Downing's Basement

I’m a hobby enthusiast who has begun to love and understand electronics in a way that has opened my mind to countless possibilities! I am also a musician, salesmen and husband.  I am a Moderator for the Modded by Bacteria forums which is where I get much of my electronics knowledge from.  I’ve only been at this a couple of years and am not on the level yet of Ben Heck, John Grayson (Bacteria) or Jon Janderan (Hailrazer), but I hope to one day be among the household names in the modding community.

Over the years I’ve dabbed in a lot of different hobbies and occupations, but it seems now that I’ve found a decent balance between them. For many years, I’d say between 1998 to 2007, music was my life. I’ve been a guitar player, singer and songwriter since 98′ but the real world had a way of taking the dream of being on the road with my band away in blunt fashion. After college in 2008, I began to work part time for an industrial supply company after the hardest year of my life in 2007 when I ran my own painting business under College Pro Painters. I must say that if there was one good thing that came from it, it’s that the real world in the USA business format is unforgiving, taxing and relentless. This has helped develop my work ethic though and within just 2 years with the company I was promoted twice and now manage my own store. This also explains why I am hardly ever idle. I always have to be doing something creative or cognitive, whether it be working on a new mod, playing guitar or PC Gaming to my favorite shooters.  (Crysis 2 had me in a death grip for awhile!) As Robert Downy Jr. said as Sherlock Holmes, ” I can’t but agree, my mind rebels in stagnation, give me problems, give me work…” So true.

I got married to my wonderful wife Amanda in June 2010 and we bought our first house together in September 2010 and when your house is 150 years old, there are no shortages of projects to do, which I’ll soon have pics and stories of as well. With that said, we’ve got about a day before Hurricane Irene is to plow over New England where we live and with regular rain storms our basement tends to take on water. Though we have a Sum-pump, heavy winds have a tendency to take down power lines which is a point of concern. Tomorrow (8/27/2011) is going to be fun day of prep. (not).

Other points of interest; I have two college degrees, a BS in Business Management and a BS Diploma in Web Design. Though I’m using one much more than the other, they have both proven quite vital to my choices in career and hobbies. I’ll be showcasing a small portfolio of my work when I get around to it, just adding content to this site is going to be a demanding task as I did not quite realize the amount of projects I’ve completed in the past 2 years alone…nor do I want to think about how much $$ have been spent in the process.

But I could and probably will go on and on about me in future posts as I’m sure you’ll get to know me quite well if you keep up with them. But that’s really the reason why I started up my own site because even though I’m a high up member of one of the fastest growing modding hobby forums, it’s quite easy to get lost in the clutter and really, I’d like to keep better track of my projects, void of content chaos. Plus I’ll be able to speak my mind on any topic I like without having to fit within the confines of a topic category or post.  Freedom to speak my mind in my own little cell of the web is something I’ve been wanting for awhile. What will come of it, who knows, but as long as I’ve got interesting things to talk about, I don’t see why I shouldn’t get a comment or two!

So with that said, this is to be a discussion site, where your opinions are always welcome and are encouraged. Once I get a bit more content in place, things will get more interesting! Hope to talk with you all soon and feel free to drop me a line!

Downing