I regularly get 2-3 comments per month from first-time visitors calling me “Harold,” my blogging pseudonym. I expected this when launching the site in 2005. Before I explain why, let me remind you how I came up with the name:

I was good friends with a guy named Michael Komenda years ago while living in Brazil. He is like a skinning version of Chris Farley—very animated guy. Anyway, he had a band called Smooth Harold in high school. I asked him where he got the name, and he said he once saw a kid wearing a green shirt that read “Smooth Harold” on the back. By the time I started my blog, Komenda had stopped using the name for his band, so I took it for myself.

In many ways, the life of Blake Snow is a rather boring one. He works from home. He’s married with kids. No alarms and no surprises really. It’s the life I want to lead, and one that makes me happy. But I realize it’s not a remarkable life. So I wanted my blog to be larger than Blake Snow. That’s why I blog under an admitted pseudonym.

Plus, Smooth Harold just sounds cooler.