inFrequently Asked Questions

As the title suggests, no one is really asking but we thought we'd answer anyway. Heck, you've probably even stopped reading already!

Q. This blogging stuff looks like a lot of work. Aren't you a parent? How do you have so much free time on your hands? Is Sophie getting proper attention?

A. No need to call Child Services just yet, or throw us in jail with Britney; putting up a post is about as time-consuming as writing an email. The initial setup of the DAlbum and Movable Type freeware took some time, but now it's literally just minutes to update everything.

Q. Ok, if it's that easy how do I do it?

A. If you want to do exactly what we did, please see How We Setup Our Site from last year. However, there are many alternatives out there now that are even easier to setup and manage. Yahoo360, Blogger, Typepad, etc. all offer excellent services.

Q. Why is your website called "Tiny e Ranch"? Do you really live on a ranch?

A. We used to own .04 acres in Petaluma, California, but it wasn't a ranch by any stretch of the imagination and our domain name had nothing to do with it. "Tiny e" is the nickname (one of many, actually) of our cat, Eliot. Our first attempt at website creation was free through our ISP and dubbed El Gordo in his honor. We quickly used up the available space and decided to pay for our own webhosting and domain. "El Gordo" and some others we liked were taken, so we settled on "Tiny e".

Q. Why is your cat nicknamed "Tiny e"?

A. Eliot was formally named for T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, but also goes by Tiny E or just Tiny, El Gordo, and (affectionately) Jabba. The "Tiny e" came from a Saturday Night Live skit with Nicholas Cage where he played a four-inch tall Elvis who rode around on the dashboard of a car remarking how "huge" things were. The whole miniature Elvis thing seemed to fit Eliot like a t.

Q. Isn't your dog named "Eula"? Do you have an "e" fetish?

A. Eula's moniker comes from a Basque name that means 'The Virgin Mary'. It also means 'Little Bear' in German, and 'End-User License Agreement' in Microsoft. She was originally named Katerina when we got her from the pound, but we both liked the name Ula. We added the "e" after the Microsoft joke opportunity was pointed out to us by some co-workers (geeky industry, games).

Q. Does Brandie's grandmother really drive a convertible Mustang with license plates "MEANMRY"? Is she really that mean?

A. It's true, in fact she's driven several with those plates. Prior to this iteration she had MNMARY but that apparently didn't convey the "mean" part well enough (possibly misinterpreted as "Men Mary" or "Man Mary"). She's a very well-liked and respected member of her family and community, but if you're on her bad side (as I can recently attest with the whole relocation thing), lookout!

Q. Is it true you know Matt Tateishi?

A. Also true. I met Matt almost ten years ago when we worked together at LucasArts. At first I was just another in a long line of out-of-state white guys who sat next to him, but soon we were best friends. He scared Brandie at first but after she made gyoza for him in 100-degree weather they became close. He was in our wedding and is a pro at these sort of Q&A things.

If you have any other questions, please use the Comments field and we'll update the main entry!