Most of my experience is detailed in electronic hardware, including desktop PCs, mobile devices, consoles, etc. I also tend to branch my abilities out into different categories through my hobbies!
Media Creation
One hobby that I'm quite fond of is editing photos and videos! I prefer the Adobe suite of applications, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro. My edits tend to fall on the goofier side of things, but every once in a while you can catch me doing a serious commission for a friend.
Vehicle Modifications
This is actually a rather new endeavor of mine. I've been trying to learn more about the mechanical functions of a car and how to maintain them, including changing oil, running diagonstics, and replacing TPMS sensors.
I once took on a project where I had replaced the stock radio in my first car, a Ram 1500, with a radio from a newer model. This project gave me a lot of insight on how the electronic systems of a car works, including what makes them break. While trying to make a custom wiring harness, I decided to not disconnect the battery, and in turn, accidentally jumped two ends of a cable. In the end, this mistake cost me almost $1,000 for a new alternator and battery, but it was a mistake that would give me plenty of experience in the future.
Currently, I am working on my bus long-term. It is a 1999 International 3800 that I won at auction on eBay for $1000. You read that right, I got a fully-functional, 35ft long, low-mileage school bus - or "Skoolie" for only a grand. She's a bit rusty and rough around the edges, but I plan on fully converting it into a camper over the next couple of years! If you'd like to follow my progress, check out my blog on skoolie.net.
3D Modeling & Printing
Back in 2019, I had purchased a 3D printer because I was facinated by the technology. Since then, I have learned the basics of 3D modelling to use for personal projects. I also like to browse 3D printing sites such as Thingiverse and print out cool things from there. I have spent many hours trying to fine tune and upgrade my printer. Currently I am working on a project that involves converting the chassis from a Playstation 2 into a functional PC, and my printer has been very useful during this process. I've used my skills to make custom brackets which will hold all of the components in place.
Cooking
Another recent endeavor of mine, I discovered that I wanted to try cooking a couple of years ago while on vacation with a friend. We made omelettes and I decided that I wanted to get into it a bit more, but never got around to it. A few months ago, a few friends of mine invited me to bake bread with them from scratch. Since then, I have been looking into recipies and cooking utensils to help. I hope to record a fake cooking show at some point, with multiple camera angles and everything.
Music
Although I'm not involved in music as I used to be, I like to consider this as one of my hobbies. From grade 4 to grade 11, I was an active member in my school's band, as well the Jazz band, as a trumpet player. I also know a bit of piano, and I produce my own music from time-to-time, but I'm not very good at either.
Server Management
This may not seem like a hobby, however I treat it as such. I actively run a server PC that manages several clients, including a public fileserver (files.billiam.cc), a GTA5 FiveM server, several Minecraft servers, a Space Engineers server, a VPN server, a Virtual Machine server, and this webserver! This server has given me plenty of insight on how to manage a crucial system more in-depth, and how to recover from a data breach/loss. In early 2022, my server was hit with a ransomware attack after I had foolishly opened my PC to the web for me to access. Since then, I have learned many security measures that should prevent it from ever happening again, or at least make it very difficult. I lost many important files, including two decade-old Minecraft worlds that I ran with friends. I have not yet been able to recover the lost data, but I'm holding on to the files in the event that recovery is ever possible.
