Powered By Steam is our personal website, used primarily for keeping in touch with friends and family scattered across the country. Hope you like pictures of kids, because that’s what you’re bound to find the most of.

Origins

Don’t ask where “powered by steam” came from. The origins are fuzzy. Suffice it to say that Fargo and our shared infatuation with pirates, monkeys and odd mechanical contraptions was involved. That should clear up most everything.

I registered the domain in 2000, when Register.com was having a $1 domain sale. poweredbysteam.com, along with a few other domains I snapped up (at just $1 who could resist?), sat dormant for a long while.

Dormancy didn’t stop the spammers from finding me, though. You MUST read the e-mail exchange between me and the group of spammers who had the perfect solution for “a site like ours.”

This PlanetFargo from August 2001 has the scoop, but here’s a small taste:

Subject: It’s a tiny miracle that you can put in a pot
Greetings Todd,
I want this utopia as well. This is a grand vision. A couple of questions are:

1. Do you sell these boilers and equipment?
2. Have a franchising system in place?
3. Wish to promote instillation services?

The spammers haven’t left me alone since but none have been as entertaining as this.

About Us

My lovely wife, Marla, and I were married on December 29, 1996 – in the midst of one of the worst “blizzards” Seattle has seen in recent memory. Over 20″ of snow fell during the day before and day of our wedding. During the honeymoon most of the snow melted and flooding ensued. It was a grand beginning for a grand marriage!

Over the past 15 years we’ve moved from Rochester, NY to Irvine, CA to Rancho Santa Margarita, CA and are now in San Rafael in lovely Marin County (inspiration to many scenes in the Star Wars saga).

Todd Northcutt (that’s me) works for IGN Entertainment, a division of Ziff Davis, as the VP of Product.

Marla Northcutt is a proud memeber of the most important profession anyone can have: motherhood! She’s left behind the world of business, at least for a while, to concentrate on raising our daughter, Emma Grace, and our son, Henry Owen. Previously she worked at Peregrine Pharmaceuticals. (Go buy some of their stock.)

Emma Grace Northcutt is our daughter. As you may be able to tell, we completely adore her and I try to document her every move. (2007: She enjoys playing in her sandbox, eating chips and watching Norm with daddy and telling us about all of the the things “Emma don’t like.”) 2013: She enjoys playing her piano, reading Warriors books and swinging on the bars.

Henry Owen Northcutt is our son. He has an overly large head (99th percentile, baby!) and a grin to match. A happier and more good-natured boy you’ve never seen, I assure you. He enjoys cars, messy eating and playing the guitar.

Cora Belle Northcutt is our youngest daughter. She has an infectious laugh and a quick smile… much liker her brother, whom she adores.