docs: def stdout_encode(u, default='utf-8'):
      """ Encodes a given string with the proper standard out encoding
          If sys.stdout.encoding isn't specified, it this defaults to @default
  
          @default: default encoding
  
          -> #str with standard out encoding
      """
      # from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3627793/best-output-type-and-
      #   encoding-practices-for-repr-functions
      encoding = sys.stdout.encoding or default
      return u.encode(encoding, "replace").decode(encoding, "replace")