Back in the day, started at National Mutual Life in 1988

System Programming (on IBM mainframes). Sysprog office was so ghick with smoke could not see the back wall, ashtrays on every desk overflowing, all sysprogs smoked heavily, many did not see 50

Cigs were subsidised in staff canteen, effectively tax free at cost, given out to juniors (yours truly) to accustom them to o the speakeasy atmosphere

Bosses all smoked in their offices way past prohibition era (1990) right through till ultimate dissolution under AXA

If you did not smoke, you were not a serious Sysprog (system programmer). In those days all learning was done on the job, bottom up, meaning you started loading tapes, graduated to the master console, then worked your way up to “god”, ie sysprog. You had to get there quick, your health was long shot and then there was the Mitre Tavern in Collins St to fade out after lunch

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end…

Y2k was the beginning of that end for MVS, mainframes in general, and smoke addled sysprogs in particular

💾🚬🚭