RIGHT NOW: Call your cable company and tell them you need an HD box. Chances are they have them in stock and will just swap your old one for the new, HD one. If they try to get you to upgrade to the DVR, it's definitely worth it. They'll probably only charge you less than 10 bucks a month for it. As pathetic as it sounds, it'll change your life. If you have satellite cable, you might be out of luck unless you're willing to shell out the big bucks for a new box at Radio Shack.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Get to your house and bust out the tape measure. Figure out how far away you're going to be sitting from your new set so you can make the right decision about the size of your new screen. Sit too close to a big screen and it's going to look like crap and make you sicker than the seven dozen chicken wings you're going to eat Sunday night. Check out this chart if you're not sure how big to go.

LATER FRIDAY NIGHT: Grab a paper or head over to the websites of the local big box stores and hunt for some deals. The ship has sailed on ordering a TV online, but Best Buy and Circuit City go all out on TVs this week so you can still get a good deal. Don't fall for any of that "free installation" stuff. You're a man (probably) you can hook up a few cables. Once you have found what you want, call and see if they actually have any of them. If they don't, call other stores to see if they'll match the price. Hell, if you have the time, just go buy it.

SATURDAY MORNING: It sucks, but you're going to have to get up early. Take your cable box (don't forget the remote) over to the cable place. Try and get there as the door opens so you don't have to wait in line. Make sure they give you the new remote and a high def cable to hook it up to your TV. Once that's done head over to the electronics store and pick up your new set.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Once you get everything home it's time to start the set-up process. Putting in the cable box is easy, just plug it in and screw the cable into the back. Run the HD cables they gave you at the cable place (they will probably be component video…the one with 6 plugs on each end). Once everything is booted up, there's a definite chance things will be screwed up, so have the number of the cable company handy. It's busy season so be prepared for some shitty hold music.

SATURDAY NIGHT: This is the time to get your settings dialed in. Find the HD channels and make sure the non-HD channels aren't showing up all stretched out. This is also a pretty good time to hook up all of your other stuff like your game consoles and DVD player. It's definitely in your best interest to zip tie all of your cables together. It sounds like a pain in the ass now, but you'll be glad you did when your dog doesn't pull all of your fancy new electronics onto the ground.

SUNDAY: By now you're all set up, so you can sit back and enjoy your glorious new panel. Or, go out and shovel some driveways to try and make up some of the dough you just blew on a big ass TV. It's up to you, really.