Indeed :) some pointers for anyone finding this with search...
while( <STDIN> ) blocks, (while can't assume the format is done printing, even if we know the exact # of lines being written) ... solved by exiting the while on N written lines since I know N.
this is being run from a daemon... which is a child process all too itself. the daemon runs this capture on X formats every K seconds... each pipe is a new child process... defuncts like WOAH! :) remember to reap children Re: Unix Review column