James F. Houle is an engineer and economist who has spent his career managing industrial, economic and environmental projects for a variety of clients including the State Dept., the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and foreign governments in the Middle East, China, Africa, Indonesia and Russia. He travels extensively, always with at least one eye on Washington and one ear to the ground monitoring the political and economic rumblings. He lives 125 miles north of San Francisco where he can listen for various types of earthquakes in a relatively tranquil setting.