SHIP'S LOG:
O, The Mail! In the last few days, I received in the mail the "West Marine Catalog" and the "Defender Marines Industries" catalog, both fill with stuff I absolutely need to have and need to afford, stuff that I would nice to have but probably can't afford, stuff that is unnecessary but would be wonderful to have and which I can definitely not afford, and stuff that I fantasize about and which would take a visit from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol to afford. I actually went and did some "window shopping" at Defenders. O what a terrible place for an impulse buyer who owns a boat. Worse than going to a boat show where, at least, you know that you can't afford anything. I can still remember my first boat show back in the early 80's. I went on a Hans Christian 33 and was just blown away. The salesman offered to take $30,000 off the price if I bought the boat and kept it in the "traveling Boat Show fleet" until the next summer. I had to tell the poor guy that I could afford the $30,000 let alone the $200,000 discounted, Boat Show Special price.
Someone in Rhode Island won the $300+ Million Power Ball prize. I was hoping it was "family" but evidently not. Some of these prizes from Power Ball and Mega-Millions are getting so credulous that if you win you could bailout Greece. Still it would be fun to win one and have a chance to play with it a bit. You could sure to a lot of good with $300,000,000!
If the weather is going to stay the way it is, and I am not quite sure that it will, perhaps I will begin on the boat in the next week or so. The temps might not be warn enough for paint and varnishing, but they have certainly be warm enough to do prep work and mechanical stuff and I am getting itchy to start. It is not so much as I like the work, truth be told I hate maintenance chores, but they have to be done if the boat is going to go into the water. and this summer, owning a "sailboat" as opposed to a "powerboat" is going to be the thing. The cost of diesel in more expensive in marinas to begin with and with the rise in fuel prices now, they out to be brutal by summer. Since it basically costs the same to launch the boat as it does to keep it store for the summer, most people will probably launch though sailors will use their boats far more that powerboaters. The same thing happened the last time the prices for fuel shot up. Still in all, when you have a 55 gallon tank, even if you are judicious about running the "iron genny," any trip to the fuel dock is likely to be shocking to your wallet. O well, that's tomorrow and ABISHAG has a full tank, and tomorrow will have to take care of itself.
While I was at Defenders talking with one of the clerks, he mentioned that he was thinking about doing the ICW. I told him, "Do it! You won't regret it." I was still in Miami at this time last year, tentatively . . . very tentatively . . . making plans for the long trip home. from Miami, it is 1,089 miles to ICW Mark #1 at Hospital Point in Hampton Roads, Virginia. After that, depending on your course and stops, it was another 450+ miles to TYC. It's a long slog especially at 60 miles a day at best.No wonder it was so easy to say the heck with it and take another swim. Like I am sure I said several times back them, "Good harbors rot ships and men." Amen!
Today I am going to work out the projects list and finalize it. One small step to get closer to launching. Even before I can start any projects, I will have to retrieve tools and such from storage and cart them to the boat. Just getting ready to make a start is a project in itself. C'est la vie!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Suck, Bang, Blow! That's Right!
SHIP'S LOG:
"Suck, Bang, Blow" is actually the name of a biker bar in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, just off of the ICW. The name comes, supposedly, from the engine sounds of an old Panhead Harley Davidson when you try to kick start it. It also , along with "Pop," "Squeal" and "Grind," are the sound recently made by my POS Hyundai. I got the belts replaced, well two out of three, last week and Saturday evening I was headed up to Somers to have dinner with some friends. On the way up Route 9, there came a "pop" and then some "squealing" and a little "grinding," followed by a loss in power and then "suck, bang blow" and I lurched to a stop by the side of the road.
Long story short, the alternator had stopped charging and the battery had run down and I was without electrical power to run the engine. Unlike with a diesel, electricity is something you need to run a gas engine. I contacted a friend in the area of the breakdown and he came by and gave me boost which got me a few miles before POS died again and AAA had to be called for a tow. Good friend Ray told me to check the alternator as it had recently had a new belt installed. It was a simple check and it was immediately clear that that one of the bolts holding the alternator to the engine appeared to have backed out. It turned out that it had not so much backed out and broken off! Two other friends got the POS to a heated garage with the intent of removing the alternator, drilling out the broken bolt, tapping the hole and boss for a new bolt an re-installing the alternator. Surprisingly, after a couple of hours in the heated garage, the metal warmed enough so that the broken bolt could be un-threaded. A new one was quickly procured and the alternator, reinstalled, happily procured the necessary voltage an the POS was once again running, saving God alone knows how may hundreds of dollars don't have. The "Check Engine"light was still on and I went to Advance Auto and had them do a computer check of the systems. The alternator was working fine but the computer indicated that the engine had "multiple miss-fires." The clerk suggested that since I had recently replaced all the plugs and wires, that possibly one of the connectors was loose and that I should " give them all a check, move'em around a bit" and the miss-fires would stop and the light would go out.Yeah, right! Well I did and it did. It is a good thing to have friends! Ghosts in the machine!
"Suck, Bang, Blow" is actually the name of a biker bar in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, just off of the ICW. The name comes, supposedly, from the engine sounds of an old Panhead Harley Davidson when you try to kick start it. It also , along with "Pop," "Squeal" and "Grind," are the sound recently made by my POS Hyundai. I got the belts replaced, well two out of three, last week and Saturday evening I was headed up to Somers to have dinner with some friends. On the way up Route 9, there came a "pop" and then some "squealing" and a little "grinding," followed by a loss in power and then "suck, bang blow" and I lurched to a stop by the side of the road.
Long story short, the alternator had stopped charging and the battery had run down and I was without electrical power to run the engine. Unlike with a diesel, electricity is something you need to run a gas engine. I contacted a friend in the area of the breakdown and he came by and gave me boost which got me a few miles before POS died again and AAA had to be called for a tow. Good friend Ray told me to check the alternator as it had recently had a new belt installed. It was a simple check and it was immediately clear that that one of the bolts holding the alternator to the engine appeared to have backed out. It turned out that it had not so much backed out and broken off! Two other friends got the POS to a heated garage with the intent of removing the alternator, drilling out the broken bolt, tapping the hole and boss for a new bolt an re-installing the alternator. Surprisingly, after a couple of hours in the heated garage, the metal warmed enough so that the broken bolt could be un-threaded. A new one was quickly procured and the alternator, reinstalled, happily procured the necessary voltage an the POS was once again running, saving God alone knows how may hundreds of dollars don't have. The "Check Engine"light was still on and I went to Advance Auto and had them do a computer check of the systems. The alternator was working fine but the computer indicated that the engine had "multiple miss-fires." The clerk suggested that since I had recently replaced all the plugs and wires, that possibly one of the connectors was loose and that I should " give them all a check, move'em around a bit" and the miss-fires would stop and the light would go out.Yeah, right! Well I did and it did. It is a good thing to have friends! Ghosts in the machine!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Spring ?!?!?! or Winter?!?!?!?!?
SHIP'S LOG:
Well I guess it is to be the winter that wasn't/isn't! Despite the rather nasty predictions in "The Old Farmer's Almanac," winter sure hasn't lived up to expectations . . . . thank goodness.The weather truly has been almost spring-like tough it seems that every weather man/woman worth their laser pointers and computer graphics is hedging their bets, assuring one and all that certainly February will be cold and snowy and truly winter. It is what it is and it will be what will be. No matter what really happens we will all have to simple deal with what comes.
My P.O.S. Hyundai has been squealing indicating that it needs new belts. I guess after 130,000 some odd miles that is to be expected. Ray and Ken both nominated Chuck to do the job. He works with Ray, who is laid up after carpel tunnel and rotator cuff surgery, and Ken, who is his father-in-law. God bless him, the labor will be free though I had to spring for the parts - the three(3) needed belts, a set of plugs and wires( one of the plugs was miss-firing and goodness only knows when they were last replaced) and a set of wiper-blades as the current ones are starting to separate. The P.O.S. is getting $109.37 spent on it and so I hope it appreciates it and doesn't pull any more crap!
Still no word from the powers-that-be and here I wait, quite patiently. A little sail-lofting and stitching, work on the guitar, reading good books, and working on me. Things are quite peaceful though I have to admit I do jump a bit whenever the phone rings between 9 and 5. The call will come eventually but it seems that it has been overly long delayed for some reason. The fact that there is nothing that i can do about it to hurry the process along in any way makes the waiting at tines a bit irritating and frustrating. Then again, it is not in my hands so that's that. . . . and it is another day closer to spring and the sailing season.
Well I guess it is to be the winter that wasn't/isn't! Despite the rather nasty predictions in "The Old Farmer's Almanac," winter sure hasn't lived up to expectations . . . . thank goodness.The weather truly has been almost spring-like tough it seems that every weather man/woman worth their laser pointers and computer graphics is hedging their bets, assuring one and all that certainly February will be cold and snowy and truly winter. It is what it is and it will be what will be. No matter what really happens we will all have to simple deal with what comes.
My P.O.S. Hyundai has been squealing indicating that it needs new belts. I guess after 130,000 some odd miles that is to be expected. Ray and Ken both nominated Chuck to do the job. He works with Ray, who is laid up after carpel tunnel and rotator cuff surgery, and Ken, who is his father-in-law. God bless him, the labor will be free though I had to spring for the parts - the three(3) needed belts, a set of plugs and wires( one of the plugs was miss-firing and goodness only knows when they were last replaced) and a set of wiper-blades as the current ones are starting to separate. The P.O.S. is getting $109.37 spent on it and so I hope it appreciates it and doesn't pull any more crap!
Still no word from the powers-that-be and here I wait, quite patiently. A little sail-lofting and stitching, work on the guitar, reading good books, and working on me. Things are quite peaceful though I have to admit I do jump a bit whenever the phone rings between 9 and 5. The call will come eventually but it seems that it has been overly long delayed for some reason. The fact that there is nothing that i can do about it to hurry the process along in any way makes the waiting at tines a bit irritating and frustrating. Then again, it is not in my hands so that's that. . . . and it is another day closer to spring and the sailing season.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Well, Winter's Over . . . At Last!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, maybe not really, but the 5" - 8" of snow with which we got bombarded on Saturday has all gone away courtesy of a lot of rain and temperatures in the 40's & 50's, that and the fact that I am currently living on the coast, below the "snow line." Curious thing, the "snow lone." when there is a chance of snow it usually seems that when it comes, odds are that from the coastline inland to about 6 miles, we get rain, or at least the infamous "wintery mix." There are piles of snow here and there, the remains of Saturday's shoveling and plowing, but aside from that, where the snow was "untouched by human hands, the snow is gone! The sun is out and the birds are singing and it is as much like spring as it can be without it actually being spring.
The work on the guitar is proceeding "fair." To quote the late John Lennon, "I've got blisters on me fingers!" I have been doing a lot of hand exercises on my left hand, whose wrist was shattered a couple of years ago falling off my Schwinn. Who says bike ridding is good for your health. And while it was well set and healed well, it is surprisingly still a little weak and not as flexible as it should be. I've still got the "muscle memory' for most of the cords I know way back when but not really the strength and flexibility to hold and sustain them. The "slow hand" is always faster that the cord hand and that can be very frustrating. In addition, there are the blisters. The callous is starting t build up, it will take another couple of weeks, though I have had one blister form under the callous on one finger and that it truly annoying.So to keep the "slow hand" occupied and working, I have been working on finger picking, learning new paterns and trying to pick up speed. Developing the "muscle memory" for that is a rather long and tiresome and boring exercise but I seem to be making some progress at it. I am even building up callous on the "slow hand" as well.
I have started once again to develop a "projects list" for the coming spring boat maintenance season, which if the weather stays like this, could begin soon. I dread it and look forward to it at the same time. There will be a certain amount of "destruction" this year as the old refrigeration system and icebox arrangement have to go, as well as the auto pilot, which is very good for steering the boat in a circle but not much else. I won't be replacing that for any number of reasons but mostly financial. I still haven't heard from the Publishers Clearing House people. They keep wanting me to have millions but we can't seem to make the connections to bring it about. O well, c'est la vie! Of course, Powerball has upped the cost of a ticket to $2 so it will be even rarer that I will be able to afford a ticket. It will really have to be a spectacular prize for be to risk a Jefferson. Just think of the fun though I could have in given it all way!
Well, maybe not really, but the 5" - 8" of snow with which we got bombarded on Saturday has all gone away courtesy of a lot of rain and temperatures in the 40's & 50's, that and the fact that I am currently living on the coast, below the "snow line." Curious thing, the "snow lone." when there is a chance of snow it usually seems that when it comes, odds are that from the coastline inland to about 6 miles, we get rain, or at least the infamous "wintery mix." There are piles of snow here and there, the remains of Saturday's shoveling and plowing, but aside from that, where the snow was "untouched by human hands, the snow is gone! The sun is out and the birds are singing and it is as much like spring as it can be without it actually being spring.
The work on the guitar is proceeding "fair." To quote the late John Lennon, "I've got blisters on me fingers!" I have been doing a lot of hand exercises on my left hand, whose wrist was shattered a couple of years ago falling off my Schwinn. Who says bike ridding is good for your health. And while it was well set and healed well, it is surprisingly still a little weak and not as flexible as it should be. I've still got the "muscle memory' for most of the cords I know way back when but not really the strength and flexibility to hold and sustain them. The "slow hand" is always faster that the cord hand and that can be very frustrating. In addition, there are the blisters. The callous is starting t build up, it will take another couple of weeks, though I have had one blister form under the callous on one finger and that it truly annoying.So to keep the "slow hand" occupied and working, I have been working on finger picking, learning new paterns and trying to pick up speed. Developing the "muscle memory" for that is a rather long and tiresome and boring exercise but I seem to be making some progress at it. I am even building up callous on the "slow hand" as well.
I have started once again to develop a "projects list" for the coming spring boat maintenance season, which if the weather stays like this, could begin soon. I dread it and look forward to it at the same time. There will be a certain amount of "destruction" this year as the old refrigeration system and icebox arrangement have to go, as well as the auto pilot, which is very good for steering the boat in a circle but not much else. I won't be replacing that for any number of reasons but mostly financial. I still haven't heard from the Publishers Clearing House people. They keep wanting me to have millions but we can't seem to make the connections to bring it about. O well, c'est la vie! Of course, Powerball has upped the cost of a ticket to $2 so it will be even rarer that I will be able to afford a ticket. It will really have to be a spectacular prize for be to risk a Jefferson. Just think of the fun though I could have in given it all way!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Snow! At Last!
SHIP'S LOG:
It actually is snowing! In one sense that is a good thing. It is after winter and what is winter without snow. IF you are going to have temperatures in the 20's & 30's, if it is January, you should have snow! Snow makes sense of the month and the temperature. Without snow it is sort of weird!
The again, I hate winter! Winter means I never quite get completely warm. winter means sitting and freezing in your car as you wait for it to warm up. winter means worrying bout where you put your gloves and your boots and your hate and your coat. winter means finding every single little crack that lets in the cold wherever you happen to be. winter means having your fingers and toes and the tip of your nose go numb. I hate winter.
The good part about this winter, if such a thing can be admitted, is that it has long delayed in coming and it probably means, hopefully means that it will be quick in departing. Days like today are beautiful with the snow falling and the silence that attends its fall but as beautiful as it might be today, tomorrow it will still be winter and I long for the three "H's" - "Hazy, Hot & Humid!" Oh for one of those days, sitting int he cockpit, maybe under sail, sipping something cold from a tall glass and muttering, "Damn! ain't it hot!" yet glad that it was and not wishing it to end, or really be cooler.
But it is one day closer to spring, one day closer to launching, one day closer to sailing season, so it isn't all bad. Still, it is beautiful outside and maybe, just maybe, I'll go for a walk in the falling snow.
It actually is snowing! In one sense that is a good thing. It is after winter and what is winter without snow. IF you are going to have temperatures in the 20's & 30's, if it is January, you should have snow! Snow makes sense of the month and the temperature. Without snow it is sort of weird!
The again, I hate winter! Winter means I never quite get completely warm. winter means sitting and freezing in your car as you wait for it to warm up. winter means worrying bout where you put your gloves and your boots and your hate and your coat. winter means finding every single little crack that lets in the cold wherever you happen to be. winter means having your fingers and toes and the tip of your nose go numb. I hate winter.
The good part about this winter, if such a thing can be admitted, is that it has long delayed in coming and it probably means, hopefully means that it will be quick in departing. Days like today are beautiful with the snow falling and the silence that attends its fall but as beautiful as it might be today, tomorrow it will still be winter and I long for the three "H's" - "Hazy, Hot & Humid!" Oh for one of those days, sitting int he cockpit, maybe under sail, sipping something cold from a tall glass and muttering, "Damn! ain't it hot!" yet glad that it was and not wishing it to end, or really be cooler.
But it is one day closer to spring, one day closer to launching, one day closer to sailing season, so it isn't all bad. Still, it is beautiful outside and maybe, just maybe, I'll go for a walk in the falling snow.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Where's Winter? Who Cares?
SHIP'S LOG:
One of things you miss when you make a Trip like I did last year is getting together with family and friends fr special celebrations. You hear about them second hand via emails and phone calls which always include "You should have been there" and "Everyone was asking for you."Well this year is different and I got to go to a special celebration yesterday, the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Tom and Shirley. Being he "givers" that they are, the thought of their kids surprising them with such an event not what they wanted but their "objections" got overwhelmed by the real outpouring of love and celebration. The felt that they hadn't done anything "deserving" such a fete, but their children, and their grandchildren and their family and friends begged to differ. It was a wonderful time. Perhaps the only down side was that it made me feel a little "old." Then again, I guess I am.
Winter seems to be hesitant to put in an appearance. It seems to get "chilly" for a couple of days but it so far lacks the fortitude to stick around for long. This weekend is supposed to sport temperatures lower than normal but beginning the week will see the temps rise up above the normal to "unseasonably warm." And while parts of the mid-west are to get "substantial snow, it looks as though we are going to get a pass again. Not that I am complaining mind you. Still, what is winter without snow? It is one thing to be in Florida where snow would be an abomination, but here in New England it is the expected norm. I suppose that I should be careful what I wish for as it it is still very possible that we could get blasted. And when we do, if we do, I would be the first to grumble.
Other than that, the days pass peacefully and I am still waiting. I suppose something will happen soon, or at lest eventually, but until it does, I wait. I had a wonderful conversation about Haiti with a table companion last night. He seems very eager to go and experience the place and its people. It is difficult to explain to someone how a people could be so incredibly poor and yet be filled with joy. The things that we tend to worry and fret over, all the things that cause us stress are as nothing to the Haitians. They have sense of peace and joy that is incomprehensible to us of the first world. Maybe he will actually make the trip down though I warned him that it would change him forever. Still, it would be great for him if he made the journey.
It is one day closer to launching, though still months away. I am going to have to start planning the spring projects for they are not months away. With the way the weather is, it is very possible that late next month I can begin at least with those that require "destruction," sanding, scrapping, dismantling, cleaning and the like. It is drudgery but it is what helps to make the sailing season such a joy. There is nothing like laying in the wet mud, sanding the bottom in the cold March wind to make those steaks cooked on the grill in some anchorage taste all the better! AH!
One of things you miss when you make a Trip like I did last year is getting together with family and friends fr special celebrations. You hear about them second hand via emails and phone calls which always include "You should have been there" and "Everyone was asking for you."Well this year is different and I got to go to a special celebration yesterday, the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Tom and Shirley. Being he "givers" that they are, the thought of their kids surprising them with such an event not what they wanted but their "objections" got overwhelmed by the real outpouring of love and celebration. The felt that they hadn't done anything "deserving" such a fete, but their children, and their grandchildren and their family and friends begged to differ. It was a wonderful time. Perhaps the only down side was that it made me feel a little "old." Then again, I guess I am.
Winter seems to be hesitant to put in an appearance. It seems to get "chilly" for a couple of days but it so far lacks the fortitude to stick around for long. This weekend is supposed to sport temperatures lower than normal but beginning the week will see the temps rise up above the normal to "unseasonably warm." And while parts of the mid-west are to get "substantial snow, it looks as though we are going to get a pass again. Not that I am complaining mind you. Still, what is winter without snow? It is one thing to be in Florida where snow would be an abomination, but here in New England it is the expected norm. I suppose that I should be careful what I wish for as it it is still very possible that we could get blasted. And when we do, if we do, I would be the first to grumble.
Other than that, the days pass peacefully and I am still waiting. I suppose something will happen soon, or at lest eventually, but until it does, I wait. I had a wonderful conversation about Haiti with a table companion last night. He seems very eager to go and experience the place and its people. It is difficult to explain to someone how a people could be so incredibly poor and yet be filled with joy. The things that we tend to worry and fret over, all the things that cause us stress are as nothing to the Haitians. They have sense of peace and joy that is incomprehensible to us of the first world. Maybe he will actually make the trip down though I warned him that it would change him forever. Still, it would be great for him if he made the journey.
It is one day closer to launching, though still months away. I am going to have to start planning the spring projects for they are not months away. With the way the weather is, it is very possible that late next month I can begin at least with those that require "destruction," sanding, scrapping, dismantling, cleaning and the like. It is drudgery but it is what helps to make the sailing season such a joy. There is nothing like laying in the wet mud, sanding the bottom in the cold March wind to make those steaks cooked on the grill in some anchorage taste all the better! AH!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Take Two And Hit To Right!
SHIP'S LOG:
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
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