The tale behind the auction is that somehow, out of the 100,000 condoms distributed during the Olympics, one guy managed to get 5,000. I guess at some point it sunk in that if he hasn't used a single one by now, he never will. But hey, his loss could be your pile of probably expired condoms. Let's call it the non-gadget deal of the day. [Sports Rubbish]

In this image alone I can count 23 cameras. I can see loads of Canon L-Series EF and Nikkor AF-S 500mm super telephoto lenses—each around $5,800 a pop—, a few 400mm, 600mm, 700mm, 800mm here and there. Let's assume a conservative average of $6,000 per telephoto lense. That's $138,000 total just on lenses. Most of them are probably using the biggest and baddest Canon and Nikon cameras, so we can assume an average $5,000 price tag per camera, which brings the grand total to about a quarter of a million dollars.

Now, there are 1,100 accredited photographers at the Beijing Olympics, which we can assume will have more than just one set of lenses and, at least, one secondary camera, just in case the first one breaks or they want to have two different set of lenses ready to shoot at any time. A good low-estimate per photographer would be $20,000 minimum, which brings the grand total to $22 million in professional digital photography equipment at the Olympics. [Stern via Dark Roasted Blend]

On the other hand, we do have to commend whoever was in charge of that karaoke setup. It was pretty damn flawless, and we doubt anybody would have known about it if the show's musical designer hadn't said anything. There's also the question of why the little girl that was actually on stage was allowed to give interviews as if she actually sang it?

Mr Chen said she might not have known that the words she was singing could not be heard. She had, in fact, only known she was going to perform at all 15 minutes beforehand.

[Telegraph via Yahoo Sports]

Altogether, it took ten bamboo sculptors roughly two weeks to put together the Bird's Nest (at a 1:20 scale of the Beijing original) out of 800 pieces of bamboo. The villagers say they plan to use the structure for local sports events. Hmmm... As cool as this DIY structure is, I'm not sure what kind of sport you'd be able to fit in it. Ping pong? [Shufa via Weird Asia News]

And just for comparison, the Beijing Stadium:

• The LED screen at the center of the ground, which unrolled to represent a huge scroll detailing China's 5,000-year civilization, measured 482 feet by 72 feet wide and contained a whopping 44,000 LED beads with a distance of 600 millimeters between each two.
• Technical monitoring systems were employed to keep track of over 18,000 performers through identification codes, a first for any Olympics.
• The fireworks used a digital ignition control system that coordinated blasts in over 30 locations across Beijing. According to Cai Guoqiang, the explosions maestro behind that part of the show, not a single of the 40,000 cannon shots faltered.
• The material used for the paper on the painting scroll was produced by the country's aerospace sector. Similarly, most of the core technologies used in the ceremony had been developed by domestic companies.

As was stated by broadcasters over and over again, China's a country of tremendous challenges—environmental, economic and human rights-wise—and as a journalist heading into that mess some time in the near future, I'm all too aware of the problems that await me. But after last night's performance, I walked away with a small overflow of pride for my heritage and a lot of hope for a brighter future. I guess that's what the Olympics are all about. [Xinhua]

The GreenPix Zero Energy Media Wall, designed by Simon Giostra & Partners and Arup, uses thousands of solar capture cells attached to each of its glass panels to charge up during the day and then release dazzling light shows at night. It's the first time perforated photovoltaics laminated in glass have ever been used in a building in China, but if all goes off without a hitch, it most certainly won't be the last.

The wall is a combination of three textured panels in low-, medium-, and high-transparency glass, employed together to create a "continuous carpet" of flowing design that's actually roughly 7 feet deep. The wall will showcase low-resolution LED imagery, to help conserve energy and paint an artsy gauze on whatever does get shown.

The project will be completed in June and will feature performance works by artists from all over the world. [Technabob]