May general chat with Bobi

By Bobi

Thank you to Juz for putting up a thread for LEGO Masters. This show is warm and comfortable, just the thing for times like now. That’s mostly what I am drawn to at the moment. I am studiously avoiding anything political, violent, or dystopian. It’s surprising how much on television is all about the end of the world – even comedies and kids shows. 

So, on a warm and fuzzy scale, here are a couple of recommendations.

Mary Berry’s Foolproof Cooking (ABC). This woman is a soothing as a cup of tea. Today she was making a sponge cake with buckets of cream. I’m not a huge cake eater but I have always loved a sponge. It’s like an edible plate for lovely fruit. 

I’m not saying that I am ever going to make this cake, but Mary makes me think that I could. If LEGO Master is 10/10 then this is an 8/10

The Willoughby’s is an animation movie on Netflix. I know it’s for children but I found it absolutely charming. It’s a very pleasant and not-too-smaltzy hour and a half of smiling but not laugh out loud humour. Four kiddies are raised on neglect and decide to become orphans. I’m guessing that some younger children may not love this so much so 6/10

And speaking of not-too-smaltzy, I am looking forward to the return of How to Stay Married On Channel 10 on Tuesday. It’s about a seven on the daggymeter but it should be an eight on congenialIty. I enjoyed Season 1. It wasn’t so good that I remember the story line but good enough that, since seeing the ads, I am all on board.  

Just quietly and in passing, I need to mention that I am also watching Mystery Road (ABC). I know it doesn’t fit with the theme but fabulous doesn’t come around too often. 

Warm thoughts from me to you.
Bobi



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136 Comments

  1. I’m going to watch the movie 45 Years for, I’m pretty sure, the first time. Odd, because I’m a big Tom Courtenay fan, vaguely remember being in love with him and Albert Finney when I was young. I think the ad for 45 Years, “a master class in acting”, made me look up reviews and decide to watch.

  2. I was sad to hear that Paul has had a falling out with the girls over the new format. I used to love that show.
    I haven’t watched the new seasons. Amazon? Foxtel?

  3. Just watched Like Water for Chocolate on SBS movie channel. Quite a strange movie – beautiful shot and acted, but the storyline…nope, I don’t buy it.

  4. We have gone back to rewatch The Last Kingdom from S1 so that the current season will be more meaningful and we won’t spend the whole season filling in memory blanks.I think we are up to season 3.

    • Hi Bobi, yes all clear. I got the results less than 24 hours later. SA is going great guns at the moment and has the highest testing rate in the country.

      • Wonderful – I thought that as I see that SA has had no new cases for like 14 days, but good to get it from you!

      • That’s excellent news. You must be so relieved.

        The testing regime makes me wish I’d never moved from Adelaide. What was I thinking? Now I live in a country with little to no testing, a soaring death rate and a blind belief in the ostrich approach. Or maybe it thinks the virus can’t afford to live here 🙂

  5. Hey Daisy, we are getting reports that a really big storm is coming your way.
    Are you going to keep us posted?

      • It’s getting very windy in Perth, Daisy, but that’s not unusual this time of year. Our forecast has changed, with the big storm and damaging winds now forecast for tomorrow.

        Your area is under severe weather warning for tonight and tomorrow. Predictions change every update.

        • Battening down, Von. Bunbury copped it yesterday and last night but it missed us. As close as we are, we often get different weather. Sometimes I drive along Bussell Hey in pouring rain, turn into Gelorup, and it’s dry. Even the road. It doesn’t always happen, but often enough to make it feel like a thing.

  6. I went to Woolies just now. FFS why can’t people get it that when they refuse to socially distance that they are imposing their lack of co operation and hygiene on others. Worst offenders today; women in their 40s and 50s.
    Teens were good.

    Can we come up with a good strategy for sending a non confrontational “Back off” message? I could try not showering for a week, and putting dog poo in my shoes. Any better ideas?

    It’s too cold to wear a tee shirt that says, “Eff off”.

    • Cough. I’ve seen someone coughing clear an aisle in seconds. That’s kind of mean though :).

      I’ll be patient, but have then said loudly that people need to separate so I can get by safely. That usually works, because the ones not distancing know they’re not doing the right thing, and I’ll get a chorus of “sorry” as they move aside for me to barrel past. I smile and say please, but have no problem with getting louder and crankier. if needed. If it’s kids running loose, which they absolutely should not be, I ask them to move because they don’t want to be near me. That confuses them and they piss off.

      I noticed on my last shopping trip that Woolies is getting pretty casual about enforcing physical distancing. Tape marks are still on the floor, and signs are still displayed, but that’s it. There was a roll of paper towels and a bottle of disinfectant near the trolleys, so everyone had to touch the roll of towels and pick up the same grubby bottle.

      • Try drenching yourself in a really strong, cloying perfume. Like AXE. I’d move away from you pretty quickly.

          • I’ve got something just as good ~ a can of Fart Gas ( buy it at “trick” or “novelty” shops), even outside it smells like the real thing and stays for 15 mins. I’ve never had the no pun intended , guts to try it inside or on another non social distancer’s clothes , for example. I can’t tell you how bad it smells. I hate going to supermarkets now. Get too close, corona carrying comrade, cop a spray.
            Why dload the ‘ken app when so many folks don’t social distance?.

      • I am cranky with people. My kids work in Kmart and there are some idiots. My daughter was doing the register queue bit the other day and some d&*&*head didn’t want to stand back and got in her face to tell her is was rubbish. I mean, get stuffed.
        Luckily a nice customer intervened and FORCEFULLY told him to get out of her space and go line up a proper distance away. It’s not like the 18year old at the register makes Kmart policy. But sheesh – you may not “believe” but you don’t get the right to choose for someone else.

        So she is doing online order packing now. Much less involvement with people!!

  7. What is the ridiculous draft of a law that says business owners can be fined and/or jailed if they refuse entry or service to people who don’t have the Covid 19 tracing app on their phones? Did I read that right? What business would even do that, and how would they know? If that is supposed to make me download the app, haha Scotty, nope.

    • So that would be 20 million people that you can’t let in to your store? That’s not going to happen. Ever.
      Now is not a good time to be turning away business. And it’s not the best way to keep us out of a recession.
      If it was said, I would suggest, at best it’s an idle threat.

      • It’s draft legislation, aimed at those mis-using the app, which would include owners/businesses who refuse service to people who don’t have the app.

        That doesn’t address privacy concerns at all.

        No business would try to do that.

        Perhaps it hit the headlines because it’s so stupid.

      • I misunderstood.
        Yes, to everything you just said.
        I wouldn’t want to be a cafe owner as the moment. Tough decisions.

    • Not to mention those who don’t have a phone, don’t have it with them at the time, battery is flat etc.

      Sounds like an internet false news story.

  8. I was talking with a friend, a close…or should I say dear friend. She was turning off the news because she found it too negative, and was making up her own ideas on how to deal with the virus, which involved ignoring distancing for family and friends. How the hell was she being informed??? I found her lack of being “properly” informed, and let’s say, not just with the toy news, frustrating. And her refusal to co-operate, but rather make up her own ideas from thin air…and stubbornly, I might add, reeeeally frustrating and annoying; upsetting too knowing there would be worse idiots than her. It made me go home and download the ap just to not be like her. So in spite of all my reservations, my friends ridiculous imaginary source of information, made me do it.

    • I’ve done the app. I can cope with the data breaches. . . Don’t quote this back at me after it actually happens.

    • DS is less than ideally informed purely due to young adult lifestyle. Doesn’t own a tv, totally working from home, single person household, general lack of interest in any news. We visited him Sat and explained that we could because of the slight relaxation of rules – he hadn’t heard about it.

  9. I’m ready for the storm. Phone charged. Tab charged. And my new miner’s head torch charged. I wasn’t going to mess around this winter. I am ready for any possible power outages. My miner’s head torch is great. Super bright, but can be turned down. I hate walking about in a power outage at night.

    • We had some really strong wind and rain about an hour ago. I had the front door open so the dog could look out, the rain started blowing in the door, and he just sat there. Guess he doesn’t mind being wet. A couple of pot plants blew over, but some bricks on top of the pots keeps them safe.

      I have a torch in every room except the toilet because I’m afraid of the dark…and don’t want to accidentally step on my dog. They all have designated places so I can find them in the dark.

  10. I watched the docu on cable, tonight, about the hunt for Australia’s feral population of alleged big cats, panthers and mountain lions and such, that lots of people have reported over the years, but there’s never been a shred of hard evidence to support.

    The film-maker was a guy who used to work at Australia Zoo with the tigers, y’know, someone who really knows their big felines. He found droppings in the forest, he set up cameras and microphones (with all these little tricks to fool animals into approaching). He was telling us that he’s spent the last few years in pursuit of this, and he really knew his stuff.

    There were interviews with farmers, and people who are afraid to trek through certain parts of the Great Dividing Range without firearms. And there was gorgeous footage of empty Australian wilderness, but it was quite unsettling and creepy, these shots of cloud-covered forests and dark scrubland next to farms. There was also plenty of footage of sheep and other farm animals that had been attacked and killed by something far bigger than foxes (there was one really creepy moment where they found this calf carcass, and all the internal bits and pieces had just … gone. The animal had been dispatched neatly and cleanly, and all the internal organs had just gone).

    The end results were all inconclusive. The DNA tests from the droppings mostly pointed to foxes (although as the experts pointed out, that’s hardly definitive. There’s nothing stopping foxes from wandering up after-the-fact and contributing. Dogs do that every day when you walk them), the cameras — set up for months and months — recorded plenty of footage of lots of Australian animals, but no panthers.

    The director, the main dude … hearing how disheartened he was, that all the evidence (and he really tried to solve the mystery from every angle) was inconclusive and they still don’t really have any proof, was kind of sad. Like, he so badly wanted to believe in this.

    • Bet the Lithgow Panther was mentioned in it. At the moment Mr 8 is obsessed with big foot movies and YouTube “found footage”.

      • They mentioned a few cases. Mostly it was one particular area in southern Western Australia, and some farms near the Otways National Park in Victoria. But the droppings sample was from Newcastle.

        I found it really interesting, but I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.

    • I’m not a great Steve Carrel fan but anything that has actors dancing to upbeat music tends to hold my attention.
      Plus, if course. making fun of Americans. These people never cease to keep me entertained.

    • A few big branches down and lots of mess to clean up outside but not structural damage.

    • It was wild and woolly. Most of our area had power failure but we didn’t. Just lots of branches down.

  11. The Covid 19 app has been available for, what, a week? How many glitches, problems, and snafus have already shown up?

    Government needs to stay out of IT.

  12. I went teaching today. Russian roulette. The classroom was full so forget distancing. Plus then there is the moving around.
    That’s what teachers are doing…but no masks or gloves.

    • It makes me uncomfortable.
      It will be interesting to see how long before I get over it. Like those that grew up in the war, it may be a permanent fixture in my life.

      • I want this on a tee shirt…front and back. I’m going to see if I can take it to the local printers.

    • Any talk of classrooms being safe is BS. There are just too many kids in a room for that. As well as that they wanted a hug. 😂😂😂😂😂😂.
      “Nooooooooo”

      • Hanging out in my garden in PJs (2.00pm) and enjoying my music. Music is a wonderful thing. ❤️❤️❤️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵

    • Ahh, how sad. No more Slimy Pete. I wish him well for staring right into the sun without proper protection and my his activated almonds cause a lot of constipation. Or so. Dunno, he’s a mothertucking idiot.

        • I don’t know the format of the new show, but think those guys would be good together. There’s an old show called Boys’ Weekend, or something like that, that had five chefs going camping in an RV. Manu and Gary were good in that, and I like Matt. I miss Gary’s master classes on MC. I think he was excellent at those.

          • I think Miguel was on that too – back when he was way more unintelligible

    • Keep it fresh. Keep what worked. Or die.
      They saw villainy worked and then overdid it.
      MKR was stupid with those costumes.

    • It’s going to be terrifying when they open the border between Perth and the South West. The roads will be bumper to bumper both ways. And it will be packed down here I expect.

  13. I know things have to start opening. I get that. I just wish people weren’t such idiots about it. They seem to think it’s all over.
    Someone in the industry told me that the real problem with CV is not so much dying but that those that live have permanent damage. It’s not like the flu but more like TB where your lungs are scarred for life.
    Those of us who spent time in FNQ can talk about the cost of TB. A PNG patient spent 2 years in isolation before dying (drug resistant).
    Just do the sums on that for all those that can, have and/or will catch this.
    By all means open things up but keep washing your hands, stand 1.5 meters apart and wear masks – everybody. And don’t touch me.
    Then I will feel fine.

    • I know I was a little disheartened to see people “protesting” the virus lockdown in Melbourne today. It’s like, c’mon guys, don’t be like America, nobody wants to be like America.

      • That they included the roll-out of 5G in the protest, and chanted some rubbish about Bill Gates, shows the level of intelligence of some of those protesters.

        • I actually found a couple of really good articles about that today.

          Snopes.com is a fact-checking site. They literally take urban legends and internet stories, and research them to find out how much of them is true. So naturally, they took the Gates conspiracy theory to task.

          https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-id2020/

          I find this stuff fascinating, but it’s interesting to see just how badly people had to manipulate and twist things he’s said and done, to turn him into a cartoon super-villain.

          • Anti-vaxxers as well. Jesus. Is anybody testing whether
            there is also a virus that de-activates critical thinking?

    • Amen, Bobi. I will try one more time to hit the shops at what I think will be a quiet time. If people are still crowding me, it’s on line shopping from then. If I have to stay home for the next six months, so be it. I’ll live…which is the point.

  14. The shopping centre was so busy on Sat. Like people doing Christmas shopping. Scary. Yes, if you have serious symptoms with Covid-19, there could be some permanent damage to the lungs and kidney.

    Also many people think that if you got tested and were negative, you are sweet. They have a false sense of security. You still can get infected the next day.

    I can’t see how I can go back to work in the near future. I am working with seniors and people with pulmonary and cardiac problems. Exercise room is small. I need to space them out and need to reduce the numbers. Then I have to wipe the hand weights and equipment. NSW Health can’t expect me to do all this in my 1 hr class and to provide 1 hr of exercise for the clients. I am also worried of accidentally catching the virus and pass it on to the seniors. They are the most vunenrable.

  15. Check out this queue for coffee. I passed by and took some pics. It’s all been okay until the “easing”.
    Yes I did name and shame the café on FB. This particular place has not cordoned off its al fresco so people have been sitting there too.

    • Queuing for coffee…..or coffins?

      My safest time for a daredevil trip to a supermarket is Fri night.

    • Not a mask in sight. Somebody brought their kid.

      I think fed and state governments need to state loudly the obvious also, when they announce easing of restrictions: The pandemic is not over. Distancing rules still apply and will for months, possibly years. If you ignore distancing and other safety measures, you’re stupid. Easing restrictions will mean that more people are likely to be infected. More of you will die.

      What does it take to get through?

      • I think they are saying that. Every time someone mentions easing they are very strong about the rules.

        What will it take? Exactly what happened with the beaches. In places where rules are not obeyed such as the cafe above, the restrictions will be reinstated. That cafe might be excited to be back now, bu they put the whole industry in jeopardy. That is why the easing is being done slowly – so that it is easy to step them back if violated.

        I have never envied Americans, but never more so than now. I can’t believe the insanity I am seeing. At least most of the state governors seem to be holding firm – good on them.

        • And how many people were getting infected while restrictions were eased and hundreds rushed to beaches, malls and coffee shops? I understand the desire to get back to some sort of “normal”. But we’re not going to be able to return to life exactly as it was until and unless there is a widely-available vaccine. Perhaps not even then. Many do not seem to understand that. They grab their bags and rush out to shops and cafes as though they’ve been locked up for years instead of a few weeks. Flattening the curve does not mean a free for all.

      • I am loving our state leaders at the moment. It brings the differences in responsibilities into sharp relief.
        Don’t I sound rational? That’s a firm no.
        I am getting annoyed by tiny unimportant things in politics. I have no perspective.
        There is an ad on at the moment for Q&A tonight and they have photos up of three of the premiers. Some goose is raving about ABC bias because there are two Labor and only one liberal premiers up there – ignoring the fact that we have 5 Labour leaders and three liberals currently, so proportional.
        Or that they represent the three worst hit states.
        Or that two of the photos were of women and one was a man, which I think is worth a comment.
        I went into a meltdown, raving about the house.
        The country is burning down, there is an unseen virus, the economy is failing and going into a recession … and I am blithering about some idiot criticising my ABC.
        I’m not terribly sure who is the real idiot here.
        I really need to get a grip.
        I’m going out to buy chocolate ice cream.

          • I recently discovered a local IGA that sells cups of those little ice-cream sherbet melting dots?

            It’s hard to explain what they are, but if you’ve had them, you know what I’m talking about. And if you’ve never tried them before, you need to rush out and rectify that, immediately.

          • That stuff looks delicious.
            And i love sherbet. I am imagining that I would love it in ice-cream. I am wondering if it’s a Queensland thing.

        • I get you, on the accusasions of ABC bias, because I find that quite frustrating as well.

          Mostly because the people who are loudest (in accusing the ABC of having an extreme political bias) are the same people who sit there watching Sky news hour after hour, and listening to non-stop extreme right wing commentators telling them what Rupert Murdoch wants them to hear.

          • I never used to think there was a bias, but now I do. But it is very, very subtle. The guests and commenters are actually balanced (I don’t see any problem with those choices), what is not balanced is the little aside comments by the presenters after they have interviewed a person. If they have a guest to offer a different opinion, there is usually some attitude afterwards to imply that they are a bit odd or outliers in their opinions. There is an undercurrent of assuming that current popular opinions are shared by everyone.

            I don’t think any of this is intentional, it is more reflective of the people who are chosen for the shows, and they cannot help their personal biases showing through ordinary banter. Definitely a bit annoying, but clear to see why some people see bias on controversial issues.

  16. RIP Jerry Stiller (Ben’s dad). I still enjoy watching him as Mr Costanza on the Seinfeld repeats. He has some of the most quotable lines of the show.

    • Aw, that makes me sad. I still remember his and Anne’s comedy duo act from many years ago. So long, Jerry.

      • Yeah, I missed that. I’ll catch it on one of the re-runs.

        I asked if that was Celia because she looked so different than usual. She used very heavy make-up or a filter or something, because her face looked like a mask. Or maybe my eyes are going weird.

  17. When Josh Frydenberg was having his coughing fit yesterday, I noticed that no one asked if he was okay, or slapped him on the back, or offered a tissue. No one moved away from him, either, while he was hacking away into his closed fist.

    They mostly laughed at him. That’s not very nice.

    • Yes, and then he was criticised for not making some financial comment the next day on some issue, when he was doing the right thing while waiting for test results.

      It is really disappointing (but not unexpected) to see the spirit of cooperation between the parties disappearing so rapidly. So much for all “being in it together” (a phrase that should be banned from now on).

      • BAN IT. I am so over it. The most tired and overworked phrase.
        As a watcher of commercial TV, I respectfully submit the following ads for a ban:
        – the budget direct one
        – the sanctimonious super one that references that phrase
        – westpac’s how to get online. . .

        • “– the budget direct one”

          Yes. I liked those ads when they were edgy and obviously referencing some sci-fi film noir type storyline. But the current ad with the horses and the army of people? I’ve seen enough of that one to last a lifetime.

          • That one makes me wonder: if they are now the best, why do they still need such flashy ads?

        • – westpac’s how to get online. . .
          haha, have to laugh at this one and similar. They always end with “if you need help, just go to our website..” If people need help with internet banking, then referring them to a website is useless. They need a person, silly.

          • So true Finance.
            If you need help using your phone, just call….
            If you need help with on-line banking, just log on to…..

        • To be fair to the sanctimonius super fund, they have been using the phrase for years in their ads. In some ways they are lucky that their catchcry is now in such use.

          • Yep – I think the caring woman in her kitchen saying earnestly about these times in the super one just yanks my chain big time. No idea why!
            Fijane – that is it in a nutshell. The stupidity of the westpac one inviting someone without an account to use a website just beggars belief. . .

            And yes Windsong – that’s the ad on the top of my hate list with all the ridiculous horses/army stuff. No idea what they were thinking.

          • My absolute hatred is for “compare the pair”.
            Apart from being patronising in the extreme, it is also misleading because it’s not, strictly speaking, true. Not a lie exactly, but just not true. It makes me want to throw things at the telly.
            Ads like these are the reason I love Gruen. One of my favourites.

          • Haven’t seen a compare the pair for awhile. Is that because most super will be dropping with the share market?

            Gruen repeats are back on every afternoon at the moment.

  18. I want to vom at “We are one” song. It’s so sickly sweet.
    My old neighbour told me that someone at the supermarket came right next to him, so my neighbour turned around and said, “Fuck off”. Isn’t THAT more like Australia? 😂😂😂

    • I used “back off” twice today. I think I scared the kid on the bus, but I did tell him why. The woman I told at the store gave me a dirty look, but did back off. I could not care less about her dirty look, am more concerned with her being in my face.

      The one that pisses me off is Lisa Wilkinson telling me how to wash my hands, especially when she says to use warm water if you can. Water temp doesn’t matter, Lisa, it’s the soap and time used to wash, so shut up. Most public restrooms only have cold water now anyway.

      • A 90 year old woman here used a leek to poke the guy who came too close to her in the checkout queue. 🙂

        I am alone in my town with wearing a mask, latex gloves, using hand sanitiser etc, in public, but then as I’m a foreigner they expect me to behave oddly. The death rate here is horrendous, but it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. As of yesterday it was 3,697 dead, which is a tragedy.

        I keep myself isolated and safe, but I feel like I’ve been through the 5 stages of grief with this country’s response and the apathy shown by the average person who is only worried about their summer holiday plans being ruined. The PM was grilled by overseas journalists on the weekend and it was cringingly embarrassing how little empathy he showed towards the victims as he tried to justify the government response which could best be summed up as a dog’s breakfast.

        • It must be very frustrating for you, Marie. All you can do is keep yourself and those around you safe. Head in the sand approach doesn’t work, no matter how many heads of government use it.

          That was a good use of a leek I reckon.

  19. I think HYBPA has made the best transition from a show with participants in the studio and an audience, to everyone being remote, and no audience. What is on the screen looks almost like the live show. And I suppose there is a laugh track, but it must be well done, or I’m just laughing aloud at the same time.

  20. Maaaaaaan. I went shopping at the Farmers’ Mart, then Woolies. Couples shopping together, people walking close to you left, right and centre. They’re deciding on my behalf that SD is unnecessary.
    I am wearing gloves and face mask just to remind people there’s a pandemic; stay back.

    • I feel for you, Daisy. Even grabbing a trolley wipe or using the hand sanitiser spray dispenser at the entrance to Woolies, people were coming up right next to me. They realise the need to have clean hands and clean trolley handles, but totally forget about the need for physical distancing.

      I’m going to start asking if they want a cuddle…before I tell them to back the fuck off. I’m wearing a face mask now, hoping that other people think I’m sick so they stay the hell away from me.

      Unfortunately, I think it is going to take the second wave of infections before the message gets through that this pandemic is not over and the danger is still very much present.

    • Download the app , while people aren’t social distancing and letting their fuckim’ kids touch everything in the supermarket. Never.

      Enforce social distancing, $cotty , and flatten the dickhead curve.

    • I cough, just gently, but repeatedly. It seems to keep a lovely bubble around me.
      Either that, or I look extremely cranky.
      And me too on HYBPA, Von.
      I loved this show before, and I love it even more now. It has made the transition seamlessly.

  21. I got really bored during the bank holiday yesterday and started watching House Rules while building a bit in Sims. 😉 It was an old season, I think season 5. The casting in that show is pretty much unbearable. There was a female team, yuck, those two were awful (especially the one with the red hair, her voice… -.-). Why do such shows always think they have to rely on at least one villain team? Controversy is happening anyway in a reno show one way or the other, I don’t see why there is any need of an arsehole team. Had to quit watching because those two idiots are really awful. I know, editing, but in the end, they still said all the shit towards the camera and gave the producers enough material…

    • The red-headed woman you mentioned, I think she sued the TV producers, recently, for defaming her character in front of a national audience.

      Personally, I think this makes her look even more horrible, as a person.

      • And they were not the only really unlikable team in that season. The “Battlers”, what annoying people. In German we call the kind of TV Krawallfernsehen, like Brawl TV. 😉 They cast controversial people on purpose and because they are dumb enough they play along. And show no redeeming traits.
        Suing for the shit she said on TV, well that’s interesting. But I wouldn’t wonder if she actually won her lawsuit. So in the end, being an arsehole pays off more than being nice. *sigh*

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