Let's switch gears from the holidays for a second and talk about sweet, precious sleep. I've been getting a lot lately, partly because of the cold, wintery mornings and also due to my uncanny ability to sleep through any alarm clock. Until now:



Step 1: Open the clock
Open the alarm clock and snip the 2 wires that lead from its circuit board to the speaker. Depending on the clock's design, you may need to snip the wires just to get it open. That's okay.

Step 2: Strip wire
Strip the two ends of wire leading from the board, and splice two longer pieces of wire to the ends.

Step 3: Solder
Solder these splices to secure the connection.

Step 4: Snip watergun wires
Take apart the water gun and snip the two wires leading to the trigger switch.

Step 5: Strip wires
Strip the ends of these wires, splice longer wires to each end, and secure the connections with solder.

Step 6: Connect wires
Pop the relay switch into the breadboard circuit and connect each pair of wires to opposite sides of the relay. If you don't have a breadboard circuit, solder the switch and wires to a regular circuit board. It's harder to do, but will make for a more permanent connection – and water clock.

Step 7: Set alarm
Now set the alarm, position the water gun so it's pointing at your face, and drop off into a nice peaceful sleep.