You can help him win the slot by simply voting for him. Voting will run through 11:59 p.m. PT on 11/29/09. Good luck Jake!

The giant bubbles would be structural, decorative, and be used to project weather info, spectator numbers, and race results. They'd be constructed from of a type of plastic called Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), the same stuff used to build the Beijing Aquatic Centre.

The Cloud has been shortlisted in the competition set-up by London's Mayor, and has been called "a sculptural spectacle, and a celebration of technology" by the senior curator of
architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The designers intend to build The Cloud using micro-donations from millions of people. One of the architects, who's from MIT, told the BBC: "We can build our Cloud with £5m or £50m. The flexibility of the structural system will allow us to tune the size of the Cloud to the level of funding that is reached."

I hope they get all the cash they need, because that design is straight out of my Sci Fi dreams. [The Cloud via BBC] Thanks Tom!

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]

The medals, designed by Canuck artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel, are made from the gold, bronze and silver reclaimed from old electronics. They're also laser-etched so no two medals are the same and feature an undulating design meant to invoke the landscape of Vancouver. I can't wait to win one, or at least be forced to hear about them for two weeks of unnecessary media coverage overload. [NotCot via Technabob]

Not just some basement mod, the original renderings of this PC were created by Gert Swolfs, the same guy who did the original renderings for the actual building. The case itself was then fashioned from wood and lined with aluminum. In order to fit a full-sized video card along with a slew of other big components, a small platform box was constructed under the cube itself.

The technical aspect of lighting the case was an idea that evolved over time. The builder started with LCDs, considered an LED array and then settled for simple UV Blue acrylic.

Not a bad job at all, especially when you check out the Bejing Digital building's original renderings:
[bit-tech]

Yeah, yikes. If anyone goes for custom glass flooring, there better be plenty of airsickness bags on hand. The building, which will be built in Tribeca at 56 Leonard Street, uses extreme cantilevers to achieve a look that H&M describe as "pixelated vertical layering." Or, stacked shanty town trailers.

Herzog and de Meuron designed just about every aspect of the interiors as well, from the 12-foot glass doors that open out onto your private deck, the massive floor-to-ceiling fireplaces—even the coloring of the individual interior elements. If you want to live in an apartment designed by the same folks that brought us one of the coolest works of architecture of the 20th century (and you've got $3.5 mil for a small, low shanty or $33 mil for a top shanty), this is your place. From the top you can more closely watch the real-time collapse of Wall Street (just a few blocks away!), that is if the whole house of cards doesn't fall before this thing makes it into the sky.
[Gothamist]

Prosthethics tech is where some of our baddest engineers are working today, from Dean Kamen's Luke Skywalker arm to the Cheetah itself, which is one of the first prosthetic legs to allow near-natural sprinting. But beyond that, tech aids large and small are what helps level (and then raise) the playing field of the Paralympics. Whether it's super-aerodynamic sprinting wheelchairs as advanced and light as any Olympic road cycle, or simple mods to make things possible in sports where they wouldn't be for disabled athletes under normal circumstances.

More great pics as always over at: [Big Picture]

First Place — Stretta
Second Place — Jim Festante
Third Place — Mark FX
If your entry didn't make it into the following gallery, it's probably because you included a lightsaber in there somehow. I got about 30 entries of fencing with lightsabers, so don't feel bad that yours didn't make it in. Thanks to everyone who entered!

I encourage you to go check out the rest of the images, including a few of a failed baton hand-off, just like the American men and women did recently in the 4x100. [Flickr, shared under the Creative Commons License]

Eric Seals, a photojournalist with the Detroit Free Press, was photographing Detroit area Olympians when he saw the little red cars shooting across the field part of Track and Field. Watching the cars in action sounds almost as fun as driving them:

Two kids who look to be in their mid teens sit in chairs with large remote controls driving these cars (that look like something from that Speed Racer movie) back and forth from the field of play where the hammer throw competition is happening. Usually after an athlete throws the hammer someone is there to take it from the official back to the start for the next athlete to throw. Not here, not at these Olympics. Instead the official takes the heavy hammer and places it into the car, which is then driven back to where the kids are sitting. They have two of them so as one is coming back to the start the other is on they way to the end. I’m told the cars are also used to transport the discus and javelin as well.

This could easily be a new Olympic sport in and of itself. BMX racing? Football? Please. RC racing with shot puts and javelins in tow? Gold. [Freep]

It has been quite an Olympics hasn't it? From the spectacular opening ceremonies, to the amazing performances by Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt (not to mention all of the controversy stirred up by the Chinese government). In years past I can't say that I was all that excited about the Olympics—but I will be kind of sad to see this one go. The good news is that just because the games are over doesn't mean you can't carry the torch...literally. So, check out the following ten gadgets to learn how to play like an Olympian.

Torch Relay:

Usually, physically fit / important individuals are chosen to be a part of the Olympic torch relay—which is why you were passed over this time around. Screw the IOC! You can have your own torch relay around the neighborhood with this official replica version. Only 200,000 were authorized—each featuring steel leftover from the "Birds Nest" stadium and a base of laser cut crystal illustrating the route of the controversial Beijing torch relay. Available for $500. [Product Page]

Avoiding the Health Hazards of Pollution:

A big to-do was made out of the poor quality of the air in Beijing. In fact, it was such an issue that many athletes were issued smog masks before they arrived—and the US cycling team was forced to apologize for wearing them at the airport. If airborne pollutants concern you, and you don't mind looking like a Michael Jackson-esque hypochondriac, you can pick up a filtered pollution mask for around $25 (sport version available on 8/25). [I Can Breathe]

Swimming:

Obviously the big story of this year's Olympics was Michael Phelps' amazing 8 gold medal effort. He is a machine, there is no doubt about it, but he did have some help. The LZR Racer swimsuit from Speedo had a hand in a race or two with its space age fabrics and snug Hydro Form compression system. Available for $550 starting in October. [Speedo via Link]

Another secret to Phelps' success was his trusty iPod. We saw him sporting earbuds and getting pumped up with music before every race. But what the hell was he listening to exactly? The only song we know for sure was Lil Wayne's "I'm Me," but he has professed affinity for Young Jeezy, Twista, Eminem, Usher and Outkast in the past. So what does that mean for you? Rap wins gold medals folks. It's a fact. [ZDNet]

Volleyball:

Besides the mystery of Phelps' iPod, another question on everyone's mind was that black junk on the shoulder of Volleyball phenom and hottie extraordinaire Kerri Walsh. The answer was Kinesio athletic tape, and it helps support muscles without inhibiting the athlete's range of motion. Available for about $15 a roll. [AllegroMedical and Link]

Fencing:

Those bizarre blinking helmets you see on the heads of fencing athletes in the Olympics are actually based on the same technology the sport has been relying on for years. LEDs on the mask are set off when the open-closed circuit system detects a charge from the weapon, indicating a hit. Forget fencing, these would make great accessories to a Halloween costume. [Link]

Cycling:

Unless you have a million bucks to burn on a bike, you will not be getting your hands on this custom Koga bike designed for Dutch cyclist Theo Bos. Apparently, it has the lowest air resistance of any bike in the world, and its super stiff frame makes it an extremely difficult ride—unless you are a finely tuned athlete, that is. [Link]

Track and Field:

Staying cool is essential if you are training on a track outside in the heat. The Nike PreCool vest helps athletes lower their core temperature and keep muscles working optimally. The vest features two layers: the innermost layer is filled with frozen water and the outermost layer is made from aluminum to help trap the cold in. [Link]

If you saw Usain Bolt capture the 100 and the 200 meter golds, you probably know that he could have won the race in flip-flops. However, he was wearing custom gold-colored Puma Theseus II Croc track spikes on both occasions, and you can pick them up at Foot Locker for $100. [Foot Locker]

Okay, So You Are Not The Athletic Type:

No worries, you can still sit on your ass and smoke like an Olympian with this Bird's Nest ashtray and lighter combo. There is even an LED in the lighter to give it the same stylish vibe as the real thing. Available for $23. [sourcingmap]

Work up your best entries and send them to me a contests@gizmodo.com with "Ruined Olympics" in the subject line. Name your files FirstnameLastname.jpg with whatever name you want to be credited by, and I prefer JPG, PNG or GIF files. PSD, PDF, and various other formats will be ignored. I'll post the winning entries in the Gallery of Champions next Tuesday. Get 'shopping!

In addition to gracing the shoulder of one of America's finest looking athletes, the Kinesio tape also boasts magical properties, like the ability to assist and support muscles without inhibiting a joint's range of motion. Kinesio tape has actually been around for a while, and is available for a range of uses, but it took the modern-day Olympic games (and the right "spokeswoman") to see orders shoot up from 250 a month to 1,600 in a weekend.

John Jarvis, director of Kinesio USA, says the tape has graced the bodies of Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, countless baseball and football players, and cycling superman Lance Armstrong.

Surprisingly, Forbes notes that athletes comprise only 10% of Kenesio USA's customers. The largest market is pediatrics, where doctors have been helping children deal with neurological disorders for the past 25 years. With disorders like cerebral palsy, for example, the tape is used to help strengthen weak muscles. Kerri Walsh is great and all, but that's the real reason I can get behind this product. [Forbes]

The best way, usually, would be through the NBC Olympics site, which has decent quality for streamed video, even though it suffers its share of quirks. But they've decided to be jerkfaces and only show swimming on the tube:
To see other events live without a faux tape delay, the first time you go to the site, you've gotta give it an East Code zip code and cable provider, like 10003 (NYC) and Time Warner Cable. Then it'll think you're on the East Coast and give you the goods live. If you punch in a West Coast zip, you'll get hit with the three-hour delay. If you've already messed up, clear out your browser's private data, then try again. And our guide to the byzantine site will probably help you navigate it.

The best option for Phelps is to use a proxy server to make the BBC or CBC think you're in the UK and Canada, and watch their live streams, which offer pretty good coverage generally. Silicon Alley Insider recommends Xroxy for its list of open proxies broken down by countries. Then you've gotta configure your browser, detailed here. If you find one that works (which might take a couple tries), verify you've actually teleported here. Remember kids, someone else owns the server you're running through, so don't put in passwords or credit card info while you're connected to the proxy. And be persistent!

Another option, also from Alley Insider, though the video isn't that good, is Alriyadiah saudi Sport TV, which shows video on about a 10-minute delay. But you don't get to choose your event, so cross your fingers.

If you've got other ideas or tricks, let 'em loose in the comments. Maybe next year NBC will have its shit together. Oh, and go Team USA! [Silicon Alley Insider]