while(<DATA>){
  chomp;
  my( $month, $day, $time, $host, $ppid, $date, $time2, $something, $direction, $remainder ) = split ' ', $_, 10;
  if( $direction eq '<=' ){
    # go left
  } elsif( $direction eq '=>' ){
    # go right
  } elsif( $direction eq '==' ){
    # do a third thing
  } elsif( $direction eq '**' ){
    # do a fourth thing
  } else {
    # fall back on a default behavior
  }
}