Since MathiasNitzsche.de (or before MadMaxMatze.de) went live in 2002, it was my little web development playground. The project has teached me a lot - especially what you should not do. In the beginning I just didn't know any better then using table or even iFrame layouts. And we better don't talk anymore about my first PHP or JavaScript steps. Later I completely over engineered with a self made full blown CMS developed in Python, running on Google Apps Engine.
Nowerdays I have other projects and even work to play around with new stuff. A static page, with minimal design hosted via GitHub Pages seemed like the perfect choice to not worry about anything, anymore - which is real evolution in the end!