gistfile1.txt

#!/usr/bin/env node

// the upstart job to check the status of
var job = 'node';

var spawn = require('child_process').spawn,
    status = spawn('status', [job]),
    output = "";

status.stdout.on('data', function(data) {
    output += data;
});

status.on('exit', function(code) {
    if (output.indexOf('start') !== -1) {
        console.log('status ok the ' + job + ' job is running');
    } else {
        console.log('status err the ' + job + ' job is not running');
    }
});

status.stdin.end();