I like this on my site. I used this .script from dynamic drive:
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex17/floatbar.htm
The .script puts a floting static box in your browser than can be configure to close. I have the user block set up on mine. Once a user see's how many posts since last vist and clicks the link. they close the box and it reopens next time they log on.
How to do it:
Then I open the block file that I want, on my site i opend templates/efusion/blocks/user_block
I edited the block to get it how I wanted it to look.
I copied the code and pastes it in between the <div> tage of the .script from above.
Then go to acp/im portal / blocks config to enable user block.
Bang, it works.
Try it out, username: test
password: test