(Jim) Karam.com Overview

My Book:  Managing Systems Development 101

This is a substantially edited and augmented compilation of lessons learned that I have had to resurrect on almost all my jobs.  Now you will not have to re-learn all these system development and project management lessons as painfully as did I.

You are welcome to click here to read an excerpt or view its cover.

Here's the ASME Press catalog webpage.  Even cheaper... (#ad)
I am now settling into retirement from Cubic Transportation Systems where I had been their Sr. VP, Engineering and Program Management in San Diego, CA.  If you have ridden a subway in most metropolises worldwide, you have probably used our fare collection systems.  I have been successfully developing large-scale systems for many years in both commercial and aerospace environments.  My resume' has the details, while a photo gallery shows several of my projects nee challenging toys. You are most likely familiar with systems such as the DIRECTV Direct Broadcast Satellite facilities and with the precision of Tomahawk cruise missiles of Desert Storm fame, but I also created one of the first "stealth" missile system projects and have spent much of the last 25 years managing engineering development of software intensive projects in "zero-CEP" precision missile guidance, medical digital radiography, and MPEG-compressed RAID-based broadcast video servers. I've always been a change agent, and, in effect, a professional student of evolving engineering technology. I've also served as a system engineering and general management consultant, e.g., with Trex Medical Corporation.

Finally declassified after 45 years, I can now proudly report that I was the original project engineer in the Air Force Plant Representative Office for the Hexagon satellite program at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company.  I could not have asked for a better initial job.  It involved the most sophisticated technology of the day used by some of the brightest and committed intellects to provide truly critical intelligence for our nation's leadership.  It also enabled a young engineer to appreciate the nuances of the full spectrum of business and production issues related to actually making very complicated systems work when there was no chance to do field repairs.  You can find more details at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) website, e.g., click here for a KH-9 Hexagon fact sheet.  (You also cannot begin to understand how uncomfortable it is to publicly even say "NRO", much less point you to their website).
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​I welcome the chance to similarly help in your area of need.  In the meantime, I have been active volunteering with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) where we offer free advice and assistance, as a resource partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA), helping people start up and operate small businesses.  I highly recommend it, so check out the national SCORE website or our local site.

I also seem to have developed a sideline acting as the webmaster for mostly charitable websites.  Besides www.karam.com and www.score439.org, I also manage www.glenlakesvets.org and www.aiaacentralflorida.org.  Check them out.  Keep yourself busy.
I originally envisaged using my blog mainly as a mechanism for dialog regarding my book.  However, I've now decided to use it to post the key messages that I have needed to stress in the SCORE seminars that I present regarding applying technology in small businesses.  So, if you've wondered about the what, why, and how involved in creating a website, using social media, email marketing, search engine advertising, etc., check out the list of topics!  The latest topic is "PayPal "buttons" can do more than just collect funds.
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Mostly work associated, or that is at least the way I rationalize spending so much time at my computers. I've had motorcycles ever since I got beyond my mother's reach.  Most recently, I rode a Yamaha FZ6 and put over 18,000 miles on it, mostly in twisties like the Tail of the Dragon and the Pig Trail.  To my great but pleasant surprise, my wife, Alicia, recently rode the Dragon with me.
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I have begun to play golf about once a week and have finally pulled my average down below 100.  While a 27 handicap is nothing to brag about, I guess that I will anyway.  I found a nice website www.thegrint.com for tracking your game statistics and handicaps. On May 29, 2019, I had the good fortune to make a hole-in-one at the 17th hole of Brooksville Country Club using an Adams 6 hybrid club.

My wife Alicia is active in almost every club in GlenLakes: Garden, Kayaking, Italian, Book, you name it.  I should be so social and well liked.


Lisa, our youngest, graduated from Madison Area Technical College (MATC) in Wisconsin as a court reporter.  As scheduled and semantically appropriate, Lisa had our first beautiful grandchild, Gwen Jasmine, on Labor Day, 2005.  In February 2008, Lisa graced us with Jane Autumn.  Lisa still works part-time captioning TV shows and was the official court reporter for Branch 13 of the Dane County court, supporting the honorable Julie Genovese.  In 2011, Lisa returned to MATC as a full-time instructor in court reporting.  In 2015, she was interviewed on WISC3TV explaining stenography.  In 2019, she returned to official court reporting for Branch 16 of the Dane County court, supporting Judge Rhonda Landford.  Over the past few years, she has migrated to a new persona, Lee Leigh (Lili).  She also has a LinkedIn business page about her reporting activities.


Chris is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and was recently promoted to Director, Customer Experience Security Americas at Cisco Security Solutions. His LinkedIn profile has more background.  He lives in the Northern Virginia area and got his batchelor's degree from Western Governors' University in 2011.  On April 19th, 2008, Chris finally talked the lovely Vanessa Campet into becoming his wife.  As seems to follow, in March 2012, another lovely granddaughter, Catherine Lynne, has joined our family.  And now on September 30, 2014, Brooke Alicia Mula arrived weighing 9 1/2 pounds.  She's the spitting image of her older sister.


Dawn is still living near my hometown of Little Rock, AR.  On March 6, 2004, I had the pleasure of giving Dawn away to become Mrs. Todd Irby at a lovely ceremony there.  Dawn graced us with an early Christmas 2005 present, i.e., Clara James Irby.  Dawn has been a store manager in retail, e.g., at Ann Taylor and Express.  On December 20, 2014, she persevered and graduated from Arkansas Tech so that she can now formally teach youngsters.  Dawn was recently recognized as the 2022 Teacher of the Year at her school.  Again, congratulations!


Family photos are also available that show how blessed I am.