It's a bit slow for blogging here in the Brookeosphere. Not that I'm not writing, but most of it is targeted for other things at the moment.
One thing that I did do this weekend was to re-think my "homepage," which is less home nowadays than the blog itself. Some time ago, Spencer ruminated on the need for course websites, and I tend to wonder the same about homepages nowadays. Other than serving as a series of pointers to other content, there's not much that I have to say that a homepage can say for me.
Back in the day, I used to redesign it once a year and during the year, I'd be pretty faithful about upkeep on it. Now, though, I find myself more attuned to the slow and steady accumulation of the weblog, and I resist the all-at-once-ness that a homepage seems to require. Maybe over the next year or so, I'll (a) just install a bump and send people here, and (b) add some navigation for papers, my all-star posts, courses, etc. Because even the minimal upgrade work I did on my "homepage" seems like time better spent elsewhere.
That's all.
Yes, I do need to go ahead and add text links to it, still. And my faculty page on the SU site is in desperate need of updating. Baby steps, folks.
Fill in the alt attributes on your image maps. Sounds odd, but it's the best way to do it; that way they are tied directly to the links.
Wow -- I love the new homepage! I loved the "old" one, too, of course, making me wonder: did you consider leaving a link to the old site up?
I've been redesigning my homepage once or twice a year for a while, as you describe having done, and it struck me the other day that providing a link to each old design might be fun for users (read: my Mom) to see.
I think my first page was the Pong of websites. :)