I Need Coffee - Episode 178 - Weekly BC Review!

 1 Travel and Personal Life
- steve returns home after a long 13-hour travel day from Berlin to Los Angeles with various airport and flight experiences.
- A weekend trip around El Salvador with scenic visits including Lake Ilo Pango, local resorts, and dining experiences.
- Describes accommodations, local culture, and work-life balance during trips.
- Mentions trying new coffee roasts and a home coffee setup in Berlin, El Salvador.

 2 Work and Projects
- Focus on several technical and project management efforts:
  - Crafting detailed statement of work documents.
  - Setting up and troubleshooting the office network including Wi-Fi issues and a plan for network 2.0 involving hard wiring and UniFi access points.
  - Discussion about building or outsourcing gaming/streaming PC setup.
  - Ongoing work with Bill.com integration, multi-organization mapping, and complex testing.
  - Efforts to simplify custom data import processes and the debate of build vs buy solutions.
  - Explanation of internal development workflow practices using DevOps, VS Code, PR, and pipelines to maintain code integrity and avoid mistakes.
  - Challenges faced during a simple report extension modification, highlighting pipeline and key management complexities.
  - Emphasis on proper API key and certificate lifecycle management to avoid outages and failures.
  - Review and recommendation of Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Defender for Business tools for improved security.
  
3 Team and Training
- Introduction of Fatima, a new team member undergoing English language and PMP project management training.
- Insight into Berlin English Academy activities, aiming to improve English skills of the team and prepare them for remote call center work.
- Team collaboration examples include mock call centers, project management for local events, and financial report consolidation efforts.
- Recognition of team members contributing to technical documentation, customizations, and process automation.

4 Events and Community
- Upcoming conferences and summits including Dynamics Con regionals and events in Orlando, Poland, and Slovenia highlighted with travel and visa advice.
- Planning of El Coyola Christmas Festival with community sponsorship efforts, logistics, and budgeting.

5  Technical Observations and Opinions
- Power Automate is criticized for reliability issues, token expiration problems, and lack of production readiness for critical workflows.
- Valuable lessons learned on modern motherboard features, cable management, and PC building challenges.
- Appreciation for good coffee roasters and equipment along with the barista skills developed within the team.

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