The reluctance is because I don't like relying on regex matches against running other programs. It's often hard to predict errors, or inconsistencies. Besides that, it just seems "kludgy" and I thought there might be a better way to do it.

The script is actually for updating DHS.org with your dynamic IP address. You can download my first shot at it here. It works fine in cron or MS scheduler. I'll post the relevent portions on the snippets site.