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It's funny. Laugh. Hardware

Clammy Modding 191

Posted by Hemos from the air-that-off dept.
japala writes "Some people tend to have cold hands while they type the keyboard or use the mouse. Equally as many suffer from sweaty palms and that feels really annoying while using the mouse. MetkuMods have made couple of tutorials in true DIY spirit that will try to make your life easier. These devices may have started as a joke but trust me, they do work. See the MouseFan and BreezePad."
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Clammy Modding

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  • Now if only... (Score:5, Funny)

    by tool462 ( 677306 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:05PM (#6576165)
    ...they could come up with something to deal with those nasty keyboard "spills" for when I'm conducting my online "research".

    • Keyboard condoms suck. (Score:4, Informative)

      by oneiros27 ( 46144 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:34PM (#6576337) Homepage
      They change the 'bounce' factor of the keys, but they do exist:

      Of course, you'd have to find one that actually fit your keyboard.

      I've been debating on getting a waterproof keyboard [pcpartscollection.com], for the computer in my kitchen. [so that I can have easy access to recipies online and/or watch movies while cooking]

      • Keyboard condoms... weird, but have their place (Score:4, Interesting)

        by redwolfoz ( 558476 ) on Thursday July 31, 2003 @12:03AM (#6577133) Homepage

        If you send them a photocopy of your keyboard, most companies will produce a reasonable keyboard skin for you.

        It's still very much a love it or hate it thing... you have to weigh up whether the weird rubbery texture and lack of key feel is worth ignoring to keep crap out of your keyboard. But if you're really jittery with your first caffiene source in the morning, it may be a cheaper option than constantly replacing fried keyboards.

      • I saw one. Completely flexible, you can roll it, wash it, it's corrosive-resistant, completely plastic-sealed, looks cool and even doesn't feel bad in use. It's not heat-resistant though so don't put some hot pan or other pot on your keyboard. And watch for the plug - the wire is covered with the same plastic, but the plug is normal.
      • Those waterproof keyboards suck. I've owned two of them. Eventually the seal breaks, air gets in, and the keys all 'bubble up' makes it impossible to type.
    • ...they could come up with something to deal with those nasty keyboard "spills" for when I'm conducting my online "research".

      Holy Cow! Pete Townsend reads SlashDot.
    • ...they could come up with something to deal with those nasty keyboard "spills" for when I'm conducting my online "research".

      Let me guess... you work part-time compiling site filter lists for Net-Nanny?

      Yeah, that's what I tell them too.

    • Re:Now if only... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by BigBlockMopar ( 191202 ) on Thursday July 31, 2003 @12:15AM (#6577193) Homepage

      Now if only...

      ...he'd hooked the BreezePad up to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner rather than a wimpy little computer fan.

      HoverMouse, anyone?

      I should try mousing on the air hockey table to see how slippery it is....

      Seriously, too. To cut acrylic (or most other plastics) neatly, use masking tape along the line you're cutting (helps avoid chips). Don't use metalworking tools if you can avoid it, the teeth are too fine and get clogged. Saw *slowly* because the friction will melt the plastic. Pouring water (ie. from a garden hose) as you cut is good to wash away chips and keep the piece cool. Leave the paper backing on the plastic until you're done *all* the cutting and drilling. Deburr the holes by using a countersinking bit BY HAND for a couple of turns. And finally, always remember: measure once, cut twice! [grin]

      If you need this to work with an optical mouse, make sure any LEDs in the pad are a very different color. Mine, for example, has a red LED and I'd imagine that its sensor is designed for that, so blue LEDs would probably upset it very little... but I haven't tested it.

      Once you've got the cutting and drilling done, you could take off the paper backing and take the piece to a sandblasting shop and have them blast it gently with walnut shells or other soft blasting media. That should frost it nicely so that it works with an optical mouse, and the whole thing would glow, too.


      • The last thing, too.. Don't power anything like this (the pad or the fan) off a PS2 port. I think that most of them are fused for about 20-50mA at 5V. You'd be better off finding a mouse with a pair of extra wires and making a little adapter at the computer end to drop 5V or 12V from the power supply into the mouse. It might be a good idea to consider adding an inline fuse there, too. (If the dog eats the mouse, you don't want to lose your uptime record when the power supply cuts out.)

    • Heh (Score:2)

      by xombo ( 628858 )
      From the last page of the breezepad:

      Again something that will get overly popular instantly. Hehe, I wish. ;)

      Be careful what you wish for! I know I am going to show this to my friends and rig one up, and I know alot of others will too...

    • Re:Now if only... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by kasperd ( 592156 )
      nasty keyboard "spills"

      Some keyboards can actually be disassembled and cleaned. Reassembling the keyboard is the tricky part. As soon as you have opened the keyboard, you will know if it is one of the easy or the difficult to reassemble. If there are more than 100 pieces scattered over the floor, it is going to be difficult. Trust me I have tried it. OTOH I actually have one keyboard where there were only five pieces inside. Easy to clean and reassemble. I have yet to find a shop, that will let me see ho

  • Errr... (Score:4, Funny)

    by SugoiMonkey ( 648879 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:06PM (#6576168) Homepage Journal
    I wonder why their hands are sweating?

  • What about sweaty fingers? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:07PM (#6576177)
    Does anyone actually use their entire palm with their mouse? I've always used just my fingers so that only my wrist has to move around rather than my entire arm (insert masterbation jokes here).
    • Umm, I rest my entire palm on the mouse, and I can still move my wrist without moving my arm.... I'm afraid I don't understand what you're getting at.
    • Try turning up your mouse sensitivity or acceleration. I can crank mine up and send the cursor across the screen with a sneeze.
    • I don't know, maybe all these people have small hands, but I just lightly grasp the mouse with my fingertips. Thumb holds the left side of the mouse, ring and pinky on the right, and index and middle over the buttons and wheel.

      I move mostly with my forearm (to avoid carpal tunnel problems) but that works fine. I find that if I do rest my palm on the mouse for a few moments, it does get sweaty, but that's why I don't do it.
      • Hey, this site looks interesting, as I actually suffer from the 'sweaty hands' problem.

        I grasp my mouse with my whole hand. It's not an ergonomic mouse, but it fits nicely into my hand (I rest my hand on the mouse, instead of holding my hand over it). Lately, my hands have just been sweaty, I haven't been able to figure out why (please save the masturbation jokes, please, I'm being serious). Typing is awkward because my fingers are sticky, and using the mouse is a pain because my hand sticks to it. It's re
    • >> I've always used just my fingers so that only my wrist has to move around rather than my entire arm

      Well, that's what most people do I think, including me. Though, in all actuality, you WANT to move your entire arm. Only moving your wrist is the way to get carpal tunnel, or at the very least get your wrist to bother you a little.

      Stephen

  • Palmar hyperhidrosis (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sstory ( 538486 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:07PM (#6576178) Homepage
    People who have this condition so bad that their mouse shorts out have Palmar Hyperhidrosis, and it can be treated by applying antiperspirant to your palms several times per week. I read an article about it. It's totally weird. dripping hands all the time.
    • I saw some medical thing on a cable channel about how you could cut a specific nerve to simply make the sweating stop. Interesting.

      Meanwhile, it looks like the site's dead already...

      • Re:Palmar hyperhidrosis (Score:5, Funny)

        by Dark Lord Seth ( 584963 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:19PM (#6576259) Journal
        I saw some medical thing on a cable channel about how you could cut a specific nerve to simply make the sweating stop. Interesting.

        Well, maybe a new area of interest for the masochists among us: self-modding! Open arm, cut nerve, insert obscene amount of blue leds, etcetera!

        • I saw some medical thing on a cable channel about how you could cut a specific nerve to simply make the sweating stop. Interesting.

          Well, maybe a new area of interest for the masochists among us: self-modding! Open arm, cut nerve, insert obscene amount of blue leds, etcetera!

          Check out the body modification websites to see that this is neither new nor nifty:

          ick [bodymodification.com],
          ick [bodymodification.com], and double-ick [bodymodification.com].

          GF.

      • Re:Palmar hyperhidrosis (Score:3, Informative)

        by 1029 ( 571223 )
        I'd have to suggest against getting that surgery for anyone with HH (hyperhidrosis). I myself have HH, and looked into the surgery extensively. The surgery causes compensatory sweating on your upper body and it seems that many (though not all) report that the compensatory sweating is just as bad - if not worse - than the palmar HH.

        That said, there is something you can do that is cheaper, less risky, and more effective. Check out drionic [drionic.com], which is a device you can use that will stop sweating for up to
        • Did you look into some of the aluminum chloride drying preparations that you can apply to your hands? It might be easier than soaking your hands in an ion bath.

          You could also consider Botox if the ion bath stops working. You'd have to have a regional nerve block (injections into the palms tend to be VERY painful, particularly when you're getting the dozens per palm that HH typically requires), but you get months of effectiveness out of it. The botox also seems to work better/longer with subsequent usage

        • you know this guy's a mod freak... (Score:5, Funny)

          by switcha ( 551514 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @10:50PM (#6576701)
          my favorite line: I didn't have a 1/2" drill bit, so I drilled a smaller hole and widened it using a Dremel tool.

          See, a normal guy would have just gone and bought a 40 cent drill bit while he was out shopping for parts. With the gratuitous Dremel use, we know we have a true modder on our hands, here.

      • Cutting one of your nerves, ANY nerve, should be an absolute last resort.

        Most people don't know that nerves are one of the least-regenerative cells in the body... they can sometimes regrow axons, but it can take months, and only works if the severed nerve is micro-surgically realigned (if you don't exactly realign the epineurium, which is the outer sheath of that nerve bundle, your odds of regrowth go down dramatically), and cutting nerves can have unexpected consequences.

        Operations to sever nerves are s
      • I just started looking for a site on the net with 'stop sweating' but realized the hot IT chick I work with will be looking through logs of the sites I visited, you only get once chance to make a first impression!
      • Cutting the nerve is a very-very bad idea. The real solution is to implant the switch:

        Gotta work? Switch off your sweating. Gotta go? Don't forget to switch it on (or you will regret soon when experience the compensatory sweating).

        Well, combining the switch with the timer will work even better: gotta work, switch off your sweating nerve, that activates the timer, in 30 minutes it will switch it on again as a reminder that you have to breake for coffee, washroom or better to some stretch excercise, 10 mi

    • Re:Palmar hyperhidrosis (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I knew someone with it. He couldn't use pencils because the sweat would wipe around the graphite and you couldn't read what he wrote. Even then, every paper he used seemed like it was water damaged.

      It really sucks.

  • How about babypowder ? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bobo333 ( 693563 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:07PM (#6576181)
    just a thought. Good enough for MJ before a game.

  • Sweaty Palms -- Dirty Mouse Pads (Score:5, Interesting)

    by srw ( 38421 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:10PM (#6576195) Homepage
    I used to work in a computer store. One of our staff would spend most of the day sitting at a computer in the showroom playing Everquest or whatever other game was new at the time. Another employee would daily replace the grimey mouse pad. Seriously, after 8 hours of gaming the mouse pad would have a very noticable, ugly stain on it.

    • Smokers (Score:3, Interesting)

      by phorm ( 591458 )
      How about mice/keyboards themselves? At work, it's pretty easy to pick out the ones used by smokers, as the yellow chunky residue makes its way onto their keys.

      Having to do any service work that involves touching those keyboards is just gross - and it makes me wonder that if it's mucking up the keyboard that badly, what is it doing to their body?

  • Sweaty Palms (Score:5, Funny)

    by Eberlin ( 570874 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:10PM (#6576199) Homepage
    Could it be that their palms are sweating because of the impending slashdotting that they KNEW they were going to get?
  • "These devices may have started as a joke but trust me, they do work."

    ...I think it was something about the frequency at which suckers enter the world.

    But seriously folks, this reminds me a lot of how pharmaceutical companies fabricate diseases, and then conveniently provide a treatment (never a cure) for said imaginary medical condition.

  • if these things really work (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Nf1nk ( 443791 ) <nf1nk@NOSpAM.yahoo.com> on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:16PM (#6576233) Homepage
    It hese work and it looks like they could. I think I would rather have this tech in my steering wheel on my car. I know that after about four hous driving my hands start to hurt from the moisture build up
    • How tightly do you hold the steering wheel? Loosen it up a bit, eh?

      You know, you can remove one hand from the wheel for a short time to stretch it and air it out, without much risk of crashing through the kindergarten playground. Just don't try to stretch out both hands at the same time until you've mastered the art of steering with your knee.

  • When I saw the title, I assumed the article was about mods based on Scientology [online.no].

  • Ahead of you in Japan... (Score:5, Funny)

    by I Want GNU! ( 556631 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:22PM (#6576271) Homepage
    Yup, they've already thought of this in Japan, where the toilets will clean your derrière. No, I'm not joking...to quote from a random article [theplumber.com] about this:
    An American diplomat was at a dinner party in a Japanese home when he excused himself to go to the bathroom. He did his business, stood up and realized he didn't have a clue about how to flush the toilet.


    The diplomat speaks Japanese, but he was still baffled by the colorful array of buttons on the complicated keypad on the toilet. So he just started pushing.

    He hit the noisemaker button that makes a flushing sound to mask any noise you might be making in the john. He hit the button that starts the blow-dryer for your bottom. Then he hit the bidet button and watched helplessly as a little plastic arm, sort of a squirt gun shaped like a toothbrush, appeared from the back of the bowl and began shooting a stream of warm water across the room and onto the mirror.


    and so on..

  • the Peltier effect is cool! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by sentientbeing ( 688713 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:22PM (#6576276)
    I thought those ideas were a bit lame. I know the mouse fan was a joke, but I wouldnt want the fan generating all sorts of harmonics on the 5v power line anyway. Screw all the signals up I reckon. Especially on the optical variety which uses signal processing.
    A Peltier cooling device on the 'other hand' (no pun intended) would be ideal and it can be molded to almost any shape mouse, and it uses constant current. Utilised in this project [geocities.com]

    • Re:the Peltier effect is cool! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by SharpFang ( 651121 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:35PM (#6576341) Homepage Journal
      Not really. The mouse has 4 wires - 2 for data and 2 for power, and it has pretty high tollerance for power (at least my logitech has :). Even the data lines are quite "strong". I tapped into the data lines, connecting them to amplifier, powered it from power lines and made a LED "activity indicator" that blinks whenever something on the PS2 line happens (i.e. the mouse is moved :)

      Note it's digital transmission, not analog, so you need quite strong line noise to break it.
    • The problem with Peltier is that it doesn't cool so much as separate hot and cold. To be successful a Peltier device requires (as your mod did) a heatsink and fan, or else it will overheat tremendously.

      And by adding a heatsink and fan, you have basically undone the reason for having a Peltier device in the first place.

  • Okay, but what about heating? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by SharpFang ( 651121 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:29PM (#6576312) Homepage Journal
    Can I get enough power to the mouse over existing wiring to add some heater device or do I have to replace the cable? What would you suggest as the heater - will a few plain higher-than-minimum power resistors suffice? Will I be able to run it from built in computer ATX power supply or do I need some extra external power?

    (that metal "inertia wheel" is very cool for fast scrolling but it gets damn cold in winter.)
    • The real question to ask is.... Does a modded mouse go faster?
      • According to thermodynamics, an average particle in a cooled mouse moves slower, so the mouse (being built from those particles) as whole will move slower too. Heating has opposite effect.
        • By definition the transitional energy of heat of the mouse in any given direction must be canceled out by an equal amount of transitional energy in the opposite direction. Therefore, rate of translocation (to "go") will remain unaffected by by the above mentioned phenomenon.

          Now if modifying the underlying structure of said device lowers the overall stability or utility quotient, the mouse will "go" into the trash more quickly. But I don't think that is what he was talking about.
    • You'd probably want to implement something like an automobile's rear-windshield defroster; shouldn't take more than a few watts, and I would assume that the mouse cable's +5 is tied directly to the PSU's +5 (especially with a USB mouse), so you won't run out of current. This would work best with an aluminum mouse casing, like the new Logitech MX series. I would also take some pains to thermally isolate the top plate from the circuitry, in case it runs too hotly.

      -- Hamster
    • Hmm. Can't you wrap some film/material around it that produces heat when you run electricity through it? It you're very brave, replace the mouse cable with one with two extra leads that draws electricity from one of those mini-transformers we use on our laptops etc. I'm not sure if you can puncture the film in order to accomodate the mouse wheel, though..
    • if I wrap air outlet from CPU fan and attach it to a pipe, lead the pipe along the wire to the mouse and let out air heated by the CPU? ;)

  • whups (Score:1, Funny)

    by Afbc0m ( 623144 )
    s s s s slashdotted
    that's another one
    welcome to slashdot.org, the worlds most organized dos attack

  • For those with sweaty palms... (Score:3, Informative)

    by BJH ( 11355 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @09:31PM (#6576320)
    ...you can already buy a suitable mouse (well, at least if you're in Japan).
    From this week's Akiba PC Hotline: the fan mouse [impress.co.jp].
  • Old news!
  • Am i the only one who thought of freezing up at modding a slashdot post you don't quite know what to do with?
  • This sounds interesting!
  • With vibrations coming from the fan, the mouse will be always sending SOMETHING. Not enough to make the cursor visibly move, but enough that a screen blanker will never go off.

    Now, is it good or bad news? :)

    • Not necessarily (Score:3, Informative)

      by cgenman ( 325138 )
      Mechanical mice work by monitoring a small beam of UV light as it passes through a pair of grooved disks (like those on an image master). In a very basic form that I'm sure will be picked apart, it counts the number of blinks of light that it sees. Therefore, if you move it a small enough amount you won't break the threshold for blinking the light on / off, and the movement won't register at all.

      I wouldn't be at all surprised if the vibrations were small enough that they wouldn't register on a consumer l
  • Arent sweaty palms the result of too much masturbation? Or maybe that's hairy palms?

    What happens if you have sweaty, hairy palms?? Perhaps we need the Norelco-RightGuard mouse to cure both ailments in one shot.
  • This may be filed under the "funny, laugh" department, but I would LOVE some kind of heating device for my hands. I work in an office which is always freezing cold in the summer (they crank the air conditioner, yet they complain about wanting to save money :-/ ), and my hands get so cold I find it very difficult to type.

    I would love to buy an electrical wrist rest heater (like those wrist cushions for RSI), but nobody seems to make one. :( In the meantime, I go through one of those chemical heating pads
    • One day I'll make a mouse heating mod everyone will be stunned with, but that's rather far future (keyword: petroleum). For now I just use that hyped in movies but really quite practical fingerless "hacker gloves".
    • I've been looking for the same thing. My hands seem to have a heat regulation threshold when the air temperature goes below about 69 degrees F. They switch into heat conservation mode: "The heat needs of the body core outweighs the needs of the periphery". The blood flow constricts, and the hands rapidly drop to the ambient air temperature (I've measured it with an infrared thermometer.)

      In the winter, I code with gloves with the fingers cut off like some character in a Dickens novel, and I spend a lot of

  • Just splash some of this stuff on your hands once every couple days and your palms will stop sweating. My understanding is it blocks your sweat glands from releasing perspiration, and doesn't let up for up to 72 hours. Its marketed as an underarm anti-perspirant under the name "Ultra-Dry," and can be found in most major drugs stores.

  • I posted this [slashdot.org] the last time I saw an article on mouse cooling. It was funny and we all had a few laughs. But a friend of mine came up with an interesting idea. If you hollowed out he back of the mouse and got a few of those reusable ice cubes you could just swap an ice cube in and out whenever you felt the need for some cooling.

    I pointed out that there might be some issues with condensation inside the mouse causing problems and he pointed me at my own post. Just stuff a little bit of some absorbant mater

  • reminds me of this story (Score:3, Funny)

    by dpletche ( 207193 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @10:14PM (#6576532)
    Teenager dies from deodorant overdose [dispatch.co.za]

  • BreezePad? (Score:4, Funny)

    by bobobobo ( 539853 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @10:28PM (#6576600)
    Sounds like some kind of feminine hygiene product if you ask me.

  • Wrist band (Score:2, Interesting)

    by NitroPye ( 594566 )
    Ive started wearing a wrist band for long strenchs at the computer. Its the best thing to happen to LAN gaming for me. It helps with wrist support plus it wipes away sweat from my brow or my palms. So if you want a functional wrist and sweat saver device that also acts a a great "punk rocker" fasion statement get yourself a wristband.

  • For more information... (Score:3, Informative)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @10:37PM (#6576633) Homepage
    Google Cache [216.239.39.104] of the original page, text only.

    A similar page [homelinux.net] at Homelinux, describing the modification made at metku.net.

    Yoshi DeHerrera's version [techtv.com] from screensavers. [techtv.com] Once again, the same idea, but from March 2002.

    A real modder's version [techimo.com] complete with unnecessary blue LEDs.

  • I'm living / working in Singapore... (Score:3, Funny)

    by canning ( 228134 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @10:47PM (#6576684) Homepage
    and it's hot and humid here 365 days a year. Do you think these guys would make a shirt out of this for me? I've constantly got the Norm Peterson sweat bra happening and it's getting embarrasing.
  • I don't know why I thought of this, but you could also cut a slit on the side of that fan mouse and attach the business-end of a whoopie-cushion in it. That way whenever you really want to annoy your office cohorts, just hold your palm firmly down over the air vents. :D

  • patentable idea? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Coneasfast ( 690509 )
    It hit me that maybe this mousefan (and probably breezepad too) is a patentable idea in the USPTO. It's certainly more innovative than some of the other garbage that gets accepted.
  • Typing with cold hands? I don't think that would make things too difficult, although it would undoubtedly make your hands a little stiffer, so you'd get typos, but you can always 'backspace' over those.

    I would be a lot more concerned about people who try to play the guitar (or any stringed instrument) with cold hands. This is extremely difficult to do, as your fingers don't bend just right, consequently hitting the wrong string or not hitting any string at all, missing it by a tiny distance. This degrades t

  • I swear this just happened... I read the story and went "Ha! What a bunch of nasty freaks, with their sweaty clammy hands!" and went back to working.

    2 hours later and my BLOODY HANDS WON'T STOP SWEATING! The gods, in their ever-ironic wisdom, have cursed me for my scoffing.

    Don't look at me... don't look at meeeeee...
  • I took out the trackball and put in a semi-opauqe blue one added a few superbright blue leds and some glue.......instant glow in the drak mouse. next is the keyboard....anyone know how much current the PS/2 port can provide and how much the average keyboard uses, I really don't want to go Thevinizing the fricking keyboard circuit to get a good number.......

  • What I want is a (very) low powered heater to waft warm air through the keyboard. Me thinks, it wouldn't have to be that powerful, don't want to burn my fingers or melt the keyboard.

    Don't know about you geeks, but my hands turn to ice blocks when I spent more than two hours on the PC when I'm at home.

    M
  • I was surprised to see this on Slashdot, I know the mouse mod is two full years old. Check the date at the bottom, Aug 2001.
  • Cold fingers in room-temp environments usually indicates a problem with circulation, which can in turn be a stress-related issue. (Diet and exercise may have something to do with it, but I don't know.)

    In any case, extra heating (of the mouse), might be a help, as may be such herbal medicines as Ginko Bilboa, (which has been found effective in improving microcirculation to the head, hands and feet.), but I tend to think that if something is stress-related, then drugs and mechanical fixes are not as good ov
  • See the MouseFan...
    Hey, neat. Now I can overclock my mouse. What's next? Water cooling?

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