Twelve Mile Circle

  • 132 and Bush

    I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: I’m both high-brow and low-brow simultaneously with little in the middle. I admit that I’ve watched more than my share of COPS episodes since it first aired in 1989. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. I can’t be the only one who keeps a laptop close at…

  • Mountainous Claims

    I noticed a recent record in the website logs that geolocated to Mountain View, California. That’s hardly a unique occurrence. I’ve had plenty of readers from Mountain View in the past. The only difference is that I happened to wonder whether Mountain View actually had a mountain view this time. I don’t know why. That…

  • The Dreadful Road Trip

    I’m told that one could see the smoke rising from the Pentagon from my home on September 11, 2001, barely two miles away. My coworkers in Crystal City, immediately to the south, felt our office building shake (explaining their added nervousness during the recent earthquake). I wouldn’t know. I was stranded more than 800 miles…

  • Jackson Volcano

    I’ve been inundated with search engine queries for the last several days about a city with a volcano and lots of brewpubs. They’ve been landing on the guest article that Marc Alifanz wrote about Portland, Oregon, which I think is probably the correct answer to the readers’ question. I’ve tried to find the source. Often…

  • Monumental Ride

    Monumental indeed. The kids started school this morning, including our younger son who attended his first day of kindergarten. Summer is over according to the students although the calendar may not agree. Actually it ended a couple of weeks ago when my strangely popular Ferry pages began their cyclical readership drop as I’ve observed in…

  • Odds and Ends 3

    I use “Odds and Ends” articles to gather several unrelated topics under a single roof. None of them standing alone would provide enough material to merit its own article. Nonetheless, collectively they might provide a few moments of amusement. These include updates, observations, user suggestions and various failed efforts on my part. If you like…

  • Caro-what?

    Anyone following Twelve Mile Circle for any length of time knows that I have an unnatural fixation on borders and boundaries. I particularly enjoy those places split by borders or positioned directly alongside borders especially with a purpose in mind. I thought I’d discovered, either on my own or through the generous contributions of readers…

  • Confederate Yankees

    The Confederate’s Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. That was essentially the end of the Civil War although others continued to fight briefly afterwards. The former Confederate states all regained representation in the United States Congress within the next few years. Eventually they all formally terminated their succession…

  • Hurricane Irene Now a Memory

    Hurricane Irene finally finished with the Washington, DC area. We do have one last rain band that needs to work its way through. Then we should have clear skies by noon. I’ve been up since 5:00 am, partially because I’m an early riser, partially because I couldn’t sleep for the obvious reasons. I’ve noticed the…

  • Perfect Weather

    I spent a long weekend in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. The family had already been on holiday there for about ten days when I arrived, staying with the in-laws. We visited with my wife’s aunt and uncle one beautiful Sunday afternoon at their home along the banks of Lake Wisconsin (map). The weather…


Latest Comments

  1. Hi Mr. Howder — Just going from memory, I recall that your “rule” for counting a nation/state/county is “if I’m…

  2. Does anyone have actual music to the song – Tanaha ,Timpson. Bobo and Blair ?? It was recorded by Tex…