SPARTA News July 2000 Page #
July 2000
SPARTA Chapter President’s Corner
- by Chris Blackshire
Nortel Networks computer facilities has been having failures with their UPS systems. The first failure was in March, another in April, and now another one today July 16th. In each of our failures, the UPS systems were supposed to switch to "dirty" power with no outages. The failure in April resulted in a replacement of that unit. The March repair resulted in a failure of that unit again today. I would like to know what types of UPS systems the other members are using and what types of failures you are having, if any. Previous to these failures, the UPS have been very reliable. Please come prepared with information about what type of UPS you are using and your failure rates. I am also interested in how you test your UPS systems and how often you test them.
I didn't hear much from the members about the Myers-Briggs introduction that I did last month. If this sparked some interest, I was thinking that we could have a speaker and/or facilitator some month that would teach us more about M-B and maybe do a group evaluation. Let John or me know if you are interested.
The next meeting is on Tuesday July 25th at LabCorp. Either BBQ or subs will be provided along with drinks and dessert. The BBQ depends if I can find a BBQ place close to RTP that can provide it.
Future Speakers
(subject to change)
July 25 Fun With ISRDDN, AFP Printing with VPS by John Bryant of Glaxo Wellcome
August 29 Dignus C Compiler by Dave Rivers of Dignus Software
Sept. 26 IBM’s eBusiness Solutions by Tom Rydzewski of IBM
We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Please consider giving a presentation at a future meeting. Presentations don’t have to be fancy, just informative and interesting. Even a 5 or 10 minute talk can start an interesting interaction. Contact John Bryant at the phone number or e-mail address below.
2000-2001 SPARTA
Board of Directors
Chris Blackshire - President
Perot Systems 919-992-4602
P.O. Box 13010
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Chris.Blackshire@nortelnetworks.com
John Bryant - Vice President
Glaxo Wellcome Inc. 919-483-9548
M/S D111; 5 Moore Drive
RTP, NC 27709 JEB33378@GLAXOWELLCOME.COM
Mike Lockey - Secretary
Guilford Co. Information Services 336-412-6235
201 N. Eugene St. 336-227-2021 (Home)
Greensboro, NC 27401 MLOCKEY@netpath.net
Duane Reaugh - Treasurer
DTS Software 919-833-8426
2913 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27609-7841 Duane@DTSsoftware.com
Ed Webb - Communications Director
SAS Institute 919-677-8000 x4162
SAS Campus Drive 919-362-0232 (Home)
Cary, NC 27513 EDWISTUO@aol.com
Meetings
Meetings are scheduled for the last Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in December), with optional dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m.
These monthly meetings are held at LabCorp’s Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology (CMBP) near the Research Triangle Park (see last page). Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn Left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Brad Carson. Brad will escort you to the conference room.
Call for Articles
If you have any ideas for speakers, presentations, newsletter articles, or are interested in taking part in a presentation, PLEASE contact one of the Board of Directors with your suggestions.
Newsletter Mailings
The SPARTA chapter policy is to mail a copy of the monthly chapter newsletter to each SPARTA member, NaSPA national, each advertiser, persons who have requested a copy, and to other chapters who send us a copy of their newsletter. The newsletter is mailed about the 20th of each month so you can prepare for the meeting. The mailing list is maintained by Mike Lockey at (336) 412-6235; if you have corrections or problems receiving your newsletter, call Mike.
New 1999 CBT Tape
Brad Carson now has copies of version 421 dated August 1999 of the CBT tape. Brad brings cartridges to each meeting and swaps a scratch cartridge for a copy of the CBT. If you need a round tape, contact Brad at LabCorp (Brad_Carson@labcorp.com or 336-436-4065) for details on sending a tape to LabCorp.
The new CBT tape is also available from www.cbttape.org.
Minutes of the June 27, 2000 Meeting
•Meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM by Chris Blackshire, the Chapter President.
•Twelve (12) people were present; ten (10) were members.
•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job functions.
•The minutes of May 2000 meeting were accepted as published in the June 2000 newsletter.
•Duane Reaugh, the SPARTA treasurer, reported that the Treasurer’s Report published in the June 2000 newsletter was current (the balance is $418.65).
OLD BUSINESS
•Articles are needed for this newsletter. If you would like to write an article for this newsletter, please contact Ed Webb. Keep in mind that you don’t really need to write the article, it can be an article that you read that you would like to share with the membership.
•The SPARTA Web page is now available. To access the SPARTA Web page, point your Web browser to this site: www.netpath.net/~mlockey/sparta.html. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web page to Mike Lockey (mlockey@netpath.net). Be sure to check the Web page every once in a while to see any new or changed information.
NEW BUSINESS
•Future Speakers and Topics:
July 2000 - TBA
August 2000 - TBA
September 2000 - Tom Rydzewski of IBM
Other ideas:
- UNIX Services for OS/390
- IBM New Announcements
- Workload Manager
- SAP
If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact John Bryant.
•The July meeting will be at LabCorp in the RTP.
•Food for the July 2000 meeting will be BBQ and sodas.
•Thanks to Brad Carson of LabCorp for hosting the June meeting.
•Brad Carson has setup the new SPARTA List Server. The address of the List Server is SPARTA-L@egroups.com. Brad will be sending an EMAIL to each SPARTA member concerning the List Server.
•The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:30 PM.
•Brad Carson and Iva Mathewson of LabCorp gave a presentation on LabCorp’s Parallel Sysplex Implementation. Topics discussed were:
Why a parallel sysplex?
Planning for a parallel sysplex
Hardware considerations
Sharing considerations
Catalog cleanup
PARMLIB issues
Defining the Coupling Facility
Initial testing and configuration
Software issues
Cutover to production
Problems
Reference Information
•The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM.
Treasurer’s Report for June 2000
contributed by Duane Reaugh
The balance as of June 30, 2000 is $329.08. We are spending about $55/mo.on food. We have 5 more meetings to go this year. At the existing rate, we will make it but just barely.
Items of Interest
SHARE Opposes UCITA
contributed by Ed Webb
Excerpts from a recent SHARE e-mail:
“SHARE Inc. is opposing the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) as proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law (NCCUSL). While SHARE supports the intent to provide uniform commercial codes that protect intellectual property rights, the organization believes that the UCITA legislation, in its current form, will have significant negative impact on SHARE member organizations, SHARE’s ability to pursue its mission, and the technology consumer community at large.
Should the UCITA legislation pass in its current form, software users may be negatively affected in several ways. Potential ramifications include: vendors being empowered to disable code remotely; decreased liability for vendors that distribute products with known defects; vendors being exempted from public criticism and impediments made to open dialogue regarding competitive products - a key SHARE activity.
Please visit http://www.share.org/UCITA.html to learn more about SHARE’s position and for links to other resources regarding UCITA. Also located at this site is an electronic discussion forum that SHARE has established for members and the public at-large to discuss UCITA.
Please pass this information along to your IT colleagues, encourage them to visit Web: http://www.share.org, and advocate opposition to UCITA.”
SCMG in RTP in September
contributed by Duane Reaugh
The Southern Computer Measurement Group will hold its Fall 2000 Conference at the Holiday Inn in Research Triangle Park, NC on September 28 and 29, 2000. This is the same hotel we have used for the last several fall conferences.
We are currently putting together the agenda, and would like to hear from anyone who is interested in sharing their experience by giving a presentation. There are countless benefits to presenting: it gives you broader exposure in the IT community, develops and sharpens important professional skills, and gives an opportunity to research a topic of interest to you. Admission for conference presenters is free.
We generally run dual tracks at the conference, one for mainframe topics and one for other topics such as distributed systems and networking. ... Even if your topic (is not an obvious fit), we encourage you to submit it for consideration. We would like to have tutorial, technical, management, and user experience sessions....
CMG in Orlando in December
contributed by Ed Webb
It’s not too early to start thinking about CMG 2000. It’s being held in Orlando, Florida, December 10-15, 2000. Cheryl Watson will be giving a session on “Interpreting RMF Reports.” For more information on the conference, please check out http://www.cmg.org.
Humor
Andy Roony on Everything
contributed by Chris Blackshire
Have you ever noticed...
that they put advertisements in with your bills now? Like bills aren’t distasteful enough, they have to stuff junk mail in there with them. I get back at them. I put garbage in with my check when I mail it in. Coffee grinds, banana peels... I write, “Could you throw this away for me? Thank You.”
On Fabric Softener:
My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I noticed women coming up to me (sniff) ‘Married’ (walk off). That’s how they mark their territory. You can take off the ring, but it’s hard to get that April fresh scent out of your clothes.
On Cripes:
My wife’s from the Midwest. Very nice people there. Very wholesome. They use words like ‘Cripes’. ‘For Cripe’s sake.’ Who would that be, Jesus Cripe’s? The son of ‘Gosh’ of the church of ‘Holy Moly’? I’m not making fun of it. You think I wanna burn in ‘Heck’?
On Morning Differences:
Men and women are different in the morning. The men wake up aroused in the morning. We can’t help it. We just wake up and we want you. And the women are thinking, ‘How can he want me the way I look in the morning? It’s because we can’t see you. We have no blood anywhere near our optic nerve.
On Pregnancy:
It’s weird when pregnant women feel the baby kicking. They say, ‘Oh my God. He’s kicking. Do you wanna feel it?’ I always feel awkward reaching over there. Come on! It’s weird to ask someone to feel your stomach. I don’t do that when I have gas. “Oh my God...give me your hand...It won’t be long now....
On Grandma:
My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, ‘Sexy Senior Citizen.’ You don’t want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests. Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday.
On Prisons:
Did you know that it costs forty-thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner? Jeez, for forty-thousand bucks a piece, I’ll take a few prisoners into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. I don’t think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate electricity. And if they don’t want to run, they can rest in the chair that’s hooked up to the generator.
On Award Shows:
Can you believe how many award shows they have now? They have awards for commercials. The Cleo Awards, a whole show full of commercials. I taped it and then I fast-forwarded through the whole thing.
On Phone-In-Polls:
You know those shows where people call in and vote on different issues? Did you ever notice there’s always like 18% that say “I don’t know.” It costs 90 cents to call up and vote... They’re voting “I don’t know.” “Honey, I feel very strongly about this. Give me the phone. (Into Phone) I DON’T KNOW!” (Hangs up looking proud.) “Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you’re not sure about.” This guy probably calls up phone sex girls for $2.95 to say “I’m not in the mood.”
On Answering Machine:
Did you ever hear one of these corny, positive messages on someone’s answering machine? “Hi, it’s a great day and I’m out enjoying it right now. I hope you are too. The thought for the day is ‘Share the love.’ Beep.” “Uh, yeah...this is the VD clinic calling....Speaking of being positive, your test is back. Stop sharing the love.”
Useful English Systems Conversions/Units
contributed by Duane Reaugh
•Ratio of an igloo’s circumference to it’s diameter = Eskimo Pi
•2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital = 1 I.V. League
•2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won Ton
•1 millionth mouthwash = 1 microScope
•Speed of tortoise breaking the sound barrier = Mach Turtle
•Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour = knot-furlong
•365.25 days of drinking low-calorie beer because it’s less filling = 1 lite year
•16.2 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Sterling
•1/2 large intestine = 1 semicolon
•1000 aches = 1 megahurtz
•Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram
•Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower
•Shortest distance between two jokes = a straight line
•Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1 bananosecond
•1/2 bath = 1 demijohn
•453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
•The first step of a one-mile journey = 1 Milwaukee ....
Membership Information
Membership in the SPARTA chapter is $20.00 per year for January through December. The 2000 chapter dues are due January 1, 2000. Please renew your membership! If you want to join SPARTA, please send your check for $20.00 for the 2000 annual dues to either:
Make check payable to SPARTA. The membership dues are not prorated to simplify our accounting procedures. Please include the membership application form with your check.
As a member, you may request copies of the handouts for any meeting from any officer.
Membership Report as of June 27, 2000
If you have questions about this list, call Mike Lockey at 336-412-6235.
We currently have 26 members in the chapter as follows:
(# = 2000 new member) ($ = renewed for 2000)
Hal Barnes $ DTSsoftware
Chris Blackshire $ Perot Systems
James Bryant $ NC Admin. Office of Courts
John Bryant $ GlaxoWellcome
Brad Carson $ LabCorp
Will Daland
Tom Fewel ERI
Harlen Greene # StorageTek
Ron Hagler $ UNC-Charlotte
Jim Horne $ Lowes Companies
Ed Jones # StorageTek
Mike Killam $ SAS Institute Inc.
Jan Lieberman $ CSC
Mike Lockey Guilford County
Winston Mangum # LabCorp
Paul Massengill $ OFFSITE
Iva Mathewson # LabCorp
Stan Moser # VF Services
Seth Ratliff # IBM Global Services
Duane Reaugh $ DTSsoftware
Claude Richbourg Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Dave Rivers $ Dignus
Randy Springs $ IBM Global Services
Tom Schwartz # Blue Cross
Tommy Thomas # LabCorp
Ed Webb $ SAS Institute Inc.
Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting
Meeting Date:
Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Location: LabCorp in the RTP
Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Brad Carson. Brad will escort you to the conference room.
Free Food: BBQ or Subs, Drinks, Dessert
Program:
Fun with ISRDDN, AFPrinting with VPS
Speakers:
John Bryant of Glaxo Wellcome
SPARTA News
P.O. Box 13194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3194
First Class Postage