never used this setting before, ever.

Tell me that ain't cool. Kudos to whoever dreamed that one up. I've really liked this the last couple days--think I will keep it like this.
Tip of the hat.

    budgie settings/top panel/settings/scroll to bottom

    it turns a long task/panel bar (bottom top or side) into a concise compact, centered little strip. I dig it.
    intelligent or dynamic setting not working for me as it stays black and never lightens with the wallpaper like it used to...but so much smaller and most of wallpaper goes to the top now. like a picture.

    I use it this way on my media centre computer. I was originally using Plank but having the launcher and tray icons in there too is a lot handier