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1 WEEK TO GO! But still time for NEW BADGES and NEW SHOP ITEMS!

by eli

OH MY WONDERS! There's only one week left in SUMMER GAME 2013! But that doesn't mean that we're out of ideas here at Summer Game Central... in fact, we've got a great crop of new badges, and even FIVE TOTALLY NEW SHOP ITEMS! These are all limited quantity, so please share nicely with other players:







Would you just LOOK at that new stuff? And if you're waiting for the big reveal of our final packages.... just a little longer! They'll all be posted next week so hang in there! And know that all 5 of these new items can be found spread across the final packages... in case you were wondering.



So, without further ado, here are your FINAL PUZZLE BADGES of the summer! There will be a badge drop next friday, but it will consist only of MASTER BADGES for each series, so if you're missing any badges, better earn them by next Friday!



Summer Game 2013 Badge Drop #11
echo theme_summergame_badge(679,680,685,682,681,683,684,686,687,676,677,678);
?>





Remember, SUMMER GAME 2013 ends at MIDNIGHT on FRIDAY AUGUST 30th! Then, you'll have until SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15th to place your orders before the shop closes. So, make these waning days of summer count, and as always....



THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Comments

Nifty! You used my Lillie Park badge!

I hope folks have as much fun completing the quest as I had scouting it out. I walk there regularly with friends and family, and owe them all thanks for their patience when I insisted on photographing every sign as we walked a couple weeks ago.

I was finally able to earn the Lillie Park badge today. It's amazing how many times I've walked by the signs without reading them, thanks for taking the time to create this badge.

Submitted by estermyer on Fri, 08/23/2013 - 9:48pm

yay! new badges! planning on doing the Lillie park one......,I liked the idea of doing the aslan one :) cant wait for the packages to come out!

Submitted by Cloverdale on Fri, 08/23/2013 - 11:15pm

Help! we completed two of the new badges before they officially dropped! All the game codes are in, but the completed badge isn't showing up. Is there a way to refresh it? Thanks.

I also have game code that I'm not getting credit for on the Dog Stars badge. I've tried refreshing every way I could think of and it won't show up so I can't earn the badge.

For the dog badge, we actually had skipped the 1st code and had found the second! Go back an double check the badge in the badge page and see if it says 3/4 found. Good luck!

I started doing the Dog Stars badge, and then without realizing it ended up jumping to the USA Kawaii one. I had to go back and finish the last two for the dog and the first one for the Kawaii. I guess that's what happens when you start these things late at night.

Submitted by cherylo on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 3:02pm

Wow, I just finished the Acronyms badge...great design. (I do have a quibble about the first clue though...a fairly authoritative source I found said that acronym was pronounced with three syllables, not two.)

Anybody remember the online game from the later 90s called Acrophobia? Anyone? I loved that game!

eli, while searching for what gmv was, I got this on wikipedia:
GMV may refer to:
GMV Innovating Solutions, a diversified aerospace business headquartered in Spain
Gross Merchandise Volume, a metric used by online retailers and auction sites to track the value of transactions.
Guaranteed Minimum Value, a parameter of the datasheet of some industrial components.
Grey matter volume
Greenwich Millennium Village, a residential area on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London.
Grill Music Venue, a nightclub based in Letterkenny, Republic of Ireland.
Gram Molecular Volume, 22.4 liters, typical volume of one gram-molecular-weight of gas at Standard Temperature and Pressure
The former callsign of VTV, a TV station in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia
The specimen code for the collection of the Geological Museum of China
Ground Mobility Vehicle, a Humvee variant used by Special Forces.

I believe in this context gmv = "[you've/that's] got my vote." Unless you're playing Acrophobia, in which case it means anything you want it to, the funnier the better, to help get your fellow players to vote for it. :D

Submitted by i'm a blobfish on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 4:32pm

I love the CLAMP Manga Extravaganza badge! its because I love the Cardcaptor Sakura books so much! do you summer games players give me a hint on the 3nd code? I need help. I can't wait to get this badge! it was a lot to find the 2nd code:x

Submitted by crwilley on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 5:54pm

My daughter and I went for some of the Park Explorer badges today, and had a great time - we saw what might have been a small sandhill crane or blue heron in the pond at West Park! Thank you for having summer game activities that involve going places and doing things.

There's been some discussion in the Ann Arbor Chronicle "Stopped Watched" section as to whether or not that is a bittern (not commonly seen in this area, but it seems to match juvenile bittern images).

I wish I'd had my camera! The pictures I took on my phone didn't come out too clearly, unfortunately. The bird I saw was mostly grey to blue-grey, with darker colors on the edges of the wings, possibly, and dark brown or rusty-red on the top of the head. I don't think it was more than two or three feet tall, with about the same wingspan. Someone else thinks they've definitely seen a great blue heron at the pond - maybe there's more than one bird fishing in West Park!

Submitted by camelsamba on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 6:35pm

I'm half tempted to order an Amazing AADL Pocket Logo Projector just because the description made me laugh (real photons, incoherent light sources, etc). But what I came here to say is that clicking on the photos for the new shop items [the mochi mochi ones, the embroidered badges] opens a tiny empty window instead of a larger version of the image. (Actually, the others are smaller images, but maybe that's a browser artifact.)

Submitted by jmb.mlis on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 7:15pm

Can anyone give an approximate size for the chocolate prizes?

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 7:48pm

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on three different badges and I am having trouble finding the second code word for all three. The first badge I need the second codeword for is "The Crash of the Titans" I have wikied up the article for the moon and I am still having great trouble finding the codeword. I have typed up every combination I can think of but chemistry is not my subject and I think that is what the question is asking about. The next badge I am working on that I need to find the second codeword for is the " Aslan" badge. I know I am looking for a series of books but the only one I can think of is the series of books that the lion on the badge is from. I think I know what to look for but I do not think it is a series of books but I need one more clue to help me with this badge to help me out. The last badge I am looking for the second codeword for is the " yokai" badge. I typed up in google what I think the answer is and when I went to type in the answer in the catalogue I got several options where to find the codeword so I think I either typed in the wrong word or I just did not narrow it down enough. I hope someone can help me with some more clues to help me out with these three badges.
Thanks so much for the help,
lmd3577

For the Aslan badge, it's a book in the same series, but the animal in the title of the one with the code isn't a lion.

For the "Crash of the Titans" badge - ethane and methane are what kind of chemicals? The keyword to search for is one word that refers to the only two elements in those molecules: h----c-----s

For the yokai badge - the shapeshifting animal is also known as a "vulpine", in the same way that a dog is a "canine". There were a lot of results when I searched for the right word. The code was not in the obvious-looking first one, but it was in the first handful of items in the search results.

I am still having trouble on the "Crash of the titans" badge. When I go to type in what I think h----c-----s means I get so many options to choose from that it is getting overwhelming I need some way to narrow down the search options because I also think I am just typing in the wrong option in the catalogue. I really hate this second clue because cemstry was not my best subject in school and this clue is just reminding me why I hated chemistry.
Thanks so much fro the help
lmd3577

@lmd3577 - don't know if you still need help with Crash of the Titans, but: if you're getting a lot of results you're putting in the wrong word, definitely. I got three results.

The keyword to search for is a single word, made up of a prefix and a root word.
h**** is the prefix. It also goes with "electric" and "cortisone". Sometimes it refers to water, but in this case it's just a single element that's part of a water molecule - but only part of the name of that element. (Trivia: Canadians get so much of their electricity from h****electric that they'll refer to their "h**** bill" instead of their electric bill.)

c***** is the root word, also the name of an element. Lately you hear a lot about c***** dioxide and how it might be bad for the planet. "c***** fiber" is a very strong, lightweight material that can be used like cloth or plastic - Yo-Yo Ma has a cello made out of it.

...and then stick an s on the end to make it a plural, because you're talking about a category of things: h****c*****s - the name of the category of molecules made up of only these two elements. Gasoline and natural gas are mostly made up of this kind of molecule. (If you leave the s off, you get zero results.) If you kind of switch around the prefix and root word, you get c****h****tes, an essential component in food - but those molecules also have oxygen.

Submitted by beeniepie on Sat, 08/24/2013 - 10:46pm

Lillie Park is one of our favorite parks. I am looking forward to earning this badge!

Submitted by jmock on Sun, 08/25/2013 - 9:07pm

Hi, I know this is from another badge drop, and I was reprimanded from doing this last time I did it, but can anyone help me with the <strong> Torches and Orcas </strong> badge from last week? I know the animal is in the title, but haven't had any luck finding the code...

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Sun, 08/25/2013 - 10:25pm

To all you summer gamers out there,
I am working on the Aslan badge and I am stuck on the third codeword. I have googled up what I think the clue is asking but I get a YouTube video that I don't think gives me the right answer for the codeword. I typed in some of the words from the previous codeword than a word from the clue and that is how I got the YouTube video which is why I think I am on the wrong track. I am hoping some of you summer gamers out there can give me another clue on where to look for the right codeword.
Thanks so much for the help,
lmd3577

Don't be confused by the James Earl Jones reference, that has nothing to do with this. Your best choice for movie questions is almost always imdb.com, which lists the complete cast for just about every movie ever made. Search for "Lion Witch Wardrobe" and find the 2005 version. Aslan is actually a small role, he only shows up at the end, so you'll need to ask for the full cast list to find him. Once you find the right guy, his name will make you go postal if you read it backwards. Then you can just search for the actor's name in the AADL catalog.

Submitted by willow on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 12:01pm

The summer game has been really fun, but we wish the codes at the branches would have changed more. We kept hoping new ones would arrive, but they never did! Please consider this for next year.

I love the idea of codes in the park. It would be fun if all of life was like the summer game, wouldn't it?

I know that, at a minimum, West Branch added codes over the course of the summer - I found only four or five when I went in July, but there were 12 when I stopped in over this past weekend. Maybe the other branches didn't add as many?

Submitted by AprilCDB on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 4:26pm

I'm totally stumped on the Dog Stars badge 3rd clue. "Hunt for a Hollywood dog who composes more trouble than music." and the hint is "Sometimes troublemakers choose to take the 5th". Can someone help me?

I think we are to look for the codeword some where in a famous composers musical collection I know the composers name so that is where I have been looking. I hope this helps.

I just found the code word for the dog badge. When you go to the catloge to search for the answer try typing up the name of the dog by a composer and then do a tag search and you will find the codeword amongst all the options there.

Submitted by rlmorgan on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 5:35pm

The MochiMochi prizes look really cute but I think I'm waiting to see what the last week brings. Any of the prizes would be great.

re: prizes yet to come. Read this part of the last badge/shop posting a tad closer " And know that all 5 of these new items can be found spread across the final packages... in case you were wondering. " The final prizes will be big and specially collected combinations of the prizes we already have offered - including the Mochimochi items. Nothing more individually valuable than what has already been offered is coming - just fun packages of prizes!

I was wondering what happened to the button collection you had posted in the super prizes collection as a possible give away this year. I have been building up my points this year to get those. It has been posted up in the super prizes section for weeks now and now it is gone. Are you still going to offer that prize or is there something new in its place.
lmd3577

Submitted by jennifer-ricks on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 10:08pm

I can't believe this is the last week of the Summer Reading Game. Where has the time gone.

I don't know where your time has gone, but a good deal of mine has gone to hanging around in the AADL card catalog. Possibly one of the stranger places I've spent a summer.

i think so... BUT SUMMER GAME IS ENDING!!!!!! seems like only yesterday that I was planning on making my parents take me to a pokemonday event.....
My time has all gone to moving house....

Submitted by beeniepie on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 10:27am

Does anyone remember how many of each of the super prizes are usually available? I noticed the latest prizes only had quantities of 33 or so. Will there be even a smaller quantity of super prizes?

@beeniepie, for the last two years, there have been 20 of the Supreme-level prizes. The number of Silver/Penultimate packages is similarly limited

The packages are generally more expensive than the items they contain would cost in the shop if purchased separately; the supreme prize badge especially is a prestige item and therefore costs extra compared to the actual physical prizes.

Submitted by beeniepie on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 10:36am

Is anyone having problems earning Points-o-matic badges? I just received my level 3 helpful review badge, but have earned 0 photomic or textulating badges despite meeting the quotas described on http://play.aadl.org/summergame/badges/Points-O-Matic

Before I submit the problem to AADL, I'm just curious if I'm suppose to earn a certain number of helpful review badges before I'm allowed to earn photomic or textulating badges?

Thanks in advance!

I had trouble with new Points-O-Matic points not showing up in my shop total (which was disappointing, but oh well!)

However, I did earn another badge for textulating a few weeks ago (Aug 15th) so I'm not sure why it's not working for you. At one point you had to have a certain number of X points before being allowed to do Points-a-Matic Y, but if you're being allowed to access all modes that's probably not what's going on.

@camelsamba, Points-o-matic points (Or Treasure Quest, or Streets Quest) have never been spendable in the summer game shop. Only summer game points can be spent in the summer game shop.

@cherylo - oh! I somehow missed that fact about pointsomatic! I mostly do it as a mental diversion and mostly during the "off-season", but now I know why those totals weren't changing when I tested it a few week ago.

Here's an idea for a fun stat: how many dog badges earned vs how many caT badges. Kind of a pseudo-measure of whether SG players overall lean towards being cat people or dog people :-)

Submitted by jmock on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 1:13pm

All right, completely stumped on the <strong>Dog Stars</strong> badge--how do you find the fourth code about "a little rascal with black and white spots?"

Submitted by echternk on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 6:17pm

@Bookbird - GREAT JOB on your badge. It was my favorite of the player picks badges this year (though all were good) - and a good challenge. I guess now I'll have to read the manga.

I need help with the Crash of the Titans 2nd code. I searches hydrocarbons but no code.

@echternk - Thank You! I really love CLAMP's manga, as well as their anime. I'm considering next year's CLAMP badge right now :)
And yes I am expecting everyone to read the manga :D

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Wed, 08/28/2013 - 1:22pm

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on the APPS in space badge and I am having trouble finding the first codeword for the badge. I have looked in several articles on WIKI to no success. I have typed in several combinations in the catalogue also to no success also so I am hoping some of you gamers can help me out with another clue on where to look for the codeword. This is my final badge I am working on this year so I hope someone can help me.
Thanks so much for the help,
lmd3577

Submitted by beeniepie on Wed, 08/28/2013 - 3:04pm

Thanks cherylo for answering my question about the super prizes. I'm having a hard time trying to decide if I want to load up on more coffee and chocolate since prestige isn't as yummy to me.

I can't believe the summer game is almost over. What am I going to do at 11:30 at night when I'm suppose to be sleeping?!

@ Jacy and all,

Yup just discovered that Bachelor & the Bobby Soxer got hidden because after someone placed a hold on it we discovered we don't own it anymore. We'll get it fixed tomorrow. Sorry about that!

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Wed, 08/28/2013 - 9:37pm

So sorry to see that another summer reading game is coming to an end so fast. Had great fun earning all the cool badges this year. Just got done earning my final badge for this year. Can't wait until next year fir the next summer game but until then can't wait until this years quest game.
Thanks so much for the fun and can't wait until next year,
lmd3577

Submitted by beeniepie on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 8:11am

Has AADL considered a summer game wrap up party? I'd love to meet some of my fellow summer gamers!

Submitted by sara on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 8:30am

Summer Game was so much fun! Thank you aadl! And, because I was playing Summer Game, I discovered Streets Quest, which was also great. I didn't know that other games are posted during the year. How do you advertise other games? I would play them if I knew they existed.

Submitted by yaldah on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 9:17am

Sadly, I'll have only a couple of the Master Badges when they come out tomorrow. I've earned barely any badges from the past three badge drops! Sad. Oh well. :-(
Can't wait for the Super Packages to be announced, and I definitely hope there will be a restocking.

@willow
pointsomatic points can be used for:
1. Bragging rights on the all games leaderboard and pointsomatic leaderboard
2. earning secretshop tokens
3. you have more badges to show off on your player page.

NEVER MIND... I JUST FOUND IT... How could I have missed it!! I will miss the summer game!

-------------------
I'm down to my final clue missing on my final badge... I cannot find the first code for the I Spy Yokai badge. I know who the character is M**** but when searching the catalog I get over 100 results. I've tried all types of combos and am not having any luck. Does anyone have a clue for me!!?

I was able to figure out all of the rest of the ones for this badge by using the hint for the second code - the the first code has me stumped!

Thanks!

Since I have the badge I don't know what hint was given, but try a Super Mario Bros. dvd.
I need help with the 30 rock badge code 1. I have no idea how to find a mascot for that food, though i know garfield is in there somewhere

@bookbird for the 30 rock first badge, you need to google 'hot dog stuff it with some jack cheese, fold it in a pizza' - find out the name of this fictional food (also the title of many youtube videos that your search will return) - then find out the mascot for the restaurant that makes this menu item by searching for the item name and mascot. Search for the mascot's name in the catalog and you should easily find it...

Hope that Helps!!

Submitted by chrisp35aa on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 3:08pm

Thanks to everyone involved for providing us with such an amazing summer game! It is educational and entertaining. I especially loved the new Parks badges. I thought I had been to all of Ann Arbor's parks- it was great to discover new ones.

Submitted by andrea on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 6:21pm

We love the Park Explorer quests! This is my favorite addition to Summer Game this year. They are so much fun for the whole family, and they have led us to explore several parks we didn't even know existed! We did Lillie Park today, and while we had been to the playground there several times before, we had never gone down the paths. The pond was so beautiful and peaceful, and I saw 12 turtles!

@andrea - Glad the turtles showed up for you. Though I designed the quest myself, I went along when my family did it, and a bunch of ducks had taken over the logs where the turtles usually hang out. I've never seen that happen before. The turtles are so reliable that I was tempted to have the clue be "the name of the animals that you see out on the logs."

I loved the parks quests too - that's why I wanted to make one.

Was it ever confirmed how many codes each branch had? I know West added them throughout the summer but I don't know about the rest of them. My kids are going to be really mad at me if they missed some and I didn't take them back to each branch. We might take the game too seriously in my family.......

Zekicmom, I think Malletts Creek has eight in total, and I confirmed today that West has 14.

One member of my family did not receive the critter badge despite having all three codes for the badge, and it only showed a few library users (<20) who had earned it. Others of us DID earn the badge, and we were much later to input our codes. Is this going to be fixed?

Submitted by seadocks on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 7:42pm

I must be losing my mind. I cannot find the 1947 film with shirley temple and cary grant in the catalog. I checked the imdb and looked for all three. I do not see them in the catalog. Am I not supposed to be looking for the bachelor? any help would be cool.

Submitted by klarck on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 8:26pm

I think any players in the top 25 should win a super sekrit, super awesome special prize for being in the top 25. I suggest this freely and am not being coerced in any way by a friend who happens to be in the top 25. At all.

@ seadocks- I'm not sure when you last checked, but this was fixed around 4pm today. And I just checked again and the item is visible. Try again and let us know if you still can't find it.

@ takako - I assume you are asking what "filled an order" is because you have seen it on other player's scorecard? Every summer we offer volunteer opportunities to teens aged 14 and up and some of these teens help the library staff pack up the 100s and 100s of summer game shop orders that come in all summer. They get game points for this important work.

Submitted by crwilley on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 10:48pm

We got the Arb badge today - I honestly think this might have been the first time I've been in the Arb since I was an undergrad, long enough ago that I really shouldn't admit to the year. :) That was the last badge I needed for pretty much the whole game... and we had another wildlife encounter: there was a deer in the trail not too far from the Geddes entrance.

I'm so glad so many folks have enjoyed the parks badges! They were really fun (and sometimes kind of tricky!) to make, too. It was wonderful to even see players jumping in and creating their own!

We hope to do more next year. And folks with time this afternoon - it's not too late, you can still earn them! : )
-[http://aadl.org/mariah|mariah]

Submitted by sdunav on Fri, 08/30/2013 - 11:11am

Thank you so much for doing this. The park badges were inspired - great for getting my kids outside. If only it weren't 90 F out!

Submitted by carr1_e on Fri, 08/30/2013 - 1:27pm

Are the master badges working? It says I have all the required badges, but I"m not getting credit for them. Thanks!

@ carr1_e - they should be - which one (or ones) are not showing up for you?

@ willow - for the players that did not get the master badge for the critters - have they gone to their account and "checked in?" Many points, badges, etc. don't show up until new activity is sensed on the account. So if they visit "my players" and log some points or enter a code - do some activity - it should nudge the badge to be assigned. Please let us know if this still doesn't fix the problem.

Re: gamecode totals at branches - they are as follows (and this does NOT count the building code for each location):

Downtown = 15
Malletts Creek = 7
Traverwood = 6
Pittsfield = 8
West = 11 (this is how many you need to earn the master badge - but there were 3 added in August for a true total of 14. If you got the August codes you for the points, but they are NOT required to earn the WEST master badge)

Once you have all of these codes you will automatically be assigned the "MASTER BRANCH EXPLORER" badge!

Erin, he entered codes earlier today and it didn't work, but it did now for the critter one. Hooray! However my kids and I only received the master badge for Malletts, although they had all the codes for both Pittsfield and West.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note - we're going to tweak the Master Badge for the WEST branch so that anyone who didn't get the most recent codes posted there doesn't miss out! So if you had most of them, but not all keep an eye on your account - any codes added in August (that you did not get) won't be required to earn the master badges! We want to reward the completist types and not punish anyone who didn't go recently. And if YOU did get all of the recent WEST codes you still get the points of course - so no worries!

@ willow - take a look at your accounts again now - we tweaked the West branch badge (noted above) - when you click on the badge (while signed in to your or other player accounts) does it list that you got each of the badges? If so and you still haven't gotten the badge please submit a "contact us" with more detailed information and we'll help you out!

I checked each badge, and it's listing one from West that I do not have (so I have 11/12) and 7/8 for Pittsfield. However, I had 14 codes total for West and 8 for Pittsfield, so I don't quite understand the totals here. It sounds like there are more than the stated number of codes. I visited West today.

@ willow based on what you are saying you should have them. Have you gone into your account and logged some points, tagged something or redeemed a code to "trigger" your account? You should only have needed to have 11 badges for the WEST badge. And if you have 8 codes for Pittsfield (not counting the building code) you should have that badge too. We're looking into it, but please keep us posted.

Sorry, it says I need 8 codes for Pittsfield and 12 for West and that I'm one short on each. As I said, I had 14 codes for West; it says I am missing one involving another language/subtitles, and the missing one for Pittsfield has no hint. I took a screenshot if you're interested, but I don't really know how or who to email it to there.

I have entered additional codes, so activity has been logged.

Submitted by VickyB77 on Fri, 08/30/2013 - 2:15pm

"And if you're waiting for the big reveal of our final packages.... just a little longer! They'll all be posted next week so hang in there! "

Soooo ... when's the big reveal? And how long will the Game Shop be open to place orders?

The big reveal will happen with the regular message as always around 6pm tonight. Summer Game Shop final orders must be in by the end of the day on Sunday, September 15. These orders then must be picked up by Sunday, October 12. Don't miss your order; after Sunday October 12, orders not yet picked up will be returned to stock.

@erin: I'm guessing @sara was referring to @VickyB77's comment in which she quoted last week's badge drop - "'And if you're waiting for the big reveal of our final packages.... just a little longer! They'll all be posted next week so hang in there!'" Am I right, @sara? If so, then that was a sentence posted last week... so this week would have been "next week" at that point. Am I making any sense here?

Submitted by seadocks on Fri, 08/30/2013 - 6:04pm

the hardest badge for me has been the bluth family one simply because it took me a while to find out about the show and then I know nothing about it. Did not get all the codes but it was fun reading about the show now I have to watch it. The summer game strikes again opening new paths of entertainment.

Submitted by andrea on Fri, 08/30/2013 - 11:49pm

The badge patches look wonderful! I love the badge art this year, and it will be very nice to be able to have some of them in physical form as a souvenir of Summer Game!

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