The reg are not looking for the same thing. the first is looking for an IP address. the ip is the key for the hash, so I save it in $PRTABL=$1. then use it to replace the "time" in the next reg with the value in $clocks{$PRTABL}. except $clocks{$PRTABL} never has a value in s///, however I can print the value on the next line?