What I've done:

• Tested controlling the ring using Arduino Leonardo and Pro Micro. Wanted to see how small I could go. Several pro micros from the fablab didn't work, or overheated, and I don't know why. (It's 'cause they're shitty clones and need specific drivers, apparently).
• Want to 3D print 4x quadrant of this project: https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-60-ring-clock/build. Nah, I'll make my own full ring bed in Fusion360, instead. Going to print on a Prusa mk3, so there's enough room for the whole shape.
• Played around with colour, delay, and pin settings in Arduino IDE
• Did a light test using a chunk of scrap transparent PMMA which I'd sprayed grey, then had laser etched a stargate segment onto. It looks pretty good.
• Powering the device deep dive part 1 - what power source am I going to use? 9V battery doesn't hold enough juice. I might need to plug it into the wall if a reasonable amount of battery life comes with an excessive battery chonkiness tradeoff.
• Soldered a DC jack to a 9V battery connector. Probably won't need it, but I wanted to try.
• Founf out I need a resistor for the signal input and a capacitor for the power.

Want to do:

• One of the first things I need to do is design the ring for lasercutting and etching, so that I can design everything alse around it and the LED ring.
• Need to think about time change options so the time is easy to adjust. Rotary encoder?
• Want to include a Light-Dependant Resistor to control brightness of ring depending on ambient light.
• Want to check whether PIR is worth integrating, to only switch on when someone moves into the room. Corrollary: an the PIR sensor be integrated into a dial-home-device
• Make a case for the ring to stick to the back of the PMMA, so as to avoid light bleed.
• Learn to fucking code
• Trying to understand what resistors / capacitors I should use, if any. Projects I've found as references aren't consistent in either regard.

Design questions for later:

• Should I use a switch, or will that fuck with the RTC?