obstacle

“The greatest obstacle in life is the wait for tomorrow and the loss of today”

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Neither war, nor hunger, nor love. Nor hate, friendship or illness. If there is something that has really bothered us humans throughout the centuries, it is the passage of time. We all (from the richest to the most miserable) come into the world with our days scheduled. Sooner or later we run out of rope without anyone being able to prevent it. It’s that simple. In fact (and for cruel ironic as it may sound) that is one of the very few certainties that we can embrace during our existence, be it more or less extensive: there is no life without death. It’s nothing new. Centuries ago philosophers realized that, in a way, as our lives progress so does our death. If time is short must be valuable (just as happens with precious metals or gems) and everything valuable always brings a challenge. How the hell do you manage it? How to get the most out of it? What’s more, why try to get ‘the most out of it’? Are those who insist on making something of their time happier? useful and helpful Who do you see spending your days lying on the beach? Seneca to the rescue A few centuries ago, around the year 55 AD, there was a Latin philosopher (born in Cordubawhat is now Córdoba and then acted as the capital of Hispania Ulterior) who raised these same questions. His name was Lucius Anneeus Seneca and the answers he found were captured in works such as ‘De brevitate vitae’a text dedicated to a certain Paulino (his father-in-law or brother-in-law) in which he outlines a series of advice. One of the most famous can often be seen in the anthologies of aphorisms: “The biggest obstacle in life is the wait for tomorrow and the loss of today“. The phrase connects with the old maxim of tempus fugit (“time flies”), although there is more to it than may seem at first glance. In it, Seneca addresses one of the most complicated challenges for those who have set out to ensure that time does not slip through their fingers: the balance between the present and the future. A present that is our only certain reality and a tomorrow that will in turn be conditioned by what we do today. In other words, do we bet everything on the present or is it wiser to condition it with tomorrow in mind? They were interesting questions in Rome in the first century AD and they remain so today, twenty centuries later, in procrastination times in which the equation becomes even more complicated. At the end of the day, procrastinating is nothing more than setting traps in time management: deferring, postponing, delaying the moment in which we must carry out a task that (usually) will be beneficial for our future. Seneca’s starting point is as suggestive as it is challenging. Our time may be limited, but that doesn’t mean life is necessarily short. If it seems that way, it is because we ourselves favor it by facing it in the wrong way. And that doesn’t just happen by lying on the couch with your cell phone to kill the hours abandoned to the pleasure of the infinite scroll. For Seneca, the outlook is not much better if we obsess over tasks that make us believe that we do not have enough hours in the day, but in reality they are unimportant. “We don’t have a shortage of time, what happens is that we lose a lot. Life is long enough and to do the most important things it has been generously given to us, if all of it is used well.” “But if it is scattered in ostentation and carelessness, where it is not spent on anything good, when at last the inevitable final trance comes upon us, we realize that a life has passed that we did not know was happening.” “It is like this: we do not receive a short life, but rather we make it short“, concludes the Stoic thinker, who died in 65 AD, aged about 70. The complete reflection that Seneca dedicates to Paulinus and from which the phrase we previously cited about “the loss of today” is extracted is more devastating because it warns of how easy it is to give in to the mirage that we are taking advantage of time. Here we reproduce specifically the translation made by Francisco Socas Gavilán for the version of the Virtual Library of Andalusia. “Can there be anything more stupid than the attitude of some, I mean those men who presume to be far-sighted? They are engaged in too many tasks to be able to live better, they equip life by spending life, their thoughts direct them to the distance. But, of course, the greatest waste of life is procrastination: it cancels each day that is presented, it hides the present while promising what lies ahead.” “The greatest hindrance to living is the expectation that depends on tomorrow and loses what is today. You dispose of what is in the hands of luck, you abandon what is in yours. Where do you look? Where do you orient yourself? All future things remain uncertain: live immediately.” Seneca’s work resonates strongly twenty centuries later because, as remember Socasnot only tells us about death and the passage of time, but also about “life as a positive realization within a limited scope.” “Even though men can’t stop complaining about the brevity of lifethey alone are the real culprits of shortening it with their laziness and vices. “We waste time and do not consider it the greatest and only good,” duck. “The solution will be neither hyperactivity nor laziness, because those who are very busy, always thinking about tomorrow, do not take advantage of their time and are soon surprised by old age, while in idleness passions and amusements rob us of our intimate peace,” comments Socas after remembering Seneca’s words. “The idle fear death more. The busy will not be able to … Read more

The Ministry of Labor wants death leave to be extended to 10 days. Obstacle: Congress

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The Ministry of Labor plans to approve by royal decree law the extension of leave for the death of family members up to 10 days. Although the formula would allow its entry into force immediately after the Council of Ministers, there is a risk that the measure will end up being overturned later in Congress. Just like share El País, the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, confirmed this Tuesday that “the intention would be for the rule approving leave for bereavement and death to be an urgent rule” and that his “predisposition is to do so through a royal decree law shortly.” The Government’s strategy. By processing the norm as a decree law instead of as an ordinary draft law, the ministry led by Yolanda Díaz seeks to ensure that the extension of permits is applied immediately, without waiting to complete the entire parliamentary procedure. That would make the measure come into force the day after its publication in the BOE, although it then requires validation by Congress within a maximum period of one month. According to account In the middle, during that period, workers who suffer a family death could now access extended leave. Agreement. Job agreed with CCOO and UGT On December 15, the paid leave for the death of a spouse, common-law partner or relatives up to the second degree (parents, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren) was extended from the current two days (extendable to four in the event of displacement) up to 10 days. These could be used continuously or discontinuously within four weeks after death. Furthermore, just as share El País, the agreement includes a new 15-day permit for palliative care, divisible into two fractions over a period of three months, and one day of leave to accompany someone who is going to receive euthanasia, regardless of family ties. Rejection. The employers’ association CEOE and Cepyme have opposed the proposal because they consider that “it represents a new attempt to transfer to companies the cost and responsibility of public policies on care that corresponds to the Administration,” as they indicated in a statement. The lack of consensus in social dialogue marks the position of the PP, which has already announced its vote against following its criterion of rejecting labor measures that do not have the joint support of unions and employers. Key vote in the air. Parliamentary arithmetic turns Junts and PNV into decisive pieces in approving or not the measure. Just like they point From El País, the Catalan nationalists have already joined together with PP and Vox to overturn the reduction in working hours and have maintained very critical positions with other proposals rejected by unions and employers, such as the increase in the self-employed quota. For the measure to be approved, the Executive would need the support of the entire left plus the support of Junts and PNV, or at least the yes of one and the abstention of the other. Comparisons with Europe. Labor has been highlighting Spain’s delay compared to neighboring countries in regards to death leave. From the middle they point out that Portugal extended the paid leave for the death of a spouse in 2023 to 20 days, equal to that of children, while in France 12 working days are granted for the death of children and 14 if the deceased is under 25 years of age. According to the ministry, the current two days in Spain are insufficient to face a duel. A controversial vote. The decision to take the measure through a decree law responds to a clear intention to make it difficult for the opposition to reject it, since it is a measure of high social sensitivity. “suffering from the death of a son or daughter” is “not a question of the right or the left,” counted Pérez Rey in the middle. Cover image | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | Deepfakes are much more than a bad joke. Now the Government wants them to be a violation of the right to honor

The “rearme” in Europe has encountered an obstacle that neither US imagined: Spain

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A few days after the NATO Summit in The Hague is held, the main concern among allied leaders does not revolve around To Ukraine or Russiabut how to prevent Trump from dynamite. The US president has become the axis around which he orbits the transatlantic policy, and in an effort to maintain their support (or at least their neutrality), the organizers have compressed the format less than two days. What nobody expected was the “bomb” that It had Spain. Spain and the rearme. Yes, the planned summit has been involved in a strong tension After the firm opposition of the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to the new objective of military spending that the United States seeks to impose. In a categorical letter sent to the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, Sánchez qualifies “Irrazonable” The claim to raise the 5% defense expense of GDP, a requirement promoted by Trump under the threat of withdrawing US military protection to countries that do not comply. The Spanish refusal is not symbolic: it calls into question the political foundations of the summit and could dynamite a consensus that It was assured Among the 32 members, at a time of deep uncertainty About him future commitment Washington with European security. The Spanish model. Sánchez argues that a hurried adoption of such a threshold would have negative consequences both economic and social. In his opinion, fulfilling 5% would force Increase taxes On the middle classes, drastically reduce essential public services and sacrifice high economic impact investments in sectors such as education, health, technological research or ecological transition. Sánchez and two dangers. The warning according to Spain is double: on the one hand, Budgetwarning of a brake to growth derived with greater indebtedness and inflation. On the other, policypointing out that this sacrifice would fall on structural pillars of the welfare state. In Your letterthe president also emphasizes that this imposed goal would lead to countries to make hurried military purchases that would only increase the dependency of non -European suppliers and would erode the industrial base of defense of the continent. Beyond the economic, Spain exposes a strategic concern about the Interoperability and operational cohesion Within the alliance if the Member States begin to rearm without a common road map. Fracture within the alliance. The Financial Times counted that the Spanish position coincides with the resistance of few other members, although most have given their support to the Rutte proposal to reach an expense of 3.5% of GDP in direct defense plus 1.5% in critical infrastructures and cybersecurity, configuring a total equivalent to 5% required by Trumpbut more nuanced. However, the Negative of Spain It arrives at a time of special institutional fragility: Trump has demonstrated manifest disinterest by multilateral summits, leaving a G7 meeting after disregarding the meetings with Zelenski and showing irritation to Macron to hinder their aspirations on Greenland. European makeup According to the New York Timesthe (re) flag -bearer definition in the matter of “rearme” has generated a mixture of confusion and discomfort among the defense ministers, many of which are not clear about what can be included or when the objective should be achieved. The result is, in the words of European analysts, a makeup operation Political: an inflated figure with inaccurate concepts to satisfy Trump without really compromising the economic and social model of several countries. According to Nathalie Toccidirector of the Institute of International Affairs of Italy, “3.5% is real and responds to the needs of NATO, 1.5% is pure theater to calm Trump.” Without compass club. The scenario also reflects other tensions. The main one: the debate has revealed deep divisions Within the alliance. Some border countries with Russia demand Accelerate spending To dissuade a possible Russian offensive in the next five years, while others (such as Canada, Italy, Spain or Luxembourg) barely have just achieved the 2% target set a decade ago (Spain or that). Germany asks A “realistic commitment” between what is necessary and the feasible, while Luxembourg denounces that the figures should not guide securitybut real capacities. The Rutte proposal Nor has it managed to clarify whether part of military aid to Ukraine can Computing as an expense Internal defensive, a key aspect for countries that wish to sustain their contribution without weakening their own national capacities. This ambiguity has led to debates about what is considered military investment and what enters the “related” spending category, leaving the land paid to opportunistic interpretationsdouble computations and/or statistical divergences that can erode mutual trust. Europe under pressure. Even if governments promised to spend more, it is not clear that the defense industry (neither European nor American) can absorb quickly Those funds. The bottleneck It is not just prosecutorbut logistics, industrial and technological. In addition, increasing spending without a common strategy could be translated In precipitated purchasesuncoordinated and focused on external suppliers, aggravating operational fragmentation. While, I remembered the Times that the Russian threat is still tangible. NATO’s intelligence services estimate that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Moscow could reconstitute an offensive force capable of directing directly to the eastern flank of the alliance within five years. We have already told it, countries as Estonia or Finland consider that There is no time to lose and demand immediate actions. However, the United Kingdom will not reach 3% to 2034 And other allies continue to drag Structural delays that question their real commitment. The structural challenge. So, Spain, one of the few allied capitals that has not even reached the current threshold of that 2%, is now in the center of a pulse strategic that transcends the budget. The Sánchez letter raises Two outputs A RUTTE: to be exempt from any new approved objective or allow a flexible formula that volunteers will volunteer the 5%goal. Thus, what is at stake is not only spending, but Shared Defense Model and the principles of balance and proportionality between allies. Historical Summit. In short, Sanchez’s letter reveals a deep crack between the strategic priorities of … Read more

The US is willing to do anything for advanced chips not to reach China. And Malaysia is an obstacle

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Malaysia is in the spotlight of the US. The administration led by Donald Trump has suspected for many months that Chinese companies and research centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) acquire the most advanced NVIDIA GPUs through Singapore and Malaysian intermediary companies. In fact, this possibility It is no longer just a hypothesis. And it is that the Singapore government has confirmed that it has identified those responsible for diverting to China, and presumably towards the parent company of Deepseekservers that contain the high performance GPUs produced by NVIDIA. This information was revealed at the end of last February by the Channel News Asia television channel, and shortly after the Minister of Internal Affairs and Justice of Singapore, K. Shanmugam, He confirmed it. Interestingly, it did not realize what the GPUs that incorporate these machines are, but made public a very important fact: the name of the companies that manufactured the servers. And they are Two US clients from Nvidia Very important: Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer. For Malaysia, the eeuu is not an option Malaysia is a global power in packaging and verification of integrated avant -garde circuits. In August 2023 we had the opportunity to check it first hand because Intel invited us to Visit the chips factories that has in this country of Southeast Asia. These plants reside in Penang and Kulim, two exotic and beautiful cities located north of Kuala Lumpur, and are specialized in the processing of silicon wafers that come from Intel factories in Israel and Ireland. Malaysia is a very attractive country not only for Intel and other manufacturers of American semiconductors; It is also for Chinese and Taiwan chips companies. Its appeal lies in four fundamental pillars: has a stable supply chainnotable technological development, makes available to these very qualified personal companies and their production costs are moderate. For integrated circuit manufacturers, a country with these characteristics is a safe bet. Many Chinese manufacturers are diverting the packaging of their chips to Malaysia to protect themselves from the tension between the US and China Intel has been present in Malaysia since 1972, and during the more than five decades that have since elapsed its infrastructure in this Asian country has not stopped growing. His model has worked so well that other large companies in the semiconductor industry have adopted it. One of them is the Chinese giant Huatian Technology, and many other Chinese manufacturers of integrated circuits are diverting the packaging of their chips to Malaysia to protect themselves from the uncertainty that has triggered the tension between the US and China. The chips industry is one of the engines of the Malaysian economy, and, as we have just seen, the US is an essential actor for this country. For this reason, Malaysia’s government is interested in doing everything in his hand to Do not get into the US administration. The presumable participation of some of its companies in the export of avant -garde chips to China places it in a delicate position that, for more inri, has just complicated even more. And it is that a company from China is suspicious of training AI models in Malaysia infrastructure and using Nvidia hardware. According to Reuters The Ministry of Investments, Commerce and Industry of Malaysia is investigating whether this or any other company housed in its territory has violated some local law. Interestingly, this institution is analyzing a report that argues that Four Chinese citizens They traveled from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur, each transporting several hard drives with dozens of calculus leaves and images, with the purpose of training an AI model into 300 servers with Nvidia chips. Malaysia is not subject to sanctions or restrictions by the US government, and it is evident that this Asian country is interested in its relationship with the Trump administration be as cordial as possible. What is not clear is that he gets unscathed from his involuntary mediation between China and the US. More information | Reuters In Xataka | We can forget an AI without hallucinations for now. The general director of Nvidia explains why

Two villages in Cantabria want to join through a new road. They have encountered an obstacle: the bear

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On paper the project of the Reinosa-Potes road It is ‘alone’ that: the project of a new road between two Cantabrian regions, an infrastructure not excessively long (14 or 20 kmdepending on the option that is chosen) that would mobilize about 100 million euros in investment. That on paper. In practice the idea has generated a considerable debate In Cantabria in which two other hot issues are played in The region Spain: the Tourist and the complex balance in protection of the brown bear. The debate is served. What happened? That in the Cantabrian policy an old project recovered by the PP government is gaining prominence: the Potes-Reinosa road, a vial of some 14 or 20 kilometers (depending on the alternative that is chosen) that I would unite the regions of Campoo and Liebana crossing the heart of the Cantabrian mountain range. The idea is not new. He already tried to get ahead in the 90s, at the time of the president Juan Hormaecheaalthough its origins can go back further, at the end of the Decade of 1960. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Why is it important? Because, beyond its extension, technical characteristics or budget, estimated among the 90 and 100 million eurosthe Potes-Reinosa road project has implications that play some of the most relevant songs of Cantabrian (and Spanish) news: Touristintegration and environmental conservation, directly affecting, according to their detractors, the efforts to recover the brown bear in the region. And what is the reason? That the road (a new section from the CA-183 and the PK 20 of the CA-184 endowed with two lanes of 3.5 meters) would pass through the heart of the Cantabrian mountain range. And so, They warn their detractorsit would have an environmental impact of draft. “The northern slope of the Sierra del Cordel and the Sierra de Híjar, both included in the Special Conservation Zone (ZEC) ‘Altos del Nansa and Saja and Alto Campoo’ would A manifesto that exceeds 1,900 signatures and has the support of at least 200 experts. In The documentpromoted by Cantabrist and individuals, including scientists and researchers of ecology, zoology, geography and hydraulic, the reasons why they reject the new road are used. But above all there is one of weight: its impact on habitats and species that seeks to protect precisely the ZEC zone declaration. “It would not only endanger valuable mountain ecosystems, but would go against the conservation commitments of Spain.” And what do the bears have to do? That is another of the weight arguments put in The manifestoin which in addition to warning that the new road “would fragment” habitats, “would alter” ecological corridors and vehicle traffic would generate noise and light pollution, warn of the impact that it would have in particular on the populations of bears. “The road crosses the areas delimited by the Pardo Bear Recovery Plan in Cantabria,” ditch. “These areas have been specifically designated for the protection and recovery of an endangered species, whose habitat is already seriously fragmented,” The manifesto wields Before pointing out that the works could lead to sanctions and challenges. In the event that the project is carried out and the works are terminated, Cantabristas points the risk of bear abuses. Why is it interesting? The warning connects with the debate about the recovery of the bear in the Peninsular North. After being almost convicted of The disappearance for the harassment of the poachers and the deterioration of their habitat, the bear populations in the Cantabrian mountain range and other parts of the country They have increased In recent years, which in turn has had multiple derivatives. In Asturias or León there are ranchers, Farmers and neighbors that They warn Of their negative impact, while in Somiedo, Asturias, they have seen in the populations of bears A powerful tourist reef that attracts every summer to thousands of visitors who aspire to see copies in freedom in the Cantabrian mountain range. Now in Cantabria they warn of the damage that would cause the noise and traffic of the new road in the behavior of the bears and their mating. “It would be incompatible with the conservation objectives”, They need. A tourist road? The project touches another of the hottest issues in Cantabria: the risk of tourist massification, which He has already taken Thousands of neighbors to the street shouted from “We do not want to be the Ibiza del Norte”. He manifest Remember that Liébana and Campoo, the regions that would connect the vial, are “two widely tourist areas” and questions the real objective of the project, taking into account that both populations are already “connected through other routes of the road network.” “At a time when sustainability and conservation must be priorities, and in a context of accelerated climate change and global biodiversity crisis, this type of macroprojects that serve only to massify tourism go in the opposite direction,” They add The detractors. As a Cantabrist complaint even deployed a banner close to 30 meters In Peña Labra in which “our mountains defend themselves.” And why are you worried? In An interview With eldiario.es, the mayor of Potes María José Bustamante (PSOE) pointed in the same direction: “We understand that the enormous environmental cost or should or should be assumed because the only mobile we find to have launched this pharaonic project is none other than the tourist, and that is what we are already served in Liébana.” Over the last months the region has reached take action To limit the influx of visitors at certain iconic points, such as the Cabezón de la Sal or the Lighthouse of the Horse of Santoña. Are all criticism? No. The Government of Cantabria defend The importance of the project and questions that actions such as Cantabristas really represent the feeling of the inhabitants of the region. His Development Councilor, Roberto Media, also insists that the infrastructure is “of first necessity for many” Cantabrians, not a work designed for tourists. Moreover, the leader warns that … Read more

In full eruption of Etna, Italian emergency services have encountered an obstacle: tourists

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ETNA is more than one of the volcanoes more active and high from Europe. It is also a tourist claim. One that seems to work especially well when, as these days, it offers a fascinating show that mixes A lava river, snow, ashessteam and smoke columns. The power of his eruption has attracted hundreds of visitors And curious, leaving a flood of people who already supposes a headache for the authorities. The reason, simple: they have reached Block the tracks They need to operate rescue services. It is nature … and it is Tourist. The Etna volcano, under the spotlights. The Italians have been pending Etna for more than a week, the volcano located on the east coast of Sicily and one of The most active from Europe. His activity intensified days ago, with A fracture of the Crater of Bocca Nuova, and has left a succession of Explosions and lava flows They have spread through the mountain, forming an extensive lava river. Volcanic activity also affects communities. Yesterday the Catania airport, south of Italy, He informed that its air traffic was still altered. Click on the image to go to Tweet. A coveted show. The eruption of the Etna volcano can be overwhelming, but also leaves a Fascinating show in which snow and lava are combined. And as such it has not taken the interest of hikers who have approached the mountain to enjoy the landscape. It He reported yesterday ANSA, the main Italian news agency, which already presents Etna directly as the “new focus of encompassing” For a long time Italy. A tide of hikers. The agency speaks that about a thousand hikers have come to contemplate how it manages the lava from the crater of Bocca Nuova and media like Euronews either The Guardian They go further by pointing out the presence of “Miles” of curious who have approached Mount Sicilian to see the show in situ. Your presence can also be found in networks, with Videos and images of people approaching or even skiing near the lava river. The Italian Marco Bassot shared For example on Instagram a video in which it can apparently be seen sliding with a snowboard table next to the message “The craziest race of my whole life.” Civil Protection has already asked hikers to extreme caution and comply with the standards and remember that a minimum distance in front of the lava of Between 300 and 500 m. @accuweather WHERE LLAND MEETS SNOW 🌋❄️ SKIERS AND HUKERS WERE SPOTTED GETTING A CLOSE-UP View of Lavator and ROCKS SPURTING OUT FROM MOUT ETNA ONTO THE SNOW. #lava #Volcano #Fireandice #Mountetna #itly #mtetna #cool #Skiing #winter #Snow #News #accuweather ♬ Original Sound – Accuweather “Extremely dangerous”. The Regional Manager of Civil Protection, except cook “Of cars. Sunday warned On Facebook: “As night falls, the situation becomes extremely dangerous, with growing risks of falls and sinking in snow.” “I have seen many photos and videos of people who approach dangerously to the front, even skiing,” Recognize Carlo Caputomayor of neighboring BelPasso, to The Guardian. “Although it is visually shocking, it exposes them to serious risks, since it washes it, when it comes into contact with the snow, it can vaporize it instantly and, with the energy released, it can violently launch fragments or rocks.” A touch of attention. Visitors and curious are not the only ones who risk. ANSA He pointed out yesterday that the presence of hundreds of people attracted to the rash show was “blocking” the streets, which is an added risk. The reason? Kitchen points That people park their vehicles along narrow roads and prevent passing through Vetor, “making it impossible to pass rescue vehicles.” He has already warned local authorities. The Italian agency Precise that on Sunday Civil Protection came to mobilize even four units of Belassso, Ragalna, Nicolosi and Adrano to support the population and prevent tourists and hikers from arriving from sicily or other nearby points complicated traffic in the area, with the risk that It supposes. Click on the image to go to Tweet. “Combine” enjoy safely. Kitchen Recognize That many of the curious who come to the mountain are well equipped and in the company of guides or volcanologists, but warns of the risk of cars saturation and the block of the same streets through which emergency vehicles circulate. The key, he insists, is to “combine” the enjoyment of the volcano with security. “Yesterday afternoon there was a constant influx of one thousand people from Provincial Highway 92 and the Milia road, wild parking at the edges of narrow streets, traffic lock in Vetor piano and impossibility of passing emergency vehicles,” He insisted kitchen in Your message. Images | President of the Sicilian Region Dipartimento delLa Protezione Civile 1 and 2 (The photo of the eruption is extracted from a 2021 report) In Xataka | Venice invented an entry rate to stop mass tourism. It has come out so well that it will double the price

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