Author: Steven Garrity

Panoramas from the Left Coast

by Steven Garrity

While on a recent trip to San Francisco, I took about 400 photos with my digital camera. A few of these were adjacent shots intented to be stitched together with panoramic photo software.

All kinds of software packages are available to stitch photos together into panoramas. My friend Nathan recomended a package called Panorama Factory, and it is impressive. My camera (nothing high-end, it’s a 2MP Canon Digital Elph S330) includes a feature to help line up multiple shots for a panorama, but Panorama Factory is good enough that you don’t even need to use the camera aids (though I still did for the photos below).

These aren’t meant to be particularly good photos. As you can see by my photo gallery, I’m no photographer. However, I do manage to luck out and catch a few nice ones now and then (getting up at sun-rise always helps, as with this set from the North shore of Prince Edward Island). I thought I would post a few photos to show how easy it is to put together panoramas, to encourage others to try it out, and to point out the great software package I’ve been using (Panorama Factory).

Each of the files below are simple partial panoramas, but Panorama Factory is just as good with complete 360° panoramas. As I show below, it can export to flat images (JPEGs) or create QuickTime panoramas (it also exports to a few other proprietary panoramic formats).

Pacific Beach Panorama

A pitstop on the way from San Francisco to Monterey.
Pacific Ocean Panorama

One of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen (not really captured well here) – taken from the hills outside of San Francisco looking towards the Pacific ocean. As an added bonus, that’s the president of the internet on the right.
San Francisco Hills Panorama

A view of silicon valley from the hills – I’m not actually sure where we are at this point. That’s Stephen DesRoches on the right who was all about gettin’ the shots.
San Francisco Hills Panorama

Another shot from the same vantage point as the photo above. This one was with 3-times zoom.
 

Echo Hatchback Fuel Efficiency Correction

by Steven Garrity

Back in August of 2003, I wrote about my new Echo Hatchback and how it’s fuel effeciency was surprisingly good when compared to hybrid vehicles (and way cheaper). It turns out I was comparing miles per US gallon with miles per Imperial gallon.

A unit conversion problem caused the crash of a NASA Mars orbiter, so hopefully you’ll cut me some slack. I’ve updated the original post with the appropriate figures and added a note explaining the mistake and the change.

While the accurate data does put the Echo Hatchback further from the hybrids than my original (bad) data, I think it’s close enough that my original point still stands.

Thanks to the reader who pointed this out and sorry for the confusion.

 

Monday Night on CBC Television

by Steven Garrity

Though I’ve been known in the past as the annoying guy who frequently mentions that that he doesn’t own a tv, I got a TV for Christmas (and even bought myself a GameCube to go with it). I’ve since been enjoying some fine CBC TV.

8:00PM — Rick Mercer’s Monday Report
Sure, maybe it’s a Canadian knock-off of John Stuart’s Daily Show, but it’s still pretty funny. The highlight so far is definitely Celebrity Winter Advice with Geddy Lee (of Rush). The bits by the young “correspondent” Darren Jones is great.
8:30PM — The Newsroom
As deadpan as deadpan can be — and co-produced with Showcase TV — so it must be good. You’ll either love it or hate it. I love it.
9:00PM — This is Wonderland
A great new comedy/drama set that follows a new legal-aid lawyer in a city courthouse. As I’ve stated before, I assume all TV shows suck until proven otherwise — this show does not suck.