Have you heard about the ancient IBM mainframe at my employer that replaced the Sperry Univac? We run DB/2 now barely. The actual databases date back to the late 1960s and are still in operation.

The employer has been thinking about porting the whole mess to Java and even got a couple patents for porting techniques. The efficacy of a US Government bureau patenting its own work made on official time is a discussion for another day. We keep being told we'll retire the mainframe "some day". Congress keeps giving us money to retire it but it never seems to be enough.

There is a reason it is called The Martinsburg Monster. Why the current-day backups still sit in Memphis and Detroit seem to be things that elude me as to organizational thinking. You'd think we would plan better in situating CIKR.