Nate Shivar

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On Camping at Panola Mountain State Park

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Panola Mountain State Park is a Georgia State Park about 30 minutes east of Atlanta, GA.

Panola Mountain State Park focuses on programming, activities, and conservation. They have everything from archery to tree climbing to fishing to biking. Unlike Vogel and Fort Mountain, Panola Mountain does not have many overnight accommodations.

But – Panola Mountain does have 5 walk-in primitive campsites. They are a real hidden gem for Atlantans looking to get outdoors.

I had been looking for the right time and place to take my son on his first overnight camping trip. My brothers and I usually camp in the backcountry, especially along the Appalachian Trail.

And unlike my first overnight trip, I had zero desire to have a bear walk into my son’s first camping trip.

That brings me to Panola Mountain. [Read more…]

On Visiting Vogel State Park

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After an incredible long weekend at Fort Mountain State Park in October, my family decided to make staying at every Georgia State Park a goal. We opted to try Vogel State Park…in February.

Vogel State Park is one of Georgia’s oldest and most heavily used State Parks. It’s set in a beautiful valley with a creek feeding a lake. It was one of the State Parks that received upgrades from the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

It also has more cabins than almost any of the other State Parks in Georgia, especially given its size. Most of the cabins have been renovated post-2012 as part of Georgia State Park’s big renovation program.

Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, we decided to give Vogel a try in February. [Read more…]

Your Addiction To Social Media Is No Accident

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All this might seem a little underhanded, but it’s nothing compared to some of the design features currently showing up on Snapchat. Of these is the one causing the most concern, and uses elongating red lines to display the number days of since two users interacted. According to Adam Alter, this design feature is so effective that he’s heard of teens asking friends to babysit their streaks while on vacation.

“It’s clear here that the goal—keeping the streak alive—is more important than enjoying the platform as a social experience,” he says. “This is a clear sign that engagement mechanisms are driving usage more than enjoyment.”

Your Addiction To Social Media Is No Accident

The Internet is a wonderful, beautiful tool. Opt-out of anything that doesn’t make your life better.

7 Pros And Cons Of GoDaddy WordPress Web Hosting

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EDIT: Originally published in Feb 2012, I’ve updated this post in May 2017 to reflect the current state of GoDaddy hosting for a 2017 GoDaddy Hosting Review.

This is a product review. It’s biased – but mainly because I’m an actual customer of GoDaddy in addition to other hosting companies.

You’ve probably seen GoDaddy’s Super Bowl commercials, GoDaddy girls all around the internet, and most recently their “Helping Small Business” commercials.

GoDaddy is certainly the market leader in domains – and trying to be in web hosting.

Are they just the right WordPress Hosting Tool to build a better blog?

I started out using them years ago because of the brand but I’ve moved to HostGator for many of my small sites (and InMotion Hosting for my larger sites). So.

Here’s 7 Pros and 7 Cons of using GoDaddy to host your WordPress blog… [Read more…]

7 Pros and Cons of HostGator WordPress Web Hosting

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Several years ago, I was really dissatisfied with my GoDaddy WordPress Hosting, and moved many of my small websites to HostGator.

First off – I’m so happy I switched. I was definitely worth the transition.

But now that I’ve been using HostGator for several years (and setup several websites using WordPress) – I’ve got a full pros and cons list of using HostGator that would’ve been useful to know before signing up.

So let’s dive into my HostGator review. They aren’t the best fit for everyone, but here’s what I’ve liked/disliked as a customer. If you want other options, be sure to check out Conclusion. [Read more…]

On Visiting Las Vegas, Nevada

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In January 2017, I visited Las Vegas for the first time. I went there on business to attend a conference. I was only there for 3 nights, but tried to see as much of the city & region as I could outside of meetings & sessions.

I flew into McCarran Airport and stayed at the Paris Las Vegas right on the Strip. During my stay, I also had the chance to visit Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a few towns in the Las Vegas area and several other casinos including the Aria and Planet Hollywood. I went to a private party in the Cosmopolitan, had a business dinner at a hyped restaurant, and walked 6 to 8 miles around the Strip.

I also did not gamble once. And I was not able to visit Downtown Las Vegas. I also did not attend a show or play cards.

Either way – here’s what I observed visiting Las Vegas. [Read more…]

The Last Train to Zona Verde by Paul Theroux Book Review

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Paul Theroux is one of my 3 favorite travel writers. I read this book in 2014 almost as soon as it was published. I loved his Dark Star Safari – it remains one of the few travel books that really stuck with me.

Last Train To Zona Verde is his first travels to Africa since that books was published in 2004.

It chronicles his journeys around the west coast of Africa from Capetown (where Dark Star ended) up through Namibia and Angola. [Read more…]

Books Read in 2016

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From 2007 to 2012, I read 263+ books. But I did not stop there. I haven’t kept up the same pace – but have kept on tracking every book I’ve read since. Ideally, I’ve also written a short lessons learned or review of each. Here’s the books I’ve read this past year.

This post covers books read in 2016. You can also read from,

2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Most Recent Full Reviews

[Read more…]

Beautiful day, Atlanta

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This photo was taken from my office in Fall 2016. One of the things that me and my family love about Atlanta is the average amount of sunshine per year.

Atlanta is no Las Vegas or Phoenix. But it’s surprisingly sunny & clear. We have more clear days than Miami, and way more sun than northern cities. Like many other things (ie, density, greenspace, jobs, transit, tech jobs), Atlanta strikes the right balance. It’s on the end of the spectrum that we want that we want in a city.