I don’t really know when, but my ISP has apparently installed a spam blocker on their servers. So instead of getting around 50 spam messages a day like I used to, I now get only one message per day. Some days even pass without a single spam message. Spam control at its best.

What does all of this have to do with Unicode? Don’t forget to breath, the answer lies short ahead…

What is Unicode then, and what does it have to do with spam? “Unicode provides a unique number for every character”, Unicode is the future of encoding. Microsoft has seen the bright and shiny future and has implemented Unicode in their Windows NT series. Fortunately, I am using Windows NT and have Unicode, I am part of this glorious future, I have the ability to read Japanese, Korean, Chinese and all sorts of weird languages I don’t understand.

Unlike the great Microsoft, my ISP has not yet seen the future. My ISP has not yet obtained the ability to read Unicode. It has yet to be enlightened. And so, instead of blocking all of the spam, it lets spam encoded with Unicode slip by and I get Viagra ads in Japanese, loan offers in Korean and stock tips in Chinese.

I feel so blessed, I have little to none spam and thanks to Microsoft who has embraced the future, I have the ability to read the spam that I do get… If only I understood Japanese, Korean and Chinese… *sigh*