More changes made to the website:

• Header Image: The header image now rotates between 14 different pictures which have either been taken by me or by my family members (my Mother and cousin, to be specific). They range from the beach to the woods – and there’s even an “Easter Egg” in there (it’s a non-New Jersey picture). Extra points if you can figure out what the picture is of, specifically.
• Streamlining: I’ve streamlined some of the key portions of each entry. For example, the comments and categories links are now located underneath the title of the post on both the front page and the individual post pages. Plus, I’ve reduced the amount of advertisements on both the front page and individual pages. Finally, some of the additional links and clickable images on the sidebars have been removed.
• Widen: The basic structure of the blog has been widened by 24 pixels. Yes, you can admit that you wouldn’t have figured that out if I didn’t say it!
• Reorganization: Some of the items posted on the sidebars have been reorganized. I’ve dissolved the “My Friends” link category on the left sidebar and moved around the “Random Quotes” widget to the top of the right sidebar. I’m probably still going to move some things around and delete some excess on the sidebars in the coming days.
• Other Changes: With all of these changes, I obviously have had to make a bunch of back round changes to the “bones” of the blog. I did some other minor changes like reorganizing how the “Contribute to JerseySmarts.com” blurb looks at the end of each post (see below) and changed the text that used to say “Read the rest of this entry” to now read “Finish reading this entry.” That may change yet again, though. Also, I lightened the background color on the left sidebar and darkened the background color of the right sidebar. I’m sure you picked up on that, though (*sarcasm*).

There will likely be even more changes coming, so stay tuned!

• Subscription: Using the sign-up sheet on the right side of the website, you can now “sign-up” for JerseySmarts.com and receive regular mailings from this blog. The mailings will be general recaps and links to previous posts over the last week or two. Not sure how I want to handle that yet.
• Related Posts: At the end of each individual post page you’ll find a bunch of stuff. Under the comments box you’ll see something that says, “More On This Topic From JerseySmarts.com.” That area should contain some recent posts that match the topic of the one that you’re currently reading.
• Random Quote: A little bit underneath the subscription form you’ll find a random quote generator. There are only a dozen or so quotes in the system at this point, but this little widget allows you to flip through whichever posts are in the system without surfing to a new page. There will be new quotes added periodically.
• Search Engine Welcome. Those guests that make their way to JerseySmarts.com by way of a search engine will now see an in-page welcome box directly under the headline of the individual entry on which they land. It asks them to subscribe to the site’s RSS feed or for them to Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc. this site based on where they came from.

Hopefully, some of these additions and changes will help to make your browsing experience a bit more enjoyable. Additional suggestions and comments are always welcome!