Komarnitsky's been putting up Christmas lights since 1998, but in 2005, he took his burgeoning yuletide showcase high-tech as a fundraiser for Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that afflicts his two sons.
He stresses that the site linked above is absolutely free to visit and use, but if a visitor wishes to donate, he or she can -- and plenty of people have over the years. He's raised more than $50,000 to fight the ailment to date.
So... what's new this year?
"I picked up a Santa skier, a Santa plane and a Santa helicopter," says Komarnitsky. You can see them amid the menagerie below:
According to Komarnitsky, the set-up this year took him a few hours a day over a one-two week stretch. Once everything's hooked up, plenty of folks drive past his Denver-area home in the evening, but not so many that his neighbors want to throttle him. In fact, he points out, "Web Cam 1 on the site is actually located in a neighbor's house across the street."The worldwide audience is considerably larger than those who visit in person. Using geo-location software, Komarnitsky can document views from folks in 157 countries. Here's a map showing the width and breadth of the site's reach:
If all of these people showed up at the same time, this self-described "Clark Griswold-wannabe" would probably be chased out of town by an angry mob. But fortunately, there are seldom traffic jams on the web (unless your address is Wikileaks.net) -- which makes for a happy holiday season for everyone.More about Alek from our Sports archive: "Proof that the Colorado Rockies have the biggest balls."
