DIY Life

If you still live in the dark ages and have one of those old cabinet TV's, maybe it is time to upgrade to a new one. Really, I am surprised you even get any reception from that thing anymore! Come into the 21st century now, ya hear, and get yourself something you can actually enjoy watching because it is time to recycle that old clunker.

AlpineButterfly was given a cabinet TV by a friend, so she decided to turn it into a swanky new bar, complete with curtains and LED lights. She admits it was her first time sewing curtains, cutting glass, and tackling grouting, but the finished cabinet TV bar is sure to be a hit at all her parties.

Check to see if you have some old shelving and unused speakers hanging around and you can build yourself a cool cabinet bar too. If you aren't up to the bar idea, check out Dan Chilton's post on turning an old TV into a flat panel. Either way, you'll be keeping that old TV out of the landfill.

There are so many elements to creating that perfect cup of coffee. Everything from bean selection to roasting, storage to preparation, each stage as crucial as the last and each stage significantly impacting the flavor of that final cup. I am a coffee junky, but have very little during my pregnancies. OK, I had none with my first, a bit with my second and now, expecting our third, I cheat more often than I should! Anyway, this isn't about my guilty relationship with coffee but my quest for the perfect cup. If I'm only allowing myself one cup a day then I want to enjoy it. I have a favorite company and have found my perfect roast, but still find that the quality of the cup varies depending on how I've stored the beans.

What better authority on the issue than The National Coffee Association of the USA. According to them, you need to keep the beans away from air, moisture, heat and light - in that order. If you think your beans look great in that decorative glass dish, you're just putting stale beans on display. Find a cool, dark place and you'll maximize their freshness. I always thought that keeping beans in the freezer would help them last longer. This is apparently wrong. The added moisture will only deteriorate them faster. I've also stored fresh beans in the mug cupboard which is right beside our stove, this is far too warm. They also suggest only buying 1-2 weeks worth at a time.

A quality bean, kept fresh, and ground to order will get you the best cup of coffee. In September, I wrote about some other tips to making a great cup of coffee. You'll find some pointers there about grind size, drip and filter choice. If you're savoring that single cup or drinking it all day long, you deserve a good cup of coffee. Enjoy.

Selecting the audio and video cards for your new computer can be a daunting task. Breaking down your computer needs and desires into terms of functionality, you can make sense of how the multitude of dedicated processing cards can be sorted out to serve your particular needs.

Dedicated processing cards are sort of like your computer's main processor, except they are designed to handle specific tasks and types of information. Video or graphics cards are responsible for how visual data is displayed on your viewing screen. Sound cards are responsible for handling the performance of your speakers and other music or sound-related working applications

Your dedicated processing cards are two of the biggest component decisions you'll encounter when making your new machine truly customized. To make good choices, you need to go back to the very beginning of your computer planning and review exactly what you want your new computer to accomplish for you. Once you are reaffirmed in your computer performance desires, then you can proceed in choosing your processing cards and make your machine truly personalized.

Stop the presses! This just in! Breaking news! Lego has released their largest ever building set and Star Wars fans are drooling themselves to death. The Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon kit boasts over five thousand pieces and is large enough, at nearly three feet long, to hold action figures in it's flip top cockpit. The kit comes complete with five action figures including Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. Also included is an official certificate of authenticity.

The kits from the original production run (undeclared quantity) will each be released with their own certificate of authenticity sealed in the protective box. The Lego site indicates that certificate numbers will be randomly released in the interest of fairness. The model features many moving parts, comes with a display card detailing ship specifications and stands without a base on it's own landing gear.

Oh yeah, the kit will set you back $500. No one ever said being a Star Wars fan would come cheap.

Here are some other great Lego ideas we've blogged about!

Every little girl wants to be a princess. Not every little girl is born into a royal family though, so she just has to dream. Now, thanks to this video that woman that has not given up the dream of being a princess can learn how to become one. Since I am posting this for all to see you may need to pick a different prince to try this out on but I would think that it would still work.

Just be cautious, this could backfire if not used with caution, and please don't blame me if you get arrested for stalking. (Yes, I know that this is and I am full of it)

I have assembled a list of no cost and low cost strategies that home sellers can easily use to sell their homes quicker and for better prices. Most of these ideas will cost nothing more than some time and good hard work. None of these ideas should individually cost over $400 depending on your region and the size of your home and that money spent should be returned by double or even triple when your home sells.

In keeping with DIY Life's "do something with that old computer junk" theme, I want to introduce you to the most chic new fashion statement that is up and coming. CPU earrings are all the rage in Europe and the trend is now coming stateside. Never mind that they're big, gaudy, heavy and difficult to control, these earrings say, "I'm a geek chick and I like it."

They look easy enough to make, all you need is a processor chip with a hole in it and an appropriate hook. You also need a good sense of humor and an ability to suspend true fashion sense but heck, being "green" enough to make jewelry from old computer parts trumps conventional fashion plates any day.

To put the whole matter in perspective, the CPU earrings actually don't look half bad, and when compared with some of the costume jewelry that was worn in the 70's, they might even qualify as understated. Personally, I find the CPU earring idea quite ingenious and I applaud the creator of this particular set.

Somehow though, I don't think that geek fellows would get a good response when they hand that little velour box to their geek girlfriends along with the words, "Intel inside". But I suppose I could be wrong about that.

I was surfing around the Internet and I was intrigued by a picture of Paris Hilton carrying a laptop computer which was wrapped in a quilted pink Sumo laptop sleeve. I thought, "Hey wait a second, quilted pink? That's not the style for the Paris Hilton we've all come to know and love!" I can accept the pink color all right but quilted? I'd expect Paris to be sporting patent leather with studs, or something of that nature. Then I realized that it was a picture of the new, improved and "rehabilitated" Paris Hilton and it all made sense.

Here is a better solution for dressing your laptop than to have to drop $35 on a pink quilted laptop sleeve that your grandma could have made in an hour while talking on her cell phone. Here are some hand-made, high quality and trend setting laptop sleeve and cover ideas.

The dilemma:
It's Friday night. You're off to a dinner party. So you stop to pick up an obligatory last-minute bottle of wine, and show up on their doorstep with a totally warm bottle of chardonnay. Some guest you are -- what exactly were you thinking?

The solution:
Ask to borrow some salt (and a measuring cup.) Then add a third of a cup of salt to a mixture of ice and water (you'll also have to ask for an ice bucket.) Place your bottle of wine in it and in less than six minutes you'll have saved yourself -- who knows -- this nifty little trick may even make you the life of the party.

Why it works:
Salt has many random uses that most of us don't need to know. In this case, however, it might be useful to know that salt causes ice to melt at a lower temperature compared to ice that is just in fresh water. This results in water that becomes colder much faster. In fact, using salt water versus regular water cuts the chilling time by one third.

Who you'll impress:
Everyone at the party, unless -- of course -- you use all the salt that was needed for dinner.