Quick Takes (v1) : Housekeeping

Quick Takes

I figured since I've resolved to not start my personal New Year's resolutions until Sunday, I'd take the opportunity to do a little housekeeping on the blog today. I've made a few changes that I hope will help with readability and engagement.

The most obvious changes are the template and font. The page is a lot brighter and, I hope, easier to read. Somewhere, my Dad is smiling, I'm sure. As I was making the changes,  I recalled how he once told me he hated reading white print on a dark background.  Better late than never, eh, Pops? The bookshelf background is also a nod in his direction; as I noted in one of my early posts, I inherited Dad's books, which provide a colorful and comforting reminder of him each day. 

Several changes were made in the sidebar, and include:

• a new feature called Top Five, Past Thirty, where you'll be able to check out the five most popular posts of the past thirty days; 
• a tag cloud replaces the tag list;
• there's a new widget allowing you to easily subscribe to posts via email; and
• I've replaced my Twitter feed with a Newsreel feature, where you can see updates on Politics and Editorial content from Google's searches.  

Finally, I added an Election Day Countdown ticker, so we can all keep our eyes on the prize.

Hopefully you'll find the changes helpful, or at least not distracting. Your comments are always welcomed.