Tag: HeeHaw

Dealer’s Choice, Daniel & the Lion’s Den and talk of Bad Weather/Bad Gear

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The Thang

YHC decided to post a poll on the Twitter to decide whether we’d revisit the “12 Days of Christmas” delivered by Anchorman earlier this week at Ballroom OR have a “Dealer’s Choice” workout, where each PAX Q’s an exercise of his choice.  The “Dealer’s Choice” won in a landslide.

Mosey to front parking lot for warm-up

SSH x 10

Cherry Pickers x 10

Low Slow Squat x 10

Moroccan Nightclub x 10

Peter Parker x 10

Imperial Walkers x 10

Shoulder Taps x 10

Explain  the process to PAX:  Count off and each PAX leads an exercise of his choosing.  Can be single count, cadence count, stay in the circle or a Mosey (Gilmore and Deep Dish!).

We had 14 there and went through each PAX once, getting through the 10th guy on the second time around.

Not an all-inclusive list, but the workout contained (mostly x 10):

LBCs

Merkins

Grave Diggers

Low Slow Squats

Catalina Wine Mixers

Some kind of crazy Burpee

Monkey Humpers

SSH

X’ & O’s

Hello Dolly

Rosalita

Diamond Merkins

Slow Merkins

Indian Run

Run to the Stairs

Dips

Wall Sit

Bomb Jacks

Naked Moleskin:

This was a little  different for most of us and, quite frankly, turned out better than I’d anticipated.  Each PAX was able to call the exercise and lead the count; kind of like a very light version of Q school.

Throughout the workout, and especially in COT, several PAX shared testimony and/or words of encouragement and food for thought. Popper shared a great testimony about his thoughts on Daniel & the Lions Den.  We are all surrounded by the “Lions” of life.  Although difficult, we should always try to keep our focus on Christ. Rather than get bogged down in trying to fight or figure out what to do about the Lion’s, give it to Him, have faith.

Several years ago, Santini said something like “There’s no bad weather, only bad gear”.  I don’t know if that’s a life mantra of his or if he was just saying it off the cuff. Either way, it has clearly been imprinted upon me. For years, I felt like he meant it literally. Recently, I have realized that it’s really about life. Our “gear” is what gives us cover in the “bad weather” of life. All too often, we find ourselves claiming “bad weather” when we really just don’t have the right “gear”.  We must prepare our hearts and have faith, which will sustain us in the bad weather. This is an active pursuit. One that must be acknowledged and actively practiced.

Sacrifice.  We were reminded by HeeHaw of the sacrifice that was made by 1,177 heroes on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941. And another 1,226 that consisted of Navy personnel, Marines, Army and civilian. May we never forget or take for granted the sacrifices of so many, then, now and in the future.

YHC asked the PAX to consider:

  1. What are you sacrificing (that you should not be) ?  Is there an area of your life being neglected?
  2. What are you currently making sacrifices for (could be something good. could be something not so good)?  Are your “priorities” showing up in how you spend your time & resources?
  3. What should you be sacrificing for? Which areas need your attention?

Prayers for many PAX, as they face day to day grind of life, relationships with family, family members in poor health, marriages, kids, leaders of our great country, MASH as he recovers from knee surgery and Newman’s son. Praises for the PAX.  Iron Sharpens Iron isn’t just something that looks cool on a t-shirt!  Remember, for Iron to Sharpen Iron, it must be strong & tough. For you to sharpen another, you must be strong. Strong in your faith, strong in your actions.

As always, I am humbled to lead a group of such incredibly High Impact Men. I am already looking forward to the next opportunity! Aye!

Beacon

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11

Just Say Yes

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9 strong men gathered for the latest edition of Block Party.

The Thang

Here is how it went down-

No FNGs today, so standard disclaimer was given and off we went into the gloom.

Mosey the long way to FFCU parking lot via Ardrey to McCammon. YHC has been to this AO many times to post and is very familiar with the homeowner with the small, but LOUD dog and her adoration for us at 5:15 AM. No desire to talk to the police today, so we went the LONG way. Plank up for the 6 to arrive.

Warm Up-all IC

Windmill x 19, Imperial Walker x 7, Merkin x 7, Low Slow Squat x 7

The PAX seemed eager to get to work, so we did.

Line up at the end of the parking lot for The Escalator. Jump Squats and Merkins. Run across parking lot for 1 Jump Squat, then back across for 2 Merkins. then across for  3 Jump Squats and back for 4 Merkins. Originally planned to do this to 20, but audibled to 10 so as not to miss the other fun stuff planned. Plank up till everyone finishes. Recover. CSPAN excelled at this!

Mosey towards the flags downtown by way of the big field by FFCU. Pit stop there and PAX line up in  plank side by side with enough space between that we can all take a turn doing box jumps over each PAX legs all the way down the line. Once everyone completes this,  all transition to  high plank while everyone crawls through for the tunnel of  love. Recover.

Mosey to the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in unison. Thank CSPAN and Hee Haw for their service. YHC is thankful for freedom and feels every day should be Veteran’s Day.

Mosey across street to brick steps at the millstone downtown. All together for the first circuit. 7 Hand Release burpees, Run up steps, run sidewalk to swings and do 19 calf raises. Run to short brick wall by playground for 19 dips, 19 derkins and 7 step ups per leg. Run to playground parking lot and bear crawl across the lot. Run down sidewalk back around to the brick steps.

Round 2 is U vs. U. All you got and then plank up to wait for the 6 when finished.

Running low on time, so let’s do 7 more hand release burpees and mosey back.

Gather up for some Mary at the parking lot near 160 and Audrey.

LBCs x 20 IC, Flutters IC x 20, Hello Dolly x 20

Mosey back and bell rang as we pulled in.

COT and a great take out by Chicken Hawk.

Moleskin

It was a great morning and YHC was honored to get the call up from DD. Everyone was getting after it and that is what we post for, to get stronger and better. We covered  2.25 miles.

Most exercises today were in sets of 7 or 19. During the warm up, YHC explained the reason for this. Recently, I posted a pre-blast for The Joe Davis Run for Recovery and I wanted to explain why YHC and my family feel passionately about this cause. 1 in 7 American will face Addiction. We had 9 in the circle. It could affect one of us. Also, 1 American dies of an opioid related overdose every 19 minutes. That is at least 2 lives lost while we worked out. Think about that. Addiction is a big issue and this is why we run the Joe Davis Run for Recovery.

Later on, YHC also took a moment to explain in COT that, as leaders, we need to understand that what we say and do influences others. Ideally, in a positive way. YHC doesn’t get to spend as much time with Double D as I would like, but a couple of years ago, at a Coop workout, he really impacted me by encouraging the PAX to “just say yes.” We all have a lot of responsibility in our lives, but are we missing the good stuff because our default answer is “no?” Since that day, it has stuck in my head and impacted my thought  process.  Whether it is our kids asking us to read to them after a long day at work or our wife asking us to watch a “chick flick,” let’s try to find a way to “say yes” and live 3rd. I gave a personal example of me being out of work  2 years ago for a short period and my wife asking if we should go ahead and take our kids to Disney World with the money we saved versus waiting. Timing and finances didn’t not seem optimal, but I “just said Yes.” It was one of the funnest trips we have ever taken and won’t ever be forgotten. What a blessing that came from what was a suboptimal situation. Be warned though, “saying yes” will take you out of your comfort zone! Not a bad thing.

Announcements-

Bags for Beds

Bags for Beds

Turkey Drive

Paradise Turkey Giveaway

 

Christmas Party

Pre-Blast: 2017 F3 The Fort Christmas Party

Joe Davis Run for Recovery

2018 Joe Davis Run for Recovery

 

CSPAN noted hat this is all in the newsletter and we should read it!

Thanks for the opportunity to Q, DD!

Honor to lead,

RT

 

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Smithers VQ at Footloose – Stairway to Heaven

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Smithers VQ

The weather was wonderful this fine fall October Morning…it felt just about as thick as ever and I was sweating even before I got out of bed!  Perfect day for my VQ!

As we were standing around talking before everything got kicked off I was amazed by the show of support of all the PAX rolling in one after another, 29 in all.  If only they had known what was coming ;-).

Started off with my first ever disclaimer…then a mosey to the back parking lot at First Baptist for the warmup:

  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Low Slow Squats
  • Windmills
  • Walking Calf Raises (aka how Cakeboss walked to school) to the wall
  • Wall sits for each PAX 10 count

Mosey across the street, down the steps, and across the next street to the parking lot next to Fort Mill Church of God…and wait, what was that in the humid glow of the streetlight?  Was that a board of pain?  Oh yes…

The Thang:

Partner up.  One partner starts the exercise while the other runs across the street and runs the snake on the set of steps…then back to take over the exercises for the partner.

  • 50 Bombjacks
  • 150 LBC’s
  • 200 Monkey Humpers
  • 150 Squats
  • 50 Merkins
  • 200 Calf Raises
  • 200 Side Straddle Hops

CONTROL is the word of the month.  We are all men….it’s in our DNA to want to be in control.  What do we need to find control?  In a car you need good tires…in a house you need a solid foundation.  You need a STRONG BASE…so…we worked on ours today.  Our legs (and a little bit of our core) were the focus…to give us a strong base to improve our control!

That said, we have all experienced things that didn’t go according to plan, and in many cases you could not regain that control no matter how hard you tried.  It is not easy to let go…it is not easy to adapt quickly…at least not all the time.  So, even when we ARE feeling in control we know that it is the Sky Q who has allowed that and trusted our leadership, Aye!  You see, the Sky Q uses us daily…sometimes to help others who are down, and pick them up…sometimes we are there to help those looking to help a brother up and we are the ones who are down.  Then there are the days where things just move right along without much resistance.  Those are the days where we should be letting the Sky Q know how much we appreciate His trust in us, and asking for continued strength to make Him proud!

Mosey back to COT for a quick round of Mary (just one set of flutter kicks) to close out our time.

My biggest fear was getting done WAY too early or not coming anywhere CLOSE to finishing the workout.  Sky Q steered me right in all the decisions, and I think for my first Q to finish with less than 2 minutes to spare…well, I’ll take that any day!

So, in closing…

My legs hurt, how about yours?

Smithers Out

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11

Whitespace wins the day!

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11 veteran Pax posted to #BlockParty for the start of October.  This month is #Respect month on the Q schedule at this AO.  Senator Tressel was on Q, but unfortunately he faced the daunting responsibility of picking up his sister early that morning and driving to OH for a family funeral.  Old Bay kindly agreed to step up in the late night hour to take the Q  YHC kicked off the warm up to check the #Respect box according to original plan.  With a brief disclaimer and a reference to the monthly theme of #Control, the morning was launched.

The Thang

Warm up run 1/2 around WEP

Stop at far corner for COP — SSH, Hillbilly walker, windmill, low slow squat, Peter Parker

Mosey to play ground with some karaoke along the way

Pull-ups x10 OYO (in honor of ST since he never passes them up at WEP)

Plank sequence

Hand-off to Old Bay

Mosey to parking lot on 160 in front of UC Synergetics & partner up

A mash up between Four Corners and a Modified Jack Web series ensued from this point until completion

In parking lot:
1 burpee to 4 run-stance switch
+ Repeat with 2 burpees, then 3 burpees
Bear crawl to brickwall courtyard area
1 box jump (or step up) to 4 dips
+ Repeat with 2, then 3 box jumps
Partner wheelbarrow to street
1 big boy sit up to 4 american hammers
+ Repeat with 2, then 3 big boy sit-ups
Mosey to corner at stop light on 160
Jack Webb – (1:4 ration) for 3 reps

Return to parking lot for sessions 4-5

At last stationg (Jack Webb), pax take it all the way to round 10

Mosey home

COT

NMM

Prayers for ST on his unfortunate journey.  We wish he were with us and we know he wishes they same instead of the duty he was called to.  We were together in spirit at WEP and in OH.

T-claps to Band Camp for posting at his second workout since his FNG day at the anniversary convergence.  Keep it up, brother!

T-claps to Old Bay for responding to the call in the wee hours to fill in for ST.  He shakes a weasel like nobody’s bidness!!!

Old Bay’s message for the day related to #Control.  He talked about the importance of #Downsizing in life (not just your house) and #Simplifying as a means to relinquish #Control.  These steps create #@Whitespace for reflection and discernment in order to move forward intentionally and/or respond to where you are needed.  He certainly demonstrated that in spades today!

Thanks to the pax for posting to hold me accountable!

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3

Footloose or don’t Footloose… you pick

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Footloose brings the numbers for sure… No sense in getting philosophical at the front…

The Thang:
Warm up:
– Lot lap with dynamic stretching
– Windmills x 10
– IW x 10
– Arm Circles x 20 (10 forward, 10 backward)
– Squats x 10
– SSH x 15

Mosey to back of Baptist Church

]The cones will tell you what to do from here. Each cone has two choices of an exercise to perform. At each cone, make a choice. Neither exercise is “harder” or “easier” per se, but you may look and think, I hate that one, or I’m ok with that one, or I love that one… The point is, you choose. You are faced with choices every day, and different things are needed at different times, and you have to navigate that. There is NO JUDGMENT for what you do or do not choose, only if you do not push yourself a little past what your natural man desires. Pick one or the other, or if you are feeling plucky… do both.

Cone 1:

  • 20 Jump Squats OR 20 regular squats

Cone 2:

  • 20 diamond merkins OR 20 regular merkins

Cone 3:

  • 20 Burpees OR 20 Bombjacks

Cone 4:

  • 40 flutters OR 40 LBCs

Cone 5:

  • 20 dips OR 20 overhead claps

Cone 6:

  • Bear crawl to next cone OR lunge to next cone

Cone 7:

  • 30 shoulder taps or 30 second plank

AMRAP FOR TIME

Ended with a little cadence merkins, squats, and Jack Webb (to 5, it’s moderate after all)…

All things considered, it was a good time.

NMM:
Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it is getting. If you don’t like your results, change your system.

Helmet, out.

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11

Block Party – Leading through adversity

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9 At Block Party for a Cake Boss word on leadership and some hill work…..I think this is the one time the PAX wished I talked more……we took the DRP today!

Mosey to Founders Bank

COP:

·         10 Plank Series

·         10 Plank Punches

·         10 SSHs

·         10 Squats

·         10 Imperial Walkers

·         10 Merkins

·         10 LBCs

·         10 Peter Parker

·         10 Hill Billy Walkers

·         10 Mountain Climbers

Mosey to Massey Street

·         Jacobs Ladder – Run up Massey Street

o   Bottom = Squats

o   Top = bombjacks

Slight Mosey along sidewalk

·         Jacobs Ladder – Bear crawl up grass hill

o   Bottom = Dips

o   Top = Carolina Dry Docks

Mosey to Small Springs Lot

·         People’s chair on Wall

o   Each man bear crawls across parking lot & Sprints back

Mosey to path at Springs Building

·         20 dips

·         10 derkins

·         20 dips

·         10 derkins

Mosey to COT

Be at the Invergence and hear from some HIM and have some fellowship.

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Tubthumping at Slowburn

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I was very happy to see 28 PAX report to Slowburn for my VQ! As promised via Twitter the day before, I did my 28 Merkins during a count-o-rama. No FNG’s. Gave the disclosure and we formed 2 lines for an Indian Run to the warmup at Empire.

Warmup

Cherry Pickers x10
Slow Windmills x10
Low Slow Squat x10
SSH x10
Goofballs x10 – Dang, y’all looked goofy!

We counted off by 5’s and the 5 teams did an Indian Run to the far side of Lowes for…

The Thang – 5 Stations

  1. Core
    1. Forearm Plank 10 count IC
    2. Captain Morgans 5 each side IC
  2. Legs
    1. Monkey Humpers x10 IC
    2. Tree Huggers 10 count IC
  3. Pecks
    1. Werkins x10 IC
    2. Derkins x10 IC
  4. Arms – Dumbbells Provided
    1. Left Arm Curls x15 IC
    2. Right Arm Curls x15 IC
  5. Abs
    1. Flutter Kicks x10 IC
    2. Sweat Angels x5 IC

Rinse & Repeat

Teams then moseyed, again Indian Style, to Baxter’s Playhouse for some “Tubthumping”. I had the loudspeaker set up to play Chumbawumba’s Tubthumping.
Lady singing = MNC
Guy singing = SSH
“I get knocked down…” = BURPEES! Did you do all 28 burpees?

OYO mosey back to Empire for some stretching and then a mosey back to Chick-fil-A for COT.

Announcements: 9/11 @ Tomahawk Birdcage is requesting PAX to show up for a special Remembrance Workout, Invergence/Convergence last Friday/Saturday in September, Donate underwear for victims of Hurricane Harvey, SpeedforNeed!

Prayers for our Brothers going to Columbia, M’s and 2.0’s, Weather, and all the unspoken requests.

I had a blast.  It’s an honor working out with you guys!  Big Thanks to Barry Manilow for allowing me this VQ opportunity. 

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80’s/90’s Themed High School Sports

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SSH 15
Mtn Climbers 15
Squats 15
windmill 15
Moroccan night club 25
The Thang:  (football style)
Monkey rolls for 30 secs
butt rolls 30 secs
chop and drop 30 secs
squat thrust 10
Discussed discipline and what that means to the Pax
Turned over to Bonsai for basketball style workout
Moseyed over to First Baptist Church back parking lot
Ran suicide with a twist up the hill
(Start running backward to first line)
– first line 10 merkins
– second line 20 squats
– third line 30 LBCs
– fourth line 40 toe taps
(After completing each exercise return back to start running forward)
10 merkins in cadence
Single leg hop to next row of parking spaces and back
Switch and repeat
Next split up in two groups
Group 1 – work their way through the cones setup with the defensive slide
Group 2 – merkins until the 6 completes the defensive slide
Rinse and Repeat
Group 2 – Bobby Hurley’s until 6 gets back
Move over to the wall for 20 jump wall taps
Mosey back to COT
Anchorman I appreciate the opportunity to lead and it was a great idea to
incorporate High School sports.
In case you can’t figure it out Destiny was the one in high school in the 80’s.  Just saying – All most respectable.
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0

Choose Wisely

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I had the pleasure to cross the river and Q #FootLoose this morning. Conditions were okay considering its August in South Carolina – temps in the lower 70s and a light rain. All in, 28 #HIM made the choice to roll out of the fartsack and start their day off on the right foot. Here’s what we did…

The Thang
Short Mosey across the street to the circle in front of the church. Bird Cage reminded me that this area was just as congested as the previous spot, but that didn’t stop us from warming up, shoulder-to shoulder with our brothers.

  • 20 SSHs (IC)
  • 15 Hillbilly Walkers (IC)
  • 30 Moroccan Night Clubs (IC)
  • Mosey to the Church steps
  • Bear Crawl up
  • Crawl Bear down
  • Squats while you wait

Apparently, the steps get slippery when wet. Since I like to keep my teeth, we Omaha’d round two and moseyed to the lot to behind the church.
Circle Up for Choose Your Poison. We took turns rolling dice and choosing exercises. One die was the exercise (see below); the other was the rep count (x10). The roller had to choose which die was for the exercise and which was the rep.
1. Merkins
2. LBCs
3. Squats
4. Side Straddle Hops
5. Overhead Claps
6. Burpees
Luckily we didn’t have two sixes (60 Burpees) rolled, and if we did, the PAX calling the shots wisely modified. Even though this is a moderate workout, we did our share of Burpees (probably 50ish). Overhead Claps and SSHs were popular choices (maybe 200ish). Merkins and LBCs came up a few times (150ish). Squats were tossed a couple times (100ish).

  • Mosey to the wall
  • 15 People’s Chair (IC)
  • 15 One-legged Squats (flapjack)
  • 10 Merkins (IC)
  • Mosey back to COT

NMM
I was honored to be asked to Q this morning. TClaps to Anchorman for his dedication to growing #FootLoose and awesome leadership stepping up to take over, Beacon. This AO has tons of options, so reach out to Beacon to get on the Q schedule.
Today’s workout reminds us that every day brings choices. Post or not post? Boxers or briefs? Paper or Plastic? Gossip or Gospel? We have opportunities each day to choose wisely or poorly. Every choice brings consequences. Sometimes you will face a challenge where the choice is hard to make and the outcome is difficult to take, but when you make it through, you will garner something from the experience. When a choice needs to be made, you need to make it. You’re either in or you’re out. Own it.
It’s been said that opportunity knocks, but temptation leans on the doorbell. When there is a knock, open the door and dive in to the challenge at hand. When temptation leans, step back and evaluate the potential outcome. Is it worth it? Opportunity is often missed because it looks like work. Temptation is often chosen because it looks like fun. Realize that every action has a reaction and you have to deal with the consequences of bad choices.
Today, I encourage you to choose positivity. Whatever you want, make the decision and do what it takes to get it. There will be challenges, but the greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. Sometimes it takes time, but remember, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

Aye!
Italian Job

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4

Everything must change

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On yet another morning of summer swelter, 8 pax posted to Block Party to wring out the impurities in the body and refresh the mind for a new day.

The Thang

Warm up run 1/2 way around path

COP — SSHs, Squats, Mtn climbers, Merkins, windmills, hillbilly walkers, IWs

Mosey back to path

Drill bit w/ 10 Burpees OYO at each post

Mosey to playground

Plank jack x10

Shoulder taps x10

Pull-ups x10 OYO

Plank jack x10

Shoulder taps x10

Pull-ups x10 OYO

Plank jack x10

Shoulder taps x10

Run the path back to COT area

Circle up for some pass the hat Mary — Dollies, American Hammer, Freddie Mercury’s

COT

NMM

Happy to have Uncle Sam back amid the pax!  Sounds like he will be sharing community and pain with us for 9+ months.  Paired with FNG/Mayflower from Portugal at Flight Plan the day before, the week started off with quite an international flavor.

Solid #Respect showing on this morning, with 50% of the pax tipping the solar calendar at 50+ revolutions.  Keep it up men!  You’re as young today as you’re ever going to be!

It was great to see some fresh faces in the form of Spitz, Backdraft and Bridgegate this AM.  These two veterans put it out there through the good and bad today –  very little mumble chatter among pain and sweat.  They were all business in the best possible way.

The theme for the day was about Change, taken from a quote I saw in a presentation at a recent conference.  The quote, from the novel The Leopard is “For things to remain the same, everything must change.”  This quote has stuck with me for days, leading me to dwell on the fact that everything is in a constant state of change.  If I don’t respond to the changes around me, if I don’t adapt to changing circumstances out of either fear of the unknown future or satisfaction with the present, I will find myself left behind and left out.

One of the best things about F3 is the constant state of change that we all experience.  Different AOs, Qs, exercises, paces, messages, weather, gear, prayers/praises, etc.  I don’t think there is anything about change that scares this group, when put into the context of F3.  What about the other areas of your life?  What would it be like to embrace change in all areas besides the Gloom?

Always a privilege to lead the pax.  Thanks for making it real  this AM.

 

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