Performed by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi
Composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater
All those days, watching from the windows
All those years, outside looking in
All that time, never even knowing
Just how blind I'd been
Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here, suddenly I see
Standing here, it's oh so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be
And at last I see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light, and it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted
All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you
All those days, chasing down a daydream
All those years, living in a blur
All that time, never truly seeing
Things the way they were
Now she's here, shining in the starlight
Now she's here, suddenly I know
If she's here, it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go
And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted
All at once, everything is different, now that I see you
Now that I see you
...
Wow. Alan Menken seems to have composed a lot of my favorite songs to sing while nobody is listening.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
I'm Watching You...
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of accompanying several students from my school to a trip up north. One of the stops was Kellie's Castle, an unfinished mansion built in the 18th century by a British businessman who died during the castle's construction.
Anyway, that's not what this post is about. I shall share about the trip and Kellie's Castle some other time.
This post is about the photo of this young monkey with yet another meaningful stare that I shot during the visit.
Due to its small size, I reckoned it to be an adolescent longtailed macaque. I was able to come in close to capture the portrait of this simian with a 35mm lens without it feeling intimidated by my presence. I guess it has become used to human presence in the area since a lot of tourists visit Kellie's Castle especially during the holidays.
This kind of reminded me of another monkey that I shot that was staring, though not at me, but at the distance.
I guess monkey stares look more meaningful because of their humanlike faces, which we can relate to better than say, the face of a goldfish or a tuatara.
Once my foot heals (that's for yet another post) I shall seek out opportunities to shoot more meaningful simian stares in the wild.
P/S: You can go here to see all my other monkey posts.
Anyway, that's not what this post is about. I shall share about the trip and Kellie's Castle some other time.
This post is about the photo of this young monkey with yet another meaningful stare that I shot during the visit.
Due to its small size, I reckoned it to be an adolescent longtailed macaque. I was able to come in close to capture the portrait of this simian with a 35mm lens without it feeling intimidated by my presence. I guess it has become used to human presence in the area since a lot of tourists visit Kellie's Castle especially during the holidays.
This kind of reminded me of another monkey that I shot that was staring, though not at me, but at the distance.
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| From 'Cape of Monkeys', posted January this year. |
I guess monkey stares look more meaningful because of their humanlike faces, which we can relate to better than say, the face of a goldfish or a tuatara.
Once my foot heals (that's for yet another post) I shall seek out opportunities to shoot more meaningful simian stares in the wild.
P/S: You can go here to see all my other monkey posts.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Oct23rdTwtup [photos]
Since it has been exactly a month since the #Oct23rdTwtup, I don't think it'd mean much if I write a long post about it, so let me just share some photos I took during the event.
I also saw on the walls twitter usernames of tweeples that I follow.
Had to leave early because of other commitments that night. But before I leave, I managed to checkin at the Foursquare checkin station to get my badges.
Oh, and if any of you know any of the tweeples in the photos, can you please identify them by their twitter usernames so I can put the usernames in the captions. Thanks!
-ihsankhairir-
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| The event banner that serves as the backdrop of the stage |
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| My Twitter username was already up on the wall when I arrived! |
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| The Twitter / Foursquare checkin station for people without mobile internet nor smartphones. My name on the wall was exactly behind this checkin station. |
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| Twitterbird motifs were all over the place. |
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| The large banner for everyone to sign. Can you spot my name? |
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| Since most of the scribbles around it were in black, I chose a blue color to stand out a bit. |
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| Some twitteroos that actually posed for my shots. |
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| I noticed Joe Flizzow (@flizzow) before I was about to leave. |
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| C Loco (@cloco) also posed for my camera! |
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| Can't remember who used my camera to take this photo of @hawayou. |
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| There's @hawayou and my highschool friend @zurairi |
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| I also saw @r3belicious |
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| Here's @kruel74 |
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| Social media pro En Shamhardy @shamhardy (bila nak dapat jumpa ni bro? haha) |
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| Aznil Hj Nawawi and Lis Orked (@rainingheaven) |
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| @nrlhasanah |
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| Checking in at the venue immediately as I arrived landed me the Swarm badge |
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| Checking in at the event as I left landed me the Super Swarm badge! I believe it was the first Super Swarm in Malaysia. I'm not quite sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. |
-ihsankhairir-
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Injured Ant
For the good part of an hour, I was down on my belly like a lizard, prowling upon six-legged crawlies not to feed upon them, but to immortalize them in photos.
I perchanced upon a large ant with an unusual walking pattern. As if it was helplessly wandering around looking for something, or running away from an unseen predator.
I roleplayed myself into becoming this peculiar ant's predator, pretending that the ant was scurrying away from my predatory eyes (or rather eye, because DSLRs are not stereographic/stereoscopic).
Capturing this oddly wandering ant proved rather difficult, as it was really hard to anticipate its movements due to the unpredictable and random walking pattern.
After almost half a hundred shots, and reviewing them on the computer, I realized why this ant was so oddly peculiar.
It was injured.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow, the ant got a small shard of glass stuck to the tip of its abdomen.
Assuming ants can feel pain, I felt sorry for the six-legged creature much later.
I had a feeling that this ant did not survive the day. For an insect so dependent on the strength of swarms and the support of its colony, there was no way an injured ant could have survived the day.
The ant must be so unlucky to have been pierced by that shard of glass. Who would've thought that a broken piece of glass could hurt something as small as an ant?
-ihsankhairir-
P/S: For another closeup of an ant:
Angry Red Weaver Ant
I perchanced upon a large ant with an unusual walking pattern. As if it was helplessly wandering around looking for something, or running away from an unseen predator.
I roleplayed myself into becoming this peculiar ant's predator, pretending that the ant was scurrying away from my predatory eyes (or rather eye, because DSLRs are not stereographic/stereoscopic).
Capturing this oddly wandering ant proved rather difficult, as it was really hard to anticipate its movements due to the unpredictable and random walking pattern.
After almost half a hundred shots, and reviewing them on the computer, I realized why this ant was so oddly peculiar.
It was injured.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow, the ant got a small shard of glass stuck to the tip of its abdomen.
Assuming ants can feel pain, I felt sorry for the six-legged creature much later.
I had a feeling that this ant did not survive the day. For an insect so dependent on the strength of swarms and the support of its colony, there was no way an injured ant could have survived the day.
The ant must be so unlucky to have been pierced by that shard of glass. Who would've thought that a broken piece of glass could hurt something as small as an ant?
-ihsankhairir-
P/S: For another closeup of an ant:
Angry Red Weaver Ant
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Wet Dragonfly
The morning was a wet one, it having rained the night before. I spied around for subjects to shoot, and just next to my shoulder was this dragonfly resting on a leaf.
Since it was morning and the sun wasn't too harsh, I was able to shoot this dragonfly without too much overexposure on the surroundings. I tried my best to make sure I can capture the details on the eyes, the torso and some of the wings, especially the dewdrop on its right hind wing.
I like photographing dragonflies for a few reasons. First, they are big, bright and colorful, so you don't need to be too close to capture the beautiful details. Second, they are not easily frightened, probably because they are predator insects, so as long as you don't disturb them or touch them, they'll stay in that one spot. Three, their flight paths are predictable --- they will stop and stay at the same spots after they've flown around the area, so you can actually expect where they will land next if you've observed one long enough.
I hope you liked these dragonfly photos I captured a couple weeks ago. For other dragonfly photos I captured in the past, you can visit the following posts:
Re-chasing Dragonflies (July 2009)
Insects Mating After Feb 14th (February 2010)
Comments and/or critique are welcome!
Since it was morning and the sun wasn't too harsh, I was able to shoot this dragonfly without too much overexposure on the surroundings. I tried my best to make sure I can capture the details on the eyes, the torso and some of the wings, especially the dewdrop on its right hind wing.
I like photographing dragonflies for a few reasons. First, they are big, bright and colorful, so you don't need to be too close to capture the beautiful details. Second, they are not easily frightened, probably because they are predator insects, so as long as you don't disturb them or touch them, they'll stay in that one spot. Three, their flight paths are predictable --- they will stop and stay at the same spots after they've flown around the area, so you can actually expect where they will land next if you've observed one long enough.
I hope you liked these dragonfly photos I captured a couple weeks ago. For other dragonfly photos I captured in the past, you can visit the following posts:
Re-chasing Dragonflies (July 2009)
Insects Mating After Feb 14th (February 2010)
Comments and/or critique are welcome!
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Dog-like Horse
I saw this horse lying down on the ground, not moving, as if it were dead.
Then I saw the marks on the ground that showed that the horse had been moving, and I felt relieved. The mammal was still alive.
I really thought it was dead. Or at least dying.
Until it rolled over on its back.
Just like a pet dog.
It continued to roll over on its back over and over again, probably trying to hit that particular hard to scratch spot of itch.
...
These photos were taken during a visit to the animal park section of Malaysia Agricultural Park in Bukit Cerakah, Shah Alam.
It's been a while since I last posted anything about my photographic explorations. I have been quite busy with work and have almost no time to dedicate to this beautiful hobby.
I shall try to sporadically post more photos I recently captured here and there, where I waste away my Nikon D60's shuttercount for valuable photographic experience.
Please do drop any comments, critique and/or suggestions regarding the photos in the comments section below. Feedback is very much welcomed!
-ihsankhairir-
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Math Stuff - New Page for Math Students!
For the convenience of my students, most of whom are taking Additional Mathematics next year, I have prepared something for you on this site. I plan to put some helpful tools for you to do your Math studying and/or assignments in a page called Math Stuff, and for starters, I put in a derivative solver, which will differentiate any single variable function up to the fourth derivative, and also explain the intermediate steps needed to obtain the answer.
In the future I will try to include more Math tools or tips in the Math Stuff page. I hope you will find it useful. You can access the Math Stuff page through the link provided above.
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| Screenshot of the derivative solver widget. Solution is given on top, with the intermediate steps explained on the bottom |
In the future I will try to include more Math tools or tips in the Math Stuff page. I hope you will find it useful. You can access the Math Stuff page through the link provided above.
Feel free to drop comments/questions/suggestions!
-ihsankhairir-
Monday, October 18, 2010
If you could be on one TV show which one would it be?
My own show called Ihsan Travels Around the World to Take Awesome Pictures. NatGeo, TLC, Discovery, I'm waiting for your calls.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Next Apple Event: Possible New Macs and Mac OS 10.7 Preview
It has been announced that the next Apple event will be on October 20, 2010 in Cupertino, California.
Based on the invitational image above, we can anticipate one or both of these to happen:
- Facelift or hardware updates of the Mac lineup.
- A preview of the next version of Mac OS X.
Personally I am more excited about the possibility of seeing the preview of Mac OS 10.7. Looking at the teaser image up there, it's obvious that it's a lion behind the Apple logo. So what's OS 10.7 gonna be called?
Most probable: Mac OS 10.7 Lion
Not so probable : Mac OS 10.7 Leo
Probably not: Mac OS 10.7 Simba, Mac OS 10.7 King of the Jungle, Mac OS 10.7 Singa
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| Hisham's jumping pose reminded me of the packaging for Mac OS X Tiger |
Definitely not: Mac OS 10.7 Hisham (see this post: Mac OS X Hisham --- haha sorry Hisham)
Personally, I'd like it to be called: Mac OS 10.7 Aslan
So what are you guys expecting from the Apple event next week?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Quick Updates
Right now online at Starbucks Centrepoint Bandar Utama. I stumbled upon this place when I got lost finding an alternative route to One Utama from Kota Damansara.
...
Today I had the most grueling exam invigilation day so far. 5 hours of invigilation, with nothing to do but stare at students struggling to do Add Maths. I'd rather do the papers myself than having to sit through 5 hours of just watching people in agony, which is also an agony in and of itself.
...
I miss indulging in my hobby, which is photography. I have this wonderful lens that I borrowed from Chien Teng, an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 which is good for outdoor photos in broad daylight. I haven't fully utilized it, and I have until after exams to play around with it. But I have yet to find the time for a photo outing. Bless my busy schedule.
...
Had a long chat with Mr. Masukor and Mr. Rama over drinks just now. Found out that Mr. Masukor and I are alumni of the same school - Sekolah Alam Shah Kuala Lumpur. He knows my friend Zidni's father, Dr. Mat bin Zakaria. Talked about lots of stuff, including my intention to bike to and from work. Will consider his advice on buying a bike.
...
Add Maths exam is over, which means no more Add Maths questions from Tiffany, Yu Kong, and/or Chien Teng over Twitter. I enjoy these night consultations with my students. It's like online tutoring via Twitter. Twittoring. A twittor giving online twition. Heh. Can I claim coinage of these terms, if they're not coined yet already? Anyone knows?
...
I really want to get the iPhone 4, but the only way I can afford it is by getting a credit card and buying it thru DiGi's Easy Payment Plan. I don't have time to go to the bank so getting a credit card will take quite a while. Maybe I can consider asking someone to use their credit card to buy me the iPhone 4, and I pay the monthly instalments to them via scheduled transfers. Any offers?
...
I need to buy new shoes that are not basketball nor crosstrainers. Something for casual wear. I also need more polo t-shirts that I can wear to work or semi-formal events. Something that does not scream 'freebie' or 'tourist'.
...
I have more people that care about me more than I do myself. I feel blessed and guilty at the same time, for what I do for myself is usually less than what I tend to do for others, which in some ways seem like I am ungrateful to all these wonderful people who really really do care about me. I am sorry... I will try to help myself more after this. I love you all. Thank you. For loving me. I am blessed, truly.
...
Today I had the most grueling exam invigilation day so far. 5 hours of invigilation, with nothing to do but stare at students struggling to do Add Maths. I'd rather do the papers myself than having to sit through 5 hours of just watching people in agony, which is also an agony in and of itself.
...
I miss indulging in my hobby, which is photography. I have this wonderful lens that I borrowed from Chien Teng, an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 which is good for outdoor photos in broad daylight. I haven't fully utilized it, and I have until after exams to play around with it. But I have yet to find the time for a photo outing. Bless my busy schedule.
...
Had a long chat with Mr. Masukor and Mr. Rama over drinks just now. Found out that Mr. Masukor and I are alumni of the same school - Sekolah Alam Shah Kuala Lumpur. He knows my friend Zidni's father, Dr. Mat bin Zakaria. Talked about lots of stuff, including my intention to bike to and from work. Will consider his advice on buying a bike.
...
Add Maths exam is over, which means no more Add Maths questions from Tiffany, Yu Kong, and/or Chien Teng over Twitter. I enjoy these night consultations with my students. It's like online tutoring via Twitter. Twittoring. A twittor giving online twition. Heh. Can I claim coinage of these terms, if they're not coined yet already? Anyone knows?
...
I really want to get the iPhone 4, but the only way I can afford it is by getting a credit card and buying it thru DiGi's Easy Payment Plan. I don't have time to go to the bank so getting a credit card will take quite a while. Maybe I can consider asking someone to use their credit card to buy me the iPhone 4, and I pay the monthly instalments to them via scheduled transfers. Any offers?
...
I need to buy new shoes that are not basketball nor crosstrainers. Something for casual wear. I also need more polo t-shirts that I can wear to work or semi-formal events. Something that does not scream 'freebie' or 'tourist'.
...
I have more people that care about me more than I do myself. I feel blessed and guilty at the same time, for what I do for myself is usually less than what I tend to do for others, which in some ways seem like I am ungrateful to all these wonderful people who really really do care about me. I am sorry... I will try to help myself more after this. I love you all. Thank you. For loving me. I am blessed, truly.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Maher Zain - The Chosen One
The Chosen One
by Maher Zain (Awakening Records)
In a time of darkness and greed
It is your light that we need
You came to teach us how to live
Muhammad yaa Rasoolallah
You were so caring and kind
Your soul was full of light
You are the best of mankind
Muhammad khairu khalqillah
Sallu 'alaa Rasoolillah
Habeeb el Mustaafa
Peace be upon the Messenger
The Chosen One
From luxury you turned away
And all night you would pray
Truthful in every word you say
Muhammad yaa Rasoolallah
Your face was brighter than the sun
Your beauty equalled by none
You are Allah's Chosen One
Muhammad khairu khalqillah
Sallu 'alaa Rasoolillah
Habeeb el Mustaafa
Peace be upon the Messenger
The Chosen One
I'll try to follow your way
And do my best to live my life
As you taught me
I pray to be close to you
On that day and see you smile
When you see me
Sallu 'alaa Rasoolillah
Habeeb el Mustaafa
Peace be upon the Messenger
The Chosen One
Sallu 'alaa Rasoolillah
Habeeb el Mustaafa
Peace be upon the Messenger
The Chosen One
Sallu 'alaa Rasoolillah
Peace be upon
The Chosen One
...
This is one of my favorite songs from Maher Zain's album Thank You Allah, produced by Awakening Records.
He's coming to Malaysia inshaAllah for Save the Soul Showcase on October 14 and 15. Too bad the tickets have been fully booked. I know he has a large following of fans in Malaysia and a city council auditorium is just not large enough to house his fans. I hope the next time Maher Zain tours Malaysia, we would have a stadium as a venue instead. I am sure that even then, the seats will be full.
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| Image from Maher Zain's Facebook page |
p/s: I wonder if I can get a press pass for this event...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
iPhone 4 Play
My sister Kim has an iPod Touch. She got it a few weeks ago, for 'educational' purposes. For the few moments I had my hands on the iPod Touch, which is the closest I can get to holding an iPhone, I found myself glued to one particular app: Chicktionary.
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| Image from ifreeware.net |
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| Image from appshunt.com |
Anyway, if I ever get myself an iPhone, I'd definitely have this app in the front page!
For a review of this app, click here.
Anyways, to the big bosses of the Yellow Fellow:
Please?
Friday, September 24, 2010
DiGi iPhone 4 Me
Last midnight, as I was driving myself home from a prayer session in Taman Melawati, I tuned in to the radio and heard the announcement:
iPhone 4 has finally arrived in Malaysia.
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| iPhone 4 with FaceTime. Image from boygeniusreport.com |
I've read about it in numerous news sites, watched Steve Jobs talk about it in an online video of his keynote, rode the viral wave of the humdrum about the mysterious iPhone that was 'accidentally' lost by an Apple employee. The Gizmodo video was my first glimpse of this device, and the Jobs' keynote soon after confirmed it. iPhone 4 shall succeed the iPhone 3Gs.
Ever since the first generation iPhone came out, I've always wanted a smartphone, especially one made by Apple, since I am a proponent of Apple products. I have two iPods: The first generation iPod Shuffle and first generation iPod Nano. I also own the first generation iMac G5, which, after 6 years, still works wonderfully well. It's been awhile since my last Apple gadget procurement, and with the coming of the iPhone 4 to Malaysian shores via DiGi, I think it's high time that a new member joins my Apple family.
Ok, let me make this clear, plain and simple.
I WANT AN iPHONE 4 FROM DiGi.
There is said it.
Why?
Because I need it. I need a phone that can do more than just make and receive calls and text messages.
Because my phone recently died and I want it to be replaced by a better more capable communications device. Missed the news? Read all about it here.
Or better yet, I'll repost the whole thing below.
----
Suicidal Phone Leaves Owner Disconnected
Not photo of actual dead phone. Image via WikipediaKota Damansara, 4 September - A 2 year old Sony Ericsson K530i hung itself to death in front of its owner, taking all the owner's contacts list with it to cellphone afterlife.
The successful suicide attempt, the third after two unsuccessful ones earlier the same day, happened as the owner tried to make a phone call to his sister who's studying in University of Malaya. The said sister, who used to own a Sony Ericsson W-series phone, also lost her communications device to the same fate a few months back.
The K530i earlier had hung itself and died twice before the owner managed to resuscitate and reanimate the phone from electronic death by doing a hard restart.
"Removing the battery and instantly replacing it worked the first two times," said the owner, as he explained the problems suffered by the dead phone to the worker at the cellphone stall where he sent the phone for repair. "But this last time, the phone just refused to turn on again after it died. It was as if the phone really wanted me to let it go. Like, for real, this time."
 Image by craig1black via Flickr |
| Also not photo of owner's actual phone. |
The late K530i was sent to Subang Jaya Digital Mall for an all-or-nothing reanimation attempt, but all was futile, as it never woke up from its eternal slumber. Cause of death was determined to be internal component failure. The motherboard was not functional, causing all other components to cease function as well.
The owner claimed the dead body of the K530i back from the cellphone morgue and immediately sought for a replacement. "Initially I thought of immediately replacing the K530i with an Apple iPhone 3Gs," he explained. "But considering my current financial obligations and situation, I decided on a temporary solution, and procured a Nokia 1616 as a temporary replacement."
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| The Nokia 1616. Image from mobiles.sulekha.com |
"I'll probably be using this basic phone for a few months, until I feel the time is right for me to acquire a more capable phone to fully replace the late K530i," said the owner. "There are other matters more important right now other than getting a smartphone." And that, according to the owner, is rebuilding some part of if not most of the contact list that the K530i took away to the grave with its sudden suicide death. "This will be a daunting task, seeing as I had more than just phone numbers in the list, and it was a 2 years' worth of contact information. But I can't be disconnected now. I need my contact list. And I will need everyone's help to get it back."
-ihsankhairir-
---
See? The death of my phone took a heavy toll on me. I can't lose my contacts anymore. That's why I want the iPhone 4. I can sync my contacts into my computer thru iTunes and my contact list will be safe. And backed up. I don't have to worry about collecting numbers all over again if a phone incident left me disconnected.
So, what do you think? Should DiGi give me an iPhone 4? Say 'aye' in the comments if you do! Thanks!
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