The predominance of CGI talk on perlmonks is a major reason why I've never posted here before and only lurk occasionally.

I first started using perl 8 years ago to build an EDI engine for processing healthcare claims. Its text processing power and flexibility was simply unmatched. It was years before I even got around to writing a CGI script in it. I prefer to use Embperl for that sort of thing.

Lately I've been using Perl/Tk to write some quick visualization tools. Its quick, its simple, and its cross platform. Integrate with DBI and you have a nice cross platform client/server solution. No worries about retarded browser compatability and viral vulnerability. Pop in Storable and you can have a persistent local cache for mobile or intermittently connected users.

I've heard good things about Ruby, but learning another obscure immature new language would require more motivation than simple niftiness.

I'm also interested in using Patterns in Perl. I only see one such module up on CPAN. Looking over the Apocalypses it would seem to be a much easier project to do in Perl 6.