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T H E “S W I S H R E L E A S
E” N E W S L E T T E R
A Conversation FOR Great Shooting!
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By Tom Nordland, Shooting Coach
Swish International, Inc.
Issue Number 111 -- July 2008
Tel: 888/SWISH-22 (888/794-7422)
or 831/338-4647
Email: Tom@swish22.com
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ATTENTION:
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to
it.
If you'd like to remove yourself from this mailing list, please see the
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is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every
subscriber and respect your privacy.
PLEASE excuse the
advertisement paragraph you'll see at the top of this
Newsletter.
Because I have a “free” service with the Mail List company (Topica),
they insert that ad to help them pay for the service. Sorry
for
the little commercialism.
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IN THIS ISSUE
============================================
1. Welcome from the Coach
2. Purpose of this Newsletter
3. Going to a Quarterly Format with the Newsletter
4. A Batch of Testimonials, Including a Remarkable One
5. KIDS' KORNER
6. Shooting Clinics & Camps
7. You Can Republish Articles I’ve Written
8. Get the Swish Videos
9. Some Powerful Testimonials/Photos/Video clips for Swish
10. Please Bookmark this Website
11. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
12. Contact Information
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1. Welcome from the Coach
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Welcome
to my free Monthly “Swish Release” Basketball Shooting
Newsletter. Each month I write about the skill of shooting in
the
game today and how it can be more effectively learned and
coached. If you like what I'm saying, please tell others
about it
and suggest they subscribe, too. Remember: Great
Shooting
CAN be taught!
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2. Purpose of this Newsletter
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This
newsletter is a vehicle for communicating what I know about shooting
and for a conversation on how shooting can be
improved.
With your help, I intend to shift the game and help players and coaches
everywhere re-discover the Lost Art of Pure Shooting. Thank
you
for
reading this and subscribing to it and sharing it with your friends.
-- Tom Nordland
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3. Going to a Quarterly Format with the Newsletter
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I’ve
been writing this Newsletter monthly for over nine years, and now I’m
going to switch to an approx. “quarterly” basis. Although I
probably can find enough things to say to continue it monthly, I have
other business priorities that need to take precedence, so I’m going to
cut back a bit on my obligations for a Newsletter.
I appreciate
the support I’ve been given by you, the readers. Please continue
to send me feedback and new ideas. Shooting is still a Lost
Art. I haven’t been able to shift the Culture yet (an awesome
task), but I feel I’m getting a little bit closer.
Marketing is
changing dramatically these days due to the incredible power and
opportunity of the Internet. Some of the other priorities I
mention above are related to that, to how video and audio can be used
to market my videos and coaching, how viral marketing is to be
understood and exploited, how Facebook and other On Line community
tools are coming available.
I’m working on a Swish Shooting
Manual that will clearly show coaches how to coach this Method (it
willl be more detailed than the spreadsheet approach I now have
available on the “For Coaches” page). I also plan to create short
video vignettes on different areas of shooting to help learn and coach
the skill. I’ll be exploring Podcasts and other such Web 2.0
tools for communication. We’re working right now with a wonderful
graphic designer (and marketing and branding expert) to redesign the
swish22.com website. We hope to have it up and running by
October, so stay tuned for that.
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4. A Batch of Testimonials, Including a Remarkable One
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[Ed.
Note: You have seen my more recent testimonials appear on these
screens/pages for all these years before they are migrated to my
website. Here are a few more, including one that has to be seen
to be believed. I’ll conclude this section with that “special”
turnabout testimonial.]
“Dear Tom, I thought I would drop
you a note letting you know what kind of progress Carlie is making. She
has been working really hard preparing for her upcoming AAU season.
Since we left you, her Jr. High team competed in the Louisiana State
tournament where they finished 3rd among all classes. Carlie played
extremely well, handling the opposing teams' intense ball
pressure.
“She didn't get very many shot attempts due to the
fact that she is still not looking to shoot. I can't convince her
that great shooters look to score when the opportunities present
themselves and that she could benefit the team by contributing more
points. She still has that assist first, point guard, attitude which is
certainly a valuable attribute in terms of team play but our team tends
to have trouble scoring at times. Maybe her thinking will change as
she matures and continues to become more confident in her ability
to score.
“Speaking of confidence, Carlie and I
just returned from the gym where I witnessed the most
unbelievable shooting performance i've ever seen. Every single shot was
swish, after swish, after swish. She could not miss! Every shot within
the 3 point arc was nothing but the bottom of the net. As she moved out
to the longer distances she tended to move the ball a bit off of her
right eye, but overall her release is becoming more and more automatic
every day. She still struggles with finishing with a floppy wrist and
her rotation is still far from perfect, but overall she has made
tremendous progress. This summer, after her AAU season finishes, we
hope to return to California to spend more time with you, fine tuning
her shot.”
Sincerely,
- - Jonas G., Pineville, LA
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“Tom,
I just wanted to give you an update on my daughter Nicole. As you
may recall we flew in for your clinics in Minneapolis.
“So
far in her summer league, the biggest difference I have seen in Nicole
is her is that she now has the confidence to take the outside
shot. Last season she would hesitate before shooting or even
passing up a good shot because she was afraid she would miss. She
is not the leading scorer on the team, but she is not afraid to shoot.
“When
we are out shooting at the hoop, she is able to tell me what
caused her to miss. She is able to begin coaching herself.
She went to a basketball camp as she said the coaches said square up
and keep the elbow in. She told me Tom would be disappointed in
their coaching.
“Again it was a pleasure to meet you and
watch how you worked with the kids. I can hardly wait until
basketball season starts and I can start coaching the Swish method.”
- - Glen K., Stroudsburg, PA
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“Hi
Tom, Just a quick note to let you know we really appreciate you
including Katy's story (testimonial) in your July Newsletter. When Katy
read the testimonials you included, she almost felt out of her seat at
the computer when she realized she was reading our testimonial.
“I
would like to add a follow up to Katy's situation. Recently Katy spent
a week at a basketball camp that draws kids from NE Pennsylvania and
beyond. The camp has been in existence for decades and it has a very
good reputation. Anyway, on the last day of camp as parents arrived to
pick up their girls, semi-finals and a final game were played for the
Camp Championship. Katy's team was in the 10-13 yr. old age group.
“With
Katy using the Swish Method of shooting, and with a good deal of
confidence, Katy took numerous shots when the opportunity presented
itself and she was successful in over 50% of her shots taken. Katy's
team won the camp championship and Katy was a major part of that
accomplishment. At an awards ceremony at the conclusion of camp, Katy
was selected to the Camp All-Star Team. An evaluation form, written up
by each team's coach(college basketball players coached the teams and
helped instruct at the camp), was given to each player. The evaluation
form allowed the coaches to individually assess each players' skills.
(Defense, passing, shooting, knowledge of the game, and court awareness
were some of the categories listed).
“Katy's coach made many
positive comments regarding Katy's game, but the one that caught my eye
and Katy's was the comment made in the Shooting Category. Her coach
noted that Katy had ‘one of the nicest and smoothest shots I have ever
seen’. That comment made Katy's week, and her confidence level
was bumped up another notch.
“Thank you and the Swish Method
once again. As I said before in earlier emails, Katy and I will
continue to work and reap the benefits of the Swish Method.”
Best regards,
-- John C., Dallas, TX
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“Tom,
my team shot so well this summer league that other coaches complimented
us on our shooting ability. It was hard for teams to zone us because
they could never figure out who to guard. I often heard coaches refer
to our team as a team full of shooters! It is beautiful to watch!”
--
M. Lanier, Glendora, CA (I’ve coached his teams for two
years now, a couple clinics each year. He’s done the tougher job
of extending and guiding the coaching after the clinics.)
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[Ed.
Note: The following is a remarkable exchange of emails. I
won’t use the boy’s name or email, but I applaud him for being able to
change his mind. Language removed ... you can get the idea.]
Orig. comment, posted on YouTube ~June 10th:
“This @#$% is so &%$#! If you really want to learn how to shoot look Dave
Hopla on youtube. He' coached Michael Jordan and now coaches Kobe
Bryant, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, and Gilbert Arenas how to shoot. This
guy is the considered the best shooting coach in the world. His dvds
are just $40 each. That's just $10 more than this video. Don't waste ur
money on this piece of garbage.”
----------------------
Apology July 10th:
“I
apologize sir for using foul language and belittling your ability as a
shooting coach. I have just borrowed your swish2 dvd and tried its
techniques. I was doubtful at first because everything you taught, my
past coaches told me to never do. But after trying your approach to the
flopping wrist I found that the shots consistently sank in more. It
barely took any effort at all. I just had to point my hand at the hoop
and the ball went in swish every time. Please accept my apology, I
realized your shooting method was a breakthrough in basketball
shooting(you should coach Lebron James). Please Coach Norland delete my
comment I made on your "Swish 1 video and clips". I truly apologize for
what I said in that comment and I take it all back. Please delete my
comment on the "Swish 1 video and clips."
Sorry about bothering you Coach Norland.”
----------------------
July 10th: Comment after I told him I could not find his orig. comment (I later found it):
“Ok
coach Norland I'll find the comment I posted up and give it to you.
"Swish 1" Basketball Shooting Clips & Video" is where I posted my
comment. I'm sorry about the foul language on that comment Coach
Norland, Please delete it from your "Swish 1" Basketball Shooting Clips
& Video" video. Thank you Coach Norland for accepting my apology
and your technique is truly a breakthrough. You should host camps in my
area. No one around here shoots with your technique, I'm the only one
and am known as the best shooter at a local gym. Coach Norland is the
BEST shooting coach!!!!!”
---------------------------------------
July 11th: My request to him to get his email address:
“Can
I get your full email address? My top assistant would like to
communicate with you so we can get a deeper understanding of the steps
you went through to this transformation. This is a great
story! What methods out there are really "coachable?" It's
one thing to be able to perform something well; it's another to be able
to coach others in the skill.
“I’m fascinated with how people
learn, and your story is a great one. Sure, we're all resistant
to change, and we might feel good belittling someone else, whether we
truly understand a situation or not. I know I've done it, usually
to myself, thankfully. (To do it via the Internet opens the door
to all kinds of responses and historical permanence, and should be
avoided, of course.)
“Another way to say it is, it's easy to say
‘no’ to a new idea; it takes more courage and personal strength to
change one’s mind, to say ‘yes’ or ‘maybe,’ and then check something
out that might challenge our beliefs. The media has gotten
into the unfortunate habit of calling this ‘flip-flopping.’
We used to call it ‘changing one’s minds,’ being willing to change a
point of view after receiving new information, a good thing.
“I’m
humbled by this young man’s change of mind. I know I can be
closed-minded to some things, thinking I have all the answers. It
blocks learning, blocks enjoyment, blocks lot of things.”
--Tom Nordland
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5. KIDS' KORNER
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(Reprint of a very valuable article)
FOCUS ON THE TARGET WHEN PERFORMING TO REDUCE FEAR!
(A young girl from New Mexico has a realization!)
One problem we
all have is trusting a new stroke (or new anything) when there is
pressure, when it "counts!" Why is it that, even when we're getting
pretty good with a new stroke or behavior, we revert to our old habits
in games and screw things up?
FROM PRACTICE AREA TO THE COURSE
Golfers
have this problem all the time, the difference between golf swings or
putting strokes they can make on the driving range or practice green
and the swings or putts that happen on the course when each shot
counts. The latter is usually disastrous, with tension, fear, doubt, or
all of the above interfering with the result.
MAKE THE TARGET MORE IMPORTANT!
A
young girl from New Mexico I coached this winter just wrote me with her
discoveries in this area. The question is what can you do to perform
your best in competition, in what she calls "in public." Here are her
words:
"Hey Tom! I think I have a clue that may help me to
better my shooting in public. When I was reading some things on your
website, something really clicked. There was a question that a boy had
that had the same weakness as myself. Your guess was lack of
concentration on the goal.
"I started to notice that when I am
being very self aware of how I am shooting, I miss. Now that I have
gotten the method down, I just need to focus mostly on the goal, and
not worry about much else. Does this sound familiar? Thank you."
-- Kelly B., Springer, NM
PROFOUND DISCOVERY
Yes,
Kelly, you had a really profound discovery! Thoughts about HOW you're
performing in the middle of a competitive action usually lead to fear
(of the future) and doubts (about your abilities), those two worthy
adversaries we all have in our lives. Thinking is not in the same
dimension as physical action. If you're thinking, it's usually about
the past or some future outcome that you're interested in or about some
failure from the past. Often these thoughts are about what did happen,
what could happen, what might happen, etc., and they're usually
negative (I could miss the basket, I could airball it, I DID screw it
up, I could ook foolish, I could fail!).
However, if you
can minimize the thinking and return more and more to the "present
moment," to the action that's happening, and be more with feel than
with thoughts, you will perform better. That's been my experience. It's
tough to do when the doubts and fears get really intense, but with
practice you can get better and better at this process, like you are
doing.
THE TARGET -- A GREAT FOCUS!
One wonderful focus is on
the target. You could focus on other things, like feeling the ball in
your fingers as you shoot, or noticing when in the jump you start your
Release, etc., and that focus will help put you in the present and
performance will improve. Focus on the target is another place to put
your attention while you perform, and it's probably the most effective
because it increases awareness of where you're going!
TRY IT!
Play
with this and notice if you can just see the basket clearly with little
or no emotion or attachment (how am I doing?) as you shoot. Just see
it! You'll find your mind gets calmer and your "connection" with the
target goes up. Trust will also go up because trust occurs in the
present, not in any future or past. If you're truly aware of where
you're going, there's a natural sense of trust that occurs, especially
when you have a stroke that works, a stroke you can count on, which is
what Kelly is developing. Try shooting this way and your
experience will teach you how to do it.
SUMMARY
In
practice pay attention (awareness) to HOW you do things, what's
happening with your body, where you're getting your power from, your
wrist and hand, height, spin, etc., but in games, when it counts, shift
your attention to the TARGET, to where you want the ball to
go. When
it counts, keep it very simple and learn to trust your body to do what
it knows to do. It won't always do what you want, but with practice and
more and more trust, you'll surprise yourself with how well you can
perform under pressure.
Thanks, Kelly, for a wonderful subject for the KIDS' KORNER!
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6. Shooting Clinics & Camps
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CLINICS THIS SUMMER AND FALL (See the “Clinics”
page for the latest details)
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SEATTLE
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Two public clinics on Saturday, August 9th:
Clinic #1: 9AM-1PM
Clinic #2: 2-6PM
For details and On Line enrollment:
Seattle Clinics -- Aug. '08
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
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Stay tuned... I will soon define some clinic dates and times.
---------------------------------------
BOULDER CREEK, CA (occasional clinics being held)
DATE AND TIME:
To be determined
WHERE:
Boulder Creek Recreation Center
13333 Middleton Road
Boulder Creek 95006
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SAN JOSE AREA (occasional clinics in East Palo Alto and other locations)
DATE AND TIME:
To be determined
WHERE:
Eastside Preparatory School
East Palo Alto, Calif.
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OTHER LOCATIONS?
Here
are some of the other locations in the country (in no particular order)
I’m in contact with people about that might develop into
trips.
If you want to join in the organizing in one of these areas or add to
the list, contact me. I can send you my Guidelines.
New England (Boston, etc.)
Salt Lake City
Detroit
Colorado
Seattle/Spokane -- probably something in Seattle in August
Phoenix
Indiana/Kentucky
St.Louis/Wichita
Chicago
Alaska even
Houston -- a second trip
Other areas of Northern and Southern California
(I’m going to have to clone myself. That’s what Coaches’
Trainings are all about.)
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7. You Can Republish Articles I've Written
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I've written (actually
collated mostly from Newsletters I've written) 23 articles so far for
an article service called "eZinearticles.com." You can call them up
here:
(http://ezinearticles.com/?%20expert=Tom_Nordland)
and you're welcome to copy and republish them. Just give me the credit.
The same goes for any of the stuff I've published on my website. The
world needs to read of this approach to shooting, and I appreciate any
help you can give to disseminate this material.
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8. Get the Swish Videos
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Let me again encourage
you to get the Swish videos, if you haven't already. Swish 2 may
deserve the "Academy Award" of shooting videos, as Coach Bill Dale put
it in
a recent Newsletter. These videos are poised to help shift the way
shooting is taught everywhere. They reveal a very simple approach to
shooting that can be seen to be the way the greatest shooters have
always shot. They teach kids how to learn and practice, and HOW TO
COACH THEMSELVES! That's Huge! They also, especially Swish 2,
teach how to coach shooting excellence!
Get both Swish and Swish
2 with the discounted "package" price of $44.90 plus shipping (and tax
if you're in Calif.). The original Swish is a "classic," well worth the
price of $15 (half price, no extra shipping) it costs to get both.
Swish 2, two-hours long, is my "masterpiece."
As one coach put it,
"The answer to the shooting woes is mechanical, not mysterious ...
physical, not mental." (Click here to see the whole quote "More Mechanical
than Mysterious.")
COACHES, SIGN UP FOR MY
COACHES EMAIL LIST!
If you're a coach and want to coach shooting, I've got some special
coaching tools I'll send you when you buy Swish 2. There are also
lesson plans and coaching stuff on the "For Coaches"
page. Sign up on the Coaches’ Emailing List there.
I’ll be
developing more materials soon to help you view the videos and teach
the Swish Method. I want to inform and empower YOU to coach
shooting most effectively. We all need to work at this to "right the
ship," as it's said. Shooting is at such a low ebb, we need something
different from what's been coached the last 20-25 years.
For more information and
to order the videos: Order
page
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9. Some Powerful Testimonials/Photos/Videoclips for Swish
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Here are some relatively new things about Swish and my coaching that
you might not have seen:
• Comments from Terry Tucker, "More Mechanical
than Mysterious!"
http://www.swish22.com/ttucker.html
• Two young boys discover shooting: Joe
Water's great testimonial
http://www.ultimate-youth-basketball-guide.com/basketball-shooting-program.html
• A great testimonial -- Bill Dale's webpage
http://www.makemoreshots.com/
• A wonderful Minnesota
State Tournament article, March '07
http://www.swish22.com/Tom_MNArticle.pdf
• Special
photos
uploaded to my site
http://www.swish22.com/photos.html
• A list of all my
eZine articles:
http://ezinearticles.com/?%20expert=Tom_Nordland
VIDEO CLIPS
In case
you haven’t seen my video clips from Swish and Swish 2, here are links
to the Flash versions (high quality) from my site via a powerful
computer server in Arizona.
1) From Swish (these are the “Bonus clips”
at the end -- 5:54 min.):
http://www.swish22.com/flash.html
2) From Swish 2 (the opening
sequence, 2:10 min.):
http://www.swish22.com/videoclips2.html
(Note:
Shortly these clips will be put on a different computer and these URL’s
won’t work. Refer to the Swish website ("Video Clips") as to
where the clips can be viewed.
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10. Please Bookmark this Website
If you have a
website, become an Affiliate of ours and help market
the Swish videos and
earn 25% commissions!
------------------------------------------------------------
I invite you to bookmark
my Swish Website
so you can go there easily to catch my latest comments on shooting. You
can read about my videos there (including endorsements, testimonials,
reviews and an overview of the videos), my coaching, and the many
articles on shooting I've written. You can see video clips and archived
back issues of this Newsletter and, of course, subscribe, if you're not
already getting this on a regular basis.
Please tell others about
this newsletter, my site, and my videos. Forward the newsletter to them
and suggest they read it and the many archived issues. Send them the
URL (swish22.com) and let them know there's a proven method for
powerful shooting. This great game of ours deserves a Renaissance in
shooting!
Some of the direct links
to my webpage:
· Website Home Page
· Endorsements
· Testimonials
· Articles,
Reviews
· Coaches
Page
· Swish
Coaches
· Newsletter
· Clinics
and Camps
· Trouble
Shooting Guide
· Q&A's
· Ordering
the Swish products (videos / T-shirts)
**** VIEW THESE MIND-BLOWING VIDEO CLIPS ***
(Have
you seen any other shooting video with this kind of shooting
performance from the kids? It reveals how powerful and universal this
Method of shooting really is.)
· Video
Clips (including the Swish 2 flash clips)
To sign
up as an Affiliate, click below:
Become a Swish
Affiliate
------------------------------------------------------------
11. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
------------------------------------------------------------
To SUBSCRIBE to this
Newsletter, click on the link below.
***Important: Please note that when you "subscribe," Topica, the
company that manages the free list for me, will send you a
"confirmation" email and offer you two ways to "confirm." I SUGGEST YOU
USE THE SECOND OPTION!
The first option is to
click on a link to Topica where they will ask you open a free account
with them. This is okay to do, as they have good free mailings lists,
discussion groups, etc., but I think most of you just want to subscribe
to the newsletter. You do that most easily by the second option, just
REPLYING to the email. That's all you need to do, no need to key
anything.
Click on this email --
it will start the subscription process: Subscribe.
Remember to expect the Confirmation email.
To UNSUBSCRIBE from this
Newsletter, just send a blank email to the following:
Unsubscribe
------------------------------------------------------------
12. Contact Information
------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Nordland, Swish International, Inc.
325 Crows Nest Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
Website: http://www.swish22.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Tel: 888/SWISH-22 (888/794-7422)
or 831/338-4647
Fax: Call above #'s to get fax # and to get fax turned on.
E-mail Tom
Originator of the Official Swish Method of Shooting!
For a Renaissance in Shooting!
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(c) Copyright 2008 Tom Nordland All Rights Reserved
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