Florida tattoo artist banned from school career day

Walter Smith

Walter Smith

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CLEARWATER, Fla. ? A tattoo parlor is buzzing in Florida after the owner of the shop was banned from career day at his daughter?s school.

Walter Smith has attended the Great American Teach-in at Clearwater Fundamental Middle School for the past two years, but he was told he couldn?t participate this year because parents did not want their kids exposed to Smith?s ?alternative lifestyle.?

?The parents are closed-minded and don?t want their children to know about these things,? Smith said.

Smith is licensed in the State of Florida and has been tattooing and piercing clients for 15 years. He said he was taken aback by the ban because he is a responsible tattoo artist, who discourages kids from getting tattoos before they turn 18.

Smith also said he tries to teach kids about tattoo safety and sterilization in order to prevent the spread of diseases like Hepatitis and HIV.

Source: http://kdvr.com/2012/11/04/florida-tattoo-artist-banned-from-school-career-day/

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How Much Should You Make Before Buying? | Bost Real Estate ...

If you?re at the point where you?re considering purchasing a home you have probably wondered at one time or another just how much you should make prior to becoming a Boston homeowner. While the number varies, what would you think if someone said $200,000?

Believe it or not, some people feel that a family should make close to $200,000 prior to buying. Why?

It seems some feel that the cost of living is so high here in the Boston area (increasing by the day it seems) that if you buy a house and have a family of even a small size you?re going to struggle. While this is all a matter of personal opinion, it?s not totally off track if you look at the numbers.

If you take into account the costs of a mortgage, childcare for a couple children and daily living expenses, $200,000 suddenly starts to seem like a much smaller number. Does that mean that every single person interested in purchasing a home and having a family should wait until they make $200,000 a year? No. People?s lifestyles play a big part in their daily and monthly expenses. Those that budget carefully and spend wisely may not require the same amount as a family that spends more freely. In addition to spending wisely, it?s important to buy Boston real estate wisely. Part of that means really analyzing your cost of living, income and the way in which you intend to live. If you?re the type that doesn?t mind taking 1 less vacation a year in order to be able to purchase a home then that?s your choice. But if you?re the type that likes to jet-set at a moment?s notice, you may want to make sure that buying a house won?t affect your carefree lifestyle.

Also read: Should We Relax or Tighten Debt-To-Income Requirements?

Whether or not you have children and how many children you have should also play a part in your Boston real estate purchasing choice. If you?re buying now with the intent of starting or expanding your family you want to make sure you purchase a property you can grow into and not become burdened by when it comes to paying your mortgage.

If you?re ready to begin searching for a Boston home, contact First Boston Realty International to discuss your budget, lifestyle, and what kind of home you would like to purchase.

Source: http://www.firstbostonrealty.com/blog/how-much-should-you-make-before-buying/

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Concept Art for Games (and other Entertainment Media) Brief ...

The Brief below was given to Level 3, Year 2, Btec Extended Diploma Students ? All of whom had chosen the course and its leaning towards Design for Entertainment Media.

This project allows the student to explore the work and process of Concept Artists in the Games Industry (amongst others) and to develop vocabulary, skills and good practice related to this field.

The transferable nature of many of the skills sets looked at in this project are discussed allowing students to see the wider value of this project and the development work produced.

?

Time being limited on a course such as this, many of the areas explored cannot be developed fully.

This project takes up seven weeks of the students study time.

The longer the project the more development work would be expected.

?

??have a grasp of context, detail and the rationale which makes design and image-making worthwhile to yourself, and commercially to someone else?

Honestly, I get scared [?] every time I start a new, big job. I read, I gather information and push the client to tell me what they want. (Sometimes they really don?t know, and those jobs are usually nightmares!) Remember details, notice how people move, how sunlight cascades over moving objects, why foliage looks the way it does (it?s nature?s own fractal magic) and how come velvet has about the same range of value as metallic surfaces but one is soft and the other is brittle. And finally, don?t assume that technique alone will save you? It still is the idea that wins?every time. Remember that elaborate technique and dumb story produces a demo reel, not a narrative.?

- A Visionary Ethic: The Life and Work of Syd Mead, p.3, OuterCircle 9, Autumn 2006

?

In the world of Design for Entertainment Media, the ability to render ?Visual Development? art to sell an idea or ?Concept? is high on the list of the designer/illustrator; whether that concept is for a Game, a Film, a Comic Book, a TV show or a Toy Line.

?Concept Art? can for the most part be divided into, or be a combination of, three main skill sets. Character Design, Prop and Object Design and Environment Design.

During the course of this project you will explore the reasoning behind and the practical tasks associated with developing Concept Art for Games (and other Entertainment Media such as Film, Animation, Comics, Toy Lines and Performance).

??

  • PART A ? Research into Concept Art for Games (and other Entertainment Media) begins week 1 of project.

You are to investigate and critically evaluate the purpose and parameters of Concept Art for Games (and other Entertainment Media), investigating the heritage of both the industry, and the techniques used, practitioners and skillsets, and relevant industry terminology.

These investigations should be evidenced as richly illustrated research sheets (with found images and examples of your own if appropriate) and/or posts to your creative blog.

??

  • PART B ? Visual Development of Concept Art for Games (or other Entertainment Media) begins week 1 of project.

Story Choice ? You must choose from one of the following:

1 ? Any of the animal based Aesop?s Fables ? turning the animals back into human characters;

2 ? La finta nonna (The False Grandmother) ? Anon, or Le Petit Chaperon Rouge by Charles Perrault (?LOOK IT UP!);

3 ? Moby Dick by Herman Melvile;

or,

4 ? Shakespeare?s A Midsummer Nights Dream or Hamlet.

?

Each of these must be adapted and visually developed as a Concept Art based ?Pitch?, looking at the story not in its original form but through the lens of either:

a, A Steampunk theme;

b, A Science Fiction/Extreme Futuristic/Alien Culture setting;

Examples: The Gift by Carl Erik Rinsch; BladeRunner by Ridley Scott; Minority Report by Steven Speilberg; District 9 by Neill Blomkamp

c. A Gangland/Third World Slum/Ghetto Setting;

or,

d, A full-blown Costume Opera, Street Theatre/Performance.

?

(Be aware, those students who find selection of the above difficult during the first session will be assigned their brief on a role of a dice, or online random number/letter generator)

?

You are to as fully as possible develop a visual response to the story above using one of the themes given and utilising the methods and techniques used by Concept Artists for games and other Entertainment Media visual development teams.

??

?Usually when anyone starts to design an [?] from their imagination, they draw what they know and what they have already seen. We all live on the same planet, and with the widespread availability of the internet and movies we are all looking at the same things most of the time.

A designer can be sent down the path of creating something more original by emptying his or her visual library through producing a high volume of fast thumbnail sketches [?] working through the boredom can frequently allow for moments of inspiration and the exploration of truly original ideas and styles.?

-?????? Scott Robertson ACCD instructor, founder of Design Studio Press.

??

Each part of the following set of tasks should involve a full design process.

  • Part 1 ? Character Development. begins week 1 of project.

One of the key commodities (and by that I mean ?saleable? items) from amongst the concept artist and designers repertoire is the Character.

Characters (along with Story) are the driving force behind the design and successful uptake by an audience for Games, Animation, Film, TV and even web and Print based media; and many successful characters are taken beyond the media for which they were created. Some appearing in other media (games characters with their own comics), toy and clothing lines, appearing on everything from pencil cases to lunchboxes.

Characters might include all human (-iform) characters, aliens, ghosts, gods, demons; animals and creatures of all types (speaking or non-speaking); robots, androids and mecha; A.I.?s (disembodied or with a computer interface), possessed or anthropomorphosised inanimates or vehicles (Herbie*, Stephen King?s Christine* and the ship in Farscape* are all characters as are talking vehicles such as those in Pixars ?Cars? movie), and any plants with intelligently mobile tendrils/tentacles/roots etc.

You should begin by listing all the key characters from your chosen narrative and their attributes and traits if relevant.

At least one of your characters should be humaniform, meaning you must consider human anatomy and various costume designs as part of your character design.

Your design sheets should include: rapid pen/brush pen thumbnails, silhouettes, pencil thumbnails, head shots, variant costume designs, multi angle views of the figure, marker sketches, watercolour and pen and ink renders, digital renders inc. photoshop sketches and full colour artwork, and perhaps if appropriate 3D digital models and fimo/clay maquettes (see examples and handouts given in session)

?

  • Part 2a ? Props & Objects. begins week 3 of project.

Your character will no doubt interact with Objects and/or Props, inanimate non-sentient things that could be: weapons, cartable/potable items such as books, radios, communication devices, amulets, or heavier objects such as boxes/crates, barrels, special feature environment items such as thrones, feature tables, statues etc or?

  • Part 2b ? Vehicles. begins week 3 of project.

?

?vehicles, including cars, tanks, skateboards, unicycles, airships, helicoptors, boats, fuituristic transport ships, flying machines, rickshaws etc.

Look at the work of industrial, product and automotive concept artists, how do they render vehicles to show their clients/art directors.

Your vehicle and prop/object designs should go through the same process as your character designs, from scrappy thumbnails to final colour renders, and perhaps models using a variety of media and techniques to fully explore all design possibilities.

  • Part 3 ? Environments. begins week 4 of project.

?

Your character will also no doubt carry or move those (portable) objects and vehicles into and through a particular environment, or perhaps several differing ones.

Your environments could be interiors, exteriors, natural or man-made these environments can often (especially interiors) be examples of ?character design? in themselves, showing us, without the characters presence, the nature of the character(s) that inhabits the space.

Will your environment be awe-inspiring in its grandiosity or subtle, claustrophobic, intimate? What feeling do you wish to convey, from who?s perspective or POV will we be seeing it?

Remember! Some artwork can show atmosphere, some the explicit form. Perhaps using both to explain your environment concept/idea would be best.

?

  • Part 4 ? Fully integrated narrative Concept Images/Art. begins week 5 of project.

?

During this project you will create examples taken from all three of these areas, finally bringing them together in a single concept image (or perhaps a storyboard) that illustrates some important or crucial narrative element within your concept.

You may wish to look beyond Concept art at this stage and look at other forms of narrative image making, comics, illustrated books, murals, tapestries, narrative fine art paintings, poster art etc. You should discuss these wider investigations in your sketch notes/annotations and on your creative blog.

Consider the format/ratio of your image/s. Don?t just stick to A-sized images, why not try something in extreme widescreen/letterbox format, or extreme portrait like traditional oriental prints. The nature of your image should dictate the format, not just whatever paper you had to hand.

Your image should be fully rendered, this can be monochrome or colour as appropriate, but half finished pencil sketches will not be acceptable.

??

  • PART C ? Presentation of Concept/s. begins week 7 of project.

?

Your final proposals should be presented as professional presentation boards, whether printed or digitally via your creative blog or using an alternative presentation medium such as Prezi or Video (sound should be considered for any video presentation), if presented online the final designs should be presented in a coherent order that explains clearly your concept (you should not need to scroll between blog posts and websites to find your next image).

Thumbnails and early designs may be included in this presentation but should be severely edited, and only used when relevant to discussing key conceptual developments or ideas. Key ideas and images should have been developed fully during the design process.

All presentations should culminate with the final narrative image that sums up your over all concept in one image utilising many of the elemnets explored previously i.e Characters, Objects, and Environment.

?

REMEMBER ? Target Market/Audience may well be relevant if trying to keep your concept cohesive ? Is your design for children? Is it for an adult/mature audience? Are you trying to attract serious readers/viewers? Or are you trying to evoke a sense of fun? UNDERSTAND AND DESIGN FOR YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE ? THERE SHOULD BE A CLEAR IDEA THAT THIS WOULD APPEAL TO YOUR CHOSEN AUDIENCE.

?

Some practitioners and websites and books etc you might wish to look at:

Practitioners and Practices:

Warner Bros, Disney, Doug Chiang, Mike Mignola, Guy Davies, Serene Wyatt, Jake Parker, Khang Le, Craig Mullins, Mike Yamada, Wayne Barlow, Felix Yoon, Ritche Sacilioc.

Plus these inspirational websites may also be useful:

http://colonel-strawberry.deviantart.com/gallery/26732756

www.goodbrush.com

www.agent44.com

http://androidarts.com/art2002/works2002.htm

http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/

Magazines/Periodicals:

Edge/ImagineFX/360 Gamer.

?

Books:

The Skillful Huntsman

Structura 1 & 2

The Making of Brave

Batman Animated

The Art of Hellboy.

Burne Hogarth?s Dynamic Anatomy.

The (Art of the) Hunchback of Notre Dame

?

To complete this project the student will have to have evidence for all the following assessment criteria (see linked search pages).

Additional information about the Assessment & Grading Criteria, and teaching strategies related to ? Unit 72 ? Computer Art for Computer Games & Unit 48 ? Narrative Image Making.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

~ by hesir on November 5, 2012.

Source: http://apopheniainc.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/concept-art-for-games-and-other-entertainment-media-brief/

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Sandvine's Better Broadband Blog : Traffic Spotlight: Hurricane Sandy

Traffic Spotlight: Hurricane Sandy

With many people on the East coast in the US sent home from work or school yesterday in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, I thought I would examine how Internet usage may have been impacted.

Unlike the data we typically publish, which focuses on national coverage, the data below was collected from a singular US city on the east coast of the United States that was directly in Sandy?s path.

Yesterday, in this city, Internet usage between 9am and 5pm as a whole saw an increase of 114% over the equivalent period on a typical Monday in October. Traffic levels were elevated throughout the entire day, but returned to normal as subscribers began to go to bed around 11pm?sadly causing many to miss David Letterman?s amazing audience free Late Show.

No single application was responsible for the surge; usage patterns were, for the most part, similar to what is observed on weekday evenings.

That being said, movies were certainly a popular way for Internet users to ride out the storm ? we observed Netflix traffic volume increased by more than 150% during the same 9am to 5pm period?a figure they confirmed just as I was writing this blog.

Communications applications such as Skype (up 122%) also saw a significant increase, with a large spike occurring around 5pm.? While it is unclear about what the exact cause of this spike could be, I wouldn?t be surprised if it was from subscribers in the Sandy impacted city having conversations with those in other cities as they got home from work.

Here in Waterloo, Ontario we were lucky and only experienced the outer edge of Sandy.? For those impacted directly by the storm, all of us here at Sandvine hope you made it through the storm safely, and hope the clean up and recovery is speedy.

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Source: http://www.betterbroadbandblog.com/2012/10/traffic-spotlight-hurricane-sandy/

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SBA's Venture Capital Program Has Record Year - OPEN Forum

Conventional venture capitalists are writing smaller checks and funding fewer deals these days, but the U.S. Small Business Administration?s venture capital program is growing.?

The program?officially called the Small Business Investment Company debenture program?forked over a record $2.95 billion to 1,094 small businesses in fiscal year 2012, which ended Sept. 30. That?s a 14 percent increase over last year?s $2.59 billion, and an 85 percent increase from 2010, which was also a record year for the program.

The program began in 1958, with the aim of helping businesses in industries and geographic areas not typically served by conventional VC firms. Since its inception, it?s invested approximately $63 billion in some 110,000 small business in the U.S., according to SBA figures. Some notable successes that received SBIC funding in their early days: Apple Computer, Costco, Gymboree, Federal Express, Outback Steakhouse, and Restoration Hardware. (For some other SBIC successes, click here.) The program also suffered some serious losses, hence the decline in financings from 2005 until 2010.?

In fiscal year 2012, the SBA also provided $1.92 billion in loan guarantees to 301 SBICs in 2012. These firms raised $1 billion in private capital, which is then used to invest in small businesses.

The SBA issued 30 new SBIC licenses in 2012, up from 22 the previous year.

?Over the past two years, we?ve made SBIC work better than ever before,? said SBA Administrator Karen Mills in a statement. ?We cut licensing time in half, which has strengthened efficiency and made it possible to get capital into the hands of small businesses more quickly. When an SBIC invests in a company, it can scale up and create jobs.?

This is all good for entrepreneurs, because traditional venture capital firms are not as forthcoming with funding. During the third quarter of 2012, venture capitalists invested $6.5 billion in 890 deals. The total dollar figure is down 11 percent from the previous quarter, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association?and the year?s figures as a whole are expected to be less than those in 2011.

For more on SBIC funding, click here.?

Would you or have you considered seeking SBIC funding??

Source: http://www.openforum.com/articles/sbas-venture-capital-program-has-record-year

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The iPad Mini Is Not Overpriced, And Sales Numbers Will Prove It

edge_hero_2xPrice was perhaps always the most anticipated feature of the iPad mini, and now it's proving the most controversial. My Twitter stream has been filled with arguments back and forth on the iPad mini's $329 price tag, with many saying it's too expensive and that Apple missed the mark. It's a funny discussion in a lot of ways, but mostly because we already had it two years ago about the original iPad.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PMYFsLXA5SA/

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Tournament for the Throne

Tournament for the Throne

In the beginning, it was for everlasting safety from the bloodbath. But now, the fight is for something much more valuable...

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Tournament for the Throne?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

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HTML, for websites and MySpace:

BBcode, for forum posts and signatures:

--> Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Tournament for the Throne"

This OOC thread will mainly be used for:
-Reserving a spot
-Asking any questions about the subject matter
-Notifying us whenever you'll be leaving for a period of time or quitting
-Other commentary about the RP

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The Broswagonist
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Post a reply

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Homeless for months: the Wellington family with 4 ... - Scoop.co.nz

News release from Green Party
The Green Party says the Government is not doing enough to stop homelessness, following revelations that a Wellington family with four children has been homeless for months, despite being categorised as being ?at risk? and in need of immediate housing.

Campbell Live last night highlighted the plight of the family who have been living out of a car for three months, despite being categorised as Priority A by Housing New Zealand, those in most urgent need.

According to Housing New Zealand, there are 66 other families in the Hutt South/Wellington region who are rated Priority A and 871 in total across the country who are waiting to be placed in a home.

?I worry that many families and hundreds of children could be living in really dire environments while waiting for a home,? said Green Party housing spokespeson Holly Walker.

?The National Government?s inaction is leading to homelessness amongst New Zealanders who would normally be safe and secure in a home.

?A warm dry home to grow up in should be a basic right for all New Zealanders. The Government needs to be doing more to ensure this basic right is met.

?The Government has enacted changes at Housing New Zealand that were supposed to move services to those most in need. This case shows that those changes have failed.

?I made enquiries on behalf of this family and was told they have been on the top of Housing New Zealand?s waiting list since September 11. They should have been housed by now.

?No one should have to live out of their car for over a month while Housing New Zealand does little to nothing to get them into a new home.

?The family tell me they first contacted Housing New Zealand at least a month before they even made it on to the Priority A list. They say they have only managed to reach their case manager once through the corporation?s help line and have no idea when they will be housed.?

?These families are bearing the brunt of the Government?s failure to provide adequate emergency housing and a guarantee that existing housing is safe and healthy to live in.

?The Government needs to build more state homes, and guarantee minimum standards for the rental homes that do exist.

?The Green Party has drafted a Bill that would require all rental homes to meet minimum standards and we will do more work on it to provide even more protections for tenants.

?New Zealand should be a great place to grow up. It is a national shame that we have hundreds of children who are homeless in this country.?

The Campbell Live report on the homeless Wellington family

Source: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=49508

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Deal of the Day ? 60? VIZIO E601i-A3 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Wednesday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 2012-model 60″?VIZIO E601i-A3 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (2012 Model) for $989.99. ?Features: ?RAZOR LED screen with 1080p resolution; 100,000:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz Clear Motion rate, full-keyboard remote, Internet TV with Flickr, Amazon Video on Demand, and YouTube. $999.99 ??$10 savings?=?$989.99?with?free shipping. This deal expires October 29, 2012 or sooner. Check [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/10/24/deal-of-the-day-60-vizio-e601i-a3-1080p-120hz-led-hdtv/

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Best Buy offers exclusive Windows 8 deals, demos

by Associated Press

KING5.com

Posted on October 24, 2012 at 7:16 AM

NEW YORK? -- Confused by Windows 8? Best Buy hopes it can help.

The consumer-electronics retailer is hoping to capitalize on the launch of Windows 8. It's trying to lure customers with exclusive computers and staffers trained to explain and demonstrate the new operating system from Microsoft Corp.

Windows 8 has a new look that's intended to create a seamless experience for users, whether they're on PCs, tablets or smartphones. Featuring a colorful array of tiles that fill the screen instead of the familiar start menu and icons, it's designed especially for touch-sensitive screens. Windows 8 will come pre-installed on almost all new PCs.

Best Buy Co. spent three years coming up with a plan for the launch. That includes two years of developing 45 exclusive Windows 8 computers and laptops designed with manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. to AsusTek Computer Inc. Nearly half of those computers feature touch screens. (Best Buy will also carry a wide range of non-exclusive Windows products, including tablets and smartphones.)

Microsoft's radical remake of Windows arrives at a time when Best Buy is struggling to avoid the fate of Circuit City, which liquidated in 2009. The company hopes the new Windows will spur sales as it faces tough competition from online retailers and discounters. Consumers' tastes are shifting to tablets and smartphones and, at the same time, they increasingly use Best Buy stores to browse for electronics before they buy the items online at lower prices, a practice known as showrooming.

Best Buy, which is based in Minneapolis, hasn't reported an increase in net income for two years.

Exclusive products are one way traditional brick-and-mortar stores are battling showrooming.

Another is customer service. To that end, Best Buy spent 50,000 hours training its staff members to show customers the ins and outs of Windows 8, as it's very different from its predecessors. Windows 8 is the biggest Windows revamp since Windows 95.

In addition, its Geek Squad technical service staff created 12 two-minute tutorials available online, each explaining a different feature of Windows 8.

"The demo experience becomes very, very important because of newness of touch feature," said Jason Bonfig, vice president for computing at Best Buy.

Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy's expectations are muted in terms of how much Best Buy will benefit from the launch. He believes Windows 8 "might give a temporary lift to sales, but longer term it doesn't solve any of the real issues facing the company," he said.

Barclays analyst Alan Rifkin crunched numbers on past Windows launches and found they did not provide a significant boost to retailers.

"While our research reveals that personal computer demand has been uniformly weak in the two to three quarters preceding a Windows release, historical Windows releases have not been identified as significant drivers of improved performance once the launch has taken place," he wrote in a note on Thursday.

Best Buy sounded more positive. The retailer started taking advance orders for Windows 8 devices and demo-ing the product on Sunday, and so far the response has been positive, Bonfig said.

"We've been very happy with interest and traffic in stores," he said.

Source: http://www.king5.com/news/business/Best-Buy-offers-exclusive-Windows-8-deals-demos-175597111.html

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