Do It Yourself

I've got a confession to make. It's painful and embarassing but it's true and I want to get it off my chest. Here goes. I'm not handy. There - I said it. I don't know how to do things that most guys know how to do. I don't know how it got to this point or why I never learned to change my own oil or fix a blown fuse. I just didn't. I can install a hard drive and I can set up a new TV or stereo but I can't do anything cool if it requires sawing/hammering/etc. and I especially can't do anything if it requires looking under a car hood.

Now that this is out in the open, I must also tell you that in the last two weeks, Britney and I have replaced our kitchen faucent and installed TWO over-the-counter microwave ovens (The first one was completely installed before we realized it was messed up. Anger ensued). Fortunately, my wife is handy and her step-dad, Bill, is uber-handy. Between the two of them, we can usually figure out how to do things that need to get done.

But - what do you do if you don't have Bill on your speed dial like we do and you find yourself needing some help? Fortunately, there are websites available for people like us who weren't born with the handy gene.

eHow.com has been around for a long while and has instructions on how to do almost anything. People post instructions on how to do all kinds of things and then users get to rate how good the instructions were. Lots of tips & categories here - but still a lot of text based instructions which may or may not appeal to you.

Now that they've finally figured out how to make video over the internet watchable (it used to be really bad), sites like ExpertVillage are popping up and thriving. This is a site chocked full of good how-to videos. For those of us that struggle with instructions like "insert carriage bolt and attach to 8/32" hex nut", video instructions and demonstrations are helpful. This site has a ton of them.

Maybe the most useful site of all is Sutree.com. Why? Because this is a site that aggregates video from all over the web and allows you to search multiple sites. If there's video available on YouTube or eHow or a TV network site, you can find it using the search at Sutree.com. Very helpful if you can't find what you want going to eHow.com or ExpertVillage.

One thing I forgot to mention when I started recommending these sites - they're not just for tips and videos on fixing stuff. There are instructions and videos on how to teach your dog tricks, how to do sign language, how to untangle Christmas lights - you name it. So - if you need some help with do-it-yourself like me or you just want to learn a new skill, check out one of these sites and you'll be on your way!!