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Hello World — Reviving My Personal Site

19 Feb, 2026 · 1 min read

TL;DR

  • I rebuilt daidong.github.io as a personal academic site instead of redirecting to a Google Sites profile.
  • The site is intentionally small: plain HTML and CSS, no framework, no build step, a light/dark theme, and a client-side Markdown blog.
  • The blog will be a place for research directions, mentoring notes, and academic productivity workflows.

It's been a while since I maintained this site. For the past few years, my homepage at daidong.github.io simply redirected to my university profile on Google Sites. It worked, but it always felt temporary.

Why the change?

A personal academic site should feel personal. Google Sites is convenient but limiting — you can't control the design, the typography, or the overall experience. I wanted something minimal, fast, and easy to maintain.

What's new

The new site is a single-page design built with plain HTML and CSS. No frameworks, no build steps. The design follows a neutral-first approach with a teal accent, inspired by the design system I use in my research tools.

Key features:

  • Light/dark theme toggle with localStorage persistence
  • Compact layout optimized for scanning academic content
  • Blog system (you're reading the first post!) powered by client-side Markdown rendering
  • Zero dependencies on Jekyll or any static site generator

What's next

I plan to use this blog to share thoughts on:

  • Research directions in HPC storage and systems
  • Lessons learned from mentoring Ph.D. students
  • Tools and workflows that help with academic productivity

Stay tuned.