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<channel>
	<title>John Croucher</title>
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	<link>http://jcroucher.com</link>
	<description>Just another WordPress site</description>
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		<title>Hard Candy</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/14/hard-candy/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/14/hard-candy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:32:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=729</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This movie is EPIC. The performances were astounding to the point it became uncomfortable to watch. The movie is about a guy who grooms an apparent underage girl online and takes her back to his place. Fortunately the guy does &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/14/hard-candy/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This movie is EPIC.<br />
The performances were astounding to the point it became uncomfortable to watch.</p>
<p>The movie is about a guy who grooms an apparent underage girl online and takes her back to his place.<br />
Fortunately the guy does not get to act on any of his potential urges. The girl gets in first and teaches him a lesson in the most brutal yet subtle ways. Any guys watching this movie will be crossing their legs.<br />
There is actually no blood in this movie though. Its not a crazy slasher movie. Its just a mind-fuck to the guy and the audience.</p>
<p>The style of filming added to the movie also. It was very artistic and it felt very real.</p>
<p>This is a must see for everyone. </p>
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		<title>Human Centipede 1</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/11/human-centipede-1/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/11/human-centipede-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:27:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=727</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This movie was lacking. What can I say, I did not like it. It was talked up so much, so many people said its disgusting, but really its not. I found the acting of the girls to be terrible. The &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/11/human-centipede-1/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This movie was lacking. What can I say, I did not like it.<br />
It was talked up so much, so many people said its disgusting, but really its not.</p>
<p>I found the acting of the girls to be terrible.<br />
The acting did get better once their mouths were connected to the the person in-front&#8217;s ass, as they could no longer talk.</p>
<p>It was a typical group of kids and a crazy guy movie.<br />
I felt the plot was pointless. It was trying too hard to be disgusting with no real substance.<!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Visitor Q</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/10/visitor_q/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/10/visitor_q/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:15:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=725</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever been hit on the head with a rock? No, well this movie will hit you over the head with something. It&#8217;s not a gory movie, and its not a suspense. It is classed as a Comedy, Drama, &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/10/visitor_q/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Have you ever been hit on the head with a rock? No, well this movie will hit you over the head with something.<br />
It&#8217;s not a gory movie, and its not a suspense. It is classed as a Comedy, Drama, Horror. I am not even sure what I would class it as other than what did I just watch.<br />
This one messed up family which gets even worse when the visitor arrives.<br />
Everyone that I know who has watched it has had the same reaction.<br />
First it starts with what the hell did I just watch? Then it turns to, wow that was actually a really good movie.<br />
As messed up as it is, its really well done.</p>
<p>I highly recommend watching it to anyone that is sick of Hollywood movies. Anyone who can handle the realities of a messed up family.</p>
<p>I should also note, the lactating milk scenes, apparently its real. As in, the actor really made herself lactate for the film. Yep, messed up.</p>
<p>http://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/visitor-q-dts/dp/778546<!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Blackout &#8211; Tip</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/09/blackout-tip/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/09/blackout-tip/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:06:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blackout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[power failure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[storm]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=723</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Saturday we experienced a huge storm. I have honestly never seen my palm trees blown around like that before. We don&#8217;t usually get storms like that in this part of Australia. Huge storm of course means a power failure. &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/09/blackout-tip/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Saturday we experienced a huge storm. I have honestly never seen my palm trees blown around like that before. We don&#8217;t usually get storms like that in this part of Australia.<br />
Huge storm of course means a power failure.</p>
<p>After the power flicked on and of twice, the third time it was gone for a few hours.</p>
<p>I was thinking great, now we need torches or candles.<br />
Torches are not good for lighting a room, and candles are dangerous.</p>
<p>While looking outside thinking about what to do about light I realised I had a source of light that was safe, charged and already putting out light. The solar lights in the garden.<br />
I pulled a few out from their base and stood them upside down on the coffee table. The room was lit with safe free light.<!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Xmas holiday progress</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/08/xmas-holiday-progress/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/08/xmas-holiday-progress/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:32:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the House]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=721</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s Sunday 8th Jan meaning that tomorrow it is time to start the new work year. My list of things to do over the break was massive, I only got through about 1/4 of the items. Even though I only &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2012/01/08/xmas-holiday-progress/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s Sunday 8th Jan meaning that tomorrow it is time to start the new work year.</p>
<p>My list of things to do over the break was massive, I only got through about 1/4 of the items.<br />
Even though I only got through a small amount I feel that I have made some good progress. </p>
<p>1. De-clutter lounge<br />
The lounge started out a mess. TV in the corner with a heater in the middle of the end wall, and a aircon in the next do the heater. It was not designed properly for a modern house. I quickly fixed this, put in shelving then started putting small items on display. It was all just pointless crap which after 3 years of adding to it, just became cluttered. Now most of the on-display items have been removed, its all a lot more simple focusing on what the lounge is for, TV.</p>
<p>2. Weed<br />
5 hours of weeding later.. *sigh*</p>
<p>3. Put curtains up in kitchen/dining<br />
Finally replaced the checkered pink curtains</p>
<p>4. Window film in office<br />
School book contact works a treat. </p>
<p>5. Re-arrange office<br />
Moved my desk to the end wall, moved the server cabinet down. Built a new desk for my fiance.<br />
Also added new floating shelves over the desks.</p>
<p>6. Curtains in office<br />
White matches the rest of the room finally!</p>
<p>7. Fix lock on gate<br />
No idea how long this was broken for, but I would say a year or more. I just never got around to it like many things. It turned out to just be two loose screws.</p>
<p>8. Dig hole and put in bricks for rabbit hutch<br />
Spent a day digging a hole, then bricking in the outside and bottom of the hole, then filling in the hole.<br />
This will allow the rabbits to dig into the ground, but not get out.</p>
<p>9. Move rabbit hutch<br />
Move them to their new location. They were unhappy at first, but after some digging I think I was thanked.</p>
<p>10. Bathroom door stop<br />
Liquid nails. Another thing that has been not done for 3 years now. Simple thing to do.<br />
Maybe the bathroom will actually get finished soon.</p>
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		<title>Merry Dies Natalis Solis Invicti To All!</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/20/merry-dies-natalis-solis-invicti-to-all/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/20/merry-dies-natalis-solis-invicti-to-all/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:02:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics & Religion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=656</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s nearly that time of year again when people all around the world get together to celebrate another Christian holiday which has been in a sense, stolen from an older religion. The 25th of December was a Roman festival Dies &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/20/merry-dies-natalis-solis-invicti-to-all/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s nearly that time of year again when people all around the world get together to celebrate another Christian holiday which has been in a sense, stolen from an older religion.</p>
<p>The 25th of December was a Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. This is to celebrate the birth of Solis Invicti, The Invincible Sun.</p>
<p>The early Christian Church found it hard to convert the religions. The people were used to celebrating things on days such as the 25th. Its hard to get them to celebrate the &#8220;Birth of Jesus&#8221; on the 6th of January ( or where ever else they disagreed the &#8216;actual&#8217; date was ). So if you can&#8217;t make people celebrate, just change the date. The birth date of Jesus suddenly became the 25th of January.</p>
<p>Another example is Sunday. Have you ever wondered why Sunday has that name? Its because of Solis Invicti, dies solis ( day of the sun ). The day which is reserved for many Christian denominations for worship is yet another stolen day.</p>
<p>When you sit down around your Christmas tree unwrapping your presents, remember that this custom you are participating in was actually banned by the Catholic Church during the middle ages. The gift giving practice comes from the Roman festival <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia">Saturnalia</a>. The church tried to stop people from participating in this tradition, but in the end they rationalised it by attributing it to St Nicolas, and the gift giving to baby Jesus.</p>
<p>At least the Christmas tree is Christian,, right? Nope, its Pagan. Its part of the Winter Solstice traditions. Even the idea of sitting around eating food is not Christian.</p>
<p>Christmas is a mash of traditions that proceed it. It seems that the only tradition Christmas actually has that it created itself is the idea of sitting in Church listening to the story of Jesus. No wonder they could not get people to sign up to this religion.</p>
<p>After the bastardization of its own religion over the years, capitalism took it further. Stores around the world now rely on the Christmas period for profits. Many stores would go bust if it was not for the Christmas rush. This idea of spend big for Christmas only started with the invention of the Department Store.</p>
<p>If you are a Christian then you should read this post and realise that you need to get to the roots of your religion. Celebrate what the bible intended, not the bastardization it has become.</p>
<p>If you are not a Christian, then you should see how comical it is that people blindly follow this day without any real sense of what they are actually celebrating. Use this day to have fun, reflect on the influence that religion unfortunately still has on the world.</p>
<p>For everyone, realise that the commercialization of Christmas is not needed. If you are Christian then Christmas isn&#8217;t about racking up your Credit Card Debt. Surely Jesus would have been against such frivolous possessions?<br />
For non-Christians, you don&#8217;t need to waste money on presents either. Its not your holiday. Stop perpetuating the day of lies by toning it down. I am not saying don&#8217;t celebrate Christmas. It can be a fun day to catch up with family and just relax. I am just saying don&#8217;t stress so much before, don&#8217;t spend so much, don&#8217;t take it so serious.</p>
<p>Merry Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Happy Solstice.<!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Art does not equal recycling..</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/15/art-does-not-equal-recycling/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/15/art-does-not-equal-recycling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:32:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=563</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lately I have seen more and more blog articles about how people are doing great things for the environment by &#8220;recycling&#8221; trash, turning it into &#8220;art&#8221;. My issue is that most of the stuff made is crap and it won&#8217;t &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/15/art-does-not-equal-recycling/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lately I have seen more and more blog articles about how people are doing great things for the environment by &#8220;recycling&#8221; trash, turning it into &#8220;art&#8221;.<br />
My issue is that most of the stuff made is crap and it won&#8217;t have any real impact on a large scale.<br />
Its turning crap people don&#8217;t want, into other crap no one wants, but the person making it gets a warm fuzzy feeling.</p>
<p>This &#8220;art&#8221; does nothing for the environment.</p>
<p>It even puzzles me more when a lot of this so called art is centered around recycling of things that can actually be properly recycled, such as soft drink bottles. Why would you turn the bottom of 50 soft drink bottles into a shitty looking lamp shade, throwing away the top, when the whole thing could be recycled into something actually useful.</p>
<p>Recycle your stuff properly. Don&#8217;t turn it into something shit that can&#8217;t be recycled.<!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Facebook Gift Vouchers</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/12/facebook-gift-vouchers/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/12/facebook-gift-vouchers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Computers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voucher]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jcroucher.com/?p=533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It still continues to amaze me that people will fall for stupid things like the current JB Hi-Fi voucher scam/hoax. These sorts of scams have been done for many different businesses around the world. The last one I recall was &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2011/12/12/facebook-gift-vouchers/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It still continues to amaze me that people will fall for stupid things like the current JB Hi-Fi voucher scam/hoax.</p>
<p>These sorts of scams have been done for many different businesses around the world. The last one I recall was for Coles.</p>
<p>What I don&#8217;t understand is that one comes along, people join the group. It all gets found out that its a scam, then the next one comes around and people again fall for exactly the same thing for a different &#8216;company&#8217;. Some people I have seen fall for it are the same people. As for the people that didn&#8217;t fall for it the first time, why are they now falling for it with a new one?</p>
<p>Also the maths doesn&#8217;t add up. Just look at the search listings below. 100,000 * $200 = $20,000,000. Yes that&#8217;s $20 million!</p>
<p><center><a href="http://jcroucher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/jbvoucher.png" rel="lightbox[533]" title="jbvoucher"><img class="size-medium wp-image-534" title="jbvoucher" src="http://jcroucher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/jbvoucher-257x300.png" alt="" width="257" height="300" /></a><a href="http://jcroucher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/jbvoucher2.png" rel="lightbox[533]" title="jbvoucher2"><img class="size-medium wp-image-535" title="jbvoucher2" src="http://jcroucher.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/jbvoucher2-300x295.png" alt="" width="300" height="295" /></a></center>What company would give away $20 million just because someone joins a group. It makes no sense!</p>
<p>Look at real competitions and promotions. They usually require you to buy something, or offer personal details to win something.</p>
<p>Lets look at say a drink maker. Every bottle has a code under the label. You go and enter it online. You could win DVD&#8217;s instantly or something of small value. There could be a major prize of a car even. The total prize value given away over a long promotional period is usually more around $100,000. Not even close to $1 million.</p>
<p>Look at the terms of any competition and it will state the value.</p>
<p>This is why NO company will ever give away this crazy amount of money for nothing.</p>
<p>Now you may think, well whats the problem with just liking it &#8220;just in-case&#8221;.</p>
<p>Well there are some reasons why you should not like or share this crap</p>
<ol>
<li>It makes you look stupid.</li>
<li>It is spam.</li>
<li>You are helping to make your own friends fall for it. Do you want to take the blame when your friends are pissed at you for sharing this shit?</li>
<li>It *could* potentially steal data from your account. I have seen ones in the past that request access when you like the page allowing them to get access to all the info on your page. Who knows what these scamers will do with your information.</li>
<li>You are not going to get shit!</li>
</ol>
<p>Next time you see something like this, THINK, research, THINK some more, then decide if its really worth posting, sharing, liking.</p>
<p>Further Reading: <a href="http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/891505/">http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/891505/</a><!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Hot Water</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/20/hot-water/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/20/hot-water/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the House]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://home.jcroucher.com/?p=154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I was heading to bed. As the house went quiet I noticed the rain. I thought to myself that the rain sounds unusually loud on the roof. I ignored it until I eventually thought no I have to &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/20/hot-water/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last week I was heading to bed. As the house went quiet I noticed the rain.</p>
<p>I thought to myself that the rain sounds unusually loud on the roof. I ignored it until I eventually thought no I have to go have a look.</p>
<p>I went outside to see no rain. I then noticed steam coming off the hot water service, then I looked down to the ground to see water gushing out of it.</p>
<p>I shut off the gas and water to the system. Then started to look at where the water was coming from.</p>
<p>It was easy to tell that it was coming from inside the outer shell. I thought a pipe must have come off inside. I opened it up to see a hole in the top of the metal cylinder where the water is heated. It was only a small one but it means the end of that one.</p>
<p>I had been saying for a few months that I thought it was going to die. When the hot water was turned on I could hear a banging and bubbling. Apparently this is a sign of internal rust. It was also 10 years old, almost to the month. Boiler type water heaters usually only last for around 10 years. And the warranty was for 10 years.</p>
<p>Now that it was dead it was time to find something new. With the new efficiency laws it makes it a bit tougher for some people to get something cheap, but luckily enough for me I have gas, and power right where the hot water is. After a few phone calls and a lot of waiting I had some quotes. It took an entire day of calling people and waiting when the actual install only took about an hour. Crazy.</p>
<p>The other crazy thing is that the heater cost about $750, but the actual install cost about $750. 1 hour of labor and parts costs the same as the entire water heater apparently!</p>
<p>It was unfortunate to have to spend that much on a new hot water system when the money was to go towards other things, but at least it is done, out of the way and more efficient. Now I have to not get tempted to have extra long showers since I have endless hot water! <img src='http://jcroucher.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':D' class='wp-smiley' /> <!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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		<title>Origin Smart Meter</title>
		<link>http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/09/origin-smart-meter/</link>
		<comments>http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/09/origin-smart-meter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:15:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the House]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://home.jcroucher.com/?p=149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was excited to finally get my smart meter installed as part of the government Solar Cities Program. However after viewing the stats system it left me rather disappointed. The online system provided really only shows a graph and not &#8230; <a href="http://jcroucher.com/2011/04/09/origin-smart-meter/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste">I was excited to finally get my smart meter installed as part of the government Solar Cities Program. However after viewing the stats system it left me rather disappointed.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">The online system provided really only shows a graph and not much else.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">They provide a way of downloading the data but they make it complex for 3rd party apps to automatically download the data.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">The problem is that you have to login, which sets a browser cookie with a session id. The session then stores if you are logged in and what sort of graph you want to view for the selected date range.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">So to get a system to automatically download the latest data its a 3 start process.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">1. Login, save the session cookie</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">2. Request the url which specifies the date range to be viewed and pass the cookie back</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">3. Request the download XLS link and pass the cookie back</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">The other problem is that the data comes as an XLS. Its not too big of an issue with some simple libs, but CSV would have just been much nicer.</div>
<p>What I have written is a simple PHP script that can be called from a daily cron job. The script saves the downloaded data to a MySQL database that I will talk about more in another post.</p>
<p>I will write some sort of system that displays the data in a nice format on the web.</p>
<p>But for now anyone wanting to give it ago can download the script and have a play.</p>
<p>Please ensure you read the documentation in the CentPower.php file and update with your required settings.</p>
<p>Let me know if you find any bugs!</p>
<p>The PHP script can be downloaded from <a href="http://home.jcroucher.com/files/centpower-0.1.zip">http://home.jcroucher.com/files/centpower-0.1.zip</a><!-- PHP 5.x --></p>
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