Thanks for your comments about my code. I agree that eval was not needed, in fact one of the solutions prior to my own was simple and effective, and did not use eval.

However, being the XP whore that I am, I needed to post my own solution and have it be somewhat different from the other attempts.

None of that is the reason for this thread, though. My code: bad. I'm just asking for Merlyn to take his disclaimer down since it isn't accurate, and that he, like me and any other human, is prone to an occasional personal attack on someone.