Computer Coffee Table

Katie ordered Netflix the end of last week. She was missing TV and we agreed not to get cable until this fall when it got cold out. Netflix is to tide the poor thing over.

Well, Netflix has this Instant-watch feature where they stream the video to your computer or whatnot.

I just HAD to try this. So, I ran a coax with RCA adapters from the computer video out to the TV and used the FM transmitter for the iPod in the truck to get audio to the radio.

Katie LOVED IT.

Had to have it.
So, computer got moved into the living room.

Nothing is ever as simple as that…

The computer didn’t like being moved. Broke a fan blade out of the CPU cooling fan somehow – if memory serves, I had stuck a finger into it a couple of years ago, and it finally let go.

Ok, 9:15PM run to Best Buy – closed. Damn…

Pinch CPU fan off of another computer so we can watch a movie. It’s a size smaller, no worries, just put it on with one screw and try not to use the computer to hard.

Next day, go to Best Buy after lunch. Try to get the fan I need. No luck. No 50mm cooling fans. They got an 80mm case fan that lights up pretty blue. Blue blinky lights. MUST HAVE Blue blinky lights.

We go to Target, and wander around for at least an hour, looking for a coffee table so we have something to set the computer monitor under. Tried this, tried that. Found what we liked. Decided it was the same money as what we where looking at earlier but decided it was to expensive, went back, looked again, had to have the first stuff. Picked it up, tooled around the store, noticed the colors didn’t match, went back to see if they had matching colors. No. Damn. Looked some more, found something we REALLY liked, noticed it was on sale for less then what we had in cart currently. Swapped items. Left store fast least we spend ANOTHER hour loading and unloading the cart.

You don’t understand. We had the rug we liked layed out on the floor, with the end tables set down with another box to represent the monitor. The people at Target kept asking us if we needed help. Probably looked like we where thinking about moving in.

Anyway, back to the computer, as this is a story about the coffee table. (confused yet?).

Get home, go to put the fan in the computer. Wrong plug type. Double Damn. Hrmm, case fan uses same little plug as the CPU fan did. Plug the case fan into the slot for the CPU fan so the computer won’t self-power-down. Plug new CPU fan (really a case fan) into hard drive power. Computer won’t POST.

grrr.

Take everything back apart, put it back together. Computer POSTs again. YAY. I had the fan pointed the right direction.

Take heatsink back off, drill new holes for the larger fan. Tighten screws down. Put together. Take apart. Loosen screws so fan can TURN. put back together.

Put computer back together. Boots. Doesn’t like the ‘missing’ case fan. Silly computer doesn’t know it’s plugged into the CPU fan header.

Anyway.. on with the real story. The Coffee Table. The two end tables get placed back to back with enough space between them for one of my matching 19″ CRTs. It sits on it’s back-side pointed up, tipped slightly forward it can be seen while sitting on the couch. I had to degauss it to get rid of the color shift, but it doesn’t seem to mind sitting ‘on it’s butt’ so to speak.

A bit of poking around in closets found enough unused Kayak wood stringers and some hinges, and I screwed the night stands together. Put the monitor in. Put a piece of plexi over the top.

You know what?
I like it.
I really like it a lot.

I still need to cut the plexi and get that mounted, but that’s pretty trivial. Just need to find the draw-knife again. I put it down and I think Brother hid it on me. Spending too much time on the fish tanks and not petting him.

I found the killer app for a Media Center PC. YouTube.

YouTube videos on the TV while your sitting on the couch rocks. I got the video camera here too, so Katie can talk to her family on Skype. I have yet to Skype in the living room myself, but I think it should be pretty cool.

So, know we can watch movies, chat with friends, and yes, even BLOG from the comfort of the couch.

Now I need to find new excuses why I am not blogging as often as I would like.