[{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/building-the-hub/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Building the Hub","type":"series"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/engineering/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Engineering","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hugo/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hugo","type":"tags"},{"content":"A space for long-form reflections. Here, I break down technical and social concepts, and share my thoughts on life in general.\n","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/insights/","section":"Insights","summary":"","title":"Insights","type":"insights"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"Sunil Kandola","summary":"","title":"Sunil Kandola","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"I’ve always been a bit of a tinkerer, but for a long time, my digital presence was scattered across \u0026ldquo;rented\u0026rdquo; spaces. Whether it was social media or templated platforms, I was essentially a guest in someone else’s house. This site is my attempt to build a permanent, high-agency home for my engineering projects, my insights, and my journey towards China.\nHere is the \u0026ldquo;How and Why\u0026rdquo; behind the build.\nThe \u0026ldquo;Why\u0026rdquo;: Ownership and Agency # The primary driver was a desire for digital ownership. I wanted a place that wasn\u0026rsquo;t subject to the shifting sands of platform algorithms or subscription tiers.\nMore specifically:\nFreedom of Expression: I needed a space to showcase technical skills and personal narratives without the constraints of a \u0026ldquo;pre-packaged\u0026rdquo; UI. A Technical Playground: I wanted to be \u0026ldquo;techy\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;nerdy\u0026rdquo; without having to develop a bespoke CMS from scratch. Sustainability: A place that remains fast, secure, and accessible, even if I’m halfway across a continent with a spotty connection. [Image Suggestion: A wide-angle shot of your bike fully loaded for the UK-to-China trip, symbolising the journey and the need for a \u0026ldquo;home base\u0026rdquo;.]\nSelecting the Engine: Hugo vs. WordPress # When deciding on the tech stack, the choice between a Static Site Generator (SSG) like Hugo and a dynamic system like WordPress was a short conversation.\nI chose Hugo for three distinct reasons:\nSpeed is a Feature: Hugo pre-renders every page at build time. There is no database to query and no server-side processing when a visitor clicks a link. The result is a site that loads near-instantly, which is non-negotiable for a professional brand. Inherently Secure: WordPress is effectively a giant targets list for bots. By removing the database and the login portal, I’ve eliminated the vast majority of common web vulnerabilities. The Markdown Workflow: I prefer writing in Markdown. It’s clean, portable, and allows me to manage my content as code in a version-controlled environment rather than wrestling with a clunky visual editor. The Theme: Why Blowfish? # Choosing a theme can be a rabbit hole. I settled on Blowfish because it hits the sweet spot between a minimalist aesthetic and high-end technical features.\nTailwind CSS Power: It’s built on Tailwind, making it incredibly lightweight and easy to customise without bloating the code. Built-in Systems: It includes native support for things I actually use, such as Series for my long-distance cycling logs and Mermaid diagrams for system architectures. Authority, without Arrogance: The design is \u0026ldquo;dark-first\u0026rdquo; and measured. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t shout; it provides a clean canvas for complex ideas. The Tech Stack: Local to Live # My workflow is designed for efficiency and reliability. I manage the site using a professional IDE, version control it via GitHub, and automate the deployment through Cloudflare.\ngraph LR A[Local Development] --\u003e|Git Push| B(GitHub Repository) B --\u003e|Webhook Trigger| C(Cloudflare Pages) C --\u003e|Build \u0026 Optimise| D{Global CDN} D --\u003e|Serve Site| E[Visitor] The Local Environment: This is where the heavy lifting happens. I draft my posts in Markdown and use the Hugo CLI to preview changes in real-time. It’s a grounded, local-first approach that ensures I’m never fighting with a web-based CMS. The Source of Truth (GitHub): Every comma and configuration change is versioned. By treating content as code, I ensure that my journey is backed up and that I can revert any \u0026ldquo;experimental\u0026rdquo; errors with a single command. The Distribution (Cloudflare Pages): The final leg of the journey. Once I push my code to GitHub, Cloudflare automatically builds the site and distributes it across its global network. This ensures that someone in London or Lanzhou gets the same snappy experience. [Image Suggestion: A screenshot of your terminal or code editor showing a Markdown file on one side and the \u0026lsquo;hugo server\u0026rsquo; local preview on the other.]\nClosing Thoughts # Building this site wasn\u0026rsquo;t about reinventing the wheel; it was about choosing the right tools to build a better one. By opting for Hugo and Blowfish, I’ve realised a platform that is fast, secure, and entirely under my control.\nIt’s ready for the road.\n","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/insights/why_hugo/","section":"Insights","summary":"","title":"The Architecture of My Digital Hub: Why I Built This Site","type":"insights"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/web-development/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Web Development","type":"tags"},{"content":"Hi, I’m Sunil.\nI started this site for a pretty simple reason: I’ve just become a dad. I wanted a space to park my work, my interests, and the various lessons I’m picking up along the way, mostly so my son can look back at them one day. If anyone else finds a bit of value in these pages, that’s a bonus.\nI’ve always seen life as a book. A series of chapters filled with unexpected twists and turns.\nFor a long time, my main motivation was simply to make the story as interesting as possible. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to over 70 countries and have lived in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Whether it was leading teams in the British Army during my 20s or cycling solo and unsupported from the UK to Beijing, I’ve lived by a fairly simple mantra: make a positive impact where I can and live the most interesting life possible.\nThat drive to do difficult and different things used to be about what the story looked like when all was said and done. Now that I’m a father, the motivation has shifted. It’s less about the external \u0026ldquo;plot\u0026rdquo; and more about becoming the best version of myself for him and my family.\nA massive part of my story, however, has always been a deep-seated love for technology. I’m a tech nerd at heart, and that’s been the common thread through every chapter. In the military, that meant diving into the weeds of radio and satellite communications. Later, I backed that practical experience with a Computer Science background and eventually moved into the strategy side of a blockchain start-up.\nI still spend a lot of my time down the deep tech rabbit hole. I’m particularly love applying frontier tech to different industries. Such as exploring the intersection of blockchain and AI/ML, or computer vision in fashion, or using data science to better understand national energy policy to name a few. This website is partly my digital sandbox; a place to share those technical deep dives alongside more personal stories and insights.\nI’m currently based in the UK. Between fatherhood, entrepreneurship, and documenting my projects here, I’m always on the lookout for my next big adventure (physical or metaphorical), though \u0026ldquo;adventure\u0026rdquo; these days is usually dictated by a nap schedule.\nThanks for stopping by. I hope you find something here that sparks an idea, or at least, a good read.\n","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about/","section":"Sunil Kandola","summary":"","title":"About","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/china/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"China","type":"tags"},{"content":" Use this \u0026rsquo;lead\u0026rsquo; shortcode for a bold introductory paragraph that grabs the reader\u0026rsquo;s attention. The Journey Begins # This is where your story starts. Use standard Markdown for formatting.\nKey Highlights # Distance: 100km Mood: High-agency Gear: Hugo \u0026amp; Blowfish To include an image from this folder, use this shortcode: Ready for the 15,000km trek. Everything above this \u0026lsquo;more\u0026rsquo; tag shows up as the summary on your homepage. Everything below it only shows when the user clicks the post.\n","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/projects/cp30-stress-test/","section":"Project Portfolio","summary":"The text that appears on your homepage cards.","title":"CP30 Stress Test","type":"projects"},{"content":"","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/cycling/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Cycling","type":"tags"},{"content":"This is a collection of my work, ranging from distributed systems architecture to automated deployment pipelines. Each project focuses on the Problem, Solution, Outcome, and Learnings.\n","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/projects/","section":"Project Portfolio","summary":"","title":"Project Portfolio","type":"projects"},{"content":"","date":"13 February 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/stories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Stories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"Beyond professional life. This section documents my personal journey and the adventures that shape my perspective. While it covers the big adventures like cycling from the UK to China, it is ultimately a collection of stories about exploration, resilience, and the pursuit of a high-agency life.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/stories/","section":"Life Stories \u0026 Adventures","summary":"","title":"Life Stories \u0026 Adventures","type":"stories"}]