| My limit... |
[Jun. 12th, 2007|09:18 pm] |
...is apparently about 3 months of insane hours. If I were to get two hours of sleep one night, then pick up a disappointing paycheck the next day, then find myself without time to take care of the clients that I care about, then learn that the conditions I had set for quitting have in fact come to pass...
So I handed my badge to my sup and walked out of Teleperformance.
Oh thank nonexistent God, it's over.
Darks Arts was fun. I should have quit TP on Sunday so I could see the bands. And so I could apologize to Donna. I called her something on Saturday night, "hon" or "sweetie" or something equally inappropriate, but in my defense I was really tired. Sorry, Donna.
Machnegun Symphony was great, very energetic and engaging. If I had known they would be playing that day, I wouldn't have worn the MGS shirt. Now everyone will know that I want to have Mark's baby. |
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| Lonely harem |
[Jun. 4th, 2007|01:35 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home sweet home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  lonely | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The rousing, manly battle music of Rome: Total War | ] |
Katte's gone to Colorado for the week, and the five cats and I are bored and lonely. Squawk "Box Cat" spent an entire day curled up in a box, but he even got tired of that. Puke and the kittens tried napping with me, but I move too much or something so they wandered off. Bubba spent the last two days staring out the window. I think he was trying to ack-ack, but it came out as an awful sort of scream halfway between a poorly tuned scooter and a piece of steel being twisted and sheared. He <?php while (1) { ?> really <?php } ?> wanted to go outside, and he escaped just before I went to work. Stupid cat. He's sitting on the porch now, but he won't come in. I think he's waiting for breakfast or a bribe (of tuna), whichever comes first.
I found out that there can be too much of a good thing, say, Rome: Total War. While playing for a 20 hour session (interrupted by a few hours' sleep) may be a good way to plan and execute a surprise invasion of Sicily and southern Italy (just a hop, skip, and a pile of dead bodies away from Rome!), it's hard on my frail body. This is the reason I don't play RPGs. The spirit is willing, but reality intrudes.
Thus is the pathetic state of Katte's harem when she is away. But don't come home early, hon, I need a chance to straighten up the place.
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| Itinerant Programmer |
[May. 15th, 2007|11:23 pm] |
Years ago I read the damn funniest story, called "Jorge Gonzales: Itinerant Programmer". I googled it just now, and although the term "itinerant programmer" has apparently fallen into common use, I can't find the story anywhere. If it's on my hard drive, I'll have to post it somewhere.
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| Sleep (or don't) |
[May. 13th, 2007|11:27 pm] |
If I don't get enough sleep, then I drift off at work. If I get enough sleep, I wake up depressed.
Which is less bad?
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| Second job hopping |
[May. 11th, 2007|10:56 pm] |
|
I hear there's a company in Ogden offering a $1500 bonus for A+ certified techs. Maybe I'll get my bonus here, then move on. That would be evil, but I have no sympathy for TP. If I was here full-time, I'd try to work my way into management and improve their surprisingly sloppy practices, but since I'm part time I don't think that's an option.
Yes, I know. Bitchy bitchy bitchy. It's fun to complain.
There are four of us ex-Totally Awesome employees at the center: me, Mac ,Fortner, and a guy with an English accent that I vaguely remember. Apparently he remembers me well, the one time I visited the store he was in. I'm like a celebrity, or at least I was. Excuse me while I bask in the dull glow of past glory.
I am hungry for hot dogs. Four, maybe five of them. And a bowl of lentil soup. Maybe mix them together.
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| Gah |
[May. 7th, 2007|10:08 pm] |
Day 2 as a Dell tech. I don't know who my supervisor is. No one else knows who my supervisor is, either. The gal who was going to take the job moved to a different shift. The sups on the floor seem annoyed when I ask them for help. Silly me, I though that supervisors were there to help the phone monkeys.
Fortunately, I am vastly superior to the average monkey. I am Neanderthal.
I shall eat lentil stew this evening, and laugh at the monkeys. |
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| Ready for beer |
[Apr. 27th, 2007|10:44 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Not home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  irritated | ] |
I just finished the final test for Dell Project training. I passed, with a lower score than I would have liked. Then again, when the "correct" answers to some of the questions are wrong, or go against what we were taught, it's tough to get a perfect score.
Yeah, I'm not happy. Now, if I got the best score in the class, I will at least be amused.
Tonight - you, beer.
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| D'ya think? |
[Apr. 27th, 2007|06:51 am] |
So I was at Walgreens the other day picking up some chocolate for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) brideofsatan23. Next to the checkout stand was a product that I have never seen before, Moo Stix or something like that. It's a chocolate-coated straw that you're supposed to drink milk through. Viola, instant chocolate milk. Cute idea, but here's the box copy that got to me:
Great source of calcium!*
* When used with an 8-ounce glass of milk.
...
...
...No shit. |
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| Explanations |
[Apr. 25th, 2007|04:23 pm] |
Katte, don't worry when I start writing koans about love and relationships. It's meant to be considered rather than explained, so please forgive the following clumsy attempt.
=== begin clumsy attempt ===
The state of being in love is immensely gratifying, even more so when that love is returned. Nothing compares to knowing that someone else thinks that I are the most wonderful person in the world.
When the rubber hits the road in a relationship, there is a tension between that feeling and the need to compromise on all of the little disagreements and needs that make up everyday life. Often that means I have to admit that I might be wrong about something or that I have to balance what I want against the wants and need of the one I love.
=== end clumsy attempt ===
So, it's just an observation. I'm not unhappy or mad or annoyed or anything.
I'm not pensive. I'm just thinking. |
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| Another day |
[Apr. 23rd, 2007|09:21 pm] |
Another large volume of caffeine. Maybe I should start drinking coffee...
Nah. Coffee is for when you have a hangover and you still need to drive home.
So I've been reading the GNU/Hurd bugs mailing list at http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-hurd/ , It's a fascinating study in geek bickering and drama. These jokers have been trying to develop an operating system for the last two decades. They change their minds every two or three years and start from scratch again. It would be funny if it weren't such a prime example of how open source software development can fail miserably.
Love is the ultimate ego trip. A relationship is the ultimate suppression of ego. Hmm. |
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| Feeding frenzy |
[Apr. 18th, 2007|07:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | annoyed | ] |
cnn.com top story: VOICE OF A KILLER: Shooter's twisted video rant
msnbc.com top story: ONLY ONE OPTION: • Gunman sent message to NBC • Disturbing images
foxnews.com top story: LAST ANGRY WORDS
abcnews.com top story: You forced me into a corner; Inside the mind of a mass murderer; Checklist -- How To Identify a Killer in Your Midst
cbsnews.com top story: LAST WORDS: "Now you have blood on your hands"
npr.org top story: Gunman Cho sent package to NBC
nytimes.com top story: 'You Forced Me Into a Corner'
washingtonpost.com top story: 'You Forced Me Into a Corner,' Shooter Says
etc.
I am more disturbed by the media's response to this event than by the event itself. Funny how the shooter continues to play the media like a finely tuned jackhammer even after he's dead. |
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| In case you were wondering |
[Apr. 10th, 2007|10:34 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Developedfield, Utah | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | Yaaaaawn | ] |
| [ | music |
| | A high-pitched pure tone in my ears | ] |
Don't ever try to install a domain controller that uses a different computer for DNS. It is painfully nonobvious. Fortunately my boss is a genius.
I got to play with a cool little box called a Castel Faxpress fax server. It's about the size of a hardcover book, and the only plugs are for a phone line, a network line, and power. It's a sweet replacement for a fax machine. Of course, it costs upwards of $1000, so I don't think I'll be getting one for my home any time soon.
Katte has made it her job to keep me alive until Dell training ends. She ensures that I take care of basic necessities like eating, sleeping, and waking up. All this despite her own issues. I love that woman. Katte, thank you. |
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| My awesome brother |
[Apr. 9th, 2007|07:23 pm] |
Katte had surgery today, a bit of slicing, dicing, and biopsing, and I wasn't able to drive her there (and more importantly, drive her home). Jared cheerfully volunteered to help out in exchange for Katte's home-cooked food. Since Katte was ready to kill me for not being there, Jared basically saved my life. :)
I should also mention that sigrdrifacalled at 7:30 this morning to make sure Katte had someone to drive her. It made me stop and think, "Wow, how nice."
Anybody have experience configuring a Windows 2000 domain with the DNS server on a different host? Damned if I can make it work.
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| Back from the dead |
[Apr. 6th, 2007|09:04 pm] |
Arise, LJ, arise!
Arise!
So I made a new year's resolution to update my Live Journal occasionally. Now that the year is one-third over, I guess I should get started.
It's day five of training at Teleperformance's Dell Project training. I took the job to cover some nasty gaps in our finances. I figured it would be boring, but I didn't think it would be dull enough that I would learn how to write Linux device drivers, read up on arcology, work on a pair of servers for my day job, and update my LJ.
It is profoundly embarrasing, passing every test with flying colors when everyone else in the class is struggling. It's a bit like going back to kindergarten when you're 18.
Three more weeks 8 hours a day of training, then a decent schedule. And I will get to see Katte again for more than an hour a day. I look forward to that.
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| A new year, a new job, six months away from a new wife |
[Dec. 31st, 2005|08:43 am] |
Yesterday was my last full-time day at Totally Awesome. I didn't get a chance to fully train my replacement, but between the evenings when I'll be able to help him out, and the 18 pages of procedure I printed out, he should be just fine. Fortunately the company has a stable product line, so it's not like I'm thrusting any emergencies on the poor guy. :)
The new job is with Technovation Design, an IT outsourcing firm. I am employee number 4. I love small companies.
I'm gonna be a married man in six months. 8| Katte asked me where I wanted to go on our honeymoon. I have absolutely no idea.
2006... where the hell is Jesus? |
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| People who need to start a blog |
[Nov. 17th, 2005|10:02 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  listless | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Some awful western crap the kids at work play | ] |
That's you, brother Jared. I can't understand half of what you say, but somebody on the web must. Your writing is far more interesting than, say, John Carmack, and thousands of people read his blog.
I was sorting my emails today, and I kept coming across Jared's emails. Most of them went into the "Programming" folder. I think Jared sent me a complete translation of a German PhD thesis on compiler theory. My head starts to spin after about two paragraphs of that stuff...
Ah, Katte killed a pizza and brought it home for dinner. Good thing, since I haven't washed dishes since Saturday. :(
How funny. I did a spell check just now, and it flagged "blog" as a misspelling. |
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| So this is what it's like to be domestic |
[Nov. 10th, 2005|08:40 pm] |
The mini-Katte is in her room cleaning up (supposedly), Katte is relaxing after making dinner, and I just finished washing dishes. There are loads of laundry in the washer and dryer, and damned if I didn't just wash the kitchen table. I need to vacuum though. Haven't done that for a very long time. Katte's right. We need a proper vacuum cleaner.
Homo sapiens domesticus. |
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| Hindsight is 20/20, except when it isn't |
[Sep. 7th, 2005|09:53 pm] |
My brother sent me this email. Food for thought, if you will.
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 19:45:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jared Putnam
Subject: Hindsight is 20/20, except when it isn't
To: Craig Putnam
Many people are saying some strange things about Hurricane Katrina, and
how much preparedness there was, or wasn't. A little history never
hurts in these cases.
From the Weather Channel Blog, and reports from the National Hurricane
Center:
Wednesday, August 24
Dr. Steve Lyons states offhand that "An interesting aspect of this 2005
hurricane season has been the relatively small size of storms and
hurricanes within the Atlantic Basin. A current example is Tropical
Storm Katrina, currently with no tropical storm force winds on in its
west-southwest quadrant."
Thursday, August 25
An Inside the Weather Channel report states, "It doesn't take much rain
to cause flooding in Florida. Unfortunately, quite a bit more than "not
much" is expected when Katrina makes landfall later tonight or early
tomorrow and then moves across the Florida peninsula...As Jim Cantore
reported this morning from Miami Beach, it's not that unusual for
tropical storms and hurricanes to bring rainfall totals to South
Florida that reach into the double digits."
The National Hurricane Center refers to the storm as Tropical Storm
Katrina at 3:00 pm, and Hurricane Katrina at 5:00 pm. The report
states, "REPORTS FROM A NOAA RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT AND THE MIAMI NOAA
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO 75
MPH... WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KATRINA IS NOW A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME SLIGHT STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE BEFORE
LANDFALL OCCURS...WITH WEAKENING EXPECTED AFTERWARDS AS KATRINA MOVES
INLAND ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE EVERGLADES TONIGHT AND FRIDAY."
Steve Ostro notes that Katrina will head back out into the gulf.
Friday, August 26
At 11:30 am, the NHC adds, "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 100 MPH...
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KATRINA IS NOW A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS...AND KATRINA COULD BECOME A CATEGORY THREE OR MAJOR HURRICANE ON
SATURDAY."
Dr. Greg Forbes reports "Hurricane Katrina moved slowly
west-southwestward across south Florida on Thursday August 26th. Its
rainfall pattern was somewhat unusual, with the heaviest rain in the
south portion of its eyewall.
"I was in central Florida during Hurricane Erin, which dumped a lesser
amount, 10 inches, in Melbourne in August 1995. A friend described the
water as rising higher than he had ever seen it..."
Saturday, August 27
At 5:00 am, the NHC reports, "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 115
MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KATRINA IS A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS.
RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT DATA AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT
KATRINA HAS BECOME A LARGER HURRICANE. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND
OUTWARD UP TO 40 MILES FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS
EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 150 MILES. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE
OCCURRING JUST OFFSHORE OF THE NORTHERN COAST OF WESTERN CUBA.
Stu Ostro sounds the alarm. "It encountered dry air. It ran into wind
shear, in which strong winds high in the atmosphere literally blow a
tropical cyclone apart. It lost its convection (showers/thunderstorms).
A lesser vortex would not have withstood these hostilities.
"These are the ones I, and other meteorologists, worry about. The ones
that by all accounts should be dead and gone but aren't...
"It persisted, the convection came back, and the system became a
tropical depression again...
"Then Katrina became a hurricane and sliced across South Florida. Now
it is a major hurricane, and we hope that it's not, but fear it is, The
Vortex Bent on Destruction."
Stephanie Abrams, in the field, reports, "I'm about to do a live report
from the freshly re-nourished beach in Gulf Shores, Ala., but first I
wanted to share some of my early impressions of the incredible storm
preps that are going on along the Gulf Coast...
"People seem to be taking this storm seriously and taking the proper
precautions, and that's a good thing...
"In fact, the hotel where I'm staying re-opened only two weeks ago
after getting wrecked by Ivan. I spoke with the manager and he echoed
the thoughts of others I've talked to when he said, "Man, I can't do
this again.""
Sunday, August 28
1:00 am. "...KATRINA STRENGTHENS TO CATEGORY FOUR WITH 145 MPH
WINDS..."
4:00 am. "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 145 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
KATRINA IS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME
STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS."
7:00 am. "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 160 MPH...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. KATRINA IS A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE LIKELY
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS."
10:00 am. "REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT
INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 175
MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS."
2:06 pm. Stephanie Abrams notes, "We have a Category 5 hurricane on
our hands and I have to say that I can't believe there are as many
people on the beach as there are right now. It's a little troubling.
"Mandatory evacuations kicked in at 10 a.m. CT so I'm hoping people
heed those warnings, but I'm still so surprised that people aren't
getting out of here or continuing to prepare for Hurricane Katrina. As
I mentioned in a previous entry, I did see a lot of preps going on
yesterday, so maybe everyone here has prepared already -- but
basically, I'm surprised to see so many people on the beach."
4:00 pm. "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 165 MPH...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.
KATRINA IS A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE LIKELY UNTIL
LANDFALL."
4:56 pm. Stephanie Abrams. "They've evacuated the beach and low-lying
areas where we were doing our live reports so we had to leave. And,
we're not alone; For the most part, people have been evacuating. Of
course, I've seen a few stragglers. I understand people are curious,
but it's a huge, dangerous hurricane. I'm happy to see that everyone
seems to be heading out.
"The emergency management is ready to go here. The number one priority
is safety, and that's why residents, visitors and our crews have gotten
out of town ahead of Hurricane Katrina."
6:31 pm. Stu Ostro. "I started forecasting the weather professionally
25 years ago and I've not seen anything like this in or near the United
States since then...
"What makes this hurricane truly mind-boggling is that not only is it
one of the most intense hurricanes in recorded history, it is huge in
size...
"We hope that somehow, some way, it finds a way to weaken a lot before
that happens. But it has been The Vortex That Wouldn't Die for two
weeks now, it has a long way to go to weaken enough to prevent a
disaster, and time is running out."
It has not yet been a week since Katrina stopped being a Tropical
Storm.
7:00 pm. "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 160 MPH...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS."
Monday, August 29
Midnight. "KATRINA REMAINS A VERY LARGE HURRICANE. HURRICANE FORCE
WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL
STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 230 MILES.
"COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE
LEVELS...LOCALLY AS HIGH AS 28 FEET...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS
BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE
CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. SOME LEVEES IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA
COULD BE OVERTOPPED."
12:14 am. Laurel, Product Manager, Weather Channel Interactive. "And
in a live shot this afternoon from Biloxi, Jim Cantore talked about the
place where he and his crew were planning to spend the night -- the
concrete bunker of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, which is an official
shelter...And, Jim pointed out, with the many levels indoors, those
seeking safe haven will be able to move to higher levels if floodwaters
do encroach."
2:00 am. "KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL AS EITHER A CATEGORY
FOUR OR POSSIBLY A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE."
12:15 pm. From a phone call from Jim Cantore's producer Simon
Temperton. They are in the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport,
Mississippi.
"We're going through some unbelievable conditions. Water is seeping
into the building. I'd say we've had at least a 20-feet [of] storm
surge. It has washed away all our rental cars, and everything else [in
the parking lot]...
"Now water is seeping into the home and they are evacuating everyone to
the second floor. I'm standing in 5 or 6 inches of water [on the second
floor]. The power is out. There are a few emergency lights. It's a very
daunting prospect right now....
"In the time we've been talking, the water has risen, I'd say, another
3 inches. It's up to the top of my boots. The water keeps rising."
12:42 pm. Stephanie Abrams. "We're in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
(current conditions), and we are safe out of the storm."
1:00 pm. Another phone call from Jim Cantore. "The water is down
about 5 feet from where it was earlier. The parking lot is covered in
water. Trees are stripped of their leaves. There is debris everywhere.
There's roof damage we can see.... I can see our satellite truck and
the vehicles that were with us, and they are now above water, at least
part of them...."
There you go.
August 25, 5:00 pm, Category 1, with winds at 75 mph.
August 26, 11:30 pm, Category 2, with winds at 100 mph.
August 27, 5:00 am, Category 3, with winds at 115 mph.
August 28, 1:00 am, Category 4, with winds at 145 mph.
August 28, 7:00 am, Category 5, with winds at 160 mph.
On August 29, Katrina makes landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. That's
four and a half days after it is declared Category 1.
New Orleans tries to evacuate on Sunday. One day before the hit.
The emergency response teams believed they were ready.
From the comments on the blogs, it appears that the Weather Channel
knew that the storm would hit New Orleans by late Friday or early
Saturday. On Friday, comments compare Katrina to Camille from 1969 and
Andrew from 1992.
A website that calls itself the Weather Underground has some good maps:
http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at200512.asp?imgfeature=verification&textfeature=track
This poll is also fascinating, especially in light of the question,
"Does it hurt when your knee jerks like that?"
http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1094262&page=1
- Jared Putnam |
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| UDOT plays practical jokes |
[Jun. 5th, 2005|06:39 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  weird | ] |
Yes, they do. They put out orange barrels on random busy roads and leave them there for a couple of weeks, then they remove the barrels. |
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