Joe Flood's Blog, page 38

Murder on U Street – Book Cover Preview

Book cover preview! Here’s the cover for my upcoming novel MURDER ON U STREET. Someone is murdering artists and hipsters in Washington, DC. It’s up to a jaded detective to solve the case in a city obsessed with money and social media. From parties full of bright young things to forgotten housing projects, MURDER ON U STREET depicts life beyond the monuments for ordinary people in DC.

Books about DC all seem to have the same cover – white columns and American flags. MURDER ON U STREET takes place in the city “beyond the monuments” and I wanted a cover that reflected that. Rachel Torda designed a perfect cover for it, one filled with drama that communicates that this isn’t your typical Washington murder-mystery.

MURDER ON U STREET is a sequel to my earlier book, MURDER IN OCEAN HALL. If you like books about DC, check it out. Both books are part of my “Beyond the Monuments” series which is set in neighborhoods most tourists never get to see.

Look for MURDER ON U STREET later this month! It will be available on Amazon and Kindle.

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Friday Photo: Perfect Weather Edition

It’s not often we get such lovely, cool days in July! I liked the clouds and the softball players in the foreground so I took this iPhone photo as I was running/walking around the Ellipse. I enhanced it a little bit using the Photos app and cropped it to zoom in on the players. I also put the monument off-center to make it more visually interesting. The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang used this photo for their PM update.

Here’s to more great days like this one!

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Making a U-Turn through the Stop U-Turns on Penn Protest

Why doesn’t the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) protect the bike lane in front of the Wilson Building?

That was the subject of the recent protest, Stop U-Turns on Pennsylvania Avenue. Local cyclists (including me) created a human shield to protect those using the bike lane that runs down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue. While DDOT has installed “park-its” (little  curbs) to discourage drivers from making u-turns along most of Penn, it has declined to do so along the 1300 and 1400 blocks of the avenue.

DDOT says it’s studying the issue. Coincidentally, the 1300 block is home to the Wilson Building and a gaggle of DC Councilmembers, known for their reckless driving and park-anywhere attitude. They enjoy making u-turns on Penn, among other, greater offenses.

It’s dangerous to make a u-turn across a bike lane where people are riding in both directions. There have been three reported incidents of cyclists getting hit by cars just on this block.

The park-its have made a huge difference on the rest of Pennsylvania Avenue, where I used to see cars making u-turns across the bike lane every time I rode it. That’s largely ended, thanks to the park-its.

At the protest, we formed a human shield of about fifty riders to protect the unprotected blocks. We lined the bike lane where the park-its should be. Police officers on bikes and in cars were there to keep everyone safe.

Surely, no driver would attempt to make a u-turn through the protest, right? Hah! Crazed DC drivers aren’t going to let people on bikes get in their way, even with cops all around! I saw at least three illegal u-turns in just thirty minutes, demonstrating a shocking disregard for traffic laws and human life.

Someone even made a u-turn through the protest! There was a ten-foot gap between protesters so the crazed driver nosed his SUV through the line of people and across the bike lane. If you’re this reckless, you should not be allowed to drive in DC.

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Adventures in Multimodal Transportation (and Drinking)

Moves, an iPhone app, allows me to track my rambles. Gray is Metro, blue is biking and green is walking.

In most of the United States, there exists but a single transportation mode: driving. You use a car to get to where you want to go. Government has created a massive transportation infrastructure to accommodate that choice – roads of all sizes, gas stations on every corner, parking lots everywhere. Other transportation modes (biking, buses) are distinctly secondary, if they exist at all.

Only in the centers of the most urban of cities is life any different. In select urban areas, other kinds of modes exist. Haphazard government planning has resulted in the occasional protected bike lane. Lack of regulation allows companies like Uber to start. Streets designed in previous centuries accommodate pedestrians who walk to work.

In a multimodal environment, you pick the right tool for the job. You can’t just drive and park somewhere – parking might be expensive or not available or you might not have a car (like me). Instead, you select the transportation mode that works best for you, balancing a mix of a factors including time, hassle, expense and convenience.

While these choices may seem complex, after a while you learn what works best for you. And it won’t be just one mode. My day on July 2 is a good example of what it’s like to live in a multimodal world.

Destination: U Street Metro

Mode: Bike

Time: 8 AM

Distance: 1 mile

Cost: Free

Every weekday, I trek from Logan Circle to Silver Spring for work. The first leg involves  biking one mile to the U Street Metro. I bike because it’s easy, fun and quick. Most of the journey is along the 15th Street Cycletrack, a protected bike lane that makes it safe. I have two bikes – a Specialized Sirrus and a Breezer folding bike. I take the Breezer because it’s the cheaper of my two bikes so less likely to be stolen. Even so, I keep it locked up with a Kryptonite lock at the Metro. Safety is an important consideration in urban environments.

Destination: Silver Spring

Mode: Metro

Time: 8:10 AM

Distance: 6 miles

Cost: $3

I’ve biked up to Silver Spring before but it’s nothing but hills and traffic so I take Metro instead. I take the Green Line to Fort Totten and switch to the Red Line. Most of the time, it’s a pleasant, uncrowded reverse commute that takes 20 minutes or so. My commute costs around $120 but actually it’s even less because I can take that money out of my paycheck pre-tax as a transportation benefit.

Destination: Whole Foods Silver Spring

Mode: Walk

Time: Noon

Distance: 1.2 miles (round-trip)

Cost: Free

There’s nothing good around the office so I typically walk up to Whole Foods in Silver Spring for lunch.

Destination: U Street Metro

Mode: Metro

Time: 4 PM

Distance: 6 miles

Cost: $3

Weirdly, on the reverse-reverse commute, the Metro ride home typically takes 5-10 minutes longer than the morning.

Destination: Home

Mode: Bike

Time: 4:30 PM

Distance: 1 mile

Cost: Free

On the way home, I rocket down 13th Street and go around Logan Circle, which is always fun. However, it’s impossible to make a left on Rhode Island to my apartment building. Instead, I go to the next corner, stop, wait for the light to change, then turn around and come back. It’s one of those minor inconveniences that you get used to as a bike rider.

Destination: Aveda Salon

Mode: Walk

Time: 5 PM

Distance: .5 mile

Cost: Free

I got a $40 haircut! It was quite pleasant actually. Part of the reason I chose the salon was that it was within walking distance.

Destination: Glen’s Garden Market/McClellan’s Retreat

Mode: Capital Bikeshare

Time: 5:30 PM

Distance: 1.5 miles

Cost: Free (normally $8 for 24 hours but I had a coupon)

If you’ve visited DC, then you’ve seen the red Capital Bikeshare bikes. They’re impossible to miss. I took one from Logan Circle to Dupont Circle to meet friends for drinks at McClellan’s Retreat. I knew it was the fastest way to get where I was going and I had a coupon. And I didn’t want to have to worry about my bike, or about drunk-biking home. And they’re just fun to ride every once in while.

 

 

Destination: GBD

Mode: Walk

Time: 7:00 PM

Distance: .5 miles

Cost: Free

After a couple of bourbon-heavy drinks at McClellan’s Retreat, I had a hankering for fried chicken and biscuits. Thankfully, I could walk to GBD. I think I would’ve been a little wobbly on Bikeshare.

Destination: Home!

Mode: Walk

Time: 8 PM

Distance: 1 mile

Nice to be able to walk home without having to worry about a driving a car after a couple drinks.

Analysis

Distance Covered: 18.7 miles

Total Transportation Costs: $6

Bikes, trains, walking – multimodal transportation can seem complicated. But if you look how I transited around a busy urban area, it’s a model of low-cost simplicity. If I had to drive to all the places listed above, I could’ve easily spent $50 on parking, as well as the aggravation of dealing with DC traffic. Plus, biking is quicker for virtually any trip in the city.

So, give multimodal living a try. Ride a bike. Walk to the corner store. Take a bus downtown. There’s probably more than one way to get to where you’re going.

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Art, Coffee, Bikes… Frederick?

I’m kinda old to be a social media hipster but I was recently selected to be part of Enterprise Carshare’s #CarShareDC crew. Guess they liked my Instagram shots of beer and bikes.

As a member of the crew, I get to take three free day trips this summer courtesy of Enterprise. Anywhere within 100 miles of DC is within my domain. In return, I have to take photos and share them on social media. I’d do this all on the iPhone, of course.

For my first auto excursion, I went to beautiful downtown Frederick to have lunch with my talented photographer friend Mary-Kate McKenna.

Here are some pics from the trip:

Enterprise has cars around the city. I chose a Ford Escape, which was parked in an an alley about a block from where I live. It handled DC’s potholes with aplomb and was surprisingly maneuverable. Accompanying me, as always, was the foldy bike.

Plenty of room for my foldy! Next time, I’ll have to bring my real bike.

Gas is included but you may have to fill up the tank yourself. A gas card is in the glove compartment.

Downtown Frederick. It’s about an hour from DC. Leaving after rush hour, I didn’t run into any traffic.

Miss seeing this girl! I worked with MK at NOAA before she went away to bigger and better things.

MK at Carrol Creek in Frederick.

I’m selfieing along Carrol Creek, which is a linear park which runs through downtown Frederick.

Lunch was at Pretzel & Pizza.

Earthbound, part of Angels in the Architecture by William Cochran. Frederick has a lot of art like this downtown.

Vintage bikes! Coffee! All my dreams in one store: Gravel & Grind.

Cortado.

Vintage bikes which have been fixed-up and modified.

A thing of beauty. Love that rack on the front.

After coffee, I took my foldy bike for a little spin around Baker Park.

When you’re all done, you return the car to its reserved parking space. To end your trip, you put the keys in the glove compartment holder and swipe your Enterprise card on the windshield sensor.

Trip #1 was a success! After I put the car away, I went to Glen’s for a $4 beer.

Look for more adventures in carsharing coming this summer!

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The Changing Face of Biking in DC

Tulips along the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, DC.

There’s a perception that biking is something that’s only done by men on expensive road bikes aka MAMILs (middle-aged men in lycra).

But, if you bike around DC like I do, you see just about every kind of person in the bike lanes – female executives on red Bikeshare bikes, bearded hipsters on fixies, Salvadorans on beat-up mountain bikes, students on vintage cycles, eccentrics on Bromptons and even whole families on cargo bikes.

For an all too-brief spell, we had an enlightened city government that invested in bike infrastructure, such as the 15th Street Cycletrack, a bike lane protected by a line of parked cars. This made biking safe for everyone – I even see little kids in the cycletrack. And during rush hour, there’s a traffic jam of bikes in the bike lane.

A typical day in the 15th Street protected bike lane, as kids, golfers and tourists make their way around DC.

No matter the weather, #BikeDC rolls on.

I’m no MAMIL. Selfie in the cycletrack.

“You’d have to be crazy to bike around DC.” I heard that regularly twenty years ago, when I biked. You only biked on the weekends, and on trails like Rock Creek Park – but you’d never think to bike during rush hour, because it was way too dangerous.

Protected bike lanes, Capital Bikeshare and other advancements normalized the idea of biking in the nation’s capital, turning an activity once done only by crazed bike messengers into something that even tourists could do. Washingtonians and visitors discovered that biking was the fastest way to get around town – and the most fun.

Capital Bikeshare deserves a huge amount of credit for this development, making biking easy – you don’t even need to own a bike anymore – and commonplace, as hordes of the ubiquitous red bikes spill out onto the streets every day.

Capital Bikeshare riders along the Potomac.

Bikeshare riders on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Biking in DC is no longer just the province of fit young men. Everyone rides now, a change that has been documented in the excellent Women of BikeDC series, which profiles female bike riders. There’s less racing and more slow riding. Fewer road bikes and more upright Dutch-style city bikes.

And with these changes has developed a tremendous sense of community, where cyclists get together at events like DC Bike Party and rides organized by BicycleSpace and others. You can also find them sharing information virtually using #BikeDC on Twitter.

DC Bike Party at Dupont Circle.

Riders at Tour de Fat.

DC Donut Crawl passes the White House.

Biking has changed in DC. The face of biking is changing as well. Nelle Pierson was recently appointed as interim director of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association. If someone is going to represent #BikeDC, than I can think of no one better than Nelle Pierson. She’s creative, outgoing, rides every kind of bike and is great at expanding the bike community, like with her Women and Bicycles program which matches up new cyclists with mentors.

Nelle Pierson and Pete Beers distribute bike lights on a bitterly cold winter day in Silver Spring, MD.

I first met Nelle a couple years ago at a WABA happy hour. She was there with her mom and the two of them had rode over on a tandem – how cute is that?

The great thing about biking in this city is the chance to run into your #BikeDC friends. You meet people at events and then see them biking around town. Sometimes, you even stop and chat for a moment, something you could never do in a car.

Biking to the Metro one morning, I saw this cool old tandem. It was Nelle and her mom, on the way for coffee with women bicyclists.

All this amazes me. Protected bike lanes, Capital Bikeshare, #BikeDC – I never would’ve imagined this and I love every bit of it.

This progress was possible due to the efforts of WABA. A strong WABA benefits everyone who bikes in DC. If you haven’t joined already, join! Help Nelle and WABA make biking easier and safer in DC.

I can’t wait to see what happens next as the biking community in DC grows and expands. We may never be Copenhagen. But we can aspire to be a city where biking is safe, normal and fun.

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If You Suck at Mobile, You Suck at Life

According to a recent Harris Interactive study, 63% of consumers who encounter a bad mobile experience from an organization also believe that the organization’s other channels (web, telephone, in-person) will also be disappointing.

In other words, if you suck at mobile, you suck at life. Consumers judge an organization by iPhone. Does your site work on this mobile device? Does it use a responsive design? Can you do everything on a device that you can  do on a computer?

That was one of the key insights that stood out for me at Harnessing the Power of Digital Analytics for the HIPPOS, Honchos and Home Team, a symposium put on by the Digital Analytics Association in Rosslyn, VA.

This half-day workshop delved deeply into how individuals and analytics teams can demonstrate how carefully analyzed and reported data can improve the performance of whole organizations, not just websites and digital resources.

Speakers included Rudi Shumpert (Adobe), Kevin Novak (2040 Digital), Steve Mulder and Michelle Bellettiere (NPR), JJ Cramer (Foresee), Amber Zaharchuk (Maas Media) and Brian Keefe (ICF International/ NCI’s Smokefree Project).

The statistic on mobile use came from Kevin Novak’s presentation. It underscores the primacy in mobile when it comes to delivering customer experiences. A good web site is not enough anymore – you need to provide a great iPhone/iPad experience as well.

Over the past five years we’ve gone from no one having a good mobile device to everyone having a great one. Mobile users don’t just use their devices when they’re away from home. iPhones and iPads have become a “second screen” experience, used while people sit on the couch watching TV. You no longer have to get up to use a computer to check something online – you can do it with a swipe of your iPhone.

What’s different about measuring mobile? 67% of mobile users rely on mobile while at home #DAADC #AlwaysOn #digitalmarketing

— Mitko Gerensky (@mitkowebsage) June 4, 2015

Mobile devices have also fostered the rise in social media. As awesome as these social tools are, they’ve moved digital executives away from what’s most important: usability. Actually looking at web analytics restores that focus. It can guide the team to identifying and fixing problems on your web site. Every team should have a digital analyst. The Digital Analytics Association provides certification and other forms of training for aspiring analysts.

500x more data created in 2012 than from the beginning of time to 2003. #DAADC @CRAFTdc @evantheross pic.twitter.com/KdHotzLxTV

— Matthew Atkinson (@Atkinson1864) June 4, 2015

But it’s still a very new field. We’re swamped in data from user interactions and only just beginning now to understand it. Nearly every organization is in the early stages of trying to make sense of their own usage data.

National Public Radio (NPR) provides an example of what the future looks like. With stations around the country, just getting everyone to use Google Analytics was a challenge. Steve and Michelle from NPR created a standard analytics dashboard for station managers, focused on two simple measures:

Is my audience increasing?
Is my audience becoming more engaged?

This is a great example of using data to drive decision-making. As they mentioned during their talk:

Data without analysis and storytelling is like food without taste.

It’s the responsibility of analytics professionals to not just report the data. It’s up to them to find meaning in it.

The future of Analytics — where we need to go @RudiShumpert #daadc pic.twitter.com/qFR1C6HiAR

— Anna Long (@webbylytical) June 4, 2015

Data offers objective truth. You may not like that people aren’t visiting the CEO’s blog but the numbers don’t lie. Smart organizations will use this information to adapt. They will evolve from relying on HIPPOs (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) and make decisions based upon what’s revealed in the analytics.

Thanks to Foresee for sponsoring my attendance for this fascinating forum.

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Employees Are the Brand

Your employees are your brand, according to an all-star panel of communicators at the recent workshop, “Building an Agency’s Brand and Defining the Audience.”

The Federal Communicators Network (FCN) and the Partnership for Public Service sponsored this conversation on how to build a strong brand and better define your audience. This lively discussion featured real-world stories from professional communicators who have honed their organization’s brand and established a clear customer base.

Panelists included Danielle Blumenthal (NIST), Bill Walsh (AARP), Suki Baz (National Park Service) and moderator Dave Herbert (NGS).

Suki Baz began by describing the rebranding efforts going on at the National Park Service. They have a logo that’s iconic and instantly recognizable. However, the design of the NPS arrowhead is limiting, as it was designed before the needs of web pages and social media. As their 100th anniversary approaches, they’re reintroducing their logo with a fresh new feel that’s designed to appeal to millennials.

However, NPS recognizes that to appeal to younger audiences they need to do more than just change their logo. NPS is adding to their social media teams and encouraging their parks to actively engage with younger audiences, particularly online.

(An aside: of course I asked NPS about how they never respond to my tweets! Unsurprisingly, NPS is a large bureaucracy like any other one. Suki has little control over what local park districts do. So, how do you get in touch with a park if you have an issue? She suggested calling.)

Another organization that has approached rebranding is AARP. For most people, it’s an organization synonymous with senior citizens. The arrival of a letter inviting you to join AARP is like an official acknowledgment of old age. Bill Walsh of AARP hopes to change all that. AARP no longer stands for the American Association of Retired Persons. Instead, it’s just AARP these days. They’ve modernized their web, print and social media materials to reach out to Baby Boomers – you only need to be 50 to join. These efforts fall under a single banner: Real Possibilities. AARP no longer wants to be known just for travel discounts – they want to be seen as an organization that will help you reach your potential through career and life advice.

Employees are a key element in this transition. AARP has offices nationwide and a cadre of volunteers. Field offices have been provided with briefing materials and messaging guides so that the organization can speak in a single, consistent voice.

Danielle Blumenthal underscored this point with examples from her career in federal government. Her experience is been that most people don’t read the employee newsletter. The way to reach busy employees is through short, concise, valuable content. Instead of doing a newsletter, she suggests sending out a daily email with the three things that you need to know for the day. You need to focus on value (the things employees care about) and be real (speak as a person, not an organization). After all, the first people you need to sell your brand to are your own employees.

Employees are brand ambassadors. The public builds impressions of brands based upon the experience they have with them. New logos and redesign efforts are only part of the solution to modernizing a brand. Employees are the key element in any transition for they embody the brand.

For More Information

When Building Your Brand, Trust Your Mission (FCN writeup)
Video of Event (Vimeo)

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Bike to Work/Airport Day

May 15 was Bike to Work Day, a nationwide celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun, and healthy way to get to work.

It’s a huge event in DC, with 79 pit stops around the region to receive refreshments, swag and a free commemorative t-shirt! I had shirts from the past three years – no way was I going to break my streak.

One problem: I was scheduled to fly out of National Airport at 8:35 AM. Could I attend Bike to Work Day and make it to the airport in time for my flight?

I was determined to find out. And I would do it by bike (of course).

That meant taking a backpack. Can’t exactly bike with a suitcase. But I was going to Florida so didn’t need much more than shorts and a swimsuit. And a Kindle. And sunscreen.

I prefer to travel light, anyway. Who wants to check a bag, pay a fee and then have to wait for it when you reach your destination? Not me.

Bike to Work Day dawned with perfect weather – sunny and in the low 60s. I hoisted my backpack, hopped on my Specialized Sirrus and hurried down the 15th Street Cycletrack.

My Bike to Work Day pit stop was Freedom Plaza. Located at 14th and Pennsylvania, it’s a great open-air plaza where you can see the Capitol in the distance. I got there about 6:45; they weren’t scheduled to open until 7. Pretty sure I got the first t-shirt issued – they had to open one of the boxes for me.

Bike to Work Day t-shirt.

Very early at Bike to Work Day

Let’s Riide.

I made a quick walk around the plaza. WABA was there, ready to advocate for biking in DC. Whole Foods was passing out granola bars and bananas. Riide Bikes offered me a test ride on an electric bike. Sadly, I had to decline – I had a plane to catch!

It’s a lovely ride to the airport. I went around the Ellipse, looped around the Lincoln Memorial, crossed the Memorial Bridge and then rode down the Mount Vernon Trail as bike commuters headed the other direction into DC.

Twenty minutes later, I was at National. It’s very easy – you just veer left off the trail as it goes by the airport. Then follow the service road to USAIR baggage claim. I rolled my bike into the airport – no one paid me any attention – up the elevator and across the pedestrian bridge to the Metro. Around the right of the Metro entrance are a couple of bike racks.

My route to National Airport.

I’ve arrived!

And I mean a couple – just two, which were already occupied with bikes. I couldn’t squeeze my bike in there so locked it to a fence instead.

After going through security, I was at my gate with a good thirty minutes to spare. Biking to the airport is so easy that I’m surprised more people don’t do it. Good thing they don’t – DCA doesn’t have enough bike racks. And it would be nice if they had someplace a little more secure than some racks by the Metro.

But even better than biking to the airport is biking home. By doing so you miss the worst of the airport experience – luggage and taxis. My packed flight from Florida arrived Sunday night. While everyone trooped downstairs to wait for their bags, I headed for my bike. I wheeled by passengers plaintively staring at the carousel. Then I passed a line of broken-down cabs waiting to gouge people desperate to get home.

I am the Night Rider.

Best at night.

The Mount Vernon Trail was dark and buggy and gorgeous. There were plenty of people out. Kids clustered at Gravelly Point to watch planes land. Joggers huffed and puffed. I passed a couple of women on a long-haul excursion, their bikes loaded with panniers and lit up like Christmas trees.

It’s a good thing that I know the Mount Vernon Trail like the back of my hand because there are no lights on it. I might’ve ended up in the Potomac if I didn’t know where I was going. The headlight on the front of my bike seemed inadequate for the task.

I was glad to reach the streetlights of Memorial Bridge. I stopped at the Jefferson Memorial. It was calm and quiet, with just a few school groups climbing the steps. I took my time coming home.

 

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The Amazingness of iPhone 6 Video

After upgrading from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 6, I was shocked at what good photos it could produce. I took some snow photos when I first got it and had a hard time distinguishing them from what I shot with a DSLR. They were so sharp and so clear to be uncanny.

The Shot on an iPhone campaign is true. It’s an amazing camera.

With the iPhone 5, I didn’t shoot much video. One reason was lack of space – I had the 16GB model. When I got the iPhone 6, I opted for the 64GB model so that would no longer be a problem.

And I started shooting video. Apple has made it effortlessly easy, as I discovered shooting this cherry blossom clip. The camera compensates for everything – exposure, hand-shake, moving – to produce sharp and beautiful video.

For example, check this clip out of the Royal Knights at the DC Funk Parade. I’m hand-holding it, backing up as the band goes by. It’s amazing to me that everything (even the sky) is properly exposed and that the image stabilization works so well. You’d think I was using a dolly, rather than just holding it steadily in two hands.

Look at it in HD and full-screen to appreciate it.

The iPhone is the most popular camera in the world because it made digital photography easy and accessible. The iPhone 6 will do the same thing for video.

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