NYT souped-up feeds: This weblog has been subscribing to NYT RSS feeds for a long time, but a post on ResearchBuzz led us to this RSS directory on nytimes.com and the discovery of several feeds we did not know were available. Perhaps this is old news to others, but then, we don’t get out much.

It’s weird architecture day: As we started the day out with a post about a construction approach that never quite caught on, we guess it’s appropriate to revisit that theme tonight. This weblog assumes it is supposed to be good news that Dwell magazine, according to the Boston Globe, is leading the rebirth of a housing architectural and construction movement. We also assume we can’t be the only one who thinks it is bad news that Dwell magazine can actually convince people this house is something other than an extraordinarily ugly eyesore that resembles two doublewide mobile homes stacked on top of one other, except made from wood.

Search hacks for the rest of us: Tara Calishain, famous Google hackstress and blogger-in-chief of ResearchBuzz one of this weblog’s favorite blogs about searching online for stuff (okay, some people play golf as a hobby, others search for stuff) has a new book coming out soon called Web Search Garage. Her real fame, however, comes from a Google hack she calls “Cookin’ With Google” that was recently named one of Time’s 50 Coolest Websites of 2004.

Savvy blog spin control: Via Marketing Vox News, I saw the news that early-blogging business Six Apart’s co-founder and CEO, Mena Trout, 26, has been replaced as CEO by Barak Berkowitz (she’s still president). Rather than let the story be spun by others, Mena shows the turbo-power of business transparency by posting a heartfelt message regarding the decision on her blog. It is very impressive and I highly recommend it be read by any would-be entrepreneur. Great stuff and a tribute to both Mena and all involved, including the VCs.

Quote:

“I’m a proud person, but not a foolish person. I’d rather be a part of a successful company that I co-founded and ran as CEO for a year than hold on to a title because of ego. Young CEOs exist, but I doubt they exist without help from experienced elders (I just had to use that word). Sure, I could be a miserable twenty-six year old CEO, but I’d rather be a content and productive twenty-seven year old president.”

Bush twins talk: Okay. So the Bush twins agree to the first interview of their lives (according to the story) and who is it with? Vogue. Who should have been granted the first interview? Comments, anyone?

Searching for the NY Times: Wired.com’s Media Hack columnist, Adam Peneberg searches for the reason why the NYT rarely shows up high in Google searches. Bottom line: registration required and cost-wall archive.

Quote:

New York Times Digital earns most of its money from a pre-existing agreement with Lexis-Nexis, which brings in more than $20 million a year. This year, NYTD will report a profit of about $25 million. Without this Lexis-Nexis bounty, however, the color of the ink on its digital balance sheet would run decidedly more gray than black. So it’s no surprise that Times management has no plans to completely open up its archive. “There isn’t a compelling business argument today that would suggest that giving away our content is a good idea,” (NYT Digital president Martin) Nisenholtz said. Even though the Lexis-Nexis deal is an all-you-can-eat model — not based on usage — the Times can ill afford to undermine its relationship with such an important customer. It simply can’t charge Lexis-Nexis tens of millions of dollars while giving away the same content free over the Web.

They did it: MediaPost’s Michael Shield’s story on the MPA’s statement in support of ABC’s efforts to shore-up its reputation has the headline, “Mags Support Bureau’s Tougher Stance on Newspaper Audits.” Am I missing something here? Is the MPA statement limited to ABC’s newspaper auditing or does it now imply a support of ABC’s “efforts to bolster confidence” in all of its auditing procedures, which would include magazine audits, as well? (In the ABC press release it clearly states the provision applies to both newspapers and periodicals.)

Quote from MPA website’s “MPA Statement on New ABC Procedures”:

Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) supports the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) new efforts to reinforce confidence in the integrity of ABC-audited circulation information. MPA supports the independent audit process and ABC’s efforts to bolster confidence in its auditing procedures,” said MPA President and CEO Nina Link.  “Consumer magazines have been audited for almost 100 years creating a bond of trust between advertisers and magazines. We encourage measures that preserve that trust.”

A reason to whine? Tibor Machan, one of the founders of the libertarian magazine, Reason, pines about the good old days…and is sad the magazine “didn’t even wait until its founders departed this world before it began caving in to the pressure to give up its principled support of human liberty.” I’m not a Reason reader (from my e-mail, I know at least one of this weblog’s 7 readers is a subscriber), but I am a fan of one its former editors, Virginia Postrel.

Domed: A couple of days ago, the USPS issued an R. Buckminster Fuller commemorative postage stamp to honor the designer of the geodesic dome on the 50th anniverary of its patent. For hardcore magazine wonks, the stamp may look familiar as it originally appeared on the cover of Time in 1964. Other objects designed by Fuller surround him, including the Dymaxion Car and the 4D Apartment House.

Thinking of Fuller, I detoured a few blocks out of my way home last night so I could take this picture of a rather unique building in Nashville that was obviously inspired by him, the AmSouth Bank branch at 5100 Charlotte Pike. I know nothing about its history but have always been struck by its quirky juxtaposition of design influences and building materials. (Later: the building is listed in this directory of Fuller-influenced structures.) Shortly before his death in 1983, I attended a conference in New York where the inventor, architect, engineer, designer, geometrician, cartographer and philosopher spoke. I don’t recall what the meeting was about but I do remember the venue: the ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel. If my math is correct, Fuller was 91 or 92 at the time. All I can recall about his presentation is my utter cluelessness at what he was talking about.