https://thordraperjr.com Operator notes on technology, leadership, AI, and the long game en Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thordraperjr.com/tech/how-my-website-becomes-a-presentation/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/how-my-website-becomes-a-presentation/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT How I use GitHub Copilot, saved instructions, and browser checks to turn an article into a visual presentation. https://thordraperjr.com/career/my-resume-forgot-i-could-sell/ https://thordraperjr.com/career/my-resume-forgot-i-could-sell/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT I spent six years building technical depth on top of sales leadership. Here is how I rebuilt my resume to show the whole plan. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/vscode-agentic-harness/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/vscode-agentic-harness/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A review of VS Code's newer agent features changed how I think about instructions, portable skills, Agent Host sessions, subagents, hooks, and approval boundaries. https://thordraperjr.com/life/price-the-curb-finish-the-station/ https://thordraperjr.com/life/price-the-curb-finish-the-station/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A draft thought on two Charlotte transportation fixes I keep coming back to: parking incentives that use lots and decks first, and a faster path from transit idea to groundbreaking. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/social-posts-as-a-byproduct/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/social-posts-as-a-byproduct/ Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Staying present on social media usually dies as a separate chore. If the drafting capability lives inside the same agent session that ships the work, and the risky parts are deterministic guardrails, the post becomes a byproduct instead of a second job. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/presentation-workflow/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/presentation-workflow/ Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT A copyable markdown workflow for building presentation-ready articles with Copilot agents, optional present mode, and screenshots that prove the layout works. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/first-pull-request/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/first-pull-request/ Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Missed the session? This is the walkthrough version: add your name to a real project, let a coding agent handle the Git mechanics in the open, and practice the part that matters most: understanding the change before you approve it. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/agentic-tool-the-agent-can-carry/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/agentic-tool-the-agent-can-carry/ Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT I set out to build a social-promotion helper in VS Code and learned a more useful lesson about agentic tooling: where a capability lives decides whether it travels. The first version worked and went nowhere. The second one snaps into any session. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/nobody-stopped-training-radiologists/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/nobody-stopped-training-radiologists/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT The loudest AI predictions keep getting the second move wrong. Radiologists were supposed to be gone by now; instead they are busier and better paid than ever. That same pattern shows up in two places nobody is watching closely enough: what happens to the value of data once a model is trained, and why the rush to put agents in charge of other agents is quietly admitting the limits of what we built. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/all-aboard/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/all-aboard/ Thu, 28 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT Your environment is already a platform. The agentic shift does not ask you to build a second one. It asks you to run agents across the same identity, data protection, investigation, and governance machinery your people already depend on. https://thordraperjr.com/career/performance-narrative-oct-apr/ https://thordraperjr.com/career/performance-narrative-oct-apr/ Fri, 08 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT A public-safe version of my mid-year performance narrative -- structured around the actual Connect prompts, with customer details scrubbed and the answers written the way I'd want to read them as a hiring leader. https://thordraperjr.com/life/three-new-years-three-words/ https://thordraperjr.com/life/three-new-years-three-words/ Mon, 04 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT I gave up on January resolutions and replaced them with three personal new years -- relationship, professional, personal -- each one anchored to a single word. https://thordraperjr.com/career/walking-deck/ https://thordraperjr.com/career/walking-deck/ Fri, 01 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT My walking deck, rebuilt as a seven-part interactive introduction I can pull up anywhere. https://thordraperjr.com/life/charlotte-arts-things-to-do/ https://thordraperjr.com/life/charlotte-arts-things-to-do/ Sun, 12 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT A running list of Charlotte arts organizations and spots I want to keep handy for nights out, weekend plans, and general reminders that I should leave the house more often. https://thordraperjr.com/career/career-development-plan/ https://thordraperjr.com/career/career-development-plan/ Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT I decided to make my career development plan public. This is the first edition of a series I will publish every six months -- because the kind of accountability that drives real growth does not happen in a file share. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/when-ai-app-becomes-an-agent/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/when-ai-app-becomes-an-agent/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT The current enterprise AI conversation is full of category mistakes. This post starts a series on how to tell the difference between an AI-enhanced app, an assistive agent, an autonomous runtime, and the security controls that should change as authority increases. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/modernizing-my-blog-with-ai/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/modernizing-my-blog-with-ai/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMT How I transformed my basic Jekyll blog into a modern, professional platform using AI assistance - including the exact prompts and techniques that made it successful. https://thordraperjr.com/tech/github-copilot-devops-lab/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/github-copilot-devops-lab/ Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:00:00 GMT Are you ready to supercharge your DevOps workflow with AI powered coding assistance? GitHub Copilot isn't just for application development—it's a game changer for infrastructure... https://thordraperjr.com/tech/cyberpath/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/cyberpath/ Sat, 10 Aug 2024 12:00:00 GMT Cybersecurity Career Path Questions Are you interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, but not sure which path to take? You're not alone. There are many options and certi... https://thordraperjr.com/tech/certSalaryExpectations/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/certSalaryExpectations/ Sun, 23 Jun 2024 12:00:00 GMT One of the questions I've often heard is, "Once I get my X certification, what should my salary expectations be?" I believe that certifications offer two primary benefits. First... https://thordraperjr.com/life/balancinglife/ https://thordraperjr.com/life/balancinglife/ Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT As someone who works a full time job at Microsoft, teaches part time, and is also working on obtaining multiple certifications through the SANS Institute, I understand the impor... https://thordraperjr.com/life/habits/ https://thordraperjr.com/life/habits/ Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT We all know that having a routine and sticking to it can be a challenge, but the benefits of doing so are undeniable. Whether it's for physical, mental, or spiritual growth, kee... https://thordraperjr.com/business/1mil/ https://thordraperjr.com/business/1mil/ Sat, 28 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT When it comes to setting goals for ourselves, we often think in terms of years or decades. We set a goal to retire by a certain age, or to achieve a certain level of success by... https://thordraperjr.com/business/takingyourcareer/ https://thordraperjr.com/business/takingyourcareer/ Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT Introduction Welcome to this guide on taking your career to the next level. In this book, we will explore a variety of strategies and techniques that you can use to boost your p... https://thordraperjr.com/tech/ChatGpt/ https://thordraperjr.com/tech/ChatGpt/ Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT As a writer and content creator, I am always on the lookout for tools that can help me streamline my workflow and improve the quality of my work. Recently, I discovered ChatGPT...