It’s long ago in a gentler age, and this pilot fish is working at an engineering site in the U.K. How long ago? “We had a mainframe in a wooden portacabin surrounded by IT offices and manned by a likable bunch of old guys, a couple of whom had been miners when they were younger,” fish says. “Night shift was boring, and one of the jobs was to watch the printers churn out boxes of reports, check that the fanfold paper folded properly and periodically load new stationery. One of the operators had put a stool in a comfortable position behind the printer so he could watch — and doze. “One night he leaned back against the wall to get more comfortable, and realized that the sound in the room had changed. There were about 30 thunk noises, followed by a gradual silence. “And the paper stopped, so he changed the box. “A couple of minutes later, the site fire brigade forced open the emergency door, fully kitted out with breathing gear. “Turns out that on the wall behind the operator was the big red emergency-off switch, which also rang through to the site fire station. The thunk was the sound of heads forcibly retracting from the disk drive units when the power went off. “A few days later, the emergency switches were surrounded by plywood boxes so you had to reach in to punch them, and elderly operators who needed a nap were safe from being disturbed.” Don’t let Sharky get bored. Send me your true tale of IT life at sharky@computerworld.com. You’ll snag a snazzy Shark shirt if I use it. Add your comments below, and read some great old tales in the Sharkives. Get your daily dose of out-takes from the IT Theater of the Absurd delivered directly to your Inbox. Subscribe now to the Daily Shark Newsletter. Related content opinion Flashback Friday: You’re welcome There’s no winning this one. By Sharky Sharky Sep 25, 2020 3 mins IT Leadership opinion Wayback Wednesday: No good deed goes unpunished Self-serve is not our thing. By Sharky Sharky Sep 23, 2020 2 mins Databases IT Leadership opinion Maybe it’s therapeutic As for pilot fish, very little shocks them. By Sharky Sharky Sep 22, 2020 2 mins Computers and Peripherals opinion Memory-Lane Monday: An ounce of prevention is worth a pounding headache Not the greatest decision ever made. By Sharky Sharky Sep 21, 2020 2 mins Backup and Recovery Data Center Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe