in reply to help with perl variables
... some things may look odd.
Some things do look odd. In fact, most things look almost unreadable. Programming is hard enough without having to deal with code that looks like a filled-in crossword puzzle.
Maybe try something like perltidy to get the code into a readable format. If code can easily be read, it is more likely to be understood — perhaps even by you! — and to attract useful advice.
Give a man a fish: <%-{-{-{-<
|
|---|