From Poolside Prototypes to Agentic Execution: My Algo-Trading Framework Evolves

Back in Rhodes, piña colada in hand and my feet dipped in the pool, I wrote about building yet another algo-trading framework. That post chronicled the shift from overengineered C++ and Go experiments to a more pragmatic, productive Python setup, powered by GitHub Copilot and AI pair-programming. It was lightweight, testable, and already backtesting a simple RSI trailing stop strategy via Alpaca’s market data API. Since then, that experimental repo has evolved into something far more structured: a FastMCP 2.0-compatible server hosting two composable tools: get_historical_data and run_backtest. These tools, abstracted from my core logic, form the backbone of a modular and agent-friendly trading system. They allow for decoupled execution paths, better observability, and—most importantly—plug-and-play access from LLMs. ...

July 27, 2025 · 4 min · Tim Jones

Rhodes to Riches: Poolside Python and Trading Bots

As I write this, the Aegean sun glints off the water and my daughter cannonballs into the pool for the third time this morning. We’re on a family holiday on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes—an ideal mix of history, relaxation, and, somewhat unexpectedly, a productive coding sprint. Because yes, once again, I’ve found myself writing yet another algo-trading framework. I think this must be the third or fourth time I’ve gone down this rabbit hole. ...

June 7, 2025 · 4 min · Tim Jones

Microsoft Certified: AI Certs Critically Reviewed

Earlier this year I passed both the AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals and the more advanced AI-102: Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate exams. This track was compelling due to both the topical nature of the subject matter and as stepping stones toward my longer term plan of attaining AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Expert. I found them to be quite different in scope, depth, and the type of preparation required. This short blog goes through some of these aspects and is intended as a primer to anyone else considering the certifications themselves. ...

April 1, 2025 · 3 min · Tim Jones

Kubernetes Operators: A Practical Dive Using Go and Kustomize

Kubernetes has revolutionized the way we deploy and manage containerized applications. However, as applications grow in complexity, managing their lifecycle becomes increasingly challenging. Enter Kubernetes Operators—a powerful pattern that extends Kubernetes’ capabilities to manage complex applications seamlessly. In this article, we’ll explore what Operators are, why they’re beneficial, and how to build one using Go and Kustomize, drawing insights from the kube-operator project. What Is a Kubernetes Operator? A Kubernetes Operator is a method of packaging, deploying, and managing a Kubernetes application. It extends the Kubernetes API to create, configure, and manage instances of complex applications on behalf of a Kubernetes user. Operators encode operational knowledge into software, automating tasks like deployment, scaling, and recovery. ...

April 25, 2024 · 5 min · Tim Jones