Concepts
AI
Embeddings
Vector representations of text. The bridge between language and similarity search — and the upstream choice that bounds every retrieval decision below it.
Eval harness
Automated tests for agent behavior. The number that tells you whether the agent is getting better or worse over time, and the only thing standing between you and silent regression.
Inference
Where the model runs. Local hardware, open-weight via API, closed-source frontier — three tiers, each tuned to different work, routed by job.
MCP
Model Context Protocol. The connective tissue between agents — a standard tool layer that makes the system composable rather than each integration bespoke.
RAG
Retrieval-augmented generation. The second-brain layer beneath my agents — context pulled from a wiki I maintain, not from training data alone.
Vector DB
Storage and similarity search for embeddings. Most of the engineering decisions here are about scale — pick the simplest one that fits the corpus and move when you have to.
Finance
DCF
Discounted cash flow. The canonical valuation framework, almost entirely determined by two estimates (WACC and terminal value) wearing the costume of cash-flow analysis.
Drawdown
Peak-to-trough decline. The honest metric — annual returns are what you brag about; drawdowns are what determines whether you stay in the trade long enough for the returns to compound.
Kelly
Bet size as a function of edge. Theoretically optimal, practically catastrophic at full Kelly — fractional Kelly is the disciplined version that survives noisy estimates.
Position sizing
How much each trade gets. The variable that determines whether a system survives a losing streak — more important than entries or exits, and the discipline retail traders skip.
Sharpe
Risk-adjusted return ratio. Useful as a sanity check on a strategy, dangerous as the optimization target — Sharpe doesn't see the tail.
Vol surface
The topography of implied volatility across strikes and expirations. The deviations from flat — smile, skew, term structure — are what carry the signal.