What’s an Ardalis?

I pronounce Ardalis ar-DAL-us, but you’re welcome to pronounce it however you like. I started using it as my online username in the 90s because shockingly any consistent variation of ‘Steve Smith’ is hard to come by. I made up the name originally for a paladin character in a table top role-playing game (GURPS). Since then it’s become my online identity/handle, and I use the name for my twitter, blog domain, and many other usernames.

About my Blog

This is now the fifth place I’ve had a blog, if you don’t count my initial home page and articles on ASPAlliance.com, which were somewhat blog-like but preceded the term (began in 1997). Unlike my past blog moves (from the ASP.NET/blogs site to AspAdvice.com/blogs and my ArmySteve.com / ArmyAdvice.com/blogs/ArmySteve blogs, and then from there to SteveSmithBlog.com and now ardalis.com), this time I’m pulling everything into one place. You can use the archive to see some older archives if you’re into that sort of thing, including my 2004 Iraq Deployment.

If you’re here, you’ve found my blog. It goes back a long ways – you can browse the archive here.

Find Me Online

You may also wish to stalk me via other means:

• Twitter (@ardalis)
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• Google+
• Flickr

Bio

Steve Smith (@ardalis) is an entrepreneur and software developer with a passion for building quality software as effectively as possible. Steve has published several courses on Pluralsight, covering DDD, SOLID, design patterns, and software architecture. He’s a Microsoft ASP.NET MVP and Insider, a frequent speaker at developer conferences, an author, and a trainer.

Steve works with companies that want to avoid the trap of technical debt by helping their teams deliver quality software, quickly. Steve and his team have been described by clients as a “force multiplier”, amplifying the value of existing development teams. Steve’s client list includes Microsoft, Quicken Loans, Celina Insurance, and many other satisfied customers.

Steve is a US Army veteran who served in Iraq as a combat engineer platoon leader tasked with finding and destroying unexploded ordnance and clearing IEDs. He received his honorable discharge as an Captain in 2005.

Steve lives in Ohio with his wife and business partner Dr. Michelle Smith, their daughter Ilyana, son Nikita, and twin boys Kaius and Caspian. When he’s not trying to keep up with his family, business, or technology, Steve enjoys games, soccer, and hiking/biking.

History

In January 2012 I moved my blog from SteveSmithBlog.com to Ardalis.com, which is shorter, more memorable, and lines up with my twitter alias.

In July 2008 I moved my blog from AspAdvice.com/blogs/ssmith to my own domain, SteveSmithBlog.com. I’m keeping all the old content at the old blog, as well as my previous Army blog that I kept while I was in Iraq in 2004.