text:
Dina Trebbe doesn't need convincing on how Web conferencing has improved her firm's relationship with its clients and investment advisors. "It's a wonderful tool," says the direct marketing manager for the Lindfield, Massachusetts-based broker/dealer Investors Capital Corp (ICC), which installed Microsoft's Live Meeting tool four years ago. "Our clients want to hear more from their advisors, and often don't have time for an office visit."
Engineering new ways to stay in touch with clients is crucial for investment advisors who want to stay on their game. Small touches such as sending out an article that may, or may not, be of interest to an investor is not the same as chatting with her, and easing concerns about her portfolio.
However face-to-face meetings are time eaters--for both the client who has to travel to an office, and for the advisor who has to usually carve out a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour, not to mention printing, and wasting, reams of paper for these check-ups.
The ability to create a virtual meeting room where an advisor can talk with a client, and actually share the same document and discuss it in real time--not just by e-mail or by phone--is being seen as both an economic and service shift by investment advisors, especially as these tools become more streamlined and more affordable.
While it's unlikely that Web conferencing could ever completely replace an annual in-person check-up, the latest generation of these Web-based tools is so simple that anyone from a one-man shop to a multi-billion dollar advisory firm will probably find Web conferencing programs well worth the investment.
Spice It Up
Like many Web conferencing tools, Microsoft's Live Meeting allows Trebbe and ICC to create meetings on the fly, and supports a variety of applications including PowerPoint, Advisor Workstation, and those found on custodian platforms.
But its latest version, in beta tests since July, will offer more integration with multimedia files when it's released in October. In previous attempts, Microsoft had partnered with outside companies to offer video and audio support. But now the tool will have native support for all multimedia, including VoIP, allowing users a variety of extras such as the ability to conduct meetings through their computers without having to rely on phones to hear each other's voice, says Serhii Sokolenko, Live Meeting's product manager.
The new upgrade will also allow users to store a recording of any meeting locally on their PC, or to record, host, and then stream a meeting--ideal for an advisor who may want to offer new prospects a glimpse at product offerings on a repeated basis. Also, participants can enter the virtual meeting in two ways--either by downloading a small client application onto their PC, or by accessing it just through the Web, making it available to both Mac and Unix users. Organizers, however, must be on a PC.
Not everything has been brought in-house, however. For example, those who want a true face-to-face solution--seeing an advisor's face on the screen while scrolling through their portfolio--will still need a third-party solution, says Sokolenko.
Primarily using Live Meeting for training, ICC did give a handful of its 700 reps access to the tool for client-use earlier this year. But ICC, with $5 billion under management, is making it available firmwide this fall, timing it to coincide with Live Meeting's own upgrades. Pricing changes have made the wider rollout more attractive to ICC because it will be able to install and support the tool on its own server, at a lower cost than the current subscription service of $180 per year per user. Users also have the option of a monthly minutes plan which starts at 35 cents a minute. [Ed. note: as we went to press Microsoft was revising pricing.] "We knew from our customers that we wanted to offer both," says Sokolenko.
People Power
Long recognized as one of the power players in the field, WebEx is priced competitively as well, starting at $75 a month for unlimited meetings with up to 15 people.
But it's the human support that WebEx believes is its key differentiator and not just the bells and whistles. For larger firms looking to create Web events--huge sales meetings or training sessions for hundreds of advisors at one time--WebEx has live people on hand to actually create the function. "We can get people to help you worldwide," says Colin Smith, WebEx's director of corporate communication, based in Santa Clara, California. "Technology is just the tip of the iceberg."
Still, it's not a bad starting place. A favorite perk of Web conferencing is the ability to record--whether to stream a product review later, or store a meeting for compliance reasons, and WebEx allows hosts to start a recording at any time during the meeting, and edit afterwards, even sharing editing rights with other teammates, says Grace Kim, WebEx's senior manager for product marketing.
And if a host or participant has a Web cam built into their computer, faces can be viewed in up to six video windows at the same time on any platform--Windows, Mac, Unix, and Linux. Advisors can also use the tool, which must be downloaded onto a desktop, to share calendars and documents outside the virtual meeting, creating what Smith tags a "Web office."
Recently acquired by the San Jose, California-based network giant Cisco Systems, Web Ex is focusing on even more upgrades, especially tying features into those of its new parent.
Up In a Flash
For those who find application downloads a pain--or work with a firm that bans them completely--Adobe Connect offers one of the most streamlined solutions around. Basing its tool on Flash technology, Connect is intended to be up and running immediately. "Flash is on 98% of all Internet-enabled desktops," says David Slater, group product marketing manager for San Jose, California-based Adobe Connect. "There's a lot of technology that goes into this, but users are pretty unaware of it. Kind of the way you go into your car, turn the key and it just starts up."
Connect's history starts in the late 1990s when a firm called Presidia was acquired by Macromedia, and then re-branded as Acrobat Connect in 2001.
Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia at the end of 2005 turned the product into its current iteration, says Slater.
While Connect does allow users to see each other as they chat, Slater notes that this feature still has light demand.
"Relationships are definitely stronger when built in a face-to-face meeting," he says. "Only about 5-10% of our customers currently use this."
Financial services firms, including SunLife, Vanguard, and MetLife, are loyal customers of Connect says Slater. The reason? The ability to buy the software and install it behind a firm's own firewall, on its secure servers. "We have a lot of clients who have compliance concerns," notes Slater.
Pricing for professional firms of this size starts at $10,000 varying on the number of users and the configuration. But smaller firms can sign up for a less souped-up version for as little as $39 month or $395 a year.
And it's easy to invite someone to a meeting in either version. A user can be paging through an online document, and decide he wants to chat with a co-worker, or a client. One click on the 'start meeting' button and a personal meeting room opens, allowing the host to send e-mail invitations with the meeting room URL automatically printed into the message.
In the professional version, meeting rooms are always running, allowing hosts to have slides, documents, portfolios, or anything they want to share always prepped and ready to go at a moment's notice. "It's like I've put a piece of paper on my desk," Slater says. "It stays there until I move it."
Compliant Ready
Founded in France, Tyson's Corner, Virginia-based Genesys has worldwide reach. And while not as limber and Flash ready as Connect, Genesys is a favorite of financial firms from large shops such as Lehman Brothers, to one-man offices. But whatever the size of its customers, Genesys emphasizes its ability to neatly integrate with a company's compliance needs.
As it developed its recording capabilities, Genesys decided to offer users a choice in how they wanted to record--voice, Web, or both. Users also have storage options for recordings--either on a Genesys server at $200 for 90 days of storage, or sent to the host as a CD or Zip file for $100.
"Lehman had its version re-branded for them and they have a requirement that when any employee starts a Web meeting it has to be archived," says Terry Terranova, vice president of marketing for Genesys. "So instead of having to push a button to record, it automatically does it for them."
But multi-billion dollar firms aren't the only ones who benefit from the way Genesys is structured. Its pricing model makes it especially friendly to small shops. Tagged the 'multi-media minute' by Terranova, Genesys bills its users on a 'pay as you go' plan, starting at 10 cents a minute. That can drop down to just 3 cents a minute depending on use, and includes 24-hour support around the globe, in real-time over the Web.
That's a feature that sold Lillian Meyers, a financial advisor with Meyers Financial in Sonoma, California. "When I use software I always have nightmares," she says. "What can go wrong, will. But Genesys customer support has been fantastic."
Meyers currently uses the tool to review tax returns and financial plans with clients, and plans to upgrade her service to include Web cam support by the fall. "Then they'll be able to look me in the eye, so to speak," Meyers says. "We're human beings and we still like to have eye contact. And this will allow me to do a better job for those clients who can't come into my office."
Knowing that some of its customers want their tools to be more mobile, Genesys is also working on integrating its Web conferencing product with Blackberry devices so that a participant could jump into a meeting even if they're late getting to the office. While a user wouldn't be able to see slides, they could participate through an audio link. Also in the works is being able to start a meeting from an SMS message. "That's all coming up in the October time frame," says Denise Persson, executive vice president of marketing for Genesys.
One downside, however, is the lack of Mac support. But since Genesys CEO Francois Legros recently acquired a Mac for his office, Persson acknowledges that the company is working towards a Mac integration hopefully by "early next year," she says.
Secured Service
Eric Choi, GoTo Meeting's product marketing manager, likes to think that his product could accommodate any firm, at any size, as well. And with a variety of products from meetings with two people, to seminars for 1,000 attendees, he's pretty accurate.
Acquired by the Fort Lauderdale-based Citrix in 2004, GoTo Meeting was originally a simple screen-sharing tool. The demand to share data with larger groups of people in real-time helped boost the firm in the financial sector. One convert is Syracuse, New York-based Cadaret, Grant which first started using the service to push out platform upgrades to its 900 advisors in 2004.
Mary Pat Ganley, VP of business development with Cadaret, Grant knows her advisors are itching to use the tool beyond that and want to try it on seminars with new prospects, as well as to help them build a more personal relationship with current clients. "This will be a real strength for the service and relationship side," she says. "And being able to meet the expectation of a technology-advanced client is crucial."
Ganley cites an experience she recently had with her bank, where she went online simultaneously with a customer service representative so they could look at her account together. "We solved the problem in less than five minutes," she says. Ganley believes this experience, offered to clients, could transform the industry. "Anything you can do better, faster, and smarter ends up on your bottom line," she says.
GoTo's Choi also likes to emphasize the "intimacy" in the way a one-on-one meeting can be set up in seconds. A small applet does need to be downloaded before a participant can join a meeting, and presenters must be on a PC--Mac-users can only attend sessions for the time being, though Choi says a Mac version for presenters in being considered.
Surprisingly, GoTo Meeting does not support Web cam integration. The firm believes that users aren't as interested in seeing other attendees during the sessions as they are about making sure they can get online and share, quickly, and easily. But GoTo also doesn't support VoIP, requiring all attendees to join with a landline to hear conversations rather than listen to audio filtering through their PC.
What GoTo has poured resources into, however, is security, offering 128 SSL encryption of all its sessions--a plus for those dealing with client financials such as account data and social security numbers.
GoTo also offers users a selection of recording options from archiving the file on a customer's desktop, or hosting, and streaming it from GoTo's servers.
While Cadaret, Grant records meetings on its own right now, Ganley mentions that she may adopt GoTo's recording options when the firm upgrades its five licenses to add five more. The cost is well priced as well with licenses ranging from $49 to $99 a month with unlimited usage. Ganley too is a fan of the help desk tool, which gives Cadaret, Grant access to an advisor's computer to visually see if a setting is wrong, and immediately fixing it. "We can actually take over their computer," she says.
But the key reason the firm has adopted Web conferencing is because she knows how the tool will expand how her advisors interact with clients. "This allows technology to enhance that relationship rather than replace the personal side," she says. "Instead of driving one hour for ten minutes of my advisor's time, I can do a 20-minute call once a month. And the advisors can make that valued relationship that much stronger."
Lauren Barack is a New York-based freelance business writer who specializes in stories on technology, finance, and parenting. She can be reached at email@example.com.


text:
Today I would like to share with you the recipe for dessert, very popular in Europe – kissel. This dessert is made with any sour fruits and berries and a starch. The recipe is very versatile: add less starch and you will get a fruit soup, or add more starch and enjoy a fruit pudding. I prefer the second option The kissel dessert is usually served on its own, or with sour cream or yogurt, or with ice cream. Also, some prefer pouring it on pancakes. This is one of the favorite desserts from my childhood, but only recently I started making this kissel pudding by myself. The recipe is very easy, you need just a few simple ingredients and 5 minutes to make it. I highly recommend you to try this recipe, you won't be disappointed!
About kissel's nutritional value. This is a low-calorie dessert (only 68 calories per one serving), it's naturally fat free, and it's loaded with vitamin C and manganese, thanks to strawberries and blueberries. Dessert can be stored in a fridge for up to one week, but we usually consume the whole batch in one-two days
Strawberries, diced – 2 cups*
Blueberries – 1 cup*
Water – 3 cup + 1 cup cold water
Potato Starch – 4 tbsp**
Sugar – 3 tsp
Truvia baking blend – 2 tsp***
* Use any sour fruits and berries, 3 cups in total. You can use frozen berries as well.
** I tried using corn starch first but my kissel came out whitish, which didn't look appealing to me.
*** Not a fan of stevia? Replace it with 2 tbsp of your favorite sugar.
1. Combine berries, sugar and water (3 cups), bring to boil in a large saucepan.
2. Dissolve potato starch in 1 cup of cold water. Make sure there are no lumps left.
3. Pour the starch mixture into the fruit soup, stirring constantly. Bring back to the boil and remove IMMEDIATELY from the heat.
4. Pour kissel into individual bowls and chill in the fridge for a few hours, until it thickens completely. I usually leave it overnight.
Serve as is or with whipped cream, yogurt, or ice-cream.
Bon appétit!
Basic information:
▪ Prep time: 5 min
▪ Total time: 5 min + >3 hours for chilling
▪ Serves: 6
▪ WW (Weight Watchers PointPlus) points = 2
Have you heard about kissel before?
What fruits and berries would you like to use for your kissel?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In 2012 there is only dating. You enter the warm, squishy mind of someone on a date with a fictitious game designer who does not exist and is not real and please do not sue me or call the police. Will it be a Fable (for) Two, or are things not as Black and White as they seem? Play Peter for Dinner, and enter the mind of someone who's already blown an hour of a two-hour time limit, and is kinda drunk and tired and panicking. Made for the Sekrit Forum Game Jam.
Concept art image by Inflammable Jim who sees all with his many 'i's.
I totally don't get the flags in this! Nonetheless, I was able to attain two endings. Could there be more?
There could, but it would involve modifying the source code. Also, flags?


text:
Congratulations Baltimore.
As a native of New Hampshire—New England Patriots territory—I know what you're going through. I've never been a die-hard football fan, but even I can remember the energy of the Pats' first Super Bowl win in 2001. Early in the season, our starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, was injured, and an unknown Tom Brady stepped up to the plate, taking the Pats to an 11-5 regular season record. Brady had thrown just three passes the previous season.
It wasn't just Brady—the Patriots' defense was and has been outstanding, as well.
The point is that back then New England was not the machine it has become—you didn't hear the name "Patriots" and think "heavyweight." These were the days before the supermodels, before people started dropping the word "dynasty." The Pats were just a football team, and that was their greatness—full of spirit, hard-charging and exciting to watch.
The Baltimore Ravens are at that point now. Here's hoping that you win the biggest game, but don't stop living for the hard hits, completed passes, and hard-fought turnovers.
On a sadder note, legendary Orioles manager Earl Weaver died last weekend. With a 1970 World Series championship to his credit as well as four American League championships, Weaver was known for analytical strategizing.
We at the Guide would like to express our sorrow at the passing of this great man in Baltimore sports.


text:
The Swedish Code of Corporate Governance (the Code) has during the spring 2008 been subject to a thorough review. As from 1 July 2008 the Code is applicable for all companies whose shares are traded at the Nasdaq Stockholm. This is a considerable extension of the application of the Code compared to the previous situation. The Code has been simplified and shortened without this having affected the demand in the Code for good corporate governance. The Code is still based on the principle "comply or explain", which means that a company has the opportunity to deviate from a certain rule in the Code, if this deviation in the specific case leads to a better corporate governance. A company that has made a deviation from the Code shall in the corporate governance report describe the deviation, what kind of other solution that the company has chosen and the reason for this action.
Companies that before 1 July 2008 have applied the previous version of the Code are to apply the revised Code from that date. Companies that did not apply the previous version of the Code before 1 July 2008 are to apply the revised Code as soon as possible from that date and no later than the date of the first annual general meeting held after 1 January 2009. A corporate governance report is therefore to be included in or attached to the annual accounts for 2008. Companies whose shares are admitted to trading on the main market of the Exchange after 1 July 2008 are to apply the Code in the same way as those companies who had not applied the Code earlier. The Code is thus to be applied fully from the date of the first annual general meeting held the year after the admittance to trading at the Exchange.
The Code is not formally a part of the Exchange ´s rules. But the Code is indirectly a part of the rules since the Code is to be seen as an expression of good stock market practice regarding corporate governance, and the Exchange ´s rules state that a listed company shall conduct its business in line with common accepted market practice.


text:
The Master Parks Plan provides a vision for the future of the City's parks and open space system, complete with recommended policies actions and design guidelines as well as an implementation strategy with priorities costs and timing. To view the Master Parks Plan in its entirety please click the link provided, Master Parks Plan.
View the Master Parks Pamphlet -
Master Parks Plan Inside
Master Parks Plan Outside
Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.
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Manitoba R8N 1S6 Canada | 204-677-7910
Created by Vision Internet - The Government Website Experts
Home | Our City | Mayor & Council | Departments | Residents | Business | Visitors | How Do I... | Contact Us| Site Map


text:
Leonardo DiCaprio GQ Australia Pictures 2012
Leonardo DiCaprio Gets Down to Business Looking Sexy in GQ Australia
Leonardo DiCaprio Gets Down to Business Looking Sexy in GQ Australia
Leonardo DiCaprio got up close and personal for the cover of GQ Australia's Back to Business issue. Leo recently spent time Down Under filming The Great Gatsby, but he's since returned to the US, where he's been an award season nominee for J. Edgar. Leo skipped last night's SAG Awards, though, since he was vacationing in Mexico with girlfriend Erin Heatherton. In GQ Australia Leo touched on wanting to make the move from in front of to behind the camera, saying, "I do [want to direct]. And if I did direct, I would try to have the same no-bullsh*t approach to it as Clint [Eastwood] and his crew have. Seriously, there are no frills on his set. It's a small, tight-knit crew."
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text:
|email@example.com, email@example.com
|Re: [TenTec] Switching between two Transverters on the Orion
|Al Scanandoah <email@example.com>
|Tue, 09 Nov 2004 05:53:40 +0800
I've got such a switching arrangement for my ancient Microwave Modules 50, 144, 222, and 432 transverters and haven't noticed any impact on performance.
I'm using a Corsair as the IF - the TX ouput is connected to the transverters via an attenuator and the RX is via the auxiliary antenna input. Certainly a different arrangement, but I don't belive that should matter.
Since the frequency being switched is in the 28 MHz range, you should be able to do fine with short runs of RG-174 and a good quality rotary switch.
73 - Al, K2ZN Joe Giacobello wrote:
I have been using a DEMI 6M transverter with the Orion. Although I am having a minor problem with it, which may lie in the transverter and not the Orion, it is working quite well. I recently picked up a used DEMI 2M transverter and would like to be able to switch between the two. It would be necessary to switch three lines: RX IF, TX IF and the XVRTR KEY. Assuming I were to use coax for all the connections, are there any special precautions to observe regarding the switch type and wiring? Is such a switch advisable at all? In other words would I be taking a chance in compromising transverter receive performance?
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text:
36860 / 45599 Adverts
Apartment-Flat 4nd floor, in a private estate, 3 floors
from $152/Night (rates)
6 people 6 adults
2 bedrooms
Liveable floor area : 1,076 Sq.ft.
2 bedrooms
Liveable floor area : 1,076 Sq.ft.
Swimming poolTennis
- View : Swimming pool, city, nightlights
- Kids welcome
- Setting : Waterfront, Historical
- Sandy beach at 0.5mi.
- Festival, Horse riding, Culture, Fishing
Touristic region : discover Gulf of Naples, Sorrento Coast, Tyrrhenian Sea
Advert No. 15085
For your guidance
Contact by phone
Contact by email
For safety and quality control reasons, we strongly recommend to contact the owner through IHA Holiday Ads.
Reviews about the Advert 15085
Be the first to provide a review about this advert!
Advert 15085Sorrento - Naples Province - Italy
Advert details 15085
Assets Apartment-Flat
Swimming pool : Shared swimming pool, plunge pool, outside shower (open from 'june 15' till 'september 15')
Tennis : Shared tennis
Interior Apartment-Flat with View: swimming pool, city, nightlights
Receive up to : 6 person(s) (6 adults)
Liveable floor area : 1,076 Sq.ft.
Interior layout : 2 bedroom(s), 2 bathroom, 2 shower room, 2 toilets, living room, separate kitchen, dining room, cosy nook, tv den
Sleeps - bed(s) : 1 full bed(s), 1 sleeper sofa(s) 2 pers, 2 twin bed(s)
Guest facilities : Elevator, T.V., wifi, wardrobe, Hanging wardrobe, hair dryer, fully air-conditioned, central heating, Drapes, entry phone system
Appliances : Kitchen utensils, cafetiere, electric espresso coffee maker, gaz stove, oven, micro-wave oven, refridgerator, deep freeze, washing machine, iron, ironing board
Exterior Vacation rental in Setting: waterfront, historical
Outside accommodation : Balcony
Rates Calendar Availability Vacation rental in Sorrento
Seasons & Availability Apartment-Flat in Sorrento
Rates Apartment-Flat in Sorrento
(Minimum Night)
Season Night Weekend week 2 weeks Month
Low season$152* (3) - - - -
Mid season$240* (3) - - - -
High season$334* (3) - - - -
Festive specials - - - - -
Promotional period - - - - -
ServiceFrequencyIncluded / SuppliedSupplementRates
Sheets1 X / per week
Towels1 X / per week
Comforter(s)1 X / per week
Comforter(s)1 X / per week
Pillows1 X / per week
Single family home
Cleaning on departure$35
Yard/swimming pool maintenance
For your guidance
Information :
Kids welcome
Pets accepted under certain conditions (ask the owner)
Present on site : pets
Booking conditions
Reservation :
Payment made upon reservation : 20% of rental sum
Payment balance : 2 months before the stay
rentals :
Day tax in addition
Cleaning charge levy on departure : $35*
Accepted methods of payment :
Bank transfer (wire)
Leisure, Surroundings, Location Apartment - Flat 15085
Leisure Sorrento - Naples Province
Specific activities on site or less than 3 miles :
HORSE RIDING Naples Province
FISHING Campania
FESTIVAL Sorrento
CULTURE Campania
Leisure activities less than 12 miles : Bathing, snorkelling, tennis, riding school, boat trips, horse trecking, ten-pin bowling, fishing
Supervised : Dive school, tennis school
Attractions and relaxation : Bar/pub, discotheque, restaurant, movie theater, park and garden, historical site, museum, theater, antiques & bric-a-brac, local craftstore, cellar and wine tasting, casino
SurroundingsOcean - Naples Province
Locality :
Sandy beach at 0.5mi.
Amenities :
Downtown at <165'
Bus stop / bus station at 0.3mi.
Subway station at 0.3mi.
Hospital at <165'
Location AccessApartment-Flat Sorrento
Via degli Aranci 52
80067 SorrentoCampania
GPS coordinates of the city
Latitude 40°37'32.988"N
Longitude 14°22'35.58"E
Access routes Vacation rental 15085
at 31mi. / 1h
Airport Naples Capodichino
Naples, Naples Province, Campania, Italy
at 0.5mi. / 15min.
Sea port Sorrento
Sorrento, Naples Province, Campania, Italy
at 0.3mi. / 15min.
Railroad station Sorrento
Sorrento, Naples Province, Campania, Italy
Cities close by
Massa Lubrense (3mi.)
Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi (3mi.)
Meta (3mi.)
Close to Pietra Nera, Bocca Piccola, Punta del Chiarito, Punta di Cala Baccoli, Monte Somma, Avamporto Ammiraglio Francesco Caracciolo, Stazione Fuorigrotta, Foce Nuova del Fusaro, Punta Pioppeto, Monte Faito, Monte Sant'Angelo a Tre Pizzi, Lagno di Pollena, Capo di Posillipo, Scoglio Isca, Chiaolella, Capo Negro, Stazione Cuma-Fusaro, Monte Barbaro, Stazione Napoli Monte Santo, Piana di Salerno, Punta San Lorenzo
Cities close by
Nearby places
Photos Apartment-Flat 15085
Apartment-Flat in Sorrento - Advert 15085 @cc
Bathroom, Apartment-Flat in Sorrento - Advert 15085 @cc
Sleeps - bed(s), Apartment-Flat in Sorrento - Advert 15085 @cc
Bedroom, Apartment-Flat in Sorrento - Advert 15085 @cc
Kitchen, Apartment-Flat in Sorrento - Advert 15085 @cc
Return to the rental listingsContact


text:
No, this is not a self-help video, but How to Rob a Bank is still about self-improvement. This is a short but smart film from IFC Films and newbie director Andrews Jenkins. The 2007 film has been released on DVD by Genius products.
In the film, average guy Jason "Jinx" Taylor (Nick Stahl, Terminator 3) tries to withdraw $20 from his checking account via an ATM. Upon being told that he has insufficient funds, he wanders into the nearest Grant Liberty bank and right into the middle of a bank robbery. When some of the robbers open fire on him, he runs into the open vault, and the door shuts behind him. The vault locks, leaving him and Jessica (Erika Christensen, Swimfan) locked inside. Jessica reveals that she was a hired gun, part of the robbery and in the vault to hack the computer. Jinx and Jessica get to know each other and negotiate with Simon (Gavin Rossdale, Constantine), the head robber, by cell phone. Simon and his compatriots, including Leo Fitzpatrick (Telly from Kids), have their own problems. Now that Jinx has closed the vault, they have taken hostages to prevent the police from bursting in. The cop in charge, Officer DeGepse (Terry Crews, Balls of Fury), connects with Jinx and Jessica through 911 by cell phone, and soon all three parties, cops, robbers, and in-betweens, are chatting on cells.
How to Rob a Bank is about taking control. Jinx ends up in the life threatening situation in the first place because he's being ripped of by his bank, with its ATM surcharges. Soon, he's trying to appease the cops by cell phone, convince the robbers that he's not worth killing when and if he makes it out of the vault, and get Jessica to spill the beans about what he should do next. He eventually decides to do what's best for himself and speaks to the whole plot's mastermind, Nick (David Carradine), by phone. Jinx and Jessica learn to trust each other, and after a few hours together find a romantic connection (of course). I can't fault Jinx for this. All of the performances are good in the film. Stahl plays a good every guy, and Rossdale is good as the high-strung criminal with an anger problem (and the movie's token British accent guy). But I found Christensen, whom I had never seen in a whole film before, to be the most enjoyable to watch; she absolutely oozes confident sexuality, playing the smart-mouthed computer hacker who has the advantage over the clueless Jinx.
How to Rob a Bank has that washed out look that's so popular these days, where everything looks slightly overexposed. The cinematography and camerawork by Joseph Meade are good, but about 60% of the entire film takes place within the locked vault. It is brightly lit and flat in there, so those shots won't blow you away. Much of the film has a blue tint to it, except the flashbacks, which are yellow tinted. I'm sure that the look of the film was crafted in post, which is becoming standard, unfortunately.
Jenkins made some choices that I didn't like in the film. If a character references an object, he whip pans over to it with loud whooshes on the sound track. In 1970, the director would simply have cut to it, which seems ridiculously practical. The filmmaking also gets a little sloppy when Jenkins is in a hurry to get the dialogue rolling; the cell phones connect much too quickly at times. Those of us in the real world know that it takes a moment for a cell to actually start ringing the other person's phone when we place a call; then they can answer and talk to us a few moments later, after opening their phone.
Now, let's talk about marketing. The DVD case touts this as an action film. It's not. There are a couple of gun shots in the entire film. Contrary to the cover, Jinx never once touches a firearm, and he's certainly no John McClane. There are no firefights or kung-fu.
It is, in fact, a movie with people talking. Hitchcock would have described this as "pictures of people talking...on cell phones." However, Jenkins does what he can to keep it interesting. The dialogue is snappy and quick. Some special effects are used, like a static, time-lapse shot when Jinx and Jessica are passing time in the vault. There are also some of those Requiem for a Dream shots where the camera is attached to the performer while he or she walks around. Jenkins also budgeted out some spiffy effects shots.
So, how do you rob a bank and actually get away with it? Telling you that would spoil the ending, as would telling you who does succeed in doing so. I will tell you that the film gives you some hints, presented through intertitles.
The DVD
The Image
The Audio
The second featurette is "The Making of How to Rob a Bank: The Characters." This features on-camera interviews with the three main stars. It is six minutes long, and it is not enhanced for widescreen TV's. Again, for the length, you might as well check it out.
Insufficient Funds
While listed at 1 hour, 21 minutes, How to Rob a Bank actually ends at about 1:17:00, so it's really, really short. Part comedy, part heist thriller, the movie is enjoyable, but this DVD probably won't keep your attention for more than a few sit downs, due largely to the short length of the main feature. I'm going to give this a generous "Recommended."


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Los AngelesThe Guest List
Eavesdropping In: CA Wife Chops Off Husband's Penis; Rodney King DUI; S.W.A.T. Team Standoff With Ex-Queens Of The Stone Age Bassist; TV Legend Sherwood Schwartz Dies At 94; Ryan Reynolds & Charlize Theron?
Garden Grove wife drugs husband's dinner, cuts off his penis, and—excuse me while I dry-heave—puts it down the garbage disposal, tells cops he "deserved it." [LATimes]
Rodney King is out on bail after being arrested for DUI yesterday afternoon in Moreno Valley. [KABC]
Former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri arrested, found with loaded rifle, after an over four-hour standoff with a S.W.A.T. team at his L.A. home following an altercation with his girlfriend. [TMZ]
TV legend Sherwood Schwartz, creator of "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch" among others, dies of natural causes at 94.
Ryan Reynolds and Charlize Theron may or may not be dating. [HuffPo]


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Free Shipping
Orders of $25.00 or more will be shipped our Standard Shipping option and the shipping is completely FREE.
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Dust off your best cowboy hat and polish up your spurs as America's first and favorite singing cowboy gallops across the silver screen into your living room. Gene Autry, star of radio, records, film, TV and rodeo, invented the musical Western, capturing America's hearts as a guitar-slinging, song-singing, six gun-toting good guy. Riding Champion, the World's Wonder Horse, Autry became a beloved American hero whose popularity remains strong today.
Guns and Guitars
Gene Autry and Frog Millhouse are musical members of a traveling medicine show who land in the midst of a Texas cattle war. With the daughter of the Sheriff to assist him, Gene blazes into action with bullets, ballots, and ballads to clean up the crooked cattlemen and their quarantined cattle. Smiley Burnette and Dorothy Dix join your singing saddle star in the thundering thrills!
- Length
- Rating NR
- Released:
- Added Aug 12 2005
- Production Year 1936
- Empire SKU 741282
- UPC Code 014381219623
- Studio Image Ent.
- Packaging Keep
- Number of Discs 1
- Disc SS-SL
Reminiscing with Gene Autry and Pat Buttram at the "Melody Ranch Theater"
Excerpts from the Original "Melody Ranch Theater"
Production and Publicity Stills
Poster and Lobby Card Art
Original Press Kit Material
Trivia and Movie Facts
- Audio
English Dolby Digital Mono
- Video
Standard 1.33:1 B&W
- Gene Autry
- Pat Buttram
- Earl Hodgins
- Dorothy Dix
- Tom London
- Champion
- J.P. McGowan
- Charles King
- Smiley Burnette
- Nat Levine
- Stuart McGowan
- Dorrell McGowan


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Phil Anselmo Solo Songs
Lots of 's' sounds in that title. Anyway, if you're 1) psyched about Phil Anselmo's upcoming solo album, and 2) looking for a couple little morsels to tide you over I offer this: "Family, 'Friends,' and Associates"
Subscribe to 96.3 The Blaze on
The song comes from a split EP with the guys in Warbeast, and is out now. Phil says the full-length solo project should be out "soon."


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Evans blasts cycling officials
Australian cycling star Cadel Evans has described an official crackdown on bike saddle positions at the Tour de France as "nearly ridiculous".
Compatriot Brad McGee, a manager at Alberto Contador's Saxo Bank-Sungard team, and RadioShack boss Johann Bruyneel are understood to have been fined 200 Swiss francs ($220) apiece after tempers became frayed before the start of the Sunday night (AEST) stage two team time trial.
Commissaires from cycling's world governing body, the UCI, made widespread checks of the riders' specialised time trial bikes before the stage to ensure the saddles were horizontal to the ground.
"Behind the scenes, the bike control was nearly ridiculous today," Evans said on his website diary.
"The French commissaires, (with us) having ridden our same bikes/positions all year, then come here and not be allowed to start unless you change them, a bit of unexpected stress before the start."
He likened it to police officers enforcing the speed limit in different countries, saying Italian police give drivers 20-30km/h leeway and in Australia it is only 2-3km/h.
Evans also noted that with different saddle shapes, the horizontal rule can be nearly impossible to enforce accurately.
A rider will sometimes tilt his saddle slightly forward, especially on the ultra-aerodynamic time trial bike, to generate more power.
According to the cyclingnews website, the UCI had told teams last month that saddles should be parallel to the ground for time trials.
But there was a feeling among team officials and riders that commissaires were suddenly cracking down on the rule.
"Today it was out with the spirit level to check that everyone seats were 'horizontal' as the rules state," Evans said.
"Check any seat with a scoop or channel in the back and that rule has a wide grey area of interpretation, a lot more that can be measured with a spirit level anyway.
"And the hard fast rule for cyclists - 'never change anything on race day' - ha, bad luck if you want to stay in the Tour.
"I noticed a few fines accumulated by sports directors who were arguing their point."
Evans said after his bike check, the BMC team had to move the nose of his saddle up by two millimetres.
He described the change as "just a little more unhealthy and uncomfortable.
"Not to worry, tomorrow we move back to a more normal road stage, 'normal' as far as the first week of the Tour goes anyway."


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Candied Yams with Marshmallow Brulee? Yes, please!
Who doesn't completely melt at the sight of ooey-gooey, warm toasted marshmallows? My now not-so-secret love affair with marshmallows was exposed on a recent visit to Ocean Prime when I happened upon one of my favorite childhood comfort foods on their side dish menu: Candied Yams with Marshmallow Brûlée ($8). Heaven in a bite!
A Midwest girl at heart, I don't come across candied yams as often here as I would back home (in Oklahoma, it's almost a staple on every menu), and just as anyone loves to reminisce in a heart-warming dish, I welcomed my Midwestern marshmallow memories with a big bite! The innocent tiny yams didn't stand a chance at our table as they were the first dish most grabbed at. Covered with a thick blanket of golden-toasted melty marshmallows, the dish received everyone's absolute approval. Holy delicious.
As if it needs further praise, it's safe to say the candied yams were the highlight of my evening at Ocean Prime.
Another Midwestern staple: a really good steak. Ocean Prime prides their menu on quality steaks and a fresh selection of seafood. Being the red-meat lover than I am, I opted for the beef: an incredibly flavorful, blue cheese crusted 12oz. Bone-in Filet ($44).
Other standouts from the evening were the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Golden Oak Mushrooms ($12) appetizer (the raviolis, albeit petite, were sufficiently packed with tangy goat cheese), the Creamed Spinach ($9) side dish and the indulgent Black Truffle Macaroni & Cheese ($12).
Something must also be said for the brilliantly-creative cocktail menu. Everyone ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the gorgeous cocktails each guest at our table selected. The Berries & Bubbles ($13) seemed to be a hit among the crowd because of its own unique bubbly presentation, but I chose the Black Orchid ($12) crafted with Belvedere Black Raspberry Vodka, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, hand-squeezed lemon and white cranberry juice that arrived with a lovely orchid suspended in a giant jaw breaker-sized sphere of ice. St. Germaine catches my eye every time I spot it on a cocktail list (I'm a sucker for those delicate sweet floral notes) and Ocean Prime's Black Orchid easily makes top of my list for best (and most beautiful) elderflower cocktails I've ever sipped.
Stay tuned for an interview with the restaurant's Executive Chef Jagger Griffin on PhoenixBites!
For more information about Ocean Prime or to view menus, visit oceanprimephoenix.com.
Ocean Prime | 5455 East High Street | Phoenix, AZ | 85054| 480-347-1313
*This meal was provided to us complimentary as a part of a media invitation. However, this has no effect on our opinions and comments regarding our experience. View our Disclosure Policy for further explanation.
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I´m part of a group of volunteers that is starting up a new scheme in our community in Tucson. One of the community projects that we are about to initiate relatates to your blog, and therefor some of the information here is of value for us and I just wanted so say thank you for that.


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Hello all.
After several hours of searching and finding conflicting info, I figure I could post several rapid fire questions that educated travelers could easily answer. Will be flying in/out of HCMC with bus trip to Siem Reap in middle. Here goes:
1) Vietnam Visa On Arrival seems like best/cheapest bet as will be landing around midnight and hopefully won't be too much of a wait. Total cost per person should be ~$15 (pre-approval letter) + $65 stamping fee (1 month, multiple entry). True?
2) VN VOA pre-approval letter: is it valid for 30 days from when it is issued from website or is it valid 30 days upon arrival in VN? I don't want to order it early only to have it expire before I even get to VN.
3) Cambodia offers e-visa, and while it is also called Visa On Arrival, it is not the same as the VN Visa On Arrival. That's confusing. Cambodia's VOA is an actual visa and costs $28 total through their Kingdom of Cambodia site. Is it worth getting the e-visa? I read it is only accepted at certain crossings...which leads to:
4) Planning on using Mekong Express bus from HCMC to SR ($27). The bus website says they can obtain the visa quickly and easily at the border crossing. Does e-visa work at the crossing the bus takes, or best to let the bus company take car of it (or is this a possible scam opportunity?)?
If you have experience with any of these issues and wouldn't mind dropping knowledge on me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Cheers.
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VN and Cambodia Qs - Conflicting Info
Hello all.
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1. When I got my VN visa the cheapest way to obtain it was through the closest consulate in my country: $65. The pre-approved visa is an option, but usually costs more. I haven't heard of anyone who get the pre-approval letter for $15. Usually it is $25 or $40.
2. The approval letter is good for 30 days. You get the visa when you arrive.
3. Cambodia has a true visa on arrival, unlike the VN visa which is a pre-approved visa. VN mis-naming it is confusing. Originally, the Cambodian e-visa was good only for flight arrivals. It may well have changed by now, so read the info on the e-visa site carefully.
4. Sorry, I don't know the answer to this. Someone will.
Report Abuse
Kathie, thank you for your reply. However, I am confused by your info. Perhaps I should mention I am in the US.
1) I emailed the VN Embassy and they replied that a 1 month, multiple entry would cost $150, plus shipping to/from. I've seen the pre-approval letter for $26 on one website and $14 on another (both sites have positive reviews on travel forums). Of course, in addition to the pre-approval letter fee, it will also cost $65 at HCMC airport (for the actual Visa). That is far cheaper than purchasing the actual Visa through the VN Embassy in the US. Maybe your country offers a $65 Visa from the consulate, but I don't believe I can do that in the US. Correct?
2) Sounds good in regards to how long the pre-approval letter is valid. If I am arrving in VN on Dec 1st, then I can get the letter anytime after Nov 1. Then, once I get the Visa on Dec 1, it will be valid for 30 more days (until Dec 30).
3 and 4) Yes, difficult to find answers to these questions...anyone else?
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Wow! The cost of a VN visa has risen dramatically! In that case, go with the pre-approved visa. I'm also from the US, but my visa was obtained a few years ago.
You mights also try Thorntree, the Lonely Planet travel forum. There will be more people there who have taken the bus from HCMC to Siem Reap.
Report Abuse
Some info on. Travelfish which is usually more reliable than LP
May be worth posting on their travel forum.
The last couple of times I have been to Vietnam I have acquired my visas in Vientienne and Bangkok. Vientiene was a next day service, BKK took around 3 days. May be worth considering if you are elsewhere in Asia before VN.
Report Abuse
FYI, I got some great replies on those other forums. Here is my final post:
Excellent, thank you all. To verify:
1 and 2) When ordering the pre-arrange VN letter (for $10-$25 on various sites), I will be able to state the arrival date. I will state that date as a few days before I am scheduled to fly into HCMC, just to be safe, and I will have up to 30 days to use that letter to obtain the actual Visa at the airport (which will cost $65 stamp fee for 1 month, multiple entry). The actual Visa is then valid for 1 month from that day I obtain it at the airport. The pre-arranged letter's dates of validity will no longer matter as I will have already used it to acquire the Visa, and therefore only the date of the Visa matters from that time point on. To be extra safe, I could wait to order the pre-arranged letter until less than 30 days before my arrival at HCMC, as it only takes a few days to obtain the letter from one of those various sites.
3 and 4) Regarding the Cambodia land border crossing on bus trip to SR from HCMC, tt should be easy to do nothing beforehand and simply purchase the actual Visa at the border, along with other people on the bus. It sounds like the bus company employees will help me do this and if it costs a few extra dollars, then no problem, happy to pay for their help.
Is that correct...can I get an amen?
Thanks again. Absolutely excited for my first trip to VN and Cambodia. Now with the technical details out of the way, it's time to start the important research...what to do/see/eat. Nom nom! Cheers.
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Looks good to me. Thanks for coming back and letting us know what you have found.
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It is straightforward enough to get a Cambodian visa on arrival but every time I have crossed a land border into Cambodia there have been scams of one description or another, Thailand to Cambodia at Aranyabprathet/ Poipet was the worst followed by the Lao crossing near Kratie. Sometimes it is just an unofficial "administration fee" of a dollar or two, annoying but not the end of the world. The worst and quite common scam is to ask for the visa fee in say dong or Baht at using a terrible conversion rate - to be avoided!
Report Abuse
Crossing the border from Laos to Cambodia, we got hit with a $1US 'fee' for getting our passports stamped to leave Laos. Then $1 for a dodgy health check and $25 instead of $20 for the visa. Nothing really in the overall scheme of things. I've travelled on Mekong Express internally in Cambodia and it seems a well run operation. They should help you cross the border from Vietnam with no hassles. They also had free, albeit slow WiFi on the bus.
Both countries are fantastic, you should have a great time. How long have you got Asia?
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Why is it that adultery can ruin a man's career but rarely a woman's? In so-called civilised countries, that is. (In Saudi Arabia an adulterous woman is stoned to death.) An American diplomat slated to become the next ambassador to Iraq, Brett McGurk, lost his chance because of an affair with a reporter, who is now his wife. Why is it suddenly criminal to sleep with the opposite sex? Gays the world over must be over the moon. Who says that government officials are stewards of the public trust and that includes what they do in the bedroom?
Poor Petraeus. A lifetime of public service gone down the drain for knocking off a leggy social climber. Dwight Eisenhower did it with his female driver, Kennedy did it daily while president, not to mention Warren Harding and Grover Cleveland, the latter fathering a child outside marriage while in the White House. Bill Clinton does not rate a mention because his women were such slobs, and that includes Hillary. General Patton was a fabled womaniser, as hard-charging tank commanders are bound to be, with the exception of Erwin Rommel, whose uxorious behaviour contradicted his aggressive tactics while leading the greatest fighting unit ever — 25th Panzer of 7th Panzer Division.
There was no crime or breach of security in the Petraeus affair, hence no hint of blackmail. So why resign? His wife's ancestors were generals in the Civil War, and those guys got quite a bit back then when away from home. The Spartans even openly borrowed older men's wives in order to give them children and produce strong warriors. Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, had a high opinion of this practice, and called it an act of liberality, laughing at those who thought the violation of their bed an intolerable affront. Lycurgus had a high opinion of the man, who being grown old and having a young wife, should recommend an agreeable young man that she might have a child by him. The English upper classes still follow this practice, and it was one of the reasons I moved to Britain back in the Sixties. In the end no one really gives a damn. Except for the press and the media who have nothing else to talk about here in the Land of the Depraved.
The greatest Greek sleuth ever, Taki, thinks the neocons set Petraeus up once he called Israel a liability in the Middle East. The irony is that 'General Order No. 1' prohibits troops from fraternisation, all sex, alcohol consumption, pornography and generally from all activities that might make the boredom of service more bearable. The military code of conduct varies between countries, but it's a general rule that one does not commit adultery with a brother officer's wife. So why is Prince Charles still in business? He cuckolded Andrew Parker Bowles, who probably got a promotion as a result, which goes to show it depends on who does the deed, not the deed itself. Petraeus was set up by Paula Broadwell, who was most likely set up herself by Washington neocon insiders who knew what they were doing. The funny thing is that if Petraeus had had a homosexual dalliance with a writer who brought along his own ghostwriter, as Broadwell did, he'd still have his job in Langley. No one would dare say a word, starting with the NY Times, or Gay Times, as it prefers to be called.
Talk about American exceptionalism. In 22 states adultery remains a criminal act, and that includes my own favourite, Virginia. Which means most of the Kennedys should have died in jail by now. And it gets worse. General John Allen, the Marine who succeeded Petraeus in Afghanistan, is under a cloud for — now get this — sending flirtatious emails to some Lebanese hustler back in Florida. In other words, they don't even have to catch you with your pants down, it's now the thought that counts. What utter crap.
Of all social institutions, marriage is that of which the laws are the most difficult to determine, because they go against nature. I often ask the mother of my children when she complains about my behaviour whether she would prefer me to be a lousy husband and a faithful one, or the opposite. She lies and says the former. Then she laughs. Shelley asked how long the sexual connection ought to last. He said that a couple should stay together as long as they were united by love — and he meant only sexual love — and called it an intolerable tyranny if a man and a woman stayed together after the sexual attraction had worn off 'and the most unworthy of toleration'. I agree to a certain extent. As he said, constancy has nothing virtuous in itself. The way to keep a good relationship going is for the man to fool around when he gets the urge, and to keep shtoom afterwards. Never admit it and you will make the wife happy. Forget what she says. It's what you say that counts. And say nothing. Petraeus committed no crime or breach of national security. If it ever came to blackmail, he should offer the names and pictures of other women he's had while away from home fighting for his country. It's called the Sukarno defence. A good man has gone down for doing what comes naturally.
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Autonomy, Hewlett Packard and the UK: Replacing the Crown Jewels
A couple of weeks ago it was announced that Hewlett Packard's £7 billion bid for Autonomy (LON:AU.) had gone unconditional. This news caused me to reflect on the amount of media comment on why the UK is selling one of its jewels to a foreigner, which in turn led to the following train of thought... What the media commentators should have asked is not why are we allowing Autonomy to be bought, but what are we doing to create at least 1,000 aspiring Autonomys? Achieving the latter would position the UK to stand a chance of creating another success on the scale of Autonomy within the foreseeable future as well as a lot of lesser successes. Even the latter could still provide investors with exceptional returns! An amazing reflection on the constituents of the FTSE 100 is that the sale of Autonomy reduces software companies in the index from two to one. The reason I say amazing is because software is such an important contributor to wealth creation.
Autonomy has an 'intel Inside' positioning. That is to say it supplies products which are fundamental to the operations of a huge number of other organisations and help those organisations improve their operations from the standpoint of their customers. I consider the UK to have an above average but underexploited ability to develop the knowledge which underlies 'Intel Inside' products and/or services. This view is endorsed, for example, by Mike Lynch, the founder of Autonomy. I feel that the reason that the UK under exploits its potential to develop a much larger universe of 'Intel Inside' companies is because of the inefficiency of providing capital. This arises at several levels. There is no mechanism which seamlessly joins together investors looking to invest in companies of a particular type but at different stages of development. Thus in the MedTech sector it is extraordinarily challenging for companies seeking to raise between £2 million and £10 million. I was talking to some healthcare investment bankers recently who were saying that institutional healthcare investors increasingly want to invest only in companies with market caps of at least £100 million. These investors seem to have no concept of the need to create an incubator to produce mainstream investments to replace those which get taken over. This lack of understanding of the need for ongoing innovation is manifested by looking at the pharmaceutical sector which having…
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