Here is a cool product that I think you should get.
http://ftdichip.com/Images/TTL-232R1.jpg
http://ftdichip.com/Products/Evaluation … L-232R.htm
Inside the USB plug on the end is a small PCB containing a FT232RQ which converts the USB into TTL Serial on the other end.
These cords are great for space minimising, as to implement USB on your project yuo only need to have a 6 pin header.
They are great for breadboarding for those of us who have laptops without serial ports, but then are also really cool for the finished project.
It would be really great if SFE could get these into stock, you already have some FTDI stuff so it should be too hard?