providing great insight and knowledge about PostgreSQL. A real saga. I turned the case into storytelling featuring Monica De Bea, and Derk van Veen from Adyen as guest appearances. I think the storytelling format suits an online conference very well. I don’t imagine myself doing that in an in-person conference. And I’m super grateful for the illustrations made by Scarlett Riggs. What a talent she is.

• Which other talk at this year’s conference would you like to watch?

  I definitely want to watch Floor Drees and Jimmy Angelakos. They are both great speakers and the neurodiversity topic has been a real discovery for me in the last year and I totally want to know more. I also want to see the talks by Der van Veen on table partitioning and Tomas Vondra on performance. Every time I see a talk by them I learn so much.

• How do you balance technical depth with engaging storytelling in your conference presentations?

  I think storytelling is fundamental to bring a technical message, or any message actually. Because our minds can better follow a coherent story with connected ideas that goes from one place to another with a path. In the end, memory in our brains is constructed by paths. And when I say storytelling, I’m not just referring to the format I bring with Monica De Bea. Any talk can start with a problem and tell the story to find a solution. I think storytelling enhances learning because we can better remember the story that has been told. Given that said, I take the approach of the bards. My goal is not that people remember my name but the story I’m telling, the knowledge I’m sharing… as the song goes: Now the bard’s songs are over and it’s time to leave, no one should ask you for the name of the one who tells the story… No one will ever know our names, but the bards’ songs will remain…

About PostgreSQL

• What is the single thing that you think differentiates PostgreSQL most from other databases?

  Not a single thing, but several ones: it’s sustainability. Nobody owns PostgreSQL and it’s really free and open source software. It’s community, which contributes to the fact of being the most loved database. Now, there is a lot to improve in the community regarding inclusivity and diversity, so we have work to do. And third, the possibility of combining non-relational ideas with the power of relational, like bringing JSON and vector databases in great synergy within Postgres.

About POSETTE & Events

• Have you enjoyed previous POSETTE (formerly Citus Con) conferences, either as an attendee or as a speaker?

  I had a great time last year presenting another adventure of Monica De Bea solving a problem with idle in transaction sessions, and this year I’m extremely flattered by being invited as co-host of one of the live stream sessions which I will share with Jelte Fennema-Nio, which I respect a lot and I think he’s a great speaker too. I think we will have fun together.

• What other PostgreSQL events in 2024 are you excited about?

  The best kept secret which has been announced only now, PGDay Lowlands in Amsterdam.

• Could you share a memorable moment from a previous PostgreSQL conference you attended or spoke at?

  Personally, I have so many that the whole interview could just be this question. But there is certainly a particular one I want to share. During the lightning talks in PgConf Europe 2022, in Berlin, Simon Riggs announced that he was retiring… The whole room clapped for several minutes standing up… It was such a beautiful moment… all the respect and appreciation. I miss him so much…