diff --git a/lib/net.js b/lib/net.js
index 8a433da3817..1ecc801db66 100644
--- a/lib/net.js
+++ b/lib/net.js
@@ -243,10 +243,10 @@ var buffers = new FreeList("buffer", 100, function (l) {
 
 
 // Allocated on demand.
-var recvBuffer = null;
-function allocRecvBuffer () {
-  recvBuffer = new Buffer(40*1024);
-  recvBuffer.used = 0;
+var pool = null;
+function allocNewPool () {
+  pool = new Buffer(40*1024);
+  pool.used = 0;
 }
 
 
@@ -267,27 +267,27 @@ function _doFlush () {
 function initStream (self) {
   self._readWatcher = ioWatchers.alloc();
   self._readWatcher.callback = function () {
-    // If this is the first recv (recvBuffer doesn't exist) or we've used up
-    // most of the recvBuffer, allocate a new one.
-    if (recvBuffer) {
-      if (recvBuffer.length - recvBuffer.used < 128) {
-        // discard the old recvBuffer. Can't add to the free list because
+    // If this is the first recv (pool doesn't exist) or we've used up
+    // most of the pool, allocate a new one.
+    if (pool) {
+      if (pool.length - pool.used < 128) {
+        // discard the old pool. Can't add to the free list because
         // users might have refernces to slices on it.
-        recvBuffer = null;
-        allocRecvBuffer();
+        pool = null;
+        allocNewPool();
       }
     } else {
-      allocRecvBuffer();
+      allocNewPool();
     }
 
-    //debug('recvBuffer.used ' + recvBuffer.used);
+    //debug('pool.used ' + pool.used);
     var bytesRead;
 
     try {
       bytesRead = read(self.fd,
-                       recvBuffer,
-                       recvBuffer.used,
-                       recvBuffer.length - recvBuffer.used);
+                       pool,
+                       pool.used,
+                       pool.length - pool.used);
     } catch (e) {
       self.forceClose(e);
       return;
@@ -307,30 +307,30 @@ function initStream (self) {
 
       timeout.active(self);
 
-      var start = recvBuffer.used;
-      var end = recvBuffer.used + bytesRead;
+      var start = pool.used;
+      var end = pool.used + bytesRead;
 
       if (!self._encoding) {
         if (self._events && self._events['data']) {
           // emit a slice
-          self.emit('data', recvBuffer.slice(start, end));
+          self.emit('data', pool.slice(start, end));
         }
 
         // Optimization: emit the original buffer with end points
-        if (self.ondata) self.ondata(recvBuffer, start, end);
+        if (self.ondata) self.ondata(pool, start, end);
       } else {
         // TODO remove me - we should only output Buffer
 
         var string;
         switch (self._encoding) {
           case 'utf8':
-            string = recvBuffer.utf8Slice(start, end);
+            string = pool.utf8Slice(start, end);
             break;
           case 'ascii':
-            string = recvBuffer.asciiSlice(start, end);
+            string = pool.asciiSlice(start, end);
             break;
           case 'binary':
-            string = recvBuffer.binarySlice(start, end);
+            string = pool.binarySlice(start, end);
             break;
           default:
             throw new Error('Unsupported encoding ' + self._encoding + '. Use Buffer'); 
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ function initStream (self) {
       }
 
 
-      recvBuffer.used += bytesRead;
+      pool.used += bytesRead;
     }
   };
   self.readable = false;
@@ -501,26 +501,26 @@ Stream.prototype.write = function (data, encoding) {
 
       //debug('write string :' + JSON.stringify(data));
 
-      if (!recvBuffer) allocRecvBuffer();
+      if (!pool) allocNewPool();
 
-      if (recvBuffer.length - recvBuffer.used < bytes) {
+      if (pool.length - pool.used < bytes) {
         // not enough room - go to slow case
         return self._queueWrite(data, encoding);
       }
 
       var charsWritten;
       if (encoding == 'utf8') {
-        recvBuffer.utf8Write(data, recvBuffer.used);
+        pool.utf8Write(data, pool.used);
       } else if (encoding == 'ascii') {
         // ascii
-        recvBuffer.asciiWrite(data, recvBuffer.used);
+        pool.asciiWrite(data, pool.used);
       } else {
         // binary
-        recvBuffer.binaryWrite(data, recvBuffer.used);
+        pool.binaryWrite(data, pool.used);
       }
 
-      buffer = recvBuffer;
-      off = recvBuffer.used;
+      buffer = pool;
+      off = pool.used;
       len = bytes;
     }
 
@@ -536,8 +536,8 @@ Stream.prototype.write = function (data, encoding) {
 
     //debug('wrote ' + bytesWritten);
 
-    // Note: if using the recvBuffer - we don't need to increase
-    // recvBuffer.used because it was all sent. Just reuse that space.
+    // Note: if using the pool - we don't need to increase
+    // pool.used because it was all sent. Just reuse that space.
 
     if (bytesWritten == len) return true;
 
@@ -548,8 +548,8 @@ Stream.prototype.write = function (data, encoding) {
       data.used = data.length;
     } else {
       // string
-      recvBuffer.used += bytesWritten;
-      data = recvBuffer.slice(off+bytesWritten, off+len+bytesWritten);
+      pool.used += bytesWritten;
+      data = pool.slice(off+bytesWritten, off+len+bytesWritten);
       data.sent = 0;
       data.used = data.length;
     }
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@ Stream.prototype.resume = function () {
 
 
 Stream.prototype.forceClose = function (exception) {
-  // recvBuffer is shared between sockets, so don't need to free it here.
+  // pool is shared between sockets, so don't need to free it here.
   var self = this;
 
   var b;