Site News

B&P’s Big Peach Pit Stop

We’re planning a gathering or two in Atlanta Georgia on Saturday, October 20, 2018.  That’s one week from this Saturday.  We’re planning to get together for lunch at a place to be decided soon and gather that evening at the Hooters located at the Mall of Georgia at 6:00 pm for food and drinks. Warning: Tall tales may be told.

I’ve stopped there and met several Georgians in my travels to Florida. A couple of them came all the way to St. Louis for one of our BABBQ’s a while back. DJ is planning his trip to visit his mom to coincide with the gathering. I’ll be flying into Atlanta late Friday evening and will fly home Sunday. DJ and I are staying at the same hotel (different rooms) and it’s about 10 minutes from the Mall of GA.

Plans between the lunch and dinner have not been decided yet.

You’re all invited to join us for either or both (lunch and dinner) if you’re in the area or want to travel there as I will. It’d be nice to get an idea of how many might attend, so let us know if you think you can make it and to which event.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

The days, months and years seem to go by faster and faster as I age.  It’s already Thanksgiving and the year is nearly gone and a new year is just around the corner. 

Each year at this time I like to take a moment to say thanks to you all for stopping by here. Some of you have been visiting for many years and some just discovered our little place here.  It warms my heart to think of the friends I’ve met whether in person or just online, all from this website I started back in 2002.  Next March it will be 16 years of B&P. That’s a lot of bits and a lot of pieces.  I couldn’t do it without you guys stopping by.  I wouldn’t be still doing it without the contributions and comments from the friends and readers who’ve become friends.

If you’re a reader and never comment I urge you leave a comment now and then.  Your input fuels my desire to keep this place going.  And, of course, your donations also mean a lot to me and to this site.

I wish each of you and your loved ones a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Website Changes

We’ve made a couple of changes to Bits & Pieces…

Annoying Ad Problem: I’ve temporarily replaced the video ads (that have been affecting some readers negatively) with a static text ad.  This will most likely cut my ad revenue in half (if not more) so if you’re feeling generous you may show your support by making a donation at the link in the upper-right sidebar of the site.  I’ll continue to search for a solution to the ad problem.

Comment Likes: You can now Like comments that you, for the lack of a better word, ‘like’ by clicking the Like button under each comment.   

 

Problematic Ad on B&P

I’m stumped on a problem a few people are having involving the ad near the top of the right sidebar.

It’s hard to describe what’s going on but it has to do with the ad not letting the user scroll down the page.  Here’s how one person described it: 

The ad on the right side of the page is forcing my browser to have that part of the page on my screen.  I use Chrome on a Chromebook to access the internet.  Whenever I try to scroll down past it, the browser jumps me right back to that part of the page,  I cannot escape the ad.

I’ve tried Googling it but can’t really find much on the problem.  I was hoping the theme change would fix the issue but two people have told me they’re still having the problem.  

I’ve reset the Google Adsense ad code so I’m pretty sure it’s not corrupt.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

B&P Changes

We’ve been doing a bit of fine tuning of the new theme on B&P.

  • We’ve added a Like button at the bottom of the posts.  
  • We’ve added a Random Post on the left side.  It changes every 20 seconds.  Let me know if it’s too distracting.
  • We’ve added a floating Return to top button at the lower right side of each page that will return you to the top of the current page.

 

 

B&P Undergoing Changes

We’re experimenting with a new theme (a new look) for Bits & Pieces.  The current theme has been in use for many years and the designers are not supporting it any longer.  The new theme is more customizable and is mobile friendly.

During the construction or maintenance period, it may radically change from minute to minute as we fine-tune different features.  We may hit a snag and jump back to the old theme for a while also.  So don’t be surprised it things come and go at a moments notice.  Our goal is to make sure basic functionality remains available at all times.

B&P Turns 15

Today, March 31, marks the 15th anniversary of the start of Bits & Pieces.  It was on this date in 2002 that I started B&P over on Blogger.  After a short while, I moved to a self-hosted WordPress blog.  

It has been a major part of my life these last 15 years.  And I’m sure I wouldn’t still be doing it if it weren’t for the wonderful people that have come together as contributors, readers and especially commenters to make Bits & Pieces what I like to call our little worldwide neighborhood.  

The number of daily visitors is down significantly from our heyday back in 2009-2010, but we still managed to get more than 3.3 million page views last year.  I don’t know if the lower numbers indicate just a general blogging trend or if I’m not keeping up with the times in one sense or another.  With the lower page views and with Amazon abandoning their affiliate program in Missouri the income produced here has also taken a dive.  It still covers expenses of running the site which continue to be on the rise but doesn’t leave a  whole lot extra. Having to pay for hosting and purchase more security utilities to keep the site safe from hackers takes a toll on any advertising profits.

I still enjoy working on the site and interacting with the B&P community (for the most part, anyway) but I also sometimes think about scaling back the time spent on here every now and then.  I don’t think I’ll ever stop having a web presence like this but it would be nice to be able to step away every now and then and not feel guilty about doing so.

As I said earlier, you, the person reading this, is the reason this website exists and has existed for so long.  15 years is more than a lifetime, maybe more than a couple of lifetimes, for many blogs.  I’m proud of what we have here and of the people who visit.  I’ve met many of you in person and have enjoyed doing so.  I’ve communicated with many, many more and almost all of those communications have been friendly, productive and satisfying.

Thanks to all who send me post suggestions whether it’s regularly or just every now and then to those who just stop by and read, whether occasionally or every day and most importantly those who have left comments and become true neighbors and friends in our little worldwide neighborhood.  I’m humbled by your kindness.