Valar Guild

August 28, 2016 Sunday Meeting

5pm EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace

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Transcript work by
Ar-Pharazon and Varda.

Attending: (5)
    Arien-(Valar)/Arien V, Ar-Pharazon-(V)/arpharazonv, EonweValar, LenweV/perseid28, VardaValar1 (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Web:
    Art: new from the Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: Radagast
After-meeting:
    Personal gaming
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
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Before-meeting
Ar-Pharazon-V (ArPharazonV) has entered the room.
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya, Another 30 minutes yet, no hurry. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Good, farming Maraudon a few times for the epic dagger, then.
Varda Valar: Good luck!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, thanks. 25 kills so far, no luck ;-)
Varda Valar: yikes
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hah, kill 26 got it :-D
Varda Valar: Woohoo!
Varda Valar: Time to start inviting
Varda Valar: Any sign of Arien?
Ar-Pharazon-V: poked
Varda Valar: Thank you :-)
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Varda Valar: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Varda Valar: Membership:
Varda Valar: Some folks showed up in LotRO that we haven't seen lately. Sorry I missed them but yay that they came!
Varda Valar: They'll be mentioned during the LotRO news.
Varda Valar: Web:
Ar-Pharazon-V: (also, talking to Fladrif right now, who's in Hearthstone!)
Varda Valar: oh yay!
Varda Valar: Hi to Flad :-)
Varda Valar: Should I wait a little?
Varda Valar: Have some new pics to share
Ar-Pharazon-V: He says hi back!
Varda Valar: ~
Ar-Pharazon-V: Alright, he's coming in as a passive tree :-)
Varda Valar: yay lurking trees in the landscape, that sometimes move in a startling way. :-)
Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Arien V: aiya beautiful people!
Varda Valar: Aiya Light of our life :-)
Varda Valar: Steerer of the Sun
Varda Valar: We were hoping for the lurking of an ent shortly
Varda Valar: also
Varda Valar: We just arrived at the Web section
Arien V: very well :-)
Varda Valar: Arien, you had some membership news?
Arien V: yep :-)
Arien V: unfortunately i didnt see Pallando last week online but i did see Helm in WoW , and on skye here actually visiing his gran, mom and daughter AND it was nice to see him pop by in the shop :-)
Arien V: the daughter is going to drama college in Aberdeen soon  , she passed her exam with good grades this year
Varda Valar: Congrats to her ;-)
Varda Valar: :-)
Arien V: thats  al :-) . and i let him know :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Seems Fladrif's got trouble logging in with his new harddrive install.
Varda Valar: ouch
Ar-Pharazon-V: Still trying though!
Varda Valar: Fangorn's computer seems to have been hit by a lightning surge, just enough to clear a lot of things including Windows 10, games, and a ton of files.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Ouch.
Varda Valar: He managed to get it operating again with much downloading, and it seems surprisingly ok.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Those files tend to be the worst.
Varda Valar: if a bit clearer of stuff.
Arien V: bleh .. i hope he has back up ?
Arien V: well yeah the advantage of starting with a clear harddisk was i had to get rid of no pre-installed rubbish :0
Arien V: and was able to get on it what i wanted and really need
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW and LotRO? :-)
Arien V: of course ^ and Eve , guild wars and Sto ^^
Arien V: and Heroes of the Storm and Diablo :-)
Arien V: Diablo 3 that is
Varda Valar: Games, the Essential Vitamins
Varda Valar: Fangorn has his games reinstalled too. :-)
Arien V: office and a picture viewer of course as well :)#
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Varda Valar: ok, going to give the Web news:
Varda Valar: We have new pictures to enjoy from the Bohemian Weasel. :-)
Varda Valar: She completed the painting of Eol the Dark Elf:
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Eol/Eol.htm
Varda Valar: There's Eol's page with the new image on top
Varda Valar: The other images for the work in progress are available down lower as links, maybe as small pics later on.
Varda Valar: Some of those are no longer available elsewhere.
Ar-Pharazon-V: He looks like he could use some sleep!
Varda Valar: Probably true :-)
Varda Valar: She also tackled a new subject, so we now have a page in her art for Radagast!
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Radagast/Radagast.htm
Varda Valar: She calls that a sketch.
Varda Valar: The Radagast page includes a YouTube showing some of the sketch work live, speeded up.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Some sketch, yes.
Ar-Pharazon-V: If you use paint to color it in, it's not a sketch!
perseid28 has entered the room.
Varda Valar: with music I can't think of the name, but related to birds. :-)
Varda Valar: Aiya Lenwe :-)
Varda Valar: We were just looking at two new art pages:
perseid28: Aiya everyone, sorry for the tardiness
Ar-Pharazon-V: I was just about to ask if you knew what the music was ;-)
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Eol/Eol.htm
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, it's in the credits of the video.
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Radagast/Radagast.htm
Varda Valar: Should be. What does it say?
Ar-Pharazon-V: "Arrival of the Birds" by the London Metropolitan Orchestra
Varda Valar: Thank you :-)
Varda Valar: Good to see you, Lenwe. :-)
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Eonwe! Welcome home. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Lenwe and Eonwe!
Eonwe Valar: Heya and thanks :}
Eonwe Valar: I managed to get at least a few minutes here, so yay me, hehe.
Varda Valar: Woot!
Varda Valar: One more repeat of our two new art pieces, :-)
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Eol/Eol.htm
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Radagast/Radagast.htm
Varda Valar: The Bohemian Weasel says about the Radagast art:
Varda Valar: (Drawn without bird poo, because he's worth it. ;p )
Varda Valar: We thank her for that!
Eonwe Valar: Indeed, hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: She certainly had the white paint for it if she wanted to.
Eonwe Valar: Poor movie-Radagast.
Varda Valar: True and true :-)
Arien V: ah i love these pictures :)]
Varda Valar: Great job, aye. :-)   And we know the Eol pic is original, no movie to base it on.
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Varda Valar: Gaming:
Varda Valar: LotRO:
Varda Valar: We have some chances to work with the Alliance and other kins, and offer our own events into the mix.
Varda Valar: Having missed out on the last few, it's good to see what the next ones are ahead of time, now on our News.
Varda Valar: RT raids, on saturdays (august 27th and september 3rd) at 3:30 pm, west-bree gate. This weekend should be Angmar region. Come get your First Age there! :-D
Story Tell cafe, on sundays (august 28th and september 4th), at Alliance kinhouse (8 long street, Haynwater, Bree-land). Come roleplay a bit, share a story, or a song!
Varda Valar: Also, here's the current event from the game:
Varda Valar: LotRO Bonus days: Buried Treasure Event now through Aug. 28.
Varda Valar: And LotRO news from Eonwe's Games Site :-)
Varda Valar: There was a new patch this week: Patch 18.2.4.
Varda Valar: And we can hear from Eonwe himself for the Rest of the News!
Varda Valar: Take it away, good buddy. :-)
Eonwe Valar: Thanks :}

Eonwe Valar: World of Warcraft:
Eonwe Valar: Just 2 days until World of Warcraft: Legion is out! The final stage of the pre-invasion event is going, and I hope you've utilized it well for your alts.
Eonwe Valar: I certainly did :}
Arien V: Aiya Eonwe @:D
Eonwe Valar: Several new previews are out this week: Ar-Pharazon-V: Same, got all the weapons, all the gear, and got my rogue up to the level he needs to farm Ravenholdt rep for my druid ;-)
Eonwe Valar: Hmm, guess I should've posted those links separately... the format didn't come over.
Ar-Pharazon-V: it works me, still see different links
Eonwe Valar: Check out the recent hotfixes.
Varda Valar: Eonwe also had some personal WoW branch news in his email
Eonwe Valar: WoW Lothar: Saw Elwing and Eowyn had been on. Crossed paths with Bofur.
Eonwe Valar: The Invasions are amazing for levelling, and if you have some Elixirs of the Rapid mind, they're downright insane. I got my Priest Kalasul a level and a half in 2 phases, and got my Warrior Sulenar from 58-ish to 100 in a couple of days of play.
Arien V: i ve been there as well but you werent ^^
Varda Valar: WoW Lothar?
Eonwe Valar: Ah, sorry I missed naming you, and moreso that I missed you in game :}
Arien V: yes :-)
Varda Valar: Cool!
Arien V: WoW Lothar
Arien V: and been a bit levelling on my shammi on Uldamana as well since you got to hjave a character at 70 before you can make a demonhunter ;)(
Eonwe Valar: Those two should've given me 5 total max level chars for the Achievement "Quintessential Quintent", but apparently the achievement as moved on already to the new max level of 110 without the rest of us.
Eonwe Valar: *Quintent = Quintet

Eonwe Valar: Diablo 3:
Eonwe Valar: Blizzard is asking for help in testing some optimizations on the PTR.

Eonwe Valar: Starcraft 2
Eonwe Valar: Check out the Patch 3.6 Preview.

Eonwe Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
Eonwe Valar: A balance update was released this week.
Eonwe Valar: See the new blog on what's coming in the next major patch: Introducing MVP and Commendations.

Eonwe Valar: Overwatch:
Eonwe Valar: 

The PTR is up.

Eonwe Valar: Thus ends my Gaming News :}
Eonwe Valar: For this week, at least :}
Varda Valar: Thank you, Eonwe. :-)

Varda Valar: Another note for LotRO
Varda Valar: Here's the folks that showed up this last week (alphabetical order this time, Phar ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hehe.
Varda Valar:
Bregalad/Quickbeam
Celebrian
Dis
Elwing
Fangorn
Gorlim
Lenwe
Marigold
Mirabella
Morwe
Nar
Varda
Varda Valar: In other gaming, StarCraftBroodWar for the team of Fangorn, Sauron, and Varda
Varda Valar: Marvel Superheroes saw Bilbo and Sauron
Varda Valar: They played other games but those I spotted.  :-)
Varda Valar: Any other games played this last week?
Varda Valar: where you saw fellow Valarites?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Saw Arien in chat in WoW :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: And of course Fladrif earlier.
Varda Valar: Very good. ;-)

Varda Valar: Eonwe has a another bit of Gaming Site news. Fire when ready.
Eonwe Valar: Thanks :}
Eonwe Valar: Look at your calendar, now back at me. Now back at your calendar, now back at me. What do you see? That it's the end of August, and September is upon us.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That time of year again?
Eonwe Valar: Yep, Phar sounds like he knows what I'm about to say :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: I just never can remember the full abbreviation (spelling?)
Eonwe Valar: The Games Site Mass-Update will be going soon, where I send out e-mails to get the most up-to-date gaming info from the Membership so we know what we're all interested in playing, who's playing waht, and how we can find eachother.
Ar-Pharazon-V: GSMU, that's it.
Eonwe Valar: If you have an online game that you play, that you want to find other Guild Members on and playing, you'll want to send in your gaming info for that game, once I've sent the e-mails out. Do not send it before I do, please.
Eonwe Valar: Any other time of year it's fine to send in updates as you will, but when I do this it helps to wait until I've begun :}
Eonwe Valar: All I ask for is what games you play that you actually want to be able to get with Valar Guild members in, and a character name/account name/however other members can find you in that game.
Varda Valar: ok, no jumping the gun then. :-)
Varda Valar: For those with an email problem, the letter will also be posted to the News. Eonwe's email is on Contacts and the Membership page.
Eonwe Valar: If you question if an e-mail from me, you can see my e-mail on the Membership page. I send all guild correspondence from that e-mail. I also notify Varda that I've sent them out for a notice on the News, and also post notifications on the Games Site and the Forum.
Eonwe Valar: *if an e-mail is from me
Varda Valar: The info is also in the body of the email, not an attachment.
Eonwe Valar: Aye, I do not send attachments as part of the GSMU.
Varda Valar: Any links he gives you should also be able to find on our site.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I doubt any spamming agency would attach a GSMU letter.
Eonwe Valar: I assume very little :}
Varda Valar: We're coming to the end of the business meeting. This is your chance to give suggestions, ask questions, etc, while you have officers handy that might be able to help.
Eonwe Valar: Anyway, expect the letter from me, and once it's out, you can send in your Gaming info. The deadline is always the last day in September so I can have the numbers ready for the Anniversary, and I do my best to reply once I've got your gaming info up so you can see it as soon as possible for corrections.
Eonwe Valar: That's it from me on the GSMU, unless there are questions.
Varda Valar: Thank you for your hard work. We operate from the emails on the Membership page, so please check to make sure yours is current if you would like an email.
Eonwe Valar: That too, of course. You can't get an e-mail if yours isn't correct on the Membership page.
Varda Valar: Email Varda to make that correction.
Varda Valar: Also found on Contacts and the Membership page. :-)
Arien V: alright . and Varda? that Tiscali email adress you have there on my membership note can be removed by the way .. i finally got that account cancelled once and for all
Varda Valar: Thanks!
Varda Valar: Now removed from the current Membership page
Arien V: thank you ^^
Varda Valar: Any other fixes, suggestions?
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Varda Valar: Tolkien!
Varda Valar: Radagast. I found odd confusion about him on the internet, and some neat ideas as well. This might be a fun time to go over what little we know of him while we have the new picture.
Varda Valar: Quite a few had no idea what happened to him, even speculation that Saruman killed him.
Varda Valar: What do we know of what happened to Radgast?
Varda Valar: *Radagast
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm not sure. We never actually see him in person. His fate is not brought up that I recall, and Saruman seems to think he's below consideration.
Eonwe Valar: As I recall, we don't have a specific detail of his fate, just that he ultimately failed at his mission, focusing on the birds and beasts to the apparent detriment of said mission.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Unless it was secretly part of his mission, that the other Istari were not aware of.
Eonwe Valar: I don't see why it would be a secret. They should all know *the* mission, and presumably pursue it as per their personal talents and abilities.
Varda Valar: As far as his fate, the last I found on it was when Gandalf parts from the hobbits. I'll type it up while you go ahead and talk. :-)
Eonwe Valar: Thanks :}
Varda Valar: Sorry, it's not what I thought.
Eonwe Valar: Saruman as head of the Order would presumably have some authority in the matter, but overall they each seemed to pursue the goal as they saw fit.
Eonwe Valar: Saruman went East then came back and settled down in Orthanc, Gandalf wandered around without a permanent abode but apparently spent a reasonable amount of time in the Shire after its founding, Radagast spent his time with animals evidently.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Someone's gotta do it!
Eonwe Valar: They apparently had ways to get in contact with eachother, and weren't above coming together for common council,... mostly *looks at Saruman in later years*
Varda Valar: An interesting comment in the Hobbit by Gandalf to Beorn: "but perhaps you have heard of my good cousin Radagast who lives near the borders of Mirkwood?"
Varda Valar: He says "cousin" instead of "friend".
Varda Valar: May or not have meaning.
Eonwe Valar: I tend to attribute that to a couple of things, one of them being the earlier form of the narrative. Gandalf likely not being what he ultimately became.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Partly can be explained by needing a cover story, and they may have figured, since we all may seem alike to other people, and regularly keep contact, we might as well tell them we're related.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Partly can be explained by, yes, what Eonwe said, their story had not developed as much :-)
Varda Valar: Aye, quite likely.
Eonwe Valar: Also, given they are both Maiar, they could be considered related in that fashion.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Still, as Maiar, the concept of "cousin" as we know it doesn't really apply.
Eonwe Valar: Moreso at least that Aragorn would be to,.. say,.. Bard.
Varda Valar: In the Two Towers, ch 2. Aragorn says that Eomer stated about Saruman: "he walks about like an old man hooded and cloaked".
Arien V: ((sorry guys to interrupt but i have to go .. i am on really early tomorrow morning so a quick Namarie from me :)))
Eonwe Valar: Sleep well Arien :}
Varda Valar: Namarie Arien :-)
Arien V: thank you and Namarie :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Eonwe Valar: And aye about Phar's comment re: Maiar. Then again, Melkor and Manwë are called "brothers" so there evidently even among the Ainur is some level of,.. familial... tie that binds them close enough to suggest that connection between them.
Ar-Pharazon-V: True.
Varda Valar: But they had just seen an old man. "just on the edge of the firelight stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, and wrapped in a great cloak; his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes."
Eonwe Valar: The easy tie would just be to say they're all children of Eru and thus all brothers and sisters, of course, but then again they're also distinct from eachother without specific "blood ties" as they're Generation 0 from direct creation, for lack of a better way to put it.
Varda Valar: The Valar had husbands and wives in the Silmarillion, although no actual children at that stage of the writing.
Varda Valar: So the wizard had a hat rather than Saruman's hood, and Gandalf tells the three hunters that it was not him.
Varda Valar: He did not speak to the humans, but the horses ran in greeting. This seems to be greeting Shadowfax, but did Shadowfax come to see Radagast?
Eonwe Valar: Aye. on first sentence. On second one: hmm, I didn't give much attention to that hooded/hat thing on my readthroughs. Interesting
Varda Valar: That would put Shadowfax in convenient proximity to Gandalf the White
Varda Valar: It's really subtle and I had thought of it as being Saruman, even with Aragorn's comment.
Eonwe Valar: OK, my time is now up.
Varda Valar: Maybe he was there to make sure that Shadowfax was available to Gandalf
Varda Valar: Namarie, Eonwe!
Varda Valar: We can call it here. Phar also has  a time limit. :-)
Varda Valar: *picks up a hammer from the conveyor belt*
Eonwe Valar: Take care all, have fun, good to see you :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: namarie!
Varda Valar: *the hammer turns to a shower of metal sparks as it nears the table, then the sparks leap into the sky in a hammer shape like a tiny constellation*
perseid28 has left the room.
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Varda Valar: After-meeting!
Eonwe Valar (Eonwe Valar) has left the room.
Varda Valar: It's all yours, Phar. People will check out your flashgaming reviews. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right, let's start the personal gaming report, then!

Ar-Pharazon-V: Alright, got a few flashgames.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/amazing_sheriff is the first one! A game of timing and patience and occasionally just being in the zone, as it were, as you rotate around barrels and have to launch onto other barrels and rocks, collecting items and colliding with baddies along the way.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Sounds complicated, but it isn't :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/tiny_diggers is a lemmings-like game, which really says all you need to know. Give the little guys specific tools to bring the required amount of them to the exit.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Get extra stars for doing it within a certain time period, but you can always repeat a level :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/coolio_niato/bloxbox is the third one, which is apparently a few years older than I thought, though it only showed up on another website I check this week :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Move around from block to block, shifting the various rooms around and collecting all the stars.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Now, blizzard gaming!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm: Same as always, though a few more games with the WoW friend. No new levels or heroes for me.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 3: Not as much time spent there as I'd hoped, but I did finish chapters 2 and 3 of the season journey, and have gotten quite a bit more powerful with the rewards from it. Also got a shield I'm after for that build, and I killed my first menagerist goblin, giving me a tiny Khazra companion called Lady Morthanlu.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Let the pet collecting begin, eh?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Chapter 4 seems easy enough, will get on that the next week.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: All classes gotten to 43! All new gold basic cards for each of them, except the warrior and the mage, who still alternate rewards because there are only so many basic cards to make gold :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: This week's tavern brawl was a bit of an oldy, but fun. Choose a class, get a deck full of south sea pirates, and every turn you get to pick 1 card from 3 that are randomly offered to you. Bit of luck, bit of improvisation. Not too bad.
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V: Done with invasions, after working quite hard on monday to reach 2000 nethershards, the cap. Not sure if they'll stay in Legion, but if they do, I've got something to show for it ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Also the last pre-Legion quests were unlocked on tuesday, but that bit doesn't take very long. Bits of lore, preparing for Legion release.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Another alt-raid done earlier today, with a few more people getting their moose mount, last reset it's available.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Speaking of things that will no longer be available, I decided to buy the other 3 legendary rings, even though I won't or can't use them. Just good to have as souvenir!
Varda Valar: Bet the Canadians are after that moose too. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and missed this earlier: Also got the account-bound warglaive upgraded to level 6, which should help my demon hunter a bit after I create her.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Through invasions and shards, that is.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Let's see, what else...
Ar-Pharazon-V: Instance-farming continued! Maraudon took ages to get all the stuff. As predicted last week, the last bit was the epic dagger from last boss. Took almost 30 kills in the end. And with the long exit time, leading me to decide to rather teleport back to moonglade and flying down to the dungeon rather than running all the way back every time,
Ar-Pharazon-V: 10 or even just 5 runs a day would take up a lot of time.
Ar-Pharazon-V: But got the dagger right before the meeting today, so that's done, and the next few instances should be easier again, though I'll try to limit my activities there with Legion coming up :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: And in the meantime I wrapped up some more achievements for the current expansion: making various types of food, eating various types of food, and getting some treasures in Tanaan for the last quest achievement.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not done with that bit yet, but I think I'll push that a bit more tomorrow and, perhaps, tuesday, while waiting for the initial Legion-rush to go by. When I finally dive in there, it'd better have quietened down a bit ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Also, my Thrall-novel finally arrived in the mail, and I'm looking into buying the graphic novel accompanying the Warcraft movie, called Bonds of Brotherhood. The collection grows! Been reading a bit more Illidan as well.
Varda Valar: Neat
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my news for this week!
Varda Valar: Thank you, Phar :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: saving and sending transcript
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