Thanks! Total cost of materials was ~$50 or so excluding the Arduino which I already had. With most projects like this one I try switching to a barebones ATMEGA328 (the microcontroller at the heart of the Arduino) if I can to save money, but in this case I needed the Arduino's onboard 5V regulator. I assembled the entire thing this evening.
Great point, but at the time I didn't feel like running to the store to buy one at 6:00 PM on New Year's Eve. I very well might still do exactly what you are saying!
