Try something like @log=qx/ping -t perlmonks.org/.
Haven't tried it, but I think the qx operator is what
you need, it returns the output of an external command.
See man perlop, too.
Comment on Re: Executing independet commands in PERL
For the record,
qx/.../ is the same as back-ticks.
Update: Merlyn is correct, of course in his post
following this one. I was just trying to make a friendly
connection regarding function. But the effect
of different delimiters has a bearing
on function. Back-peddling as fast as possible...
Umm... let's just call them close relatives...
Almost. qx`...` would be the same as backticks. qx/.../ would have a slash for a delimiter, and hence require a different backslashing strategy. And qx'...' would have single-quote for a delimiter and not support variable interpolation or backslash escaping.