Og Maciel's Blog, page 2

From LAMP Stacks to Large Language Models

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According to the whois command, I’ve owned the domain ogmaciel.com since January 21, 2001, and I believe it was the very first domain I ever bought. Since then, I’ve purchased multiple domains for all sorts of ideas and projects, but this one I’ve kept ��� and renewed faithfully ��� since day one.

Over the years, I’ve self-hosted (cutting my teeth on Linux by building and maintaining LAMP stacks) and used paid hosting services to run my personal blog. I used WordPress back when it was the coolest blogging platform out there, and I’ve hand-crafted HTML sites ��� and everything in between. I wrote prolifically about anything and everything for many years, and I’ve lost more posts than I care to admit as I switched platforms (and occasionally forgot to back things up).

All Things Open, Except My Calendar

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Today marks the first day of All Things Open 2025, a technology conference that takes place every year right here in my backyard. I remember attending the first few editions and loving the chance to meet people and friends ��� some I only knew from online interactions ��� while listening to great speakers and getting my mind blown by their enthusiasm for their craft.

After unsuccessfully submitting talk proposals for several years, I eventually decided to skip the event altogether. But this year, I decided to give it another shot ��� to see if it could win back my patronage. I even bought my tickets months in advance and made plans to meet some teammates and hang out outside of work.

Murder Hornet: Chapter Two

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This post continues from the previous installment, where I shared the Prelude and Chapter 1 of Murder Hornet. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d recommend starting there to get the full story so far. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts ��� let me know in the comments if you’d like me to keep posting more of the unpublished chapters.

Chapter II

“Hey, what’s up, Roddy?” I said nonchalantly, trying to hide the fact that he scared the crap out of me.

Week in Review ��� Week 41 of 2025

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This week was a mix of meetings, milestones, and moments that mattered: reconnecting with my parents, rediscovering patience, and remembering that a good round of Scrabble can fix just about anything.

Monday

I made it through an RCA call where I barely had to speak a word, even though I’d spent plenty of time behind the scenes making sure last week’s issue was fully investigated and the remediation was already in motion. Some of the discussion was productive; some felt a bit nitpicky���but overall, it went well.

How a Thumb Drive Saved My Sanity

In the early 2000s, I worked for a government agency in New York as a software engineer using Visual Basic .NET and Crystal Reports ��� which, in retrospect, was probably one of the less brilliant ideas of my career. I was young, overconfident in my programming skills, and let my ego and emotions take the wheel. I ended up leaving the company I’d worked for nearly four years to become a consultant.

Too Much Spanglish, Not Enough Story

Call it a pet peeve of mine, but I see absolutely no point in writing paragraph after paragraph sprinkled with words from another language���liberally, even proudly���when it adds nothing to the story or style. A word or two here and there, especially terms of endearment, sure.

But when every paragraph has a handful of non-English words dropped in���say, five to ten per page���that’s hundreds of instances across a typical 300-page novel. It starts to feel less like creative flair and more like a recurring speed bump, pulling you out of the story every few lines just to reorient yourself. The constant code-switching becomes the story’s background noise, making you aware of the language instead of the emotion, pacing, or plot.

My Google Calendar Tried to Kill Me Today

Today was one of those days when I barely had time to get up between meetings ��� to use the restroom, grab a cup of coffee, or just breathe. It was meeting after meeting after meeting, and even during the few blocks when I didn’t have anything scheduled, I still found myself hopping on calls to help someone who needed support.

I’ve been working from home since 2012, and before COVID, there was always a bit of a buffer between meetings ��� time that actually allowed me to get work done. As a senior manager of engineers, I do spend an enormous amount of time in meetings, but I’m usually the first to suggest canceling one if a Slack message or email would do the trick.

The Night I Became a Man (Musically Speaking)

I first became aware of music when I was around eleven or twelve years old. I remember a party being held at a sports arena in the small town where I lived, and at some point, they started playing an upbeat rock ’n’ roll song. Up until then, I don’t recall ever being interested in music���or even dancing or knowing any dance moves���but that night, something happened. I found myself incapable of not moving and shaking my body, which to everyone else probably looked like I was having an epileptic seizure (not that those are fun or funny). Eventually, I started observing the people around me and copying their moves, and I’m glad to say that night I became a man���musically speaking, at least.

Because Reading Counts as Self-Care

Busy day at work, so naturally I had to “blow off some steam” and buy new books, purely for balance, of course ;)

“Alchemised” by SenLinYu“The Cemetery of Untold Stories” by Julia Alvarez“Flash Teams: Leading the Future of AI-Enhanced, On-Demand Work” by Melissa Valentine, Michael Bernstein (publishes tomorrow)

And as if that weren’t enough temptation, I just got notified that my library hold, “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver, is ready for pick up.

Introducing Murder Hornet: Prelude + Chapter One

Author’s Note: This is a work in progress that I’ve been writing sporadically over the past couple of years. I’m sharing it unedited and unfinished. The story follows Thomas Conrad, a new student in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his encounter with a mysterious girl on a yellow Vespa.

Prelude

I knew I was going to regret what I was about to do. The certainty of it sat heavy in my chest, a weight I couldn’t shake. But knowing didn’t stop me. It never does.