I accidentally bought a mechanical relay which I thought was solid state. Click click click click. And slow. But I can turn on and off a row of christmas lights now... just not incredibly fast.
I showed Dina and she's like, "Isn't that what they did before?"
I need a fast, solid-state relay, operated at TTL-level (or up to 3VDC) and able to switch 1A of 125VAC. And it has to be cheap. No more than a buck or two each. (need 90 of 'em) I'm going to search all those parts sites people keep recommending. (thanks for all the great links!)