Nishi and I took a nap this evening, sleeping right through dinner and messing up any possibility of going to bed early. We tried, valiantly, to fall asleep, but I had no chance. I lay awake thinking of things, and all the interesting ideas that I’ve had this summer that I’ve lost through my memory sieve. Determined not to lose this one, I hopped on my laptop, and here I am.
I was imagining an odd door chime, which rings each time a door is opened. It works by rolling a ball down a xylophone, which after a bit of googling I found has been done to great effect. The xylophone would be mounted to a slightly off center pivot point so it would favor one side over the other. As it pivots, the ball would roll down, guided by rods on either side of it. Opening the door would advance a cylindrical alternating inclined plane (think the mechanism in a clicking pen), which would pivot the xylophone back and forth. Opening the door would play a tune, and then opening it again would play the same tune backwards. I find this especially amusing, since a different tune would play for arrivals and departures. Now, all I need is a door. And some sleep.