# system() return value is backwards, so "and" not "or"
#
$ENV{PATH} .= ":/etc:/usr/etc";
if  (      system('mknod',  $path, 'p') 
       and system('mkfifo', $path) )
{
    die "mk{nod,fifo} $path failed;
} 

chdir; # go home
$FIFO = '.signature';
$ENV{PATH} .= ":/etc:/usr/games";

while (1) {
    unless (-p $FIFO) {
        unlink $FIFO;
        system('mknod', $FIFO, 'p') 
            && die "can't mknod $FIFO: $!";
    } 

    # next line blocks until there's a reader
    open (FIFO, "> $FIFO") or die "can't write $FIFO: $!";
    print FIFO "John Smith (smith\@host.org)\n", `fortune -s`;
    close FIFO;
    sleep 1;    # to avoid dup sigs
}