General – Page 22 – The Laughing Wolf

Giving Thanks

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which began as a celebration of life, abundance, and thanks. I’ve long tried to stop each year and give thanks for all that is good in my life. That can include things that may not seem a blessing, but often in those mysterious ways turn out to be so. So, I give thanks to God and thanks to those here who have impacted my life.

First and foremost, I am thankful to still be here. A year ago last June, lightning entered my life and started a most interesting journey for me. A year ago last October I had open heart surgery so they could take care of three different issues that had cropped up. The strike itself was a series of small miracles that made the difference between my getting up and going to work not realizing I had been hit, and my landlord finding my body instead. The last year plus has seen a number of medical and other challenges, and we seem to be holding on fairly well.

While it is hard, I try to be thankful for my memory issues. Right now, my short-term memory is, ah, limited. There are portions of my long-term memory that I can’t access. I’m told that this too shall pass, and while it can be frustrating (or worse) it also reminds me to be thankful for what I have, and that in about three years my brain should have healed and most of these issues will then pass. Until then, I’m thankful that there was no major physical damage (fractures and the like) to the brain, that it will heal, and that I have methods of coping that help a lot. I may still have to put my morning pills in a bowl, count, and verify to be sure I take them all; but, I can do that and pretty much everything else on my own.

I find it very hard to be thankful for the hearing loss. In addition to general loss in both ears, and an increase in tinnitus, I lost all the upper frequency hearing in one ear, and the nerves are dead so no getting it back via tech. Things sound strange, different, or missing. That said, it does force me to slow down and actually listen on occasion, which in this world can be a good thing. It also makes me appreciate what I still can hear even more. For that, I am thankful.

I am thankful for the open heart surgery, as it seems to have worked well and from which I have bounced back amazingly well given all. Still working on endurance and more, but it is a blessing to be able to get out and walk and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. And to meet a number of the neighborhood dogs. That’s really fun to do.

I am thankful for my regular medical team, and for the team at RHI who have helped me develop some of the methods of coping that allow me to function well (most of the time). For all that I sometimes do resent having to live off lists and such, I’m also thankful I have that option and that it works as well as it does as much as it does.

I am thankful for all who have offered support and encouragement through the fundraiser. I never expected that I would get hit by lightning, much less that it would lead to a year-plus of medical and other challenges or that I would be out of work so long. The prayers, encouragement, and financial support are amazing and why I am still going. With the medical on an even keel for now, though it took much longer than planned/desired, working hard to get moved out to the Southwest. Thank you all!

I am thankful for you, my readers. There is overlap between this group and the fundraising group, but you too have offered prayers, encouragement, and financial gifts. Some of you have offered tech support and other information as this blog has changed hosts and otherwise started on the path of being a well-read blog once again. Again, thank you all!

Finally, I am thankful for my friends. As with all such dramatic changes in life, one finds out who one’s friends truly are in times like these. I have met friends I didn’t realize I had, and I’ve seen true friends stand out like wheat from chaff. I have seen kindness unbounded from strangers, and have reconnected with friends from the past. For it all, I give thanks and say to you, thank you all.

There are many more blessings in my life, but for now I share these with you and encourage you to take the time this Thanksgiving to list the blessings (even in disguise) in your life and give thanks. It is right and proper to do so. Equally, it is a good reminder of all that is good in our lives in these interesting times.

The times are not good, but in the face of it people still do good things. Have Faith, as even when things are dark and tight, there is good and help in this world. Also, remember that together we can do more than alone, and we need to stand with our brothers and sisters during this great challenge.

Be not despondent, be not afraid. Instead, give thanks and do what what you can so that all of us can move forward together.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Kroger Update & More

If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog. Working on it, feel free to hit the tip jar to help me keep going and upgrade the site. Your gifts truly do make the difference. Working on adding a mail-in option, GabPay, others; if interested in mail-in for now drop me a line.

A few weeks ago, I had a most unexpected and unpleasant experience with Kroger Fuel. Since then, I’ve neither gotten fuel there nor shopped at Kroger.

Funny thing is, I’ve been finding some much better deals elsewhere. The eggs I prefer (and yes, trying to stay brand specific as started them for nutrition profile and right now because my bloodwork is so good! Changing as little as possible given how good) I’ve found elsewhere for less. Excellent and even better sour cream to replace the Kroger Natural? Yes indeed and for about the same price.

I am having to make a few more stops, but have been able to keep mileage pretty close to what I was doing. Interesting thing is finding some neat things along the way.

I also need to note that the Aldi near me has much better produce than the one I used to shop. At the previous, that section could literally stink. At this one, it looks like it is worked daily and I’ve been finding some wonderful stuff including avocados which I use every day. Their avocados beat all the other stores easily on price and quality.

As I noted on Twitter earlier, I got some New Orleans French Roast coffee beans (with chicory) from The Fresh Market yesterday. Tried them this morning and while it is not the same as sitting at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans (and eating things I’m not supposed to eat), but it is a good second. The Fresh Market does bulk coffees, and the price works out close to what most stores charge. Pro tip: whole beans last longer, just like whole grains, and are better for prep (and coffee in my highly biased opinion). Also, before buying from that bulk bin, check those beans out. If dry and dull, skip. Good fresh beans will have an oily sheen to them. That said, you really need to buy the sealed and pre-done bags of whole bean for prep. They also have some amazing deals each day of the week.

I was buying Seattle’s Best Post Alley beans, but that is one of the few things I’ve not been able to find at other stores. In fact, most stores have even less a selection of whole bean coffees than Kroger these days. May have to save up and see about ordering direct. Sadly, I was paying $4.99 a bag before the election. Now, $7-$8 is not unusual for it. That’s one reason the bulk at The Fresh Market works out about the same, or even less if careful.

The other thing are supplements. I had switched some to Kroger brand, but will switch to others of similar quality or even higher if the price is right. Going to have to explore that a bit more here soon, time to stock up again. May be one of the things I get from the big box (WallyWorld, Meijer, etc.) stores.

Fresh Thyme does have some bulk (no coffee) and a number of products that are hard to find elsewhere. I also love the bulk meats, especially bacon. They have sold me as little as three slices (needed for cooking) and when I can I like to splurge and get six or so pieces to have Saturday morning. Yes, I do save my bacon drippings. 🙂

Even without all the coupons I used to get and use, coming out a bit cheaper on my boycott. That said, if you are on Twitter and want to save, follow The Crazy Coupon Lady for a lot of good tips and bargains.

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo or drop me a line to discuss other methods. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

PayPal And Donation Update

For the record, PayPal still hasn’t cancelled my account. They are still claiming that a ‘technical issue’ is preventing them from closing a number of accounts including mine.

Yes, it has been a hit taking them off here. There has been a significant drop in donations, the gifts that keep me going and will hopefully get me on out to the SW here soon. So much so I’m in a bit of a bind.

So, I’m in the process of jumping through the hoops to add GabPay as an option, and am exploring others. Any suggestions for a good alternative that isn’t going to play woke games?

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Imhotep?

Yes, medically and otherwise I am still trying to prepare to move to the Southwest. Now, pretty much have a green light from the medical side. I’m trying to get creative on the actual move, and even on finding a place to live when I get there.

One option I can’t afford to do lump sum is to buy some land, maybe payments though. So, I’ve been keeping an eye on land around the area I’ve narrowed things down to, and have found the price ranges interesting. Right now, anything with even a trailer on it is expensive, while undeveloped land varies wildly.

The other day I found a listing for ten acres at a price that I couldn’t believe. Now, this one was different from the $1 million listing for a 3-Br house, that only after you dug down did you find out that it came with 100 acres of land and was a working ranch. This is just the ten acres, and the price was well below normal. So much so, I want to visit it just to be sure it doesn’t glow in the dark or that I’m going to find Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo running around shooting and creating sand storms.

Renting a place for a few months to explore and shop is in many ways the best and smart thing to do. That said, to get out there and get going, nothing is off the table. Maybe find a Bubba Yaga-style trailer, tow it out there, and live in it for a bit. Find something that needs work I can do, and build up. Main thing is, get out there and get started. I really don’t want to deal with another Indiana winter, especially with how good I felt out there when I visited earlier this year.

I’ve about got expenses pared down as much as I can. The one thing I know I will need to do/get is Starlink. Your suffering via reading me must continue.

The search continues. I really need a lump sum to move, but again I’m willing to be creative. Onwards!

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Get Me Outa Here

One more reason to get out of here: been up since about 0330 hours when, once again, shots rang out nearby. To my ear, it sounded like the same gun, same area as last time, but no yelling. Just two shots, then about five more. I swear it sounds more like a .380 (.25?) than a 9mm, but after the lightning strike and the loss of upper frequencies completely in one ear (as well as general loss of hearing in both), both my triangulation abilities and my identification are off. Good thing was a neighbor (Marine) heard it too. Despite his calling it in this time, nothing. Saw cops race by in both directions, but none stopping in our area. I’m working hard on a nest egg to get moved, hope to add more to it soon and get out of here.

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the tip jar in the upper right or the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Initial Review Of Nexcess

Things have moved fast since all of you helped make it possible to switch hosting providers last week. As I may have mentioned previously, I had actually decided to go with a different provider, but was reminded of why I left them before (major attitude/snottiness and slow/poor service). Instead, there were a number of recommendations for Nexcess that seemed to check out. So, I decided to give them a try.

First up, I will state up front they are pricey. In fact, their basic package was not only higher than the similar package at the people who talked themselves out of my business, but significantly more than similar packages at other peers. That said, more than one review pointed out the amazing service you got from them for that fee. So, I decided to go over-budget and give them a try after talking with them.

The migration from Dreamhost went fairly well overall. For most things, I don’t think I spent more than ten minutes per issue (and there were very few issues) as we moved the site over. The responses were fast, professional, and the net result was that we had a functional site up and running very quickly. Admittedly at one point there was an issue on some WP/database files that took far longer than I expected to resolve as over the weekend the great support went away for a time and I didn’t hear back from them until Monday not near the start of the day. That was disappointing. Before that, my largest complaint was that I wasn’t getting enough feedback on what, if anything, I needed to be doing to help the migration and get things set-up. As it was, the missing files created a behind-the-scenes/under-the-hood issue that in no way impacted the public viewing of the site. On the migration overall: A-.

Steady traffic seems to be handled well. Pretty much as expected from any decent provider. Spike traffic is the issue for me, and one reason I went with them was a guarantee they have regarding resources to handle spikes. Yesterday put that to the test as I got an Instalanche (augmented by a link at Victory Girls and a Twitter link from Leslie Eastman of Legal Insurrection) sooner than anticipated.

Okay, the site did slow down and was down for a minute or two a couple of times in the next few hours. I did not open a trouble ticket immediately as Nexcess seemed to be handling a good bit automatically and I wanted to see how they did. I did eventually open a ticket and this time we were open well beyond ten minutes as they worked to handle the traffic. In fact, there was a pretty good silent gap at one point. I will add this: even when the traffic was handled, they were not happy with the slowness and worked to mitigate it.

Net result: the site was down for a minute or less twice that I know of; the site did bog down badly a couple of times, but bounced back; and, when slowness was detected, Nexcess worked to speed it back up. As a result, more people got through in the first 30 minutes than got through in 24-hours (on average) under Dreamhost. To top it off, a new traffic record was set with app. 3,700 visitors coming in from the referring sites and some 4,300 page views. I’m going to give the response a solid B. It would be a B+ but for one thing and that goes beyond just this incident.

Holy cow these people are into upselling. Anything and everything gets an upsale pitch. I got my first upsale pitches when talking to them about their service and my needs. I’ve gotten upsale pitches pretty much every flippin time I’ve talked to them about anything for any reason. Wondering if it is new because it is NOT mentioned in any of the major reviews (almost all of which seem to be a year or more old at this point, and prices have gone up quite a bit). Given that their prices are already significantly higher than their peers, this is not a good thing from my point of view. In point of fact, it already has me looking around for other options for either now (30-day money back) or when my paid-for year is up.

If it were not for that, I would probably be giving them a solid A at this point instead of a B+/A–. Initial contact and migration, with the one period of silence, was good and fast overall. The response to the link from Insty was solid, and so much better than Dreamhost (which took literally days to resolve tickets) it was/is not funny. Instead of being down hours, the site was down around two minutes total all day.

Oh, a note on Dreamhost: when I told them I would not be renewing my account was terminated immediately, not on the date I was paid to. Nor did they offer to refund any difference. To my mind, once they knew I would not be continuing, I got the big FU. Not that their service was that good to start with, to be polite. Put them on my highly NOT recommended list.

If it weren’t for the upsale, upsale, upsale routine, I would be extremely happy with Nexcess. As it is, if it weren’t for the upsale, upsale, upsale routine I would be giving more consideration to a possible upgrade as I can see some benefits. Just a hint to them, whoever decided that high pressure was the way to go is an idiot and a long-term detriment to the company. It may work in the short term, but it never works out well long-term.

All that said, solid. A huge improvement over Dreamhost. If you decide you are interested in trying them, let me know. Other than the upsale, upsale, upsale thing it’s been a pretty good experience so far. We will see how it goes.

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Kroger Fuel & I Are Done

It was nice to have some funds this morning to do a little shopping after the wonderful joys of two different fasting blood draws to start the day. Nothing huge, but some things I’ve been needing to pick up like coffee for next week and other bits and pieces.

After having a wonderful breakfast (more on that in a separate post), I hit Kroger as my first stop and on the way out I decided to get fuel, as I’ve done for years. I got my $8.32 worth of gas, and went on my way. Yes, keeping the car as full as I can while I can.

Now, normally on an errand day I’m checking my online banking before and after each stop. It lets me make sure things have been correctly charged, keep up with my balance, and make sure nothing has gone awry. Today, I didn’t do that and it bit me.

I stopped at Fresh Thyme to pick up a couple of things, and when I got to the checkout, my debit card was declined. Given my balance at the start of the morning, and that I hadn’t spent all that much at Kroger, I was on the phone to the bank rather quickly, fearing that someone had somehow gained access to my card. Someone indeed had. Kroger.

In all the years I’ve shopped there, much less bought fuel, I’ve never been hit with a hold that showed up online. As noted, I tend to check as I shop, and I’ve NEVER, let me repeat, NEVER seen a hold from them. Is it possible one has hit? Sure. But, again, never seen one for fuel. In this case, per Kroger policy (as stated by them) they are now putting a $150 hold on all debit card purchases at the pump.

So, I found myself dead in the water as they had taken an additional $150.50 above what I had already legally paid, and had not returned it. Kroger blamed my bank and/or Visa for that. The bank and/or Visa said it was on Kroger. To a certain extent, I don’t care. Since I had paid for the gas I bought, and verified Kroger indeed had the money (which they agreed that the did indeed have that whole whopping $8.32), I wanted my $150.50 back.

An extremely verbose internet rando on Twitter explained at length, then condescendingly and smarmily continued to expound at length on how it was just business and I peasant should just deal (until I muted the mouthy thing who doesn’t apparently do well on social skills since even my “I don’t care” went over his head). He may be right, but again I’ve never had this done before. Yes, some other gas stations have put a $1 hold at the start, but I have never had one, esp. Kroger where I’ve been a regular customer for years, put a $150.50 hold on me before.

And, they are never going to do it again. Done. Don’t care how things are done, supposed to be done, or are done on the fly by the Queen of the May. I’m not going to do business with someone who takes my money even after I’ve paid my just debt, and then doesn’t return it immediately. Again, don’t care if it was Kroger, who cheerfully notes that holds can last 24 hours (so be glad if it gets back sooner peasant), and then blames all holds on the banks and/or Visa. I don’t care if it is the banks and/or Visa at fault, because they didn’t demand $150.50 for the hold, that’s on Kroger; and, they say the hold length is on Kroger. A pox on them both is my response.

And, yes, I know that they will give it back, for all that I am reminded of the bully who steals from you and then eventually gives it back because the teacher or someone bigger than them found out and made them give it back. Has that feel to it, you know? They will give you your ball, cash, lunch, whatever back when they are done with it. So deal.

Nor do I care if it is legal, done legally or otherwise within the way the banking system works in real life, or whatever. Fact is, taking someone’s money to which you are NOT entitled and then not giving it back immediately is wrong. Period fucking dot.

For now, the one place I know who is doing the $150 per go is Kroger. So, I’m not going there anymore and want you to be aware of what they are doing. Up to you if you want to deal with this or not. Yes, if I jumped through some hoops I might could shop there without getting hit with a $150.50 hold every time, but I’m also tired of all the people who want to see how many hoops they can make you jump through, as well as those who are good with it. Both groups do not have individual liberty, liberty, or your best interests at heart. Again, period fucking dot.

So, I’m shopping elsewhere for fuel. If this becomes a problem elsewhere, there are other options. There are options that may become much better given the way cards and such can be tracked — and fucked with officially and unofficially. Yeah, I’m one of those who is laughing at the idea of a federal crypto, and noting the move towards Chinese-style control over funds and more. Only idiots think that’s a good idea. Hoping Zelazny was right about what happens when cash is banned.

Also, I’m going to be taking as much of my business as I can for groceries elsewhere. Nice thing is, there is some good competition here. Which is nice, as I don’t like to reward what I consider bad behavior. Don’t care what Kroger or anyone else calls it, I see this as very bad behavior.

Sorry to be wordy and even a bit preachy, but I am more than a bit pissed. I did finally get my money back after multiple calls with Kroger, my bank, and others. Actually toying with the idea of a small-claim court filing as this wasted several hours of my time, deprived me of my funds for a period of time, created the potential for damage to my reputation, and a few other things. We will see.

For now, I’m going to raise a proper toast to Sunny, and try to relax a bit. Meantime, caveat emptor, esp. with Kroger fuel.

*****

Tap, Tap

Okay, maybe this time we are on. 🙂

First up, thank you all! Your kind gifts have just made some really great things happen.

Yes, the monthly bills are covered. Even better, we now have a new host, Nexcess (part of Liquid Web), and so far I am extremely pleased with them. I had actually been looking at a different hosting provider who talked themselves out of the gig. I had used them once before, and was reminded why I left them (snotty responses and slow service). So far, I’ve had extremely good and fast customer service, issues are resolved while I am on with them, and I think the most we have spent working any issue was less than ten minutes. If they can handle the traffic, all is good.

While it ended up costing more, it’s been worth it for the service and the huge increase in speed I’m seeing. I did go over the budget I set, but again appears to be worth it, and I’m paid up for a full year. They have a 30-day guarantee, so let me know of any issues you see, and hopefully we will get an Instalanche in that time to truly test the system.

I’ve put the focus on the blog, and dropped hosting for my photography/professional site. Which has also dropped an e-mail addy, possibly two. Not too worried about that for now, site needed to be re-done anyway. 🙂

I also, thanks to your help, do have the new shoes I so desperately needed. I am walking for exercise and more, and while I hit a personal best of 7.48 miles the other day (best since being hit by lightning), I also had problems of which blisters were the least. So, I went shopping for new shoes. I hit the running store, the zebra store, and more. The running store used the super-scanner and every effort to get e-mail, upgrade, upsell, etc. The zebra store ignored me, and when queried said they didn’t have my brand in stock despite their own site saying they did. The other stores, well, they had limited stock and proud-of-this prices.

Something told me to check out Stout’s southside location (oldest shoe store in America according to them). Walked in, Ally (sp?) looked at my shoes, recognized the model, recognized that there have apparently been some significant upgrades in the four years (I think) since I bought them, asked me about use and other factors, discussed budget, and then measured both feet mechanically. A few moments later, two sets of shoes (one my brand one another) were out, we tried, I stayed with my brand, and stayed within the budget I had set. The difference in the skill level, customer service, and product knowledge was amazing. Highly recommend them. Oh, and if we do need to do extra orthotics to handle where the lightning exited my body through the ball of my foot, they can handle that in several ways, including 3-D printing. Nice. Feels weird having all the support…

And, that is true here too. Thank you so much! You have kept me going in this crazy year plus since getting hit by lightning. Your gifts have kept me afloat financially and are letting me work on trying to get moved. Your prayers have sustained me. Your kind comments and interesting responses have added to the food for thought here nicely. I can’t say thank you enough, and right now pushing to get some cushion to put towards moving. The problem is just getting enough at one time and in one place to get me out there. Working on it, and looking at ways to get creative so as to sidestep some issues and get on with it.

Thank you so much! Sound off if you see any hosting issues, and do sound off if you see speed and other improvements. Good with the bad. Now, to write something worthy of a link at Instapundit and see how they handle that. 🙂

Onwards!

*****

An Update

The other day, I posted a plea for assistance, and I want to say thanks to all who responded! Today, I have a brag and a minor update to that article.

The brag is simple: Saturday saw me take a 7.48 mile walk, a personal best since I got hit by lightning. Really enjoyed getting out, stretching the legs, and pushing the cardiac recovery. Glad I did it when I did, as it has been a bit soggy since then.

Which is letting the feet feel better. Definitely moving shoes up the priority list, as Saturday’s walk left me not only tired and sore, but with blisters on my feet. Knew they needed replacement, but didn’t realize how bad they had gotten. Can’t complain, got 3+ years out of them of almost constant wear. Just hope the next pair don’t cost too much more and will last about the same.

Posting Delay?

Any serious posting may be delayed until this afternoon at the earliest. I’m scrambling on several fronts, not including bills and other delights.

The other delights. Well, they are interesting. I rent a room in an older home. In fact, when my landlord bought the home I was asked if I wanted to move with him to the new place. I did, though I really wasn’t thrilled with the location but it is larger, inexpensive, and overall the landlord and I get along okay. Perfect, no. Good enough, yes.

However, I mentioned older. As in we discovered that the sewer drains were original terra cotta. That the relative he bought from had done a lot of “repair and upgrade” work themselves. I will simply note that even if buying from family getting a reputable inspector to look the place over is a good idea. We’ve had flooding issues in the basement where my room is located because of the drain issues. Thankfully it only got into my room once, but that was once too many in my book. Replacing the line out to the property line was pricey, but along with an emergency sump pump strategically placed (outside) to handle rain/flooding we’ve not flooded since.

Monday saw flash flood warnings in the area and the weather was indeed interesting. Since then, we’ve had kitchen sink drain issues that may or may not be related. The long-needed sealing/resurfacing of the driveway is underway. There are some other minor things going on as well. As in I’m having to make some hard decisions on a couple of different issues. One of which involves social security in light of some of the ongoing issues from being hit by lightning. I will admit to being very pleasantly surprised at how nice and friendly the lady at social security I spoke to was during our talk. One of her suggestions truly surprised me, as it was not what I expected. The good plumber my landlord found will be out today to work on the drains.

And before I forget, there has been concrete work done (much needed) on an exposed porch and some other repair work as well. All in all an interesting week that has us parking all over the neighborhood (can’t use the driveway until Saturday or Sunday) and other delights. Also, I really need to go take a good walk today while the weather is nice. In fact, may take a long walk as I’m not getting enough exercise thanks to the weather, and I can’t afford the gas to go walk at a mall.

So, more soon. Just not sure how soon.

UPDATE: This is likely it today. Went on my walk and decided to explore a trail I’ve not been down before. One thing I will give Indy (and it pre-dates the current admin FYI) is that there are a lot of urban trails that follow old railroad lines. Instead of my normal 3+ mile walk, I ended up doing between 7-8 miles (forgot to cut on my walking map app until halfway through). I feel good, though body is letting me know I have not been doing this enough lately.

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