Howdy. My name is Oliver Baty, and I am a web developer based in Chicago.

I started designing web sites in 2000, with my first commercial site going live in 2001. I mostly work in HTML and CSS, but I’m pretty good with PHP, MySQL and JavaScript. I most enjoy developing little web applications. I’ve written quite a few WordPress plugins and themes, too. My Portfolio page has more details about the work I’ve done.

I’m currently employed as a Desktop Analyst at a Chicago loop law firm, where I’m part of the desktop engineering team responsible for developing and maintaining the firm’s Windows 7 desktop environment. My résumé has a more complete work history.

Ardamis.com was started in early 2005 as a sandbox for experimenting with different programming languages. Since then, it has been a portfolio, a business card, a SEO testing ground, and most recently, a blog about technology (covering challenges that arise at my 9-5 in IT) and web development (covering PHP/HTML/CSS and even some classic ASP through my moonlighting/freelance work).

If you’ve arrived here looking for a tiny web development studio specializing in high-quality, handmade web sites, you’re very close. I’ve created Aleph Studios to handle the business side of things while leaving Ardamis as an outlet for thoughts of a less capitalistic nature.

In case you were wondering… the name Ardamis comes from a misheard song lyric on the 1984 Planet P Project album “Pink World.” It’s a double-album, 26-song, progressive rock opera about a boy with psychic powers who eventually saves (some of) the planet from nuclear annihilation. Today, it’s mostly unlistenable, even for someone who appreciates concept albums, but I was 10 in 1984, and it sounded pretty good.

The most direct way to reach me is to fill out the form on the Contact page, but you can also connect with ardamis on LinkedIn or become a fan of ardamis on Facebook.

There are also personal pages for Oliver Baty on Google+, Oliver Baty on LinkedIn and Oliver Baty on Facebook, and you can follow me as ardamis on Twitter. I contribute as ardamis on GitHub.