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WILLIAMS: Have patience with spring lawn problems

Patience, warmer soil temperature and correct lawn management will solve many spring lawn problems.

Many spring dead spots in lawns are caused by something that happened the previous growing season or winter.

For example, late application of a high-nitrogen fertilizer can decrease winter survival. It’s best to not fertilize lawns after early September.

An insect or disease problem during fall many times goes unseen as the grass is beginning to go dormant. The following spring, as the lawn begins to green up, evidence of a fall pest is clearly visible by brown, dead grass. The pest may not be present or active during spring.

Poor maintenance practices may be to blame for spring dead spots. Overwatering, shallow watering (watering frequently for short periods), mowing too low, too much fertilizer and herbicide injury can result in poor lawn performance come springtime.

Regardless of cause, problem areas within lawns are slow to recover during spring due to frequent cool night temperatures. Frequent cool nights keep the root zone cool.

Cool soil temperature doesn’t allow rapid root regeneration in spring, which inhibits top growth in your lawn. Cool soil also decreases availability of some needed nutrients. For example, poor availability of iron because of cool soil is a common cause for bright yellow areas within lawns, especially in centipedegrass.

Cool soil also decreases availability of phosphorus and potassium, which can result in reddish-purple grass blades, intermingled throughout the yard. As soil temperature increases, availability of nutrients improves and the yellow and purple areas turn green.

Have patience with your lawn, and follow good maintenance practices this spring. Provide ½ to 1 inch of water when the grass shows signs of wilt. Fertilize and lime based on results of a reliable soil test. And, mow at a high setting.

Consistently warmer nights allow soil temperature to warm, which will improve turf root growth, nutrient availability and lawn recovery. During many years in North Florida, it’s well into May before lawns begin to recover.

If the lawn has not made a comeback by late spring or early summer, consider reworking and replanting dead areas, or consider replacing them with something other than grass, if practical.

Good lawn maintenance info is provided at http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn

Larry Williams is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: WILLIAMS: Have patience with spring lawn problems

HELMS: Examine your life; tweak it for God's glory

In the book of Acts, chapter 19, seven sons of Sceva, a priest of Israel, encountered an individual who was demonically influenced.

They attempted to cast out that demon, and got an answer they did not expect, I am sure. This demon stated that it knew both Jesus and Paul, but wanted to know who they were. It then proceeded to attack them, and sent them running, naked and hurt.

The passage shines a light on a bit of truth: that the enemy knows those who are genuine, and those who are not.

It knew Jesus, and it knew Paul — probably either by warning from others, or even being on the wrong side of the battle against them.

What if you or I were one of those sons — would the enemy know our name and have respect for it?

Are we living a life that results in our prayers being feared by the ilk of the spiritual world?

In Ezekiel, chapter 14, God tells the beloved prophet that if three men — Noah, Daniel and Job — were in the land that He desired to bring judgment upon, they would only be able to preserve themselves and their family.

Interesting to me is the fact that Daniel is a little younger than Ezekiel, and God chooses to name him due to his rise in the government due to his righteousness.

Could, or even would, God use our name in this world to be known as a righteous individual, even more so than perhaps prophets around us?

Is our life so devoted to the Father that we could save our own family in a time of judgment?

Finally, Paul, in writing to the church at Phillipi, states that soon every knee shall bow and every tongue would confess at the name of Jesus.

We must really look at our lives and line them up to God's Word. I want my name to be a sweet sound to the Father of all. I, therefore, must allow His Spirit to create a clean heart and a renewed spirit daily inside of me.

Granted, this is not easy for me to accomplish, but then God can and does do all things for His glory.

Do as I am doing, and examine your life, tweaking it with His Word and His Spirit, and become a name for His glory.

The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: Examine your life; tweak it for God's glory

HOLMES: Sanders, Clinton speak to Dems of different generations

At the Democrats’ family dinner table, the divide is generational.

Democratic millennials are for Bernie, with youthful enthusiasm;

the party’s boomers are for Hillary, with middle-aged resignation.

The millennials see income inequality in their meager paychecks and the burden of college costs in their student loan bills. In Bernie Sanders, they see a candidate who is passionate about them. Bernie looks old, but he sounds young.

The last time revolution was in the air, young Bernie Sanders left Brooklyn for Vermont, which was then — and still is — a haven for hippie revolutionaries.

Around that same time, Hillary left for Arkansas on the arm of her equally ambitious husband. There she put away her tie-dyed bell-bottoms and learned to sell liberal policies to conservative voters.

Hillary, always on a listening tour, has adjusted her rhetoric and set higher goals in response to the new Democrats Bernie has inspired. Bernie, ever consistent, is still yelling about revolution, still blaming everything on greedy corporations, still making the same speech, even at a moment when a little show of pragmatism might win over the undecided voters he desperately needs. But that’s Bernie. He’s always been more about taking a stand than achieving a practical goal. Bernie is all about the destination; Hillary is all about the roadmap.

At the dinner table, Democrats are keeping their disagreements civil, even as the campaign rhetoric gets more shrill.

Most Democrats don’t like it when Bernie and Hillary yell at each other, as they did in Brooklyn. Some won’t admit it now, but come November they’ll all be singing the same tune, if not necessarily with the same level of enthusiasm.

That’s what happened in 2008, after a nomination battle just as bruising as this one.

Rick Holmes writes for GateHouse Media and the Metrowest Daily News. Contact him at rholmes@wickedlocal.com, like him on Facebook at Holmes & Co, and tweet him @HolmesAndCo.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HOLMES: Sanders, Clinton speak to Dems of different generations

NITZEL: Instrument Petting Zoo scheduled May 24 at the Crestview library

See, touch, hear, play, create and eat a variety of instruments at the Crestview Robert L. F. Sikes Public Library during our Instrument Petting Zoo on Tuesday, May 24 from 6:30-7:15 p.m.

Special thanks to Upbeat Music and the Pelican Pickers for sharing their instruments with us! Registration is not required for this free event.

This family event is designed for ages four and up. If you bring smaller children, please keep a close eye on them! Call me at 682-4432 with questions.

The library will be closed on April 29 for Staff Continuing Education Day.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NITZEL: Instrument Petting Zoo scheduled May 24 at the Crestview library

HART: Say this to young Bernie or Hillary voters

Naïve young voters are pulling the lever for Bernie Sanders in droves.

In New Hampshire, for example, 83 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 chose Sanders. It turns out they like the promise of free stuff, something to which they have become accustomed.

The Vermont senator makes seductive yet unachievable economic promises. Kids are conditioned to believe they are entitled to, and can get, something for “free.”

When you catch yourself believing this, keep in mind that Bernie Sanders’ initials are BS.

College kids even have a Bernie Sanders drinking game. When he mentions he is going to give you something for free, you take a drink of someone else’s beer.

The Nazis were socialists. Their propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, taught modern-day liberals an important lesson: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such a time as the state can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie.”

Obamacare is an example.

As you discuss, or argue, with your kids or liberals on the two main Goebbels-esque lies Democrats perpetuate — with help from their kindred souls in the media — use these simple facts to rebut their claims:

The White House tweets: “Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climatechange is real, man-made and dangerous,” one tweet said. Days later, Secretary of State John Kerry announced, “Ninety-seven percent of the world’s scientists tell us this is urgent.”

That “97 percent” myth is based on a 2009 University of Illinois master’s student’s paper. Just 5 percent of people he sent questions to were climate scientists.

Al Gore channeled his inner Goebbels and started repeating it. Then Obama added, “The science is settled on the matter.” What a statement!  By its very nature, science is never settled. If it were, we would be still using leeches to extract blood.

When I got my master's degree, I did a PowerPoint presentation to my professor of a pie chart of the bars I liked and a bar chart of the pies I liked. My paper was more factual than the Illinois kid’s.

“Climate scientists” (who cannot get the weather forecast right nine out of 10 days), know what the earth’s temperature will be in 20 years? Even if accurate, they say Obama’s power-plant rules, which bankrupt coal companies across the nation, will affect temperatures only 0.03 degrees Celsius.

His fuel mileage dictates, while burdening Detroit and crippling VW, would have even less effect. They do, however, help his green donors like Tesla Motors' Elon Musk and the Solyndra crony capitalist types.

To believe the global warming alarmists, one must believe:

●That data collected by climatologists who make money from their predictions are correct and that the planet is warming. 

●That global warming is man-made. Keep in mind the Mississippi river was formed in the Ice Age, when glaciers melted and moved south. There were no SUVs then. 

●That by taxing us all, government can do something about the weather.

All three are big leaps of faith unsupported by facts or reason.

“Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment,” President Obama said in his 2014 State of the Union address.

That women make 77 percent of what men make is another myth. "We need an equal-pay law,” whine Democrats. Never mind that we have had one since the 1960s.

If we are to believe that women’s equal work trades at a 23 percent discount to men's, why don’t greedy businessmen only hire women?

Even the Washington Post concedes that, when adjusted for job choices (like teaching), time off to have children and job experience, this gap evaporates.

It has happened in my family, where women nobly take time off from jobs to raise a family. Husbands work more and get paid more because of it — and die younger from the stress.

Hillary will make a campaign issue of the gender pay gap, but remember: She paid her women staffers less than 77 cents of what she paid the men while a U.S. senator.

I apologize for the lack of humor in this column. I’m just preparing for Bernie’s world of no joking.

Under socialism, jokes will not be allowed to be funny unless everybody gets them equally.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or tweet@RonaldHart.

!—HUB NOTE: IGNORE BELOW—-

College campuses don’t understand free speech

By Ron Hart

An Emory University degree just went down in value — again.

I’ve never been a fan of any Emory undergrad I’ve met. Emory is an expensive, whiny Northern rich kid’s college. Around Atlanta, its graduates are called "Em-roids" because of their entitled attitude — and they just proved why.

Emory students and their president are all in a prissy tizzy because there might be one or more Trump supporters on campus. When someone wrote in chalk “Trump 2016” around the campus, the school was all but locked down. Students cried and said they felt “unsafe.” They chanted protests to the president: “You are not listening! Come speak to us; we are in pain.” The president immediately had the admissions office look into how a Republican was admitted to Emory.

Responding to their Em-roid-rage, he then sent out a letter saying that he felt their pain. These princesses were offered grief counseling for the worst trauma of their lives: seeing Trump’s name.

The students then went into the Emory quad and played hacky sack (with helmets for safety) because it just felt right.

I never trust a college that doesn’t have a football team.

The First Amendment has died a slow death on college campuses, strangled over time by their left-wing bureaucracies. If our Founding Fathers came back to life today, they would (after visiting New York's Times Square theater district to catch the musical "Hamilton") be appalled at this Emory thing.

Campuses were supposed to be places where ideas are debated. Today, they are where opposing speech is labeled “hate” and shut down. Many college campuses cannot stand the idea of free speech unless it is speech they agree with; if they do not like what is said, they seek to silence the speaker.

The whole idea of free speech is that people are allowed to say things you do not agree with.

This weak millennial generation got participation trophies and expects us to applaud and positively reinforce the little they do. Jugglers, street mimes and community theater actors need applause; real leaders don’t. I cannot imagine Generals Patton or Eisenhower putting up with this. I just hope this generation does not have to go to war.

We know the left on college campuses love Bernie Sanders and hate Donald Trump. At a recent college campus rally, a woman took her top off, saying "Vote for Bernie Sanders."  She also made a nasty anti-Trump gesture. Men in attendance who watched her said she made two compelling points.

Sanders has the love of the narcissistic millennials who are not good at economics. (which means all millennials?). To them, Sanders is a rock star.  What is amazing is that he is the first person revered by this generation without a single nude selfie posted on social media.

And why do millennials always want to take selfies or film everything — even sex — that they do? I’m just the opposite. When I am done with sex I think to myself, "Well, at least no one had to see that."

The Emory kerfuffle came during the same week as the bad optics of President Obama doing the tango in Argentina while ISIS bombed Belgium and Iraq.

We may look weak and feckless as a world power these days, but we are still the world’s undisputed superpower when it comes to televised dance contests.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or tweet@RonaldHart.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: Say this to young Bernie or Hillary voters

SHANKLIN: When investing, use the 'power of three'

Many factors will affect your results as an investor — and some of these factors are beyond your control, such as interest-rate movements or the eurozone debt crisis or the sales results of the companies in which you invest. However, as you work toward your financial goals, you will find that you actually have control over three of the most important drivers of investment success: time, money and return.

Let’s look at these three elements.

Time. Time can be a big asset — if you use it wisely. However, many young people, just starting out in their working lives, think they can wait until “later” to begin investing, as their retirement is so far away. But this could be a mistake.

The earlier you start to invest, the more money you will put away, and the greater the potential for your money to appreciate.

If you do wait until mid-career before you start seriously saving and investing for retirement, you will still have options, but you may need to make some tradeoffs, such as possibly retiring later than you had originally planned. So here’s the key: Start investing as early as possible — and keep investing.

Money. Not surprisingly, the more money you invest on a regular basis while you are working, the more money you’ll likely end up with when you retire. Suppose, for example, that you invested $3,000 per year and earned a hypothetical 7% annual return. After 30 years, you’d have accumulated about $303,000 (assuming the investment was placed in a tax-deferred account, such as a traditional IRA). But if you put in $5,000 per year, instead of $3,000, and earned the same hypothetical 7% annual return, you’d end up with about $505,000 after 30 years, again assuming the investment was placed in a traditional IRA. The difference between $3,000 per year and $5,000 per year isn’t all that much — just about $40 a week — but after 30 years, these relatively small differences can add up to a big sum of money. Of course, this is just a simple illustration that shows how saving more can possibly put you in a better position in the future. Keep in mind that there are no guarantees and that the value of your investments will fluctuate.

Return. You might think that your investments’ rate of return is the one variable over which you have the least control. However, “least control” doesn’t mean “no control.” You can control your potential return to the extent of selecting a mix of stocks, bonds, government securities and other investments that reflects the level of risk you’re willing to tolerate in exchange for the potential growth you’d like to achieve. By creating this mix, you can help yourself avoid the biggest investment risk of all — not reaching your long-term goals.

By investing for as many years as you can, putting in as much as possible each year and choosing an investment mix that provides you with the greatest potential reward given your risk tolerance, you can take command, to a significant extent, of your own investment success. And that’s a type of authority you won’t want to relinquish.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: When investing, use the 'power of three'

BROADHEAD: Christians should accept everyone

The Northwest Florida Daily News’ April 19 edition featured a letter from Gwen Break of Santa Rosa Beach, who addressed morality and religious beliefs — particularly human sexuality.

But it was a question she posed that caught my attention.

“I understand [Christians] consider such behavior immoral, but what power does a transgender or gay person have that keeps a Christian from practicing his or her religion?” she said.

I found her question appropriate for many topics that tend to divide persons of the Christian faith and those outside the faith — and even those within the faith.

How, indeed, do others’ actions prevent a person from practicing his or her religion? What power do others have over us?

The only power they have is what we grant them.

Those who anger you control you — whether you, or they, realize it. The only one that should control you is the Lord — with your willingness.

In many ways, a growing number of people seem to be taking the Bible, the greatest love story ever written, and turning it into a book of rules and regulations.

This is the same kind of behavior Jesus tackled with religious authorities during his time on Earth.

Using the scriptures to hit people over the head — to corral them into a specific way of living, to keep them in line through religious law or intimidation — misses the mark on so many levels.

A great deal of attention is placed on the behavior of “other” people.

Fingers are easily pointed.

Judgments are freely passed.

In many ways, this is an unconscious tactic for a person to deflect attention away from their own behavior (or misbehavior) toward someone else.

Jesus asked, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”

While we may not condone other people’s behavior or lifestyle, the Lord calls us to not wrongly judge them.

We are called to be accepting of everyone — not necessarily their behaviors, but the persons. That is how Jesus treated people. He did not condemn a person, but their actions.

As Ms. Break said in her letter, “I have great respect for true Christians. Such people are inclusive. They are eager to share their beliefs in a positive and loving way. They might not condone a behavior, but they would seek to forgive and convert a sinner, not stone him.

“They live their lives according to Christian principles and are not afraid to be an example for others to follow.”

The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: Christians should accept everyone

LETTER: Eating sustainably, on Earth Day and every day

Dear Editor:

With the 47th annual observance of Earth Day just around the corner, this is a great time to explore more effective ways of slowing climate change and conserving Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

A 2010 United Nations report charged animal agriculture with 19 percent of man-made greenhouse gases – more than all transport – and recommended a global shift to a vegan diet. A subsequent World Watch study placed that contribution closer to 50 percent. Meat and dairy production also dumps more water pollutants than all other human activities combined. It is the driving force in global deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction.

Last fall, England's prestigious Chatham House declared that reducing meat consumption is critical to achieving global climate goals. A report from Oxford University found that global adoption of a vegan diet would reduce greenhouse emissions by two thirds. The 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recommended reduced meat consumption and an environmentally sustainable diet.

Just as we replace fossil fuels by sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar, we must replace animal foods with the more sustainable vegetables, fruits, and grains. Being mindful of this can help us make better choices at the supermarket.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet us.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LETTER: Eating sustainably, on Earth Day and every day

ALLEN: How to solve Crestview's traffic problem

Bob Allen

For the past several years, there has been one position or another verbalized regarding vehicular traffic on State Route 85 through our fair city.

Picture, if you can, for I experienced the following happening several days ago, and perhaps the irony of some of the stated positions will become clear.

I was motoring north from southern Okaloosa County with a trunk full of groceries, for I had a few moments earlier departed the Eglin commissary, and as the hands on my watch indicated that 5 p.m. was rapidly approaching and I had to hurry to get things unloaded if I wanted to get to the church choir rehearsal on time. 

I made it through the construction on State Route 123 without any difficulty, and the ridiculous “speed trap” just north of the newly built flyover, and all was going along smoothly.

Just about a mile south of the exit leading to Duke Field and the 7th Special Forces cantonment area, traffic came to a screeching halt!  Both northbound lanes were backed up, and forward progress was at a snail’s pace.

It took more than 30 minutes to travel the 4 miles (approximately) to the Shoal River bridges.

Just before arriving at the northern end of this traffic jam, I noticed that two patrol cars — one of a deputy sheriff and the other of a state trooper — were parked in the grass between the northbound and southbound lanes. 

There were no other vehicles, but obviously the gawkers had slowed to view something that did not exist.  Perhaps there had been an accident earlier, but if so it had long been cleared up!

The time in this predicament gave me an opportunity to ponder the several solutions to Crestview’s traffic problem. As I sat listening to 1940s music on Sirius XM, I thought about the solution espoused by one county commissioner — to open the road that passes the Lowe’s store to Arena Road. 

“Wow,” I thought, “that would really solve this problem!”

Then I thought about the solution that I had voiced at a meeting of the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization when I was a  Crestview city council representative thereto, only to have another county commissioner — since moved — ask, “Where are you going to get the money?”

I suggested that the traffic problem does not start inside city limits, and any project initiated therein would be a waste of money and fruitless. I envisioned then, in 2009, that a reduction in the traffic count had to begin far south of the city, on the other side of the river!

My proposal, which obviously has been ignored by the OWTPO, was to erect a flyover leading to Rattlesnake Bluff Road, paving that road westward for approximately one half mile, turning north to a bridge to be built, and then connecting with Antioch Road near the elementary school.

By having such a road, all those wanting to travel to Milligan, Holt and Baker would never have to get into the traffic jams that develop daily long before traffic gets to PJ Adams Parkway. (The only time folks from other parts of the county would have to head north any farther on SR 85 would be if they needed to go to WalMart, Lowes or some dining establishment.)

Ironically, at the same meeting that I was told there would be no money for such a project, considerable time was devoted to discussing a TPO plan to erect an elevated road, five-eighths of a mile in length, from Danny Wuerfel Road eastward, so that traffic on U.S. Highway 98 could flow smoothly through that congested area while not affecting commercial establishments on either side of the existing highway!

Not only was my suggestion “shot down” because of a perceived lack of money, but it was expressed that the Air Force would never allow such development.

This may be true if the Air Force was never asked, but the Air Force was asked! I and another city councilman in attendance at a League of Cities meeting at Hurlburt’s Soundside Club spoke to Eglin’s division commander and summarized the concept.

Without blinking an eye, this two-star general stated, “You’ve got it.  We don’t need it.”

This was subsequently reported to the TPO, but apparently it has fallen on deaf ears.  Or, perhaps there is no money, just like there apparently is none for an elevated highway east of Destin.

Crestview’s traffic problems do not begin at WalMart Road. Traffic lights at Liveoak Church Road, PJ Adams Parkway, John King Road, and the I-10 overpass all help to magnify the problem. 

In my opinion, it is too late to try to avoid the bottleneck after one has been in it for a half-mile or more! 

The solution is to get out of it before one gets in!

Bob Allen is a former Crestview City Council member.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ALLEN: How to solve Crestview's traffic problem

CROSE: Have a great time at this Laurel Hill festival

Artists, crafters, heritage displays and classic cars fill historic Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church's spacious side and rear yard during the town's 2015 Arts and Heritage Festival.

The Laurel Hill Spring Arts and Heritage Festival will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 30 at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, 8115 Fourth St.

This festival is open to the public and has free admission. There will be a variety of vendors — from local artisan and crafters to community service organizations, musicians, and the OneBlood bus.

All types of musical groups will perform — the Northwest Florida State College Jazz ensemble, guitarists, an electric bass player, Emerald Coast Pipes and Drums, several talented vocalists, and the Wesley Boys and Wesley Girls from Crestview First United Methodist.

There will also be a demonstration from Gordon Martial Arts, which is sure to be informative as well as entertaining.

Over 15 artisans and crafters will display their wares and demonstrate their crafts — so much to see and learn! There will be everything from woodworking, jewelry and tote bags to beautiful paintings.

Delicious baked goods will also be offered for sale, with some of them so beautifully decorated one doesn't want to eat them. There will also be locally made jams, jellies and even salsa.

For the kids, there will be a bounce house and an archery range, as well as yummy treats.

The grounds of the church are quite pretty, and kids generally have a blast running around and playing outside.

The Baker Block Museum/North Okaloosa Heritage Association will be there, and Laurel Hill history will be on display, as will the University of West Florida’s Florida Public Archeology exhibit. 

In addition, Friends of the Arts will have a display, so you can get a better idea of the wonderful arts opportunities we have in Crestview, Laurel Hill and North Okaloosa County.

Bring the entire family to this wonderful festival.  You will have a great time, meet some new friends and thoroughly enjoy yourself. 

I look forward to seeing you there!

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: Have a great time at this Laurel Hill festival

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