Then and Now – A Metamorphosis

 54 Comments on Then and Now – A Metamorphosis 0 585

sharing-encouragement-and-inspiration-blogging-without-a-blog_1237452950714(Update: This post was written when I changed my theme in 2009. In 2010 I changed it again to what you’re seeing today).

When we start a blog, we never know where it will take us. Some may walk a steadfast road and believe they want to end up at “XYZ”, when in truth, if we let our blog evolve on it’s own, it can take us on a magical journey.

Two years ago today, I published my first post. Looking back, it was rather lame, but I’ve left it in the archives as a reminder for both me and my readers how things change.

I didn’t plan to have a blogging “classroom”, nor did I even plan for this blog to become popular. In truth, this was going to my online journal of my blogging journey – a place for me to document what I was learning. A place I could return to when I would forget “how to”. But when comments started coming in, and a community started to form, magic began to happen.

Now, here I am, about to embark on year three of blogging and sporting a brand new theme. Those of you who have followed me, know this has been a work in progress for some time now. My goal was to teach myself CSS coding and do it on my own, however, time wasn’t on my side.

That’s when Eric of Frugal Site Design came to my rescue.

I first experimented with several of the beautiful themes Eric provides on his site, and he kindly constructed a header for me based on my preferences, but I didn’t get that “Wow” factor I was looking for. Fortunately the answer was in front of me. I took the theme I’ll be using for our company website and began designing the header and footer.

Meanwhile Eric went behind the scenes and painstakingly made the other changes I asked for. And, when I changed my mind, he kindly revised it again, and again, and you guessed it, AGAIN.

I’ve asked Eric to join me for this post, and answer a few questions about what he does. Here’s what he had to say,

1) Eric, can you tell us a little more about you? How you got into blogging and now theme design?

Well, let’s see…I’m a soon to be dad of a little baby boy named Tyson. My wife, Liz, and I are very excited and looking forward to finally stepping into our parental roles. I live on the East Coast of the US and love living healthy and enjoying the outdoors (and flying my RC gliders).

I’ve had my own computer consulting business since the beginning of 2004, but only since the summer of 2008 did I take interest in blogging. I officially started my first blog, Motivate Thyself, at the end of July. I had written an ebook called, ‘Guide To Rejuvenating Sleep’ and I was planning on trying to sell it on a Niche website. But after I started looking into blogging I realized that it would make a better free download; a kind of gift for stopping by.

I really fell in love with blogging. From the tech aspect it was full of goodies to constantly fiddle with, but it was the community connection that pleasantly surprised me. I’ve made so many new friends from all around the globe and I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve even become less shy and reserved (at least on the Internet).

As far as the site design goes, I kind of just fell into it. Just like my computer business, I couldn’t get away from the fact that I naturally play nice with technology. I picked up WordPress coding fairly quickly and I’ve always been naturally creative, so it was a great fit. One of the things that many of us bloggers have in common is the desire to monetize our blogging activity. The desire to have more time and freedom to do what we love. The dream is to have so much traffic that we can just throw up some ads, sit in our hammock and watch the money come rolling in. The reality, though, is that until you hit those high traffic numbers, something like a sought after service is more likely to bring home the bacon. Thus began Frugal Site Design.

2) Maybe it’s a girl thing, but as you know, I changed my mind numerous times. I know that had to be frustrating to you, but you’ve handled it so well. How do you manage to keep your cool when a client continually changes their mind?

Well, after 5 years of dealing with thousands of frustrating scenarios where the computer AND the client aren’t cooperating, I’ve learned to take it all in stride. Your situation, for example, was not at all frustrating. I don’t mind making changes as long as the end result is a product that makes the client happy. It’s when the client is NEVER happy, that I have to draw the line. I find that most people have fairly reasonable expectations and that as long as they and myself remain flexible, we’ll work well together. But, YES, it certainly takes a fair share of patience to work with the general public.

3) The majority of your business is done via emails or phone calls. How is it you can understand so well what a person is wanting without having them physically there pointing out what they like, don’t like, or are wanting to move something an inch here or there, etc?

It can certainly be tough. The convenience of being able to sit in my home office and get the job done is great, but there are certainly times when I wish I were right there with the client. The key to making it work is to know when and what questions to ask and how to read between the lines. Most of the time my clients are up front about things, but they often don’t know exactly how to explain what they want/need. So it’s my job to ask questions ABOUT their questions to make sure we’re on the same page. Over time you get better at this and things get a bit easier and more efficient.

4) What kinds of jobs to you do the most? Do you work mostly with bloggers? Is what you do at Frugal Site Design more technical or design oriented?

Thus far I have done a fairly equal amount of general websites and blogs and a few of the two combined. Most of my website clients have been from my local community. When the word got out to my previous computer clients that I was doing affordable web design, I quickly found my inbox full of requests. But in this great blogging community I’ve had a lot of requests for either a more professional blog design or assistance with moving from a free blogging service to a self hosted WordPress setup. As time goes on I’m finding that bloggers are my main client. This excites me because one of my greatest passions with blogging is helping others stand out from the crowd. This service gives me the opportunity to do this.

As for the technical vs design question, I would say that it’s 50/50. When I was doing my computer consulting I got to enjoy the technical aspect of computers, but never any kind of creative design. Frugal Site Design allows me this opportunity. Also, it all depends on the job. BWAB, for example, was mostly technical as you had already done much of the design. You just needed someone who know the coding aspect to be able to implement your vision. Other times, I get a blank slate and a person saying, “Just make my new blog look clean and use this color scheme.” This is when I get to run wild with my creativity.

To be honest, I equally enjoy both aspects. Sometimes I crave creativity, while other times it’s a pleasant reprieve to be able to just play with PHP. Both are great and one without the other would be a shame. So over all I’m very happy with my new gig and look forward to making magic with more and more bloggers.

Again, I must give praises to Eric Hamm for all he’s done. Knowing me, I’m sure I’ll want to tweak this theme from time to time. I feel blessed to have Eric there to hold my hand.

You’re great Eric. I appreciate all you’ve done and wish you tons of success.

The changes you’ll find here are as listed:

  1. Obviously, the first thing you’ll notice is the header. Although it’s a big header and it uses up a lot of the space above the fold, I’ve chosen to take a chance and go with it.
  2. A larger footer section which contains additional links and information
  3. The inclusion of my photo – finally, hey? 🙂
  4. A new tagline
  5. A rewritten short description of this site – “About” – see sidebar
  6. A new “About” page – see header navigation bar
  7. A comment policy – see header
  8. A “Featured Blogs” page which contains all of the bloggers who have been showcased in the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series – see header (will be updated weekly)
  9. An “A.S.K.” page that lists the links to the interviews I’ve done with probloggers – see both header and left sidebar
  10. Popular/most commented posts – see footer
  11. Stumble It, Digg it, Delicious It and Tweet it buttons at the bottom of each post.
  12. A new default avatar for those who comment and don’t have an avatar. Need one? Read this post.
  13. A statement at the bottom of each comment stating how I may use all or part of your comment as inspiration for a future post.
  14. A new widget for Twitter which shows my latest updates – see right sidebar.
  15. A new “Donate” page, titled “Fear Change?” – see header
  16. In the footer you’ll find a section of “Blogging Resources” which includes a link to Eric’s site plus other sources for blogging help.
  17. New icons for the free subscriptions – via RSS or email – see right sidebar
  18. A new signature – see end of post
  19. A new Twitter profile page – which matches my blog

Feel free to dig around and take a look at all that’s changed. It’s been a challenging, but fun experience.

In closing I’d like to thank each and every one of you for supporting me in my blogging endeavor. I couldn’t do it without you.

Together this is what we’ve created, and I feel blessed.

signature for blog post.

54 thoughts on “Then and Now – A Metamorphosis”

  1. Hi All – As a footnote, I’m having an issue with Internet Explorer when I try to create a text widget, therefore, until I figure out what’s causing the problem, the Showcased blogs and Blog Registry will be removed from the sidebar. I’m guessing it may be a incompatible plugin problem.

    Thank you for your patience.

    Barbara

    UPDATE: Fixed. Couldn’t find the problem so I just hand coded it.

  2. Hi Barbara!

    I LOVE it!! This is great, it turned out fantastically. This look fits so well to what I think of when I think of “Blogging Without A Blog”.

    You’ve done an amazing job over the last two years. And I can’t thank you enough for all the support you’ve provided to me. It’s exactly why people are drawn here, I believe. This is such a welcoming place!

    And your photo – thank you! It’s great to see this, to put a face to “you”.

    And to Eric – awesome design! Everything looks great here.

    Lance´s last blog post..Sunday Thought For The Day

  3. AAAH – a PHOTO! Good on you Barbara – you look lovely! I was guessing that you looked at least a little like your avatar, and you do quite a bit! I bet Cath looks a bit like hers, too – though perhaps not with purple hair.

    Your site looks spectacular – congratulations!

    Robin´s last blog post..What If? The Movie, A Review

  4. Barbara, congratulations on 2 productive years and on the launch of this new blog design. Eric did a good job. Also, it’s great to finally see your friendly face on a photo.

    As a former NBOTW, thank you for all you’ve done for me and the rest of the blogging community these last 2 years. Here’s to many more!

    aloha,
    sterling

    Sterling Okura´s last blog post..Recent Projects Built With Free Tools

  5. Eric did make a great job, Barbara. It still says “friendly family business here” but at the same time it’s quite professional. Congrats, and thanks to Lance, who twitted me your news.

    Miguel de Luis´s last blog post..The Writer’s Report: Emotions

  6. Congratulations on your successful renovation.

    Best wishes Ribbon

    Ribbon´s last blog post..Invitation…

  7. Barbara, very nice presentation and functional as well. Thanks for coming all the way out and allowing us to connect with the real you. The addition of your photo will make it so much easier to connect with your words and personality.

    Tom Volkar / Delightful Work´s last blog post..Killing What Scares You

  9. Hi Barbara

    Congratulations for the 2 successful years of Blogging and this new theme. its a wonderful layout and the color combination is so refreshing (cant imaging batter combination)

    one small suggestion from my side, Pleas change your default font (Georgia) to Times New Roman or Verdana, Georgia is little irritating compared to TNW or Verdana, and it makes reading little difficult on screen.

    otherwise your new theme is great

  10. Congratulations, Barbara, on your two year anniversary! And how wonderful to see a photo of you as well – lovely! Eric, you’ve done a great job with Barbara’s site – it looks fabulous and younger, too! A great birthday present for all of us!

    Barbara, your site and your personal encouragement have been most influential parts of our own blogging journey – best wishes to you, and how grateful we are that we have come to know you and the BWAB community. Thanks for all of it.

    Betsy Wuebker´s last blog post..ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE . . .

  11. FANTASTIC, Barbara! It looks really terrific. My favorite thing? Seeing your smiling face after all this time. It is always nice to be able to look someone in the eyes, even if it’s only virtual. Congratulations.

    Writer Dad´s last blog post..Meet Cindy, My Wife

  12. I like it a lot!

    Great job.

    It feels right landing on it and that’s the ultimate test.

    J.D. Meier´s last blog post..High Leverage Strategies for Innovation

  14. Thanks guys and Barbara for letting me help out. I must admit that Barbara did so much of this herself. She’s actually quite adept at both design and technology. I ended up mostly doing the coding that was giving her trouble. And she did the entire move from the test blog to BWAB I was very impressed. Well done, Barbara! 🙂

    I think you did a great job of keeping the feel of BWAB, while updating it a bit. And like a few have mentioned, it’s great to finally see a picture of your smiling face. Yay! 😀 Eric

    Eric Hamm | Motivate Thyself´s last blog post..How To Start A Small Business

  15. Hi Barbara. Last night, in between reading, I was lurking around your Blog Maintenance Mode message waiting patiently for the new look to appear. Congratulations on your two-year anniversary, and the new theme looks great! And it’s nice to finally “see” you 🙂 You remind me of someone I used to work with.

    BTW, I think there’s a link missing from #12 where you say “read this post” in regards to getting an avatar???

    Davina´s last blog post..A Vision of Fulfillment

  16. The new design works AND functions great! So many blogs are focused on looking great, without any attention paid to how people *use* and navigate the site. I’m also really glad you’re willing to keep your oldest posts up, along with the new. It’s so important for us to be able to see where we’ve been and to share that learning process, rather than hide it.

    Kristin T. (@kt_writes)´s last blog post..The fine art of not making memories

  17. Barbara,

    I love the new theme…it’s so open. It’s kind of visiting Montana versus Connecticut:~) Mind you, I love open spaces. There’s so much to do that I will have to explore more on later visit. I did click on a few things and found that navigation is easy.

    Also, it is very NICE to see you. You and Eric should very proud of this accomplishment. I know it took a risk, but I think you did yourself proud!

    Sara B. Healy´s last blog post..Story Photo Contest

  18. Congratulations, Barbara and Eric – you did a great job!

    Ulla Hennig´s last blog post..Friedrichstraße on a Sunday

  19. Hi Barbara,
    It all looks really great – and I Ioved seeing the photo of you! Your header image almost looks a little . . . well, vintage!!

    And the twitter peeps are very, very cute.

    I know this must have been an enormous amount of work – congratulations!
    Ann

    Vintage Mommy´s last blog post..Show & Tell: Nothing to Show OR Tell!

  20. It looks really good. I love the changes. The interview was good as well. I liked how humble Eric was.

    My favorite change was that you put your face on your blog. I had always wondered when I would see that beautiful face. Now I have an even better feel of who you are.

    Great job Barbara and Eric!

    Karl Staib – Your Work Happiness Matters´s last blog post..A Pimped Out Cubicle

  21. I LOVE it!!! I am sitting in my chair clapping…seriously!!! I love the new look and the header. The redesign is great. You have lots of good stuff to share and it’s less cluttered to find everything. Yippee! Great job. Plus, I really like seeing your photo…I feel more connected.

    Caroline´s last blog post..I am not liking this one bit…

  22. Congratuations on all fronts! Happy 2 year anniversay and such a really nice new layout.

    Can you see the confetti coming down? 😀

    Linda´s last blog post..All Together Now!

  23. Hey, I like the new look! Great job! And also, nice to see a face to go with the name 🙂

  25. Hi Lance – Thank you. Yes, this is what this blog has gotten to be. And now you can put a face to my name. 🙂

    Hi Sterling – Thank you for your kind words and well wishes.

    Hi Miguel – Thank you. I like that, “friendly family business..”

    Hi Ribbon – Thank you.

    Hi Tom – Thank you for your kind words. ***smiles*** Now you can “really” see me.

    Hi Mike – Thank you.

    Hi Robin – See…I did pick an avatar that kind of looked like me. 🙂 Now I think it’s time to switch to the real photo. I agree, Cath’s probably resembles her, too.

    Hi Sunil – Thank you for your kind words and for informing me about the font. I do want my blog easy to read, so I’ll dig around and make that change, or ask Eric how to do it.

    Hi Betsy – Thank you for your kind words. You and the others in this community make it what it is.

    Hi Writer Dad – ***smiles*** to you, too. And thank you.

    Hi J.D. – Thank you. You’re right – landing on is has to “feel” right.

    Hi Eric – I’ve now dubbed you the “coder man”. 🙂 Thank you for all of your help and your kind words. The move got a little hairy when things didn’t work right in IE, but I believe I’ve now solved the problem. I’ll go behind the scenes later and add what’s missing.

    Hi Kristin – Thank you. I do worry about how well my readers can navigate this site, and am happy how it turned out. Re: those old posts. They make us who we become, don’t they?

    Hi Chase – Thank you for your encouragement. I’m looking forward to #3 too.

    Hi Sara – Thank you. I like your comparison. Come on back anytime and dig around. You know you’re always welcome.

    Hi Ulla – Thank you for your kind words.

    Hi Ann – The header image does look vintage, doesn’t it. I really like that photo. Yea, aren’t those Twitter peeps cute? I couldn’t resist. 🙂 Thank you.

    Hi Davina – Thank you. I tried to get the site back up before you went to bed, but didn’t make it.

    Re: the link. That was one of those, “oh yeah, I need to add that”, and forgot. Thank you for pointing that out. I would have forgotten all about it if you hadn’t mentioned it.

    Hi Karl – Thank you. Your words are good for the ego. 🙂

    Hi Caroline – ***smiles*** Thank you. How cute. I love that I got you clapping. I take that as a huge compliment.

    Hi Linda – Thank you. Yep. The confetti is getting all over the place. Love it. 🙂

    Hi Blogger Dad – Thank you. Gotta love those mug shots, hey?

    Hi Marelisa – Knowing new people are visiting, I figured it was time to change the tagline. Thank you for the thumbs up.

    Hi Kevin – Thank you. A new era…I like that. 🙂

  26. Hi Barbara: I love your new look, as well as the tagline. I think it reflects well what your blog is about. In fact, it makes your blog look even more welcoming than before.

  27. How sweet it is – wow like getting a new hairdo or a new outfit that feels just right – maybe even better. Tag line is great and I do so like your picture.
    Congratulations on 2 years – a lot of good all coming together right here.

    Eric very nice job! and you promised to tell us all when the baby arrives!

    Patricia´s last blog post..A Prayer in Spring

  28. I love it! I love the clean look. Love the header, but most of all, I love the picture of you! Thanks for sharing. I know that was probably one of the hardest decisions. At least, it would be for me.

    Sorry I haven’t been around lately. Things have been a little crazy around here. Why is it everything has to hit the fan at the same time?!

    Debbie Yost´s last blog post..My Kind of Celebrity

  29. Barbara,

    Congrats on two years of blogging! You are truly one of the most generous and thoughtful bloggers out there.

    I really like your new design, thanks for giving us input into the person behind it.

    Great to see the “real” you in your pic too! 🙂

    Christine Gallagher´s last blog post..A Week in Paris, and the Joy of Technology and Doing Business Online

  30. love the new look barbara, a lot! very clean. congrats on your 2nd year anniversary as well.

    Natural´s last blog post..E is for Episode

  31. Vary vary nice.

    Congrats on starting year #3. May it be the best one yet!

    Cheers

    George

    Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Writer’s newsletter: A little help, please

  32. Very very cool, Barbara. And who the heck is that in the photo? I always thought you were a cartoon character??? Geezz… 😉

    I think the design is wonderful and very inviting. I really like it.

    Eric sounds like the type of guy I should chat with!

    About your widget problem, you could always hard code those links into your widgets.php file (I think). Might be a better question for Eric. Just remember though, that would mean each time you’d add a new link you’d have to edit that file directly.

    John Hoff – WpBlogHost´s last blog post..2 Easy Ways To Set Up A WordPress Firewall

  33. Happy day! Your blog is simply beautiful. Enjoy all of your changes and kudos for the amazing community you have created here on your site.

    Stacey / Create a Balance´s last blog post..Authentic Happiness Series – Part Two

  34. Hi Patricia – Thank you. Yes, getting a new theme is very much like getting a new hair do. It makes us feel so goooood. 🙂

    Hi Debbie – Thank you. Re: the photo. Knowing I’m here to stay make sharing it easier.

    No need to apologize for been busy. I know the feeling. With the theme upgrade I was working behind the scenes and not getting “out” much. Hope things start to come together for you soon.

    Hi Christine – Thank you for your kind words. I’m humbled by them.

    HI Natural – Thank you. Like you, I like the clean lines of this theme, too.

    Hi George – Thank you. I’m anxiously awaiting to see what year three has in store. I’m betting it will be grand.

    Hi Stacey – Thank you. If you ask me, I think I have the very best community in blogosphere, and you’re part of it. Yay!

    Hi Vered – Thank you. The tagline suits what this blog has become, doesn’t it?

  35. What a striking, dramatic look! I love it, and I love the tagline.

    Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post..Teen Fashion

  37. Hello Barbara

    Changing font is not a big task just replace Georgia with Verdana in your Style.css

    body {

    font-family: Georgia, “Times New Roman”, Helvetica, sans-serif;

    font-size: 70%;

    color: #181919;

    margin: 0px;

    padding: 0px;

    background: #F9F9F9;

    }

    Sunil Pathak´s last blog post..4 Most Important Things You Need To Know About Blog Reader’s Behavior And Attitude

  38. Barbara,
    I really like the new looks of your blog (Did you change sometime back… I was away from blogosphere for about two weeks now). There are some minor issues that could be fixed but overall it rocks!

    Probably it’s a good idea to reduce the banner height by 25-30% and also some of the images loads really slow. Sidebar looks really neat now though a couple of more widgets could make it a little longer and look good from the homepage.

    Cheers and good luck!
    Ajith

    Ajith Edassery´s last blog post..Update on 2009 Objectives and more

  39. Hi Barbara – Congratulations on 2 years and on putting your pic on here. You look almost exactly how I visualized you.

    Your new blog design is great. I love the pic and the tagline – it is completely original. I don’t know if you noticed your ad section is appearing way down at the bottom of the page but I’m guessing that will be easy to move if you want to.

  40. Hi Eric & Barbara,

    Great new site design. I am loving it!

    Cheers,
    Jeremy

    Jeremy Day´s last blog post..Carnival Of Personal Development: April Fool’s Edition

  43. Barbara, it’s great to see you … even virtually. The site has come out very well. Congrats to you. It’s neat and very functional. I absolutely loved the header image as well. Fits well with your blog.

    Avani-Mehta´s last blog post..Beat Jet Lag With Sleep

  44. Barbara,
    Yes Eric is awesome. He has helped me out in the past before he even knew who I was. He will make a fantastic dad.

    I love it. I love the Fear Change and I love the entire design. It’s very bold!

    Congratulations with your continuing success. Ooops almost forgot I love seeing who you are!

    Tess The Bold Life´s last blog post..10 Rules for a Bold & Daring Life

  45. Suh-wheat! I like the feel you have created here! Kudos to Eric and you both. I like the RSS button with the apple image to match your header. Footer is a bit busy for my eyes, but very colorful and attention-getting so you will pull more readers in to that part.

    How nice to see our photo! You look just like you have been online — caring, inviting, and energetic.

  46. BWAB looks fantastic! With the minds of you and Eric, though, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
    Again, thanks for what you do and keep on keeping on.

    scott´s last blog post..Not-So-New Spam Notification

  47. OK, I had to come back and tell you how great it is to FINALLY SEE YOUR PHOTO! 🙂

    Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post..Suffering For Beauty

  49. Barbara,
    Your blog looks wonderful. I like the clean and neat appearance of the blog and the check marks that start off the headings in the sidebar.
    The addition of the twitter id in the comment section will be very useful to connect with people.

    Nithya´s last blog post..Writing Lessons Learned from the Community

  50. Hi Catherine – Thank you. Your unveiling will be next, hey? Re: the ads. I put them in the footer for now. I may move them later or create a page just for blogging resources. Something to think about.

    Hi Jeremy – Thank you.

    Hi Kathy – Thank you.

    Hi Silly Girl – Thank you. The best is yet to come. 🙂

    Hi Avani – Thank you. I love the header photo too. Brings back good memories.

    Hi Tess – Thank you. *smiles* on the Fear Charge page. I wanted to do something different.

    Hi Lori – Thank you. I was thinking of what all goes with “school” and felt fortunate to find the apple RSS icon. I agree, the footer is a busy and colorful. Hope it keeps the “students” awake. 🙂

    Hi Scott – Thank you. Stay posted for more lessons.

    Hi again Vered – I know you patiently waited for the photo – finally.

    Hi Nithya – Thank you. The check marks remind me of school. And yes, the Twitter updates will help to connect even more people.

    Hi Tracy – Thank you. Let me know if you need help “stealing” something. 🙂

  51. Hi Barbara. I posted a comment the day this article came out, not sure if it went to spam or something. But I’m here again 🙂

    Love the new site. You’ve done a fabulous job and I know how much hard work you’ve put into this project.

    I wish you all the success in the world.

    And thanks to Eric. Nice job, bro.

    John Hoff – WpBlogHost´s last blog post..2 Easy Ways To Set Up A WordPress Firewall

  52. I love themes and would use about a dozen all at the same time if i could. 🙂 I like the changes you’ve made, and it’s so nice to see you instead of an avatar! I feel like I know you just a little bit better. It sounds like this redesign was a very productive partnership.

    Dot´s last blog post..I’ll Never Get Back, Part 2

  54. Hi John – Yes, your comment ended up in the spam folder.

    You make me laugh – No, I’m no longer a cartoon character. 🙂

    Re: the links, I am hand coding the NBOTW entries. No big deal as that’s what I was doing previously. Thank you for your kind words and support.

    Hi Dot – Thank you. Yes, the redesign was a productive partnership. Like you, I also love themes and changing them. Unfortunately I know that’s not the best way to brand ourselves, so I keep changing the one on my test site. 🙂

    Hi Melanie – Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.

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