Stripping for spam

I would be applauding this as an ingenious workaround if spam was not so evil:

Spammers have created a Windows game which shows a woman in a state of undress when people correctly type in text shown in an accompanying image.

The scrambled text images come from sites which use them to stop computers automatically signing up for accounts that can be put to illegal use.

By getting people to type in the text the spammers can take over the accounts and use them to send junk mail.

My favorite podcasts

I've recently gotten into podcasts...it's the perfect way to keep your brain pleasantly occupied on the way to work or walking the dogs. The below are a few of my favorites, plus a few that I don't absolutely listen to every episode of but like to check out once in a while. Try them. You might find that you like them. And please feel free to share your favorite podcasts in the comments.

NPR: They don't do their flagship news programs as podcasts. But I catch Marketplace this way as well as Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

BBC: From Our Own Correspondent is probably my favorite here. It's a personal take by journalists about the places they've been and things they've seen that can be really illuminating and gripping or just a little silly. It's always interesting to have heard the same event covered as a news item first on Today and then catching the behinds the scenes version on FOOC.

RTI: Radio Taiwan International is a nice quick way of getting a capsule view of goings-on in Taiwan, especially on the days when I don't feel like reading any newspapers. Plus I sometime come across feature ideas I might be able to steal.

Travel with Rick Steves: This program is really inspiring for those seeking to do in-depth travel. Or just to dream...

The Naked Scientists: Just like the Naked Chef, the Naked Scientists are British and not actually naked. But they do put out a good show about the latest and wackiest in science.

Savage love: The dude writes a good sex advice column and now he's got a good podcast.

Behind the Bar show: An oddly compelling show about the art of whipping up a good cocktail with Mr. Martini. I also like this show because you get the sense that he's just a guy who hooked a mike to his computer one day and started doing this podcast thing.

Anyhoo, there are more, but that's all I feel like putting up for now. I am always looking out for new and interesting podcasts for my lineup, so suggestions in the comments please.

show some emotion

Whoa! My feature on Taiwanese emoticon usage habits made it to the front page!

Smilies are so 1990s. Emoticons have evolved to another level in Taiwan after users started making their own animated GIF files and swapping them through chat programs such as the popular MSN Messenger.

To give you a taste of Taiwanese emoticon (ab)use in action, take a look at a screencapture of a recent IM conversation I had, username blurred.