This is the blog template I came up with. Nothing terribly original, but I think I can fit all the important stuff on a shorter page. The template includes:
My Flickr badge included in the page header, freeing up some space and adding a feel of sleekness.
CSS powered drop down menus, eliminating the need for a links/friends/archive column and streamlining the navigation area of the page (unfortunately, this will only work on Firefox and Internet Explorer 7...IE6 is trash).
A narrow, more pleasing central data column, properly separated from the background.
A restylized LibraryThing bar.
A concise single post design with navigation arrows.
My Last.fm widget in the footer, allowing the viewer the option of viewing it after reading the post.
Space for a single extra widget in the footer (alternatively I could make my Last.fm widget horizontal).
Input would be nice here.