Nostr notes by Dark Edinburgh

"Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was ...

2026-07-04T18:53:28Z

"Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer; though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing."
- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

"It was a fine dry night; frost in the air; the streets as ...

2026-06-23T18:04:01Z

"It was a fine dry night; frost in the air; the streets as clean as a ballroom floor; the lamps, unshaken by any wind, drawing a regular pattern of light and shadow."
- Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

"I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, ...

2026-06-06T19:28:07Z

"I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, neighbor, friend, or society other than myself."
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker

"Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose ...

2026-04-23T20:31:15Z

"Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too."
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

"To persons standing alone on a hill during a clear midnight ...

2026-03-03T19:39:18Z

"To persons standing alone on a hill during a clear midnight such as this, the roll of the world eastward is almost a palpable movement. The sensation may be caused by the panoramic glide of the stars past earthly objects."
- Thomas Hardy. Far From The Madding Crowd

"We Scots, Rebus thought, we're not very good at going ...

2026-02-22T18:46:11Z

"We Scots, Rebus thought, we're not very good at going public. We store up our true feelings like fuel for long winter nights of whisky and recrimination. So little of us ever reaches the surface, it's a wonder we exist at all."
- Ian Rankin, Mortal Causes

"A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps ...

2026-02-11T19:14:56Z

"A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps looked ghastly in the dripping mist. The public-houses were just closing, and dim men and women were clustering in broken groups round their doors. From some of the bars came the sound of horrible laughter."
- The Picture of Dorian Gray

"If you gave yourself to darkness, you might start to make ...

2026-02-09T00:27:41Z

"If you gave yourself to darkness, you might start to make out shapes invisible to others, but without being able to define them: the movement behind a curtain, the shadows in an alleyway."
- Ian Rankin, Set in Darkness

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the ...

2026-01-28T19:02:47Z

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
- Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan

"So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the ...

2026-01-24T19:43:18Z

"So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing."
- T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

"Even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect ...

2026-01-13T19:18:18Z

"Even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women... will kindle under almost all circumstances"
- Hannah Arendt

"Every street lamp that I pass Beats like a fatalistic drum, ...

2026-01-03T21:17:33Z

"Every street lamp that I pass
Beats like a fatalistic drum,
And through the spaces of the dark
Midnight shakes the memory
As a madman shakes a dead geranium."
- T.S. Eliot, Rhapsody on a Windy Night

"And so now, although the town lies blue and darkling on her ...

2025-12-29T19:02:30Z

"And so now, although the town lies blue and darkling on her hills, innumerable spots of the bright element shine far and near along the pavements and upon the high facades."
- Robert Louis Stevenson, Picturesque Notes

"The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the ...

2025-12-10T19:11:56Z

"The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy, vaporous air, and threw a murky, shifting radiance across the crowded thoroughfare."
— Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

"The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks They are all ...

2025-12-05T19:14:44Z

"The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks
They are all fire, and every one doth shine."
- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 1)

"You go under dark arches, and down dark stairs and alleys. ...

2025-11-18T19:04:50Z

"You go under dark arches, and down dark stairs and alleys. The way is so narrow that you can lay a hand on either wall; so steep that, in greasy winter weather, the pavement is almost as treacherous as ice."
- Robert Louis Stevenson, Picturesque Notes

"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should ...

2025-10-26T19:03:29Z

"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world."
- Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

"Before we had taken many paces down the street beyond it, ...

2025-10-16T17:46:35Z

"Before we had taken many paces down the street beyond it, the noise of the city seemed to melt, as if by magic, into a softened distance."
- David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

"Around him darkness, fog, solitude, the stormy and ...

2025-10-02T18:05:22Z

"Around him darkness, fog, solitude, the stormy and nonsentient tumult, the undefined curling of those wild waters."
- Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

"We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something ...

2025-09-14T18:08:15Z

"We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves."
- Andy Goldsworthy

"It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street; ...

2025-08-08T18:45:11Z

"It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street; blowing and raining hard; and the clouds looking dull and stormy."
- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
#photography

"He succeeded in being considered totally uninteresting. ...

2025-07-31T18:06:40Z

"He succeeded in being considered totally uninteresting. People left him alone. And that was all he wanted."
- Patrick Suskind, Perfume. The Story of a Murderer
#photography

"The storm starts, when the drops start dropping When the ...

2025-07-21T18:14:30Z

"The storm starts, when the drops start dropping
When the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping."
- Dr. Seuss

"But if you could just see the beauty These things I could ...

2025-07-10T19:16:59Z

"But if you could just see the beauty
These things I could never describe
These pleasure's a wayward distraction
This is my one lucky prize"
- Isolation, Joy Division
#photography

"Blessed are the cheesemakers." - The Life Of Brian ...

2025-06-06T18:06:33Z

"Blessed are the cheesemakers."
- The Life Of Brian
#photography

"...like wandering shadows that could have acquired substance ...

2025-05-06T20:25:40Z

"...like wandering shadows that could have acquired substance only by consenting to root themselves in the solid earth of their distress."
- Albert Camus, The Plague
#photography

"Hard years; difficult, some of them, to traverse, others to ...

2024-12-29T19:02:06Z

"Hard years; difficult, some of them, to traverse, others to climb."
- Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

"That night, I tell him, when the paper is read through, and ...

2024-12-28T19:02:58Z

"That night, I tell him, when the paper is read through, and the lamp is burnt out, and the day is gleaming in above those shutters and between those iron bars, that I have now a secret to communicate."
- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

"In this country, as in all others they had visited ...

2024-12-27T19:01:13Z

"In this country, as in all others they had visited underneath the earth's surface, there was no night, a constant and strong light coming from some unknown source."
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

"Here and there on the walls of the staircase, were reflected ...

2024-12-26T19:02:19Z

"Here and there on the walls of the staircase, were reflected gigantic shadows, which trembled in the flickering light of the pine-torches till they seemed to reach to the vaulted roof above."
- The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

"Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road ...

2024-12-25T19:05:48Z

"Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforeseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril - to Mordor."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Seasons greetings to all. Hope you all have a lovely day. Scott x ...

2024-12-25T09:22:12Z

Seasons greetings to all. Hope you all have a lovely day.
Scott x

"These are but shadows of the things that have been," ...

2024-12-24T19:06:49Z

"These are but shadows of the things that have been," said the Ghost.
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all ...

2024-12-23T19:23:30Z

"To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery ...

2024-12-22T19:03:20Z

"Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery red, which glared upon the desolation for an instant, like a sullen eye, and, frowning lower, lower, lower yet, was lost in the thick gloom of darkest night."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"By this time it was getting dark, and snowing pretty ...

2024-12-21T19:03:16Z

"By this time it was getting dark, and snowing pretty heavily; and as Scrooge and the Spirit went along the streets, the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens, parlours, and all sorts of rooms was wonderful."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"From their smoky beehives, ten stories high, the unwashed ...

2024-12-20T19:02:44Z

"From their smoky beehives, ten stories high, the unwashed look down upon the open squares and gardens of the wealthy"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, Edinburgh : Picturesque Notes

"The brightness of the shops, where holly sprigs and berries ...

2024-12-19T19:02:21Z

"The brightness of the shops, where holly sprigs and berries crackled in the lamp heat of the windows, made pale faces ruddy as they passed."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery ...

2024-12-18T19:01:30Z

"It was made plain enough, by the dressing of the shops, that ...

2024-12-17T19:02:11Z

"It was made plain enough, by the dressing of the shops, that here, too, it was Christmas-time again; but it was evening, and the streets were lighted up."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"In our temples we recognise no other distinctions," read ...

2024-12-16T19:03:25Z

"In our temples we recognise no other distinctions," read the Grand Master, "but those between virtue and vice."
- War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

“Cheer up, dude. It’s Christmas.” —The Grinch The amazing ...

2024-12-15T19:02:06Z

“Cheer up, dude. It’s Christmas.”
—The Grinch

The amazing work of @Wintersixfour

"Let us not exaggerate, this cherub of the gutter sometimes ...

2024-12-14T19:02:30Z

"Let us not exaggerate, this cherub of the gutter sometimes has a shirt, but, in that case, he owns but one; he sometimes has shoes, but then they have no soles; he sometimes has a lodging, and he loves it, for he finds his mother there; but he prefers the street, because there he finds liberty."
- Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

"I propose to build for eternity." - Filippo Brunelleschi ...

2024-12-13T19:03:53Z

"I propose to build for eternity."
- Filippo Brunelleschi

“So let us then try to climb the mountain, not by stepping on ...

2024-12-12T19:06:31Z

“So let us then try to climb the mountain, not by stepping on what is below us, but to pull us up at what is above us, for my part at the stars.”
— M. C. Escher

"Another darkness was closing in as surely, when the church ...

2024-12-11T20:10:28Z

"Another darkness was closing in as surely, when the church bells, then ringing pleasantly in many an airy steeple over France, should be melted into thundering cannon; when the military drums should be beating to drown a wretched voice, that night all potent as the voice of Power and Plenty, Freedom and Life."
- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

"Then, with a whistling note that rose above the droning of ...

2024-12-09T19:04:06Z

"Then, with a whistling note that rose above the droning of the pit, the beam swung close over their heads, lighting the tops of the beech trees that line the road, and splitting the bricks, smashing the windows, firing the window frames, and bringing down in crumbling ruin a portion of the gable of the house nearest the corner."
- The War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells

lol

2024-12-08T19:38:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…252d
_________________________

lol

“Beauty will save the world.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The ...

2024-12-08T19:04:30Z

“Beauty will save the world.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot

“If you love a flower which happens to be on a star, it is ...

2024-12-07T19:03:40Z

“If you love a flower which happens to be on a star, it is sweet at night to gaze at the sky. All the stars are a riot of flowers.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” ― Ralph ...

2024-12-06T19:01:40Z

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In the immediate nearness of the gold, all else had been ...

2024-12-05T19:53:13Z

“In the immediate nearness of the gold, all else had been forgotten.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

“Any cat may stare into a fire and see red mice play,” ― ...

2024-12-04T19:03:00Z

“Any cat may stare into a fire and see red mice play,”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

a lot later, it's a digital image. But it looks the same as ...

2024-12-03T19:35:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…rs9x
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a lot later, it's a digital image. But it looks the same as the 70's.

“One is always at home in one's past...” ― Vladimir ...

2024-12-03T19:03:42Z

“One is always at home in one's past...”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory

Guess the year?

"His large blue eyes seemed to expand as he gazed around the ...

2024-12-02T19:04:32Z

"His large blue eyes seemed to expand as he gazed around the assembly, and his countenance appeared elated by the conscious dignity, and imaginary merit, of the part which he was about to perform."
- Ivanhoe, Walter Scott

“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the ...

2024-12-01T19:02:20Z

“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the deep dark, where we trod the buried grass like ghosts on dry toast.”
― Dylan Thomas, Quite Early One Morning

"It was a night of little ease to his toiling mind, toiling ...

2024-11-30T19:03:50Z

"It was a night of little ease to his toiling mind, toiling in mere darkness and besieged by questions."
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

“There are two forms of friendship: meeting and separation. ...

2024-11-29T19:02:39Z

“There are two forms of friendship: meeting and separation. They are indissoluble. Both of them contain some good, and this good of friendship is unique, for when two beings who are not friends are near each other there is no meeting, and when friends are far apart there is no separation. As both forms contain the same good thing, they are both equally good.”
― Simone Weil

"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the ...

2024-11-28T15:50:01Z

"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement. Let me go upstairs and check."
- M.C. Escher

"There was something wild and uncanny about the place. We ...

2024-11-27T18:16:37Z

"There was something wild and uncanny about the place. We could hear the distant howling of wolves. They were far off, but the sound, even though coming muffled through the deadening snowfall, was full of terror.
- Bram Stoker, Dracula

I think there was an abattoir at the bottom of the close on the ...

2024-11-27T08:00:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…qymj
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I think there was an abattoir at the bottom of the close on the Nor Loch

"What is this flesh I purchased with my pains, This fallen ...

2024-11-26T18:20:16Z

"What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
This fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a Sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?"
— W. B. Yeats

"Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? ...

2024-11-25T19:02:33Z

"Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins."
- Gustave Flaubert, November

“You know that great pause that comes upon things before the ...

2024-11-24T19:01:50Z

“You know that great pause that comes upon things before the dusk, even the breeze stops in the trees. To me there is always an air of expectation about that evening stillness.”
― H.G. Wells , The Time Machine

*Well, I know now. I know a little more how much a simple thing ...

2024-11-23T15:38:53Z

*Well, I know now. I know a little more how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person"
- Sylvia Plath

"Not so faintly now as they come near the bridge; and in a ...

2024-11-22T16:23:21Z

"Not so faintly now as they come near the bridge; and in a moment, as they pass the darkened windows, the silence is cloven by alarm as by an arrow."
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce

"That night a memorable event occurred, due, no doubt, to the ...

2024-11-21T19:02:02Z

"That night a memorable event occurred, due, no doubt, to the imprudence of some servant who had neglected to extinguish the lights."
- The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

"She was silent, and the horse ambled along for a ...

2024-11-20T19:04:03Z

"She was silent, and the horse ambled along for a considerable distance, till a faint luminous fog, which had hung in the hollows all the evening, became general and enveloped them."
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the ...

2024-11-19T19:09:15Z

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."
- Plato

"Through the dusk came the hum of humankind, and the barking ...

2024-11-18T18:18:51Z

"Through the dusk came the hum of humankind, and the barking of dogs in other and more distant villages; while, over all, the moon was rising, and the darkened countryside was beginning to glimmer to light again under her beams."
- Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol

“I love to watch the fine mist of the night come on, The ...

2024-11-17T19:02:27Z

“I love to watch the fine mist of the night come on,
The windows and the stars illumined, one by one,
The rivers of dark smoke pour upward lazily,
And the moon rise and turn them silver. I shall see
The springs, the summers, and the autumns slowly pass;
And when old Winter puts his blank face to the glass,
I shall close all my shutters, pull the curtains tight,
And build me stately palaces by candlelight.”
― Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal

#photography

"For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him ...

2024-11-17T13:53:08Z

"For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

#photography

"Moreover, the walls of my castle are broken; the shadows are ...

2024-11-16T17:02:22Z

"Moreover, the walls of my castle are broken; the shadows are many, and the wind breathes cold through the broken battlements and casements."
- Dracula, Bram Stoker

"Each moment I expected to see the glare of lamps through the ...

2024-11-15T18:51:38Z

"Each moment I expected to see the glare of lamps through the blackness; but all was dark."
- Dracula, Bram Stoker

I'll take that :-)

2024-11-14T19:31:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…h5yv
_________________________

I'll take that :-)

"It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my ...

2024-11-14T19:04:11Z

"It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice."
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

"I doubt if a ghost could have been more terrible to me, up ...

2024-11-12T17:15:49Z

"I doubt if a ghost could have been more terrible to me, up in those lonely rooms in the long evenings and long nights, with the wind and the rain always rushing by."
- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing :-)

2024-11-12T14:22:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…2k8y
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upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing :-)

Just setup cross-posting so a little test and I thought why not ...

2024-11-12T12:45:56Z

Just setup cross-posting so a little test and I thought why not make that a reminder that there is an award winning Dark Edinburgh book!

https://obversebooks.co.uk/product/dark-edinburgh/

"The ultimate concept car will move so fast, even at rest, as ...

2024-11-11T19:03:32Z

"The ultimate concept car will move so fast, even at rest, as to be invisible."
- J.G. Ballard

"I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen ...

2024-11-10T19:05:15Z

"I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing."
- Albert Camus, The Plague

"He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ...

2024-11-09T19:23:55Z

"He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear. But so long as he uttered it, in some obscure way the continuity was not broken. It was not by making yourself heard but by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage."
- George Orwell, 1984

"He acted upon this impulse without delay, and choosing the ...

2024-11-08T19:04:50Z

"He acted upon this impulse without delay, and choosing the least frequented roads began his journey back, resolved to lie concealed within a short distance of the metropolis, and, entering it at dusk by a circuitous route, to proceed straight to that part of it which he had fixed on for his destination."
- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

"He had overstayed his hour in the street outside the Bank, ...

2024-11-07T19:04:15Z

"He had overstayed his hour in the street outside the Bank, on each of the two first evenings; and nothing had happened there, good or bad."
- Hard Times, Charles Dickens

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ...

2024-11-06T19:05:24Z

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
- Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life ...

2024-11-05T19:06:02Z

“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many ...

2024-11-04T19:27:43Z

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

"Out of the darkness came the answer." - Lord of the ...

2024-11-03T19:04:45Z

"Out of the darkness came the answer."
- Lord of the Flies, William Golding

"Without knowing it, he had constructed a gigantic vertical ...

2024-11-02T19:03:17Z

"Without knowing it, he had constructed a gigantic vertical zoo, its hundreds of cages stacked above each other. All the events of the past few months made sense if one realised that these brilliant and exotic creatures had learned to open the doors."
- J.G. Ballard, High-Rise

“The house was very quiet, and the fog—we are in November ...

2024-11-01T19:49:22Z

“The house was very quiet, and the fog—we are in November now—pressed against the windows like an excluded ghost.”
― E.M. Forster, Howards End

“It is strange how close the past is, even when you imagine it ...

2024-10-31T19:50:07Z

“It is strange how close the past is, even when you imagine it to be so far away. Strange how it can just jump out of a sentence and hit you. Strange how every object or word can house a ghost.”
― Matt Haig, How to Stop Time

“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss ...

2024-10-30T19:05:55Z

“How did it get so late so soon?”
― Dr. Seuss

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.* ...

2024-10-29T19:24:34Z

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.*
- L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ...

2024-10-28T20:48:38Z

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
- Albert Camus

“Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them” ...

2024-10-27T19:03:54Z

“Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them”
― David Hume

"She walked in brightness, but she knew that in the ...

2024-10-26T18:04:37Z

"She walked in brightness, but she knew that in the background those shapes of darkness were always spread."
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

Live from the top deck of the bus heading towards town. Good ...

2024-10-26T07:40:15Z

Live from the top deck of the bus heading towards town. Good morning from Edinburgh!

"Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the ...

2024-10-25T18:02:17Z

"Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point, a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street."
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

first time in 5 years lights off (for repair)

2024-10-24T20:30:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…5g4d
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first time in 5 years lights off (for repair)