My First Blog Post

After reading the Blogs of several giants in the computing field for the past couple of years, I have at last decided to start my own Blog. I find that the tendency of such Blogs to stimulate creative thought is simply astonishing!

While my Blog reading has stimulated me to write numerous e-mails to co-workers, I have also allowed numerous ideas to disappear into oblivion because I failed to write them down. I found, also, that e-mail does not appear to be the ideal mechanism to maintain a searchable record of previous writings. It is my hope that this Blog will help me to overcome my inertia, while taking advantage of the unique ability of the blog-o-sphere for global exchange of ideas. It should also be a much better way of maintaining an organized record of those thoughts.

My initial plan is to focus on software development and system architecture, with emphasis on their application to the insurance industry. The unique perspective I bring to this area is a distillation of 26 years experience in insurance marketing and underwriting, 21 years programming as a hobby (using Basic, Assembler, C, C++, Java, HTML, and PHP), 4+ years as a Programmer Analyst for an insurance company (C++, Java, JSP, J2EE/Websphere), and a strong interest in finding better ways to use computer software systems to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the business of insurance.

Some of the giants in the field of software design, development, and architecture who have stimulated my thinking over the past couple of years include: Sean McGrath, Paul Graham, Tim Bray, Adam Bosworth, Paul Prescod, Frederick Brooks, and many, many others. I expect that I will continue to rely upon them, and others, to continue to stimulate my own creative juices, so I may make creative and useful contributions.