nick gaydos > thynk

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Design

I'm a big fan of the Olympic games and am truly excited about some of the design that is surfacing as part of this international event.

There two events that surface more new design, architecture and concepts than anywhere else: the World's Expos / Fairs and the Olympics.

One example that really excited me was James Lee and Leo Obstbaum's designs for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Podiums and Ceremonies Tray. The podium design harkens a topographical map and the ceremonies tray is specially covered with a surface that prevents the Olympic Medal's from  slipping off.

For more on the design of the Olympic Medals, check out Kristi Cameron's article "An Olympic Feat" in January 2010's Metropolis magazine. Personally, I was a big fan of Omer Arbel's original locket concept for the medals, but the end result is still beautiful. 

Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve wins Educator of Year Award

Congrats to Dinosaur Hill!

The organization won the Educator of the Year award at the Rochester Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Awards.

"Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve was honored with the Educator of the Year Award, citing 34 years in which the center has offered programs to the citizens of the greater Rochester area. Programs such as maple sugaring and Halloween events attract 30,000 visitors each year." (Full article at Oakland Press)

I serve on the board of directors at the nature center in Rochester, Michigan. It is a great organization and I encourage you to check them out if you live in Oakland County.

Their website is at http://www.dinosaurhill.org

media's echo chamber

Don't get me wrong. The internet is a fantastic place to communicate. The issue is that it is too easy to hear the things we want to hear.

Today, I was pointed at The Things People Say by Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker by my friend Josh. 

The following struck a chord with me:

"...it is often argued that the Internet is a boon to democracy—if information is good, then more information must be better. But, in Sunstein’s view, the Web has a feature that is even more salient: at the same time that it makes more news available, it also makes more news avoidable."

"The most striking power provided by emerging technologies," he has written, is the "growing power of consumers to 'filter' what they see."

In essence, an Echo Chamber and everyone falls into it's trap.

Note: There is lots more to like in this article including: Rumors and How they spread, (Dis)Information Age and Cyberpolarization.

Rauschenberg on everyday design...

"I feel really sorry for people who think things like soap dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly, because they're surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them miserable."

-Robert Rauschenberg 1925-2008

Floating Wind Turbines

As the year ends, I'm overcome with the "Best of 2007" lists - music, ideas, technology, people and so on. Browsing through core77's weblog, I noticed a post on wind turbines:

"...the Magenn Air Rotor System is a helium-filled wind turbine that floats 1,000 feet above the ground, getting it up and out of the way. The device is essentially a blimp wrapped in a steamboat's sternwheel and sends power back to the ground via its tether. Another benefit of being 1,000 feet up is that they are exposed to wind more constant than the serendipitous breezes us groundlings have access to."

While everyone seems to like the idea of green energy from the wind, no one seems to want to live near them. This could solve that.

On top of that, it's certainly possible to move these around. Imagine using these wind turbines to offset energy requirements for one time events, like the Olympics.