Notes from production
What I learn building and running AI and automation systems for clients: project write-ups, costs, tools, and what broke.
The Legacy Workflow: Why Connecting MCP Servers to Azure AI Foundry Used to Make Developers Cry
No Add Server button. No URL form. Connecting MCP servers to Azure AI Foundry meant fighting the platform at every step. Here is the legacy workflow.
I Thought Deploying an MCP Server to Azure Would Be Simple. Three Port Conflicts Later…
FastMCP worked locally. Docker ran fine. Then Azure deployment hit port conflicts, auth failures, and container issues. Here is how I fixed all of it.
I Built My First Production Claude Skill. It Writes This Blog.
I built a Claude Code skill that generates SEO-optimized blog posts, uploads images, and publishes to WordPress. Here is how the production pipeline works.
Claude Code Needed a Home. Archon Gave Me a Security Education Instead.
Setting up a self-hosted AI stack turned into a crash course in Docker networking, zero-trust security, and why simple solutions beat perfect ones.
I Thought Claude Skills Were Just Fancy Prompts. They’re Actually Better.
Claude skills are not just saved prompts. They wire up scripts, enforce workflows, and produce consistent output. Here is what makes them different.
Agent Builder Was Supposed to Make This Easy. It Didn’t.
Three bugs killed my agent build. The visual workflow builder did not stop any of them. Here is my honest review of OpenAI Agent Builder.
When Claude Says No: Why I Use Gemini for Log Analytics (And You Probably Should Too)
Claude refused my 75KB log file at 2am. Gemini 1M context window handled it instantly. Here is when to use each AI for log analysis.
How I Validated an AI Ticket Agent in 2 Weeks (Before a Client Spent $30K Building the Wrong Thing)
I validated an AI ticket agent in two weeks on Azure AI Foundry before the client committed to a $30K production build.
I Forked a Repo to Supercharge Claude Code (And Accidentally Learned Zero-Trust Architecture)
I forked a repo to extend Claude Code and accidentally learned zero-trust architecture. Here is what happened when the tool outgrew its tooling.
I Spent 2 Days with AWS AgentCore and Finally Understood Their Agent Strategy
I spent 2 days with AWS AgentCore after its NY Summit launch. Bedrock Agents is just the surface. AgentCore is the real infrastructure layer.
Running an AI workflow that costs too much?
The AI Workflow Review finds the one change that makes it cheaper and better, in one week at a fixed price. Start with a 30-minute call.