What was the goal of the redesign? It's not really a matter of what I think, but what you want to say to your audience. Now of course I'm a Hacker News reader who thinks South Park is pretty funny, but that doesn't mean that me or any other Hacker News reader is your audience. Design solves a problem, but first you must define what that problem is that needs to be solved.
To improve readability have a narrower column of text on the right text column. Although to be honest the picture you posted isn't that much different than what you have now. I think the bigger question is "what is the goal of this site?" Is it to get you job? Is it just a reference point for friends you already know? Is it aimed at geeks or non-tech professionals?
In terms of having a goal like you said, it's supposed to help with getting a job (its a personal project), the blog part is really just my diary, its not specifically for anyone's benefit other than mine. The target aaudience is definitely developers and geeky people, definitely not business-y/market-y types.
If it's suppose to help you find a job then in 25 words or less you should tell me why I should hire you, i.e. an elevator pitch. It doesn't have to be over the top, but it should tell me at a casual glance where you want to go. If your personal content is interesting that's great, but you need something to anchor my eye. And yes your icon is a part of that too, and if that takes hiring a professional photographer then it's a good investment.
I use to think that you didn't need one, but I think in an age of Social Media and with Gen Y coming of age it may be expected (mind you as someone who prefers to be behind a camera I'm not a personal fan of this reality).
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[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 27.9 ms ] threadThe goal of the 'redesign' is just to add some contrast in there and to improve readability.