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goddamnedtwisto posted:Being of a scientific frame of mind I thought I'd take a look back - March 2022 had 85 pages, March 2021 had 171, and March 2020 had *281*. Actually I still have the Python scripts I used to build ukmt.db kicking around somewhere, I might dust them off and chart the decline and fall because at least it's content, right? I invite you to consider the events in which March 2020 falls in the middle of - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Labour_Party_leadership_election_(UK) Edit: Turns out instead of being 'electable' Starmer is bad at Politics 101.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:36
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fuctifino posted:I find that copious amounts of Smokin’ weed and enjoying life is far preferable to worrying excessively about things you can’t affect much. Worry the requisite amount and no more. It has the added bonus that it also makes you more politically effective when you spot opportunities to be.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:39
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stop me from going into a full-on depressive anxiety cycle. It certainly helps to narrow the spectrum.
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Just glancing through old threads we're roughly back to the level we were between the 2015 election and the Brexit referendum, which is considerably higher than it was pre-2015 (which was a surprise to me). Actually remembered I still had an old csv of posts on my google docs so I'm just going to update that and poke the numbers a bit. Now that covid is definitely over I'm jonesing for graphs.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:50
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OwlFancier posted:Which is why I largely limit my media consumption to watching weird niche enthusiasts on the internet go on about their hobby because it is a pretty good antidote to conventional content streams, the style is rarely designed to get you to buy poo poo or feel bad about not watching enough, you're just watching someone talk about poo poo they like, as a normal human, and the stuff is usually complicated enough that you can find it interesting too. I guess in the same frame as Bob Ross chilling.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:53
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I always put quality above quantity when it comes to my posting.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:53
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Guavanaut posted:That sounds quite a bit like Byung-Chul Han's description of ritual, in that it has no productive purpose under neoliberalism (either in the surplus value of capitalism or the opinion shaping of consumerism, even if they're probably metaing your datas on the side) and is of no specific direct utility to you unless you happen to have a 1920s air compressor you want to restore. I think the desire for something that is useless to capitalism is why I gravitate towards channels about making stuff too, it's just nice to watch someone perform a craft that I know is of no business utility, they aren't making money off it, they're just making things they like, for them, or for other people, because making things itself is a joy, the act of having that knowledge in your head is a pleasant one, in the same manner that reading a pleasant book is enjoyable and you have that pleasing sloshy sensation in your head where all the new information is. It is, in a sense, meditative, there is a concept called mushin that describes a state of thought where you kind of depersonalize and are conscious only of thoughts flowing through your head like water, and it sounds a lot like how I would experience creativity. After a lot of practice you don't need to direct your thoughts, or figure out the solutions to problems, the process presents itself, there is some part of your mind that is sorting all that out for you and you just watch it unfold in front of you, you are in motion and your brain is working but it is working almost autonomously, but in a good way, a very pleasant experience I think, like if you could watch yourself clicking away like a clockworks, except you built the clock and also you are the clock. Dangerously metaphysical but eh, it's one of few experiences I've had where I have had to resort to that to describe it. But yes anyway I think it is very good to find things that are antithetical experiences to what you are encouraged to do by capitalist society, because capitalism is bad for your brain.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:05
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https://twitter.com/owenjones84/status/1511687773077577731?s=21&t=atTnXbsDZpY-DMAu7E0JKQ With this clearly occurring in UK media. Has anyone given a good answer to the question to define a woman, that doesn’t fall into any of the right wing toxic traps and gotchas that they are looking for? I just know I’m going to be battered with it in right wing circles.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:12
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Someone who performs, or intends to perform, womanhood. Like, you aren't born with a gender, you're born with a sex (usually) because humans are sexually reproductive organisms, but gender is something you're taught and learn as you grow up, by definition it cannot be something you're born with because babies don't come out of the womb wearing a dress or a moustache and with opinions about gender roles and a guardian column, regardless of what their output might suggest. And merely having dick and ball or vagina does not signify very much in the brain department, lots of animals have those and you'd get loving weird looks if you started calling them men and women. If gender were something you were born with then you wouldn't need to spend all the time and effort buying kids gendered poo poo to make them gender the way you want to. You might have a natural inclination towards developing a particular one but you might not, and you might change your mind later, people do that all the time with aspects of themselves. If the gender you learned growing up doesn't suit you for whatever reason, you should be able to learn another one? And if someone had expressed an interest in learning any other skill or interest I wouldn't go "actually you're not allowed to call yourself an [x] because you haven't done it since birth like I have and you'll never be an [x] so stop trying also all [x]s are sex criminals which is why I need to see your junk before you got to the bathroom" because that would make me a loving bellend. If you're asking what constitutes manhood or womanhood then congrats you can join the big line of thinky people who have argued about that for the whole of loving history, it's changed a lot with the times and it's still changing now, if you don't like that then tough poo poo, world's not there to make you happy. OwlFancier fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Apr 6, 2022 |
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Apr 6, 2022 19:25
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"a featherless biped" It's a stupid argument because they can't answer it either without resorting to semi-tautology like "adult human female" (okay, define female) or GCSE biology about chromosomes and gametes that has obvious exemptions which are importantly none of anyone's business except in very specific circumstances. Also ask why nobody asks people to define a man. Other than that the obvious answer is a miserable little pile of secrets.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:26
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Whoever was talking about a potential fuel shortage, I can anecdotally report that the Costco forecourt seems unusually busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Commence the panic buying!
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Apr 6, 2022 19:29
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TACD posted:Whoever was talking about a potential fuel shortage, I can anecdotally report that the Costco forecourt seems unusually busy for a Wednesday afternoon. There's been *rumours* of shortages bouncing around for about a week so I think we might be doing that whole "rumours>panic buy>some stations run out>repeat" cycle we saw last year.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:36
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OwlFancier posted:I find a general useful practice is to have a framework for how the world works and to use that in lieu of actual information to appraise new concepts, if you want to you can look into them in more detail but I guarantee you that a basic left wing worldview/framework combined with a decent bullshit detector is going to give you a far better view of the world than any amount of news consumption. Yeah I think this is a good way to go. Marxist theory really does get to the root of just about bloody everything. Like thinking of relations to labour and how capital drives everything etc. Like there's all these flailing liberals all over twitter going "Why would they privatise Channel 4!? It just doesn't make any sense!!". They're doing it because some oval office somewhere almost certainly connected to the Tory party can make a lot of money off it, somehow.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:38
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willie_dee posted:https://twitter.com/owenjones84/status/1511687773077577731?s=21&t=atTnXbsDZpY-DMAu7E0JKQ It's so obvious a ploy since the decision comes down to governing bodies of each sport, doesn't it? It's pure poo poo stirring.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:40
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 I promised a graph and here it is - posts per month and posters per month. Turns out we're all posting more than we were in the pre-2015 period, which was a surprise to me. Also I have to wonder how many people literally just posted once to gloat after the Brexit referendum.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:41
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goddamnedtwisto posted:There's been *rumours* of shortages bouncing around for about a week so I think we might be doing that whole "rumours>panic buy>some stations run out>repeat" cycle we saw last year. Yeah, I went past the same station in Didcot the next day, and they had fuel, but I also know there were stations without fuel in Ashford and Huddersfield the same day. It does seem to be local spikes.
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Apr 6, 2022 19:48
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Garage here is struggling, diesel seems worse
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Apr 6, 2022 20:20
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Started new job as a street fundraising manager. Can someone stairs me please
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Apr 6, 2022 20:34
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Which Street gets the money?
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Apr 6, 2022 20:35
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I haven't filled up since the last price rise but it's getting ever closer to the red. Might have to bite the bullet tomorrow if there's gonna be panic buying on the horizon (I know that's contributing to the problem but I do need petrol).goddamnedtwisto posted:
What's with the weird spike in 2021 where the number of posts over took the number of posters
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Apr 6, 2022 20:39
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Very big argument, I assume.
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Apr 6, 2022 20:40
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NotJustANumber99 posted:Which Street gets the money? The one I’m on of course 
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Apr 6, 2022 20:44
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EvilHawk posted:I haven't filled up since the last price rise but it's getting ever closer to the red. Might have to bite the bullet tomorrow if there's gonna be panic buying on the horizon (I know that's contributing to the problem but I do need petrol). Feb 3 Engineers at MIT announce they have engineered spinach to send emails when detecting explosive materials in groundwater as part of plant nanobionic research Or Feb 9 US Senate Impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins in Washington D.C.
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Apr 6, 2022 20:47
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Jakabite posted:Started new job as a street fundraising manager. Can someone stairs me please As in, ask you about stairs, or throw you down a flight of stairs?
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Apr 6, 2022 20:48
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Honestly I think since at least Christmas most of us are just completely burned out on politics. There's just so much happening, in every direction but somehow always away from good, that we'd all rather just talk about window handles, man engines, and hot asian babes. I really only skim the entire forum these days but I do check in on this thread to see if I can be of any use. Interestingly its clear the tories are briefing against Rishi. https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/1511763213586739200
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Apr 6, 2022 20:54
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Failed Imagineer posted:As in, ask you about stairs, or throw you down a flight of stairs? I don’t believe any goon would be capable of throwing my Adonis-like form down a set of stairs I’m afraid
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Apr 6, 2022 21:01
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OwlFancier posted:I think the desire for something that is useless to capitalism is why I gravitate towards channels about making stuff too, it's just nice to watch someone perform a craft that I know is of no business utility, they aren't making money off it, they're just making things they like, for them, or for other people, because making things itself is a joy, the act of having that knowledge in your head is a pleasant one, in the same manner that reading a pleasant book is enjoyable and you have that pleasing sloshy sensation in your head where all the new information is. I think a shorter way of saying what you’re describing is being in flow. It’s an amazing thing. I can’t say I’ve experienced it often.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:07
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NotJustANumber99 posted:Garage here is struggling, diesel seems worse Garage has been struggling in the UK since about 2004. Majestic and DJ Luck & MC Neat have been trying but nothing will ever quite match the pre-grime era.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:07
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Jakabite posted:I don’t believe any goon would be capable of throwing my Adonis-like form down a set of stairs I’m afraid 
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Apr 6, 2022 21:08
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There aren't usually stairs in a Lidl car park though?
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Apr 6, 2022 21:12
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Guavanaut posted:They keep inviting his hat and he's included in the contract.  It's been a long day and this gave me a good chuckle, thank you
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Apr 6, 2022 21:13
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Just don't meet him in a carpark or he'll smash your teeth in E;fb
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Apr 6, 2022 21:13
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therattle posted:I think a shorter way of saying what you’re describing is being in flow. It’s an amazing thing. I can’t say I’ve experienced it often. I get that if I'm modelling something in Excel. It's like my brain tunes out of reality, and suddenly it's two hours later and I'm feeling extremely chill with a gently caress off big spreadsheet. It's a feeling that I've only ever experienced before playing Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, which 10 year old me simply owned at.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:31
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You know, I still really don't get the general national obliviousness to the blatant embezzlement the tories have done over the last couple of years. Billions shovelled to specific people under dodgy ppe/covid contracts and then a claim that we as a populace have to pay more in tax to cover the gap? It's like, how on earth aren't people putting 2+2 together here. Would this level of obvious corruption go as unchallenged as it does here in other 1st world countries?
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Apr 6, 2022 21:40
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keep punching joe posted:I get that if I'm modelling something in Excel. It's like my brain tunes out of reality, and suddenly it's two hours later and I'm feeling extremely chill with a gently caress off big spreadsheet. It's a feeling that I've only ever experienced before playing Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, which 10 year old me simply owned at. Ah yes. The flow state of spreadsheets   I didn't think sigh would give this purple face, more an ecstatic sigh. This is a better sigh  Jaeluni Asjil fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Apr 6, 2022 |
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Apr 6, 2022 21:42
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I'm going to combine a lot of the points raised on the last page into one big mopey whinge...so skip past if you don't want to read that. I've been feeling particularly morose and hopeless about the state of politics, the country, society and the world for the past week or so (above the usual post-2019 GE/Brexit background levels that I'm sure most in this thread will recognise), because a series of things, both in my own life and the wider world, have just emphasised what a needlessly lovely sort of place we're increasingly becoming. Last week my partner and I were all set to spend three days in Italy - our first trip abroad in 4 years (due to a combination of 'not having any money' and 'pandemic'). My partner got turned away at the gate because RyanAir interpreted the new post-Brexit passport validity requirements differently to our own takes off the .gov website (a dispute that is still rumbling on). So goodbye Venice, hello Lyme Regis - a place that cost four times as much to get to and to stay in for one night because of course it makes sense for it to be cheaper to fly halfway across Europe than travel 150 miles in your own country. And thank you Brexit for making little occasional delights like foreign travel that little bit more difficult and bureaucratic. Then, for some reason, the plans to privatise Channel 4 really upset me. Which is ridiculous - it's a tv channel that I have no association with. I think it's because it's so nakedly ideological. C4 doesn't cost the state anything - it is, by all accounts, a net contributor. It is a far better ratings and financial performer than the streaming services it supposedly has to be 'set free' to compete against and, in amongst all the harmless Naked Attraction fluff, still invests in some good investigative reporting, documentaries and some more risky film and comedy. This isn't some hangover from the 1940s ("why should the state own a removals company?") or some loss-making nationalised industrial relic for which you could at least make a consistent right-wing case for privatising. It's just a mix of "the state can't and shouldn't do anything, even if it's good", "let's flog the last of the British state's family silver to our mates" and "They were mean to us so they must be punished." Destructive, petty vandalism of the nation's cultural space. See also the whole P&O thing - the glorious free-enterprise Global Britain we all knew was coming. Summed up by a ferry called 'Spirit of Britain', wearing the house flag of one of the great names in maritime history...registered in Cyprus and owned by the government of a repressive oil emirate and crewed by a load of exploited global southerners on pathetic wages and with minimal training. You couldn't ask for a better encapsulation. Under a Conservative government that so readily bangs the patriotism drum and apparently so ardently values Britain's national heritage, we don't have a single ferry taking people to or from our shores with a Red Ensign. What a magnificent advert/warning to the rest of the world. Coming down to a more local level, this evening I went out to my car and found that instead of a third of a tank of diesel I had a fuel gauge hard against the bottom stop and a bright low-fuel warning light. So either my car has developed a fuel leak which leaves no visible trace on the car or the ground or someone's drained/siphoned my tank. My leafy Victorian suburban street in an East Midlands cathedral city is turning into Mad Max. And when I gingerly drove to the petrol station up the road to re-fill there was no diesel available, because of our robust and efficient supply chains. Not a failing (failed?) socio-economic system at all, no sir... I know this is all petty stuff. I'm not struggling to put food on the table or keep the lights on. I'm not having my identity or my medical rights threatened. I'm not being targeted by the hostile environment or the voter registration stuff. All my gripes come from relatively high up the Maslow hierarchy. But it loving sucks, so I can only have huge sympathy for anyone who's really being pummelled by the current situation. And the worst thing is I see no practical way of even beginning to make meaningful change. Sure, I could keep doing voluntary work to alleviate the effects but I've done that on-and-off for the decade I've lived here now and even then it felt like trying to patch up a leaky dam with wet sand. And I bet if I went back to the soup kitchen or the food bank now it would feel like that dam was about to over-top. But I see no organisations I could join or activities I could do that would make any actual difference. And it's very depressing.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:45
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Kin posted:You know, I still really don't get the general national obliviousness to the blatant embezzlement the tories have done over the last couple of years. but corbyn
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Apr 6, 2022 21:51
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I would suggest it is probably a mix of knowing and not caring, knowing they can't do anything about it if they did, and general incuriosity about anything outside their immediate environment.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:54
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EvilHawk posted:
Two different axes because otherwise the number of posters would be basically a flat line at the bottom of the graph.
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Apr 6, 2022 22:06
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Jakabite posted:I don’t believe any goon would be capable of throwing my Adonis-like form down a set of stairs I’m afraid down? lol I'm so buff I'd throw you up a flight of stairs
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Apr 6, 2022 22:13
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BalloonFish posted:I know this is all petty stuff. But that's ultimately what breaks you, and you definitely shouldn't deny yourself the recognition that it's doing so because other people have it worse, because that's *how* it breaks you. It's that drip drip drip of bad stuff, even minor inconveniences, and if you don't let yourself think "gently caress this poo poo, it pisses me off" it wears you down all the faster. Sorry, this seems more patronising than what I had in mind when I started, which was just to offer you (and all the other good people of the UKMT) my solidarity and to let you know that it's okay - essential, in fact - to recognise what's getting you down, and take action on it, even if that action is just a good solid rant on a dead comedy forum.
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Apr 6, 2022 22:13
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