tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534Thu, 29 Aug 2024 23:09:30 +0000Destroying your planet since 2008!http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (The Jim)Blogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-4862770634777574660Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:23:00 +00002011-08-07T23:27:50.294-05:00Just a note for all those that aren't checking the new site regularly ...The first post is up at TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.com.There's also a place over there to sign up for regular updates, so that should keep everyone abreast with the new venture.That is all.The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-starting-now.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-8251893968287242486Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:23:00 +00002011-08-07T23:27:30.307-05:00Just a note for all those that aren't checking the new site regularly ...The first post is up at TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.com.There's also a place over there to sign up for regular updates, so that should keep everyone abreast with the new venture.That is all.The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2011/08/just-note-for-all-those-that-arent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-2377449034511851786Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:43:00 +00002011-07-24T18:33:51.139-05:00The new website is up. I'm going to be reviewing "stuff" on a weekly basis. I have no idea if the new site will have any more staying power than the last one, but I think it's worth a shot.If you have any interest, go check out TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.comI guess that's it. Thanks to everyone who bothered to read and comment on this - my first attempt at writing for public consumption. http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2011/07/thats-all-folks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-4913297429762339857Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:46:00 +00002011-07-10T21:05:53.083-05:00So I think I've figured out what I'm going to do next. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it could work ... Maybe ... I guess ... Who am I kidding? It'll probably fall apart in a month.Anyway, I'm still setting it up. And as always, I take my advice from the greatest Mars-based movie ever. So, I'll be starting with the new site in ... TWO WEEKS!I'll post a link here when I'm ready,Until next http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2011/07/almost-there.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-7770067295306715244Tue, 17 May 2011 01:41:00 +00002011-05-16T20:50:16.692-05:00So you ever meet someone at a party, or your first day of work, or some other social situation? You get introduced to someone, but you didn’t quite hear the name, and 1000 people are coming at you. You see the guy again a few days later, and he says hi, but you’re busy with some paperwork or a phone call, so you don’t try to catch his name then. Then a week goes by and another week, and http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2011/05/so-after-brief-delay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-7712860008465801041Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +00002009-10-29T18:00:05.014-05:00After the recent job craziness, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to improve my networking. Now, I'm not very good at chit-chat with random strangers ... that's really more of a Mrs. The Jim talent ... but I still need to get a few people in town to actually know who I am.Many of you probably already know about LinkedIn. Instead of "social" networking, this is a site dedicated strictly to http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/10/getting-my-name-out-there.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-3365638993107340999Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:55:00 +00002009-10-28T20:05:16.120-05:00Amid the chaos,Shrieks of grief resound for miles.My winning streak ends!Since the college football season has started, I've been in the mode to play some video football. I restarted my college football seasons on the Wii, and have played almost 4 seasons with fake Texas A&M.I had gradually ratcheted up the difficulty on the competition and after some early stumbles, I just kept winning. I had http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/10/haiku-wednesday-xxvii-inevitable.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-7228790212133662067Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:20:00 +00002009-10-22T21:26:37.110-05:00It's Post #100, and it's a doozy. Clearly I've slacked off writing recently, but it's been about the craziest few weeks I've ever had.First of all, I left my interview on Thursday, and headed to Austin. (The interview went about how I expected. I was not right for the job, I felt very uncomfortable the whole time, and I've yet to hear from them ... probably not going to get that one.) On our http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/10/post-100-what-way-to-wrap-up-four-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-1340026432093565696Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:19:00 +00002009-09-30T21:30:24.058-05:00Burned company shirts.Why are my lungs burning so?Deadly, toxic fumes!Tomorrow I have an interview that, unless I'm mistaken, will accomplish nothing. I don't really know what this job is (yes, it's THAT disorganized), but I think it's something for which I'm poorly qualified.After that, though, I continue south to the State Capital for the Austin City Limits Festival. Mrs. The Jim will join mehttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/haiku-wednesday-xxvi-safety-first.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-8511836380261398001Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:31:00 +00002009-10-28T20:07:01.823-05:00So, I've got a little update on the job search front. My boss came in today from the home office in Louisiana, and decided to announce that, sure enough, they're closing the office here in Dallas. They've decided they don't have the resources to market in a second location, ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be finding jobs for us for 1.5 years, and didn't bother to do so. And let's http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/gather-round-camp-fire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-8803225789336629228Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:30:00 +00002009-09-23T22:30:00.478-05:00I just thought I'd give everyone a little update on things.Item #1 (Will Work for ... Well, Lots & Lots of Money, Actually!): First of all, I had my meeting/interview on Thursday, and I managed not to look too foolish. This wasn't a real interview, as this company doesn't have a job available right now. Rather, this was an attempt by me to network through the alma mater's alumni base to see ifhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/look-at-me-im-networking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-4475127280341992991Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:57:00 +00002009-09-23T11:06:05.531-05:00When the Cowboys lose,Brian always says, "You're fault!"What did I do wrong?The Metroplex continues to struggle through the week after my favorite Jedi played like dog poop Saturday night.Of course, it could be worse. At least the team's owner wasn't caught picking his nose on national TV.Oops ... never mind.Until next time,The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/haiku-wednesday-xxv-assigning-blame.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-5279589768561442317Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:30:00 +00002009-09-16T22:30:00.873-05:00Over a month ago, I decided to rent a couple of movies. Bear in mind we have an enormous backlog of unwatched DVDs, as well as a ton of stuff on the DVR; however, I just felt like picking up something new.Film #1 - Green Lantern: First Flight For those of you above the age of 5, you may not know that DC Comics has recently started making straight-to-DVD animated films. I guess since Super http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/jims-old-ass-reviews-green-lantern-hot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-1631411276898933264Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +00002009-09-16T16:06:01.719-05:00At an interviewDon't wear just a thong, unlessYou're in superb shape!I have my first interview tomorrow. I'm hoping this process isn't too drawn out, and I can find something worthwhile. Of course, I'm sure I'll have plenty of wacky tales afterwards that I'll be sure to share.I'm trying a rare double today, as I'll also be putting up an actual column soon.Until next time,The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/haiku-wednesday-xxiv-professional.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-2535426466157398015Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:00:00 +00002009-09-09T09:17:18.822-05:00It's Wednesday today.Birds sing and flit gracefully.Time to write haikus.I have 2 distinct mental images after throwing this together. The first is me strolling around in a "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah"-type montage as birds are singing to and/or with me.The second is me slaving away to keep up with this demanding haiku schedule ... almost like the "Time to Make the Donuts" guy.I am a very odd http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/haiku-wednesday-xxiii-wednesday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-1975748947857782430Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:15:00 +00002009-09-07T20:49:30.761-05:00So, I took off about a month from writing on The Machine. It's been a ridiculous month, and it's been shamefully difficult to find time to keep my miniscule audience up to date on all my latest dealings.First of all, Mrs. The Jim started school, but we had difficulty securing funding. Apparently, the stupid fools who kept buying houses they couldn't afford managed to not only destroy the http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/jims-month-o-fun.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-1653680647672587910Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:38:00 +00002009-08-11T08:07:45.146-05:00Still busy & tired.Spent most of the weekend trying to get incredibly nasty Trojan off my computer (to no avail).Learned that AVG Antivirus sucks monkey balls!Probably going to have to start from scratch on my machine.Went to a party with my wife's friends on Saturday and got a mild case of alcohol poisoning.Realized that I'm too old to ... well, I'm just too old to do anything, really.Posting http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/08/hackers-hijinks-proves-harmful.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-209269921593154202Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:56:00 +00002009-08-05T11:09:05.647-05:00Hey, everyone! I know I owe you a haiku, but I'm still in the midst of my summer hiatus. (That is to say, I'm far more busy & stressed than I care to admit.) So rather than just put something out there, I'll have to skip this week.I plan to be back on schedule, or better, something around the end of the week.However, I hate to leave you empty-handed. So, in celebration of the fact that NFL http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/08/streak-ends-at-22.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-5972489568370079193Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:37:00 +00002009-07-29T08:51:33.942-05:00I am so behind!I have zero free time now.I'm so freaking tired!It's been brought to my attention that I've yet to make any progress on producing customized artwork, as promised. Also, I've been a bit behind on posting, as I haven't even bothered to write anything about the vacation to San Antonio (in summary - it was nice).Unfortunately, I have little excuse except that I'm insanely busy. http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/haiku-wednesday-xxii-time-flies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-6310935509461410441Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +00002009-07-22T01:00:02.623-05:00If you decide toHit yourself with a toaster,It will surely hurt.(Written while reading The Langoliers, where some dude gets nailed with a toaster.)Until next time,The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/haiku-wednesday-xxi-toaster.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-6367882132084518969Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +00002009-07-21T10:00:03.449-05:00There are few moments in a man's life when he can point to a major milestone and say, "Yes! I achieved the impossible! I am greatness!" Today, however, I'm glad to share with you one of those moments. Today, you see, I'm happy to announce that ...... I TIED THE BOW TIE!!True, it's still a little lopsided. True, I've yet to recreate this feat. And yes, it's true my face and neck are probably http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/success-sort-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-4457126655944469124Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:30:00 +00002009-07-20T21:04:16.234-05:00I'll admit it ... I've been pretty down recently. The summer heat has been brutal locally. I haven't been sleeping well at all, so I'm constantly tired. Work has been a real grind of late, and the air conditioning at the office has been almost completely ineffective. My wife's been under the weather, so that sucks.But today, my friends ... today I have a little more spring in my step. Today,http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/now-i-can-finally-watch-porcupine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-6938902775088975591Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +00002009-07-15T01:00:00.292-05:00Voting is great fun.When you're done, the Red CrossGives you a cookie.Until next time,The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/haiku-wednesday-xx-voting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-629501914223469616Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:55:00 +00002009-07-13T12:03:55.476-05:00A couple of items of minimal importance:Item #1: Last month was my two-year wedding anniversary, and as Miss Manners would tell you, the traditional gift is cotton. Mrs. The Jim decided to stretch that to cover all forms of cloth, and she got my something I'd specifically requested: a football jersey.As I've mentioned previously, I didn't follow sports as a kid, so I never really had any desire http://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/weddings-anniversaries-etc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409905793657310534.post-3125157236112352341Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:09:00 +00002009-07-08T09:18:49.341-05:00My office - - a mess!Papers strewn randomly.Is that pile moving?(It's probably about time I tried to get organized.)Until next time,The Jimhttp://pollutionmachine.blogspot.com/2009/07/haiku-wednesday-xix-messy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Jim)0