I generally agree with all of the tips except for using Pinax. I like the idea of Pinax, and I think it makes a great sample app if you want to see what good Django code looks like. It's maintained by top notch developers and showcases a lot of excellent reusable apps and good Django design patterns, but when it comes down to customizing a Pinax app to create something you want, it's a nightmare. The internal apps are too tightly coupled, and it takes longer to take out all the stuff you don't want than to just roll your own apps from scratch.

More pinax discussion here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=764566