in reply to Small question: Why can't I print "@-"?
If your code executes print "@-"; and the output is @-, then your perl is probaby version 5.005_03 or older. @- and @+ aren't supported until perl version 5.6, if I remember correctly.
Updated: Interpolation of @- and @+ seems to be broken until version 5.008.
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Seekers of Perl Wisdom