SPARTA News April 2005

April 2005

SPARTA Chapter President’s Corner

by Brad Carson

April in North Carolina and everything is turning yellow with pine pollen! I hope you all enjoyed last month's presentation on SHARE 104 in Anaheim. I was glad to be back at SHARE and celebrate it's 50th anniversary.

Our z/OS 1.6 installation at DHTS is finally under way. We have our base configured system running in the test LPAR and are beginning to deal with all the vendor product validations. Along with this BMC has released a new level of CMF and MainView for z/OS that includes more 1.6 exploitation. So I took some time out to install this release (and the few follow-on PTFs). So far, so good. We had a little bit of fun getting the DFSMB server running since IBM moved some of the modules to a new library. I guess they wanted to keep us on our toes.

At DDA I have configured DB2/Connect from a server to both instances of DB2 on the FLEX server. Once you get all the pieces (WLM, DB2 DIST, TCPIP) right, its not too bad to use. It just looks like another data source on the server. After that I have started working on the z/OS 1.6 upgrade here, which will also include DB2 V8.1 and CICS/TS V2.3. Lots and lots of fun.

This month our speaker will be Eugene Bridges from SAS Institute to talk to you about "Continuity of Business". I look forward to seeing you all there on the 26th at LabCorp in the RTP.

P.S. Be sure to ask for Tommy Thomas when you arrive at LabCorp. Pizza, drinks, and dessert will be provided.


Pay Your $20 Dues This Month!


Future Speakers
(subject to change)


Apr. 26 - Continuity of Business by Eugene Bridges of SAS
May 24 - TBA

We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Presentations don’t have to be fancy, just informative and interesting. Even a 5 or 10 minute talk can start an interesting interaction. Contact Duane Reaugh by phone as noted below.

2005-2006 SPARTA
Board of Directors

Brad Carson - President
Duke Health Technology Solutions 919-668-0545
2424 Ervin Road, Suite 9000
Durham, NC 27710

Ron Pimblett - Vice President
Dignus, LLC 919-676-0847
8354 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27615

Mike Lockey - Secretary
Guilford Co. Information Services 336-641-6235
201 N. Eugene St.
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
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.

Feb. 2005 CBT Tape Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V468 (dated Feb. 14, 2005) are available from www.cbttape.org.

If you need help obtaining one or more files, contact Brad Carson at Duke Health or Ed Webb at SAS (see Board of Director’s list for contact info).

Minutes of the March 22nd, 2005 Meeting

•Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Brad Carson, the Chapter President.

•Ten (10) people were present of which all were members.

•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job function.

•The minutes of February 2005 meeting were accepted as published in the March 2005 newsletter.

•Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer, gave the Treasurer's report. As of March 31, 2005, the balance is $1209.66. 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 site is available. To access the SPARTA Web site, point your Web browser to this site: http://www.spartanc.org. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web site to Mike Lockey. Be sure to check the site every once in a while to see any new or changed information.

•Brad Carson reminded everyone to leave the conference room clean.


NEW BUSINESS

•Future Speakers and Topics:
(subject to change)

Apr 2005: TBA
May 2005: TBA

If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Ron Pimblett.

•Thanks to Tommy Thomas of LabCorp for hosting the March meeting.

•The April 26th SPARTA meeting will be held at LabCorp in the RTP.

•Food for the April meeting will be pizza, drinks and dessert.

•Brad reminded everyone to pay their annual dues of $20, if they have not already done so.

•It was discussed and agreed that the current officers would be nominated for their current positions with the exception of Vice President Duane Reaugh. Ron Pimblett of Dignus Software agreed to be nominated for Vice President. The nominations were open to the floor; no new nominations were made. The nominations were approved and accepted. A motion was made to accept the nominations as the 2005-2006 SPARTA Board of Directors. The motion was approved and accepted.

The 2005-2006 SPARTA Board of Directors are:
President Brad Carson
Vice President Ron Pimblett
Secretary Mike Lockey
Treasurer Tommy Thomas
Communications Ed Webb

•The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:55 p.m.

•Duane Reaugh of DTS Software, Brad Carson of Duke Health Technology Solutions and Ed Webb of SAS presented their SHARE Conference reports.

Some of the topics Duane discussed were:

- z/OS DFSMS 1.7
- Copy Services
- DFSORT R14
- DS8000/DS6000 Disk Subsystems


Some of the topics Bras discussed were:

- Expectations from the SHARE Conference
- Attended Session Summary
- Key information learned
- What DHTS can do now
- Handout information


Some of the topics Ed discussed were:

- Highlights
- Odds and Ends
- SHARE Organizational Status
- Migrating to z/OS 1.6
- JES2 Futures (z/OS 1.7)
- Bit Bucket x'1D'

The meeting ended at 9:15 p.m.

Treasurer’s Report for March 2005

contributed by Tommy Thomas

The balance in the account is $ 1442.26 as of April 13, 2005.

Financial Report
3/01/2004 through 04/13/2005

Items of Interest

SPARTA Schedule and Menu for 2005

contributed by Tommy Thomas and Chris Blackshire

Apr 26 - Pizza
May 24 - Chicken
Jun 28 - Subs
Jul 26 - BBQ
Aug 30 - Pizza
Sep 27 - Chicken
Oct 25 - Subs
Nov 29 - BBQ


Humor


Plays On Words

Contributed by Chris Blackshire

Read Slowly.
It may take a moment for the light to shine, but these are rather clever!

1. ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds.

2. AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.

3. BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.

4. BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.

5. CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.

6. COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

7. ECLIPSE: What an English barber does for a living.

8. EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

9. HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.

10. LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.

11. MISTY: How golfers create divots.

12. PARADOX: Two physicians.

13. PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.


English

Contributed by Chris Blackshire

Now I know why my English classes were so hard!

If you've learned to speak fluent English, you must be a genius!

This little treatise on the lovely language we share is only for the brave. Peruse at your leisure, English lovers.

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) I shed a tear when I saw the tear in the painting

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?

One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?

Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

Membership Information

Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

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:

Continuity of Business

Speakers:

Eugene Bridges of SAS

SPARTA News
P.O. Box 13194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3194











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