Hi Keith,
My first impression of the "old" site (the one in your sig) was "He's trying to sell me something."
My first impression of your new site was "He's trying to help me learn something."
I much prefer the new site to the old.
Content-driven sites are my favorite... even if they are ultimately trying to sell me something, I can get an idea of whether or not to trust the person behind the website (and the products being pitched) based on the quality of the content. If I like the content and it makes me feel the person truly knows his/her stuff, I place more credibility in the products he/she recommends, and am more likely to buy.
BTW, I lived in Bellevue NE for many years. My dad still lives there; my brothers live in LaVista. Small world, eh?