Category: Miscellaneous
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75 Years of Drinking
Today is the 75th Anniversary(1) of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States. In addition to my odd fascination with weird geography, I’m a horrible beer snob(2) and sometimes I even find ways to tie my fascination with beer and geography together. So I think of this as a big day for Twelve Mile…
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Google Street View Comes to Washington, DC Area (finally!)
I’m about a week late, but I did notice when I went into Google Maps recently that the Washington, DC area has finally been added to Street View. I’d been grousing about it for awhile and thought it might never happen. This was a long time coming. Witnesses spotted the photo car in the District…
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Halloween Spots
It’s Halloween here in the United States, so for a little fun today let’s feature some geography that fits within that spooky theme. One of the more obvious choices would be Salem, Massachusetts, site of the famous witch trials in 1692-1693. Over 150 people were imprisoned for witchcraft, with nineteen accused victims hanged and one…
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Traveling Man
It seems I’ve done a lot of traveling as I look back across the last several months. I travel fairly frequently anyway for work and for pleasure, but this has been a particularly busy period. Here’s a recap of places I’ve visited since the Spring, as told through previous Twelve Mile Circle dispatches. If you’ve…
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Geography of Link Farms that Target Me
I personally moderate every comment on Twelve Mile Circle. If you make an effort to respond to one of my posts with something thoughtful, rest assured I’ve genuinely read it. A few months ago I had a growing problem with spammers. Thankfully I found a solution that keeps that junk away from my pages automatically.…
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Foreclosed
A young couple with children purchased a home in February 2006. Today the house sits gutted; bought out by a speculator who will probably flip it when the spring market opens in a few months. I never met the family. They lived around the corner and we exchange waves as I strolled by on my…
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Our Lady of the Gas Pump
I was wandering through some old haunts recently. Then I spotted a building I used to see quite often. I’d forgotten all about this place, but was happy to find an unusual friend once again. An Architectural Landmark Observe the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church. This unusual structure sits in the Rosslyn section of Arlington…
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Google Sightseeing
It pleased me to learn today that a recent post from Twelve Mile Circle appeared on Google Sightseeing. I’d nominated the Bruny Island Ferry images I found on Google Street View (including one from inside the ferry). They first appeared on my Ferries of Australia post. Then Google Sightseeing used it as part of their…
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Slug Lines
Geography can influence social behavior and that’s the case with slug lines. This article has nothing to do with gastropods. Rather it’s a commuting method originating organically without any type of government involvement or sanction in the Washington, DC area. Since then it has also spread to other cities. It’s an efficient arrangement that matches…