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Help save the world by composting your kitchen scraps. Here’s how

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Help save the world by composting your kitchen scraps. Here’s how

The howls on social media have been fierce because the state began mandating that meals waste keep out of rubbish destined for the landfill. However right here’s a confession from a longtime composter: Placing meals waste in a separate kitchen receptacle is a no brainer that truly feels good as a result of it’s such a straightforward means to enhance the world.

See, our landfills are getting full, and natural supplies reminiscent of kitchen scraps and yard trimmings make up about 50% of the state’s landfill “trash,” in response to CalRecycle, creating sufficient global-warming methane fuel to make landfills California’s third largest methane supply.

All these natural supplies creating issues in our landfills are literally a misunderstood asset that may simply be transformed to compost — the miracle soil modification that rebuilds our depleted soils whereas nourishing our crops. All we’ve got to do is scrape our plates right into a compost bucket as a substitute of the trash bin.

“Practically 40% to 50% of the trash we accumulate curbside is compostable,” mentioned Michael Martinez, founding father of L.A. Compost. “We have to cease seeing meals ‘waste’ as trash and redefine our vocabulary to see it as a useful resource, one thing that must be remodeled and reinvested again into the soil.”

That’s the purpose behind the a part of Senate Invoice 1383 that went into impact Jan. 1, mandating that native jurisdictions create a means for households to separate meals and yard waste from landfill rubbish and use it as a substitute to create compost, mulch or biofuels. The state left implementation of the legislation to California’s 400-plus native governments, and every jurisdiction is developing with its personal guidelines about learn how to handle meals waste (a few quarter have already got packages in place, in response to CalRecycle spokesperson Maria West).

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The purpose is to divert 75% of natural waste disposal from landfills by 2025 — an bold activity contemplating that some jurisdictions like Lengthy Seaside and the town of Los Angeles are nonetheless making an attempt to get their packages up and operating. (L.A. Sanitation workers might be presenting their implementation plan to the Metropolis Council on Feb. 3, in response to spokesperson Heather Johnson.)

So right here’s a proposal: Separating our meals waste is a win-win for anybody who likes to breathe and eat meals, so even when your jurisdiction continues to be designing its program, why not begin working towards now by turning into a composter?

In case you have a yard, you’ll be able to simply begin a compost pile. Ship gadgets you don’t wish to embody, like bones or moldy cheese, to skilled waste treaters and use the remainder of your family meals waste to create glorious and free soil amendments to your backyard. No yard? No downside! Contemplate a small-space choice like bokashi or worm composting (see sidebar) or join with a co-op that can do it for you.

Get composting


A information to every thing you must learn about eliminating these desk scraps.
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What you want

1. Closable containers are essential for separating your meals waste. There are myriad compost pails obtainable for $25 to $50 — many good-looking sufficient to sit down in your kitchen counter. It ought to have a tight-fitting lid to cease odors and deter pests and be large enough to carry a number of days’ price of scraps. (Most jurisdictions are actually providing free or low-cost bins.)

2. Backyard forks are a should for turning compost piles, a significant step to retaining the elements aerated and pests at bay. (A shovel will work in a pinch.)

3. Excessive-nitrogen “inexperienced” supplies assist kick-start a compost pile’s decomposition. Soil scientist and L.A. Compost advisor Lynn Fang recommends having a great provide of those supplies readily available to assist the microbes do their work in breaking down the supplies. These embody grass clippings (effectively combined with different supplies in order that they don’t compact), espresso grounds, brewery waste (the leftover grains from making beer) and aged manure (omitted within the solar at the very least three weeks) from cows, horses and chickens not handled with steroids, antibiotics or different chemical compounds.

4. Wooden chips from untreated wooden are helpful carbon or “brown” elements, good for absorbing odors, retaining the pile aerated and masking newly added meals waste, mentioned Fang. You’ll be able to request free a great deal of wooden chips from native tree trimmers or join a free supply on chipdrop.com. (Be aware: One supply can embody as much as 20 yards of wooden chips, an quantity that may simply cowl a driveway, so speak to neighbors and pals about sharing. The positioning additionally has a means so that you can community with others who both need chips or have some to share.) Fang mentioned L.A. Sanitation or different cities have free mulch pickup websites if you would like a smaller amount of chips. Different “brown” choices embody shredded cardboard, dried leaves, straw or hay, all of which needs to be effectively combined with different gadgets in order that they don’t compact and impede air circulation.

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5. House — ideally in a shady space — to arrange a compost bin, tumbler or pile.

Within the helpful-but-not-absolutely-necessary class is a compost thermometer to maintain monitor of your compost’s inner temperature (which is a should should you’re making an attempt your hand at scorching composting).

Making a compost pile

Compost requires 4 fundamental elements: water, oxygen, nitrogen — from “inexperienced” gadgets reminiscent of fruit and vegetable trimmings, grass clippings, tea leaves and egg shells — and carbon — from “brown” gadgets reminiscent of useless leaves, shredded newspaper and sawdust (from untreated wooden). A compost pile needs to be damp, like a squeezed-out sponge, however not dripping, and the extra usually you flip it and provides it oxygen, the sooner the microbes can break the supplies all the way down to an earthy-smelling, chocolate-brown modification to your soil. You don’t have to show it in any respect, however it’s going to take for much longer for all of the supplies to interrupt down.

(Kelly Malka / For The Instances)

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The directions listed below are for informal composters, who gained’t be utilizing meat, dairy or cooked meals. These gadgets will be composted in scorching piles, says Fang, however these require extra effort and diligence.

Guides abound on-line, reminiscent of these from L.A. Compost or grasp gardener Yvonne Savio’s web site, GardeninginLA. Listed below are Fang’s suggestions for beginning a fundamental compost pile by layering in a number of elements:

1. Begin with a 3- to 6-inch layer of untreated wooden chips or small damaged branches on the backside of a bin or simply on the bottom. This may assist soak up odors and supply air circulation.

2. Add a 3-inch layer of inexperienced or nitrogen gadgets, reminiscent of vegetable trimmings and eggshells.

3. Add a 1-inch layer of a high-nitrogen activator reminiscent of manure, brew waste or espresso grounds. In the event you use grass clippings, make certain to combine them in with different gadgets in order that they don’t compact.

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4. Add a 3-inch layer of brown or carbon elements, reminiscent of wooden chips, shredded newspaper or cardboard, straw or hay, pine needles or dry leaves (effectively combined with different elements in order that they don’t mat).

5. Water these layers effectively so the pile is totally moist, and when you’ve got sufficient elements, repeat the identical layering course of, watering once more to make sure all of the elements get moist.

6. Flip the pile month-to-month by forking elements from the underside of the pile to the highest. Once you add meals scraps, cowl them with wooden chips or another brown materials to soak up odors and deter pests, however attempt to maintain a fair steadiness of greens and browns and ensure the pile stays moist. If the pile will get too dry, decomposition slows and it’s extra prone to appeal to ants and different pests. Add extra greens and water, and switch. If the pile begins smelling or will get too moist, add extra brown carbon materials and blend it effectively.

7. When you fill a bin, let it “prepare dinner” for a number of months (turning it month-to-month will pace the method) and begin a second bin or pile close by so that you at all times have a spot so as to add your meals waste.

Utilizing compost

In the event you flip it month-to-month, compost will be prepared in three to 6 months. Completed compost has a pleasing earthy scent and a darkish brown shade like espresso grounds. You shouldn’t have the ability to acknowledge the elements, however should you discover huge chunks, simply put them within the new pile to additional break down.

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Use your compost as a soil modification, mixing it into your backyard beds or containers. Or unfold it a number of inches thick beneath crops as a sort of fertilizing mulch that can feed their roots because it breaks down whereas cooling and enriching the soil. L.A. Compost suggests a ½-inch facet dressing of compost for heavy-feeding greens like tomatoes. Even lawns can profit from a skinny (½ inch) layer of compost raked excessive.

Compost additionally will be added to water (L.A. Compost recommends about 2 to 4 cups of unfastened compost to five gallons of water) and left to “brew” for twenty-four to 48 hours. The ensuing “tea” can be utilized to fertilize crops as they’re being watered. It additionally can be utilized a foliar spray to feed crops via their leaves.

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Lifestyle

Where Do Your Spices Come From?

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Where Do Your Spices Come From?

In 2012, Ethan Frisch was working for a development organization in Afghanistan when he saw a vendor selling wild cumin at a local market.

“I thought I knew my way around spices,” said Mr. Frisch, 38, recalling his experience at the market in Badakhshan Province. “But I had never tasted anything like this.”

Mr. Frisch had worked as a cook in London, where he attended graduate school for international development, and in New York, including time at Tabla, the fine-dining Indian restaurant by the chef Floyd Cardoz and the restaurateur Danny Meyer. He started bringing bags of cumin home to New York to share with friends in the restaurant industry, garnering rave reviews with each taste. He realized that there was a market for spices sourced directly from farmers.

In 2016, he started Burlap & Barrel, a single-origin spice company, with his friend Ori Zohar. The two had collaborated years earlier on Guerrilla Ice Cream, a roving ice cream cart that served flavors inspired by political and activist movements. Mr. Zohar came from a business background, working in marketing and advertising, and helped found a tech start-up that shut down in 2017.

Mr. Frisch put his life savings — about $20,000 — into starting the business. He ran it out of his one-bedroom apartment in Queens, cold-calling restaurants and showing up to kitchens with a backpack full of spices to give chefs a taste. He built up a base of spice suppliers, using skills and connections he developed while working with the Aga Khan Foundation on rural infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, and doing logistics for Doctors Without Borders in Jordan.

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For years, Mr. Frisch and Mr. Zohar flew overseas to stock up on inventory, returning with duffel bags full of cardamom, cumin, nutmeg and more. They would bring back enough spices to “fund the cost of the trip,” Mr. Frisch said. (“I had some funny conversations with the customs officers,” he added.)

In 2019, Burlap & Barrel embarked on its first chef collaboration: a line of masala spice blends with Mr. Cardoz.

After Mr. Cardoz died from Covid-19 in March 2020, his wife, Barkha Cardoz, continued to work with Burlap & Barrel, releasing the blends in October 2020, in honor of what would have been Mr. Cardoz’s 60th birthday. The company received more than a thousand orders that day — its biggest day of sales at that time.

The founders realized that there was “a way to connect a home-cook audience to a chef, through a spice blend,” Mr. Frisch said, and collaborations became a core part of their business. Amid the early months of the pandemic, Mr. Frisch and Mr. Zohar saw an increase in orders as more people made their meals at home.

In April 2023, another breakthrough moment came when they appeared on the reality TV show “Shark Tank.”

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“It almost doesn’t even taste like conventional cinnamon — I mean, it’s, like, incomparable,” Gwyneth Paltrow, a guest “Shark,” said after trying the brand’s Royal Cinnamon variety from Vietnam.

Mr. Frisch and Mr. Zohar didn’t end up with a deal, but they gained publicity and a surge of new customers. In 2024, the company did about $9 million in sales, according to Mr. Frisch.

Over the years, they have collaborated with chefs including Marc Murphy; Ashleigh Shanti; Sohla and Ham El-Waylly, who are New York Times contributors; and the fashion designer and cookbook author Peter Som. Recently, they teamed up with Martha Stewart on a poultry seasoning, and with Jane Goodall on jars of honey from the Miombo woodlands of Tanzania.

Now, more than eight years later, what began as a scrappy passion project is a growing brand and social enterprise with big-name collaborations, home-cook devotees, celebrity fans and cameos in the background of the FX show “The Bear.”

The chefs Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, founders of Honeysuckle Provisions, an Afrocentric grocery and cafe in West Philadelphia that was named one of Eater’s best new restaurants of 2023, collaborated with Burlap & Barrel. They wanted to work with them, Mr. Tate said, both because of the sheer flavor of the spices, and because of their ethical and intentional approach to working with farmers.

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“They make sure that the communities that they are sourcing from are respected — not just through the ingredients that are being extracted and that they’re exporting to make these profits, but they’re also redistributing that wealth to the community,” Mr. Tate said.

At Hani’s Bakery and Cafe in Lower Manhattan — a new spot from Miro Uskokovic, the former Gramercy Tavern pastry chef, and his wife, Shilpa Uskokovic, an editor at Bon Appétit — Burlap & Barrel’s Royal Cinnamon is used in their popular malted cinnamon buns.

The cinnamon “is the only one we’ve found that offers the right combination of strength and florality to stand up to all that cream cheese and butter,” Mr. Uskokovic wrote in an email.

“As a chef, the one thing that we have always lacked is any kind of traceability or any kind of transparency in spices, in herbs,” said Rick Bayless, the celebrated Chicago chef and restaurateur who specializes in Mexican cuisine. “When I found Burlap & Barrel, I wanted to get to know these guys and see what they were doing, because they were telling stories about who grew this cumin and who grew these peppercorns.”

Transparency and storytelling is at the heart of the business. As what’s known as a public benefit corporation — a for-profit company that focuses on contributing to a social good — Burlap & Barrel seeks “to connect smallholder farmers to high-value markets,” said Mr. Zohar, 39.

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“Our business works because we’re paying the farmers more, which then allows the farmers to not just grow the spices, but they clean the spices, they dry the spices, they grind the spices, they prepare them for export,” he said.

The company now consists of 20 people, most of whom are contractors, and works with farmers in about 30 countries including Vietnam, Turkey and Guatemala, often helping with the logistics of the export process. The founders visit farms to meet the farmers and see firsthand the practices and products of each potential partner.

Shadel Nyack Compton, the owner and managing director of Belmont Estate, a family farm and tourist destination in Grenada, works with Burlap & Barrel to sell nutmeg and bay leaves. The farm — whose main crop is cocoa — has been in her family for 80 years.

In 2021, Ms. Nyack Compton found Burlap & Barrel online. She was looking for new business and wanted to work with a company that was interested in developing a relationship with farmers. “We want our story to be told,” she said.

“Spices represent a lot to a lot of different people,” Mr. Frisch said. “A spice jar becomes a way to tell a story, to evoke a memory, to teach about a culture or a cuisine, to give someone the opportunity to do their own cooking in a different way.”

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Burlap & Barrel is unique, Ms. Nyack Compton said, because the company works to “establish this kind of equitable, transparent supply chain,” an approach she said is more often seen in the cocoa and chocolate space. With spices, she said, “it’s very novel.”

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Man who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI, police say

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Man who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI, police say

The highly decorated soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said Tuesday.

Nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself, officials said according to writings, he didn’t intend to kill anyone else.

An investigation of Livelsberger’s searches through ChatGPT indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona.

Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the use of generative AI a “game-changer” and said the department was sharing information with other law enforcement agencies.

“This is the first incident that I’m aware of on U.S. soil where ChatGPT is utilized to help an individual build a particular device,” he said. “It’s a concerning moment.”

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In an emailed statement, OpenAI said it was committed to seeing its tools used “responsibly” and that they’re designed to refuse harmful instructions.

“In this case, ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities. We’re working with law enforcement to support their investigation,” the emailed statement said.

Launched in 2022, ChatGPT is part of a broader set of technologies developed by the San Francisco-based startup OpenAI. Unlike previous iterations of so-called “large language models,” the ChatGPT tool is available for free to anyone with an internet connection and designed to be more user-friendly.

During a roughly half-hour-long news conference, Las Vegas police and federal law enforcement officials unveiled new details about the New Year’s Day explosion.

Among the specifics law enforcement disclosed: Livelsberger stopped during the drive to Las Vegas to pour racing-grade fuel into the Cybertruck, which then dripped the substance. The vehicle was loaded with 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of pyrotechnic material as well as 70 pounds (32 kilograms) of birdshot but officials are still uncertain exactly what detonated the explosion. They said Tuesday it could have been the flash from the firearm that Livelsberger used to fatally shoot himself.

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Authorities also said they uncovered a six-page document that they have not yet released because they’re working with Defense Department officials since some of the material could be classified. They added that they still have to review contents on a laptop, mobile phone and smartwatch.

Among the items released was a journal Livelsberger kept titled “surveillance” or “surveil” log. It showed that he believed he was being tracked by law enforcement, but he had no criminal record and was not on the police department’s of FBI’s “radar,” the sheriff said Tuesday.

The log showed that he considered carrying out his plans in Arizona at the Grand Canyon’s glass skywalk, a tourist attraction on tribal land that towers high above the canyon floor. Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said police don’t know why he changed his plans. The writings also showed he worried he would be labeled a terrorist and that people would think he intended to kill others besides himself, officials said.

Once stopped outside the hotel, video showed a flash in the vehicle that they said they believed was from the muzzle of the firearm Livelsberger used to shoot himself. Soon after that flash, video showed fire engulfing the truck’s cabin and even escaping the seam of the door, the result of considerable fuel vapor, officials said. An explosion followed.

Livelsberger, an Army Green Beret who deployed twice to Afghanistan and lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, left notes saying the explosion was a stunt meant to be a “ wake up call ” for the nation’s troubles, officials said last week.

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He left cellphone notes saying he needed to “cleanse” his mind “of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”

The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the Trump International Hotel. Authorities said that Livelsberger acted alone.

Livelsberger’s letters touched on political grievances, societal problems and domestic and international issues, including the war in Ukraine. He wrote that the U.S. was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”

Investigators had been trying to determine if Livelsberger wanted to make a political point, given the Tesla and the hotel bearing the president-elect’s name.

Livelsberger harbored no ill will toward President-elect Donald Trump, law enforcement officials said. In one of the notes he left, he said the country needed to “rally around” him and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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Are These Shoes Hideous or Genius?

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Are These Shoes Hideous or Genius?

Some shoes we simply wear. Others, we debate endlessly.

New Balance’s mutant 1906L is clearly in the latter category. Introduced last year, New Balance’s shoe is a mash-up of a sneaker and a loafer, christened the “Snoafer” by the internet. It’s a mutt-like design caught in the liminal space between informal and formal.

Whatever else the Snoafer may be, it has been polarizing. Versions of the shoes keep selling out (though how many have been produced is unclear), yet detractors say that the Snoafer is just plain ugly.

In an edited conversation, Jon Caramanica, Stella Bugbee and Jacob Gallagher, three members of The New York Times staff (two of whom actually purchased the Snoafers) discuss the shoe’s Frankensteinian merits, how it has been received by their respective family members and if it’s actually ugly enough.


STELLA BUGBEE There’s something profoundly perverse about these shoes.

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JACOB GALLAGHER I could see someone saying that they don’t go together in an orange juice and toothpaste sort of way, but perverse? Say more.

BUGBEE They don’t know what they want to be, and yet they are unapologetically themselves. That tension produces an uncomfortable feeling in me — in a good way, I think.

GALLAGHER I felt that way a bit when I saw them online, but when I put them on after buying them and looked down, I thought, “Oh, is that all there is?”

JON CARAMANICA Seeing them, I immediately thought of, say, vintage Geox shoes — the sort of brand you might see in a print ad deep into the cheap pages of a men’s magazine. Or even worse, those terrible attempts at athletic office footwear from Cole Haan. We all hate those things.

GALLAGHER You’re talking about Cole Haan’s LunarGrands, which were a monstrosity. They called attention to their juxtapositions. The upper was dressy, while the sole, which was often neon, was not just informal, but futuristic. Or so Cole Haan wanted you to think. The 1906Ls though, meld. They’re like the creature at the end of “The Substance.” They takes two distinct halves and distort them into one uncanny whole.

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BUGBEE The reaction I got when I posted pictures of the 1906Ls on Instagram was overwhelmingly negative, which only made me think that they were cooler. If everybody hates a thing, it must be doing something right?

GALLAGHER But to go back to your earlier point, Stella. Do you think people thought they were perverse or merely ugly? Are people reacting to this shoe because it’s new or because they find it unappealing? That’s an important distinction.

BUGBEE I can’t tell. I don’t think the 1906Ls are ugly, but that was the consensus from my friends and family.

CARAMANICA My counterpoint is that they are not ugly enough! The black pair especially.

GALLAGHER I’m with Jon here. They’re not ugly. They’re definitely not in the category of Jon’s beloved Balenciaga Triple S, a sneaker that knowingly bonked itself on every branch of the ugly tree.

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BUGBEE People especially hated the tiny “N” on the top.

CARAMANICA That’s funny about the “N” — that’s the gesture on this shoe that feels maybe a touch radical? Like some intersection of a $3 pair of “breathable sock shoes” you’d find on Temu and the very long tail of Virgil Abloh’s sense of play with text on clothing.

GALLAGHER The “N” might be the riskiest thing on the shoe! Who puts a logo there? That to me is part of the appeal. They’re giving something new to a hype consumer (after all, they keep selling out) while knowingly dipping into geriatric territory.

CARAMANICA Can I offer two more reference points for shoes that tried to walk this tightrope before? First, my beloved Jordan Two3 Cavvy from the early 2000s, which is essentially a Prada loafer with an athletic tilting sole and an accentuated elastic top. A messy blend of casual and formal. And second is the Nike Air Verdana, a golf shoe, also from the early 2000s.

In their day, I disliked both of these. But at least on the Cavvy, I have come around to its elegance. Which is to say, maybe the 1906L will just need two decades to be normalized and appreciated.

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BUGBEE I put them more in the category of the Nike Air Rift Tabis — sneakers with mutant ambitions.

CARAMANICA Yes, but the Rifts don’t pretend to any kind of formality.

BUGBEE The 1906Ls do not feel formal to me. They retain their sneakerness.

CARAMANICA Then it sounds like what you want is … a sneaker?

BUGBEE No, I wanted a comfy slip-on, with the shape of a loafer and the sole of a sneaker that would make my whole family want to walk 10 feet away from me in public.

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GALLAGHER So you wanted the repulsion?

BUGBEE Yeah, I like a little troll.

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