Obnoxious riddle/Solution

Solution to the obnoxious riddle

• The image file for the item, obnoxious.gif, actually contains an embedded mp3. The gif can be opened directly in many mp3 players. For some mp3 players, the file may need to be renamed to obnoxious.mp3 before opening. You can also extract the mp3 by opening the file in an editor and removing everything in the file prior to the ID3 tag.
• Open the mp3 file in any mp3 player. If you are able to view the comments from the ID3 tag, you will see "Don't submit answers to Hotstuff after April 8th, 2011. Thanks for playing!"
• Listen to the mp3 file for what sounds like Morse code. If you can transcribe it directly, you're amazing. It's easier to open in an audio editor such as Audacity, where you can actually see the dots and dashes. Transcribe the dots and dashes to get:

-------.-.-.--.--.--------.....-..------...-.....--.---.-.---..---..-.---.--.---.-
.---.-.-...-.---.--.---.-.-..---..-.-.---.--.....-...--.-....-.....--------.-.-.-.
-.-.-------..........-.-...-........----..-.-.---....-..---.--.-.-..-..-.-..--..-.
..-..--..---.-----....---.....-.-...----..--.-..---------.---..--.-.-----.-...-..-
.-.....--...--.---..-.-.------.--..-..--...--.-..--..---.-..-..--....--...--.----.
..-..-----.--.........-.-....--...--.---------...-....--.-.-.-.--.....-...--...--.
..--...-.---.-..-....-.-----.-.--.---.-.--.---..---.------.---.-.--.---.-.-------.
-.....-.--.-.-...-...--..-------.-....---.--------

• Morse code requires spacing, so this is clearly not Morse code, so it must be some binary representation. We can see there are 625 units, which is nicely divisible by 25 (25², in fact). Break the lines up into groups of 25 to see:

-------.-.-.--.--.-------
-.....-..------...-.....-
-.---.-.---..---..-.---.-
-.---.-.---.-.-...-.---.-
-.---.-.-..---..-.-.---.-
-.....-...--.-....-.....-
-------.-.-.-.-.-.-------
..........-.-...-........
----..-.-.---....-..---.-
-.-.-..-..-.-..--..-...-.
.--..---.-----....---....
.-.-...----..--.-..------
---.---..--.-.-----.-...-
..--.-.....--...--.---..-
.-.------.--..-..--...--.
-..--..---.-..-..--....--
...--.----...-..-----.--.
........-.-....--...--.--
-------...-....--.-.-.-.-
-.....-...--...--...--...
-.---.-..-....-.-----.-.-
-.---.-.--.---..---.-----
-.---.-.--.---.-.-------.
-.....-.--.-.-...-...--..
-------.-....---.--------

• If you look closely, the dashes and dots represent a QR code. Draw the image in any image editor, to allow for proper scanning, to get:

• Scanning that QR code reveals the text and the solution, "1stToKmailMe'SPUNKY'Wins!"

Additional clue

• In a forum post, HotStuff stated that the original text for the item description was "Doesn't everyone need some obnoxious wordplay and verbose entertainment? Most people! (Educated guess.)"; however, he thought that would have been be too much of a hint.
  • Taking the first letter of each word in the description gives DENSOWAVEMPEG. Denso-Wave created the QR code in 1994, and the image is encoded in an mp3 (MPEG Layer III) file.