I did it. I did it. I did it! I finally got mikemcdowell.com! And, yes, I am rejoicing with all the fervor and feelings of accomplishment as somebody who skillfully landed the parking spot in front on the grocery store. I realize that I didn’t do much to secure this domain, but I have been chasing it for EIGHT LONG YEARS. I checked in regularly, and as the expiration edged closer, I checked multiple times a day.
I am so happy right now. This is the best way I can express my joy:
Next step is, of course, to decide what the hell to do with my domain other than a silly redirect to this blog.
Mike My Words - from the brain of Mike McDowell 
Laurel said,
July 7, 2011 @ 10:07 am
I know how you feel. I wanted laurelroots.com for my genealogy site, and there aren’t that many Laurels in the world.But someone had it without using it for years. I kept checking and couldn’t believe it at first when it became available.
Ryan said,
July 7, 2011 @ 2:58 pm
Did you just snipe it or did you go through a service. I have an email from someone telling me I can buy mrjerz.com for $30, which is not bad for squatters. Anyway, I’m trying to figure out if they’re legit. As for the domain, single page with an animated GIF of you.
Mike McDowell said,
July 7, 2011 @ 3:09 pm
Well, for the first four years, I just checked the availability regularly. Then I tried to contact the person that owned it (to no avail). After the years of manual labor, I just decided to pay GoDaddy to watchdog it and alert me as the status changed at all. Then it was set up to purchase it immediately after it was available. Which is what happened last night. $30 IS a good deal if you actually do get a hold and it’s not just somebody saying that they’ll “help you get the domain” for $30. Those usually seem to be rotten. Good luck on the efforts.
As for your suggestion of the animated GIF. I really like the idea!
Joan said,
June 1, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
Are you by chance related to Michael Paul McDowell? If not, weird because, the resemblance is uncanny!
Mike McDowell said,
June 1, 2015 @ 1:34 pm
Not that I’m aware of. But, I may need to confirm that I wasn’t cloned for a science experiment, now.
Joan said,
June 1, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
Great response, and thank you for answering!!! And who the hell knew Mike (Michael McDowell) was such a common name? I think there are over 100 in Arizona alone!!! If it was indeed a science experiment, someone did a really fine job, so just go with it! It was worth it!!!
It is a really small world so I’m sure we are all related in some way or another!
Thanks again and have a really good week!
J.
Wolfy said,
July 9, 2011 @ 10:32 am
WordPress will let you use it for this blog for like $15 a year.
Will Hull, MPA said,
August 23, 2011 @ 6:14 am
I have built multiple sites on one account through ipower.com and used my name domain name to build a portfolio Web site and blog. So, because you have been building the Mike My Word brand already, you can keep the name of your blog under the Mike McDowell domain name. Take a look at my site and you will see how it can work: http://willhull.com
As for the animated GIF, if you go that route, I suggest using the dancing banana, “Peanut Butter, Jelly Time.” That would be a great gif to place.
Will Hull, MPA said,
August 23, 2011 @ 6:15 am
Oh yeah, we host http://hullabaloostories.com on that account using ipower.com as well. Both are WordPress.org sites, not the WordPress.com sites that aren’t as customizable.