[BlogEntry] So much for that engineering degree

So the other day while mowing the lawn, I knock over one of the lights that goes up my walkway. You know the kind, drive a stake into the ground every few feet.

So I stand it back up, take my hand away, and the light goes off. Rats. I straighten it back up again, light goes on. Take my hand away, light goes off.

Damnit, I've gone and broken the thing, something is loose.

I touch it again, light goes on, then I very slowly move my hand away. No good, as soon as I pull my hand back, it goes out again.

I went through this process maybe half a dozen times, getting frustrated that I've broken the thing.

Until I remember that these lights are solar, light-activated lights, and that every time I grab it, I am covering the sensor and thus causing the light to turn on. When I pull my hand away I uncover the sensor, and since the sun is still up, the light goes back off. I look up and realize that the other 8 lights are off, and have been right along.