Day 208– November 3, 2014

Sometimes unfinished projects need simply to rest. Years ago I built a light-up Chewbacca belt, a brown sash studded with eighteen, white, 3-inch squares. Trouble was, the squares were easily crushed. The belt was worn just once on a beach after which I put away the mangled contraption to fix it one of these days.

I now have these days. Today, I open the belt and replace all the squares with sturdier plastic boxes embedded with LEDs. I sew the belt back together to complete a hardier piece of work. John flung the Chewbacca belt around a nightclub on Saturday.

Tinkering with the belt with fresh eyes, I am inspired to use the square motif in my next dinosaur outfit. Can I line a dinosaur back with columns of squares like an ankylosaurus?

In my apartment’s dark hallway rests The Great Eyeball Coat, one of my first and most ambitious LED projects. About six years ago, I sewed together a giant black fur coat and embedded within 48 ping-pong eyeballs, each with an amber LED. I laboriously wired up all the eyeball lights on to shift registers controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. Trouble is, the number of wires is so large and the coat weighs so much that wires easily sunder, blacking out portions of the coat.

I understand better now LEDs. I soon will open the coat, replace the old LEDs with modern ones, add even more eyeballs, and sew the coat back together. I may finish this Great Eyeball Coat.

Tom taught me recently how to clean my bicycle. Over an afternoon, I wiped down all the gears, frame parts, and chain with cloth and glass cleaner. I replaced the brake pads and adjusted their width. My bike looks shiny and new again.

I look about the house for more things to fix. I have fresh eyes and a will to work.