GOD BLESS AMERICA!

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the outgoing administration, but this isn't about them. I suppose I could say something snarky, but today is more important than that.
Never before have I been more proud to be an American. What we've done as a country over the past few months and culminating today is nothing short of wonderful and amazing. I sincerely hope that President Obama and the people he has picked to help him lead the country are up to the task.
God bless you, Mr. President, and God bless this incredible country and its people!

College Bound

No, not me.
We just got a letter yesterday saying that Dave was accepted to Towson State University (outside of Baltimore)!
Sure, it's not a Big 10, ACC or other "big" school, but Towson has a good rep and has produced some notable people like Charles S. Dutton (used to love, love, LOVE his show "Roc"), Dwight Schultz ("Howlin' Mad" Murdock from "The A-Team"!) and Stacy Kiebler (the long-legged hottie from WCW and WWE fame). Of course, the biggest plus is that they have a good film school there since that is what Dave eventually wants to get into (at least, that's what he says).
So now it's off to find financial aid - God knows we can't afford college tuition these days.
And, hey - good job, Dave. I'm proud of you.

E-Mail Out(r)age

So, for what seems like the hundredth time in the past five months or so, Domain Direct is having problems with getting their e-mail to people.
Frankly, this is totally unacceptable. A lot of people rely on e-mail these days for some pretty important shit and without it can miss jobs, work and money. For all the person on the other end knows, the lack of response comes from apathy towards the contents and NOT the fact that the intended recipient was getting fucked by the company that handles their e-mail.
So, I am done with Domain Direct. Once the service is up and I have my e-mail (which was supposed to be 10pm tonight, and then 11pm and now here it is AFTER 11 pm and the last delivered message I have is from 12:59am today. That's close to 24 hours ago (in case figuring out time differential is tough for you).
I don't need a lot; POP e-mail and a re-direct service that re-routes URL requests for imboden.org to this-here Blogger blog. Simple, yeah? You'd think.
Anyway - fuck you, Domain Direct.

Mike is Inteviewed by Jen Contino at "The Pulse"

Hey, look at me all getting interviewed and what not!

MIKE IMBODEN RAISING THE FIST OF JUSTICE
BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO

Mike Imboden is one of the folks making good old-fashioned comics that readers of every generation can appreciate. His defender of Charm City, The Fist of Justice might remind people of a classic stars-and-stripes hero, but Imboden said that legend wasn't "an influence at all." He tells us how The Fist of Justice was created and what makes Marc Mason such a stoic defender of the innocent...

Use The Force!

I want one of these:

Toy trains 'Star Wars' fans to use The Force
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

The Force Trainer (expected to be priced at $90 to $100) comes with a headset that uses brain waves to allow players to manipulate a sphere within a clear 10-inch-tall training tower, analogous to Yoda and Luke Skywalker's abilities in the Star Wars films.

Holy shit - how frickin' cool is that?!?
Read more about it right here: "...Do or do not. There is no try."

(Cr)(H)appy New Year

Take your pick. Crappy or Happy. It could be either, or... both.
One thing I know is that it's GOTTA be better than last year ended.
I feel really bad these days. Not like I'm sick, or naughty, just... bad.
I hate bitching and complaining about the same shit over and over and over, but sometimes it helps to "put it down on paper", as it were. It gives me something to look at and a way to purge it all from my mind.
So far, 2009 has been sort of... just... sort of here. It feels like everyone is holding their breath and waiting to see what happens when Obama takes office, despite the fact that that isn't going to cast a magical spell on everything and bring back the glory days of the late 90s. But, I hope, it will be a step in the right direction. Everyone will look around, see that shit isn't all that different, give one giant exhale and get back to what it was we were doing before everything started going to shit.
Me, I just want a FT job that pays what we need to get by. Outrageous property taxes are pounding us - it's like Frederick County is just saying "Ahahahahah! Fuck you all!" to everyone that doesn't work in the Technology or Medical fields. I mean, really - how can your average Joe make ends meet when his mortgage goes up nearly 19% because of increases in taxes which results in an escrow shortage?
I kind of feel like George Bailey these days.
Where's my Clarence when I need him?

You Know You Suck When...

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:45:06 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: DoNotReply@kenexa.com
To: mike@imboden.org
Subject: Resume Status Update
Content-Type: text/plain

Dear Michael,

You recently applied for the Entry Level Manager (49277) position with CEC Entertainment. At this stage in the selection process, we have determined that your qualifications do not identify you as an eligible candidate for this position.

Really? Chuck E. Mother-Fuckin' Cheese?!? Entry Level?!?!? Damn.... Fucking poor man's Mickey Mouse, anyway...