Death Ray Unveiled!
Feb 21, 2011 10:19 - 4 Comments
The high winds over the weekend toppled the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse and tore the tarp off the District Courthouse in Rockville.
Early Saturday morning, the winds ripped the $30,000 tarp into pieces. Only one small triangle remained hanging on an upper corner of the building by noon.
Have you found any large white pieces of tarp? Most likely it blew east! One piece was littered the entryway of Rockville City Hall. I didn’t hear of any accidents or destruction from the demise of the tarp. Perhaps large pieces are scattered around town and people don’t know their origin.
As we reported, the Department of General Services of the State of Maryland installed the tarp on Saturday, January 22, 2011 as a temporary measure until a real solution could be found for the high intensity reflection which was destroying surrounding vegetation and melting sections of parked cars.
During the winter, the ray has not been too hot. However, summer is another matter. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you should. The intensity is pretty amazing.
Will the State pay for another tarp which could easily be destroyed again? Have they found a solution to the problem? Since the six-story curtain was purchased, they must not have devised a quick fix.
Another death ray exists in Las Vegas. A high-tech film to cover the windows of the Vdara Hotel was not completely effective last September. Since that death ray was burning people and scorching their hair at the pool below, they added more umbrellas!
We would need a pretty big umbrella on Vinson Street!
I have a silly idea. Instead of covering up the “death ray”, why don’t we erect solar panels and collect this energy? Perhaps we could completely power Rockville Town Hall with solar power provided free by the state courthouse! I bet $30K (money spent on the failed tarp) would have been a good start on a solar collection system, and the money to be spent on abating the death ray could be used on this instead.
@Brenda Dunham
+1
Great Idea actually. Such a large area focusing the sun’s energy would be a shame to waste. 30K could have bought quite a few PVs actually.
Best of all would be for it to be focused on the American Legion’s eternal flame on that side of City Hall. You want an eternal flame? *That’s* an eternal flame. And anything that wanders near it will burst into flames also.
I can point out another “Death Ray” that has existed in Rockville for the past four years. This is the window glazing on the west facade of the 401 North Washington St. office building. During the spring and particularly summer solstice, the radient energy is in full effect on the households and property in the immediate western area of the Town Center and West End, adjacent to this building. This building managment company or property owner needs to be held accountable for this impact.