at&t - Green Initiative years ago

Pictured: a low-pollution turbine installed in 1972.

Standby electric generators are an important adjunct to the operations of a central office. Working with the manufacturer of this 2,500-kilowatt gas turbine unit, AT&T modified the turbine's combustion chamber to minimize pollutants. To measure the pollutants precisely — which was essential to the turbine's redesign — Bell Labs researchers used several state-of-the-art techniques including chemical luminescence for nitric oxide, flame ionization for hydrocarbons and an acousto-optic method for carbon monoxide.

Thirty-six years later, we again celebrate Earth Week.

Solaris Disk replacement Procedure - Meta Devices

Here is a quick cheat sheet on the steps involved in replacing a mirrored disk managed by Sun Solaris Disk Suite. In this procedure there are steps embedded to actually break the mirrors, do the replacement and recreate the mirrors, to finally rebuild the data back into the failed disk.

Steps to follow are :

1. Login to the machine as root. Note down the metastat and metadb -i output to determine the number of existing entries for the metadevices. This is extremely important to serve as a comparison, and later on for verification.

Remove disk from disksuite configuration, to prepare it for physical replacement

Example:

(detach submirror d10 from mirror d0)

metadetach d0 d10

metadetach d1 d11

metadetach d3 d13

metadetach d4 d14

clear detached submirrors using disk cxtxdx:

metaclear d10

metaclear d11

metaclear d13

metaclear d14

Remove db replicas from disk c0t0d0s7

metadb -d /dev/dsk/cxtxdxs7

2. copy partition table from cxtxdxs2 to a file called /tmp/vtoc

prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/cxtxdxs2 > /tmp/vtoc

3. Have the field engineer physically replace disk c0t0d0 within the media tray.

4. Execute For solaris 8 and up devfsadm (or drvconfig;disks;devlinks )

This command readds the drive into solaris device tree.

5. copy partition table back to the drive from saved file /tmp/vtoc.

fmthard -s /tmp/vtoc /dev/rdsk/cxtxdxs2

verify labeling is correct with format --> partition --> print (for both the main and the mirror disks) and verify that they are exactly the same.

6. Recreate db replicas on slice 7

metadb -a -c 3 cxtxdxs7

metadb -i (should have the same number of replicas on the main and the mirror disks, in the above example 3 )

7. Recreate your submirrors

metainit d10 1 1 cxtxdxs0

metainit d11 1 1 cxtxdxs1

metainit d13 1 1 cxtxdxs3

metainit d14 1 1 cxtxdxs4

8. Reattach submirrors to resync data

metattach d0 d10

metattach d1 d11

metattach d3 d13

metattach d4 d14

9. metastat d0,d1,......

Maintenance is complete once the resync completes ..all metadevices should report as okay.

IT, SysAdmin, PM, BDM et al !!

Information Technology vs. Business Management

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"

The man below says, "Yes, you're in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field."

"You must work in Information Technology" says the balloonist.

"I do," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but it's no use to anyone."

The man below says "You must work in business management."

"I do," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you're going, but you expect me to be able to help. You're in the same position you were before we met, but now it's my fault."

Are you at a career crossroads? Are you asking "Should I become an astronaut, a firefighter, or a system administrator?" Here is a handy comparison chart that may help you make your decision.

PURPOSE OF YOUR CAREER
Astronaut: Advancing scientific knowledge for the good of humanity.
Firefighter: Saving lives and property.
Sysadmin: Assuring uninterrupted access to alt.binaries.erotica.

ADVICE YOU'LL GIVE KIDS WHO WANT TO FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS
Astronaut: "Study science and math and eat your vegetables."
Firefighter: "Study science and math and eat your vegetables."
Sysadmin: "DON'T DO IT! RUN AWAY!"

QUESTION YOU'LL BE MOST TIRED OF ANSWERING
Astronaut: "Where do you go to the bathroom?"
Firefighter: "Do you really slide down a pole when the alarm goes off?"
Sysadmin: "Can't you do anything about all this spam I've been getting?"

WILL YOU EVER BE ON TV?
Astronaut: Yes!
Firefighter: Occasionally.
Sysadmin: Only MSNBC's "The Site," which doesn't technically count as TV.

WILL YOUR JOB EVER GET ANY EASIER?
Astronaut: As computers get more and more advanced and able to control more of the functions of the space vehicle, yes.
Firefighter: As more and more people install smoke detectors in their homes, yes.
Sysadmin: As more and more clueless newbies discover the Internet, absolutely not.

INSPIRING MOVIE ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION
Astronaut: "The Right Stuff"
Firefighter: "Backdraft"
Sysadmin: Uh... gee, I'm really drawing a blank here... "Wargames"?

YOUR WORK HOURS
Astronaut: Fairly long days during the mission, but lots and lots of time between missions to relax.
Firefighter: 24-hour shifts, but 48 hours between shifts to relax.
Sysadmin: Not really "work hours" or even "work days"... more like "work millenia."

FRINGE BENEFITS OF YOUR JOB
Astronaut: Lots of good stories to tell to impress members of the opposite sex.
Firefighter: Lots of good stories to tell to impress members of the opposite sex.
Sysadmin: You get ALL of the jokes in "Dilbert."

NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION
Astronaut: A few, from people who think the government should be spending its money in different ways.
Firefighter: A few, from people who think you take too long to arrive following a 911 call.
Sysadmin: You'll have to learn what comes after "trillion" to be able to count them all.

YOUR VEHICLE
Astronaut: Multimillion-dollar space vehicle atop multi million dollar rocket.
Firefighter: Big red truck with flashing lights and siren.
Sysadmin: 1992 Toyota Corolla.

In conclusion, if the sysadmin option has seemed the most appealing in even one of these categories, you should become a sysadmin.

Top 10 Signs you work as a Project Manager in today's world !!

10. You lecture the neighborhood kids selling lemonade on "ways to improve their process".

9. You get all excited when it's Thursday so you can wear sweats and attend "Change Control Approval Meetings".

8. You refer to the tomatoes grown in your garden as "deliverables".

7. You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what you do for a living.

6. You normally eat out of vending machines and at the most expensive restaurant in town within the same week.

5. You think that "progressing an action plan" and "calendarizing a project" are acceptable English phrases.

4. You know the people at the airport hotels better than your next door neighbors.

3. You ask your friends to "think out of the box" when making Friday night plans.

2. You think Einstein would have been more effective had he put his ideas into a matrix.

1. You think a "half-day" means leaving at 5 o'clock and calling Developers in India, Russia and Shanghai on your cell phone, requesting updates.

Doctor in your Pocket ? - Make way for the bio-phone

Here is something that will tickle your gizmo minds, with inquisitiveness, pure awe and much more. Technology today is growing by leaps and bounds with every second ticking on the clock. Zillions of ideas are making way from pure fantasy to thorough implementation.

As Isaac Asimov once quoted: "The most exciting phrase , that heralds new discoveries in science is not "Eurekha!" but "Thats funny...", and of course thats thoroughly applicable as to how Japanese companies think and pursue their R&D efforts, especially in the Mobile Technology.

Cellphones today pack so much punch than the ones that came out...well yesterday! Thats a never ending topic to say the very least.

Well, here is something that NTT DoCoMo is venturing upon. Yea, of course, a lot of us have never heard of this company in the mainstream biased news/media. Its Nippon Telephone and Telegraph ( Is it the Japanese version of AT&T, not sure :)) .

NTT DoCoMo is betting that your cell phone will someday take the place of a live doctor. The communications giant is working with scientists at The University of Tokyo to develop a biochemical analyzer (or “biochip”) that uses artificially synthesized DNA and other proteins to react with organic compounds and create a molecular communication system. According to a recent press release, the chip could be used to “transmit information about the biochemical conditions of living organisms, such as excitement, emotion, stress or disease.”

Take a look at the picture on how it really works:



This would mean, if implemented, and if it reaches the common masses, one would actually have to sweat, cry, spit or bleed onto you own phone, and then the biochip takes over the operation :)
If the system works properly, a cell phone with a biochip could analyze a drop of sweat or blood and determine any number of things, from stress level to viral or bacterial infection. This information could be used to monitor your health and could even be sent instantly to medical professionals. These kinds of devices could be highly beneficial for people who live in remote locations and organizations such as Doctors Without Borders. A phone with a biochip could also be used for things like water quality analysis.

The possibilities are endless !!

Wake up - Green is the way to go !

Adapted by Laura Malamud from the Daily Green

Conservationism has come a long way since the days of the simple "reduce, reuse, recycle." Today, the movement has expanded from a life change to an entire lifestyle and has earned the name "going green." You don't necessarily have to install solar panels on your home or trade in your car for a hybrid to become more environmentally conscious, though. You can start with just a few steps -- like the ones listed below -- that will help you reduce your carbon footprint and better the environment.

Bring a bag: When you go shopping, bring a reusable tote to carry your groceries or other items after making purchases. This reduces the number of plastic and paper bags discarded after a shopping trip.

Reuse water bottles: Less than 20 percent of plastic water bottles get recycled after a single use, so instead of buying a pack of plastic bottles, drink from the tap or purchase a reusable water bottle and fill it up each time.

Save electricity: Washing clothes in cold water and putting them outside to dry instead of using the dryer helps save electricity. Open a window and let in the light instead of flipping a light switch, and use smaller kitchen appliances when possible, like a toaster oven instead of a conventional oven.

Reduce gas guzzling: Obeying the speed limit helps reduce unnecessary acceleration, which will save on the amount of gas used and the percentage of carbon dioxide produced by your car. Also, keep your tires properly inflated to improve your mileage, and try not to "warm up" the car in cold weather unless it is absolutely necessary.

Stop paper bills: Many companies offer electronic options for purchasing and maintaining products, eliminating the need to send or receive paper bills. Online statements are available and automatic payments can be set up through any company's site or your bank.

Shop at local markets: Not only will your food be fresher and healthier, but you will also save gas by not having to travel as far to a grocery store. Shopping at a farmer's market also helps preserve local farms that might otherwise have to be sold to make room for development.

There are many other ways to better the environment and make your lifestyle more environmentally friendly, like eating a greener diet, trying eco-friendly home fixes and recycling used electronics. If you would like other suggestions on how to be more "green", please visit the Daily Green website.