I picked up a Mac Mini at the local Apple store and converted it into a home theater PC for use in my entertainment center. The only extra item needed to make it all come together was the proper display & audio adapter. Now I’m able to use services like Hulu, Netflix, and iTunes on my primary television while reclining comfortably on my couch.

Granted, the only extra thing I needed was the display adapter, but I also chose to upgrade the hard drive. I replaced the factory 320gb drive with a 640gb Western Digital Scorpio drive, effectively doubling my storage space. Considering the amount of digital video content I’ll be storing on the computer, it seemed like a wise decision. As with most Apple computers, they design them so that the average consumer cannot replace or upgrade parts themselves. To that I say, “Ha!” The inside of the Mac Mini was a bit tight and cracking the chassis open required some sweat (and a putty knife), but it ended up being a fairly straightforward endeavor. To give you an idea how long this project might take, I took a time-lapse video.

Why do I wear blue surgical gloves while I film this video? For one, I bite my fingernails (bad habit, I know) so I prefer to hide them. Secondly, I don’t like getting hand oils all over sensitive electronic components.

A perpetual upper abdominal ache that gets worse the more you move. Sounds like something you would want to avoid, right? Well, that’s what I’ve been going through since Saturday afternoon and it’s not fun. Here to tell you more, I give you FlynnTaggart-dot-com’s top investigative reporter: myself. Talking about myself. My guess is that it’s a hiatal hernia, but I’m going to see a doctor later today. We can compare the professional opinion with my own guess after the appointment ends.

I had some free time while eating my lunch today and felt like giving my computer camera a workout. Thus, you get to hear me pontificate about people who fail to chew with their mouths closed. Yeah, it was a slow blog day. There was no script for this video, so most of this is straight off the cuff.