Another week has gone by and winter finally arrived in St. Louis.  After an unseasonably warm January and the first week or so of February we finally got hit by a cold front last night.  Temps today will just make it into the 20′s and it’s going down to 12F tonight with gusty [...]]]>

Another week has gone by and winter finally arrived in St. Louis.  After an unseasonably warm January and the first week or so of February we finally got hit by a cold front last night.  Temps today will just make it into the 20′s and it’s going down to 12F tonight with gusty winds.  I know that’s nothing compared to where some of you are and it’s really not bad for here considering it’s February, but it’s still cold when I have to go walk the dogs.  I’m just glad I don’t have to work outside.  We’re supposed to get a couple of inches of snow on Monday.  We’ve been very lucky so far as pretty much avoiding snowfall other than maybe an inch or so on the grass.  Moderate temperatures took that away pretty fast.

I’ve been doing some work on my office the last couple of days.  Cleaning, moving things around and reorganizing.  I’m good at starting projects like this but not so good on the follow-up and completion.  I also had to hang some new blinds in the window because my old set was starting to fall apart (not to mention how dusty they were).  I have a large desk in front of the window so it was awkward to get to.  I had to straddle the desk on a ladder and the window sill, sort of kneeling wherever I could just to get the old brackets down and put the new ones up. Because of the awkward angle I kept stripping the screws after they were about two-thirds of the way in.   My cheerleader (aka wife) was encouraging me with things like, “That desk is really sagging in the middle” and “Take a break” and “Why don’t you wait until tomorrow and get some help.”  I was just screwing two brackets in to hold the new blinds.   She put her pom poms down and went to bed.  I finally put down the cordless screwdriver and got a regular screwdriver and got them in. I put the third (center support) bracket up and was sweaty and worn out.  I had to sit down a couple times to rest and re-hydrate during the ordeal. After resting the blinds popped right in.  I have another window in my office that might prove to be even harder to reach.  I’m so looking forward to tackling that. 

Site News:  I’ve added a link to the B&P Chatroom (provided by tinychat) which is open whenever someone is in there.  The link is in the left sidebar above the Monthly Top 10 Commenters.

Also, in the right sidebar there’s a link to Amazon’s Deal of the Day.  I’ve never publicized that before but some people have been making some purchases from it.  They do have some pretty good deals, but they’re for a limited time only so keep your eyes on that area.  If you make a purchase from that link I get a little commission.  I get an Amazon gift card every two or three months.  The last one was $41 My biggest one yet), which still isn’t a lot, but every little bit helps.  The ad is in the right sidebar just under Previously on B&P.

Las Vegas:  I’ve made my reservations.  I’ll be arriving in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 31 and returning home on Tuesday, June 5.  I’ll be staying at the Imperial Palace.  If you’re thinking about joining us in Las Vegas check out the Las Vegas page.

Today is the day of the “Big Game”.  It’s called the “Big Game” because the NFL is zealous about protecting the words “Super Bowl”.  Seems silly to me, but this is 2012 and I should be used to silly.  I going to a Super Bowl, or should I say Big Game party this afternoon.  [...]]]>

Today is the day of the “Big Game”.  It’s called the “Big Game” because the NFL is zealous about protecting the words “Super Bowl”.  Seems silly to me, but this is 2012 and I should be used to silly.  I going to a Super Bowl, or should I say Big Game party this afternoon.  We have giant peel and eat shrimp, grilled scampi, Shifty’s Dead-Dog chili and a tub of chicken wings along with other miscellaneous fixins.  It’s back to the sensible eating tomorrow.  Or maybe I should wait until I finish the two boxes (36 count) Three Muskateers and Twix Bard my granddaughter left here on Christmas break..  They’re about half gone now. Decisions, decisions.

As far as the game goes, I don’t really care who wins except I will lose a $5 bet if the Jets Giants win.  I’m in it mostly for the commercials, food, drink and friends, but I do hope it’s a good game.

Last night we had a very successful trivia night event. I think everyone had a great time and everything worked correctly (which is a good thing since I created the program). This is our 9^th  year doing trivia nights and it gets better and better.  I didn’t get home until almost 1 am this morning.  I didn’t get up until 8:30.  I can’t remember how long it’s been since I slept that late.

I’m still trying to fine-tune B&P making little changes here and there.  I hadn’t done much the last couple of weeks because of other projects so hopefully I can get back on this soon.  Unless another project comes up… like replacing a hallway floor and some major work outside.  The fun never ends.  How did I get things done when I had a real job?  Oh, wait… I didn’t.

So that’s my story today, what’s yours?

I’ve spent the week working on a trivia presentation for tonight.  I’m still fine tuning, but it’s basically ready.  Going to head out around noon to do the set-up for the event, so I probably won’t be around here  much the rest of the day.

Tomorrow I’m going to a Super Bowl party [...]]]>

I’ve spent the week working on a trivia presentation for tonight.  I’m still fine tuning, but it’s basically ready.  Going to head out around noon to do the set-up for the event, so I probably won’t be around here  much the rest of the day.

Tomorrow I’m going to a Super Bowl party but will be around in the morning. 

We’re still experiencing some really mild weather considering it’s February.  January was one of the mildest on record I think.

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks around here, but things should get back to normal for me on Monday.

What’s going on in your world?

Well, I didn’t make it to the auto show yesterday, so I’m going today.  I have a free ticket and today is the last day it’s in town,

  I was going to go to the auto show and watch the parade yesterday but I’m still not feeling too great and I didn’t think [...]]]>

Well, I didn’t make it to the auto show yesterday, so I’m going today.  I have a free ticket and today is the last day it’s in town,

  I was going to go to the auto show and watch the parade yesterday but I’m still not feeling too great and I didn’t think standing out in the cold would be too good for me.  Then on the other hand, when I think what these veterans did for our country I feel like quite a wimp.

I’m going to start seriously looking in my Las Vegas plans this week.  Also hard at work on a program for our Trivia Night on Saturday night.

What’s going on in your world?

B&P Goes to Las Vegas:  (We need a better name for this)  I’ve created a page specifically for the Las Vegas get together.  It can be found in the links along the top of the website.  We’re asking for your thoughts and please let us know if you plan to attend and how [...]]]>

B&P Goes to Las Vegas:  (We need a better name for this)  I’ve created a page specifically for the Las Vegas get together.  It can be found in the links along the top of the website.  We’re asking for your thoughts and please let us know if you plan to attend and how many in your party.  We’d like to get a realistic idea of about how many we can expect to be there so we can plan accordingly.  Check out the Las Vegas page.

Comment Length:  I found a plugin that will allow me to set the minimum number of letters allowable for a comment (which can be set to as low as 6).  I installed the plugin and activated it but it doesn’t seem to be working.  So, I’m still working on this.

Closing comments: As of now posts that are older that 60 days are closed for comments.  This helps eliminate spam on older posts.  There have been a couple of posts or pages that really didn’t need the ability to comment on and some that closed where I wanted to keep open.  I have installed a plugin that allows me to close or open (allow) comments on any page or post with just a click.

Sidebars:  A few people have said that the right sidebar covers part of the post. I played around with shrinking the sides of the sidebars (and the content there) but my ad revenue immediately dropped to almost half.  That wasn’t acceptable to me so the wider sidebar (and ads) are here to stay I’m afraid.  Some possible fixes: increase the screen resolution if possible (best fix), right-click on images and select View Image,  make sure your browser is at full screen, close any sidebars you have on your browser window, change the resolution of your monitor, get a larger monitor.

Post titles:  You probably haven’t noticed but lately I’ve been playing around with the title on some posts.  I can’t decide whether the words should all be capitalized, title caps (capitalize the first letter of each word), or just sentence caps (just the first letter of the first word capitalized, which is how it’s been for a while.  I’m leaning towards having what sounds like a sentence be sentence caps, otherwise title caps.  Any thoughts?

Coming Up:  I’m working on a trivia program for a trivia night next Saturday night, so there might not be as many posts this week. Today I’m going to go to the Auto Show here in St. Louis and we’re going to a Bingo tonight, so I won’t be around much of the day.

It’s your turn to entertain one another here on Bits & Pieces.  Get your keyboards ready…..  3…2…1….. It’s all yours!

I think I’ve got myself a good head cold.  I haven’t felt “right” for a couple of weeks.  Yesterday my head just got all stuffy and runny at the same time.  How can my nose be stuffed up yet runny?  I’ve been real achy too, but at least I don’t have a fever.  [...]]]>

I think I’ve got myself a good head cold.  I haven’t felt “right” for a couple of weeks.  Yesterday my head just got all stuffy and runny at the same time.  How can my nose be stuffed up yet runny?  I’ve been real achy too, but at least I don’t have a fever.  We’re having some family over this afternoon.  Let’s see… who can I pass this on to?

I’m still trying to get the comment editing thing working. But no luck so far.

What’s on your mind today?

Another week has flown by.  We had some freezing rain last night that made the roads and sidewalks pretty slippery.  I was out most of the afternoon and evening.  I got to my destination just as it was starting and didn’t go home until about 11 pm and by then the roads weren’t [...]]]>

Another week has flown by.  We had some freezing rain last night that made the roads and sidewalks pretty slippery.  I was out most of the afternoon and evening.  I got to my destination just as it was starting and didn’t go home until about 11 pm and by then the roads weren’t too bad.  The untreated areas and sidewalks were slippery.  Temperatures are supposed to get to the mid 30′s today but into the 50′s Sunday.

Comment editing: I’m going to try to look into the comment editing thing this weekend.  I think I’ll just try to reinstall the plugin and see if that helps.  The plugin ownership has changed hands and is no longer being supported so I’m not real optimistic about it.

I need to start writing more things down because there were a few things I was thinking about bringing up in the next Open Mic, but I can’t remember what there are.  …. Oh, I just remembered one. …

Las Vegas:  I’ll be contacting the B&P Goes to Las Vegas committee this week to start serious planning for our trip.  My tentative plan is to leave on May 31 and come back home on June 5 so I’m there for the gathering on the weekend of June 1–3.

Your turn:  It’s your turn to talk about anything that’s on your mind.

Today is family day here.  I think we’re going to try to catch a movie then have family over this afternoon to play cards and watch some football.

I had a busy day yesterday.  Actually it’s been a busy period since the holidays, but things should settle down and get back to normal this week.

This is your chance to talk about whatever you like. 

Sit up straight and get nice and close to your keyboard and let ‘er rip

I have a busy day today.  I’ll be going to a funeral this morning and then back home to celebrate my granddaughter’s 19th  birthday this afternoon.  So, I won’t be posting too much today.  I’ll try to catch up on the comments as time allows.

Wonderful winter weather:  The temperature here yesterday hit [...]]]>

I have a busy day today.  I’ll be going to a funeral this morning and then back home to celebrate my granddaughter’s 19^th  birthday this afternoon.  So, I won’t be posting too much today.  I’ll try to catch up on the comments as time allows.

Wonderful winter weather:  The temperature here yesterday hit a record-breaking 70°F.  It’s been pretty nice all week (for January).  It’s supposed to cool off into the 50′s today and for the next few days.  A cold front will bring in showers mid-week but temps will still be in the 40′s.  In the early fall the forecasters were saying that we’d have a really bad winter and to expect measurable snow before Halloween (a rarity here that early).  We’ve only gotten about a half inch to an inch and that was shortly after Christmas.  It’s been unseasonably mild so far.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Have a great day!