inquiry

> Find an object nearby and write about it. > > Respond to the prompt here.

Nah. Not there. I'm tired of subscribing to things.

But here goes:

I've a black, plastic alarm clock that goes back to the 1990s: 7-segment LCD display; one slider under the LCD (left side of device) to select what displays (e.g. set time, set alarm time, show time and whether the alarm is enabled); a button (just right of the slider) to increment the hours of time/alarm; a button (just right of the hours button) to increment the minutes of time/alarm; a larger (than the other buttons) greenish-blue button labeled “INDIGLO night-light” under the previous row of buttons, whose length is that of the other buttons combined; a cover that clicks shut – presumably to prevent the buttons from being pressed while in one's pocket, in luggage, etc. – but also swivels in a way to become a base so that the display/buttons portion of the device can stand upright (but at just a slight backwards angle so as to not fall forward).

Beneath the “INDIGLO” button are a pair of rubber bands around the base of the device (one red, one blue) whose purpose is to hold the single AAA battery (that powers the device) (incidentally, the charge lasts for years..) in its battery compartment (because somewhere along the line I lost (or maybe broke? can't remember..) the compartment's cover.

The outside of the swiveling base/cover of the entire device features the word “TIMEX” in white. There are vestiges of Scotch Tape gunk (that is no longer sticky, perhaps for being so old?) on the back above the battery compartment, suggesting I probably used Scotch Tape to hold the battery in the battery compartment before hitting on the better idea of using rubber bands.

Near the top of the back of the device are five small holes place at the vertices of a pentagon (with one additional hole in the middle of that arrangement) from which the alarm's beeping sound emerges: four quick beeps in succession separated by silent pauses until alarm mode is disabled.

Since the rubber bands don't completely cover the battery, I can see the battery as well as a conical spring that is the electrical contact on one end.