About
I'm Brian Baldock. I work on identity, security, and AI infrastructure. The unglamorous plumbing that decides whether everything else holds up.
Before tech, I worked the line in restaurant kitchens. That isn't a fun-fact footnote. The habits I built there (work clean, prep before you're slammed, call out problems before they hit the pass) are the same ones I lean on now when I'm hardening a tenant or chasing a tunnel that won't come up at 1am. There's always something to clean.
I publish what I learn here, usually after a deployment, sometimes after a mistake. The mistakes tend to make the better posts.
The alligator-with-a-taco mascot is a long story. The short version: it stuck.
Certifications
The credentials I actually use, grouped by what they're for.
Security and identity
- Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100)
- Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)
- ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
Applied Skills (hands-on, scenario-based)
- Defend against cyberthreats with Microsoft Defender XDR
- Implement information protection and data loss prevention with Microsoft Purview
- Prepare security and compliance for Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Administer Active Directory Domain Services
Breadth and leadership
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert
- Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) 2026
- VMware Certified Professional: Data Center Virtualization
- Prosci Certified Change Practitioner
See the full badge wall on Credly.
Find me elsewhere
About this site
This blog runs on Astro, lives in a public GitHub repo, and ships through GitHub Pages. Words are CC BY 4.0; code snippets are MIT.