SPARTA News March 2004
March 2004
SPARTA Chapter President’s Corner
- by Brad Carson
March is here and so is spring (finally); I hope this means no more ice storms for a while. I hope that everyone has gotten their taxes done; April 15th is getting closer all the time. At least this year I don't owe the government anything more.
At GSK I've been working on updating the SA/390 policy that covers the 14 systems for the global manufacturing operation. This is 10 systems in two plexes here in RTP and four systems in two plexes at KOP (King of Prussia, PA). This policy was built by IBM when they were installing these systems and leaves a little to be desired in its implementation. One thing is that they didn't keep straight what was being started via parmlib (LLA) and what is started by SA (VLF). Another is running tasks not needed (DLF) and not having tasks that are needed (RMFGAT). Oh well more changes, more paperwork. One thing I don't have to worry about now is the legacy system work (some scheduling and working with CA-OPS), this has been transferred to ACS in Pittsburgh, PA. I'll have more on that next month.
Over at DDA, I've been busy getting IMS 7.1 running on their systems. I won't be able to remove the OS/390 2.9 system completely until they can run their software under IMS. This has been an interesting bit of learning on my part and I want to thank Carolyn Weaner from State ITS for all her help.
As some of you could tell by the e-mails that have gone to SPARTA-L, we have a few members looking for work. If any of you hear or see anything that might help, please post a message to SPARTA-L@yahoogroups.com so we all can be informed.
Our speakers this month will be Ed Webb and Duane Reaugh to talk about their visit to SHARE last month. I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, the 30th, at LabCorp RTP. Be sure to ask for Tommy Thomas. BarBQ, drinks, and dessert will be provided.
2003-2004 SPARTA
Board of Directors
Brad Carson - President
GlaxoSmithKline 919-483-2348
5 Moore Drive; D.111
RTP, NC 27709
Duane Reaugh - Vice President
DTS Software 919-833-8426
2913 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27609-7841
Mike Lockey - Secretary
Guilford Co. Information Services 336-641-6235
201 N. Eugene St. 336-227-2021 (Home)
Greensboro, NC 27401
Tommy Thomas - Treasurer
LabCorp 336-436-4178
231 Maple Ave, Koury Ctr 3rd Fl. 919-361-7267
Burlington, NC 27215
Ed Webb - Communications Director
SAS Institute 919-531-4162
SAS Campus Drive 919-362-0232 (Home)
Cary, NC 27513
Meetings
Meetings are scheduled for the last Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in December), with optional dinner at 6:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m.
These monthly meetings usually 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 Tommy Thomas. Tommy 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.
February 2004 CBT Tape Online
The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V464 (dated February 5, 2004) are available from www.cbttape.org.
If you need a complete tape, contact Brad Carson at GlaxoSmithKline or Ed Webb at SAS (see Board of Director’s list for contact info).
Minutes of the February 17th, 2004 Meeting
•Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Brad Carson, the Chapter President.
•Ten (10) people were present; nine (9) were members.
•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job function.
•The minutes of November 2003 meeting were accepted as published in the January 2003 newsletter. The January 27, 2004 meeting was canceled because of ice and snow.
•Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer gave the Treasurer's report.
As of February 17, 2004, the balance is $1015.91. Motion was made and approved to accept the Treasurer's Report.
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 available. To access the SPARTA Web page, point your Web browser to this site: http://www.spartanc.org. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web page to Mike Lockey. Be sure to check the Web page every once in a while to see any new or changed information.
•Brad reminded everyone to continue keeping the conference room clean.
NEW BUSINESS
•Future Speakers and Topics:
(subject to change)
March 2004 Ed Webb and Duane Reaugh will talk about the recent SHARE conference
April 2004 Jim Horne
If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Duane Reaugh.
•The March SPARTA meeting will be held at LabCorp in RTP.
•Thanks to Tommy Thomas of LabCorp for hosting the February meeting.
•Food for the March meeting will be pizza, soda and dessert.
•Brad reminded everyone that it is time to pay your SPARTA dues. Dues are $20.00.
•The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:20PM.
•Geoff Sinn, CEO of Salem Group, spoke about Service Replication for the Masses. Some of the topics Geoff discussed were:
Overview of Salem Group
Customer Concerns
Remote Replication Service (Open Systems only)
New Development
The Replication Process
The Recovery Process
Pricing
Benefits of Remote Replication Service
The meeting ended at 7:55PM.
Treasurer’s Report for March 2004
contributed by Tommy Thomas
The balance in the account is $ 1015.91 as of February 29, 2004.
Financial Report
2/01/2003 through 02/29/2004
INCOME
Opening Balance 672.90
Dues 860.00
Misc. 0.00
TOTAL INCOME $1532.90
EXPENSES
Food 549.78
Petty Cash 0.00
Bank Service Fees 0.00
P.O. Box 38.00
Web Site 38.70
TOTAL EXPENSE $ 626.48
BANK BALANCE 906.42
PETTY CASH($160) 109.49
TOTAL CASH $1015.91
Items of Interest
SPARTA Food Menu for 2004
contributed by Chris Blackshire
Mar - Pizza
Apr - Chicken
May - Subs
June - BarBQ
July - Pizza
Aug. - Chicken
Sept. - Subs
Oct. - BarBQ
Nov. - Pizza
IPCS Dump Analysis: What Was Dumped?
contributed by Ed Webb
The RTCT (Recovery/Termination Control Table) control block contains information about what data can be expected to be found in the dump.
•The command IP CBF RTCT shows what ASID(s) were requested under the SDAS heading.
•The command IP CBF RTCT+9C? STR(SDUMP) VIEW(FLAGS) shows what options were requested. This information is important to verify that the storage required to diagnose a problem was requested. Of the flags formatted, the most useful are the SDUSDATA flags.
(excerpt from IPCS Problem Determination Lab presented by IBM at SHARE in Dallas in Feb. 2003)
Rainy Days and SYSGENs
Contributed by Duane Reaugh
(Ed. note: This song, written by our own Duane Reaugh, was sung at SHARE during the SCIDS evening on Thursday, Feb. 26):
Tune: Rainy days and Mondays
Talking to my rep and feeling old,
Sometimes I’d like to quit,
Thinking eight bytes to a bit
Running around
Bringing our sysplex down
Rainy days and SYSGENs always get me down
What I’ve got they used to call old blue
Addressing has really changed
My memory has been deranged
Walking around
Rains anymore I’ll drown
Rainy days and SYSGENs always get me down
Funny but it seems I always cheer up here at SCIDS
Nice to know somebody loves me
Funny but it seems it always rains all week at SHARE
Glad I brought my big umbrella
What I know has come and gone again
No need to talk it out
SHAREing’s what it’s all about
Sessions abound
Long Beach is one wet town
Rainy days and SYSGENs always get me down
Humor
FROG LOAN
Contributed by Chris Blackshire
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.
"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."
Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name.
The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.
Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.
The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about half an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.
She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."
She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"
The bank manager looks back at her and says...
"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."
What Job Ads Really Mean
Contributed by Chris Blackshire
"Competitive Salary"
We remain competitive by paying you less than our competition.
"Join Our Fast-Paced Company"
We have no time to train you.
"Casual Work Atmosphere"
We don't pay enough to expect that you will dress up; a couple of the real daring guys wear earrings.
"Some Overtime Required"
Some every night and some every weekend.
"Duties Will Vary"
Anyone in the office can boss you around.
"Must Have An Eye For Detail"
We have no quality assurance.
"Career-Minded"
Female applicants must be childless (and remain that way).
"Apply In Person"
If you're old, fat or ugly you'll be told that the position has been filled.
"Seeking Candidates With A Wide Variety Of Experience"
You'll need it to replace the three people who just quit.
"Problem-Solving Skills A Must"
You're walking into perpetual chaos.
"Requires Team Leadership Skills"
You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.
"Good Communication Skills"
Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want and do it.
Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
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 Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.
Free Food: Pizza, Drinks, Dessert
Program :
SHARE Conference Report
Speaker:
Duane Reaugh of DTS, Ed Webb of SAS
SPARTA News
P.O. Box 13194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3194
First Class Postage
Phillips Software
