Colorado Man, Computer Specialist, Now Says
Interactive Christmas Lights Web Site Was a Hoax

Monday, 12-27-2004 7:50 PM
By COLLEEN SLEVIN

DENVER --  A man who boasted to reporters around
the world that his Web site allowed strangers to
turn his outdoor Christmas lights off and on
admitted Monday it was an elaborate hoax
designed, he said, to spread holiday cheer.

Alek Komarnitsky, a computer specialist, said he
started the site two years ago to see if he
could use computer tricks to make it look as if
the thousands of lights adorning his house in
Lafayette were blinking on command.

This year, he went even further: At one point,
with a TV station helicopter hovering overhead,
his wife was inside, turning the lights off and
on.

The Web site was featured in numerous holiday
stories, including one by The Associated Press,
and Komarnitsky said he decided to announce his
scam to The Wall Street Journal because it had
gotten "a little out of hand."

"For the overwhelming majority of people who
read about this, it will continue to provide
a little Christmas chuckle," Komarnitsky said
after the Journal posted a story on its Web site
 Monday.

On his site, Komarnitsky explained how he used
a series of still photographs of his house from
three angles _ with the lights either on or off,
and with varying amounts of snow on the ground.

To make it seem even more real, he would
sometimes add an image of a person or a car
driving by in the Web cam "shot" looking at the
lights. He would even add computer-generated
low-flying planes because an airport was near
his home.

While people may have believed they were
controlling the lights, all they actually saw
were the prepared photos _ nothing was actually
happening at the house.

When one television reporter came to view how
the display worked, Komarnitsky said he
responded that the Web cam was broken and he was
waiting for a part to be delivered.

The AP picked up the story from a local
newspaper and checked out the Web site but never
visited the house.

Komarnitsky said some of his neighbors, who were
quoted in news stories, were in on the scam. One
allowed him to put a camera in a tree across the
street.

"He put an extension cord that didn't go
anywhere," said Marjie Hargrave, whose tree
supported the camera.

Komarnitsky said he's received more than a
thousand e-mails from appreciative visitors to
the site.

In one, posted on his Web site Dec. 4, he gave
advice to a woman who said her grandson had told
a lie and was worried what he would get from
Santa Claus. He responded: "One thing I tell my
two boys (and elves) is to ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH."

Komarnitsky made money from advertisements
posted on the site. He said it amounted to only
"pennies" for each hit on the ads. He said he
couldn't disclose the amount because of a deal
with Google.

Paul McLellan, general manager of Minneapolis-
based ServiceLighting.com, which had an ad on
the site, said Komarnitsky's actions were unethical.

"Finding out he's making a buck off of something
that costs us a buck, it's not very cool,"
McLellan said.

A spokesman for Google declined comment until
officials could look into the matter further.
        ___
On the Net:
Komarnitsky site: http://www.komar.org