Ahem:

“But Chief Heathen,” you must be wondering, “surely there’s a preference screen or something where you can change it to something sensible!”

You’d be wrong. Check it out. While it will, apparently, respect the formatting of text pasted into a sticky, the default is hardcoded and cannot be changed short of really goofy hacks.

WAT.

By contrast:

Moreover, you can create a new default at any time by formatting a note’s color, font, etc., any old way you like, and then choosing “Note -> Use as Default” from the menu bar.