Mark,
I like the overall design -- relatively clean. If you are going for a professional look, then the shoutbox needs to either go or have some sort of administrative control. Such conversations tend to drop the credibility of a site somewhat.
The background image is a little much -- even with my broadband connection it took a bit to load. If you do need to have it, I suggest lightening it up a bit so it's not so overwhelming.
I'd personally stay away from the scrolling "favorite links." My first impression when seeing it was that you recently learned how to do scrolling, and are showing off your newfound knowledge. That may not be the case, but as I said, that was my first impression. The only scrolling I am in favor of is text -- topical news items that I can click on and see more info. Other than that, I suggest NOT using scrolling.
Your page scales well, but at some point all the tables are touching each other. I suggest leaving a 2 or 3 pixel border around each table so they never touch. It looks weird when they do.
Put your login form on the left side of the page. Only make it available if the user is not logged in.
Don't get me wrong -- your page looks good. Keep up the good work! And I agree with the assessment that your page needs a little color.
Good Luck!
