[PW] Re: "Holiday lights online" story on CNN

Sun May 21 23:13:42 PDT 2006

I thought in the end it turned out to be a hoax?
Sorry to disappoint anyone...

Chana Lajcher - Library Director
Jerusalem College of Technology
Jerusalem, Israel
chana at jct.ac.il

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR2005120502003_pf.html

From Web Hoaxer to Helper?
Once-Fake Christmas Light Site Raises Funds for Research

By Steven Levingston
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 6, 2005; D04

Pam King believes the Internet hoaxer of Christmases past has mended his
ways.

"I trust him -- I know where his heart is," said King, the operations
director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research. "I'm
just seeing the good in this guy."

The hoaxer, Alek Komarnitsky, is turning his notoriety over a prank
involving an Internet display of Christmas lights into an opportunity this
year to raise awareness of celiac disease, a genetic disorder that both of
his sons have.

Komarnitsky's activities underscore the ambiguous nature of the Internet.
His hoax taps our fears and uncertainties about the virtual world:
Christmas shoppers worrying about trusting their credit cards to
cyberspace; instant messagers wondering if their correspondents are really
who they say they are; innocent Internet users tricked into divulging
their financial identities.

Komarnitsky's fundraising for celiac research highlights the other side of
the Internet: its unparalleled power to bring people together from around
the world for a worthy cause.

Komarnitsky's journey into the spotlight began in 2002 when he rigged up
his house in Lafayette, Colo., with thousands of Christmas lights. He then
told Internet users they could log onto his Web site and not only see the
lights via a live webcam but turn the ribbons of color on and off
themselves. Hordes flocked to the site.

The spectacle became such a hit on the Internet last year that newspapers,
television and radio picked up the story. Komarnitsky has always claimed
he created the Web site in the spirit of holiday fun. What he didn't tell
people, however, was that it wouldn't be a stretch for anyone who believed
in him also to believe in Santa Claus.

After Christmas last year, Komarnitsky came clean. He admitted his
Internet set-up was fake: The lights were real, but the live webcam and
Internet controls -- ho ho ho! The hoodwinked media jumped on him.

Now Komarnitsky, a computer consultant and self-professed tech geek, wants
the world to believe that this Christmas he has turned his hoax into
reality. Using his technical skill, he says, he hooked up three webcams
that feature live shots of his 26,000 Christmas lights, updated every few
seconds. As the clincher, his Web site (
http://www.komar.org/cgi-bin/xmas_webcam ) has buttons that he insists
really do allow his Internet visitors to operate the lights.

Komarnitsky suggests on the Web site that if visitors enjoy manipulating
the lights, they might consider making a contribution to celiac research
at the University of Maryland. The disease, which afflicts his 7- and
4-year-old sons, is a chronic ailment caused by an immune reaction to
gluten, a protein found in wheat and several other grains. Often
misdiagnosed, the disorder is found in one out of every 133 people,
according to the center.

But Komarnitsky's new claims can't help but raise a key question. In the
virtual world -- and especially given Komarnitsky's past behavior -- how
does one believe him? Komarnitsky is doing all he can to conduct online
tests for the skeptical and has invited in local reporters, but he
acknowledges he will have a tough time convincing some people. "How do you
know what's real or not?" he said. "It's especially true on the Internet
in this age of the scammer."

Experts familiar with the type of system Komarnitsky claims to have
created say it is certainly possible. "Actually it's pretty easy to do,"
said William Orvis, senior security specialist with the Computer Incident
Advisory Capability, an organization under the Department of Energy that
helps protect networks. Water companies, for instance, can watch pumps by
webcam and turn them on and off remotely via the Internet, Orvis said.

At the celiac center, medical director Alessio Fasano applauds what he
accepts as Komarnitsky's latest achievement. "He's proving this can
definitely be done," Fasano said. "I have to say, hats off to this fella."

Fasano said Komarnitsky conducted a test over the Internet for the center.
Komarnitsky was seen on a webcam leaving his house so he could have no
control over the lights. Then Fasano clicked the buttons on the Web site
and the lights responded.

"I took control of everything from here," said Fasano, a pediatric
gastroenterologist. "I could turn on and off the lights, the music --
everything."

The center has been accepting contributions for about a week, submitted
directly to the University of Maryland, not through Komarnitsky's Web
site. So far, it has collected about $2,722.

King says that whatever the controversy over Komarnitsky, the important
thing is that he is raising awareness of celiac disease. "He really loves
the holidays, and I think he's doing a wonderful thing," she said.

And what about his notoriety as an Internet hoaxer? King says she just
believes in the spirit of the season -- all that nice stuff about peace
and joy and good will toward all. "I don't think he meant any harm to
anybody," she said. "Whoever goes to the trouble to put up all those
lights on his house has to be spreading the Christmas cheer."

© 2005 The Washington Post Company
-------------------------------------

On Sat, 20 May 2006, Fred Acerri wrote:

> Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 20:12:58 -0400
> From: Fred Acerri <facerri at twmi.rr.com>
> Reply-To: list at project-wombat.org
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: [PW] Re: "Holiday lights online" story on CNN
>
> Check this site:http://www.temple.edu/ispr/examples/ex04_12_23.html. It's
> about a home in Colorado that allowed computer users to turn the lights
> on/off.
>
> Fred A
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Diane Rainaud" <diane at rainaud.net>
> To: "Project-Wombat" <list at project-wombat.org>
> Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2006 5:08 PM
> Subject: [PW] "Holiday lights online" story on CNN
>
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > A little out of season, but I've been asked to try to help someone find a
> > website that was talked abouton CNN a few days before Christmas, 2005.
> > CNN
> > was contacted by email to ask about the story, but no reply was sent.A
> > search of CNN's website doesn't turn up anything either.The story was
> > about a website that allowed users to not only view the thousands of
> > lights
> > on a house, but to turn different lights on and off from the user's own
> > computer.
> >
> > Any help on how we might find what that site was would be appreciated.We
> > understand the site may not be active at this time, but would still like
> > to
> > know what it was if possible.Thanks all.
> >
> > Diane
> > _______________________________________________
> > Project Wombat
> > list at project-wombat.org
> > http://www.project-wombat.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Project Wombat
> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
>