Actually I just wanted an excuse to publish this photo of a fish I shot last year.

Couple of notes:

• I’m still sick
• iPhone 3G launches in just under 6 hours here where I live in DC.
• I like iPhone 3G

Now, some people ask me, “isn’t that just a trendy phone that isn’t actually any better than others?” The answer is no. Here’s why:

• Fast 3G Internet Access (and regular data, and EDGE data, and WiFi)
• App Store - a collection of free and low-cost applications developed for the first time for iPhone. This includes games and fun things, but also useful apps that let you use Twitter, Flickr, view movie listings with ratings from Rottentomatoes, etc without having to use the web browser
• A web browser that actually works and is easy to use/zoom/type in
• Google Maps with GPS
• GPS works with photos taken with the onboard camera, as well as iPhone apps to determine where you are for movie listings, social networking and much more
• Push/Activesynch Calendar, Email and Contacts from Exchange
• It’s an iPod, and that functionality works just as well as it always has, which is to say amazingly well.

A Little Dusty

Maybe a Lot

Had some trouble with my workstation today.  It’s a pretty nice rig that I built myself almost 2 years ago, running a core2 duo processor, 4 gigabytes of ram and an Nvidia 8800 GTS graphics card.  As a whole I keep my operating system, drivers, software and files in great shape and usually have no problems.  It has an amazing cooling system with many fans assaulting the CPU and graphics card with cool air.

Today, however, I noticed a number of slowdowns and lag with visually intensive applications.  I thought, perhaps, that I had a virus or that I had somehow ruined one of my drivers.  I spent about 2 hours downloading various antispyware and antivirus software packages and updating each of my drivers looking for a solution.

At some point my wife suggested that the computer was just plain dirty and that I ought to take it outside and clean it out instead of looking for hidden viruses that weren’t there.  A tornado of dust (including some golf ball sized chunks of it) came out of the machine when I finally set it up on my balcony and used compressed air from every imaginable angle to clean it.

I’m back up and running now smoother than ever.  Keep those computers clean and listen to your wife!

Still working out the kinks in the server move… today I made a post and now it has disappeared. Odd.

Update: looks like the DNS was still propagating.  All should now be well.

jonvandalen.com is back and bigger than ever! Some users got an error a few days back to the tune of “bandwidth exceeded.” The new server I have moved my site over to features:

• 500 gigabytes of space
• 5 terabytes of bandwidth (my old server had 2 gigabytes… yes… I know…)
• Lots more ftp accounts, databases, emails, etc

Not likely to happen again…

PotBelly Sandwhiches - Detail of Queue Area

Reaching for Napkins at PotBelly

Where’s a good place to get quick food in DC? PotBelly Sandwich Works, that’s where. We have always loved this place, especially for chicken salad sandwhiches. I don’t know what it is… it is indeed a corporate franchise and there are many locations in the area, but the food really is better than a lot of the chain places I’ve been to. The bread is delicious and just the right “toughness” and, if you are like me, you can order with oil and seasoning that makes it drip with reckless oily goodness. Prices are much better than at Au Bon Pain or Panera and the food considerably tastier. Try it, you’ll like it.

Above, my wife and her sister chow down on their favorite items.

Despite having aquired some very good glass like the Nikon 70-200 2.8 lens, I really still love my 18-200 VR for these impromptu outings and casual situations and I can’t ever see getting rid of the lens.

I’ve gone over to using Wordpress for my blog. It’s incredibly full-featured and easy to set up. It also has a lot of options and features that my other single-file CMS/Blog didn’t have. So far I’m really impressed. It handles images, post management, comments, and all of that stuff with ease. I’ll be updating the look of the blog to be a bit less generic but for now, wow! This thing works and it works well.