The Night Shift: Tapes, Silence, and the Motherload

The sixteen weeks of computer training were a total blast. In the early ’80s, there were no PCs, Windows, or Microsoft Word.  We lived at the Local> prompt on a DEC VT100 terminal. We were busy learning the guts of the machine: disk drives, tape reels, memory management, and the high-stakes art of booting and shutting down massive systems.

One of the coolest things about the DEC file system was the versioning. Each time you saved your work, instead of simply replacing the previous version, the system generated a new file—like file.1, file.2, and so forth.  It was an early form of “undo” that saved many lives! My training was hands-on, focused on the bread and butter of an entry-level Computer Operator: running backups, filing tapes, shipping them off-site, and distributing the morning reports. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was a start.

Sunday Night Fever (The Third Shift)

With training finished, it was time to head to my new home: the Corporate Data Center. Did I mention it was the third shift?

Yep, 11 PM to 7 AM, Sunday night through Friday morning. I’d never worked nights before. By the time I got home on Friday morning, I wanted to be part of the “normal” world, which meant staying awake for over 24 hours straight just to see my friends. It was brutal, but I didn’t care—I had a real job.

Surprise number two: I was stationed in this massive, echoing building with only one other person. His name was also Kevin, and he was deaf. This made for some very long, very quiet nights. We didn’t have the hectic energy or the social circle of the day shift. My responsibilities included mounting tapes, performing backups or restores, shipping tapes, organizing reports, and proactively seeking additional tasks to maintain productivity.

The “Silent” Advantage

That quiet time turned out to be my greatest gift. This is where I started teaching myself to write code. On the VAX/VMS systems, we used “Command Procedures” (DCL), and the language was incredibly powerful. My coworker was asleep for most of the night, and since he didn’t notice my typing, I enjoyed total freedom and access to unlimited resources.  I spent my nights writing my own programs, and I learned more in those quiet hours than I ever did in a classroom.

Moving Up to the Second Shift

After a year, the “vampire life” of the third shift started wearing thin. Fortunately, I was able to jump to the second shift. The hours were more normal, but the real benefit was the “overlap.” I finally got to sit with the “System Managers”—the true experts—on the first shift before they went home. You bet your ass I sat there and soaked up every bit of knowledge they had. I remember Carmine, ten years my senior and very intelligent.  He taught me quite a bit.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just mounting tapes; I was initializing systems, booting them, and tuning them for performance. On the second shift, we had a staff of three; Me, Donald, and my Venezuelan friend Jose (his dad was a pig farmer, I have no idea why I remember that). We exchanged ideas, reviewed one another’s work, provided guidance, and laughed our asses off.  I was gaining a level of exposure that most operators never got to see. I was making connections, building my experience, and getting an “itch” to see what else was out there in DEC-land.

Next week, I’ll tell you where that itch led me. It was amazing—an absolute treasure trove for anyone new to computers who wanted to learn more.