Architecture is endlessly appealing to me. Houses, in particular, capture my imagination because they are so primal in their utility: They provide us with a safe place to sleep, eat, store food, and raise young’uns.

For the last 90 years in America, home architecture has been dominated by profiteering companies looking to churn out cheaper products for higher margins. Market demand and time constraints are generally at odds with innovation and creativity, and this is precisely why qualified architects are only responsible for a small fraction of American homes.

On one hand, this sucks because it means that most houses in America were conceived and built by people who truly don’t know a damn thing about the art of designing a home.

On the other hand, this extreme suckage has made it easier to spot the really good stuff—the houses designed by architects who had a purpose and thoughtful motive behind every last structural detail.

A cursory review of the architects and designers who shaped an emerging, twentieth century America will no doubt reveal classic names like Wright, Neutra, Eichler, Eames, Nelson, van der Rohe, and Saarinen. These artisans—real experts, you know?—are all associated with the most inspired period of design in American history: The mid-century modern era.

When I decided to buy a house in 2009, I went on an all-out mission to find the perfect mid-century modern (MCM) home in Austin. After an exhausting three-month search, I managed to score a classic MCM that does everything right:

• At first glance, the home appears to be oddly situated on the lot, but closer inspection reveals that it’s built on the same axis as the four cardinal directions!
• Extra-tall windows bring in natural light and also serve to unite the house with the surrounding land.
• The flat roof, extended easements, huge windows, and indoor/outdoor feel are all characteristic of my favorite branch of MCM architecture that can be traced back to Richard Neutra.
• Just look at the place—it’s sexy as hell :D

Finally, I’d like to shout out a huge thank-you to Nick Reese, whose badass camera setup and editing skillz made this video possible!

As an important player in the Web software space, WordPress wields a powerful influence in the marketplace. When you’re in a position of such importance, it is your responsibility to purvey accurate information and to refrain from projecting ideologies and agendas on a market that is likely to take anything you say at face value.

My work with Thesis has placed me in a similar position, and I understand how much you can affect the psyche of your customers/users with just a few choice words. It’s powerful; it’s amazing; but most of all, it’s humbling.

As far as I’m concerned, being a figurehead in the market doesn’t mean that you get to be rich, famous, adored, and influential; instead, it means that you always have to hold yourself to a higher standard than everyone else. In other words, you have to do a better, more responsible job because thousands—perhaps millions—of people are dependent upon the solutions that you claim to provide.

Wielding such an awesome responsibility means that there is no room for ideologies, agendas, or anything else.

Solutions are what matters. You can check the rest of that crap at the door.

I like to solve problems. At this point in my life, I’m focused on solving the fundamental problems of Web design and development through my business, DIYthemes, and my software, Thesis.

One of the most compelling things I’ve learned in the past year, however, is that it’s not good enough to crank out “sufficient” solutions to problems. Truly sustainable answers require a style of thinking that involves patience, perspective, skill, testing, and unbiased criticism. Additionally, it’s crucial to realize that the best solutions we can generate should be reflective of our own human nature—in other words, we must strive to make them as adaptable as we are.

Through my work on Thesis, I’ve begun to see all sorts of new connections that reveal the direction the Web is heading, and I know that I can use these insights to figure out better solutions to the problems I’m already tackling.

Recently, I sat down with Nick Reese from Art of Blog to talk about some of these insights and to share my thoughts heading into 2010. You can check out the original interview on Nick’s site, or you can click here to watch the video in HD on Pearsonified :D

Thesis is my software project, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I’d love to show you what it can do! The latest version has been met with tons of enthusiasm, and people have been saying some really awesome things about it. Check out this video I made, and I think you’ll understand why :D

Head over to DIYthemes for more on Thesis!

Somehow, society has been perverted to the point that we think crap can be turned to gold, so long as it makes money. Worse, the venture capital and corporate acquisition culture has brainwashed us all into thinking that in the end, the payoff justifies the means.

That’s all bullshit, people. There are no substitutes for efficiency and sustainability, and nature proves this time and time again. For some reason, humanity continually repeats its mistakes of the past by going against the rules of nature, but in the end, these rules always prevail.

Better to know the truth and to act on it than to be misguided by the prevailing trends of the current age, don’t you think?

Left untouched, nature operates in a maximally efficient state. This means that in the long run, nature is always going to favor the most efficient path. In other words, efficiency wins.

Everything you do can (and should!) be viewed as an extension of nature. Whether you’re hacking your way around a golf course, running a business, or trying to figure out who to follow on Twitter, you’ll get the best results if you always strive to operate efficiently.

You see, nature has done us an incredible favor by literally showing us the blueprint for success. You want to win? Be efficient. You want to survive? Be efficient. You want to grow? Be efficient. It can be said, then, that efficiency is actually a universal tie that binds everything we do. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that checking on your efficiency is the universal equivalent of checking your pulse.

Want to know how you’re doing? Check your efficiency.

Let’s look at a real world example:

So what does your Authority Index say about you?

Naturally, it says how efficient you are! ;)

After spending nine months in Hollywood, I’ve learned that pretty much all of the fame-seeking prima donnas out here need a clue. Fortunately, that’s where I come in. Enjoy, and Max—earmuffs!¹

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