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About this blog

A blog to discuss site issues and ideas as well as some occasional rambling, reflecting and repeating old USF stories.

Entries in this blog

Why not - the TBP Points Lottery

Just to have something else fun to do with your member points, now you can play the lottery.  Initially, it will be a weekly lottery with pots of various sizes.  You can see this week's lottery (just started today) here: https://www.thebullspen.com/lottery/ It will end tonight, as it is mostly a test run.  But if you like games of chance like lotteries, feel free to play weekly.  You can buy as many tickets as your points will afford. You should already be aware of the Member Shop
Brad

Brad

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While in between upgrades...

I know some members tend to bookmark the one page they like to visit on TheBullsPen.com.  If they start on the main page, they always start on the main page and have an opportunity  to see any changes along the way to the thread they wish to read.  Others start on the Topic index page or perhaps even a particular thread. I'm always throwing different things out there to see if people like it enough to comment on the main board or via PM. Recently, I put a real slick looking enhancement
Brad

Brad

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Memorabilia

Visit #1 to the 24 hour secured, climate controlled USF Bulls memorabilia cache

Well, over the weekend, I was thinking about the other blog I post to and decided to go to the storage center where I have most of my by non-essential belongings after we downgraded to a small ranch near the town's restaurant/bar district. I was looking for some of my hard drives, they're probably destroyed by now.  The family doesn't enter the storage unit with the diligence and carefulness that I do.  It's more like their trapped in a fun house and just sort of create a way in and out.   
Brad

Brad in Memorabilia

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Using the Calendar Reminder

The calendar function has been around since The Bulls Pen was a forum on SouthFloridaBulls.com. It doesn't quite get the community use it could, so I'll invite you to visit and see if it can help manage yours and our Bulls life. First of all, there are two calendars that combine as one: Bulls scheduled games Bulls events Only the Admin can add scheduled games, but we can all add events - such as BULLRALLY I added a week or so ago.  Events can have RSVPs attached so me
Brad

Brad

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Time to fire this up again

It's a rebuilding season for The Bulls Pen.  Each year, when possible, I look at the upcoming changes, enhancements and apps that can be added to the board.  I  am looking for the right mix of cost vs. impact and try to find things that make you want to hang out here more.  More hanging out = more talking about the Bulls.  Yes it helps pay the bills, but also attracts more Bulls fans. As some are aware, as this boldly posted topic indicated, we are going to have our own "economy" wher
Brad

Brad

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Time for a TBP Survey

It's the offseason, so maybe not the best time to be asking for feedback, but it provides us time to analyze and evaluate feedback before the 2019-20 USF Athletic seasons.  So, whether you are a new member, or a founding member, please share your insights with us in the site survey.  You can find it and other discussion on this thread:  
Brad

Brad

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Things to do in the offseason, Part I

Hey, part of our community has been the fun of prediction contests and other things....most recently, raffle style giveaways and bracket contests.  In order to make it a more easily manageable situation for your humble host, I am asking that you complete the Name and Address profile fields added to your Profile.  This will make it much easier for me to get winnings out on time.  It's all private, but saves me from having to ask and then being delayed because I do not want to make mult
Brad

Brad

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Site Archives

The early years...

This screen grab of the site about 15 years ago has some memorable meaning for me.  It was around 2002 and the site was beginning to take off a little.  A fan from another site of one of the early pay sites decided to insult the old SouthFloridaBulls.com site - the original host of "TheBullsPen".  So being a smart ass, I went ahead and gave the guy his own front page story.  We were going to seek venture capital to update the site to proper 2002 standards. The other memorable part was direc
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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Site Archives

TBP NFL Office Pool

Open for registration now is our first annual site "office pool" where members compete against each other picking the NFL winners against the spread.  It is hosted by CBS Sports.  It's free to sign up and play. The link is in this thread: I hope you'll join and take part in this with other Bulls fans and board members.
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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Site Archives

TBP in the News 2006; Leavitt Called "Brief"

Below you will find an article written by Brett McMurphy.  It is from August 2006 and you can detect McMurphy's entitlement and his disdain for Coach Jim Leavitt.  Leavitt was being Leavitt, which probably wasn't helpful and the article became about Leavitt.  There were some player issues that brought this on and we know how that worked with the media back then.  Oh and by the way, this is clearly from back when Brett and I were on talking terms.  Towards the end of the article, he piped in how
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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Site Archives

TBP Gallery and the 2016-17 Football Season

In the past, I've struggled to get the gallery function working as I would like it to.  I think I have it figured out, and I'd like Bulls fans to help out.  We had permissions issues before, but I think it's ready to work. I have already set up the primary events for the 2016-17 season. As a member, if you'll look in the top menu bar, select Browse, you'll see a submenu for the Gallery.  Click on that and you will see the first box is titled 2016-17 USF Football.  Click on that and you
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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Bulls Media

Tampa Tribune and the Bulls

Thought some would enjoy this, especially in theses times of wishing the local reporters cared a little more.  This is quite a committment by the now defunct Tampa Tribune, but could you imagine the excitement to see this today with the Tampa Bay Times?   At least two on that billboard were active on TBP back then.  Either way, it was a nice billboard and an embrace of the program by the local paper. Any chance will ever see the Bulls embraced like this from the remaining pa
Brad

Brad in Bulls Media

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Site Archives

Subscription option for TBP

A few months back some members asked about a subscription option for TBP that would include primarily an ad-free experience.  I think I have it set up to function that way now with an introductory cost of $4.95/month.  Please see the poll to help determine that ultimate price. I can certainly have the ads blocked for the subscribing user group.  I am also looking at some other possibilities to go into that package. I am looking for 4 or 5 volunteers to test the functionality that would
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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USF Athletics

Some rare looks at our coaches over the years

Looking through the archives of pictures taken, scanned or saved from the internet, I came across at least three right away that are worth re-visiting.  First we'll start with a very long tenured coach, Ken Eriksen, flashing back to his days on the USF Baseball team:     Per GoUSFBulls.com: In four seasons (1981-84) as a player on the USF baseball team, and while playing five positions, his career batting average topped .315 and he had an ERA of 2.48 on the mound. In 1982, he
Brad

Brad in USF Athletics

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Site Archives

Some of the crazy stuff you find in the attic...

Occasionally I look through some of the hard drives and find some old memories.  When you think about this site being around for almost 18 years there has to be good stuff, right?  The board, when it was young, had a lot of great posts lost in the great crashes of 2005- 2007 (I think).  We lost some great stories by @TheSheriff and probably more.  I had a couple hard drives die.  One resuscitated briefly and I retrieved some board images as well as some tax returns.   I came across remnants
Brad

Brad in Site Archives

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Social Integrations

It is easier than ever to join the conversation at The Bulls Pen.  And the giveaways, quizzes, galleries, downloads, Member Shop, etc., too. I have recently completed a revisit of the social integrations functionality after finding some had been broken by our software as well as that of Facebook and Twitter. The integrations are important for a number of reasons, but I'll stick with the top two. New members - Anyone with a Facebook, Twitter, Google, Linked In or Windows account c
Brad

Brad

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Smilies on the chopping block

With the continued evolution of the code that supports this site, it can now support smilies from your phones and tablets.  With the upcoming upgrade, the board will expand to a greater number of smilies that are released with the upgrade.  In order to avoid having 17,000 smilies I deleted the non TBP and Bulls related smilies for the time being.  After the upgrade, we'lll decide if we need those sets back. Brad    
Brad

Brad

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Memorabilia

Second Box Opening Tonight!

Yep, it's back here in my man cave, er Bulls cave, getting ready for the season and opening up boxes of memorabilia and merchandise that I always thought I would have in my man cave.  But my travels over the years, due to work, have landed me in multiple towns and houses.  It seems now I am finally in a "forever" home (until I move to Florida in the very near future).  Either way, I'm going through the stuff in storage and determining what is going to be in the short term cave here at site headq
Brad

Brad in Memorabilia

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Points and the Member Shop

We had a couple threads on the new "Points" economy, this being the initial one: The points collecting has been in place for about a month, there is plenty of experimenting to do, but the possibilities are pretty entertaining.  I don't think it's a good thing to identify what adds points to your count (you'll figure it out), but I can tell you one key source of points is being online everyday, multiple days in a row at the least.  Starting quality topics is rewarding as well. Points w
Brad

Brad

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Our Fundraising Effort

We are in the final three weeks of our $23 for 23 Crowdfunding effort.  I must admit, I thought raising $10,000 for USF Football would have been much easier among the fan base of The Bulls Pen.  Right now, between the Crowdfunding App and straight donating to the effort we are beyond $5,000.  The raffles are helping, by adding more than $500 more. With board activity beginning to increase and the anticipation for Bulls football mounting, I still think we will get there.  I will send a note
Brad

Brad

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