Something has gone wonky with my neighbor’s security light, which is perched near the highest point of his two-story house and shines much wattage directly into my bedroom. The light was previously controlled by a motion sensor, only worked at night, and stayed on for about five minutes when triggered. A few weeks ago, however, something went wonky and now it comes on at random times of the day and night and stays on for hours.

My neighbor has been very apologetic and has made repeated attempts to fix it, disconnect it, and/or beat it into submission, with mixed results. I witnessed his most recent attempt, in which he perched at the top of a 16-foot ladder with a screwdriver duct-taped to a broom handle, trying to adjust the sensor. The light turned off, but turned itself on again around midnight and stayed on through the night.

And since the evil, twin-headed beast of a mega-bright light fixture is only a driveway’s width from my window, my miniblinds cowered and whimpered their defeat. Needless to say, I haven’t been sleeping well.

So yesterday I ventured into that Temple of Domestic Consumerism — the Bed Bath & Beyond store — in search of something (anything!) I could hang on my window to block that damned light so I could get some sleep. As luck would have it, I found a supply of not-ugly blackout/thermal drapery panels marked down to $15 (half price). I bought six panels in dark royal blue to cover the three large windows in my bedroom. The room is now, indeed, dark dark dark. It should also stay warmer this winter.

I might go back and get four more panels to hang in my studio/office. I noticed it was getting a bit chilly in there last night.