![\"2011.](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/5001\/5296278505_cc7dc7eff0_c.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe blog continues to evolve. Four years ago, all of my articles centered on pure geo-oddities. Today, other facets of my personality interweave into the narrative in interesting and often subconscious ways. I have no way of knowing if my efforts attract or repel readers over time although I seem to have a loyal core that\u2019s stuck with me since the beginning. I\u2019ve never worried much about popularity either; I just write what I write and people are welcome to tag along if it suits their purpose. I\u2019d focus on political polarization or celebrity gossip if I really cared about numbers. Seriously, what percentage of the population really cares about Google\u2019s efforts to add county lines to its maps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tried to determine my Top 10 articles for 2011 although it didn\u2019t quite turn out that way. However, I did narrow it down to 10 Categories with 25 links, so that seems good enough. I won\u2019t feel insulted if you skip past my list of recycled trash and wait for fresh material to arrive in the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Extraordinary Reader Contributions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I like to pretend that I write solely for myself although reader affirmation creates abundant motivation especially on those days when I\u2019m feeling lazy. I love getting comments even though they\u2019re sometimes a double-edged sword. Some of it is amazing and leads to great articles. Other times I slog through messages from school kids or conspiracy theorists looking for me to handle their research, which I promptly delete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mostly it\u2019s good. I got to meet a County Counter Extraordinaire<\/a> and experience an insider\u2019s view of Geo-Oddities of Portland, Oregon<\/a>. Then I received evidence of an extremely rare continental U.S. West Coast Sunrise over Water<\/a>. Finally, I learned about what may arguably be the Shortest International Bridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were many other wonderful adventures shared by 12MC readers. All of them were appreciated even if they didn\u2019t make it onto the list today. Please keep those comments and suggestions coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s natural that a geo-enthusiast would like to explore new places in person. Occasionally 12MC imitates a travelogue. Those pages don\u2019t seem to be as popular with the audience for some unknown reason although I\u2019m rather fond of them so they will continue. You either enjoyed or suffered through — depending on your outlook — a visit to the international Borders and Boundaries of Saint Martin<\/a>, a backstage peek at Disney World<\/a>, or a family vacation in Utah<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve stated many times that geo-oddities appear everywhere, even in those places closest to home. The 12MC audience got a flavor throughout the year as I continued to explore various nooks in my little corner of the world. I had a great time Circling the MDVAWV Tripoint<\/a> and tagging along on a Jamestown Field Trip<\/a> with a busload of fourth grade schoolchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regular readers may not appreciate the travelogue aspect as much as I do but they\u2019re crazy about the puzzles. They create great audience interaction and people seem to respond to them. They follow a simple formula: I\u2019ll offer a peculiar example and invite people to find better ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These articles require the least amount of effort on my part and yet they still generate the most audience interest. I feel like I\u2019m being lazy. I have a bit more respect for the ones that actually require me to do something, like the recent Most Landlocked State<\/a> and Alphabetical Circle<\/a>. Expect to see more of these in coming months even though I\u2019m a bit puzzled by the reaction to these puzzles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve noted upfront on several occasions that I am an historian by education, not a geographer. I also don\u2019t pursue either of those interests professionally because life has a way of moving in directions that one can\u2019t anticipate. 12MC is the vehicle for this pseudo-historian-geographer to dabble in topics as a hobby and have fun. That probably explains a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not surprising then that historical themes weave themselves into articles with regularity. Twelve Mile Circle could have been an odd history blog interspersed with geographic topics just as easily as could have taken its chosen direction. Then, articles such as Erasing Van Buren<\/a> and Penciling-In Reagan<\/a> would have been the norm rather than the exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m happy to watch my older son gain geographic awareness as he progresses towards becoming geo-geek. I saw that when he cataloged All Those Modes of Transportation<\/a> and when he designed his own town, Oreton<\/a>. That\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve said it before and it deserves repeating: I\u2019m high-brow and low-brow simultaneously with nothing in between. I had a fun time with Looney Tunes Geography<\/a> and then trying to locate 132 and Bush<\/a> from the television show COPS. I also did my best curmudgeon impression when I complained about What\u2019s Almost Heaven?<\/a> Then I suffered through a weekend of Thelma and Louise practically frame-by-frame so that I could recreate their route<\/a>. Nobody seemed to appreciate that last sacrifice as much as I did, but that\u2019s fine. I get a ton of random hits on that page from various search engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inspiration will come from odd sources. Sometimes I\u2019ll simply stare at an object or a place and an overlooked aspect will come into focus. It\u2019s probably unnatural for anyone to think too deeply about the My Little Poni<\/a> paradox or the people who live above a church in Divine Apartments<\/a>, or even some random Stair Step Border<\/a>. Maybe they exist solely to make the world a tiny bit more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all get confused from time-to-time and it provides great material when handled in a good-natured way. Several examples came to light in a series of three Mistaken Identity<\/a> articles. Sometimes it’s an intentional act: ” Not Fusion, CONfusion<\/a>.” I still chuckle every time I drive by that Salvadorean-Mexican-Chinese Restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t take my eye off that border war between Bibb and Monroe Counties in Georgia. It\u2019s a zombie topic that refuses to die. I thought it was finally going to be resolved<\/a> but it sputtered back to life almost immediately. The Governor of Georgia has been asked to get involved again even during the last few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those are my personal choices from 2011. Are there any audience favorites that I missed? You can always check the Complete Index<\/a>. The 2011 articles start with Coteau des Prairies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ll be back with new material and a normal publication schedule on January 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m progressing better than I expected with my off-season website maintenance plan. It has provided an unexpected opportunity to hammer-out one final post in 2011. I\u2019ve decided to use the downtime to reflect on accomplishments on Twelve Mile Circle during the last year. I posted 156 articles over the year — generally three per week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,97,96,4,11,22,21,50,732],"tags":[3099,1990,1319,302,3169,2816,890],"class_list":["post-9909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cities","category-government","category-history","category-misc","category-roads","category-counties","category-states","category-water","category-weather","tag-cops","tag-county-counting","tag-jamestown","tag-landlocked","tag-poni-river","tag-portland","tag-tripoint"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\n\n\nPersonal Travel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nTravel in My Own Backyard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPuzzles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHistory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nNext Generation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPopular Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nObservations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nConfusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFixation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n