Of course you are not a “nobody”. I mean it in a statistical sense. Sure, you and I both stopped here today although we might be the only ones; visitors totals will still come mighty close to zero. Who’s going to read these words I’ve posted on Christmas Eve? Twelve Mile Circle has a diverse audience, and I’m sure even those of different faiths, practices or beliefs will likely have something better to do when everything shuts down around them. Twelve Mile Circle website traffic typically nosedives at this time of year.
That’s liberating in a sense. I don’t have to develop a real article or wonder whether the topic will be a hit or a dud. Instead I’ll share a few statistical tidbits and some upcoming travel plans, and if nobody likes it then it won’t matter. Come back in a few days if you’d prefer.
Numbers
I began Twelve Mile Circle in November 2007 and it just passed its sixth-year anniversary, an uninterrupted string of aimless muttering that I still find difficult to believe.
So I remember thinking that I shouldn’t start this thing. I was unsure if I’d have enough material or sufficient dedication to last even a month. Maybe it would turn into a sad, bit-rotted ghost site. That’s irrelevant I suppose since blogs as a format are pretty much dead anyway if you listen to the experts. Again. It’s a good thing I write for myself and not for money or recognition. I’d starve to death while wallowing in my own tears.
Wow, what a cynical introduction. The whole point of this was to announce that I’m expecting to hit 1,000 articles sometime around the end of February if I continue at the current pace. A decent length novel might clock in at around a hundred thousand words. The complete 12MC body of work would hit somewhere around six or seven hundred thousand words. Crazy. I’ll probably have to do something special for that 1,000th article.
Reader-submitted comments will hit 4,000 any day now, so I receive about four comments per article. That’s growing. It was closer to three comments per article a couple of years ago. That increase derives from a loyal group of readers submitting thoughtful and respectful comments regularly. Those often lead to spin-off articles. Naturally I appreciate that kind of interaction.
The 12MC Twitter experiment launched in the Spring seems to be going OK. Just OK. I haven’t used Twitter much except to announce new articles, making it somewhat redundant for anyone using an RSS newsreader. I don’t make any special efforts to build followers. I’ll save that for the celebrities. However, my count remains at 99 Twitter followers as of the last couple of weeks and that bugs me. Won’t someone subscribe already and push that figure into triple digits so I can ignore it again?
Travel
I had such a great time during the Dust Bowl Marathon Series last year that I decided to do it again. I’m not a runner, nor was I last time. I’ll be a driver who transports a runner safely between races.
I think I already mentioned that Mainly Marathons is now sponsoring a Riverboat Series for April 12-16, 2014. That’s five races in five states (Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana) in five days. The only new development for me to note is that I’m definitely going. We’ve made our plans and reservations. I’m expecting an excellent opportunity for intense County Counting because I have to drive all the way out there. Airline schedules and fares don’t seem to be working out.
Please take a look at the map and let me know of any suggestions for geo-oddities or other cool things to see. I received some great recommendations last year including several places I would not have known about otherwise (e.g., Capulin Volcano). Don’t worry, Bubbleland is already on the agenda. Maybe an adventurous 12MC runner might be interested in one or more half- or full-marathons and/or assorted weird geography?
I pick a different state each year for concentrated travel. Previously I’ve focused on a diversity of places such as Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, Utah’s Great Salt Lake, Oregon’s volcanic interior, and Kentucky’s Appalachian foothills. 2014 will be a little different. I won’t be selecting a state. Instead we’re heading to Ireland in late June or early July, within the vicinity of Killarney. My father will join us and we will visit with his cousins for part of that trip. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the distant relatives, and of course giving Ireland the proper 12MC treatment.
It should be an exciting 2014 on Twelve Mile Circle.
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