A software version of a mercury delay line! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay-line_memory

Yep. ICMP delay line memory.

Okay, but could someone ELI5 how it works? Because I am heckin’ confused

The UK's National Musuem of Computing has a nice demonstration video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGEAPVCuwvY . Apparently delay-line memory also went on to have wide use in colour TVs before the arrival of cheap semiconductor memory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPQq7xd3WdA , which was quite appropriate as it had come from radar in the first place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZLpbhsE72I&t=675s .

Imagine a continuously-moving loop that stores bits. When you want a certain bit you just wait for it to loop back to the position you want.

Good, but how does a ping hold data? AFAIK each ping is a single round trip and not a continuous loop. And where in the packet is the data stored?

ICMP packets pretty much always carry some data (even though it's not _strictly_ required). This data is what is padded when the user asks for a ping with a specific packet size (e.g., when debugging MTU issues).

In some applications, using an ICMP payload and getting a quote of the IP header + 8-bytes of the original packet back in ICMP error messages is part of the application. For example, traceroute utilises the fact that it gets part of the payload back in a ICMP TTL exceeded message to identify _which_ traceroute request was being responded to.

In everybody else's router as it travels back and forth.

Imagine mailing somebody a letter with data; once they receive the letter they send it back. The information is stored within the postal system.

you're right it's not continuous, you'd have to send another ping once the first one is finished. Your data is only "stored in the network" until the ping completes which would be a few hundred ms or so and then another ping has to be sent. If a single ping fails i wonder if the whole "fs" is corrupted or if there some kind of error handling built in.

Clearly you need to send multiple redundant PINGs. ICMP delay line memory RAID.

Whoever is planning on building a self-sufficient off-world colony for the survival of the human race, don’t forget to invite ASML along for the trip! How many decades away are we from being able to manufacture high-end consumer-grade silicon somewhere other than on earth? It makes the challenges of safe habitation and providing other essential resources seem much simpler by comparison.

One of my favourite McCarthy quotes is from The Passenger:

“Every remedy for loneliness only postpones it.”

UK here. Your GP is right about the massive backlog in mental health referrals (2+ years in my area) but wrong about prescription charges & the NHS recognising a diagnosis from a private psychiatrist.

Because of that huge backlog I went for a private diagnosis & prescription and then had that prescription transferred to my local GP under what's known as a 'Shared Care Agreement', so my scrip cost ~£110 per year (buy a Prescription Prepayment Certificate or 'season pass').

I know people who've managed to circumvent the waiting list (and private fees) using 'Right to choose' but I understand that can vary depending on your local health authority. Certainly worth exploring though.

May I ask how you decided where to go for a private diagnosis ?

As another waiting-list referral, I would consider going the same route but have no idea where best to look (and whether they may have shared care agreements or not).

It's really helpful to see all of these replies from the UK.