Feeling a moral and civic obligation to stimulate the economy, I finally took the plunge into home theater. Have you seen those prices lately? $599 for a 42-inch Panasonic plasma? I'm so there. But I didn't want my savings eaten up by expensive cabinetry designed to separate components. Enter this little invention from up north.It's called a hockey puck.

Yep, one of those 6-oz., one-inch by three-inch discs of vulcanized rubber purpose-built for knocking out teeth and getting permanently lost in snow banks (despite the fact that pucks are jet black and snow is, well, snow white, pucks do this.)

In addition to the TV, my setup consists of a Panasonic Blu-ray player, Sony audio receiver, and Time Warner Hi-Def cable box/DVR. Given that each of these components puts out enough heat to roast marshmallows, I didn't feel good about stacking them directly on top of each other like I did my old junk.

Blu-ray players have gotten cheap, but not that cheap.

On the other hand, I wasn't inclined to shell out for a specialty A/V cabinet that would cost as much as the TV itself.

Then came the "ah ha!" moment. One look at the souvenir pucks on the shelves in my work room and I knew they'd be perfect for creating space between my toasty components. Round and wide enough for stability, but small enough not to block the air vents. And because they're rubber, they won't slip, slide or scratch.

A puck on each corner of a component provides one inch of separation between the next. Need more? Just add another layer. At 99 cents a puck, who's counting?

OK, so this isn't the discovery of antibiotics. But it's a potentially useful tip I felt like sharing. Let me know if it works for you, eh.