Using an encoder such as MIME::Base64 might work better. For example:

use MIME::Base64;
$weird = chr(0x2a);
$encoded = encode_base64($weird);
#$decoded = decode_base64($encoded);

$string = "Weird char: $encoded.\n";
[download]

This is also easier to read and more flexible than a regexp. :)

--
hiseldl
What time is it? It's Camel Time!