Not sure what spacing issues you're refering to.. You may need to be more specific.
As for your site... There is nothing wrong with choosing to use a text-based site with no graphics.. However.. A little bit of colour wouldn't go astray. Your site at the moment is looking extremely dull and depressing because there is no colour.
You might also want to look into using css instead of tables for your layout. Take a look at this:
I've heard tables for layout purposes are bad. Why is this, and how do I lay out my pages otherwise? (http://codingforums.com/showthread.php?p=181585#post181585)
In the mean time though, add into your <table> tag: cellpadding=3 so that your words don't hit right on the edge of your border.
One last thing for now. I wouldn't be putting on every page "If you don't see what you need to it could be a mysql error." - It's kind of like you're admitting that your script has flaws in it. If you have your settings how you need them it would be much better to have a message show only if there is infact an error.
Hope this helps somewhat..
Taylor.