Mini CM-5 Thinking Machine Clock and Weather/AQI Notifier

It's a Unix system!

Wait, no it isn't. It's FreeRTOS!

I had Google Gemini come up with a pattern that I can actually only hope is a realistic pattern of actual CM5 workloads. Gemini got wordy and I got lost in the sauce about vector calculations but we went back and forth and came up with something really great.There's an optical illusion of sorts where you can't be sure if the work loads are sliding right or left.

Features:
-Automatic time sync
-Automatic brightness adjustment
-CM5 Emulator[ish]
-PPM display per pixel sparkle
-8 hour forecast in the left color strip
-24HH:MM
~#25USD in parts.

Powered by two MAX7219s one ESP8266, a small strip of Neopixels, some models, some code, some DuPont wires, electrical tape, and soldering pins onto the ESP8266.

I am cleaning up the code but you can find it here:

https://github.com/bearhudson/CM5-Alarm

You need to put in your personal bits in the top of the file as well as an Openweather API key, free tier.

Note: I have included a diffuser if you want to try one in front of the LEDs to dim them even more. I find these things to be annoyingly bright, so my code has them at 0-5 [of 15.]. If I was going to use the diffusers I would find a perfectly flat work surface and lay the face flat with the diffusers in place and then glue them on the inside edges. It should be super snug and not require much glue to hold it in place. Then hot glue the LEDs once the super glue is dry. It should all bond together seamlessly if you do it correctly.