Sparkfun posted another handy tutorial, this one covers how to use a relay to switch wall power via one little ol' 5-volt microcontroller. A very helpful ability to add to your palette, which of course requires the obligatory "mains supply" caution statement - Don't Touch! I very much look forward to resetting my cable modem via AVR, how bout you? - Controlling Big, Mean, Devices
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/relay_tutorial_controllin.html