First off, thanks for answering...

The $fh==$lsn works, but that doesnt mean it's correct. I'll look into using fileno() but my understanding is that when you use IO::Socket it doesnt work EXACTLY like filehandles under WIN32 (which is my platform, should of said earlier eh?).

As for the stored as strings, I know.. that's my problem. I'll look into TIE I guess! :)

Thanks Again,
mslattery