Saturday, April 28, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Paul Newman quote
(to an interviewer) "If I had been born with brown eyes, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Friday, April 20, 2012
Yesterday is but a dream,
tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. – Indian Proverb
Thursday, April 19, 2012
You've failed many times....
although you don't remember. You fell down the first time you
tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. . . .
Don't worry about failure. . . . Worry about the chances you miss when
you don't even try. - Sherman Finesilver, US District Court Judge
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Those who dream by day...
are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
– Edgar Allan Poe
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
One for the Archives
Houston R. Allen
B.S., Math / Computer Science, University of Tampa, 1972
M.B.A., International Finance, University of Houston, 1978
INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE:
Director of Risk Management, Daylin, Inc., Los Angeles, Administration of Insurance and Safety Programs for six subsidiaries in 300 locations nationwide, 1978 - 1980:Created Corporate Risk Management Manual:
Insurance Procedures, OSHA Guidelines, Safety Guidelines
Analyzed Loss Experience for All Subsidiaries
Inspected Locations in All Subsidiaries
Developed and Implemented Comprehensive Loss Prevention Programs for each subsidiary
Personally conducted Safety Leadership Seminars with 100+ attendees per seminar
Analyzed Loss Experience for All Subsidiaries
Inspected Locations in All Subsidiaries
Developed and Implemented Comprehensive Loss Prevention Programs for each subsidiary
Personally conducted Safety Leadership Seminars with 100+ attendees per seminar
Asst. Vice President, AIG
Oil Rig, Inc., Houston, offshore and domestic oil rig insurance
underwriting and administration, 1977 - 1978.
Insurance Analyst/ Acting Insurance Administrator, Exxon Company, USA, Houston, 1975 - 1977: Exxon's
captive insurance company, Petroleum Casualty Company, including
ongoing interface with Exxon divisions and many state insurance
departments
Exxon's Worker's Compensation insurance program, including forms administration and policy rating, issuance, and state filings
Accidental Death Insurance Program - heavily involved in design, development and implementation of a "cost plus" rating formula for accidental death coverage. Achieved $3 million reduction in aggregate premiums in one year.
Offshore Oil Rig Insurance Program - interface with reinsurers, drilling contractors, coverage and rating negotiations, liaison with the Director, Federal Maritime Administration.
Exxon's Worker's Compensation insurance program, including forms administration and policy rating, issuance, and state filings
Accidental Death Insurance Program - heavily involved in design, development and implementation of a "cost plus" rating formula for accidental death coverage. Achieved $3 million reduction in aggregate premiums in one year.
Offshore Oil Rig Insurance Program - interface with reinsurers, drilling contractors, coverage and rating negotiations, liaison with the Director, Federal Maritime Administration.
Commercial Casualty Underwriter, Royal Globe Insurance, Houston, 1974 - 1975.
Senior Commercial Package Underwriter, Insurance Company Of North America, Tampa, 1972 - 1974.
INSURANCE EDUCATION:
Property-Casualty Underwriting School, I.N.A., Philadelphia
Commercial Insurance Correspondence Courses, I.N.A.
Fundamentals of Reinsurance Seminar, University of Dallas
Marine Shipping, Hull, P&I Courses, College of Insurance, New York
School of Offshore Operations, University of Texas, Baytown
Marine Workers' Compensation Seminar, Texas A&M, Houston
Safety Leadership Seminar, Travelers, Phoenix
Industrial Safety Seminar, Travelers, Hartford
Practical Risk Management Seminar, Los Angeles
Effective Writing Course, Exxon, Houston
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE:
Senior Systems Analyst,
PACCAR Financial Corp., Bellevue, WA, 1999 - 2000. CICS, COBOL, COBOL
II, DB2, SQL, TSO/ISPF, EASYTRIEVE PLUS, MVS/JCL, ENDEVOR, FILE-AID.
Independent Software Consultant, January, 1998 - 1999:
Project Leader, New Pricing System, LabCorp, Burlington, NC. CICS, COBOL, COBOL II, DB2, SQL, TSO/ISPF, EASYTRIEVE PLUS, MVS/JCL, ENDEVOR, FILE-AID. Analysis and Design of Pricing Data Mart (Star-Join Schema). Project deferred. (5/99 - 9/99).
Project Leader, New Pricing System, LabCorp, Burlington, NC. CICS, COBOL, COBOL II, DB2, SQL, TSO/ISPF, EASYTRIEVE PLUS, MVS/JCL, ENDEVOR, FILE-AID. Analysis and Design of Pricing Data Mart (Star-Join Schema). Project deferred. (5/99 - 9/99).
CICS/ COBOL/ DB2 Consultant, IMS to DB2 Conversion Project, Royal Insurance, Charlotte, NC.
CICS, COBOL, COBOL II, DB2, SQL, APS, TELON, TSO/ISPF, EASYTRIEVE PLUS, MVSJCL, ENDEVOR, FILE-AID. Analysis and Coding, Unit, Acceptance and Parallel Testing of Batch COBOL and APS Programs, and CICS TELON Programs (1/98 - 2/99).
Senior Software Engineer, Farmers Insurance Group, Los Angeles, CA. 1983 - 1998:
CICS/ COBOL/ DB2 Project Leader (1 year) - Conducted JAD Sessions, designed entire DB2 database system, re-engineered process flow, and directed a CICS/ COBOL/ DB2 project to automate the processing of Agent's Computer activity for seven corporate departments.
CICS/ COBOL/ DB2 Project Leader (1 year) - Conducted JAD Sessions, designed entire DB2 database system, re-engineered process flow, and directed a CICS/ COBOL/ DB2 project to automate the processing of Agent's Computer activity for seven corporate departments.
CICS/ COBOL/ VSAM Project Leader - Full Life Cycle, designed and developed an On-Line Account Management and Billing System for Agents Computer Systems which increased revenues by $12 million annually (5 years).
Assembler - Team Leader - Full Life Cycle for On-Line and batch agents information systems for Marketing, premium billing (5 years).
Aion Expert Systems Technical Management for the third largest insurance company in the U.S. - design, construction, support and maintenance of all Expert Systems in 35 CICS/DB2/VSAM environments, ultimately sole support and maintenance of all Aion Auto and Fire Underwriting Expert Systems (6 years).
Paradox for Windows Programming (1-1/2 years) - major enhancements to Policy Contract Tracking System (140 screens).
Programmer/ Analyst, Computer Solutions, Inc., Bellevue, WA, 1982 - 1983. Systems Analysis, Full System Customization and Implementation responsibilities for wide variety of Small Business Information Systems on Mini-Computer Platforms. QANTEL BASIC.
Programmer,
Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA), Los Angeles, CA, 1981 -
1982. Corporate Budget, Expense and Banking Systems, Assembler.
OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES:
President, Aion Expert Systems User Group, Los Angeles, 1997 - 1998.
Webmaster, Aion Expert Systems User Group, Los Angeles, 1997 - 1998.
President, Aion Expert Systems User Group, Los Angeles, 1997 - 1998.
Webmaster, Aion Expert Systems User Group, Los Angeles, 1997 - 1998.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION:
CICS/VS Command Level Coding, IBM
CICS Command Level Coding and BMS
SDF/CICS Primer Course
CICS Concepts and Facilities
CICS/VS Fundamentals
CICS Testing And Debugging
CICS Extended Programming
Programming with VSAM
VSAM Coding with COBOL
Structured COBOL Course
Advanced COBOL - Tables and Variable Length Records
Advanced COBOL - Sorting and Advanced Programming Techniques
Advanced ANS COBOL Sorting
DB2 Application Analyst Workshop, IBM
MVS Concepts and Facilities
Job Control Language: MVS/JES2
MVS/JCL Course
TSO/SPF Course
Phoenix ISPF CBT Course
Easytrieve Plus Self-Study Course
Three AionDS Expert System Classes, Palo Alto
Systems Analysis Curriculum Course
Joint Application Design (JAD), IBM
Paradox for Windows Programming (ObjectPAL), Seattle
Introduction to HTML 4.0
CICS Command Level Coding and BMS
SDF/CICS Primer Course
CICS Concepts and Facilities
CICS/VS Fundamentals
CICS Testing And Debugging
CICS Extended Programming
Programming with VSAM
VSAM Coding with COBOL
Structured COBOL Course
Advanced COBOL - Tables and Variable Length Records
Advanced COBOL - Sorting and Advanced Programming Techniques
Advanced ANS COBOL Sorting
DB2 Application Analyst Workshop, IBM
MVS Concepts and Facilities
Job Control Language: MVS/JES2
MVS/JCL Course
TSO/SPF Course
Phoenix ISPF CBT Course
Easytrieve Plus Self-Study Course
Three AionDS Expert System Classes, Palo Alto
Systems Analysis Curriculum Course
Joint Application Design (JAD), IBM
Paradox for Windows Programming (ObjectPAL), Seattle
Introduction to HTML 4.0
Advanced HTML, Javascript, DHTML
Other:
AMA Effective Writing Course, Los Angeles
Dale Carnegie Course in Human Relations and Public Speaking, Class President
AMA Effective Writing Course, Los Angeles
Dale Carnegie Course in Human Relations and Public Speaking, Class President
Obama and Hillary 2012
With today's word that Obama's poll lead against Romney has narrowed to 4 points, I suggest he consider Hillary as his running mate this fall. I think it would re-energize his supporters, and give him the margin he hopes for.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Survival Straps
Survival Straps
Check this out! I just got mine, red with black border, stainless steel breakaway closure, wide survival strap, over 23' of parachute grade cord, and Made In America! If you use it, send them your story, and they'll send you a new one! Too Cool!
Check this out! I just got mine, red with black border, stainless steel breakaway closure, wide survival strap, over 23' of parachute grade cord, and Made In America! If you use it, send them your story, and they'll send you a new one! Too Cool!
Rising Optimism in Housing Doesn’t Compute - CNBC
Rising Optimism in Housing Doesn’t Compute - CNBC
... with apologies to my friends in real estate
... with apologies to my friends in real estate
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