Well, after a LOT of fucking around with the code and little nitpicky shit you always have to concern yourself with when you first start out (later, you just do it instinctively) I've managed to get this little counter thingy going. It uses a PIC 16F84 microcontroller because...I have one *shrug*. I've got other MCU's but I was just thinking about the fact that my current programmer won't program the new Atmel chips, so I might as well go with PICs (it does do a lot of current PICs and new chips are easily added).

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, without further delay...here's a pic of my PIC.

I've also got a video HERE (kinda boring watching something count, even if only for a few seconds)...and for you people with absolutely no time you can see my half-assed code in the file piccounter.asm

Now, I just have to resist the urge to take a bunch of empty fax paper tubes, paint them red, and strap this thing on top (with a couple coiled wires leading to the tubes). I don't think that'd go over very well with most people with our society's current state of mind (concerning terrorists)

Note: in one of my more "DOH!" moments I was just looked at the schematic of the MCU's ports and found that the transistors I used are technically...unnecessary. They source or SINK. Oh well...live and learn. A little side note too...if I were going to make an MCU programmer, a chip like this would be perfect. Most microcontrollers don't use more than the pins can source/sink, so all it would need to do is interface (and do all the funky stuff a programmer does...so obviously this isn't going to get done BY ME)