A Life in Packets

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. 

5 thoughts on “A Life in Packets”

  1. 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

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