Packet Gnomes

The other morning I got the following question from a reader:

     I have created a client-server application in C# using asynchronous socket methods [... blah blah blah, a long description of a scenario in which the socket misses packets under certain conditions]

My reply was that I believe networks are run by tiny "packet gnomes" who move the packets around on your behalf. Wireless networks are run by "packet fairies", who can fly. When I have to debug a network problem usually I either leave cookies out for the gnomes, or I call in a friend who has less magical/more scientific beliefs about networks.

Readers: if you have a question about something I actually know about -- design and implementation of programming language tools, the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien, sailing small craft, piano repair, and so on -- I'm happy to consider it. But there is really very little point asking me about anything else, since odds are good that I am far less clueful on the subject than you already are.

Comments

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  Where do you stand on the "who is Tom Bombadil?" debate?

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  I don't see why there is any debate in the first place. Tom clearly states who he is and we have no reason to distrust him. He's Tom Bombadil, the eldest.  There before the first acorn. Etc. If the debate is "is Tom a vala or a maia or some third thing?" I come down on the "he's a maia" side.

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  I'd say he's neither Valar nor Maiar, but rather a spirit of the earth - possibly the spirit of the earth.  He is that which was created by the songs of the Maiar. But that's just probably just me.

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  I've just moved into my accommodation at Uni and I'm now the "IT guy" because I'm doing Comp Sci. Trouble is, I'm rubbish at I.T. and networking and stuff like that. I like your explination, I might steal it.

• Anonymous
  October 11, 2007
  Excellent LotR reference site. In particular, an analysis of Tom Bombadil: http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/t/tombombadil.html

• Anonymous
  October 12, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 12, 2007
  Step 1:  Steal packets. Step 2: ... ?

• Anonymous
  October 14, 2007
  Step 3: Profit!

• Anonymous
  October 15, 2007
  Welcome to the thirty-third edition of Community Convergence. This week we have a new video called Programming

• Anonymous
  October 15, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 16, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2007
  Do balrogs have wings?  Of course they do. Didn't you see the movie?  That balrog rocked!

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2007
  Re: day sailing:  My family sailed albacores when I was a kid.  Not too heavy, but heavy enough to be fairly stable in chop. Long enough to stow a picnic basket. Pretty easy to sail.

• Anonymous
  March 20, 2009
  Interviewing job-seeking candidates is probably the most impactful thing that I do at Microsoft as far

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2009
  @Massif: The problem with pigeons wasn't unionization. It's just that we need them all at Google: http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html That page was posted back in 2002, when we didn't have nearly many queries to get through each day. Imagine how many pigeons we need nowadays! We can't afford to waste them on wireless networking, no matter what RFCs 1149 and 2549 might say about the matter. Jon

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2009
  A systems administrator at a company I used to work for insisted that we should install server room bunnies - he insisted that they were able to detect network problems and application bugs long before any monitoring tool could pick up on them. Unfortunately, as he actually did implement a few of his other ideas, he was rather quickly out of a job..