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A Life in Packets

By Nick Hodge | March 24, 2007

TCP/IP is the low level stuff that has changed the world. VoIP, Web, Web 2 and all that stuff require TCP/IP to work. When I was first introduced to this protocol in 1987 (late bloomer, here) I wasn't that overwhealmed.

What has TCP/IP have to do with life? TCP/IP packetizes data. Instead of have a channel open (like TV, Radio) and streaming constantly - TCP/IP puts bits into discreet packages at one end, throws them out the network, and expects the other end to re-assemble to get the data.

Maybe life and work comes in packets, too? Bursts of energy and bursts of reflection

Why is there a 5 days work, 2 days weekend imposed on us by some distant hierarchy?

Another key concept is latency, or the space between the packets. Keeping the latency predictable, or as low as possible, is another life skill.

Life and work comes in packets and latency, that get munged. 

Topics: observation, personal | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “A Life in Packets”

  1. LD Says:
    March 24th, 2007 at 9:38 pm

    Sometimes we need to apply QoS to packets ensure that prioritisation occurs. In life also. ;-)

  2. hodgenick Says:
    March 25th, 2007 at 12:05 pm

    agree on QoS.

    Also, I wander what my TTL is.

  3. mike seyfang Says:
    March 25th, 2007 at 8:23 pm

    Shit - has been nice knowing you - ttl=50

    Ping has started ...

    PING http://www.nickhodge.com (208.97.134.179): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 208.97.134.179: icmp_seq=0 ttl=50 time=247.127 ms
    64 bytes from 208.97.134.179: icmp_seq=1 ttl=50 time=247.105 ms
    64 bytes from 208.97.134.179: icmp_seq=2 ttl=50 time=246.053 ms

    --- http://www.nickhodge.com ping statistics ---
    3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss
    round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 246.053/246.762/247.127/0.501 ms

  4. hodgenick Says:
    March 25th, 2007 at 8:26 pm

    I am not that old in yrs, but way older than 50ms :-)

  5. nickhodge.com | mungenet » Learning Technology Challenge. It’s not the Technology. Says:
    March 26th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

    [...] Unless you are stuck on a deserted island, your life is going to be collaborative. Work, too. In a connected world, this is amplified and packetised. [...]

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