Eh. Like most things, just takes a little time to get used to change. Some things are nicer, others just different.
But yeah, the banner could def use some work. Either resize and stretch it to fit the entire width or just center it. Then on each side of the banner you could put a picture of David Simon and the cast of The Wire.
Oh, and what's up with this bright lime greed "loading" banner that flashes across the top of my screen whenever I want to modify a post?