I like the design, but I think the layout could benefit from vertical reduction.
Ideas:
Move Log In, Sign Up, etc under the HotScripts log.
Shift the search up a little bit - so that the height of the top banner is about 100px.
Remove the ProgrammingTalk.com bar from the top of the page. It could be placed in the left area.
Make the navigation shorter. Slightly smaller font, less padding.
Move the 'advertisement' text to the left/right of the top banner ad.