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An Etiquette Guide For Subletters

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tiny room, small apartment

Subletting is a great solution for college students, temporary dwellers and those who don’t want to sign a yearlong lease.

Here are some simple codes to follow that ensure the best relationship possible between the renter and the original tenant.

Nurturing a healthy relationship can give you a good reference for the future, should you look to sublet again.

Respect the space

While you may want to personalize and decorate the apartment, remember that you will only be staying temporarily. Decorate with that in mind; use easily removable accessories such as wall decals and plants, rather than nailing in artwork or investing in heavy, cumbersome furniture. You’ll have all the time in the future to decorate a permanent home, but now is not that time.

If the original tenant is leaving furniture and you need space, try to negotiate using a self-storage unit. The two of you could share the cost if you both decide to use it.

Designate a monthly check-in

This is pretty easy to do: Every month, check in with the original tenant and give a brief update on the apartment. Whether it’s by phone, text, email or even Facebook, any assurances from your end will let the original tenant know that you’re responsible, respectful and that the apartment is still in good shape.

Keep them in the loop

Let the original tenant know everything that happens apartment-related — it’s still their home, after all. Did you have to call maintenance to fix issues with the toilet? Did you have a fight with the management company over the electricity bill? Is there an increase of crickets in the apartment? Don’t let the original tenant return to their apartment unaware of everything that happened while you were there.

Keep all records

This is just a good practice in any situation: Get in the habit of keeping any documents that could prove or backup your situation, should the need ever arise. In the specific case of subletting, keep copies of any documents and communications with anyone who also deals with the apartment.

Work together

Think of the two of you as a team — you’re essentially roommates, after all. Both of you want the apartment to be the best place to live, and both of you are equally responsible for what happens there. Work with the original tenant, and you’ll find that you can help each other make the subletting process as enjoyable as possible.

Related:

Jenny Zhang is a writer at SpareFoot, the online marketplace where you can find and reserve a self-storage unit with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

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Marina Abramović Wants To Make A Film Answering 'Who is James Franco?'

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Marina Abramovic james franco

James Franco -- a man of many talents and occupational endeavors -- is the subject of performance artist Marina Abramović's first film.  

The woman who describes herself as the "grandmother of performance art," told Elle at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday that she is in the early stages of creating a film to answer the question: "Who is James Franco?"

Also read: James Franco Travels By Bubble in 'Oz the Great and Powerful' (Video)

"I think he’s the most interesting actor of the moment," she said. "Why? Because he takes risks and when you take risks, you can fail. But he takes failure and risk all with the same intensity. He could just be another Hollywood actor and that’s it–like everyone else. But he’s crossing all kinds of borders and not always with great success. For him, process is more important than the result."

On top of acting in a number of high-profile films and being nominated for an Oscar in 2011 the same year he co-hosted the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway, Franco is a published author, director, producer, editor and even a college teacher.

"And this is why I'm interested to explain to [people] 'Who is James Franco?' and 'Why is he doing what he’s doing?'" she continued. "He hardly sleeps or has a life. He just keeps going."

The Serbian artist, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1997, is known for her provocative work, including her 2002 "Nude With Skeleton" in which a naked man (or woman) lies flat underneath a human skeleton.

Abramović has been friends with Franco since 2010 and appeared with him on an episode of the Sundance Channel's "Iconoclasts" last fall. She attended the the Spirit Awards to support the film, "Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present," which was up for best documentary. The film documented her work, including a 736-hour, 30-minute performance at the Museum of Modern Art in which she sat at a table without moving while museum visitors lined up to sit opposite her in the museum atrium. 

Franco will next be seen on screen in March as the titular character in "Oz the Great and Powerful" and as Hugh Hefner in "Lovelace." 

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BEDBUGS: My Worst Nightmare Becomes Reality

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Hazmat bed bugs

If my life was a movie, the foreshadowing would seem too contrived. 

About a year ago I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and have been struggling with it. I often try to explain it to people by saying it is like having internal bed bugs. 

Right around the same time, after I moved here to Hell’s Kitchen, I got paranoid that the bites I was mysteriously getting were from bed bugs and called a bed bug dog service.

I recall vividly staying up all night to read BrickUnderground’s own Theresa Braine’s chronicles of her bed bug disaster.  Turns out I did not have bed bugs but did have a major case of paranoia combined with mosquito bites. 

A few months later a close friend was plagued with the bloodsucking beasts. I would not see her for the eight months she dealt with them for fear I’d get them myself. She handled her situation far more calmly than I did and my nightly neurotic mantra became, “They are not my bed bugs.” 

Oddly, on my one-year anniversary in this apartment, I was in the throes of dealing with my Lyme disease, Googling the latest research studies, and out of the corner of my eye saw something crawl across my white comforter.

I quickly prayed it was a roach (in no other circumstances would anyone ever pray they had a roach on their bed) only to see quite clearly it was an adult bed bug. I quickly scooped it up in my hand—they are fast and wily—and threw it into a Ziploc and watched in horror and shock. I hadn’t thought about bed bugs in a long time and had not had any bites. I prayed it was a rogue bug but knew better than to believe it. 

I texted my landlord that I had just found a bed bug and she texted back asking that I mail it to her so she could have it analyzed. I responded that I would be calling the bed bug dog service and have them come in the morning and then I’d mail it to her but would certainly not be wasting any time. I wanted this treated immediately! 

I examined my mattress and saw no evidence of a problem. It was pristine as always. I then examined the underside of my box spring, trying the squelch my urge to panic, and found nothing except a skin shedding. Evidence! 

I called Bobby from K9 Bed Bug Detectors, the bed bug guy I called last spring, and assured him this time I was not being paranoid. 

The next morning prior to having his dog, Bruno, do his thing, Bobby inspected the apartment. He immediately confirmed that the bug in the bag was indeed a bed bug. 

He said he found another skin shedding but that there didn’t appear to be a major problem. He also said he saw bed bug “dust” (fecal matter…eww!) in the corner of my bedroom by a utility closet.

Then he let the dog examine.

The dog systematically checked the bed area (nothing), the window side of the room and in all the drawers of furniture that resided there (nothing), the desk (nothing) and then started making signals that there were bugs in that corner by the utility closet and baseboard. 

The dog proceeded to check the rest of the apartment and found nothing else. Bobby said he believes I caught the problem within weeks of its onset because there were no bugs in the bed, and if it had been a major infestation we'd be seeing far more signs, like blood dots on the mattress and the dog would be going crazy sniffing the bed.

While obviously they were making their way from the corner utility closet to the bed (hence the one I found crawling there) they had not actually taken up residence YET. 

He told me to immediately get mattress and boxspring encasments at Bed Bath and Beyond and not take them off for two years. Because my mattress was pristine there was no reason to toss it, so he said the encasement would prevent them from taking residence in it/boxspring and if there were any eggs in there they'd be trapped and die after a maximum of two years.

He was nice enough to call my landlord and implore her to treat immediately—and of course pay for it—and she agreed. I was so relieved there was no wait while she had her own PCO check out the place. 

He immediately sprayed around the perimeter of the bed and the other furniture, particularly the offensive utility closet. He gave me strict instructions to take out everything from all closets and drawers and heat them in a dryer on high for 45 minutes. This would also include any throw rugs, curtains, bedding, etc. 

Then he told me I’d have to Packtite all my books, files and papers, and seal everything once it had been heated in huge Ziploc bags. 

I was lucky, he said, that even though he’d need to treat the whole apartment, I would not have to heat and pack things in the other rooms, because the bugs were isolated to one small area of the bedroom and the dog could find no evidence of them in any other room.

I was doubly lucky that my primary closet is a bedroom I converted to a walk-in closet and dressing room far from my actual bedroom. Thankfully I would not have to heat and pack every coat, shoe, purse, dress, etc. 

He also shared some bed bug trivia: He has been keeping bugs in a bag for over 18 months without any feeding and they are shockingly still alive; he has kept them in his truck overnight for days in below-freezing temperatures and yet they endure. 

I liked him as much as I did the first time I met him--he was informative and, even more important, at a time like this, compassionate and patient.

Thankfully Theresa (of Bedbugged-fame) came to my rescue and was nice enough to lend me her Packtite. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I could not prep this apartment myself or even with the help of friends in a week while being chronically ill. 

I set about to find a bed bug prep service and interviewed one who said she’d come to evaluate at 5pm. Prior to her scheduled visit she gave me a rough estimate of $1,500 to prepare the room after I described the number of books and items in furniture that would have to be heated and sealed. 

Because I do not have a dryer in my own apartment or building she’d have to send out all the laundry at a rate of nearly $2 per pound. I didn’t initially realize that heating clothing items did not get factored into her estimate. I estimated that I might have several hundred pounds of clothing, bedding, etc. to be heated. 

I asked a few more questions prior to her set-up visit and she said they only vacuumed books, not actually heat-treat them via Packtite. They could then seal them and advised you to leave them all sealed for eight months because she claims bugs can only go without a meal for that long. 

This worried me because my PCO said that: 1) vacuuming books does absolutely nothing to kill eggs/bugs and 2) even simply bagging them for eight months is not safe because bugs can go far longer without a meal.  I Googled on my own and read through Theresa’s column yet again; nothing I read made me feel easier.

I told her what my PCO explained, and she canceled our appointment saying we clearly have differing views about what is safe. 

I then discovered a moving company called Moving Right Along, which works closely with Bed Bug Fumigation Specialists. Here's how it works: Moving Right Along put my stuff in one of their containers that looked like a moving truck and the container was delivered to Bed Bug Fumigation Specialists to be sealed and fumigated with Vikane gas overnight. 

Moving Right Along then moved the container to their facility where it will live for 30 days (after which they'll move and unpack it all).

The pack, move and storage from Moving Right Along for one 200 sq. ft. room of stuff plus a couch was $2,500, which, in light of the fact I was going to write up the whole experience for this column, they agreed to waive. The fumigation of the pod was $700 plus tax via Bed Bug Fumigation Specialists.

I knew I would need a ton of huge Ziploc bags in a rush. I needed them the following day and Soap.com proved to be the fastest and cheapest. I ordered two boxes each size:  XXL bags (the size of a garment bag), XL and L. They arrived the next day.

Also, prior to my PCO coming, I still had to heat about eight loads of things that I would need for the month. The laundromat doesn’t allow users to only dry clothing, but I came equipped with a diversionary tactic. 

My friends and I were able to score dryers for the mandatory 45-minute cycle. They helped me upstairs with the bags and then we organized everything into sealed Ziploc bags and I integrated them out of the bedroom and into my master closet far from it. 

The next day my PCO returned to do his first comprehensive treatment. He let me stay in the apartment but asked me to step out of the rooms he was treating, so I didn’t see exactly what he was spraying but know there was a light coating of a powdery substance around the perimeter of the room, bed, and remaining furniture. 

He said to sit tight and he’d be back in seven days to do it again. 

He also said he is working with my landlord to bring the dog back to check the apartment above me and commercial space below me to see if there are bugs in other areas of the building.

He thinks, however, I caught it very quickly and that because the dog barked in that one corner—where library books, ironically about Lyme disease, were placed from the library about three weeks before—it is fairly isolated. 

I am thankful I have never had any bites (this must be, he explains, that I am not allergic to them so my body does not react with the telltale itchy ugly welts) and that I have not seen another bug after the first or any sign of them. It helps me to delude myself that everything, at least externally, is just fine. 


See all Hell's Bitchen. 

Related posts:

Bedbugged! How to tell a bed bug from an impostor

About that bed bug insurance bill....

Bedbugged! The perfect exterminator

Finally, a breakthrough in bed bug detection

More posts by Kelly Kreth:

15 things I've learned from 'Million Dollar Listing NY' so far

The 20 deadly sins NYC rental agents should never commit (but do)

Escape from the UES: Goodbye douchebaggery, hello Hell's Kitchen

Dear Neighbor: I am your worst nightmare

Living next to a bridge & tunnel club: KY Jelly wrestling, all-night noise, no regrets

- See more at: http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2013/02/my_worst_nightmare_becomes_reality_aka_the_arrival_of_real_bed_bugs#sthash.ExABSDeK.dpuf

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Queen Of England Hospitalized For Gastroenteritis

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Queen

Buckingham Palace has told reporters that the Queen of England has been taken to hospital as a precaution after a stomach bug.

The 86-year-old Queen is reportedly suffering from gastroenteritis, the BBC reports, and has been taken to King Edward VII Hospital in London.

It is the first time in 10 years that the Queen has been hospitalized. All official engagements for the next week have been cancelled, a rarity for a Queen who rarely fails to meet her obligations, Sky News reports.

The Queen's bout of gastroenteritis was confirmed by Palace officials earlier this weekend, and had led to speculation she would have to cancel engagements, especially an upcoming royal trip to Italy.

Gastroenteritis is more commonly referred to as the stomach flu, though it has no link to the influenza virus. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. The UK has recently seen a large-scale outbreak of one strain of Gastroenteritis known as the norovirus.

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How Austin Locals Party At SXSW Without Spending A Dime

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south by southwest sxsw music festival

It's quite astonishing how many film, music and interactive events the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, manages to pack into nine days.

Last year the music section of the event – created in 1987 with the aim of fostering new ideas and bringing creative types together – featured more than 2,000 acts, including headliners Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z.

And with the likes of Wavves, Nick Cave and Major Lazer at this year's event, from 8-17 March, Austin remains a vital destination for music fans.

Yet the festival can be overwhelming for the first-time visitor.

While industry professionals lap up new developments across the music, film and technology sectors, the sheer number of shows, events and lectures can be intimidating to the casual tourist looking to have fun in the "live music capital of the world".

And high prices for tickets, or "badges", as advertised on the SXSW website, can be a deterrent. Once you've stumped up the money to get to Texas in the first place, who can stomach another $1,000 for a platinum badge giving access to all the music, film and interactive events?

Even more moderate ticket options, such as a music-only badge, cost around $600. So why do throngs of music lovers return every year?

What's been something of a secret to Austinites for years, but which others are now discovering, is that it's possible to enjoy SXSW without paying a dollar.

You can eat, get drunk and see thousands of great bands for free. I didn't quite believe this until I attended my first SXSW Unofficial Showcase last year.

Arriving in Austin ticketless and with low expectations, I asked around for the best places to go. On the advice of an Austinite friend, I went to The Parish (214 East 6th Street, theparishaustin.com), where National Public Radio (NPR) was hosting a free "unofficial" party on the first day of Music week. I arrived early and, to my surprise, was greeted at the door with a tequila shot, two beer tokens and a taco.

I washed down my complimentary lunch with the beers and was promptly tapped on the shoulder by a couple of bubbly PR staff, who proceeded to offer me as much rum as I could handle.

Hazy after a couple of shots, I was then targeted by another rep, who convinced me to try some of the local ale – just as The Magnetic Fields began to soundtrack my childlike delight at the free pleasures on offer.

A few more free drinks later, I vaguely remember stumbling out of The Parish, naively raving to my friend – an SXSW veteran – about the free booze and food, and the high calibre of musical acts. It was then she let me in on the secret: "Just stick to all the unofficial parties and screw paying for tickets – hardly anyone in Austin does." And so my week of complimentary hedonism began.

I continued to consume free beverages, acquired a surprising number of sunglasses, ate a lot of tacos and, most importantly, managed to catch a lot of great bands including SBTRKT, The War On Drugs, Beach House and Deerhoof among many others. Held in the daytime hours of SXSW Music week, the free unofficial parties have, in recent years, become as popular as the ticketed evening events.

This is partly because big money companies use the shows to promote products. Brands such as Converse, Miller, Spotify and hundreds of others attempt to throw the best parties and – inevitably – give away lots of free stuff. Admittedly, this has led to the festival becoming increasingly corporate, and for some it has certainly lost a degree of its indie credibility.

But there is no denying the appeal of these corporate-sponsored shows. In the past three years, some of the unofficial parties have even featured headliners such as Jack White and Kanye West. Last year A$AP Rocky showed up to entertain at the small-scale events, held in various nooks and crannies in the city.

So, given that none of these parties is actually advertised on the official SXSW website, how do you find them? Social media is the answer.

Tweets and posts begin pinging back and forth in the weeks leading up to most of the free shows, generating a buzz on influential music blogs such as do152.com. Websites such as showlistaustin.com and Facebook groups such as Unofficial SXSW Guide and the SXSWPartyList focus on listing the unofficial events.

Quite often you have to RSVP to the parties online, which means the companies will add you to their mailing lists in return for providing complimentary entertainment for the day. If that sounds too much like hard work, pay $40 (which, let's be honest, you'll probably make back in about an hour's worth of free drinking) and rsvpster.com will get you entry into almost all the free parties, and provide a spreadsheet detailing who is playing, who is sponsoring and any rumours of secret performances.

With the unofficial parties becoming increasingly popular and, in some cases, overblown, one may think they could begin to pose a threat to official ticket sales. But the music, film and interactive elements of SXSW have such a reputation with industry professionals that these tickets will always be bought by bigwigs.

It is also inevitable that some of the bigger headliners (such as Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen last year) will simply refuse to play the daytime shows and keep themselves under wraps for the ticketed events.

But still, for the music fan on a budget or a first-timer weary of pricey festival badges, it is definitely worth heading to Austin and signing up for the unofficial parties. Free music? Free beer? Free tacos? And it's usually sunny too? You can count on my RSVP.

• Festival details atsxsw.com. Flights from London to Austin over festival dates from £540 at kayak.co.uk. For advice on accommodation use ourAustin city guide

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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The Rise Of The High-Tech Toilet Bowl

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high tech toilet

Flush and fill. Flush and fill. Not so long ago, that’s all a toilet was expected to do. Not so anymore.

These days, a growing number of consumers are looking for toilets that are both high design and high tech.

Beyond flushing, the hottest commodes come with motion-sensor lids, air-purifying systems, heated seats, built-in speakers and touch-screen controls that allow users to preset their personal cleansing preferences.

Many of the most advanced receptacles come from Japan, where manufacturers Inax and Toto are based. High-tech toilets have been popular in East Asia since the early 1980s but only began making a splash in the United States within the past decade.

Think these lavish loos are only for the rich and famous? Think again. Toto alone sold more than 30 million high-tech toilets from 1980 to 2011. In recent years, Toto and a handful of other companies, including BioBidet, Coco and Kohler, have launched aggressive marketing campaigns to promote their state-of-the-art stools. Most of these companies offer high-end stand-alone toilets and bidets as well as special seats that can add a touch of technology to any boring bowl.

Toto’s Washlet B100, for example, fits most of the company’s elongated toilets. With the touch of a button, a nozzle extends from under the seat for warm-water cleansing. The nozzle, which cleans itself before and after every use, can be set to move back-and-forth for optimum cleansing. The contoured seat is heated to provide maximum comfort.

Cost

The high-tech seats and toilets are more expensive than the flush-and-done models; you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $1,500 for extra potty pampering. It’s an add-on that more folks are beginning to see as an essential.

David Krakoff, senior vice president of Toto’s Americas Sales Division, says even during the recent economic downturn, his company saw growth in the tech toilet arena.

“It’s not necessarily that expensive,” he said. “It’s something special you can do in your house, and it doesn’t break the bank but it does make you feel really good about your project. It’s the kind of thing you’ll show your friends – which you can’t say about a run-of-the-mill toilet.”

A recent New York Times article  noted that real estate ads have long mentioned the brand names of kitchen appliances but now, more and more ads are name-dropping toilet brands.

Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, told the newspaper that the Toto brand had “become the Sub-Zero of the toilet world.”

Benefits

John Kang first discovered high-tech toilets a few years ago, while in Korea. He was so moved by the wonderful wash rooms that he gave up his job as a stock broker to become vice president at Coco Bidets.

“We as Americans are supposed to have the best technology and the best hygiene in the world,” he told The Associated Press in 2007. “But the dirtiest part of our body is not getting cleaned properly. Think of it this way: If you got mud on your arm, you’re not (going to) clean it with just a paper towel. You’re going to use water.”

Greyson Bergson-Monaghan knows exactly what Kang is talking about. The Tacoma, WA boy’s tastes are more discriminating than those of theaverage fifth-grader. Case in point: He asked his parents for a Toto Washlet for his 11th birthday.

“It uses less paper, and it’s way more comfortable than sitting on a stone-cold seat,” explained Bergson-Monaghan. “My parents have one in their bathroom and my sister always runs down there to use it, but I kind of think kids deserve excellent treatment, too.”

Related:

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Here Are Some Of The Problems Google Is Having With Its Self-Driving Cars

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Google self-driving car

It's hard to tell which Google project the world is more excited about--Google Glass(es) or Google's self-driving cars--but this frequent car-driver, anyway, can't wait for the latter.

(The Glasses sound cool, too, don't get me wrong.)

Google is making great progress with these cars: The cars have now been driven more than 300,000 miles, and there have been no accidents with a car under the computer's control. (There was a widely publicized fender-bender in 2011, when one of the Google cars crunched into the car ahead of it, but the human driver was driving.)

One of the insights that people often quickly have when they ride in these cars, according to people who have ridden in them, is that it's obvious the computer can be a vastly better driver than a human ever could be. With lasers and radar for eyes, the computer can monitor an extraordinary number of inputs and react much more quickly to surprises than a human ever could.

I have always assumed that there would be much excitement around the self-driving cars right up until the time that one killed someone. At that point, I assumed, the years of litigation and liability arguments would make the technology so expensive as to be impractical for normal use.

One hypothesis that was mentioned to me recently by a person who has ridden in Google's cars, however, was the idea that, in a decade or two, your insurance premium will cost more if you don't have self-driving technology than if you do.

Why?

Because the computers will quickly reveal themselves to be far superior drivers than humans, especially given that humans often drive while distracted (texting, kids) or impaired (booze, drugs, drowsiness).

In any event...

Google is facing a couple of interesting challenges with the cars right now, one of which I heard about from someone close to the company. (The Google self-driving car team mentioned some of these in passing in a blog post.)

The first challenge is driving in snow.

When snow is on the road, the cars often have a tough time "seeing" the lane markers and other cues that they use to stay correctly positioned on the road. It will be interesting to see how the Google team sorts that one out.

A second challenge, apparently, is when the car encounters a change in a road that is not yet reflected in its onboard "map." In those situations, the car can presumably get lost, just the way a human can.

A third challenge is driving through construction zones, accident zones, or other situations in which a human is directing traffic with hand signals. The cars are excellent at observing stop signs, traffic lights, speed limits, the behavior of other cars, and other common cues that human drivers use to figure out how fast to go and where and when to turn. But when a human is directing traffic with hand signals--and especially when these hand signals conflict with a traffic light or stop sign--the cars get confused.

(Imagine pulling up to an intersection in which a police officer is temporarily directing traffic and overriding a traffic light. What should the car pay attention to? How should the car be "taught" to give the police officer's hand signals more weight than the traffic light? How should the car interpret the hand signals, which are often different from person to person? And what if the cop is just pointing at you and yelling, which happens frequently in intersections in New York?)

According to an engineer (not a Googler) who was involved in the conversation I had about this latter challenge, none of these problems are insurmountable. But they're certainly interesting.

The engineer's view, for what it's worth, is that self-driving technology will enter cars gradually, first for use in certain special and limited situations--highway driving, for example, in a form of augmented cruise control.  Then, eventually, after these baby steps have been mastered, the technology will progress toward the fully-automated electronic chauffeur that Google is working on.

Regardless, it can't get here soon enough.

SEE ALSO: Apple's Stock Just Crashed To A New Low

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Anheuser-Busch Launches Campaign To Fight Watered-Down Beer Accusations

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This weekend the Budweiser team has launched big PR campaign, seeking to end the negative publicity from $5 million class-action lawsuits accusingAnheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob and other brands.

A promoted tweet from Budweiser contains an image that points to the water Anheuser-Busch gave to the American Red Cross. The image has also appeared in newspaper ads in The New York Times and the Houston Chronicle.

Notably the advertisement doesn't directly address the accusations, reportedly based on information from former employees, that says Budweiser and other brands are watered down before bottling and do not contain the alcohol content their labels suggest.

However, @Budweiser also points towards this CNN report that found the alcohol levels were accurate, and also this NPR report that found similar results.

Anheuser-Busch denies the accusations and says its beers fully comply with labeling laws.

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The 10 Richest People In The World

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Forbes is out with its new billionaires list.

Here's the Top 10. Once again, Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu is #1.

billionaires

Here's more on the full list, from Forbes PR:

New York, NY (March 4, 2013) – Carlos Slim Helú (#1) is the world’s richest person on Forbes’ 27th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires.  With a net worth of $73 billion, up from $69 billion in 2012, the telecom magnate from Mexico tops the list for the fourth year in a row.  Bill Gates retains the #2 spot with a net worth of $67 billion. Zara’s Amancio Ortega (#3) moves up two spots from 2012, with a net worth of $57 billion, ahead of Warren Buffett (#4) with a net worth of $53.5 billion.  This marks the first year Buffett has not been in the Top 3 since 2000, in spite of being the second biggest gainer this year, up $9.5 billion.      

Rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands drove a huge number of newcomers into the billionaire ranks.  This year 210 billionaires are new to the list, while 60 dropped off (still more died or split their fortunes with a family).  A record 1,426 billionaires (up 200 from 1,226 in 2012) made the list, with an average net worth of $3.8 billion (up from $3.7 billion in 2012).  Added together, the total net worth for this year’s billionaires is $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion last year.  The U.S. leads the list, with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), The Americas (129) and the Middle East & Africa (103).    

A total 138 women made the list this year, an increase of 34. With a net worth of $30 billion, Liliane Bettencourt (# 9) is now the richest woman in the world. Other women on the list include Miuccia Prada (# 78) of Italy, Anne Cox Chambers (#80) of the U.S., and new to the list, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus (#198) of Switzerland, with net worths of $12.4 billion, $12 billion and $6 billion, respectively.    

Notable newcomers include: Singapore real estate magnates Robert & Philip Ng (#108), worth $10.1 billion; Diesel jeans mogul Renzo Rosso (#458), worth $3 billion; Hermes’ Nicolas Puech (#704) worth $2.1 billion; GoPro’s Nicholas Woodman (#1107), with a net worth of $1.3 billion, retailer  Bruce Nordstrom (#1175), worth $1.2 billion, fashion designer Tory Burch (#1342) and former business partner and ex-husband Christopher Burch (#1342), each with a net worth of $1 billion, and American filmmaker Ryan Kavanaugh (#1342) also with a net worth of $1 billion.    

Amancio Ortega is the world’s biggest gainer in dollar terms, adding $19.5 billion to his net worth. Another gainer: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (#13), who moves up from the No. 20 spot last year with a net worth of $27 billion (an increase of $5 billion from 2012).  The year’s biggest loser, with a $19.4 billion drop in his fortune, is Brazilian Eike Batista (#100). Mark Zuckerberg (#66) has a net worth of $13.3 billion, compared to $17.5 billion in 2012, when he ranked #35.     Notable drop-offs include Zynga’s Mark Pincus, former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, Alex Lebedev.   The Top 10 have a combined net worth of $451.5 billion, up from $395.4 billion in 2012:

Check out the full Forbes list here >

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This Powerful Sports Car Concept Is The Descendant Of A WWI Fighter Plane

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spyker b6 venator concept car

It’s been a while since Spyker launched a new model under its own brand. After all, its current--and only--model, the C8 Aileron, can trace its roots back to the C8 Spyder launched in 2000.

Over the years, the Dutch sports car manufacturer has tried to branch out into more profitable areas, taking over Swedish automaker Saab, which eventually went bankrupt and saw Spyker lose close to $210 million, and recently it announced plans to build a range of luxury models with Chinese automaker Youngman.

At one point, Spyker almost offloaded its sports car business, but luckily for it, and its embattled CEO Victor Muller, the unit was retained.

Spyker is now looking to its future and has given us the first taste of what that may entail. The company has revealed today the first details and images for its B6 Venator concept car, which debuts tomorrow at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

The B6 Venator previews a new sports car positioned below Spyker’s C8 range and is designed to compete against entry-level versions of the Porsche 911 and Audi R8, although it's similar in size to Porsche's Boxster.

The name Venator is derived from the Latin word for “hunter” and draws its heritage from the Venator fighter planes used by the Dutch military during World War I. Spyker, of course, was a manufacturer of aircraft at the turn of the last century and this heritage can still be seen the company’s latest cars and its propeller logo.

As for the B6 Venator, it features a mid-mounted V-6 engine that displaces 3.5 liters and is rated 375 horsepower. The engine is matched to a six-speed automatic transmission and powers the rear wheels only.

Thanks to a lightweight aluminum chassis wrapped in a svelte carbon fiber body, the B6 Venator tips the scales at just 3,080 pounds, giving it a weight-to-power ratio of 8.21 pounds per horsepower.

Inside, you’ll find Spyker’s signature design elements such as a machine-turned aluminum dash, quilted leather trim, and an exposed gearshift mechanism that runs the length of the cabin.

If built, pricing for the B6 Venator is expected to start at around 125,000 euros (approximately $162,600).

Note, the overall size of the car and the description of its mechanicals are very similar to those of the Lotus Evora, which has been used as the basis of more than one concept for rival firms in the past. However, Spyker has not confirmed any tie-up with Lotus just yet.

We’ll bring you more details, including live photos of the Spyker B6 Venator following its debut in Geneva tomorrow, so stay tuned. In the meantime, be sure to visit our dedicated show hub for all the latest updates.

SEE ALSO: This Sexy Crossover Could Be Peugeot's Last Hope

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Teens Reveal The Craziest Things They've Done To Make Money

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Teens TextingWe speak from experience when we say that translating the jargon-filled, mind-numbing world of personal finance into readable, engaging material for young people is no simple task. 

But it looks like H&R Block and DoSomething.org might be on to something.

The two companies have launched a quirky new campaign to get young people motivated to save more and spend less. 

At the center of the campaign, which features celebrity PSAs from Far East Movement and comedian Michael Kayne, is a simple, teen-friendly challenge: "The Craziest Thing I Did To Save Money." 

Via the site's Facebook app, young people can either upload a photo or text ("WYR" to 38383) some of the craziest things they've done to save. And instead of "liking" or giving a thumbs up to photos, users can "Call BS" or say "I Believe It!" There's also real cash at stake in the form a $4,000 scholarship for the best saving strategy.

Clever. 

Submissions are accepted through April 30, but we had a great time picking out our favorites among the dozens that have already been shared. 







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Stunning Aerial Pictures Of Mexicans Carpooling To Work

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Mexico Car Poolers Photos

Following our publication of aerial shots of Hong Kong's tiny "caged" apartments, we were reminded of another aerial shot photography project from Alejandro Cartagena.

In "Car Poolers", Cartagena took his camera to a bridge in suburban Mexico to catch shots of car poolers on their way to work. It's a fascinating glimpse into modern Mexico.

You can see the pictures in person at Kopeikin Gallery in LA where Cartagena is having a solo exhibition until April 6 2013.

Cartagena shot the images on Monterrey's Highway 85 over the course of a year.



The carpoolers are heading South to San Pedro Garza Garcia, one of the richest cities in Central America.



The images shows the stark contrast between the rich and the poor in Mexico.



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The 10 Richest People In Sports

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robert kraft

Professional athletes rake in tons of money every year for playing the game they love.

But the real money comes when you own the show.

Forbes put out its annual Billionaires list on Monday and the billionaires of the sports world aren't out there on the field, they're the ones behind the scenes.

#1 Stanley Kroenke

Net worth: $5 billion

Stanley Kroenke is all over the place when it comes to sports team ownership. Kroenke owns the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, the St. Louis Rams, and Premier League soccer club Arsenal.

Forbes



#2 Malcolm Glazer

Net worth: $4.4 billion

Glazer owns not one, but two sports teams. Glazer bought the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995, and the EPL soccer team Manchester United.

Manchester United went public in August 2012 and became the first sports team to ever be valued at more than $3 billion in January 2013.

Forbes



#3 Bernie Eccelstone (and family)

Net Worth: $3.8 billion

Bernie Ecclestone owns 5.3% of Formula One, an elite car racing league in the U.K. Ecclestone turned Formula One into a popular sport across the globe.

Much of his fortune is sitting in trust funds for his daughters Petra and Tamara.

Forbes



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13 Cars We Can't Wait To See At The Geneva Motor Show

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aston martin rapide s

The Geneva Motor Show begins Tuesday, and, like in Paris in September, the world's automakers will be working to put a good face on the catastrophic state of the European auto market.

The dozens of new models set to make their debuts at the show may not save the industry, but they will include some of its best hopes and most exciting prospects, especially on the luxury end of the spectrum.

After a catastrophic 2012, PSA Peugeot-Citroën is working to prove it's not totally obsolete

High-end automakers BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have had more success on the continent recently, and are bringing the next generation of luxury cars to Switzerland.

Top of the line brands Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and McLaren will be on the scene as well, with their new offerings.

Two years ago, Alfa Romeo brought the 4C concept car to Geneva. This year, it's bringing the production version. With a jet fighter-style cockpit and 240 hp propelling its 2,100 pounds, the 4C should go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.



We were quite happy with the 2014 Corvette that Chevrolet finally revealed in Detroit last month. In Geneva, they'll show off the convertible version for the first time.



Audi is bringing the A3 e-tron, the plug-in hybrid version of its hatchback. Set to go on sale later this year, the e-tron will go from 0 to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds and have a top speed of 138 mph.

[Source: The Telegraph]



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China Has Built A Miniature Version Of Italy

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florentia village china

China has built copycat versions of everything from world landmarks to Apple stores, but one of its more ambitious knockoffs has to be Florentia Village, a replica Italian town replete with canals, mosaics, and ornate fountains.

The village, which sprang up near the port city of Tianjin in 2011, is actually an outlet mall with more than 200 shops. And while classic Italian brands like Fendi, Gucci, and Prada are represented, there are also British, US, and China-based retailers in the mix.

But people don't just come to Florentia Village for designer goods.

"It's better than the Italian Embassy building in Beijing," one visitor told The Telegraph. "The architecture here is truly splendid, so I came to enjoy the aspect of the place and take pictures. I'll try to sell them to the tourism websites."

And unlike a knockoff version of an Austrian village that had residents of the original town in an uproar last year, Florencia Village has a stamp of approval  it was built by an Italian developer.

Welcome to Florentia Village, on the outskirts of Tianjin in northern China.




Accessible from Tianjin and Beijing by high speed rail, it gets between 10,000 and 25,000 visitors a day.

The Telegraph



The shopping center, which covers around 50 acres, was constructed in a former cornfield and opened in June 2011.




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The Most Respected Universities In The World

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Times Higher Education has released its 2013 World Reputation Rankings, which are based on the world's largest invitation-only academic opinion survey "to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands."

Although the reputation rankings aren't as objective as their annual World University Rankings — which employs 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators — the brand evaluation is based on "the expert judgement of senior, published academics."

Australia stepped up to the world stage as it now has six universities represented in the top 100 while the UK has lost three institutions from the world top 100 list since the first reputation rankings in 2011.

In the U.S. the University of Massachusetts has fallen from 19th to 42nd since 2011 while John Hopkins dropped from 14th in 2011 to 19th this year. New York University has risen 29 from the 51-60 group in '11.

Here's the top 10 (along with their overall score):

1Harvard UniversityUnited States
100.0
2Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States
87.6
3University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom
81.3
4University of OxfordUnited Kingdom
73.0
5University of California, BerkeleyUnited States
72.4
6Stanford University  United States
70.6
7Princeton UniversityUnited States
36.2
8University of California, Los AngelesUnited States
35.6
9University of TokyoJapan
32.9
10Yale UniversityUnited States 32.8

The U.S. continues to dominate the list with 11 of the top 15 and 43 universities total (the next highest is the UK with nine total). Twenty countries are represented in the list:

The data allows tracking of individual universities over the years, which will be interesting to watch as as time progresses:

Now Watch: The Secrets Of Superachievers Revealed

 

Check out the entire list

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The Secret To Nailing Men's Suiting In Two Words

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picture, fitting, Michael Andrews Bespoke, Studio, Tailor, Custom, Custom Suits, MAB, NYC, Business Insider, dng

Justin Jeffers is the founder of fashion blog, The Fine Young Gentlemen.

The basics. So often they seem to be overlooked by the American male. The result is the failure of many a good man’s attempt at clothing himself in a respectable manner.

So let’s walk before we run.

The most important thing for any piece of clothing a man dons is the fit. You could be wearing the most expensive suit made from the most expensive fabric in the world, but if the suit does not fit. You will still look like crap. A man will look better in a $500 suit that fits him well than the aforementioned multi-thousand suit that does not. Simple.

A few things to pay attention to when you're finding a suit: If the shoulders of a suit jacket protrude an inch past the wearers shoulder line then clearly it does not fit well.

If the pant legs look like sails flailing in the wind then clearly they do not fit and will need to be taken in.

Proportions are the foundation of fit. In men's clothing, they determine basically everything. If you a wearing a suit, the width of the lapels, length of the jacket, width of the tie, length of the collar points on the shirt collar as well as nearly every other aspect of a suit and shirt all play off of each other.

All those parts of the suit need to be consistent. You cannot wear a skinny tie with a wide lapeled jacket and think you look good. Designers play with these proportions to create their ‘signature’ looks, but these often serve to mislead men. It's nice to think you can be creative, but you should leave the daring looks to the professionals.

It is only when the various aspects of what a man is wearing are in proportion with each other and with his face and body that what he can be wearing can be deemed to fit well.

Regardless of your stance on the O.J. Simpson trial, there is one thing that we must take away from it, a line from Johnnie Cochran. That is, "If is doesn’t fit, you must acquit." In other words, if you are wearing something that does not fit get something that fits to replace it. If you are looking to buy something that doesn’t fit, don’t buy it. For any well dressed man knows that at the foundation of dressing well is well fitting garments.

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Forbes Publishes Huge Takedown Of Prince Alwaleed After Saudi Billionaire Flipped Out Over Rich List

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Prince Alwaleed Press release page 1

Yesterday, Kingdom Holding Company, the investing firm of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, sent out a stern press release.

In conjunction with the release of Forbes' 2013 Billionaires list, the Prince announced that he was severing ties with the publication's ranking.

Kingdom alleged that Forbes' methodology was biased against Mideast investors and gave the Prince's disclosures unwarranted scrutiny.

This morning Forbes fired back in a brutal takedown hovering around 3,000 words. It's called, "Prince Alwaleed And The Curious Case Of Kingdom Holding Stock."

Writer Kerry Dolan paints a picture of a man obsessed with presenting the image of a consummate, global business mogul from the glossy Photoshopped magazine covers he sends in his press kits to constant watching of CNBC.

The Kingdom Holding website, Dolan points out, presents the Prince as "the world's foremost value investor."

And of course, foremost has to mean incredibly wealthy. That, says Dolan, is where Forbes' list has come in year after year (but no more).

Prince AlwaleedFrom Forbes:

The prince first came on Forbes' wealth-hunting radar in 1988, a year after our first Billionaires issue came out. The source: the prince himself, who contacted a FORBES reporter to let him know just how successful his Kingdom Establishment for Trading & Contracting company was–and to make clear that he belonged on the new list.

That outreach proved to be the first in what is now a quarter-century of intermittent lobbying, cajoling and threatening when it comes to his net worth listing. Of the 1,426 billionaires on our list, not one–not even the vainglorious Donald Trump–goes to greater measure to try to affect his or her ranking. In 2006 when FORBES estimated that the prince was actually worth $7 billion less than he said he was, he called me at home the day after the list was released, sounding nearly in tears. “What do you want?” he pleaded, offering up his private banker in Switzerland. “Tell me what you need.”

The anecdotes go on. The Prince lives the life of a hard-working executive, sleeping little and expecting his staff to be on call at his 420-room palace, or his jet, or his 120-acre "farm and resort" at all times. Dolan says he's trying to live up to the legacy of his family, the founders of Saudi Arabia and leaders of Lebanon.

And it's not that he hasn't had his successes in business. Alwaleed got his start making a massive bet on Citi:

From Forbes:

As regulators pressured Citicorp to increase its capital base in the face of bad loans across developing countries, Alwaleed, then unknown outside Saudi Arabia, amassed an $800 million position. That enormous bet ballooned across two Wall Street boom cycles–by 2005 it was worth $10 billion, making Alwaleed, at the time, one of the ten richest people in the world, and earning him a nickname, which he encouraged, of “the Buffett of Arabia.”

The problem, Dolan writes (pulling absolutely no punches) is that Kingdom Holdings' underlying assets do not add up to its own reported value. The Prince, she claims, is using his own personal fortune to boost the company in order to maintain his image.

From Forbes:

...Kingdom Holding shares began what seemed a miraculous rebound in early 2010, rising 57% in the ten weeks prior to the February date that FORBES used to lock in values for that year’s Billionaires list, as Citigroup shares fell about 20%. The prince’s ranking on the FORBES billionaires list surged in lockstep to 19th ($19.4 billion).

In 2011 the pattern repeated. In the ten weeks before FORBES locked down its list, Kingdom Holding shares rose 31% while the Saudi index was up 3% and the S&P 500 was up 9% over that same period. (Prince Alwaleed finished at No. 26 in the world that year, with an estimated net worth of $19.6 billion.) It happened yet again in 2012, when Kingdom shares climbed 56% while the Saudi market was up just 11%, and the S&P 500 was up 9%. (This time Alwaleed was No. 29, with an $18 billion valuation, after FORBES discounted his claims on many of his non-Kingdom Holding assets.)

In this year's calculations, Forbes said it could not justify Kingdom's estimation of Alwaleed's wealth and that the gap between their estimates and his is about $9.6 billion.

For the full story head to Forbes>

Now Watch: How Herbalife Became A Battleground Stock For Two Wall Street Heavyweights

 

SEE ALSO: What 'Short Selling' Really Means

SEE ALSO: SEAFOOD FRAUD: A Third Of The Fish You Buy Isn't What They Say It Is

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Lamborghini Unveils $3.9 Million Supercar To Celebrate Its 50th Birthday

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stephan winkelman with lamborghini veneno at geneva motor show

The Geneva Motor Show is in full swing after opening to the press this morning, but things really kicked off last night when Lamborghini unveiled the highly anticipated supercar it created to mark its 50th birthday.

Named for a legendary fighting bull, the Veneno checks off all the supercar must-haves: Carbon fiber body construction, a striking body style made with aerodynamics in mind, and an eye-popping price tag.

At $3.9 million, the Veneno is the most expensive Lamborghini ever built and is among history's priciest production cars.

Its 6.5-liter, 12-cylinder engine will produce a whopping 750 horsepower, enough to send the car from from 0 to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and up to a top speed of 220 mph.

The new Lambo is street legal, but only the luckiest of car lovers will ever have the chance to see one in the flesh: Only three will be produced. Not surprisingly, they have already been sold.

The car on display in Geneva is a prototype, and will not be sold, according to CNN Money.

lamborghini veneno


lamborghini veneno

SEE ALSO: 13 Cars We Can't Wait To See At The Geneva Motor Show

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The Truth About That Survey That Says 1 In 10 Yale Students Have Been Paid For Sex

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Right now the Drudge Report is linking to a bombshell survey that finds 1 in 10 Yale students say they have been paid for sex.

Drudge Report Yale Sex

That link goes to a College Fix story that reports on a recent survey on the sex lives of Yale students, but that link appears to have gone down after traffic from Drudge.

However, a Yale Daily News story about the survey is still up, and it contains some interesting results from the survey:

  • three percent of attendees had engaged in bestiality
  • 22 percent had never had a sexual partner
  • 12 percent have filmed themselves during intercourse
  • 52 percent have engaged in consensual pain during intercourse

The Yale Daily News story, a blog post written by Cynthia Hua, goes on to describes the survey in some detail, explaining that it was part of Saturday workshop event designed to explore masochistic sexual practices such as those depicted in “50 Shades of Grey.”

During the event around 40 students were asked to fill out an anonymous survey by “sexologist” Jill McDevitt. While we don't know the exact number of particpants, that small sample size means that around 4 people must have said they had been paid for sex, while just 1 admitted to bestiality.

It seems that around 8 students said they had never had sex, around 3 had filmed themselves, and around 20 had engaged with consensual pain.

Also, this is a self-selecting group. We highly doubt that McDevitt intended it to be viewed as a scientific survey.

So, we apologize, but we cannot confirm that 1 in 10 Yale students have been paid for sex at this time.

SEE ALSO: The Craziest Things We Learned In That Book About Sex At Yale >

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