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Do you prefer the extended summer thread format? This poll is closed. |
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| Yes |
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126 | 44.21% |
| No |
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39 | 13.68% |
| I'm Scottish |
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120 | 42.11% |
| Total: | 285 votes | ||
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Barry Foster posted:My mental health now compared to this time last year is in the toilet. Absolute rock bottom. This is why I think you should go to the festival, in a nutshell. Doing things you enjoy is not taking a pointless and unnecessary risk, it's weighing the relatively small risk posed by Covid at this particular point in time against the very real benefits to your mental and physical health from having some fun. Where you feel the balance lies is a personal decision, and will change over time and depending what the event is, but avoiding any social gatherings after the year we've had is definitely not automatically the best/most sensible option. The people who cause issues are the ones who don't get vaccinated/don't wear a mask/don't maintain social distancing even when they easily could at no cost to themselves, not the ones making a reasoned judgement about risk.
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Jul 28, 2021 20:38
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I think it's positivity bias. Humans have a demonstrated ability to ignore reality and believe that their desired reality will unfold instead. Like us in December 2019. That's at denialism, not at going to a festival.
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Jul 28, 2021 20:40
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jabby posted:The people who cause issues are the ones who don't get vaccinated/don't wear a mask/don't maintain social distancing even when they easily could at no cost to themselves, not the ones making a reasoned judgement about risk. Ah yes, my father lol Azza Bamboo posted:I think it's positivity bias. Humans have a demonstrated ability to ignore reality and believe that their desired reality will unfold instead. Like us in December 2019. Ah yes, my father lol TY tho
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Jul 28, 2021 20:52
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Well bollocks, I mentioned that my dog wasn't doing too well, and I've just had to put her down. She had a comfy blanket and me and my niece making a massive fuss of her, and she just went to sleep. Officially it was an infection and kidney failure, but really it was just Old - she was 14, her legs had gone to arthritis, and it was just a matter of time. Forgive a bit of sentimentality, but I'm gonna repost some pics of her from the cute thread in here. She's surprisingly hard to get a picture of because her first reaction to seeing a camera is to charge up as close as possible to it, because - as an object being held by a human - it's obviously food for her.  This is her just after my parents got her, as a rescue at about 2 years old. This is one of her favourite dramatic poses - if she sees shoes going on, it's obviously walk time and she isn't letting you get away with not taking her out.  Here is one of the few pictures that are close to her posing - as a young lady she would lay in the sunshine until her fur was literally too hot to touch. She's finally realised the folly of this, but...  She's still too stupid to come in out of the rain or snow. This is another of her favourite poses by the way - if there's no walk forthcoming, she'll just sit at the gate and make "Please rescue me" eyes at any passers by. If they're silly enough to fall for it and start stroking her, she'll pull her favourite trick which unfortunately I've never managed to get on camera - as you stroke, she slowly and silently rolls over until without you even realising it you're rubbing her belly.  That belly in detail. Occasionally you'll just turn around and she'll be in this pose - the front paws held up like "Oh no, everyone can see my belly, I hope nobody takes advantage of my vulnerable position!".  I hate people who dress up their dogs. This scarf is not me dressing her up at all. And she totally doesn't love the fact that random passers-by stroking her goes up 200% when she wears it around Christmas. If you guessed I'm holding up a treat to make her stay still long enough for the picture, you're absolutely correct.  Being a Labrador she loves water. Stagnant puddles, random algae-filled buckets, and here the Thames - ignore the solemn bloody face, she does that all the time - check out that tail action.  Being a dog though, she hates clean water, especially when there's soap involved. This is the face you get when the pleasant afternoon in the back garden suddenly involves those two elements. RIP Abby, you're dropping a whole dog's worth of fur a day on a cloud now.
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Jul 28, 2021 20:57
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it really saddens me to hear about people struggling with mental health throughout lockdown, between not needing to travel to an office more than 1 day a week, saving money on car and fuel maintenance and just generally having it acceptable to sit in your house I've felt happier over the past 18 months than at any time in the past, i've managed to cut out weed and smoking and have lost a stone from simply diet changes
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Jul 28, 2021 20:59
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Ah gently caress, I'm really sorry twisto mate. Abby was a beautiful girl, rest in peace
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Jul 28, 2021 21:08
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Sorry again Twisto - so hard to lose a pet {hugs}
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Jul 28, 2021 21:11
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So sorry about Abby, Twisto. I'm sure you gave her a great life.
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Jul 28, 2021 21:13
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Just Another Lurker posted:Spanish Flu agrees with that.. i went worst case for emphasis. To be fair, I can see working from home remaining a lot more common. That wasn't really an option in the 1920s. Also, just going to give my cat a cuddle now.
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Jul 28, 2021 21:14
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feedmegin posted:To be fair, I can see working from home remaining a lot more common. That wasn't really an option in the 1920s. In the 20s your GP worked from everyone's home
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Jul 28, 2021 21:17
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Oh Twisty, all knew how you loved that beautiful little girl. My love and condolences.
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Jul 28, 2021 21:17
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Truly sorry to hear about Abby, goddamnedtwisto. Looks like she was a gorgeous dog with a big personality.
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Jul 28, 2021 21:19
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JollyBoyJohn posted:it really saddens me to hear about people struggling with mental health throughout lockdown, between not needing to travel to an office more than 1 day a week, saving money on car and fuel maintenance and just generally having it acceptable to sit in your house I've felt happier over the past 18 months than at any time in the past, i've managed to cut out weed and smoking and have lost a stone from simply diet changes My mental health was the lowest it's ever been this year. Working at home was fine, as was not going out for anything, but the thing that really got to me I think was the utter helplessness in the face of a government that clearly don't give even the slightest poo poo about us poors and disableds. Seeing them just give up any pretence of trying to do their best whilst engaging in blatant cronyism and watching Keir enable it all just got too much. RIP Abby, she was a great looking doggo.
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Jul 28, 2021 21:48
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RIP Abby, really sorry to hear that twistoBarry Foster posted:My mental health now compared to this time last year is in the toilet. Absolute rock bottom. At some point around where the vaccines became available and Q shat themselves on the Capitol lawn, things started looking a whole lot, if not better, then at least lol from where I was sat. I don't even know if there's anything useful or relevant there for you there but I hope you can create some space for yourself to stand back from everything for a moment.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:02
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JollyBoyJohn posted:it really saddens me to hear about people struggling with mental health throughout lockdown, between not needing to travel to an office more than 1 day a week, saving money on car and fuel maintenance and just generally having it acceptable to sit in your house I've felt happier over the past 18 months than at any time in the past, i've managed to cut out weed and smoking and have lost a stone from simply diet changes I have also had a loving brilliant 18 months, on the balance of things. Working from home, no social commitments that I don’t really want to go to but don’t have a good enough excuse not to, its been absolutely tits.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:04
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Lungboy posted:My mental health was the lowest it's ever been this year. Working at home was fine, as was not going out for anything, but the thing that really got to me I think was the utter helplessness in the face of a government that clearly don't give even the slightest poo poo about us poors and disableds. Seeing them just give up any pretence of trying to do their best whilst engaging in blatant cronyism and watching Keir enable it all just got too much. Yeah this is where I'm at. I actually had a very strong year last year mental health wise - better, frankly, than I had in years - but I never really got past the mass death and sheer hopelessness of the situation from this january onward. That, plus family issues (death, cancer, and cancer+death) just blew me up, and I've been drinking more than I have in years. And my sincerest condolences, GT. She looks like a grand old dame, and it sounds like she had the happiest of doggy lives.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:06
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You know in a weird way the lockdown was the best present I could have given Abby, who like I say was suffering with arthritis so couldn't get around that much - having lots of short little walks over the course of the day instead of having to have longer ones either side of my work hours was great for her and I was legit worried about what would happen when I went back to work. Massive thanks for all the good wishes - she was a good old dog and really was my best friend even if she was rubbish at getting a round in.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:20
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I was doing fine last year, but at work I'm basically just left sitting on a collapsing project until the thing replacing it is in place and I can do something else that doesn't feel completely futile, but I have no idea when that will be and am now stuck in that most terrifying of things, the bullshit job.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:36
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Oh Twisto I'm sorry, Abby seems like she had a really good life. RIP
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Jul 28, 2021 22:43
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UnquietDream posted:Canvassing this thread for opinions on the best way to grow a book club. ... Seconding Jaeluni to say that 11 is a good number for a book group, and if you're getting good discussion on a regular basis then congratulations, you've done a bang up job of making, and more importantly, maintaining, a successful book group! If you're really keen to get new members to meet new people, you can try posting on local community facebook groups. I know in Glasgow there were a few book groups that recruited that way, seemingly with decent success. You could also - depending on how vociferous a reader you are - run a second group meeting on a different day so that anyone who has trouble committing to meeting on, say, a Tuesday evening could potentially come. Also, completely coincidentally I've started re-watching Channel 4's The Book Group for the first time since it aired, and it's pretty drat great and holds up really well, despite or probably because it's odder, lower key and more uncomfortable than I remembered.
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Jul 28, 2021 22:48
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RIP good dog I wouldn't go to a music festival but then noone ever asks me cos they know I'd tell them no because its hippy nonsense for ne'er-do-wells.
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Jul 28, 2021 23:27
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NotJustANumber99 posted:RIP good dog As a dedicated hippy ne'er-do-well I extend you the invitation regardless
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Jul 28, 2021 23:33
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bump_fn posted:sorry if this is a dumb question but - does northern ireland not play on the same olympic team as GB? because they're always called team great britain, and not team united kingdom. what do athletes from NI do? I think technically it is Team GB & NI & assorted other islands (Mark Cavendish has won Gold for GB in the last despite being Manx & repping then at the Commonwealths) but it gets abbreviated to GB because a combo of people being lazy & also most people not knowing the difference between GB & UK. It's shite, smug branding at the end of the day, that doesn't adequately cover that it's Team GB, NI, Crown Dependencies & most Overseas Territories (3 exceptions) RIP to your pal Twisto. She seems sound. I've mostly been fine through the pandemic, not needing an excuse to be a bit of a recluse at times has I think really relieved some (self-imposed) pressure about how a human being should behave. The biggest issue has just been a bit of boredom: I'm looking forward to just jumping on a train to the west coast some day & seeing some places that are not the village I live in or Inverness Retail Park's Tesco but otherwise I've really found it a quite calm period. Totally get why more social beasts are struggling, and I do dread a little having to "resocialise" myself at some point. forkboy84 fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Jul 29, 2021 |
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Jul 29, 2021 00:05
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It's about the only branding that wouldn't step on the toes of the Olympic Federation of Ireland or be incongruous with the original IOC registration since 1896, so expect it to be shortly changed to something worse.
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Jul 29, 2021 00:15
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E: oh man twisto. Sorry about your doggo =( big hugs. Well I just finished watching the good place and loving hell that left an emotional canyon in my chest. Goddamn, what a ride. I do love it when a show makes me so ridiculously happy and sad at the same time. Good shout goons. That made everything both look bleak but not bleak and actually OK simultaneously. I think I'm happy? I'm going to go lie down now. gently caress. Mebh fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jul 29, 2021 |
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Jul 29, 2021 00:22
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Sorry about your dog twisto. She looked lovely. Losing a pet is a really tough and weird thing to live through. Barry : go to the festival man. Take the precautions, and if anyone's being a oval office just walk away. Smoke a spliff in the sunshine and soak up some tunes. Life is for living.
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Jul 29, 2021 00:22
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The Perfect Element posted:Sorry about your dog twisto. She looked lovely. Losing a pet is a really tough and weird thing to live through. Aye. Aye
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Jul 29, 2021 00:26
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I'm sorry for your loss, Twisto :hug: Re: book clubs. The pandemic has completey destroyed my ability to read. Not physically, but shattered my concentration, and anecdotally I'm not the only one. I have listened to a lot more audiobooks, so maybe go that route? Unless your 11 regulars are committed book snobs who hate the idea that people can access literature in whatever way is easiest for them and their choices are valid. Barry Foster, the festival organisers sound really on the ball and being in the crowd there is probably safer than being in a town centre on a Saturday. If you're going to be so worried that you won't enjoy it then it's pointless, but otherwise, go. They have a really reasonable postponement policy and I imagine people will take them up on it, which means the crowds might be smaller. I'm really looking forward to hitting my 2-week post-second-vaccination date and being able to gradually emerge, in a masked, socially-distant fashion. I live alone, was working from home, and can count on the fingers of one hand how much physical contact with another human I've had this year (and one of those was a blood donation appointment!). My 2020 was going badly even before the pandemic and lockdown kicked any support I would normally have had right out from under me. Only now am I beginning to admit just how unhappy I was this time last year. Spending the wee small hours of the morning browsing sites like Sanctioned Suicide should have been a sign.
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Jul 29, 2021 01:09
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 Are you doing ok now? E: FWIW I can't read fiction at all anymore, and I have a literal doctorate in reading, like, fiction. It's not just you E2: Thanks, btw 
Barry Foster fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Jul 29, 2021 |
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Jul 29, 2021 01:13
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fiction is lies 
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Jul 29, 2021 01:27
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crispix posted:fiction is lies esss troooooooooooooo
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Jul 29, 2021 01:33
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Lady Demelza posted:Re: book clubs. The pandemic has completey destroyed my ability to read. Not physically, but shattered my concentration, and anecdotally I'm not the only one.
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Jul 29, 2021 02:54
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I think it's something to do with the isolation, cause I'm certain I haven't had covid and my concentration is shot to pieces too. It might be an undiagnosed ADD thing but even if it is, it's definitely got worse recently. It feels like I'm just not retaining information at all.
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Jul 29, 2021 03:31
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History Comes Inside! posted:I have also had a loving brilliant 18 months, on the balance of things. Similar for me - working from home, not having to bother with work clothes, start and end times becoming so much more flexible, saving money, having time to work on the house - all great. Being desperately lonely for most of it (I live alone) and living hemmed in by rules and restrictions - not so great. There's certainly positives that we can take from Covid but overall, the last 18 months for me have been an uncomfortable patch that I want to put behind me and never think about again, if possible. Dabir posted:I think it's something to do with the isolation, cause I'm certain I haven't had covid and my concentration is shot to pieces too. It might be an undiagnosed ADD thing but even if it is, it's definitely got worse recently. It feels like I'm just not retaining information at all. Yeah, this too. I definitely struggle to concentrate more than I used to and my social skills have atrophied from so little contact with others.
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Jul 29, 2021 04:55
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its tabs, since internet browsers got tabs, thats whats done it
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Jul 29, 2021 07:26
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I fixed my bike (or rather got the nice man in the shop to fix it for me) - the front and rear brake cables had somehow all popped out of their fixtures so there was no tension. Now they've been popped back and I will be able to do it myself in future. Yay, learning. Now - is anyone able to recommend a decent cycle route planner? Google maps seems very inconsistent : for some journies I've looked at it will take me down cycle paths. For another, eg from where I live to the next town, it's telling me to cycle down a dual carriageway even though there is literally a cycle path running parallel next to it.
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Jul 29, 2021 07:38
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plotaroute.com is extremely thorough (it has loads of tiny footpaths) and very flexible, I've used it for planning long distance runs but it has options for cycling as well
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Jul 29, 2021 07:46
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The Perfect Element posted:I fixed my bike (or rather got the nice man in the shop to fix it for me) - the front and rear brake cables had somehow all popped out of their fixtures so there was no tension. Now they've been popped back and I will be able to do it myself in future. Yay, learning. There isn’t really a fool proof option unfortunately. I’ve used cyclestreets before and it has a “fastest” and “quietest” option. Ridewithgps is a good option if you’re planning, but you have to pay if you want the app to do live navigation. It has a few different map layers including the open street map cycle maps which should have all the cycle routes marked.
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Jul 29, 2021 07:58
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The Perfect Element posted:I fixed my bike (or rather got the nice man in the shop to fix it for me) - the front and rear brake cables had somehow all popped out of their fixtures so there was no tension. Now they've been popped back and I will be able to do it myself in future. Yay, learning. I use Komoot which recommends routes based on whether you are road riding, touring (i.e. a more scenic route) or mountain biking. It is not perfect but I find it does find slightly nicer routes. It also allows users to recommend points of interest including cafes, or interesting buildings or views which is nice if you are just on an explore. It can also be used for hiking etc. The only downside is you have to purchase County level maps if you want to use them offline (think they are £2.99 but you may get the first for free).
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Jul 29, 2021 08:13
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Pantsmaster Bill posted:There isn’t really a fool proof option unfortunately. I’ve used cyclestreets before and it has a “fastest” and “quietest” option. *If* - and it's a big if - Open Streemap have accurate cycle lane info for your area, then Osmand will do turn-by-turn navigation with them.
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Jul 29, 2021 08:37
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