choroba wrote:

You used strict. Very good. But you didn't use warnings. Why?

Long list of reasons. Short answer: Bad habits, I was in a hurry, and I'm arrogant.

And that bit me: May the lesson stick well this time

You need to use a character on the right hand side of the xor, too.

Thank you. (My instinct was suggesting a typecasting problem; I probably should have followed up on that before posting. Ah, well.)