brainwagon

Where your host rambles and meanders through the topics that seem appropriate on a Saturday. Links from the show:

• I use lots of command-line tools to process and convert video files. Some of the more important ones are mplayer, transcode and ffmpeg. All three are useful and powerful, but have steep learning curves. Still, for mass conversion and ripping of video files, they annoy me much less than other alternatives, and they are all open-source.
• Mark Tilden is the inventor of BEAM robotics and also the Robosapien, a cute remote controlled robot toy with surprisingly long battery life. You can look for other Robosapien hacks here.
• Dave Slusher uses blosxom as his blogging software: a good choice. I use WordPress, and have recently begun testing the newest version at a mirror of my text weblog. Verdict: nice, but generates illegal RSS for enclosures (multiple enclosures per item).
• Get ready for the holidays! Try these recipes from the web:
  • You could do worse than using Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey. Be prepared for a good amount of smoke during the initial roast: 500 degrees for 30 minutes usually sets off my smoke alarm. Still, good stuff.
  • I really like epicurious.com for recipes. Winners from my personal file include Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake and Mashed Sweet Potatos with Brown Sugar and Pecans. My wife usually doubles the topping, so it turns out like candy on top. Good stuff.