A lab notebook for systems, security, and things that need writing down.

I’m Chris Kurtz, also online as variations of Xoff: a technologist, old used SysAdmin, and more recently a systems and security architect and systems builder working around cybersecurity, research infrastructure, automation, AI, and the occasional physical cosplay build.

This site is intentionally more lab notebook than personal brand page. It is where I keep project notes, technical writeups, build logs, experiments, and the connective tissue between them.

What I work on

My work started in systems administration and grew through networks, public cloud, observability, research technology, and security architecture. These days it sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, research infrastructure, automation, AI-assisted workflows, and practical operations.

I have spent a lot of time around large technical environments where security has to support real work rather than just describe policy. That includes network modernization, Zero Trust strategy, public cloud engineering, Splunk and observability work, research computing, and earlier systems work supporting space-science environments.

What shows up here

The notes on this site will likely wander across a few recurring areas:

• cybersecurity architecture and operational lessons,
• AI-assisted workflows and automation,
• static publishing and small web systems,
• electronics, sensors, and bench projects,
• 3D printing, props, cosplay, and fabrication,
• tools that help future me remember what past me figured out.

How I try to write

I prefer notes that are useful later: what changed, why it changed, what broke, what worked, and what I would do differently next time. Some posts will be polished. Some will be closer to field notes. The point is to capture enough context that the work can be resumed, reused, or challenged.

I also try to keep a boundary between public learning and private operational detail. Public notes should be useful without exposing secrets, sensitive infrastructure, or unnecessary personal information.

Elsewhere

I keep the current list of social and feed links on the Contact page so there is one place to update them.