>>>>>A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was an assembler programmer who spoke hex as almost a second language. At one out of control launch party we actually had a hex spelling bee. Clearly there were not enough women there....
>>>>
>>>>I can remember when "hex" was what The Red Witch threw at baddies :-)
>>>
>>>That art is called spelling, and is the basis of the local literature.
>>
>>Spelling is often the basis for the local literature I read too (except for Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban).
>
>Of course it is. If one can't spell, how can you expect books to be written?

Have you read Riddley Walker? Forget spelling, but one of the truly brilliant books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A lot of work getting through the first few pages, but eventually it becomes almost second nature. Throughout the book, I kept thinking, "I wish I'd written this!"