[ale] Ping support

[Alex Carver]

Would anyone (or multiple anyones) be willing to be a ping recipient for 
a few days?  I'm trying to determine how many times my connection drops 
and for approximately how long.  The plan is to record the results of a 
ping to each host at a rate of one per minute for a few days so I can 
spot any short or long duration drops.

I already know it's dropping in the early morning hours because my daily 
speed test is failing completely.  I just want to get a higher 
resolution check of connection status.