News, updates and what’s happ-nin’s

Sorry gang, there’s no food porn on today’s slate… At least not yet. Yesterday was spent dealing with one of the very real challenges of living on a military base with a wife who instructs students from all over the country. Around here it’s called “The Crud”. What the rest of the world calls it is transient stomach virii.

With both my wife and I more in the mood for Burned Toast and O.J. than for gourmet fare, or even Taco Bell, I turned my attention to a few other matters that have been simmering on the back burners of my mind for some time now. With handy-dandy-notebook in hand, a nice warm blanket, and a good view of Food Network Challenge, I set about cementing my plans for the next few months, both in relation to this blog and my six others.

Did he say six?

Yup, six. I’m a bit of a workaholic and this is what I do for a living, so most of the time I manage to keep things mostly somewhat up to date on all of them. Actually, that’s what part of the planning was about. It’s all pretty involved, but let me break down the things I’ve come up with that affect this particular point on the big-ol’ Internet.

1. A new look is coming:
   Cooking by the seat of my pants! has been running the current blog theme since March 27th of this year. That was the point of my 3 month bloggiversary. It’s been good theme. Unfortunately, with the inclusion of advertising, affiliates and all the other side bar clutter that comes with age, it’s just not living up to my needs any longer. As such, it’s time for it to retire.The new theme is slated to go live in January, and heralds this blogs one year mark. I promise it will be well worth whatever slight confusion is caused in the process. I even have plans to include one of the more requested features that were mentioned in the last change! Stay tuned… More on this in the months to come.
2. There will be baking:
   Yes, I said baking. Starting tomorrow, actually. I’m going to revisit a semi successful attempt I made earlier this year and give it a few tweaks. From there, I plan to keep going throughout the year and see if I can get the hang of this “Mesh-ur-ing” and culinary chemistry thing. While we’re at it…
3. There will be chocolate and other candied goodness:
   Man (and woman) does not live on succulence alone, and I crave chocolates and candies as much as the next person. It’s time I tried my hand at them. Expect some kitchen disasters… LOL
4. A new project has been spawned:
   In an attempt to help both myself and other bloggers looking to increase the traffic they receive, I’ve just begun a 30 day study on the subject over at my blog-centric blog, the Spun Puppy. It covers some of the more technical aspects of building readership, and I thought you guys might find it useful as well as (hopefully) interesting.

There are a few other minor things. such as the rebirth of the Morning Cuppa, with a new look and included recipes from around the web, or wherever else I can find them. As long as it meets the theme of the article, I’ll add it in. (This will take a week or so to get going, as I need at least a week’s worth completed before I let them loose…)

Let me know what you think about the coming changes, or if there are any other improvements you’d like to see around here. It may be my blog, but in the end it’s all about you. Without my readers this would be nothing more than a voice echoing in the void. You, your visits and your comments are what drives me to come back and do it again. Your input is welcome!