SPARTA News March 2007

March 2007

SPARTA President’s Corner

by Brad Carson

It's March and our weather hasn't decided on hot or cold yet. What I can tell you all is that with the last warm spell, the pine pollen has started and soon everything will have that yellow look to it. Ah, the joys of spring! I hope those that went on our little outing last month to see the Carolina Hurricanes play enjoyed themselves. It was nice to take a little break from the standard meeting format and enjoy a night out.

LabCorp survived the spring daylight saving time change with no problems on the mainframes (both IBM and Unisys), but the Linux folks had some fun with JAVA on those platforms. It makes me wonder how many things are going to change time again on April 1st, when it would have happened using the old schedule. Web activity logging took the biggest hit (both IBM and SUN JAVA), but customer/client data was not effected. Now I can wait for the fun that will come in the fall when everyone will panic again.

My search for a Senior DB2 Sysprog has turned up some good resumes. I am in the process of telephone interviewing and will be starting the onsite interviews next week. I hope I can get this position filled soon, since IBM has announced the termination dates for DB2 V7.1 for z/OS.

I want to remind you all that SPARTA nominations are open and we will be holding our election of officers next month. Please contact me if you would like to become an officer of our little SPARTA group.

This month our presentation will be from Duane Reaugh of DTS Software and Ed Webb of SAS Institute on their trip to SHARE in Tampa. I look forward to seeing you on the 27th at LabCorp.


Future Speakers
(subject to change)


Mar. 27 - SHARE Conference reports by Duane Reaugh of DTS Software and Ed Webb of SAS

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 Ron Pimblett by phone as noted below.

2006-2007 SPARTA
Board of Directors

Brad Carson - President
LabCorp 336-436-8294

Burlington, NC 27215

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 e-Mailings

The SPARTA policy is to e-mail a monthly notice to our SPARTA-L Group. The newsletter is posted to the website about five (5) days before each meeting so you can prepare. The SPARTA-L Group is maintained by Mike Lockey at (336) 641-6235; if you have corrections or problems receiving your meeting notice, contact Mike.

February 2006 CBT Tape Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V471 (dated February 28, 2006) are available from www.cbttape.org.

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

Minutes of the February 27th, 2007 Meeting

•In place of a formal meeting on February 27th, we met at the RBC Center in west Raleigh to watch the Carolina Hurricanes NHL hockey team. A good time was had by all except the Hurricanes who lost the game.

Treasurer’s Report for March 2007

contributed by Tommy Thomas

The balance in the account is $ 1573.07 as of March 18, 2007.

Financial Report
3/01/2007 through 3/18/2007

Items of Interest

SPARTA Schedule and Menu for 2007

contributed by Tommy Thomas and Chris Blackshire

Mar 27 - Subs
Apr 24 - BarBQ
May 22 - Pizza
June 26 - Chicken
July 31 - Subs
Aug. 28 - BarBQ
Sept. 25 - Pizza
Oct. 30 - Chicken
Nov. 27- Subs


IBM and Flex-ES Bickering Over Mainframe Emulators

contributed by Ed Webb

IT Jungle is reporting that a widening rift between IBM and Fundamental Software is starting to cause systems running Fundamental's Flex-ES mainframe emulators to shut down <http://www.itjungle.com/big/big032007-story01.html> .

The battle between the two began last fall when IBM and Flex-ES decided to get nasty with one another. IBM would not renew its agreement with Fundamental to allow them to sell Flex-ES emulators that included IBM technology, and so Fundamental refused to give IBM any more firmware keys to keep Flex-ES systems running.

Here’s the rest of the summary from TechTarget.


Redbooks: All Worth A Look

contributed by Ed Webb

Draft

ABCs of z/OS System Programming Volume 8 (z/OS Problem Diagnosis)
Revised: March, 7, 2007
More details are available at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg246988.html


Redbooks

System Programmer's Guide to: Workload Manager
Published: February 23, 2007
ISBN: 073848993X 364 pages
Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246472.html

z/OS Version 1 Release 8 Implementation
Published: February 21, 2007
ISBN: 0738494658 552 pages
Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247265.html

Using z/VM for Test and Development Environments: A Roundup
Published: February 21, 2007 ISBN: 0738489999 180 pages
Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247355.html

z/OS Version 1 Release 8 RACF Implementation
Published: February 13, 2007
ISBN: 0738489859 146 pages
More details are available at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247248.html

IBM System z Strengths and Values
Published: January 23, 2007
ISBN: 0738489530 250 pages
Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247333.html


Come Monday at SHARE

by Duane Reaugh

Sung to the tune of Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett


Heading out to the conference
For the next SHARE conference and show
I’ve got my pre-reg bar code
That line is so much shorter you know
And SCIDs, I didn’t know
That I'd be missin' you so

Chorus:

Come Monday, it'll be at SHARE
Come Monday, with friends that care
I spent four lonely years with the blue screen of tears
And I just want to get back to my Z


Yes, it's been quite a journey
Service packs and security pains
No time to take a vacation
HTML is so hard to explain
And z/OS, I just love you so
That's the reason, back I must go


Chorus:

Come Monday, it'll be at SHARE
Come Monday, with friends that care
I spent four lonely years with the blue screen of tears
And I just want to get back to my Z

I hope you're enjoyin' the crashes
I don’t miss that one little bit
We just put up 1.7
Looks like it’ll never quit
Those daily security updates
I’ll be happy, if I never hear those tones again


Chorus:

Come Monday, it'll be at SHARE
Come Monday, with friends that care
I spent four lonely years with the blue screen of tears
And I just want to get back to my Z


Humor

Time Gets Better With Age

contributed by Chris Blackshire

Age 4
I learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing "Silent Night".

Age 5
I learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either.

Age 7
I learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.

Age 9
I learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, mom makes me clean it up again.

Age 12
I learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up.

Age 14
I learned that, although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me.

Age 15
I learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.

Age 24
I learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures.

Age 26
I learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there.

Age 29
I learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.

Age 30
I learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.

Age 42
I learned that you can make someone's day by simply sending them a little note.

Age 44
I learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.

Age 46
I learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.

Age 47
I learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

Age 48
I learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours.

Age 49
I learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.

Age 50
I learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: A rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

Age 51
I learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.

Age 52
I learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die.

Age 53
I learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.

Age 58
I learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, work to improve your marriage.

Age 61
I learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

Age 62
I learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

Age 64
I learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

Age 65
I learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.

Age 66
I learned that everyone can use a prayer.

Age 72
I learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

Age 82
I learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch - holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

Age 90
I learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Age 92
I learned that you should pass this on to someone you care about. Sometimes they just need a little something to make them smile.


How technology simplifies life

contributed by Chris Blackshire

I used to talk to people, face to face.
I used a pencil. Sometimes a typewriter.
I used a stamp.
I used ATT to make a phone call.

A computer terminal and a printer replaced my pencil and typewriter.
Then a PC replaced my computer terminal,
and my pencil,
and my stamp.
I have to plug in my PC,
protect my PC from bad power,
update my PC,
backup my PC,
defrag my PC,
load tools on my PC,
scan for threats on my PC,
hide behind a firewall,
maintain a communications network,
work with my ISP,
and VPN/wan issues.
I must use my PC to access web pages.
My job is hopelessly dependent on a working, properly configured PC.

Now the computer wants to replace my phone,
so in addition to the above dependencies and liabilities,
I then need to:
install more software,
configure, debug for my implementation,
tune my ISP,
tune my desktop,
talk like a robot.

So, when my registry gets trashed, or my hard drive goes bonkers, my ISP is
hosed, my VPN/Contivity is hosed,
I'm not just screwed,
I'm really screwed.
(and I'm exhausted from trying to make it work and keep it up.)

Membership Information

Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
7 p.m.

Location: LabCorp in the RTP

Free Food: Subs, Drink, Dessert

Program:

SHARE 2007 Conference Report

Speaker:

Duane Reaugh of DTS Software and
Ed Webb of SAS

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



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