Running Red Lights

  • After watching the 2024 Paris Olympics non-stop the last 2 weeks I’m now getting excited about the 2028 LA Olympics. The venues for the events are spread all around LA and they’re only using pre-existing or temporary stadiums. They’re obviously reusing the Memorial Coliseum downtown, which was also used in the ’32 and ’84 Olympics, as well as the Exposition Park pool next door. Marine Stadium in Long Beach was specifically built for rowing events for the ’32 games. Golf will be at the Riviera Country Club and track cycling at the Velodrome in Carson. BMX, skateboarding, and archery will be at a temporary complex at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the Valley. One event that I was interested in, kayak/canoe slalom, will be in Oklahoma City, unfortunately, although it’s still closer than surfing being in Tahiti 10,000 miles from Paris. And I love that they also can’t use the corporate sponsor names for the venues, so for example SoFi Stadium is just called Stadium. More about the LA venues here.

  • For the 40th anniversary of Neuromancer the Folio Society is releasing a limited edition version of the seminal work. Approved by William Gibson himself, the hardbound book has 14 illustrations and comes in a presentation box made to look like a cyberdeck. Unfortunately the $600 book is already sold out.

  • This Star Tours playset is so cool. It’s a limited edition release for this year’s D23 Disney fan event. I’m impressed how accurately it reproduces the ride vehicle. It actually has all the rows of seats inside with seatbelts, opening doors, a detailed cockpit area with Rex the pilot, and the screen plays actual video clips from the ride. It has lights on the outside and retractable landing gear. The $300 set is limited to 3000.

  • The Linamp is a real, physical Winamp music player, based on the classic Winamp MP3 player from the ’90s. It’s actually a Raspberry Pi connected to a full-width screen which uses Winamp as the touch interface, along with a 3D printed frame that matches the Winamp bezel.

    I loved the simplicity and purity of Winamp. It plays mp3s – that’s all, no music store, no videos, no podcasts. I spent a lot of time looking for cool skins but I usually ended up back at the default skin cause it was more usable.

  • You can now pre-order Lego sets from the BrickLink Designer Program series 2. This series includes a European train station, an ocean house, and a logging train on a trestle. I love the amount of detail in these sets, especially the pirate hideout with its interconnected islands.

  • I went back to the Marin County Civic Center a few weeks ago for an impromptu architectural photography trip. Located in San Rafael, California and designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the civic center opened in 1962. The building was Wright’s largest public project and last commission; groundbreaking took place in 1960, a year after Wright’s death. Comprised of 2 main buildings, the Hall of Justice and the Administration Building, each one features a massive central atrium enclosed by skylights. The atria grow wider as they rise higher, creating an effect like Wright’s Guggenheim in New York.