The background is that I have, after finishing my masters degree in Copenhagen where I grew up, been offered a PhD at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This of course means that I have to move away from friends and family for the next 4 to 5 years. Basically this page enables them to see how I am doing.
And yes, this is deliberately an extremely simple design for a homepage. If I get bored (hah!) I might decide to make it a little nicer looking.