TL;DR (For the Perpetually Distracted)

Hey there! I’m Khürt Williams, and Island in the Net has been my digital home since 2006. I live in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, with my wife, Bhavna. By day, I work as a Lead Cybersecurity Architect, but by life, I’m a photographer, writer, and Formula 1 craft beer enthusiast.

This blog is where I share my thoughts on the things that matter to me—photography, hiking, craft beer, and the occasional deep dive into tech and cybersecurity. It’s personal, informal, and always evolving.

The Longer, More Rambling Version

I was born in 1966 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, back when it was still a British Overseas Territory. My childhood was a moving mosaic of islands—Saint Lucia, Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis—before we settled back in Saint Vincent. My father’s banking career made us nomadic, and in 1986, we emigrated to Flushing, Queens. I became a U.S. citizen in 1992.

Though I don’t feel rooted in any one place, I have an enduring fondness for Bequia and Antigua—two islands that still feel like home in different ways.

Photography: Seeing the World Through a Lens

I picked up photography in 1987 at Drew University, where I took a fine art photography course and spent late nights in the darkroom developing Tri-X and HP5. My first camera was a Pentax P3, and back then, I shot mostly on Kodachrome—drawn in by its colour and nostalgia.

After a long hiatus, I returned to photography in 2006 with a Nikon D40, and eventually moved to Fujifilm’s X-series, where I’ve stayed. I love the tactile feel and the way these cameras echo the analogue era. These days, you’ll find me chasing light through forests, photographing birds, or capturing quiet moments on the street. Photography is how I make sense of the world—and how I slow it down.

The Things That Keep Me Sane

Coffee
I brew daily with care and intention. AeroPress or Chemex. Freshly ground beans. Local, fair-trade roasters. No shortcuts. Coffee is both ritual and restoration.

Craft Beer
I have a deep appreciation for well-crafted beer—pilsners, kölsch, stouts, saisons. I support small breweries in New Jersey like Flounder, Odd Bird, Wild Fern, and The Seed. I’m drawn to clarity, complexity, and character—whether it’s in a cold pour or a good conversation.

Science Fiction & Nerdy Things
Cyberpunk was my first language for understanding the future. The name of this blog, Island in the Net, comes from Bruce Sterling’s 1988 novel—a book packed with data havens, nanotech, and uncanny insights into our digital world.

I grew up on comics—mostly DC and Marvel—and although I read less now, I still consume sci-fi through films and series. I’m also that person who reads whitepapers for fun, tinkers with sensors, and configures networks just to understand how they work.

Living with Autoimmune Disease

In 2006, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (LADA), managed with an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. In 2018, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which led to a thyroidectomy and orbital decompression surgery.

Managing these conditions is a full-time job, even when it’s invisible. They don’t define me, but they shape how I move through the world—always planning ahead, always adapting.

Why This Blog Exists

I’m a system thinker with a restless, curious mind. I write to explore, to document, to make sense of things—sometimes security architecture, sometimes native plants, sometimes what it’s like to live in a body shaped by autoimmune disease.

This blog isn’t curated for clicks. It’s a reflection of how I think: nonlinear, layered, and wide-ranging. If you find something here that resonates, I’m glad. If not, there’s always something else around the bend.

Welcome to my corner of the web.