May
2005
SPARTA Chapter PresidentÕs Corner
by
Those of you who didn't attend our April
meeting really missed out on an excellent presentation on Business Continuity
Planning by Eugene Bridges of SAS Institute. No longer is it just DR (disaster
recovery), but what needs to happen to keep the entire business running when an
incident occurs. One key statistic that stuck with me from this presentation
was from a
DHTS' z/OS 1.6 installation is now beginning the testing phase where we will
let the applications and database staffs access the test LPAR and test their
applications and services. Also we have started a project to convert to an LE
enabled PL/I, this looks like it will be an interesting project since most of
our application code is PL/I based. Our COBOL code has largely been converted
and is running with LE runtime support now. Since I had a few minutes on my
hands I configured the z/OS web server and library server to see if we could
get our BookManager libraries on the web, we currently have them sitting on a
DFSMB share that workstations with the library reader can use them. I've got
the server running but it still needs a little tuning to get it running
smoothly.
At DDA I have gotten z/OS 1.6 running and have configured CICS/TS 2.3 and
converted some regions to the new release of CICS. DB2 required me to do a
ground up build because of back leveled service on the DB2 V7.1 that was on the
old system. So now I'm rebuilding the DB2 environment and applications for DB2
V8. Always something to keep me busy.
This month our speaker will be from Cisco to talk to about "Storage Area
Networking and Fabric". I look forward to seeing you all there on the 24th
at LabCorp in the RTP.
P.S. Be sure to ask for Tommy Thomas when you arrive at LabCorp. Chicken,
drinks, and dessert will be provided.
Future Speakers
(subject to change)
May 24 - Storage Area Networking and Fabric by speaker from Cisco
June 28 - TBA
We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Presentations donÕt 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
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 LabCorpÕs Center for Molecular
Biology and Pathology (CMBP) near the
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
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
Minutes of the April 26th, 2005 Meeting
¥Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by
¥Fifteen (15) people were present; twelve (12) were members.
¥Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and
briefly described their job function.
¥The minutes of March 2005 meeting were accepted as published in the April 2005
newsletter.
¥Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer, gave the Treasurer's report. As of April
13, 2005, the balance is $1442.26. 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.
¥
NEW BUSINESS
¥Future Speakers and Topics:
(subject to change)
May 2005: BMC
June 2005: TBA
If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Ron Pimblett.
¥Thanks to Tommy Thomas of LabCorp for hosting the April meeting.
¥The May 24th
¥Food for the May meeting will be chicken, drinks and dessert.
¥Brad reminded everyone to pay their annual dues of $20, if they have not
already done so.
¥Brad requested that his contact information be changed on the website. Mike
Lockey will make the changes.
¥The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:40 p.m.
¥Eugene Bridges of SAS gave a presentation about Continuity of Business.
Some of the topics
- What is Continuity of Business?
- Why Continuity of Business?
Reduce the risk of business interruption
Stay in business when interruption occurs
Respond to customers
Maintain public confidence and reputation
Comply with regulations
- Is Continuity of Business my job?
- Continuity of Business Plan Development Methodology
Strategies
Plan for returning to normalcy
- What we need to do
Consolidate existing plans
Update and document all processes
Assign responsibilities
Train and test
Maintain
Training and Awareness
- In summary
Project Management
Corporate support for information gathering, plan development, plan
documentation and training
Corporate alignment
- Questions
- Other resources
Homeland security web site www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/index.jsp
All-hands web site for emergency management www.all-hands.net/pn/index.php
FEMA www.fema.gov
Best Practices DR, Project Management www.itil.org
The meeting ended at 8:55 p.m.
TreasurerÕs Report for May 2005
contributed by Tommy Thomas
The balance in the account is $ 1838.95 as of May 16, 2005.
Financial Report
3/01/2004 through 05/16/2005
|
INCOME |
|
|
Opening Balance |
1158.99 |
|
Dues |
820.00 |
|
Misc. |
0.00 |
|
TOTAL INCOME |
$1978.99 |
|
|
|
|
EXPENSES |
|
|
Food |
160.28 |
|
Petty Cash |
12.00 |
|
Bank Service Fees |
22.00 |
|
P.O. Box |
0.00 |
|
Web Site |
68.45 |
|
TOTAL EXPENSE |
$262.73 |
|
|
|
|
BANK BALANCE |
1716.26 |
|
PETTY CASH($163) |
122.69 |
|
TOTAL CASH |
$1838.95 |
Items of Interest
contributed by Tommy Thomas and Chris Blackshire
May 24 - Chicken
Jun. 28 - Subs
Jul. 26 - BBQ
Aug. 30 - Pizza
Sep. 27 - Chicken
Oct. 25 - Subs
Nov. 29 - BBQ
View Draft of New ÒIntro to MVSÓ book
Contributed by Ed Webb
IBM is working on a new Intro to MVS book. Review it and pass on your thoughts
and ideas at http://publibz.boulder.ibm.com/zoslib/pdf/zosbasic.pdf .
z/OS 1.6 ServerPac may have
corrupted Unix permissions
Contributed by Ed Webb
APAR OA11753 says "Serverpac orders built between February 15,
2005 and April 15, 2005 may have file and directory ownership of 888888 instead
of 0." This APAR was opened in response to the problem with our z/OS 1.6
ServerPac that was built in late Sep. or early Oct. 2004. IBM has not explained
why they only list dates in 2005 but you should check the UID on all files and
directories in any Unix filesystems (HFS or zFS) that ServerPac-delivered with
your z/OS 1.6 system. The UID should be 0 (zero) which may show up as userid
BPXROOT. If your permissions are incorrect, IBM can provide a tool to change
them.
The good news is that IBM ServerPac has added a step on their end to check the
UID before they create our ServerPacs in the future.
JES2 for z/OS 1.7 Compatibility
APAR announced
Contributed by Ed Webb
IBM has finally announced the APAR for its coexistence and compatibility
code that allows earlier JES2 systems to work with JES2 for z/OS 1.7, coming
this fall. APAR OA08145 has an extensive list of changes to existing JES2
systems for compatibility with the upcoming new release. PTFs are now available
for JES2 for z/OS 1.4 and 1.5 (same JES2 release in z/OS 1.6).
However, the PTFs have gone PE; see APAR OA11953 which states ÒOA08145 allows
compatibility with HJE7720. With the APAR applied, JOBs which have null SYSIN
and do not specify DCB= on the DD statement will fail with message IEB317I. If
you are not concerned about compatibility with HJE7720, you are better off not
applying OA08145.Ó
Humor
Your Education for Today
Contributed by Chris Blackshire
In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either
sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing
behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and
both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to
be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are
"limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the
expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and
October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because
of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from
wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf
of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would
make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often
use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be
or is powerful and wealthy.
In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair.
Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining.
The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone
else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would
be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you
were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the
"chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title
"Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and
men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax
over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking
to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told,
"mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would
crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In addition, when they sat too
close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression
"losing face."
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified
woman . as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace.
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied
when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of
Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.
Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid
or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the
people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios,
the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They
were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations
and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times.
"You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion
and, thus we have the term "gossip."
At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the
drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in
"pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term
"minding your "P's and Q's."
One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron
cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep
a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about
the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one
ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a
supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the
cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from
sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called
a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were
made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the
rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys."
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than
iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the
brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come
right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze
the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an
improper expression, didn't you.)
How Old Is Grandma?
Contributed by Chris Blackshire
How old is grandma?
Stay with this -- the answer is at the end -- it will blow you away.
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The
grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools,
the computer age, and just things in general. The Grandma replied, "Well,
let me think a minute, I was born, before television, penicillin, polio shots,
frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar,
credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose,
air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to
dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.
Your Grandfather and I got married first-and then lived together. Every family
had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I,
'Sir'- and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a
title, "Sir.' We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers,
daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common
sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to
stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger
privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a
meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers
were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and
weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or
guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the
President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing
his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. If you saw anything with 'Made in
We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10
cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all
a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge,! you could spend your nickel on
enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe
for $600 but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day, "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink,
"pot" was something your mother cooked in, and "rock music"
was your grandmother's lullaby. "Aids" were helpers in the
Principal's office," chip" meant a piece of wood,
"hardware" was found in a hardware store, and "software"
wasn't even a word.
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a
husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused"
and say there is a generation gap.....and how old do you think I am ???.... I
bet you have this old lady in mind...you are in for a shock! Read on to see --
pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
This Woman would be only 58 years old!
DonÕt Forget the Next
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Location: LabCorp in the RTP
Take I-40 to
Free Food: Chicken, Drinks, Dessert
Program:
Storage Area Networking
Speakers:
Mark Mazzone of Cisco
First Class Postage
