When I was 10 years old, I knew nothing, and let everyone know it. At age 20, I knew everything, but was wrong it that assumption, but still was happy to unleash this lack of understanding on anyone I could find. Upon turning 30, I knew very little, but at least I learned enough to keep my mouth shut. Now, that I’m slightly North of 40, I’m beginning to think that keeping mum is doing a disservice to the world, or at least to me, because there are too many people listening to folks who think they know everything. So I think it’s time I find my voice again.
I’ve built this little site and it’s mine to do with as I wish. Please understand I’m not going to stop doing what I am doing, but with some regularity, I will indulge myself with posts about other topics. Some will be without controversy, like restaurants and books and music. Some will be thoughts about the future in regards to things for which this site is already known. Some might be about promotions or events in the area. But, some may draw the ire of some folks especially if I touch on sensitive topics like politics or religion. My intent is not to offend but to put forth one rational voice into the ether in hopes of inspiring, at minimum, conversation in a pleasant manner.
I’ve changed the names of the works about visiting places from “posts” to "articles." And these articles will continue be the driving force for the website. I will use the term “posts” to refer to anything I write, including messages such as this. On the plus side, it will most likely keep me posting longer into the season, with shorter “vacations.” And, if you care, you will learn a little more about me. On the down side, I understand that many of you hold differing opinions from mine, and you may not like this. I apologize up front for that. But I know that the posts where I expressed more of how I truly felt drew the most feedback. So I believe there is a demand for this type of endeavor. If you disagree or need to be heard, the comments form is there for you to use. I will continue to only “moderate” comments that are spam, use offensive language, and that are not in English.
The nature of the site will remain unchanged. It is still about one man’s journey trying to find the cure for birth and death in life. And sometimes these cures are a bit more than moments alone in the woods. Thoughts are a large part of my life, so I beg your indulgence about allowing me to bounce these thoughts off you, my reading public.
Showing posts with label The Baboon Speaks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Baboon Speaks. Show all posts
State of the Baboon 2010
3rd Anniversary Message
“Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God Laugh.”
-Al Swearengen, character on the HBO series Deadwood.
Well, year three of the adventures of this foolish Baboon is upon us. I place the quote above to remind me not to get to excited or overzealous. A lot can happen to foil even the most prepared primate’s plans. Last year, I ran into some circumstances that cut short my enjoyment of life and the posts you see on this website. The predictable one: enhanced work responsibilities, the unpredictable one: I broke my right big toe. So this year I tread more cautiously, although my injuries have healed and I’m ready to go.
First of all, I would like to thank all the visitors, commentors, & emailers. I actually need your feedback to press on amidst moments of caving into to lethargy. And I am not helping you discover the world around us, as much as you are helping me keep my mind and body moving throughout life’s journey. I wish I could thank everyone individually here, as I have in the past, but truly they are too numerous. I want to convey my most sincere thanks to anyone who gives my little hobby a place in their lives.
As to the future, the State of the Baboon is reasonably strong. I still have the desire to continue this endeavor and will for the foreseeable future. There are some important items to remember about me and the parameters of this site. First, although the site is often classified as a blog, and indeed I use the services of blogger to post, but I don’t run like a typical blog. I don’t write daily about whatever crosses my mind, each entry realistically takes about 10 hours of my life, if you include driving and visiting, with nearly three of those being spent at the computer: downloading, editing, and uploading photos; research of the topic in question; writing and proofreading the entry; and setting up the web content correctly. The outcome is this: fewer entries, but higher quality in what is presented. And I have no real intent of changing that. It works well in my lifestyle and creates a publication of which I can be proud. Additionally, take note that I will be only doing this with any regularity between February 15th and October 15th of each year. Within that window, you can expect to see 3-5 new entries each month. I tell you this because I am not going away ever without notice, I just take a couple of months off when the weather gets too cold for me to get outside and to sit for any great length of time in the unheated Lilburn garage this site calls home.
There will be some milestones this year, sometime in March, the Urban Baboon will mark its 100,000th visitor. I find that to be amazing. The site turns three years old today on the same day the author turns 41, which I find to be just as mystifying. Somewhere in the July/August area, we will have completed our 100th distinct post, just to name a few. And I’ll take moment to raise a glass to toast, the visitors, posts, and birthdays yet to come.
As for predictions for the future, there are some things I know and some things I don’t. First, I have a new and better camera going forward. The old Fuji Finepix served me well and will always be remembered fondly, but we usher in a new Canon Era, with a Powershot hanging around my neck on my travels. Second is social media, I have created a facebook page to help facilitate a dialogue between me and my readers. Please feel free to check it out, it will be monitored a few times each week. I would like in addition to good wishes, to get suggestions on places of interest, any will be welcomed, but especially things that might not be easy to find. I also have a very desperate need of good places to go to eat when I am away from the city. Places where they do food well, I can get a beer, and they don’t mind having customers who just spent 5 hours on the trail. I also have a twitter account, but that’s more of an experiment that I don’t quite see the value of as of yet, it may continue though its just as likely that it may not. Third, is the addition of the category, “A bit farther away.” This category is intended to cover some of the interesting things that sit more than 3 hours from Atlanta. Consider them more of overnighters than daytrips which is the primary scope of the blog. Also, this category will include some entries that leave Georgia altogether at a maximum distance of about 6 hours. I consider this to be of value to the Atlanta resident albeit a different sort of value. So I will use this category to cover any trip outside of Georgia even if the distance is less than three hours. I also plan on adding a second entry like this one at the end of the season, a year in review to go with the State of the Baboon. This will give any continual reader the heads up that the Urban Baboon is about to go into hibernation.
The final addition will be a real attempt to monetize this blog. Although I do this as a labor of love, I have been told that I have real possibilities of defraying the cost of the blog, which aren't much. There’s already some advertising from Google and Amazon, but I intend to add on a Café Press site (or something similar possibly Zazzle) to sell photo related items like Coffee Cups, Calendars, Mousepads, and the ilk. Now, I’ve been telling my best friend (and second most frequent traveling companion) that I would be doing this for couple of years now, so it is hit or miss to say whether it gets done.
Additional items I have hinted at in the past are on hold for the moment. I will not be doing any commentary on the site and reserve the facebook page for that endeavor, if I so choose. The food & leisure will probably appear sometime in the future, but will not be a focus of this site. I am still in need of a good logo for the site, and have been in hopes of reader contributions for some time.
Again, I want to conclude with my sincere gratitude for your support and well wishes. I wish you all a life worth living. May all your trails be dry, your waterfalls raging, and your landscapes breathtaking..
Your Friend
Doug
theurbanbaboon
“Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God Laugh.”
-Al Swearengen, character on the HBO series Deadwood.
Well, year three of the adventures of this foolish Baboon is upon us. I place the quote above to remind me not to get to excited or overzealous. A lot can happen to foil even the most prepared primate’s plans. Last year, I ran into some circumstances that cut short my enjoyment of life and the posts you see on this website. The predictable one: enhanced work responsibilities, the unpredictable one: I broke my right big toe. So this year I tread more cautiously, although my injuries have healed and I’m ready to go.
First of all, I would like to thank all the visitors, commentors, & emailers. I actually need your feedback to press on amidst moments of caving into to lethargy. And I am not helping you discover the world around us, as much as you are helping me keep my mind and body moving throughout life’s journey. I wish I could thank everyone individually here, as I have in the past, but truly they are too numerous. I want to convey my most sincere thanks to anyone who gives my little hobby a place in their lives.
As to the future, the State of the Baboon is reasonably strong. I still have the desire to continue this endeavor and will for the foreseeable future. There are some important items to remember about me and the parameters of this site. First, although the site is often classified as a blog, and indeed I use the services of blogger to post, but I don’t run like a typical blog. I don’t write daily about whatever crosses my mind, each entry realistically takes about 10 hours of my life, if you include driving and visiting, with nearly three of those being spent at the computer: downloading, editing, and uploading photos; research of the topic in question; writing and proofreading the entry; and setting up the web content correctly. The outcome is this: fewer entries, but higher quality in what is presented. And I have no real intent of changing that. It works well in my lifestyle and creates a publication of which I can be proud. Additionally, take note that I will be only doing this with any regularity between February 15th and October 15th of each year. Within that window, you can expect to see 3-5 new entries each month. I tell you this because I am not going away ever without notice, I just take a couple of months off when the weather gets too cold for me to get outside and to sit for any great length of time in the unheated Lilburn garage this site calls home.
There will be some milestones this year, sometime in March, the Urban Baboon will mark its 100,000th visitor. I find that to be amazing. The site turns three years old today on the same day the author turns 41, which I find to be just as mystifying. Somewhere in the July/August area, we will have completed our 100th distinct post, just to name a few. And I’ll take moment to raise a glass to toast, the visitors, posts, and birthdays yet to come.
As for predictions for the future, there are some things I know and some things I don’t. First, I have a new and better camera going forward. The old Fuji Finepix served me well and will always be remembered fondly, but we usher in a new Canon Era, with a Powershot hanging around my neck on my travels. Second is social media, I have created a facebook page to help facilitate a dialogue between me and my readers. Please feel free to check it out, it will be monitored a few times each week. I would like in addition to good wishes, to get suggestions on places of interest, any will be welcomed, but especially things that might not be easy to find. I also have a very desperate need of good places to go to eat when I am away from the city. Places where they do food well, I can get a beer, and they don’t mind having customers who just spent 5 hours on the trail. I also have a twitter account, but that’s more of an experiment that I don’t quite see the value of as of yet, it may continue though its just as likely that it may not. Third, is the addition of the category, “A bit farther away.” This category is intended to cover some of the interesting things that sit more than 3 hours from Atlanta. Consider them more of overnighters than daytrips which is the primary scope of the blog. Also, this category will include some entries that leave Georgia altogether at a maximum distance of about 6 hours. I consider this to be of value to the Atlanta resident albeit a different sort of value. So I will use this category to cover any trip outside of Georgia even if the distance is less than three hours. I also plan on adding a second entry like this one at the end of the season, a year in review to go with the State of the Baboon. This will give any continual reader the heads up that the Urban Baboon is about to go into hibernation.
The final addition will be a real attempt to monetize this blog. Although I do this as a labor of love, I have been told that I have real possibilities of defraying the cost of the blog, which aren't much. There’s already some advertising from Google and Amazon, but I intend to add on a Café Press site (or something similar possibly Zazzle) to sell photo related items like Coffee Cups, Calendars, Mousepads, and the ilk. Now, I’ve been telling my best friend (and second most frequent traveling companion) that I would be doing this for couple of years now, so it is hit or miss to say whether it gets done.
Additional items I have hinted at in the past are on hold for the moment. I will not be doing any commentary on the site and reserve the facebook page for that endeavor, if I so choose. The food & leisure will probably appear sometime in the future, but will not be a focus of this site. I am still in need of a good logo for the site, and have been in hopes of reader contributions for some time.
Again, I want to conclude with my sincere gratitude for your support and well wishes. I wish you all a life worth living. May all your trails be dry, your waterfalls raging, and your landscapes breathtaking..
Your Friend
Doug
theurbanbaboon
Guest Book
How is it that this page is consistently viewed 150 times a month
and I only have a dozen (or so)
Sign ins....
Please feel free to drop me a note here saying whatever it is you want to say.
Encourage me, Discourage me, Praise or Rebuke me.
The idea that this thing is useful to someone is the fuel that keeps me going.
I know a bunch of you visit this page, please drop a note.
State of the Baboon 2009
Happy Birthday to me..
Happy Birthday to me..
Happy Birthday dear Baboo-oon
Happy Birthday to me..
And There will be many more…(promise)
Last year when I posted my first State of the Baboon address, I was excited and proud and planned big things for the year to come. This year I am a bit less excited, more cautiously optimistic. Last year, we saw gas prices go through the roof and the start of the grand economic depression we are in and I will admit that these things got to me. It caused me to be less energetic, less inspired, less willing to travel.
So that is why I am cautiously optimistic and not bubbling over with pride. I wrote down that I wanted to get to 25000 visitors by my next birthday (and yes the man behind the Baboon turns 40 today), and I sit at 47500 visitors, nearly doubling my goal in spite of my diminished effort. I appreciate every single one of those hits, it tells me that this two year old hobby may have some real value to others, that its not in vain.
I also received some nice emails from different folks throughout the year. And I think I answered all of them but two (Sorry you two). They almost always make me happy. And a special thanks to the Atlanta Shutterbugs (they know who they are), who made me feel like a celebrity for a day or two.
I promise this site will continue and March 4 each year will be the jumping off point. I would post a bit this week but I am in Florida enjoying some Sun and Spring Training. This blog will be there each week to hopefully highlight something new and interesting. There will be some new additional directions, as outlined in my New Years Post. So I won’t go there now. I do plan on adding a link for support of the Baboon, not that I’m trying to get rich, my intent is that the information will always be free as Information should be, but if you want to be a pal and buy a coffee mug or something to defer the cost I hope there’s no problem with that (My financial goal is to make enough money at this so that I can deduct the costs of all my trips.)
Any way the State of the Baboon is hopeful, hopeful for the world, hopeful for this site, and hopeful that you might still come along on this ride with me. I promise I’ll do my best to post new interesting things each week, and I apologize in advance for the few times where I know I will fail in that attempt. After All, I am a lower level primate.
Cheers,
Doug Boyle
the urban baboon
Happy Birthday to me..
Happy Birthday dear Baboo-oon
Happy Birthday to me..
And There will be many more…(promise)
Last year when I posted my first State of the Baboon address, I was excited and proud and planned big things for the year to come. This year I am a bit less excited, more cautiously optimistic. Last year, we saw gas prices go through the roof and the start of the grand economic depression we are in and I will admit that these things got to me. It caused me to be less energetic, less inspired, less willing to travel.
So that is why I am cautiously optimistic and not bubbling over with pride. I wrote down that I wanted to get to 25000 visitors by my next birthday (and yes the man behind the Baboon turns 40 today), and I sit at 47500 visitors, nearly doubling my goal in spite of my diminished effort. I appreciate every single one of those hits, it tells me that this two year old hobby may have some real value to others, that its not in vain.
I also received some nice emails from different folks throughout the year. And I think I answered all of them but two (Sorry you two). They almost always make me happy. And a special thanks to the Atlanta Shutterbugs (they know who they are), who made me feel like a celebrity for a day or two.
I promise this site will continue and March 4 each year will be the jumping off point. I would post a bit this week but I am in Florida enjoying some Sun and Spring Training. This blog will be there each week to hopefully highlight something new and interesting. There will be some new additional directions, as outlined in my New Years Post. So I won’t go there now. I do plan on adding a link for support of the Baboon, not that I’m trying to get rich, my intent is that the information will always be free as Information should be, but if you want to be a pal and buy a coffee mug or something to defer the cost I hope there’s no problem with that (My financial goal is to make enough money at this so that I can deduct the costs of all my trips.)
Any way the State of the Baboon is hopeful, hopeful for the world, hopeful for this site, and hopeful that you might still come along on this ride with me. I promise I’ll do my best to post new interesting things each week, and I apologize in advance for the few times where I know I will fail in that attempt. After All, I am a lower level primate.
Cheers,
Doug Boyle
the urban baboon
New Years Resolutions
Where is the Baboon? I’m here. I’m OK. Despite the rumors and grumblings. I’m not dead, nor in the hospital nor given up on this site. I just haven’t been enthusiastic about being (being alive has too dark of connotations, so I will leave it as being). I have been without enthusiasm for much of anything of late, but please understand that I take a sense of accomplishment that this site is still useful to so many. And that I have actual followers and RSS readers. My appreciation is real.
I kind of stopped posting in September without much fanfare. I got a little busy with the political season which ate up much of my free time (this was time well spent, I have no regrets and a small sense of accomplishment). There was also a work related crisis of Brobdingnagian proportions, which consumed what was left of my energy. But it brings me to my unspoken understanding about this endeavor chronicling the way out of your house and into the world in which we live, that it would have a natural hibernation period in the colder months. I’ve never said it before but the site will most likely not have any new posts between October and March (or at minimum be strongly curtailed). I apologize for this inconvenience but it helps my sanity. So please understand that if I am not here in December, I am not gone for good, but merely spending more time with my family or other interests just like you are. [Here’s a little tidbit about me, I create this website at my personal computer which resides in an unheated garage attached to my home in Lilburn, my fingers are a little numb right now, so there are extenuating weather considerations during these respites.] I am proud of this site and my intent is to continue it until the bitter end. Someday I’ll be posting about a Casino trip from the rest home on my laptop. Or at minimum, I will let everyone know of my retirement should it come.
As for resolutions, I’ve hinted at a few new things I will be doing throughout the two years of posts. I am going to include some other hobbies of mine for your perusal and commentary. These include but are not limited to Food, Drink, Religion, Politics, & Baseball. But the bigger change is an attempt to honor the very last word in my title. This year there will be actual commentary about life. I have a lot to say, but I have spent the last decade being quiet and appearing happy and successful. And as my 40th birthday lurks not two months hence, I resolve to speak again.
I promise not to post small tidbits of daily garbage. Not to discuss small concepts like the Gwinnett Trash Crisis or a particular political candidate. Just like my view of the outside world, I will tackle the grander philosophies and observations on life, which hopefully may have some application to your daily lives. If you want particulars on particulars, you can email me, I nearly always answer.
I will also include information on a few points of interest that I have traveled to that are not within my self imposed three hour radius. These will be entitled “A bit further out” but take that to mean more of a vacation idea than a weekend excursion. In the recent past I’ve traveled to Little Rock, Bardstown, Memphis, as well as several Florida locations. And this year I am being forced to take five complete weeks of vacation under a new use them or lose them policy.
These new resolutions are designed to inform you, invigorate my life, and keep me interested. I hope you will enjoy the ride.
Cheers,
Doug
theurbanbaboon
I kind of stopped posting in September without much fanfare. I got a little busy with the political season which ate up much of my free time (this was time well spent, I have no regrets and a small sense of accomplishment). There was also a work related crisis of Brobdingnagian proportions, which consumed what was left of my energy. But it brings me to my unspoken understanding about this endeavor chronicling the way out of your house and into the world in which we live, that it would have a natural hibernation period in the colder months. I’ve never said it before but the site will most likely not have any new posts between October and March (or at minimum be strongly curtailed). I apologize for this inconvenience but it helps my sanity. So please understand that if I am not here in December, I am not gone for good, but merely spending more time with my family or other interests just like you are. [Here’s a little tidbit about me, I create this website at my personal computer which resides in an unheated garage attached to my home in Lilburn, my fingers are a little numb right now, so there are extenuating weather considerations during these respites.] I am proud of this site and my intent is to continue it until the bitter end. Someday I’ll be posting about a Casino trip from the rest home on my laptop. Or at minimum, I will let everyone know of my retirement should it come.
As for resolutions, I’ve hinted at a few new things I will be doing throughout the two years of posts. I am going to include some other hobbies of mine for your perusal and commentary. These include but are not limited to Food, Drink, Religion, Politics, & Baseball. But the bigger change is an attempt to honor the very last word in my title. This year there will be actual commentary about life. I have a lot to say, but I have spent the last decade being quiet and appearing happy and successful. And as my 40th birthday lurks not two months hence, I resolve to speak again.
I promise not to post small tidbits of daily garbage. Not to discuss small concepts like the Gwinnett Trash Crisis or a particular political candidate. Just like my view of the outside world, I will tackle the grander philosophies and observations on life, which hopefully may have some application to your daily lives. If you want particulars on particulars, you can email me, I nearly always answer.
I will also include information on a few points of interest that I have traveled to that are not within my self imposed three hour radius. These will be entitled “A bit further out” but take that to mean more of a vacation idea than a weekend excursion. In the recent past I’ve traveled to Little Rock, Bardstown, Memphis, as well as several Florida locations. And this year I am being forced to take five complete weeks of vacation under a new use them or lose them policy.
These new resolutions are designed to inform you, invigorate my life, and keep me interested. I hope you will enjoy the ride.
Cheers,
Doug
theurbanbaboon
1st Anniversary Message
Happy Birthday to Me.
Well, Its been one whole year on this site. And I thought I might summarize my thoughts and feelings on the past year. A sort of a State of the Baboon address:
I’m happy to report to you that the State of Baboon is strong. Not strong like the President talks about, but strong in the true sense of the word.
Over the past 12 Months, We have visited some 60 different locales in and around the Atlanta Area. From the top of the State at Brasstown Bald to the majestic vistas Providence Canyon creates. We’ve chased waterfalls in the North and visited quaint little hamlets in the South. We’ve scaled tall mountains, visited sites of Native American Heritage, and spent some time with our varied Civil War History. The primary purpose of the site is to get me out and about, which it has accomplished, and to, hopefully, inspire you to do the same. We have completed this task with flying colors. And some 5200 of you have come along for the ride.
We’ve had visitors from as far away as Thailand, Singapore and the Ukraine. We’ve had visitors from Washington state to Washington DC, as twenty something states inbetween. We’ve had visitors from nearly 100 different cities in Georgia. Along the way, we have been linked to Outside In and the Georgia Carnival of Blogs. We have made good friends with significant local bloggers like Decatur-DeKalb blog and I Saw It On Ponce. We’ve made friends with new bloggers like meghanyea at Used Hardcovers. All in all, the Urban Baboon is becoming a significant source of information for folks who want more information on points of interest in and around Greater Atlanta
Our most significant failing is that we have not lived up to our original commitment of six posts a month. Going forward we are going to revise this number to three posts a month and hope that I can get more motivated than that and do more. Another setback is we have spent more time outside the city than within. The reasons for that are primarily economic, the city stuff is more expensive and, another reason is my personal penchant for a lovely walk in the woods. Going forward, we will attempt to do one perimeter minded post per month, but I know that will be difficult. A third is that we have had less strange and quirky facts about the area as originally intended. We would like some lesser known focus points, please suggest some if you know any. We are committed to correct this one also. Finally, we have yet to nail down a proper logo for this website. Any help in this endeavor will be greatly appreciated.
I will also attempt to have a little more commentary on life. Nothing dominating the site, but more information about what I experience throughout my adventures.
The future though is one filled with hope. We will see many new changes throughout the year. We will get a comprehensive index up. We will see a more streamlined front page. We are working a way into bringing food and other leisure activities into the fold, but the format has yet to be determined. We do not want to simply show you where a decent restaurant is. In Atlanta, that is too simple and been done to death. All in all, we reaffirm our commitment to being a significant resource for folks in the area or outside who want the question answered, “What sort of things are there to do in or around Atlanta?"
Most of all, I want to take a moment to thank all visitors to this site. It really gives me great satisfaction to know that my little hobby may serve some good in the world. I thank each and every one of you. On a special note, I want to thank all those who have emailed me with suggestions or encouragement, or who have commented on by blog. I have answered each email personally and taken all suggestions seriously. Remember the comments field on the site is yours to add and correct as you see fit. All comments will be publish unless there is a pressing reason not to (i.e. spamming or vulgarity)
Thank you all again for one great year.
The Urban Baboon
P.S. here is a bar graph of visits over the past year. You can see how far we've come.
Well, Its been one whole year on this site. And I thought I might summarize my thoughts and feelings on the past year. A sort of a State of the Baboon address:
I’m happy to report to you that the State of Baboon is strong. Not strong like the President talks about, but strong in the true sense of the word.
Over the past 12 Months, We have visited some 60 different locales in and around the Atlanta Area. From the top of the State at Brasstown Bald to the majestic vistas Providence Canyon creates. We’ve chased waterfalls in the North and visited quaint little hamlets in the South. We’ve scaled tall mountains, visited sites of Native American Heritage, and spent some time with our varied Civil War History. The primary purpose of the site is to get me out and about, which it has accomplished, and to, hopefully, inspire you to do the same. We have completed this task with flying colors. And some 5200 of you have come along for the ride.
We’ve had visitors from as far away as Thailand, Singapore and the Ukraine. We’ve had visitors from Washington state to Washington DC, as twenty something states inbetween. We’ve had visitors from nearly 100 different cities in Georgia. Along the way, we have been linked to Outside In and the Georgia Carnival of Blogs. We have made good friends with significant local bloggers like Decatur-DeKalb blog and I Saw It On Ponce. We’ve made friends with new bloggers like meghanyea at Used Hardcovers. All in all, the Urban Baboon is becoming a significant source of information for folks who want more information on points of interest in and around Greater Atlanta
Our most significant failing is that we have not lived up to our original commitment of six posts a month. Going forward we are going to revise this number to three posts a month and hope that I can get more motivated than that and do more. Another setback is we have spent more time outside the city than within. The reasons for that are primarily economic, the city stuff is more expensive and, another reason is my personal penchant for a lovely walk in the woods. Going forward, we will attempt to do one perimeter minded post per month, but I know that will be difficult. A third is that we have had less strange and quirky facts about the area as originally intended. We would like some lesser known focus points, please suggest some if you know any. We are committed to correct this one also. Finally, we have yet to nail down a proper logo for this website. Any help in this endeavor will be greatly appreciated.
I will also attempt to have a little more commentary on life. Nothing dominating the site, but more information about what I experience throughout my adventures.
The future though is one filled with hope. We will see many new changes throughout the year. We will get a comprehensive index up. We will see a more streamlined front page. We are working a way into bringing food and other leisure activities into the fold, but the format has yet to be determined. We do not want to simply show you where a decent restaurant is. In Atlanta, that is too simple and been done to death. All in all, we reaffirm our commitment to being a significant resource for folks in the area or outside who want the question answered, “What sort of things are there to do in or around Atlanta?"
Most of all, I want to take a moment to thank all visitors to this site. It really gives me great satisfaction to know that my little hobby may serve some good in the world. I thank each and every one of you. On a special note, I want to thank all those who have emailed me with suggestions or encouragement, or who have commented on by blog. I have answered each email personally and taken all suggestions seriously. Remember the comments field on the site is yours to add and correct as you see fit. All comments will be publish unless there is a pressing reason not to (i.e. spamming or vulgarity)
Thank you all again for one great year.
The Urban Baboon
P.S. here is a bar graph of visits over the past year. You can see how far we've come.
FAQS
Why call yourself the Urban Baboon?
I wanted to find a name that was easy to remember, fun to say, and summed up what I wanted to do with the website.
I turned 38 on March 4th, 2007 (which is the ceremonial birthdate of the website), and realized that I was becoming all the things I hated about my 30 something friends. I worked, I went home, I watched TV, and was in a real rut. I felt that I lived in a really great city to live in, but I wasn't very good at living there. I wanted to dare myself to explore my surroundings, and report back to the world, because, I believe, that there are probably a few other folks out there, who feel about the same as I did. And I wanted to provide some sort of guidance to them. I am really sort of a city idiot. My Friend Dan Turro and me bounced a few ideas back and forth and after a few drinks we decided that Urbanbaboon was a good Idea. Who doesn't like monkeys?
Why are you qualified to tell us about Atlanta?
Actually, I am not. I have a few areas of expertise, investments, greek philosophy, Catholicism, Fantasy Football and Baseball. But I wasn't even born here. I moved here in 2001, shortly after my divorce. But that's exactly the point, because I am a novice, I am going to provide a guide for the novice Atlantan, the newbie, the uninspired, the unmotivated. If I can get just one butt out of the house and moving about this great city of ours my works is worthwhile.
Why don't you post daily or at least on a set schedule?
My Goal is six posts a month without a set time frame. The website has helped jumpstart my life so a portion of the time is spent living. Another portion is spent working and sleeping; And the occasional laundry. So six a month is a good goal. Furthermore, the content of most of the posts will not be so time specific that it won't be meaningful. I want to stress the things that are available for us everyday. So even if you click a March post in September, it still might get you out of the house. Additionally, a single post is significantly more work than just my daily thoughts.
Where does the history fit in to the general purpose?
I have two godsons who live in Atlanta, one just starting high school and one in middle school. I am often frustrated at there choices for research projects. It seems that all they want to learn about is entertainers. I suggested a few local stories to them and there interest was piqued at least a little. So a secondary purpose of the website is to be a topical resource for people who are interested in learning about the area. The posts will not answer everything, they are meant to be a jumping off point.
Why don't you check out
For the most part, I would be glad to. Just email me the details: Click To Send E-mail .
URBAN BABOON'S MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of the website is to highlight things of interest in the Metro Area, emphasizing things that are always here, as opposed to what's hot this weekend.
Its a site dedicated to the part of Atlanta we don't know about or simply take for granted.
Feel free to contact me with feedback or if there's an interesting item you think I should investigate.
I do post erratically, with hopefully a minimum of two new posts per month. But even the older posts are worth a gander
Its a site dedicated to the part of Atlanta we don't know about or simply take for granted.
Feel free to contact me with feedback or if there's an interesting item you think I should investigate.
I do post erratically, with hopefully a minimum of two new posts per month. But even the older posts are worth a gander
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