very nice...

As far as frontpage being busy. I experiment all the time with my portal. I ahve forum posts on the front page. just for show, while I create more articles. I will show you.
I will change front page to articles only. take a look. I also have option to make one single html page, but I like my portal toys.
If we can get on site in chat. I can change a few things and show you the versatility I already have installed.

I added phpmyFAQ, Gallery 2, Noahs classified's, Digg topics, & cubecart so I can transfer seed sales and general store to cart. We are just a baby site.