Three small points come to mind:
It's an aside, but the comment about book covers got me thinking that I have consciously not submitted to markets if I really loathe their proposed cover art.
On the reaction to Challenger, I like his thinking - things don't have to worse, and small differences can lead to big changes.
Finally: I happen to think that's a pretty spiffy "author photo", and that it's good to have one or two available for these sorts of media opportunities.