The last of my red eared slider turtles were adopted today. Helga and the remaining two children went to a private fenced in pond in Florida. I am sad to see them go, but over the past year or so, I've not been very good about taking care of them properly, so this will be much better.
I found their new home by placing them for adoption at www.turtlehomes.org . If you'd like to see pictures of their new home, check out www.pkrattery.com/turtlepondhabitat.html.
The shipping process was quite awful.... I packed them into plastic-ware with wet paper towels. Despite all the holes I cut into the containers, I still don't know how they managed to not suffocate! In any case, they first to Ohio (DHL's sort facility), then they arrived alive around noon today. Now they have a huge pond with about 40 other turtles to keep them busy.
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As if I didn't have enough unfinished projects to keep me busy (no, I still don't have furniture), I've decided to build my own Home Theater PC (HTPC). This page will contain links I found useful, as well as my notes on my particular HTPC. Enjoy!
Requirements
- Aesthetics - Needs to look like a home theater component, not a computer
- Output Capabilities - Output high definition (HDTV) video and pass through 5.1 audio (both Dolby Digital and DTS).
- PVR - Should have all standard PVR features, such as timeshifting, live tv pause, interactive program guide, etc. Two tuners to allow recording of one channel while watching (or recording) another. At least one tuner should be able to tune HDTV broadcasts
- Audio Library - This one is easy.... just install iTunes and move music library to HTPC. I can't wait to get the iTunes visualizer going on my yet to be purchased big screen TV
- Photo Library - Store all my photographs on this server as well. Need slideshow capability. Coming from the Mac world and iPhoto, I need to find a decent application to handle this.
- Storage - To facilitate the PVR and Audio Library requirements, I'll need lots of fast storage (don't forget some tv data will be HDTV). Rule of thumb is about 8-10GB/hour for HDTV, and 1-2 GB/hour for regular tv. I'd like a minimum of 24 hours of storage for tv alone. If all 24 hours is HDTV, that would take approximately 240 GB just for TV. Throw in an additional 80 GB for photos, music, and software, and we need at least 320 GB.
- Archiving - Ability to burn DVD's of recorded shows for longer term storage
- Gaming - I want to eliminate the need for my Window's gaming machine in my office. Choosing a version of Windows should allow this. Also, take care in choosing video card that can handle gaming needs
- Internet - Want to surf from my couch... this should be a freebie
- Remotes - Need ability to control the HTPC wirelessly. I'd like a remote for simple tasks, but also need a keyboard for surfing.
- QUIET - this thing better be cooled quietly... I don't want to hear the whine of fans during quiet parts of movies.
Extras (non essential wish list)
- On Screen Caller ID
- WiFi sharing (the box will be connected using cat5 ethernet, but would be nice if the box doubled as an access point)
- Card Reader - for reading CompactFlash and the likes.... I don't know why I put this here, I have yet to need one since I just connect my camera to the computer
- Home Security Integration - I've got a wireless webcam that I haven't been using... so at a minimum, integrate that into the system.
- Home Automation - maybe as simple as installing some X10 software... I really don't think I need this.
General Links
How To Articles
Reviews
So that about wraps up the project overview. Be sure to read part two where I discuss the actual parts that I will purchase.
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