Here are your random Taiwan moments for Friday. Enjoy.

1. For a while, I was really addicted to the game SimCity4. One feature of this game is that land which you zone for commercial use takes a while to become valuable and develop big buildings. I've often thought that Taiwan looks like a SimCity board. But I've noticed just how perceptive the game designers were.

Here in Taichung, a newly-widened road has been created in the past year. And now that there's lots of traffic cutting through what was recently just rice paddies and a few small factories, now there are used-car lots being constructed on every available piece of land that touches the road. My SimCities followed exactly the same pattern, often with several lots right next to each other. I thought they were exaggerating, or making up for a lack of unique graphics. But that really seems to be exactly what happens. Just throw down some concrete and put up a tin shack and some neon, and you're all set. I figure about 20% of these cars are stolen.

2. Every scooter license plate is three letters and three numbers. But since the locals don'r really know English, I often see lots of interesting combinations of letters, which are always good for a giggle on the way to and from work. It takes me back to the days of writing my 3 initials in a high-score video game list: ASS, SEX, JRK, SUX, DIK, TIT, and more. There are also lots of interesting initials that ring bells in my head: FBI, CIA, SNL, GOP, DDR, JFK, FAQ, NRA, PTA, ORG, and so on...

Have a good weekend.