I shouldn'ta left you, left you, left you, without a dope beat to step to, step to, step to, step to.
It's been a long time, since I've written on this blog. My apologies! I started a professional marketing blog and wrote a book so I kinda got busy with all of that. If you want to read any of my marketing blogs go to: www.userdrivenchange.com
A lot has happened since my last blog. A LOT! You might say, a WHOLE LOTTA SOMETHIN has been going on... har, har, har. I've had a girlfriend for almost 2 months and it's been great! She's really into soccer, and fairly into other sports. In fact we've gone to 3-4 baseball games and are going to a football game next weekend. As well, we both have separate season tickets to the S0unders (soccer team) here in Seattle.
I moved back in with roommates in January and have had a lot of fun with them. It's been a great year of activities and this summer was EPIC! Rafted a river twice, camped twice, BBQ'ed 1,000 times, played a season of softball (and might have been the mvp of the season), met my girlfriend, learned how to ride a motorcycle, got my motorcycle license, crashed a motorcycle (I'm ok), published a book, and flew to Vegas for a 2-night get away.
I ventured to Lake Crescent which is beautiful; took in Forks, Wa (lame town and no vampires) and La Push (highly recommend going here!). I also flew to Costa Rica and met up with my brother and his roommate for a 5 day/night stay at an awesome hotel. Saw a volcano and a small panther cat, body surfed, and stayed drunk almost the entire time!
I saw Griffey's first home run back as a Mariner (also his 400th as a Mariner) and I saw his last hit (at least of this season). Saw my brother 3 times this year and none of the times were we in Texas which is a first. Rode some amazing roller coasters in New Jersey. Met his girlfriend. Saw the Wildwood biker convention. Saw Atlantic City. Technically I saw this in 2008 but it was after my last blog, I went to NYC and saw EVERYTHING you could see as a tourist.
Yes it's been a crazy year and it's still only 3/4 done.
Here's to the rest of the year!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Saturday, September 20, 2008
It's always rainy in Seattle
I got hosed by my Facebook 'status update' the other night. I had a couple tickets to a show (that I am going to in about two hours) and had a date but my date had to cancel on me last minute. So I tried in vain to find a 'date'. Mind you, date to me is a loose term meaning someone to accompany to something. No expectations for my dates. That could be why I'm still single... I'm not aggressive enough with women. But that's not what this blog is about, and I do think I'm aggressive enough, I just usually go in with no expectations, that way I don't have any regrets. But I digress...
So I called all the single women that I knew and they all had previous engagements, so I was dateless... I jokingly asked a co-worker on Friday if he had any female friends that would be cool with going to a show 'blindly' with someone that they just barely met. He surprisingly had a couple people in mind. Unfortunately, one was out of town and the other had 'seen my status update on Facebook' and thus felt like it was too formal of a request, but that she wouldn't mind just hanging out sometime. I felt, and still feel that this is a strange response to someone giving away a ticket to a show, but whatever. I felt a little angry with my Facebook page. I've been 'cock blocked' by roommates, friends, transportation (breaking down), relatives, pets (yes, the damn dog tried to hump my leg while I was trying to mack down with a girl on the couch). But never, ever did I think that I would be cock blocked by a website.
Again, my attempts to find a date for the event, were with no expectations, I simply wanted someone to accompany me so that I didn't look like a total toolbag. Still, I felt a little betrayed by my Facebook status, since my last hope decided she didn't want to meet up because of what my 'Facebook Status' said. Now that I think about it though, I think that is just about the lamest excuse I've ever heard from someone. First, anything that I put on my facebook, much like this blog, should be taken with a grain of salt. If you are so caught up in what something online says about someone else that you don't want to meet them, then you are probably pretty lame.
But that's just my honest opinion. It's probably not the best opinion since I'm still a single guy... you could probably say that I might have issues with women. LOL I say F&*% you.
PS - My Facebook status said, "Jeff has an extra ticket for a cabaret show and needs a date for Saturday... any takers? :)" What exactly is scary about this statement? Too honest? I could have said, "I'm only a half loser because I did have a date, but I apparently wasn't cool enough to be first choice, so now I have a spare ticket" right?
PSS - The rain has officially begun in Seattle, thus my blog title.
So I called all the single women that I knew and they all had previous engagements, so I was dateless... I jokingly asked a co-worker on Friday if he had any female friends that would be cool with going to a show 'blindly' with someone that they just barely met. He surprisingly had a couple people in mind. Unfortunately, one was out of town and the other had 'seen my status update on Facebook' and thus felt like it was too formal of a request, but that she wouldn't mind just hanging out sometime. I felt, and still feel that this is a strange response to someone giving away a ticket to a show, but whatever. I felt a little angry with my Facebook page. I've been 'cock blocked' by roommates, friends, transportation (breaking down), relatives, pets (yes, the damn dog tried to hump my leg while I was trying to mack down with a girl on the couch). But never, ever did I think that I would be cock blocked by a website.
Again, my attempts to find a date for the event, were with no expectations, I simply wanted someone to accompany me so that I didn't look like a total toolbag. Still, I felt a little betrayed by my Facebook status, since my last hope decided she didn't want to meet up because of what my 'Facebook Status' said. Now that I think about it though, I think that is just about the lamest excuse I've ever heard from someone. First, anything that I put on my facebook, much like this blog, should be taken with a grain of salt. If you are so caught up in what something online says about someone else that you don't want to meet them, then you are probably pretty lame.
But that's just my honest opinion. It's probably not the best opinion since I'm still a single guy... you could probably say that I might have issues with women. LOL I say F&*% you.
PS - My Facebook status said, "Jeff has an extra ticket for a cabaret show and needs a date for Saturday... any takers? :)" What exactly is scary about this statement? Too honest? I could have said, "I'm only a half loser because I did have a date, but I apparently wasn't cool enough to be first choice, so now I have a spare ticket" right?
PSS - The rain has officially begun in Seattle, thus my blog title.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
I saw Will Smith in person tonight!
I saw Will Smith live and in person today. He was approximately 25 feet from me. Sadly, all I could do was say barely outloud, "That's Will Smith" to my friend Amanda. We had just gotten out of a sneak preview to see Will's new movie '7 Pounds', so it wasn't entirely shocking that Will was there, but I was in shock to see him. Will is probably my most favorite actor to watch. Not because he's the best, or because he's the funniest, or because he's the most dramatic, but just because he is Will Smith. Anytime you watch him in a movie, you see the character that he plays through and through, I mean when I watched Ali, I really though it was Cassius Clay in the movie. However, at the same time, when you watch a Will Smith movie, you watch Will Smith act. You know it's Will Smith. You enjoy it because it's Will Smith. He's not the hunkiest guy in the world, he doesn't have all the smooth lines, he doesn't make you fall on the floor laughing, but he does make you smile inside throughout the movie. I guess you could say, he makes you have a man crush on him.
Thus, when I saw him tonight, I was so excited I could barely move, much less anything more than a few syllables with only a few decibels to them. It's probably a good thing because I would hate myself if I would have 'gayed out' and started yelling and screaming... "Oh my God it's Will Smith, hey Will, HEEEEY". And then gone running toward him like a good crazed fan would. Not I sat in my chair at the conveniently placed bar just outside the movie theater and watched him walk into the elevator. I turned to my friend Amanda and we both simultaneously said, "That's Will Smith, oh my god".
As I said, I had just gotten out of watching Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. It was supposedly the very first showing of the movie to anyone. So, I guess it was a pretty special situation. We couldn't take our camera phones or cameras or any type of recording device into the theater. After the movie was over they made us fill out a questionaire that was sort of a movie review. I'm fairly certain that the movie got only fair reviews at best. I personally thought that the movie took to long to tell you what it was going to be about. With a name like Seven Pounds, I thought it might have something to do with giving birth, or with a heart transplant, but it could have been about something else completely. Once you get in about 20 minutes into the movie, you see what the movie is about and then it becomes a pretty predictable movie at that point. I don't want to be a spoiler so I'm trying to be fairly vague. I also thought the ending was a little cheesy. Overall I thought Will did a good job with his character although I thought his character came across as sort of creepy at times. The movie wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good in my opinion. I think overall it was just sort of weird. I think the biggest problem with the movie was that it tried to be too many things at once. It was a drama, but it also tried to be artsy at times, then it turned to a love story, then drama again, and then it tried to have a deeper all around tie in, that kinda made you feel like, "Oh, yeah, I see all the tie in's though most were pretty easy to figure out, but now I can see what the whole movie was trying to be about."
Anyway, I guess I'm glad that Will didn't come closer to me because I might have been tempted to ask for his autograph and would have told him that I saw the sneak preview and he would have asked me what I thought. I would have been torn on whether to appease him and tell him that I thought it was pretty good, or whether to tell him the truth. (laughing to myself at this point) I should think that I would have told him most of what I said above, that while he did a good job with his role, as did all of the actors, the movie just tried to be too much and came off as weird. I would only hope that he would have taken that in stride and told the directors/producers to fix the movie.
So, like most of my life, I came so close yet I was still just a little bit away from something really cool happening to me. By the way, Will Smith isn't as tall as he looks in the movies, I'd say he's only about 6 foot tall, I expected 6'3", 6'4" Like Josh or Steve.
Thus, when I saw him tonight, I was so excited I could barely move, much less anything more than a few syllables with only a few decibels to them. It's probably a good thing because I would hate myself if I would have 'gayed out' and started yelling and screaming... "Oh my God it's Will Smith, hey Will, HEEEEY". And then gone running toward him like a good crazed fan would. Not I sat in my chair at the conveniently placed bar just outside the movie theater and watched him walk into the elevator. I turned to my friend Amanda and we both simultaneously said, "That's Will Smith, oh my god".
As I said, I had just gotten out of watching Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. It was supposedly the very first showing of the movie to anyone. So, I guess it was a pretty special situation. We couldn't take our camera phones or cameras or any type of recording device into the theater. After the movie was over they made us fill out a questionaire that was sort of a movie review. I'm fairly certain that the movie got only fair reviews at best. I personally thought that the movie took to long to tell you what it was going to be about. With a name like Seven Pounds, I thought it might have something to do with giving birth, or with a heart transplant, but it could have been about something else completely. Once you get in about 20 minutes into the movie, you see what the movie is about and then it becomes a pretty predictable movie at that point. I don't want to be a spoiler so I'm trying to be fairly vague. I also thought the ending was a little cheesy. Overall I thought Will did a good job with his character although I thought his character came across as sort of creepy at times. The movie wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good in my opinion. I think overall it was just sort of weird. I think the biggest problem with the movie was that it tried to be too many things at once. It was a drama, but it also tried to be artsy at times, then it turned to a love story, then drama again, and then it tried to have a deeper all around tie in, that kinda made you feel like, "Oh, yeah, I see all the tie in's though most were pretty easy to figure out, but now I can see what the whole movie was trying to be about."
Anyway, I guess I'm glad that Will didn't come closer to me because I might have been tempted to ask for his autograph and would have told him that I saw the sneak preview and he would have asked me what I thought. I would have been torn on whether to appease him and tell him that I thought it was pretty good, or whether to tell him the truth. (laughing to myself at this point) I should think that I would have told him most of what I said above, that while he did a good job with his role, as did all of the actors, the movie just tried to be too much and came off as weird. I would only hope that he would have taken that in stride and told the directors/producers to fix the movie.
So, like most of my life, I came so close yet I was still just a little bit away from something really cool happening to me. By the way, Will Smith isn't as tall as he looks in the movies, I'd say he's only about 6 foot tall, I expected 6'3", 6'4" Like Josh or Steve.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
State Rivalries
I was thinking today... I know, shocker... that it would be fun to start some state rivalries. I think there's actually a lot of merit in this because I think it could actually unify the country and bring back some of that spirit that we used to have. (USA! USA! USA! USA!) I have to admit that as much as I disagree with a lot of our head honchos and a lot of the stupid rules that exist, I still tear up every time I hear the national anthem being played. Maybe it's the athlete in me, but I'm proud to be an American. I definitely rooted for them in every olympic event and took it personally when they didn't win. I mean, I was rooting for our Olympic Speedwalkers for Chissake's! But I digress...
I think Washington should start a rivalry with Texas. Why you ask? Simple. I'm from Texas but I live in Washington, thus I'm an expert on both. Plus it'd be cool to be in the middle of the fight. But seriously, I know that Washington tries to pick a fight with California but it's weak and has something to do with Cheese and Wine. Plus California has a better rivalry with Florida over who can build the most retirement communities. I know that Oklahoma tries to say that there's a rivalry with Texas, but come on... everyone knows that Oklahoma- 'taint Texas. (Pun intended). Oklahoma doesn't have anything but the Sooners, and now the Thunder (Sonics) but come on, how many seasons were the Sonics competitive? 5 out of 40 years?
So, why should Washington pick a fight/rivalry with Texas? Well, OregonE, IdaHOE and Montana (Montana is a funny name as it is) can't handle Washington and Lousyana, ArkanSAW, Oklahoma, or Diet Mexico have no chance against Texas. Sure, Texas has 3 times the amount of people that Washington has, completely different weather patterns (ok Eastern Wa is a lot like Texas so I'm told and it looks a lot like Texas, so there's enough to talk $hit about right there).
Washington has Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, Boeing, and Nordstrom. Texas has Dell, Texaco, Travelocity, Neiman Marcus, and H-E-B (yeah, no one in Washington has a clue about HEB, but it's the largest independent grocery chain, and #8 among national grocery chains even though it's 98% only in Texas). Texas was founded because people wanted to be away from the Union, but didn't want to be a part of the crazy slave drivin' south either. Washington was founded because a bunch of people on the East Coast wanted to be free of all the East Coast BS and wanted to explore the "Great Northwest". Texas was won from the Mexicans, Washington won from the Native Americans. Both states still have a large population of their Native people and both states continue to oppress them. Texas is a vital gateway to Mexico, Washington is a vital gateway to Canada. The Seahawks claim the 12th Man as their own while everyone in their right mind knows that Texas A&M was the first and most prominent with it (hello 12 men on the kick off team?)
So, who would win? Well, if GW were leading the Texans then Washington would have a fighting chance, but in all likelihood Texas would win this match up. Hell, the Texas A&M Aggie Corps of Cadets could probably take down the state of Washington by themselves (they are just crazy enough). But if it became a computer/internet battle, Washington (well, Seattle) would probably kick the crap out of Texas. High school football... no contest - Texas all the way. College Football? UW has seen a lot of success in the 80's and 90's, and Wazzu some decent success in the early 2000's (WSU vs. Texas 2003 Holiday Bowl, anyone? yeah WSU beat that ass). But Texas and Texas A&M have combined for more National Titles than UW and Wazzu, and while their Washington rivalry is cute and all... it doesn't beat the t.u. vs. TAMU rivalry. Although, the Apple Cup has provided some legendary games... then again,I do seem to remember a certain Ricky bowl over Dat Da Da Dat Dat Nguyen and break the all time college rushing yards record. Energy and recycling... big edge to Washington over Texas, but Texas has 'plenty of landfill space', so this should be a push right? Wrong. FAIL, Texas, FAIL.
Ok, I'm tired, all of this Trash talking has worn me out. But one final note Texas flag vs. Washington flag? No competition, the Lone Star takes out the green whatchamacallit by a landslide. Although you do have to admit that Texas wasn't very creative when coming up with a flag... "uhh, let's go with a red and white stripe, but just one of each, since we're just one state, and then we'll have a blue field with one star, cuz again we're just one state and not 13, but that'll be totally different than Old Glory!" Ok, the Texas flag is still more bad ass than greenie.
I think Washington should start a rivalry with Texas. Why you ask? Simple. I'm from Texas but I live in Washington, thus I'm an expert on both. Plus it'd be cool to be in the middle of the fight. But seriously, I know that Washington tries to pick a fight with California but it's weak and has something to do with Cheese and Wine. Plus California has a better rivalry with Florida over who can build the most retirement communities. I know that Oklahoma tries to say that there's a rivalry with Texas, but come on... everyone knows that Oklahoma- 'taint Texas. (Pun intended). Oklahoma doesn't have anything but the Sooners, and now the Thunder (Sonics) but come on, how many seasons were the Sonics competitive? 5 out of 40 years?
So, why should Washington pick a fight/rivalry with Texas? Well, OregonE, IdaHOE and Montana (Montana is a funny name as it is) can't handle Washington and Lousyana, ArkanSAW, Oklahoma, or Diet Mexico have no chance against Texas. Sure, Texas has 3 times the amount of people that Washington has, completely different weather patterns (ok Eastern Wa is a lot like Texas so I'm told and it looks a lot like Texas, so there's enough to talk $hit about right there).
Washington has Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, Boeing, and Nordstrom. Texas has Dell, Texaco, Travelocity, Neiman Marcus, and H-E-B (yeah, no one in Washington has a clue about HEB, but it's the largest independent grocery chain, and #8 among national grocery chains even though it's 98% only in Texas). Texas was founded because people wanted to be away from the Union, but didn't want to be a part of the crazy slave drivin' south either. Washington was founded because a bunch of people on the East Coast wanted to be free of all the East Coast BS and wanted to explore the "Great Northwest". Texas was won from the Mexicans, Washington won from the Native Americans. Both states still have a large population of their Native people and both states continue to oppress them. Texas is a vital gateway to Mexico, Washington is a vital gateway to Canada. The Seahawks claim the 12th Man as their own while everyone in their right mind knows that Texas A&M was the first and most prominent with it (hello 12 men on the kick off team?)
So, who would win? Well, if GW were leading the Texans then Washington would have a fighting chance, but in all likelihood Texas would win this match up. Hell, the Texas A&M Aggie Corps of Cadets could probably take down the state of Washington by themselves (they are just crazy enough). But if it became a computer/internet battle, Washington (well, Seattle) would probably kick the crap out of Texas. High school football... no contest - Texas all the way. College Football? UW has seen a lot of success in the 80's and 90's, and Wazzu some decent success in the early 2000's (WSU vs. Texas 2003 Holiday Bowl, anyone? yeah WSU beat that ass). But Texas and Texas A&M have combined for more National Titles than UW and Wazzu, and while their Washington rivalry is cute and all... it doesn't beat the t.u. vs. TAMU rivalry. Although, the Apple Cup has provided some legendary games... then again,I do seem to remember a certain Ricky bowl over Dat Da Da Dat Dat Nguyen and break the all time college rushing yards record. Energy and recycling... big edge to Washington over Texas, but Texas has 'plenty of landfill space', so this should be a push right? Wrong. FAIL, Texas, FAIL.
Ok, I'm tired, all of this Trash talking has worn me out. But one final note Texas flag vs. Washington flag? No competition, the Lone Star takes out the green whatchamacallit by a landslide. Although you do have to admit that Texas wasn't very creative when coming up with a flag... "uhh, let's go with a red and white stripe, but just one of each, since we're just one state, and then we'll have a blue field with one star, cuz again we're just one state and not 13, but that'll be totally different than Old Glory!" Ok, the Texas flag is still more bad ass than greenie.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Life
It was amazing to hold a baby, just 3 hours old, in my arm. I can't even describe the feeling, though, many of you know this feeling. It's very surreal to say the least.
Oddly, I felt like I was going to drop Avery about 16 million times in the 15 minutes that I got to hold her. So strange how you can feel that way about something so small and light (7 lbs 13 oz), yet I can hold up at 50 lb weight and curl or bench press it and not have the slightest inkling that I might drop it.
It just makes you think, "man, I'm less in control of my life than I think". Humans think they are the ultimate being. I think, guess again.
I also think - thank goodness for condoms, no babies for me anytime soon! :)
Graduation
As many of you know, I've been blogging on MySpace for over two years. Well, no more! I say, NO MORE! I have graduated to a real blogosphere. I guess that means I have to start writing more 'grown-up' blogs now.
I've been battling gout for about 4 months now. Let me check that. I've been keeping away from having gout again for about 4 months now. I developed gout 1.5 weeks before I was supposed to run the Beat the Bridge race which is a race that Nordstrom hosts to generate money for Juvenile Diabetes research. Needless to say, I wasn't able to run the race and was very disappointed. If you don't know what gout is, the short answer is that it is a form of severe arthritis. When full blown your affected joint can swell tremendously and any slight movement or touch to said joint is beyond painful. From what I understand it's like having kidney stones in your joints. Fore more on this check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout
Anyway, what I've discovered is that I was eating too much protein and not enough of everything else, coupled with the fact that I was consuming too much beer/alcohol and more importantly too much soda. This is all strange too me because I ate way more red meat and drank way more beer/alcohol and sodas when I was in college then I do now. Alas, I guess the older you get the more susceptible your body is to that sort of thing. I will admit that I've never been a big veggie eater. To me potatoes and more specifically french fries are my veggie. Not so much any more!
When I first came down with gout I thought it would just go away if I started eating a little differently. No so! I continued to drink beer and sodas and lived through pain for two weeks. Yes, I guess I am not so smart sometimes. So... I decided to stop drinking beer/alcohol for a month. I made it to day 28 with no beer/alcohol, but unfortunately I took part in a bachelor party and couldn't resist the urge. I didn't drink any beer for 30 days, but I did drink some alcohol. What I discovered, though is that I still had some inflammation in my toes (which is where I had originally been affected). So I read and read and read and discovered that sodas are actually worse for gout than beer is. Most commercial sodas are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which causes your kidneys to produce purines which induces the gout.
Anyway, I'm rambling. I stopped drinking all regular sodas and have tried to stop eating anything that is made with HFCS (though there is an amazing amount of stuff that is made with HFCS). This seems to have really done the trick for me, so much so that I am able to have a few beers a week and a few alcoholic drinks with no worries at all. As a funny side story, I discovered that ketchup is made with HFCS, however Organic ketchup is not, so I made the switch. Guess what? Organic ketchup tastes 10 times better than regular ketchup, so I'm hooked for life!
As well, I'm really trying to eat and drink as much 'organic' stuff as possible. I made the switch to organic milk about 2 years ago and have never looked back (and no lactose intolerance since then either!). So I guess the lesson learned for this blog is you have to be more mindful of what you eat the older you get!
I've been battling gout for about 4 months now. Let me check that. I've been keeping away from having gout again for about 4 months now. I developed gout 1.5 weeks before I was supposed to run the Beat the Bridge race which is a race that Nordstrom hosts to generate money for Juvenile Diabetes research. Needless to say, I wasn't able to run the race and was very disappointed. If you don't know what gout is, the short answer is that it is a form of severe arthritis. When full blown your affected joint can swell tremendously and any slight movement or touch to said joint is beyond painful. From what I understand it's like having kidney stones in your joints. Fore more on this check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout
Anyway, what I've discovered is that I was eating too much protein and not enough of everything else, coupled with the fact that I was consuming too much beer/alcohol and more importantly too much soda. This is all strange too me because I ate way more red meat and drank way more beer/alcohol and sodas when I was in college then I do now. Alas, I guess the older you get the more susceptible your body is to that sort of thing. I will admit that I've never been a big veggie eater. To me potatoes and more specifically french fries are my veggie. Not so much any more!
When I first came down with gout I thought it would just go away if I started eating a little differently. No so! I continued to drink beer and sodas and lived through pain for two weeks. Yes, I guess I am not so smart sometimes. So... I decided to stop drinking beer/alcohol for a month. I made it to day 28 with no beer/alcohol, but unfortunately I took part in a bachelor party and couldn't resist the urge. I didn't drink any beer for 30 days, but I did drink some alcohol. What I discovered, though is that I still had some inflammation in my toes (which is where I had originally been affected). So I read and read and read and discovered that sodas are actually worse for gout than beer is. Most commercial sodas are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which causes your kidneys to produce purines which induces the gout.
Anyway, I'm rambling. I stopped drinking all regular sodas and have tried to stop eating anything that is made with HFCS (though there is an amazing amount of stuff that is made with HFCS). This seems to have really done the trick for me, so much so that I am able to have a few beers a week and a few alcoholic drinks with no worries at all. As a funny side story, I discovered that ketchup is made with HFCS, however Organic ketchup is not, so I made the switch. Guess what? Organic ketchup tastes 10 times better than regular ketchup, so I'm hooked for life!
As well, I'm really trying to eat and drink as much 'organic' stuff as possible. I made the switch to organic milk about 2 years ago and have never looked back (and no lactose intolerance since then either!). So I guess the lesson learned for this blog is you have to be more mindful of what you eat the older you get!
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