Blog
Notes from the workshop
Plain-English writing on AI workflows, MCP servers, and automation for small businesses. Everything here comes from work I actually did, not things I read about.
2026-07-15
Building the studio HUD collectors: 26 monitors, a fake outage, and a token-scope trap
I built a HUD that watches 26 uptime monitors. The two bugs that cost me most: an unhealthy status that was lying, and a token whose scopes froze at generation.
2026-07-14
What X killing its free API tier actually cost me, and what broke
X killed free API posting in February 2026. Now every automated post costs about $0.15, and mine broke mid-launch. The receipt and the fallback I built.
2026-07-13 · ai-agents · shipping · receipts
Why most AI agent projects stall at the demo and never ship
Most AI agent demos die because nobody scoped a real failure mode first. Receipts from three projects that shipped and two that didn't.
2026-07-12 · ai-automation · small-business · workflows
What AI process automation for small businesses actually looks like (with receipts)
Real before-and-after outcomes from building AI automation for small companies, plus honest costs and what doesn't work.
2026-07-12 · mcp · small-business · ai-tools
What is an MCP server, in plain English (and when a small company needs one)
An MCP server is a translator that lets an AI tool actually read and write your business data. Here's when you need one and when you don't.
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