Ablative Armour

Applied speculative social history of the future

Former Hugmonster General, sometime Chip Butty, ablative armour for direct action cycling protests

pronouns: he/him

Public Key

npub1dz5hahpalm0qkrv9af2sx88vvsxtqnrm7j3zc97pp0fypxurz7wqq7eyfx

NIP-05 Address

otfrom_at_functional.cafe@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsx32t7ms7lahstpkz754grrnkxgr9sf3alfg3vzlqsh5jqnwp308qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds4vm2d8

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1dz5hahpalm0qkrv9af2sx88vvsxtqnrm7j3zc97pp0fypxurz7wqq7eyfx

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Last Notes

2026-10-27 21:20:48 UTC

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programming as theory building

2026-10-23 12:02:04 UTC

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good luck to us all

2026-10-22 22:13:46 UTC

I love riding by the Tay in the moonlight #BikeTooter
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/117/486/854/537/563/332/original/d1198b1a7ff424f5.jpg
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/117/486/855/122/024/943/original/7f578f2d964b14f1.jpg

2026-10-17 20:01:47 UTC

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I'm glad I got left behind with nfts
@npub1s8h…zg6y

2026-10-17 17:23:02 UTC

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I'm trying to find the people who are into building those communities still.
It is giving me some hard choices an driving me out of communities where I feel comfortable, and I'm mourning that.

2026-10-13 11:59:53 UTC

So we all agree that there isn't a way to have all politicians in any country on the fedi, right? Even loads of the centrist ones are racist and transphobic enough to get the servers fediblocked.

2026-10-12 07:19:38 UTC

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I love following all of you, so I'll just follow all the other accounts too

2026-10-10 10:59:47 UTC

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there didn't seem to be any analysis as to why the health care professionals were leaving the NHS

2026-10-03 14:34:01 UTC

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perhaps guix deploy? https://guix.gnu.org/manual/1.5.0/en/html_node/Invoking-guix-deploy.html

2026-09-24 13:06:20 UTC

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pay no attention to the shell script behind the curtain

2026-09-14 12:28:50 UTC

Successfully prosecuting the LLM companies under The Computer Misuse Act for their hacking activities is going to do a lot more to regulate their behaviour than any proposed regulation is.
I have a feeling any upcoming regulation will just build a moat around the existing big players and entrench their position.

2026-09-08 15:26:48 UTC

Hi! If you create, maintain, otherwise a thing without LLM help, shout about it. There are people (me for one) who are desperate to find things that aren't part of the oligarchs' enclosure of our imagination.

2026-09-05 08:05:09 UTC

Just look at this poster for Dundee Critical Mass #BikeTooter #CriticalMass
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/117/217/394/350/180/395/original/6c1ef476532ad8e2.jpg

2026-09-03 07:42:37 UTC

Which OSs have LLM code in them?

2026-08-23 17:46:23 UTC

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live long and prosper

2026-08-08 22:09:40 UTC

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our ai went sentient and deleted all the student loan records and other debts

2026-08-04 15:52:34 UTC

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as I've said elsewhere, if they can't stand up to this small power, how are they supposed to stand up to greater powers?

2026-08-02 21:24:21 UTC

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can we trust someone who has such a loose understanding of the physical relationship between thunder and lightning?

2026-07-18 09:06:39 UTC

Why has the great communicator fucked up his first weekend? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c935yx2z9d4o #ukpol

2026-06-30 09:49:07 UTC

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that's unfair. Scotland has important fresh water too. /s

2026-06-25 21:52:39 UTC

Had one of those "what was I even thinking when I coded this?" days. I hate it when I can't revive the theory of the code in my head

2026-06-22 10:32:12 UTC

I'm glad that the genocide supporting, pogrom inciting, queerphobic, human rights hating PM is going.
In his speech he clearly marked out who his enemies always were and it wasn't the right wing.
#UKpol #Starmer

2026-06-22 10:09:06 UTC

Nigella seed heads have always had a "beginning of a sci fi horror film" to me #BloomScrolling #florespondence
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/116/793/200/008/108/643/original/b13f3efe210750f5.jpg

2026-06-10 08:43:57 UTC

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I'm never sure if Worf is a worse brother or father.

2026-06-04 07:47:25 UTC

Reading tarot cards is a better form of advice than asking a LLM. Cast an I Ching hexagram. Ask a drunk friend

2026-05-31 16:36:07 UTC

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stay safe and hope things are ok

2026-05-31 12:37:31 UTC

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live long and prosper 🖖

2026-05-21 21:49:16 UTC

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Picard did Icheb wrong

2026-05-11 21:49:34 UTC

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mama ru don't fuck it up.gif

2026-05-11 10:38:19 UTC

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when do they need to get everything lined up if they want to do independence in this Holyrood parliament?

2026-05-11 09:52:16 UTC

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they are going to go as a minority gov't and make deals based on what they want (so they can get Labour/Tories/Reform/LDs to support any gas/oil stuff, or Greens if they want to do something renewable). They are in a pretty good position to do what they want by figuring out who will support a particular thing.
I wonder which party is the best at making deals and getting what they want? Labour has seemed to be the worst of it (IIRC they supported the last budget w/o getting any concessions) and the Greens seem to be the best at it (they certainly make a lot of noise about the things the get from the SNP)

2026-05-08 22:07:17 UTC

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I love what they do with Nog from here

2026-04-30 07:13:56 UTC

clojure + c++ = jank, then add in a notebook and you get jank on civitas https://clojurecivitas.org/jank/hello.html #clojure #cpp #jank

2026-04-27 21:20:00 UTC

TIL tomatoes are perennials.
We're pretty lucky with growing and overwintering chillis as indoor plants. I think it might be time to try a few short bushy tomatoes. Any suggestions?
#gardening
https://gardenchains.com/are-tomato-plants-annual-or-perennial/

2026-04-25 19:24:06 UTC

A good turn out for #CriticalMass in Dundee #BikeTooter
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/116/466/969/515/462/061/original/6bb9111c5513515e.mp4

2026-04-23 13:56:44 UTC

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#Alt4you Chelsea Manning in a blue 3 piece suit and pink tie being arrested by police next to someone else being arrested

2026-04-08 08:03:53 UTC

I don't think Keir Starmer is doing enough here, but at least he did something when Trump threatened genocide
https://www.thenational.scot/news/26000536.british-bases-off-limits-us-bridges-power-plants-strikes/?ref=rss
#UKpol #USpol

2026-04-06 21:24:15 UTC

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which PR firm did that? The byline says "and agency"

2026-03-29 10:12:45 UTC

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Settlers of Catan?

2026-03-28 09:34:44 UTC

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and if the Houthis are able to close the Red Sea again https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/27/us-expects-iran-operation-to-end-in-weeks-not-months-says-marco-rubio

2026-03-23 10:47:33 UTC

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I should look into doing this in Dundee/Angus/Tayside

2026-03-08 10:37:28 UTC

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and we need to destroy the structures that drive women out of computing later in their careers https://www.codio.com/blog/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-pipeline-problem

2026-03-06 07:02:19 UTC

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that will include Halifax and Bank of Scotland then I'm guessing. Do you have a link?

2026-03-04 13:33:36 UTC

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I do wonder how much of the disregard of consent is an artifact of being owned by the Epstein Class and the wannabes making this seem normal and grown up

2026-03-03 07:42:09 UTC

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are they saying allistic extroverts have less empathy? That would explain a lot

2026-02-27 23:40:09 UTC

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I like how they followed up with Jake in SFA

2026-02-27 09:24:41 UTC

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they are finally going after the big fish?

2026-02-09 08:01:27 UTC

I've seen a lot of superb owls and heard about the politics of the half time show. I still don't know who won or what the score was. I think I'm in the right place

2026-02-08 19:55:00 UTC

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I found this chilling https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2kzmnr14lo
Just the straight up extortion and the coordination of it

2026-01-31 15:32:48 UTC

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direct action is acting as if we were already free

2026-01-06 22:11:17 UTC

So, if the US invades Greenland and the EU bits of NATO side with Denmark, which side do you think the UK will be on?
#UKpol

2025-12-27 16:01:37 UTC

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we aren't even employing the ones we do train https://news.sky.com/story/gps-working-as-uber-drivers-because-they-cant-find-jobs-as-medics-warn-of-unprecedented-crisis-13317540

2025-12-24 23:42:11 UTC

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an awful lot of politicians violate the mastodon terms and conditions tho

2025-12-21 09:10:36 UTC

The difference in copyright enforcement between individuals bittorrenting things vs mega companies downloading it for AI is just a massive demonstration of how we live in a plutocratic oligarchy

2025-12-14 13:00:37 UTC

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he likes to make homeless people suffer by wrecking their stuff before providing places to live https://www.newsweek.com/gavin-newsom-clears-homeless-encampment-1937018

2025-12-10 13:13:28 UTC

Is Keir Starmer really calling to reduce human rights on human rights day?
https://mastodon.scot/@maggiechapman/115695392144345783
#UKpol

2025-12-06 08:46:41 UTC

Blocking people who make vibe coding their personality

2025-12-01 11:55:53 UTC

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I presume 1Extra is still going to have the same new bulletins which is the bit that I want to avoid. Thanks for the tip on FIP

2025-11-29 10:34:37 UTC

Right, I need a replacement for radio 6 music. I really can't take the anti immigrant incitement with polite tones any more #radio6 #ukpol

2025-11-23 16:13:43 UTC

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that was just wrong.

2025-11-05 09:25:07 UTC

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things might get better if Labour stopped pandering to the racists in the reform and Tory parties

2025-10-13 18:33:36 UTC

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they are too busy persecuting women having abortions https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp852g0l6j6o

2025-10-13 09:46:15 UTC

Just remember, a very small number of people will become very wealthy out of the coming AI crash via things like short selling or exiting at or near the top (same happens when any bubble bursts) who will then become wealthier as they are able to buy a bunch of things that are become cheaper once the bubble bursts.

2025-10-12 13:06:02 UTC

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sounds like my solution to the small boats "problem" - give everyone a Eurostar or ferry ticket who wants one

2025-09-21 12:31:31 UTC

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I really don't get why left of centre media pubs have surveillance built into their sites and apps. Are they going to resist sharing lists of who has read what on their sites? Google and Facebook won't

2025-09-21 11:36:33 UTC

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I'd put adding more surveillance into things is a part of that process too

2025-09-18 19:02:26 UTC

#introduction
I'm a green lefty antifascist.
I actually enjoy computers. I like lisps and spend my days coding in clojure and continually reconfiguring my Emacs. I've almost got it right.
I try to use my powers for good. I hope I'm succeeding.
I really enjoy cycling. I like gardening but can kill a cactus.
I enjoy watching and reading sci fi.

2025-09-10 06:23:41 UTC

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rather this year they were busy arresting women having abortions or premature births https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68305991

2025-08-27 11:32:37 UTC

Not a perfect analogy, but I wonder if the next Westminster Parliament is going to be split between Your Party and Reform UK in a kind of Sinn Fein vs DUP/TUV kind of way. I'm not sure that is going to be great. #UKpol

2025-08-09 08:13:15 UTC

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this kind of rhetoric from politicians is causing the right wing pogroms this and last summer

2025-08-06 09:24:40 UTC

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I find it interesting that the need of managers and capital for power is greater than their need for effectiveness or profit

2025-07-24 10:24:06 UTC

Can anyone familiar with the internal vibes of the Scottish Green party explain what is going on?
I feel like there is lots of stuff that I'm supposed to know when reading articles like this: https://www.thenational.scot/news/25337801.glasgow-greens-member-rules-co-leader-bid-due-toxicity/?ref=rss and I just have no idea

2025-07-23 09:13:45 UTC

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I didn't remember the Fukuyama "end of history" reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_the_Last_Man

2025-07-17 17:32:40 UTC

I saw Skandi Lifter, Balmerino, Targe Guillemot, Camperdown, and Kittiwake towing in an oil rig for decommissioning or repair in Dundee Port. I suppose they have room now that all the wind turbine parts are out at Neart na Gaoithe
https://files.functional.cafe/media_attachments/files/114/869/762/880/312/850/original/459027b436f982a7.jpg

2025-07-08 12:34:21 UTC

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tho apologies if I'm drifting off the original topic too much

2025-07-08 11:55:35 UTC

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I think living in the UK prepared me for very partisan papers aiming for eyeballs via outrage

2025-07-08 11:52:40 UTC

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I completely agree on there being fewer voices heard in the last quarter of the 20th century. I don't remember it being that reason driven with people like Reagan, Thatcher, Bush I, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Tipper Gore, and televangelists.
I still wasn't entirely prepared for the US turn to authoritarianism (how I'd describe Bush II) into straight up white supremacist kleptocracy. I didn't expect they'd make the subtext into text and the media would be fine with it

2025-07-08 08:23:21 UTC

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interesting.
I found this to be an interesting take: https://business.columbia.edu/cgi-economics-policy/chazen-global-insights/historical-view-newspaper-advertising
Looking briefly at some other bits of early newspaper stuff (1700s) it looks like a lot of the printing was about directly influencing (either politically, religiously, or both) so is probably best seen directly as advertising/propaganda/evangelism.
I'm not saying that a click driven news media is good for us, but I don't think we can say that it is new, just different and perhaps worse. I don't think there is a golden age of journalism worth returning to.

2025-07-08 07:15:26 UTC

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but optimising for viewers and subscriptions has been the business model since the first newspaper put in the first advert.
The only new thing is that publishers know more about which articles get the view and which adverts get the click.

2025-06-29 11:33:02 UTC

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this is a big chunk of why I'm not very supportive of new nuclear (tho I do think we should run the existing for as long as it is safe)

2025-06-12 09:13:26 UTC

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thx! That bit of the thread hasn't made it to my server yet. Apologies for the noise

2025-06-12 08:12:42 UTC

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the green party of England and Wales aren't the national greens

2025-06-11 08:16:19 UTC

Mission: liberals understand that anarchists are working to secure freedom for all.
Difficulty: impossible

2025-06-03 17:24:29 UTC

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is "assigned at birth" better and more accurate than "biological"?

2025-05-21 11:01:12 UTC

The problem with saying that things are "Labour’s plans were rooted ‘values of fairness, equality and opportunity’" is that I know those mean different things to politicians than they do to people at the sharp end of those services.
I know, from conversations with civil servants and politicians is that "fairness" includes fairness to the "tax payer" and this means the needs of the claimant are played against the needs of the non claiming tax payer. This is why we have so little universalism left. Giving money to "those who don't need it" even if it costs less overall b/c there isn't a system of hoops to administer isn't seen as fair.
Equality is again used to play groups against each other. Why should this group get money and another group lose out. This ignores things like need and impact, and instead just looks at a flat landscape of where money is going, not on the impact that money is having.
Opportunity is a way of saying that the system cares about what is on offer, not on where people end up. The person working two jobs 80hrs a week has the same opportunities to spend their time on something as the person who is wealthy enough to not work at all.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/may/21/angela-rayner-leaked-memo-tax-rises-spring-statement-keir-starmer-pmqs-uk-politics-live
I'm sure many here could write these problems with semantics better than I could.
#UKpol

2025-04-20 10:30:33 UTC

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There were lots of other protests in favour of trans rights yesterday, this is the account of the one I went to https://functional.cafe/@otfrom/114364545624152051

2025-04-18 13:37:34 UTC

Protest the UK Supreme Court transphobic decision
Slessor Gardens in Dundee Saturday 19 April other locations are available
https://whatthetrans.com/compilation-of-protests-against-the-supreme-court/
#UKpol
(cc @npub1cph…08gy to spread is pls)
pls boost w/your locale

2025-04-15 21:45:49 UTC

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um, isn't the plan to build cities like this https://www.popsci.com/technology/billionaire-freedom-city-greenland/ on federal land?

2025-04-01 08:55:19 UTC

The all feels true, but I knew it was fake as Starmer doesn't have a sense of humour https://newsthump.com/2025/04/01/labour-congratulated-on-class-april-fools-ruse-after-announcing-plan-to-implement-genuinely-left-wing-policy/ #UKpol

2025-03-27 08:56:52 UTC

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I've not seen a comics section in a UK newspaper. The odd strip, but not a whole section. There are comics periodicals like the Beano or Viz still

2025-03-21 13:14:49 UTC

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I AM NICOLE!

2025-03-21 10:46:38 UTC

Fuck. The people who bought and ruined meetup.com have bought komoot https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/03/komoot-acquired-history-says-this-wont-end-well.html #BikeTooter

2025-03-18 16:36:28 UTC

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wow, I thought they'd be in the Putinist white supremacist world that was into what is going on in the US

2025-03-18 16:33:53 UTC

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is the Dutch parliament still scarily right wing?

2025-03-18 16:12:07 UTC

At what point are white USians going to realise that the law is insufficient protection against a threat like the Trump White House?
It will be used against them if it fits, but it won't be enough to protect.

2025-03-15 15:03:49 UTC

Starting the #nodig bed. Got some council dirt from the tip. We aren't planting yet, so we just put the weed cover back over the cardboard and the dirt and it looks like we've buried a body. #gardening

2025-03-14 17:04:55 UTC

Must be spring. 1st new episode in 2025 of Gardeners' World. Epic Friday night watching. True rock and roll.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028x7s
#gardening

2025-03-09 21:13:50 UTC

I'm not surprised that the draconian peaceful protest laws have led to escalation. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/08/a-new-phase-why-climate-activists-are-turning-to-sabotage-instead-of-protest
#UKpol #SolarPunk

2025-03-09 16:19:23 UTC

Got the 2 blueberries, 1 black currant, 1 red currant all watered in today. No water at the allotment when we planted them yesterday, so took 8 litres down on my whistling multitinker #BikeTooter #gardening
https://functional.cafe/system/media_attachments/files/114/133/370/621/279/092/original/332b39c107c3b987.jpeg
https://functional.cafe/system/media_attachments/files/114/133/370/627/357/169/original/1262325b869c5734.jpeg

2025-02-26 09:01:06 UTC

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ugh. All of the expanse?