On my linux box (Debian Sarge, Python 2.3, Matplotlib 0.82) the first
example, text(0.5, 0.5, u'\u03bb'), correctly shows a lambda, but the
second, text(0.5, 0.5, u'\u03bb'.encode('utf8')), only shows 2 small
boxes. Perhaps you do not have all the required fonts installed?
I am not sure what fonts need to be installed. Actually I thought Matplotlib
brings its own fonts...
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