# Geocaching:wtf?



## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

I'm kind of old school, I remember before desktop computers and gps. Now geocaching wtf? 

They have a movie comming out about it (splinterheads). Anyways, I just got some info from a state park and they're allowing geocaching.

are you for or against geocaching. i have a busted edge 305 and a foreunner 405. is ther a place for geocaching in the mtb or trail runners world? I'm interested but to me it sounds like a gimmick


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

LOL...a gimmick? What rock have you been living under since, oh, 2000? Geocaching is not a gimmick, and many GPSes are built for it nowadays. You could say that in some respects, geocachers drive the handheld GPS market. There are even multiple sites that offer geocache listings, and geocaching is far from the only gps-enabled game.

I participate some. I might search for a couple caches a year. I have a few containers waiting for a good spot to hide them.

Your fitness GPSes might work, but you'll find yourself doing more work, and quite likely carrying paper printouts that include hints if you have trouble.

At this point, being 'for or against geocaching' is a moot point. It's EVERYWHERE, including wal-mart parking lots. It's not exactly going away anytime soon. Rather, it's a question of whether you choose to do it or not, or how you view the effects on the landscape of certain caches (and whether you're willing to do anything about it).


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> including wal-mart parking lots


Actually boughgt my edge 305 at walmat, but if i recall correctly it was an online only item.

i get info second often by watching csi, i found out about cougars, anyway the csi info i take w/ a grain of salt

whether i partiipte or not, if they're putting these geocaches in state or national or county parks, this should definately be moniter and I think I'm basically against it. i don't watch amazing race on tv, its been out a long time, but i am more of a csi type of a guy,

i feel state parks and national county parks should be rid of that crap.

i was pissed today i went running in a mountain preserve and some body piles rocks on top of each other almost like a scultpure, but then one spot they moved all the rocks and crossed the trail

we had a nother guy that spray painted all over a state park for his pidly trail run race (50k ok not pidly), now there's f-in orange flourescent paint all over the joint. the day of the event i was up there and he asked me to do the race for 30 bux, what a p.o.s.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jkmacman said:


> Actually boughgt my edge 305 at walmat, but if i recall correctly it was an online only item.
> 
> i get info second often by watching csi, i found out about cougars, anyway the csi info i take w/ a grain of salt
> 
> ...


Dude you've got some issues you need to sort out. Legality of geocaches is pretty well-defined in most places. In the US, they are not permitted in national parks. Within other public lands, the policies vary according to local regulations, but frequently there is a permitting system required. At minimum, verbal permission is required. Laws vary from country to country, so I do not know the ones elsewhere. You will have to find out on your own.

I really don't have a clue why you're talking about tv shows. That's really not relevant here. I can almost guarantee that if you've never looked for a geocache before, you've never seen evidence of one. Most geocaches that are "accidentally" found are in urban environments. A lot of them get detonated by bomb squads for practice. People who hide geocaches PURPOSELY try to HIDE them, especially from people who do not participate in the game. Some are even in plain sight, but you'd never know it since they are so well-disguised.

I also have no idea why you're talking about someone spraypainting markers for a trail run race in this discussion. Also not remotely relevant.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> I also have no idea why you're talking about someone spraypainting markers for a trail run race in this discussion. Also not remotely relevant.


because where do you draw the line what's allowed or what's not allowed.

i like the woods left untouched w/o spray paint or geo caches.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jkmacman said:


> because where do you draw the line what's allowed or what's not allowed.
> 
> i like the woods left untouched w/o spray paint or geo caches.


So you've never seen a geocache, but you're now firmly against them? Just the idea of them repulses you?

If you want to draw connections, make analogies, and things like that you need to express that. Otherwise, it looks like brain diarrhea on the website.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> If you want to draw connections, make analogies, and things like that you need to express that. Otherwise, it looks like brain diarrhea on the website.


just because i'm against the geo cache doesnt make it diarrea.

It needs to be monitored, or soon, every time you buy a happy meal or super size your burger, you'll get a geo cache ad, g_o look for the geo cache and get your free burger,_

before you know it the geo cache's will be littering the landscape, that's why i don't buy into it

let it be on paid land, where the geocasher pays money to store the geo cache. that i am in favor of, not harboring stuff on the down lo


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jkmacman said:


> just because i'm against the geo cache doesnt make it diarrea.
> 
> It needs to be monitored, or soon, every time you buy a happy meal or super size your burger, you'll get a geo cache ad, g_o look for the geo cache and get your free burger,_
> 
> ...


No, what makes it diarrhea is that your thoughts are not linked and you don't make sense half the time.

Geocaching is monitored. Cracker Barrel restaurants, for example, put a blanket ban on caches at their restaurants a few years ago. Many places that require permits for placing a cache require a fee for that permit. Some places just throw the thing in the garbage if they don't want it there. Others file lawsuits against the person who placed it.

There are restrictions on the largest geocaching site for how closely one cache may be placed to another. If a cache violates that rule, it will not be listed. Period. Some places already have quite the density of geocaches (approaching the maximum allowable). But you wouldn't know it.

My major problem with you in this discussion is that you clearly have not remotely educated yourself on the topic, yet you seem to have magically developed opinions based on your own ideas of how the game is played, rather than the reality of how the game is played. Some geocaches don't have containers at all...did you know that? I bet not. What would you say about them? They still generate foot traffic to the area, but they just don't have a container (which could be anything the size of the tip of my little finger on up to something big enough to put a person into).

What about summit registers on the tops of mountain peaks? Or caches of emergency supplies? Or water caches? All of these are commonly used by other outdoor recreationists. These are also MUCH, MUCH older than the geocache concept (although geocaching developed from these ideas), and are widely accepted in the outdoor community. How do you address these, also?


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

I am "for geocaching."


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## sossei (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm an avid geocacher, heck a lot of them I bike to. Go to this link to educate yourself on the sport.


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## Guest (Nov 21, 2009)

Geocaching is pretty popular around here. Just saw a feature on PBS about it.
If it gets people off their butts and outside walking around; I don't see much wrong with that.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

NateHawk said:


> ....What rock have you been living under since, oh, 2000?


hahahaha!
you got the coords?
he's quite a cache!

seriously tho dude? spraypaint? tv shows? WTF are you talking about???
are you against time-capsules too, how about ancient ruins, fossils?
get a clue


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## wilonpill (Aug 19, 2009)

jkmacman said:


> just because i'm against the geo cache doesnt make it diarrea.
> 
> It needs to be monitored, or soon, every time you buy a happy meal or super size your burger, you'll get a geo cache ad, g_o look for the geo cache and get your free burger,_
> 
> ...


Are you high? Really, you are that worried about geo cache ads? I wish I lived in your world where that was all I had to worry about.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> If it gets people off their butts and outside walking around; I don't see much wrong with that.


this makes sense.

I for that, but also term limits. you gotta find the thing in x amount of time, or its removed, perhaps by a service, that's prepaid by a bond.


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## fishbum (Aug 8, 2007)

Let me put it to you this way: You're a moron. Geocaching doesn't involve spray paint or television, and I'll bet you've walked/ridden/driven by hundreds of them and never knew they were there. It's a box filled with kids goodies that is well hidden, and doesn't hurt anything to sit hidden for years. Get a clue, and stop watching tv.


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

When I was injured a couple years back and could not ride my mountain bike, I rode the cross bike to find benchmarks, another type of geocaching. It was fun to hunt them down with the GPS and more entertaining to me than a regular road ride, plus I forget the pain in my shoulders in the thrill of the hunt. Kinda like a CSI investigation (except I have no TV). 

Good luck getting the United States Geological Survey to remove those. Most are embedded in bridge abutments, cemented into rocks on hill tops,cripes one is cemented into a massive corner stone on the courthouse in town. 

There is a Benchmark Hunting forum at GroundSpeak forums. Some guys are hunting benchmarks that are well over 100 years old. Amazing stories, since the development and building has changed the landscape so much. The hard core guys go out with safety vests, hard hats, clip boards, and safety cones so they look legit in dicey places, highway medians, or old warehouses under bridges! There are even stories of run ins with homeland security folks, hiliarious, when you know they just want to look at an old corroded brass disc. :thumbsup:

Ok, sounds like too many folks having fun with a GPS, we better outlaw it!


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

LOL it's not like anyone is clubbing baby seals or something geez. Simple fun game that keeps people active....wow...the horror!


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## shockfinder (Apr 17, 2009)

As and avid geocacher, both seeker and hider, i can tell you that we do monitor caches and you have to have permission to place a cache and they are virtually undetectable unless you are looking for them. Geocachers basically do their best to take care of natural areas. This is kind of like railing against MTBers because you think they are going to desecrate every park out there...ummmm...I may have just contributed to a troll thread...


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

*I just don't like it bringing creepy people into the woods.*

Ok let me explain. The 1st time I ran into the term geocaching was several years ago when I was searching online just to see if there was info on a local park I hike through regularly. Well I find an online geocaching forum with a thread about a cache in this specific park and read a post where the poster is basically talking about how he was hiding in the woods near the cache and watching the "muggles" (people like me) walking on the trails. Reading further I find that many of the geocachers like to refer to non-geocachers as muggles, and that geocaching basically consists of putting some type of container in the woods somewhere and placing trinkets in it, and then posting the coordinates online. When someone finds the cache, they can take a trinket and leave one of there own.

Now this sounds like fun for the kids, but way too nerdy for adults.

I do like the idea of hunting benchmarks though (mentioned in slocaus's post). I recall finding a border marker (marking the Canada/US border) while canoeing in the Boundary Waters wilderness area years ago. These things can literally be in the middle of nowhere, and it's kind of cool to think that many years ago someone had to figure out where to put this thing (without the use of GPS) and then haul some concrete and a metal marker up there.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Eh, geocaches can be all over. Most frequently, they're in cities.

I don't trade for the silly kiddy toys in them. I search just so I can find them and write in the logbook. Some have non-kiddy stuff in them, but I almost never have anything to trade so I don't bother. I do move travel bugs and geocoins, because I like to track their progress around the world. I 'own' two travel bugs. One of them has now crossed this country twice. Another one has been mucking around in Germany for the past year or two.

I've hunted for some that are nearly impossible to find. One in Pittsburgh got 3 different visits and I STILL couldn't find it. I think the term 'muggle' is funny. If you think, it fits perfectly with the idea it is trying to convey, because when you're searching for one, you need to mask your own behavior so you don't tip off the general public to the location of the geocache.



> I for that, but also term limits. you gotta find the thing in x amount of time, or its removed, perhaps by a service, that's prepaid by a bond.


Are you as dumb as you sound? If you've done ANY research on your own, you'd know that caches that are not maintained by the 'owner' get delisted and often get thrown out with the garbage. They're not just chucked into the woods like garbage and then left on their own. Owners have to maintain the container and the logbook, and clean out the garbage that inevitably shows up over time in and around the container. If a cache owner fails this, the cache gets removed when it falls into disrepair.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

I basicly have zero knowledge of the geocache.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

No kidding? You've been given a link to learn about it from the best resource out there. Use it and learn how the game works before you go shooting off your mouth.


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## BDSmith (Nov 16, 2009)

It's definitely fun. My friends say they have better things to do than search for other people's garbage. I thought it was stupid until I tried it though.


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

ME:

"Took 3 dollars, left worthless Mcdonalds toy, THANKS!"

This is a great thread, makes me smile.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> Took 3 dollars, left worthless Mcdonalds toy, THANKS!"


is that what happened when you visited a geocache?

at first read i thought you meant you bought a happy meal, gave them 3 bux said keep the change and the freakin toy.

not to hijack my won thread, but all those toys (disposable) are probably more of a detrement to the environment than the geocache.

It's not that I'm against the geocache, but I'm not about to jump on board sight unscene.

btw: hunting geocahce reminds more of amazing race concept then csi. however I watch csi, not amazing race. However they had a episode on csi, sort of a geocahce type thing. I think some guy book marked his GPS where he dumped the bodies in the desert. It was a recent episode and invloved all three csi show, fla, ny, vegas


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

> btw: hunting geocahce reminds more of amazing race concept then csi. however I watch csi, not amazing race. However they had a episode on csi, sort of a geocahce type thing. I think some guy book marked his GPS where he dumped the bodies in the desert. It was a recent episode and invloved all three csi show, fla, ny, vegas


I think the trolling has gone far enough. Nice job though OP, it was one of the more original and fun trolling posts of late.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jkmacman said:


> is that what happened when you visited a geocache?
> 
> at first read i thought you meant you bought a happy meal, gave them 3 bux said keep the change and the freakin toy.
> 
> ...


Oh boy...go to the stinking website already and look up a few caches in your area. You will see phrases like that in the logbook. The toys and other things (sometimes people put much cooler stuff in the cache) are INSIDE the cache container (if the container is big enough) and do not cause harm. Common containers meant to house stuff are military ammo containers. Other containers can be fake rocks, fake logs, tiny sealed aluminum containers, and sometimes containers are covered with natural material (sticks, moss, leaves) to disguise them. Many containers fit nothing but a logsheet for you to sign your name. TINY.

Geocaching is nothing like any TV show. There are some caches where you can realistically die searching for them (look up the username Vinny & Sue on geocaching.com). Others require specialized equipment (like a helicopter or SCUBA gear or a boat).



> I think the trolling has gone far enough. Nice job though OP, it was one of the more original and fun trolling posts of late.


Unfortunately, I don't think this is a troll post.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

am I no longer 'troll-master'...
man...this sucks  :band:


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> ~Disc~Golf~


this i understand troll master

geocaching seems like a gimmick


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

Scrabble, wtf?...Now *that's *a gimmick.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jkmacman said:


> this i understand troll master
> 
> geocaching seems like a gimmick





> There are *945,712* active geocaches around the world.


Does that sound like a gimmick to you?


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> geocache does not appear in Merriam-Webster's Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 4th Edition.


okay;

i'll agree geocache's are ubiquetous, but it hasn't made it to the official scrabble dictionary (yet)!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

remember, in scrabble, colloquialisms and slang are allowed


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

highdelll said:


> remember, in scrabble, colloquialisms and slang are allowed


I dont no about dat. I rarely ever if even watch Married with Children. Sometimes I like da Golden Girls, but not so much Married with Children. There was once an eppisode were the oldest of the old ladies met some young guy and it was funny but not at all like Married with Children.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> GEOCACHE SITE - PLEASE READ
> 
> Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!
> 
> ...


okay:

you win, since these geodetic discs have been around for years, there grandfathered in. now we have these gps devices to track em down.

ENJOY!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I geocache...but only socially...


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## MultiRider (Dec 27, 2005)

It kind of scares me to think I might be riding past these geo thingies without even knowing it. Therefore, I think we need the government to step in and monitor them very carefully. Each and every state government should set up one or more new agencies that are well staffed and drive Hummers or black Dodge Ram duallie pickups or something equally intimidating and inspect the sites frequently. Not just a small sample, but ALL of them. They should ensure nothing is left in the containers that might pose a choking hazard or have lead paint or nuclear material or a jack-in-the-box that might scare someone into a heart attack or anything else hazardous. Then the federal government can create a huge database to track and monitor all the sites across the country. Then Obama can appoint a Czar who will hire hundreds of additional civil servants to really get it under control. Everyone on this thread should call their congressmen and demand immediate action!!!


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## BDSmith (Nov 16, 2009)

If it takes priority over the health care bill, I'll start making the phone calls now. We only have to delay it until election time 2010. After that, I don't think it's getting passed.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

MultiRider said:


> It kind of scares me ... immediate action!!!


don't forget about lead!


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*you should always be careful when hiking near a cliff.*

There's at least one geocache related fatality recently:


> Man dies in cliff fall at Dishman Hills Natural Area
> McKay Allen | KXLY4 Reporter
> Posted: 2:44 pm PST November 16, 2009
> Updated: 6:55 pm PST November 16, 2009
> ...


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Hmmmm.



jkmacman said:


> anyone got this? like? dislike? getting? got ride of?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=574471


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

slocaus said:


> Hmmmm.
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=574471


Like I said before, I don't like it bringing creepy people into the woods.

Now I have to worry about a Troll (jkmacman?) hiding in the bushes with his GPS and his X-men action figures, spying on us "muggles".


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> X-men action figures,


That might not fit in a cache box. I saw a video yesterday, and the box was basicly a 'hide-a-key' compartmemt.

Growing up in NYC, the subway tokens (no longer used) would make ideal geocaching trinkets


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

jkmacman said:


> That might not fit in a cache box. I saw a video yesterday, and the box was basicly a 'hide-a-key' compartmemt.


It would fit in here, but mostly people just stash bodies in caches of this size.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

you could put a couple bodies in this one:










This one, on the other hand, could only fit something about the size of a finger.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

so I must of picked a bad time of year to start geocaching. 2 attempts including today on the mtb and no cache yet. Today i even came within 1.5 ft

you can see on my garmin where i paced around. i started mtbing at this place a few months ago, and i did my normal loop knowing the cache is near the end of my loop
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/21375765

i'd recommend this to another mtber. however i'd note, i left the bike on the trail and paced up a snowy mountainside about 25 yards to an area with large rocks and brush


> N 40° 54.727 W 074° 25.925 [Other Conversions]
> UTM: 18T E 547826 N 4529156
> 
> In New Jersey, United States [View Map]











cache is not far from this parking lot


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

3rd cache attempt and still no luck. a fellow geocacher pmed me and said he couldn't find it either (placed behind tv wor channel 9 bldg in secaucus, nj on hackensack river).


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## clutch_08 (May 5, 2009)

fun game to go out and look for them when there is nothing to do. i have found a couple of them


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## Datalogger (Jul 5, 2008)

That pinecone/camera film holder is a clever disquise. I can't imagine trying to find that on the forest floor!


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*4th time is a charm*

My 4th attempt at geocaching and I finally found one. Be that as it may, it was nearly within 25 yards of an urban mtb ride I do to the meadowlands and where the ny giants & jets play. The last game ever for the jets game is tonight. jets vs. bengals for a playoff birth



> Traditional Cache Goodbye, TEB: Low-flying Bees
> A cache by shortcutsrus Hidden: 10/22/2009
> Size: Size: Small (Small) Difficulty: 1.5 out of 5
> Terrain: 1 out of 5 (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
> ...


You can read about the mtb rides to giants stadium here on this forum
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=555087


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