DIY Life

Hefty cable bill got you down? Do some people pay less for cable than others? Yes and yes! Here's how to reduce your monthly cable bill, with realistic advice gleaned from frugal cable subscribers.

Warning: to make this advice work for you, you'll have to be painfully honest with yourself about a) how much you really need/use your existing cable and b) how much you can really afford cable, if at all.

1. Not yet a cable customer? First, search for special deals offered by your cable provider, such as a low monthly rate for the first six months. When you do call to sign up, make sure to ask if you can get one of those low-rate deals, plus extras, such the modem, thrown in for free. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask!

When my wife and I decided to mount our LCD TV to the wall instead of having it on its stand, we were faced with the problem of hiding all the cables and wires. There were the component video cables, power cable, RCA wires to connect the VCR, and the cable connection. That was gong to be a lot of ugly spaghetti to have hanging from the bottom of the flat screen.

I decided to use surface mounted wire moldings to hide them. After installing them I painted them to match the wall. While this does neaten things up, you can still see the two runs of molding that I had to use to contain all the cords.

I had considered putting them inside the wall, but seeing as the electrical panel for our town home was directly on the other side of the wall, I decided that it was going to be nothing but heartache to try to do it that way. The other draw back was going to be the extra cutting, patching, pulling, and painting that was going to be required to do it properly.

Now I have discovered a newer, easier, and cleaner way to accomplish this goal of a hidden installation. FlatWire Is the answer that I was looking for.

It's time for a winter surprise! Three new patterns have recently arrived on the site of Knitty, the wonderful free online knitting magazine. I don't know about where you live, but where I am, it's been perfect knitting weather lately: well and horribly below freezing.

Bloody Stupid Johnson, an asymmetrical hat, is a lot of fun. It's knit with short rows and a cable that breaks open into ribbing, and named for a Terry Pratchett character. It's probably my favorite of the three new patterns.

Modern Lace Henley is basically a pared-down polo shirt with a delicate overall lace pattern. It will be very nice for spring, and I like it.

But there's something I don't like about the way the Modern Lace Henley pattern is written, and there's also the third surprise pattern to discuss: a knit skirt, a topic that some knitters find divisive. You'll find more on that after the break.

It's nice that, on the same day that snow -- and plenty of it -- came to my little corner of the Midwest, a new issue of Knitty arrived to soothe the chill. So I made some cocoa, and some English muffins with jam, and sat down to see what's on offer this time around.

Amy Singer, Knitty's founding editor, says that this issue is "all about sparkles and warmth and making things for yourself and the ones you love." There are also a large number of new designers in the Winter issue.

We'll talk about some of the highlights after the break.

It's the beginning of the month, and web-savvy knitters know what that means: a new issue of MagKnits to check out. This month, there are only five patterns, but they all look good.

There's a pretty short-sleeved horseshoe lace cardigan, Rainbow Socks that exploit the properties of self-striping yarn by using short rows to turn the usual stripes into arcs, and a lace headband. The Lása Shawl Headband is basically a short, narrow lace scarf; you can choose your level of difficulty, and it would probably be easy to modify if you wanted something longer. A good beginning lace project on the easiest level, a way to practice more advanced techniques if you'd like to, and a nice gift.

That covers the wearables, but what about everything else? The Burridge Lake Afghan is a beautiful, symmetrical Aran showpiece, designed to be interesting to knit (there is minimal reverse stockinette stitch, which is ordinarily so common in Aran designs). Also, the pattern uses Trinity stitch, which is worked on the wrong side, so you won't zombie out every other row. I mean, afghan rows are long.

Finally, Bitty Boo is the issue's "whimsical" pattern: a tiny felted ghost for Halloween!

In a wireless world, we sure have a lot of wires strung through the house. They nest behind entertainment units, tucked under carpets down halls into bedrooms and offices. Under the desk you'll find an ugly, overloaded power bar. Unclutter.com has a solution and all you need is a $2 towel rack.

In this video, Jerry Brito shows you how to use a multi-hook towel rack to keep your cables off the floor and more organized. Some commenters think that this method could alter the audio/video signal. They suggest that cables should be lying flat, maybe bound with zip-cords. Others don't see any difference. Personally, I'm all for the towel rack, get them off the floor and out of sight completely.

[via Lifehacker]