indigobusiness
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:47 AM
Original message |
Mars Weirdness - Something Cleaned Rover Solar Panels |
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Mystery Martian 'Carwash' Cleaned Rover Panels 12-22-4 LONDON (Reuters) - An unexplained phenomenon akin to a space-borne car wash has boosted the performance of one of the two U.S. rovers probing the surface of Mars, New Scientist magazine said on Tuesday. It said something -- or someone -- had regularly cleaned layers of dust from the solar panels of the Mars Opportunity vehicle while it was closed down during the Martian night. The cleaning had boosted the panels' power output close to their maximum 900 watt-hours per day after at one stage dropping to 500 watt-hours because of the heavy Martian dirt. By contrast, the power output of the solar panels of Mars Spirit -- on a different part of the Red Planet -- had dropped to just 400 watt-hours a day, clogged by the heavy dust. "These exciting and unexplained cleaning events have kept Opportunity in really great shape," the magazine quoted NASA rover team leader Jim Erickson as saying.
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LiberalVoice
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:48 AM
Response to Original message |
1. Any theories on how that might have happened? |
China_cat
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:50 AM
Response to Reply #1 |
3. Merry Maids really DO go everywhere. |
verdalaven
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:52 AM
Response to Reply #1 |
4. Wind blowing the dust off? nm |
LiberalVoice
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:53 AM
Response to Reply #4 |
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I just wasn't sure about how wind worked on mars... :P
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indigobusiness
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Sat Dec-25-04 01:04 AM
Response to Reply #4 |
6. NASA is perplexed. They can't explain it. Why hasn't the other rover |
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Edited on Sat Dec-25-04 01:06 AM by indigobusiness
been cleaned if wind is doing it?
There is something peculiar about this in NASA's eyes, and mine too. It's a nice wrinkle on the Mars story. I like the Martian squeegeeman theory. But who knows?
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verdalaven
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
12. Might be the location |
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I am science impaired, so bear with me on this....
Maybe the rover that is cleaned nightly is in a valley where winds swoop down from higher elevations, gain speed enough to clean off the dust and the other rover is in a flatter, less windy place?
Or....there is just enough dew in the air where the other rover is to make the dust heavier and less apt to get blown away.
All in all, very interesting to think about.
Merry Christmas, by the way!! :)
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indigobusiness
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #12 |
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Edited on Sat Dec-25-04 12:58 PM by indigobusiness
but NASA doesn't seem to think merely wind would explain the anomaly of it happening to only one. In fact, NASA doesn't seem to think wind alone could clean the panels. Merry Christmas to you!
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autorank
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Sun Dec-26-04 05:25 PM
Response to Reply #1 |
20. Technicians in the Houston studio do this routinely. N'est pas? |
indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 05:46 PM
Response to Reply #20 |
21. So, this is the clincher |
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that the whole thing is a ruse?
What do you make of the lumber pic (below)? A careless technician?
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autorank
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:02 PM
Response to Reply #21 |
23. Yes, somebody said "We want wood" and there you have it. |
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:tinfoilhat: Having a good Xmas?
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indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:19 PM
Response to Reply #23 |
autorank
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:39 PM
Response to Reply #25 |
27. The best part of Xmas is that is's over in 4 hours and 21 minutes here! |
indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:45 PM
Response to Reply #27 |
28. If you're in Antarctica... |
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be sure to wear your lead hat. The UVL is murder.
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autorank
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Sun Dec-26-04 08:25 PM
Response to Reply #28 |
29. Holy Shit, it is over. Have to find something to gripe about. I know, *! |
hvn_nbr_2
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Sun Dec-26-04 06:02 PM
Response to Reply #1 |
22. No mystery. Diebold meters measure the watt-hours output. |
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If they're not producing the right output, a Diebold tech logs on and adjusts the counting mechanism.
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gmoney
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Sat Dec-25-04 12:49 AM
Response to Original message |
2. Martian squeegee guys? (eom) |
madrchsod
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Sat Dec-25-04 01:09 AM
Response to Original message |
7. oh my god! it`s a double!!! |
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an art bell and a george noory alert. can`t wait till monday night-should be a really good show for my drive home from work!
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whistle
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Sat Dec-25-04 01:24 AM
Response to Original message |
8. How about a carbon dioxide rain storm, or more precisely... |
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...a CO2 snow storm with high winds!
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indigobusiness
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Sat Dec-25-04 09:07 AM
Response to Reply #8 |
11. That occurred to me...but if they had witnessed |
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Edited on Sat Dec-25-04 09:08 AM by indigobusiness
any sort of precipitation, wouldn't we have heard of some such phenomenon? And wouldn't NASA think of it, as a possibility?
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NYC
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Sat Dec-25-04 01:40 AM
Response to Original message |
9. I wish I had one of those. |
OneBlueSky
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Sat Dec-25-04 03:17 AM
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10. hmm . . . guess Ray Walston didn't really die after all . . . n/t |
oneighty
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Sat Dec-25-04 09:25 PM
Response to Original message |
verdalaven
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Sat Dec-25-04 10:05 PM
Response to Reply #14 |
15. I need a science lesson :) |
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How would that work? Increased electrical activity where one rover is located? Would that interfere with the way the thing runs?
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oneighty
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Sat Dec-25-04 10:20 PM
Response to Reply #15 |
16. I am thinking perhaps |
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the solar panel is covered with dust particles carrying a positive charge (Or negative) A windstorm carrying opposite charged particles attract them away?
And one might speculate the solar panels attract charged particles then some how the solar panel changes polarity and they are repelled off.
Could be. Regardless it is very interesting.
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verdalaven
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Sun Dec-26-04 12:33 AM
Response to Reply #16 |
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and yes, it is very interesting.
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oneighty
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Sun Dec-26-04 09:51 AM
Response to Reply #17 |
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as I was laying abed recovering from excited grandchildren-"Ah I thought, the dust collecting on a TV screen is a perfect example of what might be happening to the solar panels."
Think about it. There is a simple experiment that could be tried. Maybe I will do that.
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On the Road
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Fri Jan-14-05 03:55 PM
Response to Reply #14 |
54. I Was Thinking Along the Same Lines, OneEighty |
Beetwasher
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Fri Jan-14-05 04:22 PM
Response to Reply #54 |
55. Nahh, Donchya Know, It Was Them Thar Aliens! |
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They got nuthin' better to do than to clean our windshields (or solar panels) :eyes:
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indigobusiness
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Sat Jan-15-05 12:45 AM
Response to Reply #55 |
56. Maybe they think they're windows |
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and they're trying to peek inside?
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indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 05:18 PM
Response to Original message |
19. More Martian weirdness: Lumber on Mars? JPL Rover (pic) |
idiosyncratic
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:12 PM
Response to Reply #19 |
24. Looks like lumber. But, what is that bright light off in the distance? |
indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 07:22 PM
Response to Reply #24 |
26. Yeah, that's what I noticed first. |
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Maybe it is the lander? Or maybe that's that's the rover and the nearby solar panels are for the lander? Or maybe it's the Lumberman?
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indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 10:18 PM
Response to Reply #24 |
32. I've studied the light in the distance and determined it is The Monolith |
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from 2001 A Space Odyssey. Sunlight is reflecting off it.
But, I can't explain the weathered wooden plank. Perhaps a piece of Noah's Arc. That Man REALLY got around.
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idiosyncratic
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Mon Dec-27-04 12:17 AM
Response to Reply #32 |
35. I had that same thought...about the board being from Noah's Ark. |
indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 04:57 AM
Response to Reply #35 |
oneighty
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Mon Dec-27-04 10:16 AM
Response to Reply #19 |
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is a railroad tie, probably from NY Central RR System. Those ties are everywhere! Everywhere I tell you!
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 10:34 AM
Response to Reply #39 |
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and the creosote makes 'em last forever.
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oneighty
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Mon Dec-27-04 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #41 |
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do cause one to scratch head and say hmm???
The flag stones resemble an ocean shore line on an island in the Caribbean.
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 12:02 PM
Response to Reply #42 |
43. If that isn't wood. It is still a peculiar anomaly. |
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But, it sure looks like wood. The mosaic patio-like feature seems natural enough.
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oneighty
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Mon Dec-27-04 12:15 PM
Response to Reply #43 |
44. Yes it does look like wood. |
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But of course we know that it cannot be.
Can it?
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 12:33 PM
Response to Reply #44 |
45. That's the crux of the biscuit... |
oneighty
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Mon Dec-27-04 04:06 PM
Response to Reply #45 |
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and Mars is so far away. I will never know. Perhaps you will!
Sigh!
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slutticus
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Mon Dec-27-04 06:29 PM
Response to Reply #19 |
47. WIOLAWA is going to have a field day with this |
indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 08:19 PM
Response to Reply #47 |
49. Then they'll just love the new photo |
slutticus
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Mon Dec-27-04 09:30 PM
Response to Reply #49 |
50. Isn't that part of the heat shield? |
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I read a while back that the engineers wanted a close-up examination of the remains of the heat shield so that they can study how well it held it's integrity through the decent. I can't remember which rover was supposed to do that, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is.
I think they also wanted to study the trench made by the pieces as they crashed, so that they could get a look at freshly uncovered dirt.
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 10:22 PM
Response to Reply #50 |
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What do you think of the "lumber"?
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slutticus
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Mon Dec-27-04 10:59 PM
Response to Reply #51 |
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...It certainly looks like lumber. But if you look at the surrounding area, there seem to be striations in the ground that run parallel to the length of the "lumber". It could just be some strange weathering phenomena due to wind or water flow. Any Geologists around?
I'm trying to get a feel for the scale of it. I wonder how big it is....
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 11:38 PM
Response to Reply #52 |
53. Pan right and you get a scale reference. |
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It has the look of weathered sandstone with dimensions reminiscent of a plank.
Fun to talk about, though.
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KSAtheist
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Sun Dec-26-04 09:48 PM
Response to Original message |
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Low atmospheric pressure; fine sand; 60 mph winds...
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indigobusiness
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Sun Dec-26-04 10:09 PM
Response to Reply #30 |
31. How would that perplex NASA? They refer to the "heavy dust" |
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Edited on Sun Dec-26-04 10:12 PM by indigobusiness
of Mars. Surely NASA has considered all of the more mundane explanations? Why do they see this as so mysterious if wind were a possible answer?
edit---How would you explain the "lumber" in the JPL photo?
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Ediacara
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Sun Dec-26-04 11:34 PM
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33. An educated guess here |
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Edited on Sun Dec-26-04 11:34 PM by DinoBoy
Opportunity may be in an area with less clay content than Spirit. Katabatic winds surely whip across the plains at night, and if Opportunity is in an area with less clay, the dust is less likely to stick. If Spirit's dust has even a little bit of clay, even in the absence of abundant water, it will stick more readily to to the rover.
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HeeBGBz
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Sun Dec-26-04 11:57 PM
Response to Original message |
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Martians have a sense of humor!
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 05:01 AM
Response to Reply #34 |
37. Did you check out the wooden plank in the photo? |
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message #19. Now, THAT'S astounding! Martians certainlt do have a sense of humor alright. They're cracking me up! And blowing my mind...
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HeeBGBz
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Mon Dec-27-04 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #37 |
38. Dayum! What is up with that? |
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The ground rocks near it looks like a patio. I guess planetary visitors picked up a railroad tie to landscape the red planet. Nice.
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oneighty
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Mon Dec-27-04 10:21 AM
Response to Reply #38 |
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I should have read your post before making mine. But it sure do look like a RR Tie!
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indigobusiness
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Mon Dec-27-04 08:16 PM
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