of packet sniffing?

If the knot wasn't properly secured, wouldn't you risk strangling poor doggy?

Don't even think about it if you have an alsation - used to live with one, it broke a sturdy leather lead pulling like hell one day and went for another dog...fortunately not to eat it but to be friendly lol.

I believe the standard ElReg term for this is "online tat bazaar"

If you've got a book with such a title I doubt it's the network cabinet you'll be going to.

if he don't say himself.

is this all it takes to be a genius nowadays?

Is it rated for outdoor use?

Check local regulations (and preferably check with a vet) before putting any non-standard collar/leash on a pet. GOOD Cat 5 could probably work allright if the collar is loose enough, but wear and tear (especially on indoor-only, solid-core) could be a problem.

With all the techies in the financial area losing their jobs this is what we'll expect to see on the streets. "Got any spare code, guv?"

I have been using .5m patch cables with a joiner for years to stake up trees / plants etc.

More reusable than zip ties. And cheap (company pays for them!!)

... walking my cat named dog?

BTW a bowline wouldn't normally slip.

Coat because the song's from the '70s.

Look if it were to be a reasonable technology piece, the accessory would be a connector that receives the Cat-5 connector and makes the loop. I mean, bowline knot, how very "last century". Even include the handle that accepts the connector. They latch very nicely, you know!

The cat5 fake-bike-chain, that I had to imrovise once.

Wait.. so a Cat is leading a Dog around? I suppose that wouldn't really be a change in the order of things.

Mine's the one with catgut stitching...

The next step would be to install Cat-5 hubs outside shops, so that dog owners could plug in their dogs when shopping.

Mine's the glossy one with the Crufts rosette.

A bowline not is somewhat specifically designed to be difficult to adjust. If you've spent a few years sailing or in the scouts, then you might have come across enough of them to figure out how they work, but this isn't a simple slip knot.

And I wouldn't exactly look forward to tieing any sort of knot in something that is as difficult to bend and slippery as cat5, especially a bowline, which features a pair of tight bends and a tight loop.

Much easier to get yourself some rope and use a taughtline hitch... maybe use a bowline for the handle. The taughtline will at least slide if you pull on the knot right, but not from load on the loop end of it. But you'd have a pretty hard time getting one of those to work at all in cat5.

CAT-5!? This is wrong...

My cat is disgusted by El Reg and removing you from his bookmarks.

I just got back from a camping trip where we used cat-5 cable to secure beer to a riverbank, allowing us to use the river as a natural fridge. Far more "ingenious".

Paris because it wont take long for her to be sporting a Cat-5 leash.

I'm afraid I'm going to need 10Base5 cable for my dog. That whimpy Cat5 stuff won't hold him.

At least use gigabit-compatible cable. Noobs. ;-)

My washing lines, camera links from the CCTV and even .... oh never mind, I was dreaming about the last one.

Mines the one with CAT5 stitched on the back in 4 colours!

Wow! These geniuses have figured out how to use a bowline to create a fixed loop that doesn't slip!!! Jesus H. Christ on a donkey, why didn't I think of that? I could have been the next silicon prince and poster child of venture capitalists.

It's really too bad that I've been using a length of Cat-5 for years as a belt, but I didn't use a bowline - so simple but so complex. Too bad they beat me to it.

I quite often take the dog out on a cat-5 or a usb lead when I can't find her real lead in the debris of computers in my house

So that's how mobile wireless access works...

This is one of the geekiest sets of comments I've seen on El Reg.

Carry on. :-)

How many Mega-Bites/Sec will this thing stand?

I reckon the Cat-5 will be a bit dog-dgy after this sort of usage and this its a really ruff idea that's barking mad.

I am Feel-ine that this idea it is almost as bad as my humour.

I'll get my coat , coz I need to run (FAST) after such awful puns.....

or, a new meaning of GigaBite -

Shouldn't that be bow-wowline?

If any one wants I'll tie a knot in a piece of wire and sell it to you for more than its worth.

How about the Jack Plug dog lead for the audio enthusiast? The ipod headphone dog lead for the Mac fan? Or how about a good old length of rope.... for the sailor in your life.

Am I ingenious now mummy?

Surely it's a Bow-wow line knot.

This is obviously a scam: "cat5 lead for sale. Dog not included" It's like selling batteries without the mp3 player.

Besides, as you can see from the photograph it only actually works if you hold the other end.

50 wraps braided about will tow/pull a small car ; just. snap.

Yep, the one with the plastic bags in the... yeah, careful with those...

I just tried installing the dog in my car ...

yeah yeah, I'll get my coat...

Looks like a Working Cocker in the picture - does that mean you can now retrieve lost packets?

Paris - but without proper training, she might jump all over you...

Would this make it a Dog-5 cable?

Oh, and @AC talking about "cat5 lead for sale. Dog not included", I was looking on eBay for a flight-case yesterday and found an ad saying "2U flightcase. Kitten not included." (Yes, the picture of the flightcase has caught the owner's kitten walking past just as they took the photo.)

If you have a doggy that chews cat5 cable every chance she gets like mine does !! Mind you I think even armoured 100kV power cable would be no trouble for her given a little bit more time. The extra chewiness would add to the challenge, so she'd get more enjoyment.

I can just see it - you've crimped on your RJ45, and just plugged doggy into the router at your local shop .... 5 seconds later, cable parted and bybye !

You can buy 'radio control' kits for dogs - walkie talkies - one of which is strapped to the dog. Hilarious if you try it. The dog gets very confused !

OK, but calling that ingenious use of a bowline knot is an insult to anyone who was ever a boy scout (or maybe a girl scout, who knows what they teach the girl scouts? :)

About 15 years ago, I and my colleagues were invited to the opening of a new club, at short notice. Free drinks etc. Trouble was, their dress code required us to wear ties, and we geeks had none. We broke out a reel of 40 way ribbon cable, as used for IDE drives, peeled it down to 25 ways and made ties out of that. And why not? Free drinks, after all. Problem solved.

If I have two dogs does this mean I can network them?