Howdy! I’m Nate. This is my personal blog: notes on books, public lands, the Internet, and whatever I’m thinking about.
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I always imagined the Okefenokee Swamp to be mostly dark, green, cypress forest. It’s not. It’s mostly open “prairie” covered in a couple feet of water. It’s beautiful, haunting, and full of life. But the lack of trees really gives a sense of how big the place is.
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Wilderness Navigation…so far.
Deep Tech by Pablos Holman is a book by one of the most perennial hard tech entrepreneurs in America. Holman is known for his work at Blue Origin and Intellectual Ventures, and he currently runs a venture capital firm focused on what he calls “hard tech” — using technology to solve problems in the physical world rather than in the software or digital world that has been the focus of Silicon Valley for so long.
How to Read the Bible by Harvey Cox is an accessible, nuanced, and genuinely creative introduction to engaging with the best-selling and most influential single book in the world.
The Elephant Vanishes is a short story collection by Haruki Murakami, and it’s one of his best. I’m generally a…
This Dark Road to Mercy is another memorable novel from Cash. Without getting into too many spoilers, the book follows two young sisters in 1990s North Carolina who find themselves on the run with their estranged father. It’s a tense, propulsive story that weaves together themes of family, poverty, and redemption against the backdrop of Appalachian culture.
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Islamic History and Culture…so far.
Very interesting take on committing to social events -> https://www.parlour.fm/issues/youre-lonely-because-you-keep-your-options-open
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Farming and Agriculture…so far.
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Arctic and Northern Exploration…so far.
At Lassen Volcanic National Park, I was surprised by just how volcanic it was, everywhere. And yes, I know it’s in the name. But I was not expecting lava rock to be everywhere and for all the lakes & springs to have a whiff of sulfur and boiling water to them. It feels like the Earth is genuinely alive & active beneath your feet (which, in fairness, it is..). Boiling Hot Springs Lake in the Warner Valley is a little off the beaten track, but we had it all to ourselves on a summer weekend.
In the Southeast corner of Lassen Volcanic National Park, there are entire square miles of lava beds. They are so perfect and so beautiful in their starkness that they were literally called the “Fantastic Lava Beds”. There’s no hiking across them, but there are several excellent trail around and through them. In fact, the original California Trail goes around it.
I was driving along Georgia Highway 16 in Warren County, and got stopped by a Norfolk Southern train.
The indie web has never had more options than it does now. Short form video & big platforms might be dominant, but I absolutely love all the options now.
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Hiking and Outdoor Adventures…so far.
A Happy Death by Albert Camus is essentially a prequel to The Stranger — and it’s best understood that way.
A Roundup of My Favorite Books on Pakistani and Indian Life…so far.
As seen in the National Museum of American History in the World War II exhibit. But also as heard many a time from my Grandma.
A Roundup of My Favorite Lawrence Osbornes Asian Fiction…so far.
Sometimes a name shows up everywhere in the same week. That happened to me with Paul Tillich. His name popped…
