Learn It. Break It. Build It. Document It.

Root Notebook is where hands-on cybersecurity, real-world IT, and a few unexpected rabbit holes get documented.

From TryHackMe and penetration testing labs to Linux, infrastructure, Raspberry Pi projects, and lessons learned from years in IT, this is a growing collection of things I’ve built, broken, fixed, investigated, and learned along the way.

Cybersecurity Lab Notes, Projects & Field Guides

Whether you’re looking for hands-on cybersecurity labs, real-world IT projects, technical reference guides, or practical security techniques, start exploring below.

🧪TryHackMe

Follow my hands-on learning journey through TryHackMe. Each write-up focuses on methodology, enumeration, privilege escalation, and the lessons learned from completing the room.
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💻Projects

Explore production IT and cybersecurity projects built from planning through deployment. Each project highlights the design decisions, implementation process, challenges, and lessons learned.
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🛠️Tools

Reference guides for the tools I use throughout my projects, including installation, configuration, common commands, best practices, and real-world examples.
Browse Tools →

🎯Techniques

Learn the practical techniques behind cybersecurity, including enumeration, packet analysis, networking, privilege escalation, Active Directory, Linux, and Windows administration.
Explore Techniques →

Recent Field Notes

The latest things I’ve built, broken, investigated, or documented.

  • The First Time I Took Acid

    I was about fourteen and still in eighth grade in Ocean City, NJ, the first time I took acid. What started with a small gold-star tab became a summer of LSD, strange nights, and experiences I still remember decades later.

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  • The Name on My Birth Certificate

    A name on a birth certificate should be one of the simplest facts about a person’s life. Mine became the starting point for uncovering aliases, family history, old letters, and a story about my parents that I didn’t discover until years later.

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  • The Fire I Didn’t Forget

    A childhood fire took my brother Brian and left behind memories I carried for years. My mother was burned trying to reach him, while I was left with fragments of that night and a recurring dream that made me question what I remembered. The Fire I Didn’t Forget is about loss, memory, childhood guilt, and…

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