diff --git a/common.cpp b/common.cpp
index f338b9019..20840c4ad 100644
--- a/common.cpp
+++ b/common.cpp
@@ -1952,6 +1952,7 @@ void set_main_thread() {
 
 /* Notice when we've forked */
 static pid_t initial_pid;
+
 bool is_forked_child(void) {
     bool is_child_of_fork = (getpid() != initial_pid);
     if (is_child_of_fork) {
diff --git a/exec.cpp b/exec.cpp
index 6f3ae5498..f96fcf3f1 100644
--- a/exec.cpp
+++ b/exec.cpp
@@ -1237,6 +1237,8 @@ void exec( parser_t &parser, job_t *j )
                 std::string actual_cmd_str = wcs2string(p->actual_cmd);
                 const char *actual_cmd = actual_cmd_str.c_str();
                 
+                const wchar_t *reader_current_filename();
+                printf("forking for '%s' in '%ls'\n", actual_cmd, reader_current_filename());
 				pid = execute_fork(true /* must drain threads */);
 				if( pid == 0 )
 				{
diff --git a/fish.cpp b/fish.cpp
index 6bfd37ca0..bf2784239 100644
--- a/fish.cpp
+++ b/fish.cpp
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ static int read_init()
 	{
 		wcstring config_dir_escaped = escape_string( config_dir, 1 );
         wcstring eval_buff = format_string(L"builtin . %ls/config.fish 2>/dev/null", config_dir_escaped.c_str());
-		parser.eval( eval_buff.c_str(), 0, TOP );
+		parser.eval( eval_buff, 0, TOP );
 	}
 	
 	return 1;
@@ -265,8 +265,9 @@ static int fish_parse_opt( int argc, char **argv, const char **cmd_ptr )
    parses commands from stdin or files, depending on arguments
 */
 
+extern int g_fork_count;
 int main( int argc, char **argv )
-{
+{    
     struct stat tmp;
 	int res=1;
 	const char *cmd=0;
@@ -304,6 +305,8 @@ int main( int argc, char **argv )
 
     parser_t &parser = parser_t::principal_parser();
 
+    printf("%d: g_fork_count: %d\n", __LINE__, g_fork_count);
+
 	if( read_init() )
 	{
 		if( cmd != 0 )
@@ -387,5 +390,7 @@ int main( int argc, char **argv )
 	
 	env_destroy();
 	
+    printf("%d: g_fork_count: %d\n", __LINE__, g_fork_count);
+    
 	return res?STATUS_UNKNOWN_COMMAND:proc_get_last_status();	
 }
diff --git a/iothread.cpp b/iothread.cpp
index dcb79fe13..bcfe49438 100644
--- a/iothread.cpp
+++ b/iothread.cpp
@@ -199,8 +199,14 @@ void iothread_service_completion(void) {
 
 void iothread_drain_all(void) {
     ASSERT_IS_MAIN_THREAD();
-    ASSERT_IS_NOT_FORKED_CHILD();
+    ASSERT_IS_NOT_FORKED_CHILD(); 
+    if (s_active_thread_count == 0)
+        return;
+    int thread_count = s_active_thread_count;
+    double now = timef();
     while (s_active_thread_count > 0) {
         iothread_service_completion();
     }
+    double after = timef();
+    printf("(Waited %.02f msec for %d thread(s) to drain)\n", 1000 * (after - now), thread_count);
 }
diff --git a/postfork.cpp b/postfork.cpp
index 1bb796280..523a78164 100644
--- a/postfork.cpp
+++ b/postfork.cpp
@@ -304,6 +304,8 @@ int setup_child_process( job_t *j, process_t *p )
 	
 }
 
+int g_fork_count = 0;
+
 /**
    This function is a wrapper around fork. If the fork calls fails
    with EAGAIN, it is retried FORK_LAPS times, with a very slight
@@ -323,6 +325,8 @@ pid_t execute_fork(bool wait_for_threads_to_die)
 	struct timespec pollint;
 	int i;
 	
+    g_fork_count++;
+    
 	for( i=0; i<FORK_LAPS; i++ )
 	{
 		pid = fork();