"There are three requirements to deciphering any unknown writing. One must:
1) believe that the writing has meaning and CAN be deciphered, for one will be unable to find any meaning in symbols which he firmly believes are meaningless;
2) have a known source to compare and match to find the intended meaning;
3) determine the method of reading the characters.
Watch out, that first step's a doozy!
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."