Lightroom error "The file appears to be unsupported or damaged" caused by Picasa

September 23rd, 2010

Following the purchase of a DSLR camera, I have switched to using raw mode and Adobe Lightroom for post-processing of these photos. Up to now, I have been using Google Picasa to organize and tag my photos. Initially, my collection of photos worked just fine in Lightroom as I invested hours of work of retouching my favourite photos for my gallery. After doing some mass tagging and organization of photos in Picasa, Lightroom stopped reading many of my JPEG photos taken across many years with several different cameras.

Now, when selecting a photo in Lightroom’s Develop mode, I would see a error message:

"The file appears to be unsupported or damaged."

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Griffith Woods in Southwest Calgary

September 15th, 2010

Last weekend, I walked through Griffith Woods in Southwest Calgary with my friend Roddy.

These are my first pictures to be posted from my new Canon T2i camera! I am also now using Adobe Lightroom for post-processing of my photos.

Sadly, it’s the end of the summer, but nature still looks great!

Berries like this are everywhere.

The river runs through the woods next to the trail. Roddy actually took this shot, not me.

Old wood lays in the river.

This is me!

There are also white berries everywhere!

This is Roddy.

A moth rests on the long grass.

Keep checking back, as I have more photos to post again soon.

Why keyboard keys aren’t listed alphabetically

September 10th, 2010

Many of us type on keyboards on a daily basis without giving any thought to its layout. It just works, but why exactly do we use this layout? If you think it’s a carry-over from days past to slow typists down or the result of research to group commonly used keys together, it’s not true! Read on.

Most English keyboards used today use the QWERTY format, which takes its name from the first six letters appearing on the keyboard. Its design is based on a layout originally created by Christopher Latham Sholes for theĀ  Sholes and Glidden typewriter in 1873. Sholes actually began with an alphabetical layout spread across 2 rows, but jams became a major issue. When pressing certain two letter combinations (e.g., “St”) together or in quick succession, the metal arms mounting the characters would collide or become jammed.

Contrary to popular belief, no one wanted to solve this problem by slowing typists down. Rather, Sholes rearranged the layout so that commonly-used letter pairs were not close together on the keyboard, avoiding jams of the connecting metal arms, and thus allowing typists to continue typing fast.

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I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D) digital SLR with a 15-85mm lens

August 30th, 2010

After a couple weeks of careful research and consideration, I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D).

I made this decision after reading many online reviews, and comparing features with the upcoming 60D. Overall, for my use, I decided this was an excellent upgrade for my photography.

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Summer 2010 in Calgary

August 30th, 2010

Although it hasn’t been the best summer in Calgary, here are a few of my favourite photos taken this summer around the city.

A spider appears to be posing in this flower.

Calgary has a great skyline, thanks to many attractive buildings that each have a different design. These two towers, part of the same complex, use a lot of glass!

A small lake can be found at the top of Nose Hill.

Prince’s Island is a beautiful public space with many plants and scenery to provide inspiration.

This is another shot of the river through Prince’s Island park.

Canon announces the EOS 60D. Should I buy it?

August 26th, 2010

As much as I enjoy photography, I am currently not a professional. I do often feel constrained by the limited abilities of my current cameras. These days, I’m looking to buy a digital SLR.

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Crazy mobile companies promise coverage in over 200 countries, only 195 actually exist

August 15th, 2010

Quick! How many countries are in the world?

It’s not something we think about every day, but the best answer for the number of countries in the world is 195.

Don’t tell that to Ma Bell though. Most of the Canadian cell phone companies promise coverage in “over 200″ countries. In the United States, it gets even worse.

Need proof? Let’s start with the Canadian companies, best known for having some of the highest profits and highest prices in the developed world.

Given that TELUS has already gone the extra mile with 5 extra countries, I’m not sure how they plan to add new roaming destinations.

As if most of the 200 countries can be reached by road from Canada!

Fido and Bell also make similar claims, while Rogers is conspicuously quiet with specific numbers on their web site. Maybe it’s because everyone knows they don’t really provide widespread coverage in any countries, including Canada.

In the United States, the empty promises get even weirder. Verizon has a page forĀ  Antarctica, along with a useless coverage map!

I guess there’s no coverage in Antarctica, not even for the research bases.

Then there’s AT&T, an extra special American mobile carrier.

They are clearly the best, with coverage in over 25 imaginary countries that don’t exist.

While the definition of what a “country” is contested in some areas, most experts would agree there is only 195 countries give or take a few. Assuming all of the countries in the world actually have mobile roaming coverage, claims of 200 and 220 are definitely pushing it.

Note: This post originally appeared on my What’s on your Desktop? technology blog before it was merged with my personal blog.

This Calgary Police station is conveniently located

August 13th, 2010