Ping! I love that duck!,

January 25, 2000
By  John E. Fracisco

PING! The magic duck! Using deft allegory, the authors have provided an insightful and intuitive explanation of one of Unix's most venerable networking utilities. Even more stunning is that they were clearly working with a very early beta of the program, as their book first appeared in 1933, years (decades!) before the operating system and network infrastructure were finalized. The book describes networking in terms even a child could understand, choosing to anthropomorphize the underlying packet structure. The ping packet is described as a duck, who, with other packets (more ducks), spends a certain period of time on the host machine (the wise-eyed boat). At the same time each day (I suspect this is scheduled under cron), the little packets (ducks) exit the host (boat) by way of a bridge (a bridge). From the bridge, the packets travel onto the internet (here embodied by the Yangtze River). The title character -- er, packet, is called Ping. Ping meanders around the river before being received by another host (another boat). He spends a brief time on the other boat, but eventually returns to his original host machine (the wise-eyed boat) somewhat the worse for wear. If you need a good, high-level overview of the ping utility, this is the book. I can't recommend it for most managers, as the technical aspects may be too overwhelming and the basic concepts too daunting. Problems With This Book As good as it is, The Story About Ping is not without its faults. There is no index, and though the ping(8) man pages cover the command line options well enough, some review of them seems to be in order. Likewise, in a book solely about Ping, I would have expected a more detailed overview of the ICMP packet structure. But even with these problems, The Story About Ping has earned a place on my bookshelf, right between Stevens' Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment, and my dog-eared copy of Dante's seminal work on MS Windows, Inferno. Who can read that passage on the Windows API ("Obscure, profound it was, and nebulous, So that by fixing on its depths my sight -- Nothing whatever I discerned therein."), without shaking their head with deep understanding. But I digress.

I was doing my Friday morning cleaning chores and I thought about the little things of life that make me happy.  I thought I would list a few.

• Freshly vacuumed floor
• Sliding into a bed with clean sheets
• The pleasure of morning coffee
• Finding and reading a really good book
• Finishing up a craft project and having it come out right
• Snuggling with your spouse
• The feeling of a kitty snuggled up against you in the night
• Doing needlework
• Towels warm from the dryer
• Putting your feet up after a long day
• The smell of Spring sunshine
• The color of Fall leaves
• Sleeping in on a winter morning
• Coming into an air-conditioned house on a hot summer day
• A really good glass of iced tea
• A cup of hot tea
• Cookies still warm from the oven
• Harvest apples
• Watching birds take a bath in a puddle
• Watching the wild bunny that lives in our backyard
• The magic of seeing deer walk across the backyard
• First snowfall
• First cold day of Autumn
• An afternoon nap
• The smell of a library or bookstore
• The feel of good yarn between your fingers
  

1.  You’ve got a good ear for listening, a good shoulder for leaning on and great arms for holding me close
2.  You’re really smart (You married me, didn’t you)
3. You have all the traits I hear many women claim can’t possible exist all in the same guy
4. You put up with my annoying little quirks.
5. You remember where the laundry hamper is and what it is for… even if you miss sometimes.
6. You fit the space on the couch next to me pretty nicely
7. You keep secrets… at least I think you do
8. You don’t mind when I take a little longer getting ready when we go out
9.   You are a world class back scratcher
10. You are an incredible game master
11. You never compare me to your mother
12. You share the covers….usually
13. You make me feel safe
14. We have the same opinions about certain family members
15.   You are proud to introduce me to your friends
16. You have never complained about holding my purse
17.   You look really good lifting heavy garbage bags
18. You know when it is safe to say “I told you so” and when it isn’t
19. You remind me of my grandpa in GOOD ways
20.   You still give me gifts
21. You would rather hold me than the remote
22. Whatever I give you as a gift, you are good at pretending you like it.
23.   You are not squeamish about cleaning up cat vomit.
24. We agree on politics…sometimes, but also agree to disagree
25. You still like to hold hands
26. You are good at making up after an argument
27. You never complain when asked to fix my computer
28. You are a good listener
29. We both like Ethiopian food
30. You still love cartoons
31. You are the best kisser in the world
32. Just sitting together reading is fun
33. You are not helpless in the kitchen
34. You don’t make fun of me when I cry at movies
35. You don’t watch NASCAR
36. You never work on cars in the front yard
37. There is no danger you will drag me onto a daytime talk show and reveal that you’re really married to your third cousin
38. You let me know that you appreciate me
39.   You brag about what a wonderful wife you have
40. You let me use all the power tools
41. You do unexpected things for me
42. You usually know what I am going to say before I say it… and you still listen
43. You have a special way with pickle jars and heavy boxes
44. You look sexy in nerd t-shirts
45. You have that cute little boy look when you want me to do something
46. You understand my needs even if they don’t make sense
47. You know how to say the words “I’m sorry”
48. You still make my knees weak.
49. You love books as much as I do
50. You try not to give me too much advice when I am driving
51. You go with me to sappy movies
52. You are the best snuggler in the whole world
53. You don’t have a fit when I do a little shopping
54. You have that sympathetic look when you know I have had a really, really bad day
55. You love me even though you know all my faults
56. You know how to make me laugh
57. You don’t compare me to swimsuit models
58. You have eaten a number of my culinary experiments without complaint.
59.   I don’t have to hold my stomach in when I am with you.
60. You seldom ever give me practical gifts.
61. You move furniture for me no matter how many times I change my mind.
62. You clean up after projects (with some verbal help from me)
63. You’re mine
64. You do good work with your hands
65. You have little to no interests in the 3 Stooges
66. There is that special way you say my name
67.   There are times when you actually notice that the dirty dishes are piling up.
68. You know the right answer to my question “Does this make me look fat?”
69. You tell me you miss me when I go away even for a day.
70. You are willing grapple with even the largest and most gruesome members of the insect world.
71. You always remember our anniversary
72. You always remember our birthday,
73. You  know how to kiss and make it better
74. You know how to let my WOW character shine
75. You bravely do battle with the barbeque.
76. If I look really, really sad you eventually give in.
77. We agree on the toilet seat thing
78. While our holiday customs confuse you, you join in to celebrate.
79. You don’t dress like a gang-banger
80. You don’t expect me to be perfect
81. You say nice things about me when I am not around
82. You get embarrassed when I call you little pet names
83. You do not channel surf when we are watching TV together
84. I love the way you look when you are sleeping
85. You can be silly
86. You always have something positive to say when I am having a bad hair day
87. We have promised each other to NEVER have the wait staff of a restaurant do the sing and dance “It’s your birthday” thing.
88. If I am too tired to cook, you are always willing to go pick something up.
89. You can always make me smile
90. You never forget my birthday
91. You have never “let” me win in a game to make me feel better.
92. You put up with my nagging about chores
93. You’re nice
94. You read LOL Cats with me
95. You bring the groceries in…all in one trip… no matter how much there is.
96. You never want to go dancing at some club
97. You can tell when I need to be cheered up
98. You are a brilliant writer
99. You watch Totoro with me.
100. You are patient with all my various crafting projects
101. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.