Posts

Remember the cute girl, Amixia, whose videos I post?  She actually commented on my blog.  Go to Post #338.  It's weird how the world works sometimes...

Let me just say this:  Amixia is really cute, a good guitar player, and an excellent singer.  She also makes my pants fit funny.

THAT IS ALL

Current Standings

Picklez  141  (5th place, 10 points behind the leader)

BabySteps  132 (8th place but essentially last)

LG  136 (7th place)

Tiny Tanks 142 (3rd place)

12 right.  Not too shabby.  I haven't had to rely on the Mr. Quarter at all.

Week Fifteen Picks

It's really coming down to the wire here.  Unless I do abominably, I should be able to stave off BabySteps.  LG would have gained another point if she had picked a winner in the MIA game.  Four Upsets this week.

IND @ JAC - The question isn't whether or not IND will rest their starters.  The question is what JAC team is going to play and is the JAC 1st string as good as the IND 2nd string.  Picklez Pick:  IND

DAL @ NO -  DAL sucks.  There's no getting around it.  They have the tools and the talent but not the will.  Picklez Pick:  NO

NE @ BUF - A suckfest to be sure.  I don't think that NE is psyched out enough to lose to BUF.  Picklez Pick:  NE

ARI @ DET - Last time I checked, DET was still terrible.  Picklez Pick:  ARI

MIA @ TEN - Upset #1.  In a question of "Who wants it more?" the answer is MIA.  Picklez Pick:  MIA

CLE @ KC - I was just as surprised as everyone else that CLE defeated PIT; however, the trend for PIT is to lay down for crummy teams.  In fact, they got the AFC Sucktacular Trifecta (KC, OAK, and CLE).   Picklez Pick:  KC

HOU @ STL - Upset #2.  Screwston is so unpredictable.  Suck Louis is predictably sucky.  Picklez Pick:  HOU

SF @ PHI - Who would have thought San Fransuckso would have beaten ARI?  PHI is firing on all cylinders and is looking to pull ahead even further in their division.  Picklez Pick:  PHI

CHI @ BAL - Wow.  Pork Cutlet is one of the worst quarterbacks of all times.  Picklez Pick:  BAL

OAK @ DEN - Will OAK surprise DEN with a road win?  I think not.  Picklez Pick:  DEN

CIN @ SD - This could be a preview of a playoff game...  Picklez Pick:  SD

GB @ PIT - Upset #4.  The season was over for PIT in their loss to OAK.  It died when they lost to CLE.  Picklez Pick:  GB

NYG @ WAS - So if Peypey gets to sit for most of his game on Thursday, the power of Manning! will get charged up considerably for Eli's use on Monday.  That's the theory anyway.  Picklez Pick:  NYG

CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!  PINK, PINK!  WATCH THE BLITZ!

This is a public announcement.  I filed my divorce papers today, hired an investigator to find the boss, and will most likely be hiring them to serve the papers. 

The whole thing has run me about $300 plus what I have to pay to have the papers served.  Shenanigans.  I'm sort of irritated about the money, but guess what?  I'm more irritated that the Boss has been taking advantage of me all these months.  Really and truly, I probably would have given her all the way until December 2010 to get her stuff out if she had just cooperated, but now, she will have until June 30, 2010 (if she shows up to court).  I may be able to ask the court for a change to the agreement if she doesn't show.  That means on Feb. 4, 2010 everything in the house will be officially mine to throw away. 

The thing is that I probably have another 6 months worth of cleaning to do.  I don't know.  Maybe two full weekends if I pony up the money for a dumpster.  It's mainly scraps of paper, fabric and stupid art stuff.

END OF LINE

Over the weekend, BabySteps introduced me to the finer points of tasting and enjoying wine; thus, it's probably needless to say that I didn't like it.

Background

BS told me that 2010 will be the year in which I "man up" and start learning and enjoying the finer things of life.  This included becoming more educated in the art of choosing and tasting wine.

For the record, I just started drinking beer maybe a year or two ago.  I also enjoy cocktails and mixed drinks when the mood suits me.  I have never been a fan of wine.  There are only three exceptions to that.  First, I find the wine you get at communion in church is pretty tasty.  After all, it has been transubstantiated from mere fermented grapes into the very Blood of Christ.  Just sayin'.  Second, a while back I had some sparkling white wine at the Man Ranch that the Medic had brought over and I found that to be tasty.  Lastly, the plum wine that GM smuggled over is pretty good too.

Bottomline, if I am going to drink wine it needs to be sweet.  If I'm going to drink hard licquor, it needs to be sweet.  I can handle regular beer now, but I prefer the Leinenkugel Berry Weiss.  If I can't get that, Guinness.  If I absolutely have to drink an American mass marketed beer, I'll take a Bud Lite Lime or a Michelob Ultra.

His name is BabySteps and he's the worst at what he does...

In case you're wondering what that is, it is opening a bottle of wine.  Also, for you non-geeks, I'm referring to one of Wolverine's catch phrases.  So anyway, instead of using a cork screw BabySteps uses this thing:

Ah-so

  Instead of using a traditional cork screw, BabySteps opts for this Wolverine type claw thingy.

0 for 2

In my lifetime, I've seen BabySteps open two bottles of wine with the stupid contraption he shown above, and both times the cork got stuck inside the bottle.  The first time this happened, GM wanted to do a toast so we could all start eating and drinking so there's GM holding his glass up and rolling his eyes while BabySteps pushes the cork into the bottle.  The second time I've seen him open a bottle of wine was last night.  He failed yet again and splashed wine all over himself.  FAIL!

Just so there's no hard feelings BabySteps, here's a little video on how it's supposed to be done:

Sorry it's off center.  I'm too lazy to adjust the embed code.  Hmmm...  Doesn't seem too difficult.

At any rate, BabySteps is standing there telling me how corkscrews are for plebians and that true wine aficionados don't use a corkscrew, blah, blah, blah.  Then he pushes the cork into the bottle.  Then he splashes the wine all over himself. 

You can't just drink it

After he pours the glasses, he then proceeds to give me a list of things I have to do before I actually drink the wine so that I can enjoy it.  He also goes on to talk about the different types of wine like Merlin, Caberet, and some frenchy sounding stuff.  Hey!  I don't really care.  As far as I'm concerned, he's talking about wizards, Liza Minelli movies, and using surrender language. 

So here's what he tells me:

1.  Swirl the wine around in the glass and smell it.  "You want to get the full boquet!" he says.

2.  Look for the "halo".  Apparently, if it is a good wine it will have a supernatural glow to it like the aurora borealis or something.

3.  Swirl and smell it again.  [BabySteps is winking and smiling at me as he does this.]

4.  Before sipping the wine, acclimate your mouth and prepare your taste buds to receive the wonderous sensations and texture of the wine by swishing it around in your mouth.  "Remember, this isn't mouthwash.  Gently wash the wine over your gums and tongue.  Let it caress the inside of your mouth with its velvety smoothness."  WTF!  This is getting gayer by the second.

5.  Swallow the wine slowly and not all at once.  "This is good wine!  It's not to be gulped down like a fruit punch flavored Gatorade."

6.  Enjoy the warmth and intricate taste sensations the wine provides in your subsequent sips.

The Verdict

It was gross.  It was like trying to swallow room temperature ocean water.  I didn't like it.  BabySteps accused me of being a "fruit" for liking sweet wine.  My arguement to that is he is a fruit for enjoying swallowing warm slighty salty and bitter liquids.

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Hello everybody!  I'm Picklez and I've just noticed a new dance craze sweeping the dojo.  It's called the Testing Week Shuffle!  This is not to be confused with Archie Bell and the Drells' "Tighten Up" (which I something I recommend these students do) or the Chicago Bears' terrible "Superbowl Shuffle".  Here's how you do the Testing Week Shuffle:

1.  Don't take your karate training seriously.

2.  Don't make any effort to learn.

3.  Make the realization that if you don't learn the material you won't get to test.

4.  Complain (or have your parent complain for you) about poor instruction.

5.  Scramble like hell to learn the material.

Yes.  It's that time of year again and everytime I think that I am past the point of having to do the Testing Week Shuffle.  I should just be merciless and not let the people test, but if I at least don't go through the motions of trying to help them, then there will be Hell to pay.

I always know who it's going to be, too.  I'm like the Nostradamus of Suck.  When will people learn that I'm not kidding around when I say you have to practice at home.  Hardly anyone listens to me and then they are surprised when I tell them that whatever I'm watching them do is terrible. 

This time around I have people with eligibility issues.  In other words, I have people who started the class this quarter that are ready to test and people who have been in for nearly 8 months doing the Testing Week Shuffle.  It's sad and it's a slap in the face to everyone.  On one hand, I have to say, "I can't let you test because you don't have the requisite number of classes despite the fact you are very good at what you're doing" and on the other hand, I have to say, "I can't let you test because you're terrible despite the fact that you've been in for nearly a year."  (Ironically, it's pretty much the same as the Shihan dilemma I'm suffering.)

One of the biggest conflicts I have is that the people in question are so borderline as to the material.  I mean, they are making very small mistakes.  Of course, if they had been busting their asses for the past 2 months, I would let them slide a little on those mistakes.  But simply on principle, I shouldn't let them test to teach them not to wait until the last minute.  These are truly the times it sucks to be a karate instructor.

END OF LINE 

Current Standings

Picklez  129  (5th place, 8 points behind the leader)

BabySteps  120 (8th place but essentially last)

LG  126 (6th place)

Tiny Tanks 131 (4th place)

I don't know what to say.  I'm slipping.  I've got to buckle down and and have a good week.  I'm still over .500 though.

Week Fourteen Picks

I'm pretty much going with the trend.  There are some "upsets" but there is nothing surprising.

PIT @ CLE - PIT has decided to sort of suck this year; however, they are still better than the Browns, unfortunately.  Picklez Pick:  PIT

NO @ ATL -  Upset #1.  For some reason, NO is the underdog.  Are they not going to use their starters or something?  I think they've clinched the division and homefield advantage for the next 5 years with their awesome record.  Last week's game wasn't the blow out I expected, but they still won.  Picklez Pick:  NO

GB @ CHI - I think on paper, GB is the better team.  Pork Cutlet did OK against Suck Louis but c'mon... Picklez Pick:  CHI

DEN @ IND - If IND loses a game, this will probably be it.  Still going with the power of Manning! though.  Picklez Pick:  IND

BUF @ KC - Wow!  It's like choosing between getting hit in the nuts with a tack hammer or having a thumb tack driven into your penis...  Picklez Pick:  KC

CIN @ MIN - MIN lost in to ARI in a preview of what may be to come for the playoffs.  CIN as well as they have performed this year doesn't have what it takes to beat Favre and the Vikings.  Picklez Pick:  MIN

CAR @ NE - Jeez, Louise.  What a suckfest.  Poor execution versus poor play calling.  Picklez Pick:  NE

MIA @ JAC - Upset #3.  They eeked out a win verses NE, but JAC very rarely plays two games well in a row.  Picklez Pick:  MIA

DET @ BAL - No brainer!  Hooray!  Picklez Pick:  BAL

SEA @ HOU - Screwston!  I hate them so much.  But I just can't pick the Suckhawks to win this game.  Picklez Pick:  HOU

STL @ TEN - Suck Louis cannot beat TEN.  Picklez Pick:  TEN

WAS @ OAK - OAK gets the NFL "giant killer" award this year.  WAS isn't a giant though so OAK will go back to their losing ways.  Picklez Pick:  OAK

ARI @ SF - They're going to bring their show on the road and give Suck Francisco the what for. (The non-gay version)  Picklez Pick:  ARI

I AM DETERMINED TO WIN THE VOX GROUP THIS YEAR!

I found this SNL clip amusing.

I like it when people tool on Al Gore.  It's sort of ironic.  He invented the internet and now he gets mocked on it.  Also, the way the people very quickly clear the stage only to come back 30 seconds later is funny to me.  You stuck in the 80s people should like the Clause Future guy, too.

I want you to see this, too.  It's sort of gross, but funny.

I don't know why I think this is funny.  As far as country music goes, I sort of like Reba. 

Here's the last one.  A lego version of one of the funniest scenes in Spinal Tap.  No, it's not the "Eleven" scene.

Simple lines, inter-twining.  Hahahahaha!

THAT IS ALL

Current Standings

Picklez  119  (5th place, 9 points behind the leader)

BabySteps  109 (8th place)

LG  116 (6th place)

Hangtime  83 (dead last)  Out for season!

Tiny Tanks 121 (tied for 3rd place)

Hangtime.  He started out so well...  I did terribly.  My upset picks killed me.  Oh well...  Looks like LG is going to pull the same thing she did last year which is whip out in front of me in the last few weeks of the season.  BabySteps sucks this year.

Week Thirteen Picks

Nothing too crazy this week.

NYJ @ BUF - Suckalo has done all but self-destruct.  Will Sanchez throw nothing but picks this game?  I hope not.  Picklez Pick:  NYJ

PHI @ ATL -  I'm going to root, root, root for the home team despite the fact that they are woefully inconsistent.  Also these four words:  PHI, Hate, 1000, suns.  I wonder if PHI will let the dog murderer run a few wildcat plays?   I'm going to pick PHI though because Ryan and Turner are out.  Picklez Pick:  PHI*

STL @ CHI - I made the mistake of picking Suck Louis to beat the Suckhawks.  No such luck for them this week despite the fact that DA BEARS are sort of DA FAIL!  Picklez Pick:  CHI

DET @ CIN - No brainer.  Picklez Pick:  CIN

TEN @ IND - A much harder pick than it seems.  TEN has been on a tear as of late.  Is the power of Manning! waning?  Not for Peypey.  In fact, he uses it so much that Eli is really struggling.  Picklez Pick:  IND

DEN @ KC - I'm not sure how DEN was able to defeat NYG, but I think it had to do with swearing...  Picklez Pick:  DEN

NE @ MIA - MIA lost to crummy Suckalo.  NE got disassembled like Johnny Five by the unstoppable NO.  The game is really kind of up in the air, but I'm going with NE simply because I hate it when MIA wins in Pheaderation Stadium.  Picklez Pick:  NE

NO @ WAS - If NO stays focused and keeps playing as a team, then they should easily win this game.  Picklez Pick:  NO

TB @ CAR - Screwalina is more like it.  Picklez Pick:  CAR

HOU @ JAC - Upset #1.  Let me say this for Screwston.  These bastards never stop trying.  Trying to screw me that is.  Let's see what happens.  Picklez Pick:  HOU

SD @ CLE - Sorry Browns.  You had your chance for another win and you blew it.  Picklez Pick:  SD

DAL @ NYG - Two NFC-E rivals go head to head for a terribly mediocre game!  Picklez Pick:  DAL

BAL @ GB - What a crapfest!  I'll go with GB because they seem to play much better at home.  Picklez Pick:  GB

I DIDN'T WATCH A SINGLE GAME LAST WEEK!   

 *Changed pick thanks to BabySteps injury update.

For my Internet heart that is.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Stinakat!

She is an acoustic guitar playing gal with the voice of an angel and a body to match!  Amixia, you better call me girl if you don't want to lose me!

I like this cover version of this song better than the last one I posted.

This one is an original song!  It has a very soothing, jazzy vibe.  Wonderful!

This is a great song in its own right.  She really makes it her own though.  Wow!  I think I have a case of the vapors coming on!  Oh wait.  Just gas...

THAT IS ALL

Hey there, campers (and lurkers)!  Here's the run down of my Thanksgiving Holiday.  But before that, I want to share this video with you.  I'm sure I could have done it in the last post, but this one is serious (and can't be embedded).  I posted the song a while ago and here is the video.  I have but one thing to say:  Shakira is teh HAWT.  LOL!!!!!!101

And that's all I have to say about that!

Special Visitor

On Tuesday night, the Medic came by class and we went to eat Thai food afterward.  I also paid for my TA dojo shirts and the initial run of the JKS shirts.  Basically, I sunk about $700 into the venture.  I hope I can sell those damn shirts.  They're pretty nice.  The TA shirt says "TA" in Japanese and then has Y* underneath that.  The shirt is royal blue like those ones I have from Japan.  The cool thing is that they are moisture wicking shirts.  Perfect for going underneath a uniform.  The shirt will run $25.

The JKS shirts are a different matter.  There quite a few of them I will be giving away.  The whole premise of the JKS is to promote full contact fighting and act as a Booster Club for the main Y* organization.  The whole thing could come crashing down on my face if the higher ups end up not liking it.  What I've learned though is that my career is pretty much over and I probably won't be moving up again so instead of running things up the flag pole and seeing if people salute, I'm going to just get things going and if they want me to shut it down, I'll shut it down.  Everything is sort of a "proof of concept" to me now.  At any rate, we'll see if I at least make back my initial investment.  These shirts are pretty cool, too.  It says JKS in Japanese on the front left and then Y* on the left sleeve.  It is an interesting design to say the least.

Back to the point, it was nice to have another instructor come and visit the class.  The Medic is very good at karate and I can tell he has the drive to become a premier instructor.  He is always looking to make things better.  He just needs more facetime with the top guys, and he'll be allowed into the leadership structure.

Medic's wife and son observed class and went with us to dinner.  I've never seen the Medic's boy be so onery.  I mean really.  Anyone who won't give the Admiral "Good bye" loves is in a foul mood.  It's been a while since I've seen him though so maybe it was the whole "not used to other people thing".

We had a delicious dinner and the owner gave us a free dessert.  The Medic and I benefitted from this because it was a free Mango and sticky rice.  Since the Admiral hates coconut as does Mrs. Medic, we each ate an entire serving ourselves.  Yum!

Thankful

My holiday wasn't that eventful.  I played video games, relaxed, did laundry and dishes.  I am thankful though for the support all my friends and family have given me this past year.  I'm going to need a lot more in the coming months I'm sure, but I have a feeling that everything will work out in the end.

Not Thankful

I'll tell you one thing I'm not thankful for though.  I have to preface this with a statement or two.  First, I do all my business in the master bedroom bathroom.  On occasion I will release a Code Yellow in the upstairs bathroom, but other than that, I don't go in there much.  Second, I think it has been awhile since the Boss has come by the house.  Third, when she does come over she does her business on the 2nd floor.  All that being said, I went into the upstairs bathroom for a Code Yellow while I was playing video games.  Much to my chargrin there was a probably 3 week old Kansas City Floater in the bowl.  Ugh!

What kind of world do we live in where a person refuses to flush out of spite!  I should have taken a picture and had it entered into evidence for the divorce proceedings as Exhibit P.  The "P" is for "Poop".  Just damn!

Games

I'm not going to do full reviews of the games I got.  I'll have to say that I got quite a deal.  I got Assassin's Creed II, Borderlands, Battlefield:  Bad Company, and Prince of Persia (4? - Whatever it is, it is the latest iteration of the game.  I don't think they are linear anymore).  Basically, I had a coupon for buy AC II get a used game for 20% off.  They were also running a special on buy two used games and get one free.  I talked with the manager and convinced him to let me stack the discounts.  I ended up getting to play video games pretty much throughout the holiday.  I probably won't get to play again until X-Mas what with all the goings on and all.  I didn't get to the Prince, but I finished AC and got deep into Borderlands, and scratched the surface with Battlefield.

Assassin's Creed II

I really enjoyed playing this.  I finished it (but not with all the collectables found and what not).  I liked the first AC and it seems like they fixed the problems that were in the original.  Most importantly, they moved the plot of the story forward.  I'm not saying I agree with the direction, but it moved forward and I am greatly anticipating the next installment (I think it is the final one).

If you like conspiracy theories and Dan Brown type plot lines, then this game is for you.  The story really sucks you in and there are points where you have to remind yourself that the game is just a game and it is NOT a clever tool used by the Knights Templar to make revenue and draw attention away from what they're really doing.  Or is it...

As I said, all the game mechanics have been improved, but there are still a few things that seem pointless.  There is a "Noteriety" system much akin to the GTA stars.  The thing is that there isn't any penalty for being completely notorious.  Supposedly, guards recognize you right away and start chasing you, but there was still a significant delay before they would actually chase you.

One of the other problems in the gameplay was that they gave you a lot of really cool tools to use, but most of them went unused.  The only new feature I used was hiring people to distract guards.  That's it.  You can now move bodies which you can do to hide the bodies or to distract other guards.  There also new weapons like poison and smoke bombs, but here's the kicker.  You never once get a mission where using the poison is useful or necessary.  Sure it's fun to assasinate someone with the poison and watch them thrash around for a minute or two, but that's it.

They changed the blending mechanic so you can put yourself in the middle of any group of citizens and blend in to hide.  The problem is that it doesn't work if guards are actively searching for you i.e. you entered combat with them and are running away.  That's another thing.  There's no point in running away.  You are superior to everyone in everyway, so why run.  The other thing is that my goal was to assassinate someone in the middle of a market and then just blend into the crowd and walk away.  You don't really get to do that because your target is too smart to walk near crowds of people or there is a super alert guard walking right behind the target and if you kill the guard the target gets wise and runs - Mission over.

They added money to the game to buy items, but they give you money as a reward for completing story and secondary missions so you never really need the money.  Also, everything you bought was sort of an investment so the money you spent would come back to you later.  When I finished the game I had over 300,000 gold florins.  In those days, screw being an assassin.  I'm going to take it easy for the rest of my life!

Borderlands

This is an action RPG.  It's along the lines of Fallout but not as depressing and not nearly as immersive.  It is a cel-shaded first person shooter with RPG elements.  I really like it, but I've got a beef already.  I think my game file got corrupted and I can't complete a mission.  The problem is that the mission is to assemble a new revolver.  Errrr.... 

The story is kind of throw away.  You are on a desolate planet and there is supposedly a vault of treasure on the planet left by aliens.  You are an up and coming adventurer out to find the vault in the hopes of making enough green to blast off to better pastures.  Whatever.  The thing that keeps you coming back are the weapons.  You are always looking for that new weapon.  This one does acid damage!  Sweet!  That one does electric damage!  Awesome!  This one just hits hard as hell!  Boo Yah!  Head Shot!

You can't customize your weapons.  It's all about finding awesome loot and then having to make hard choices.  Do I want raw firepower or a chance at elemental damage.  I don't like that you can't store weapons anywhere to come back and look at it later.  I have some great weapons that require a few levels higher before I can use them, but I don't necessarily want them in my inventory right now.

I hear that the game can be played split screen and online.  That is probably pretty fun.  Other than WOW or other MMORPGs the thought of playing an RPG with someone (other than D&D) seems odd.  The thing is that whoever hosts the game, that's whose game is affected.  So you could call in some ringers to help you with a tough mission or you could invite lower level folks to share in some awesome loot.  Nice.

Battlefield:  Bad Company

Can a war game be funny?  Not really.  Can it have a good sense of humor?  Absolutely.  I got this game as a temporary stop gap before I invest in CoD: MW2.  It was a good investment for a mere seeing as it was the free game.  It's your typical FPS but with humorous characters at your side.  The AI doesn't seem to kill anyone except when I've got the bad guy right in my cross hairs.  I find that a little annoying because someone will often times pop up behind me and shoot me in the back.

At any rate the dialogue is snappy and funny.  The characters are sort of stereotyped though.  You are all part of B company which is the dumping ground for the people too worthless to transfer to other units but not dangerous enough to be locked up.  You are basically "cannon fodder".  Your squad is lead by a sergeant who is one day from retirement (and he's black), a demolitions guy who is a redneck, and a brainy SAW gunner who wears glasses and talks too much.  You play the part of a very Jake Gyllenhall-ish guy who screwed up and was sent to Bad Company but sort of has the heart of a poet and is just along for the ride. 

I need to mention that it appears that no one else in the company does any work.  I mean a company is three platoons and you only get to see 4 guys.  Whatever.  The plot of the game is that you are tangling with Russians and then you come in contact with some mercs.  The mercs are paid in gold and you stumble across this during a skirmish.  Your squad goes AWOL and decides to go after the mercs and their gold.  Meh.

The game play is pretty solid.  You can heal yourself at anytime.  You carry one weapon and a secondary weapon.  The secondary weapon is usually grenades or some sort of grenade launcher.  If you get the sniper rifle it is paired with a pistol.  You also get one gadget.  It can be a air gun for repairing vehicles, C4, an RPG, or a radio that can call for mortars.  The RPG and C4 have limited ammo.  The radio can be used after a 15 second recharge time.  The power tool is unlimited.

The guns all pretty much shoot the same.  It's all about the aiming reticle.  Some guns have better range and others are more powerful while others have a larger magazine capacity, but it's all to the same end.  Shoot the enemy.  The vehicles differ in that there are tanks and APCs and light duty vehicles like humvees.

The graphics are pretty good, too.  Nothing earth shattering, but it looks nice.  I like the lighter atmosphere of the game.  The antics of your squad mates are actually humorous without being overly annoying.  I give this game a bargain thumbs up!

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