I Need Coffee - Episode 187 - Weekly BC Review!

Show Notes: Episode 187 - I Need Coffee (oct 31, 2025)1. Personal / Life Updates   - Persistent cold, late start, brewing coffee   - Rotated 18-month-old generator gasoline (10 gallons)   - Homemade “Zante bowls” (rice-beans-tofu bowls)   - Replaced/filled tiki torches for Halloween party   - Visited first ERP client/mentor (1996) who now has early Alzheimer’s2. Hardware & Power-Saving Obsession   - LA electricity prices insane (~33–55 ¢/kWh, bill up 63% in 4 yrs)   - Switched 24/7 servers to Lenovo M910Q Tiny PCs     - Ubuntu Server idle: 3.6–4.4 W (!)     - Windows 11 idle: 9–10 W   - Entire “data center” (3 servers + NAS) now <20 W3. Linux Desktop vs Windows Reality Check   - Tried Linux desktop again → quickly remembered why he doesn’t use it   - Deep Microsoft 365 ecosystem (Excel, Word, OneNote, Outlook, Teams, Snagit, etc.) simply doesn’t work well on Linux   - “You should use Linux” crowd ignores the “you” part (Lamborghini SVJ vs family minivan analogy)4. Open-Source Realities   - Comic about endless unpaid feature requests = open-source life   - Customer asked detailed security questions about 2012 closed-source GP ISV → ironic because open-source is now seen as higher risk by some auditors   - Attended Directions webinar on BC open-source apps → cool but maintenance is a thankless job5. Business & Project Updates   - Building multiple custom file-import solutions (sales/purchase invoices, bank deposits, AR apply)   - Customer on 15-year-old Dynamics GP10 waffling between upgrade vs BC   - Teaching Franklin about proper Statements of Work, scope, exclusions, change management   - Top practical PM practices he values: (1) crystal-clear scope, (2) budget tracking, (3) change management, (4) risk awareness (still figuring out how to formalize)6. Microsoft Outages & Azure Front Door   - Second major Azure Front Door global outage in a few weeks (90+ minutes for many BC tenants)   - Front Door is marketed as high-availability but itself becomes single point of failure7. AI & Development   - Cursor released Composer v1 (very fast frontier coding model)   - AI agent/MCP security nightmare is beginning (prompt injection, exfiltration, etc.)   - OnePassword adding “agentic autofill” with human-in-the-loop (scary but at least trying)   - Terminology chaos: agent vs persona vs MCP vs skill8. Upcoming Conferences & Travel   - Directions EMEA (Poland) next week   - Partner in Vibe Conference – Jan 28-30, 2026, South Padre Island (Steve is going)   - Directions NA – Apr 27-29, Orlando (call for speakers opens Nov 12)   - DynamicsCon May 12-15, Las Vegas9. El Salvador / Berlin Team Updates   - Helping huge multinational GP customer whose entire IT is in El Salvador   - Team bringing 500 ft Cat5e + rice cooker on next trip   - Ronald finished 70-hour “Berlin English Academy – Call Center” program with certificates & Halloween party10. Fun / Miscellaneous    - Windows 11 tiny taskbar icons “feature”    - Ridiculous BC admin job posting in Baton Rouge asking for one person to do 20 different senior roles    - Mechanical keyboard rabbit hole → hot-swappable custom boards (drooling over retro ThinkPad-style board)    - Family Halloween costumes & teenager’s party (Steve may be exiled from his own house)