Michael Washington: The Nature Of Data - Episode 353

Jun 9, 2025

Michael Washington, an accomplished ASP.NET and C# programmer and founder of BlazorData.net, shares his journey from developing early applications to launching innovative projects. He introduces the Personal Data Warehouse, an open-source tool for effective data management. The discussion highlights the three data phases: collection, transformation, and reporting, emphasizing how transformed data drives decision-making. Michael also explores AI's role in data processing and warns against over-reliance on it, advocating for human insight in critical fields.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Data Exists for Human Decisions

The true purpose of collecting data is to enable a human to make a decision.
Every phase of data handling must support this decision-making goal.

ADVICE

Focus on Data Phases

Focus on the three phases of data: collection, transformation, and reporting.
Prioritize transformation as it requires compute power and is the core of data usefulness.

ADVICE

Use Personal Data Warehouse Features

Use the Personal Data Warehouse to import data from various sources like SQL Server or Excel and edit it.
Leverage AI-assisted code generation for transformation and SSRS reports for output all within one app.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Michael is an ASP.NET and C# programmer who has extensive knowledge in process improvement, AI and Large Language Models, and student information systems. He is also the founder of the following websites, BlazorData.net, AIStoryBuilders.com, and BlazorHelpWebsite.com — fantastic resources that help empower developers. Michael resides in Los Angeles, California, with his son Zachary and wife, Valerie.

Topics of Discussion:

[2:09] Michael shares his background, starting with his first applications created for his uncle’s company using Access 2.0.

[3:08] Michael mentions his new project, Personal Data Warehouse, which is an open-source, free tool for managing data.

[5:20] He explains the inspiration behind the Personal Data Warehouse, focusing on the importance of data for making human decisions.

[7:48] Michael’s finding: the reason we collect data is so that a human being can use that data to make decisions.

[9:42] The three phases of data: collection, transformation, and reporting, and the significance of the transformation phase, where data is processed to make it useful for decision-making.

[12:45] Data warehousing techniques and tools, and the use of Parquet files.

[13:14] Michael talks about the use of SQL Server Reporting Services for generating reports, which can be accessed through the application. He encourages developers to explore the Personal Data Warehouse and its open-source code on GitHub.

[22:33] Scenarios and use cases for Personal Data Warehouse.

[32:09] AI and Language Models in Data Management.

[36:17] The need to be responsible with AI and not use it to harm people.

[37:07] Michael shares his experience with various AI tools, including CoPilot, OpenAI, and Google Notebooks.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Clear Measure Way

Architect Forum

Software Engineer Forum

Programming with Palermo — New Video Podcast! Email us at programming@palermo.net.

Clear Measure, Inc. (Sponsor)

.NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer’s Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo

Ep 286 with Michael Washington