For the sake of archival, "state of the world" refers to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The code and CAD files for this project can be found here.

Relevant links:

PulseAudio is the sound server used by many Linux distributions

pulsectl is a Python library that allows you to control a PulseAudio server

NeoPixels are cool addressable LEDs

The Teensy is a small but powerful microcontroller development board

pySerial is a library allowing you to use serial ports in Python

PlatformIO is a tool for making software development for embedded platforms easy

Early prototype:

Assembled electronics fitted into case ready to be closed:

View of the top of the case, showing Cherry switch and NeoPixel LED indicator:

View of the bottom of the case, showing USB port and some of the nicer M3 screws from my parts bin:

Plugged in and powered on, showing the muted state:

Button pushed, showing the unmuted/mic live state: