Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: International

  • Peering Behind the Curtain

    I’ve used the Google Maps URL Shortener for a lot of links I’ve included within Twelve Mile Circle. Often these maps are “also rans” that are interesting but not quite enough to embed directly within the page. They fall within the g.co/maps domain and directory. That’s a little different than the general Google URL Shortener…

  • Odds and Ends 4

    The mailbag runneth over with great finds and suggestions from the generous readers of the Twelve Mile Circle audience. I’ll combine that with a couple of my recent discoveries and voilà, instant article. I’m not sure if I’m feeling lazy or if I’m still in a food coma from the recent Thanksgiving holiday but either…

  • Where Monks Make Beer

    It’s Thanksgiving in the United States today so most of the regular 12MC readers won’t be seeing this article. They can hang out with Big Tom the Turkey. We have more important things to talk about. I did consider taking the day off. Instead I decided to post an article that would likely be more…

  • Countdown

    I’ve held my counting fixation at bay recently although it lurks just below the surface ready to strike. It emerged briefly during the summer as I crossed the borders into several new counties in Utah and it disappeared just as quickly when I focused on other pursuits. It’s been much longer since I paid attention…

  • No, Not That One

    I was trying to find something on Buffalo, New York. I can’t remember what it was exactly, although that’s not actually important to the discussion. However, a random search led me to another Buffalo, a town with the same name in Wyoming. I considered it rather odd. When one thinks of Buffalo as a city,…

  • European Capitals of New York

    New York is certainly an international locale, a player on the world stage attracting people from every corner of the world. It has been that way for a long time, a point of debarkation for more than two centuries. Perhaps I should expect to see the names of so many European capitals diffused within the…

  • Sundog

    I mentioned Goldfield, Nevada recently. There I noticed a street called Sundog Avenue that looked like the kind of place where one could experience a sundog in person. Then I tucked the thought away for a few days until I had more time to explore it. A sundog describes a specific atmospheric condition that allows…

  • Better Sister Cities

    Sister Cities International’s mission promotes “peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation — one individual, one community at a time.” I find that laudable although I wonder how they establish these relationships. Does it involve some sort of affinity perspective or does someone simply say, “hey, wanna be our sister city?” My hometown — Arlington,…

  • Something in Common

    Here’s a bit of a puzzler for you to think about this morning: what do Goldfield, Nevada; Lyman, Wyoming; and Hobart, Tasmania all have in common? I’ll give you a hint. Wamego, Kansas. Loyal reader “Mr Burns” now knows the answer. Anyone else? It’s an unfair question because it’s not a trivia contest, it’s an…

  • Shortest International Bridge

    I remember the story of the the alleged World’s Shortest International Bridge making the rounds of the Intertubes a few years ago. I ignored it intentionally, and not so much because of what I thought about its claim. Actually, I had no way to confirm or dispute it so it didn’t really matter to me.…