I started a YouTube channel for a side project.

Original stories read by a real human. Like and subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/@Rooksdarktales

🎙️ Original stories
🌲 Appalachian & Southern Gothic tones
🔥 Campfire crackles, wind in the trees
👁️ Perfect for headphones, night walks, and liminal hours

New stories posted regularly.
Light the lantern. Mind the woods.

#Folklore #ASMR #Storytelling #DarkTales #GothicAudio #NarrativePodcast #MythicFiction #FediFolk #IndieCreator #sleep #stories

I signed up for the US Cyber Games.

Not a coder.
Not a netsec pro.
Just a solo OSINT learner trying to level up.

I hit a wall — fast.
XOR, stego, packet captures. Not my arena.

So I stepped back.

Not a ragequit. A redirect.
This wasn't a failure — it was clarity.

I'm here for footprints, metadata, pivots, and pattern recognition.

If you're on the same road, you're not alone.
You're not broken — you're forging a different weapon. ⚔️

— TXRattler

#OSINT #CyberGames #CTF #Infosec #LearningInPublic #CyberSecurity #SoloLearner #PivotNotQuit #CTFReflections #MastodonOSINT #TraceLabs #DigitalForensics

https://medium.com/@txrattler/i-signed-up-for-the-cyber-games-im-not-a-coder-here-s-what-i-learned-e2a1916d0e23

https://medium.com/@txrattler/dont-call-it-training-if-you-ve-hidden-the-keys-92d157219869

Grinding CTFs lately. Here's the truth:

If I'm trying to get into cyber to make a living, the keys shouldn't be hidden.

CTFs aren't training—they're filtering. No hints, no structure, just “guess what I’m thinking.”

That’s not teaching. That’s gatekeeping.

#CTF #InfoSec #CyberSecurity #Hacking #OSINT #Gatekeeping #CyberJustice #TXRattlerWrites

🎯 The field is digital, but the hunt is old.

I joined the Cyber Games. First-timer, eyes up.
No team, no fanfare—just me and the signal.

#CyberCTF #OSINT #SignalNotNoise #TXRattler