This week, we're pleased to present an interview with one of the gurus of Clarion reporting,
Larry Teames. Larry is the author of possibly the best-selling Clarion third-party product,
CPCS Reporting Tools, and is also known for his outstanding tech support.
In his interview, we learn about his corporate past, his approach to tech support,
his opinion of ABC, and how his backyard swimming pool is best used.
Who do you work for?
I started my own company (Creative PC Solutions, aka
CPCS) back in
1990, after I "retired" from the data processing services industry,
which I had been in for 28 years. In 1997 I incorporated, hence the
"Inc." now.
What do you like best about what you do now?
When I first started the business, I had so many "small" clients each
year that I didn't really enjoy things much. There was too much time
spent on marketing my skills, and on administrative tasks like
hammering out agreements. I like the creative and problem solving
aspects of development, but wasn't able to spend as much time at them
as I wanted to due to the "other" needs when building a company.
Fortunately, after a couple of years, I reached the point where I was
working with fewer, but larger, clients each year, plus I began
offering the Creative Reporting Tools, and things began to shape up the
way I had envisioned back when I first started the company.
What has been one of your biggest challenges in using Clarion?
ABC <G> Coming from a reporting mindset, it was quite frustrating to
try and work with reports in the "early days" of ABC. Personally, I
don't think ABC offers anything important for reporting, but it DOES
take a facet of CW that is already somewhat intimidating and hard to
understand, and tends to make it even harder to understand.
By leaving my Creative Reporting Tools coded in a more "procedural" way,
I've tried to make it easier for my customers to understand (not just
the product, but reporting in general).
What has been one of your biggest challenges in business?
Meeting my commitment to provide useful, but easy to use 3rd party
products, and provide top quality support on a very timely basis. I
take the act of being a 3rd party developer VERY seriously, so I try to
support my customers at the same level that I want to be supported by
those from whom I've purchased software.
Do you use any computer languages besides Clarion?
I use a small amount of C and Asm in my 3rd party products. Some
things are simply easier, or only possible, in some of the "lower
level" languages. I have a useable knowledge of various other
languages (VB, C++, C#, JavaScript, ASP, ASP.NET), but seldom use them
much, other than the ASP related ones. Given my history in mainframe
service bureau programming, I used more languages back then than I can
ever remember. <G>
When did you start using Clarion?
1987, I think (the mind IS the first to go <G>). I was running the
financial products division of a national DP service bureau, and we had
some developers working on a PC based version of our payroll system
(e.g. we were trying to clone our mainframe based P/R system, and make
it interactive so the client would perform all the data entry and
validation). There were 5 guys at corporate working on that project,
and after 2 months all they had to show was an estimate that it would
take over a year, and would probably not be able to meet all the specs
that had been proposed for the project.
Since I had been writing
mainframe software for about 20 years at that point, I convinced my
boss at corporate to let me take a shot at it on my own (since I wanted
to learn something about PCs anyway). Clarion was the only
"royalty free" development tool, capable of doing what I wanted to do,
that I was able to find, so it's what I chose. (The project ended up
taking me a little over 3 months to complete.).
What's the coolest project(s) you've worked on using Clarion?
Usually, the one I'm working on at the moment. <G> In general, it's
probably been the line of CPCS 3rd party products. Overcoming the
shortfalls in CW reporting has been very rewarding in several ways.
Have you done anything for a living other than software development?
As I indicated above, I ran a division of a national dp service bureau
which marketed mainframe-based financial application (P/R, A/P, A/R,
G/L, etc.) to companies large and small. We also provided the service
to quite a few banks (for their business customers) in several
western states.
What are your hobbies/what do you like to do when you're not using
Clarion?
I enjoy both fresh and salt water fishing, but especially like bass
fishing. I also enjoy puttering in the garage, golf (as long as
there's beer involved), and lately I've started to re-aquaint myself
with my guitar (after laying off it for more than 10 years while I
built my business). In the warmer months, we have some great times
playing water vollyball with neighbors. (Margaritas might be
involved as well <G>).
Married, children, grandchildren, other close family you want to mention?
I am married 23 years to my second wife, Tere. We have a 17 year old
boy, Russ, who plays varsity golf and baseball. I have 2 boys, 34 and
30, from my first marriage. We also have a 16 year old dog, yellow lab
mix, named Bruzzer, who has only missed bringing in the morning paper 2
times in 16 Russ and Tere Teames
years.
Where were you born?
I hail from Dallas, Texas.
Where do you live now?
We currently live in Chandler, Arizona, just south of Phoenix.
What's interesting about where you live?
Arizona in general, but the Phoenix area specifically, is known for
great weather year-round. If you like being outside at all times of
the year, and don't mind a little heat in the summer (112-115 isn't
unusual at times), this is the place for you!
Have you lived any other interesting places?
San Francisco for a year (1979). Too damp, windy, cold, expensive...
Which person, from past or present, do you most admire and why?
My dad. He taught me important values that have helped me make
something of myself, and that I have been able to pass on to my own
kids.
What is your favorite drink?
Cooler months, good DARK rum and cola. Warmer months, margaritas.
What is your favorite type of music?
Acoustic guitar based stuff. Doesn't really matter whether it's rock,
blues, celtic or whatever. There's just something about the mellow
sound of good acoustic guitar music...
If Clarion never existed, what do you think you would be doing at this time?
I don't even want to think about that! <G>
Anything else you want to mention?
Did I mention that my
Creative Reporting Tools
"makes serious reporting easy"? <G>
Bruzzer in his Halloween costume.
Thank you for visiting Larry's INN Biography page.
Who do you work for?
I am married 23 years to my second wife, Tere. We have a 17 year old
boy, Russ, who plays varsity golf and baseball. I have 2 boys, 34 and
30, from my first marriage. We also have a 16 year old dog, yellow lab
mix, named Bruzzer, who has only missed bringing in the morning paper 2
times in 16
Bruzzer in his Halloween costume.