Comments on: $2.6M for 440 people. That's some expensive sunshine.

$2.6M for 440 people. That's some expensive sunshine.

Specklet — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:08:19 -0800

As a sufferer of Seasonal Affective Disorder, I was interested to discover this village's proposed solution. Were they inspired by Gustav Graves, d'you think?

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:13:13 -0800

It's so crazy, it just might work!

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:29:22 -0800

Remember the sadistic little neighborhood kid who liked to toast ants by using a magnifier or mirror to redirect sunlight into a sort of sidewalk laser? Those villagers better make sure that the person in charge of their mirror has a comprehensive psych consult. Either that, or build themselves one hell of a bigass JiffyPop.

By: ao4047

ao4047 — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:46:44 -0800

Couldn't they just. Um. Move out of the shadow of the mountain?

By: dov3

dov3 — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:48:59 -0800

Why not blow up the mountain into tiny little pebbles?

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 12:53:56 -0800

Sounds like a disaster film waiting to happen.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:15:44 -0800

Other possible schemes:

Znamya
Close school in the winter, not the summer, so people can get the hell out of there during the gloomy months. Send the retirees and kids to sunny places, maybe as apartment swaps with folk who live in sunny spots and want to ski in Austria. (Or maybe not: "Local businesses also suffer in the winter months as the number of visitors dwindles to almost zero despite the village's reputation for fine glass making." Heh.)
Spend the money on antidepressants and Viagra.

By: jeffj

jeffj — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:37:24 -0800

The cold sun comes and goes but stays fixed in one spot across the valley; shadows do not move. Your carpet fades in a precise stripe leading to the window. One evening, there's a town hall debate about moving dawn an hour later.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:53:14 -0800

shadows do not move That doesn't sound right. The direction of the reflected light should change, even if it's apparent source doesn't. /pedantic

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:54:05 -0800

its. dammit. /apparently insufficiently pedantic

By: teg

teg — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 14:04:48 -0800

Nebula, that would be true if the mirrors were stationary, but the article indicates that they would move, presumably to reflect the light in the same direction.

By: davy

davy — Sat, 22 Jan 2005 13:10:09 -0800

It sounds like a great idea. And it's much easier and cheaper than moving the whole town to the other side of the mountain. It's no panacea but it's worth a try. Oh and nebula, to be sufficiently pedantic you'd need to use your SHIFT key on the first letters of sentences.