description

Hi, I’m Florents! Friends call me Flo. I was born 33 years ago. After living the first five years of my life in Albania, my family moved to Salamis Island, Greece, where I grew up. I’m based in Greece now.

I build data tools for a living. My interests lie somewhere between database engineering, AI, web crawling, and data journalism.

I have research, engineering, and leadership experience across the entire data supply chain, from modeling and applying machine learning algorithms to engineering and managing production deployments of big data pipelines.

Some companies I have worked for or consulted for include BCG, Deutsche Telekom, BASF, GfK, XING, BMW, and Advantest, among others. My professional profile is on LinkedIn

Nowadays, I mostly write code in Python and C, while I try to find excuses to write more Rust and Go.

My open-source software projects are available on
github.com/Florens-Tselai.

Postgres Extensions

  • pgxicor: XI (ξ) Correlation Coefficient in Postgres
  • pgllm: pgllm: Use LLMs in Postgres
  • pgPDF: pgPDF: Query PDFs from Postgres
  • jsonb_apply: Postgres JSON with a functional twist
  • pgJQ: A Postgres extension that brings jq to Postgres and SQL
  • vasco: MINE-statistics extension for Postgres. Correlation discovery made easy.
  • cookiecutter-postgres-extension: A cookiecutter template for a Postgres extension

SQLite Extensions

  • tsellm: tsellm: Use LLMs in SQLite and DuckDB
  • liteJQ: jq extension for SQLite.
  • WarcDB: A tool that serves crawl data as SQLite databases.

diofanti.org

If you’re a Greek journalist, politician, or concerned citizen, you may have come across diofanti.org, a free and public tool I’ve created that tracks government spending in Greece. Here’s a demo video showcasing it.

Press

When I have something interesting to say, I write opinion pieces in the Greek press:

  • Η τεχνητή νοημοσύνη χρειάζεται ανοιχτά μοντέλα naftemporiki.gr
  • Για ποια έλλειψη προσωπικού μιλάμε; naftemporiki.gr
  • Διοφάντη: Διαύγεια για ανθρώπους naftemporiki.gr
  • Γραφή: Το κρυφό όπλο της τηλεργασίας moneyreview.gr
  • Πόσοι κατάλαβαν την ιστορία με την GameStop; moneyreview.gr

Sometimes I give interviews too:

  • Η “Διοφάντη” αποκαλύπτει “πού πάνε τα λεφτά” radiome.gr
  • Φλόρεντς Τσελάι: Το Διαδίκτυο δεν είναι μόνο τρεις - τέσσερις εφαρμογές kathimerini.gr
  • Η πιο πολύτιμη «πρώτη ύλη» σε επίπεδο αγοράς και κάλπης naftemporiki.gr
  • H προβολή στις εκλογές του Μαΐου mixcloud.com

Interests

In my free time, I eliminate free time. In particular, I try to read as many books as possible; I’m primarily interested in strategy, history, philosophy, and politics.