Pugwash

Don't bother with the plethora of programs that claim to be able to rip anything to any format and cost $$ or ££. These two programs really are all you need: DVD Decrypter (it's free) to rip the DVDs to folders on your hard drive. Then use Handbrake (also free) to encode them into MKV or MP4 files. Handbrake can be a bit daunting to start with, particularly the audio and subtitles side of things. I find the standard MKV H.264 settings work well and select search for foreign subtitles. Have a few trials with it and you'll pick it up. Oh and don't worry if you get a series of error message from DVD Decrypter when you shut it down, it just seems to be a bug and doesn't affect the ripping at all. This two-step combination gives good quality files with reasonable file sizes. Ripping speed is generally about 20 minutes for a typical DVD, with a further 25-30 minutes or so to encode. Speeds will vary according to the power of your PC - best if you're using 64-bit PC and software. Handbrake can rip straight from the DVD and encode in one process, but every time I've tried it, it's taken longer than the two-step process. Also the great benefit of using the two-step approach is that you can rip a batch of DVDs to your hard drive, then queue up the files to encode in handbrake and leave your PC to crunch through them unattended. It will even shut down your PC when it's finished, if you wish. The other very quick alternative is to use MakeMKV. I used this initially to rip my collections. This will rip a DVD straight to an MKV file in about 20-25 minutes. One downside is that the file can be incompatible with some players. I got a Sony Blu-ray player that was supposed to play MKV files, but wouldn't play these, even though they played quite happily through my WDTV media player. The other downside is that the files are large - about 2GB per hour of movie. This is 2-3 times the size of the files produced by Handbrake as above. Hope that helps.

Corrected for you...

Absolute bowlocks! We don't wear red-and-white shirts.

Perfect illustrations of the principle that: Just because you CAN do something, it doesn't mean you SHOULD.

I think that one is about 17 minutes loooong too.

Turks impressing Suewhistle:

Good shout, that SO reminds me of something else. I'll be racking my brains for the rest of the afternoon.

Some nice ones in there. Rather than building slowly, this one kicks straight in on the first three notes: For intros that build, perhaps Pink Floyd 'Shine on you crazy diamond'

I'm with Bexy - more of a slow fade-out for insomniacs. Classical - I guess would have to be Nessun Dorma. Classic Rock - probably Deep Purple 'Sweet Child in Time', Led Zepp 'Stairway' or a few things by Wishbone Ash, or even Bohemian Rhapsody. Struggling to think of anything more contemporary, as most of it just fades out. Guess it's a generational thing.

Biggest surprise (not) is that these stories always come up just before we're due to play the 'big' club concerned.

For me he's vying with Morgan for player of the season. Why would we want to let him go?

Just finished Dominion. Quite readable but could probably have shaved 100 pages off with little loss and, as you say, not his finest. I actually thought some of his best writing was in the historical notes at the end, where he makes a very passionate argument against Nationalism in general and the SNP in particular. I don't follow Scottish politics, so was unaware of how the SNP was funded. Bearing in mind this was written last year and the date for the Scottish referendum was announced this week, it makes for a slightly chilling prophecy. Must pick up Winter in Madrid.

On loan at MK Dons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Bamford

Let's give him a break, though. It is the middle of the week over there. :-)

Phil, I'm really struggling to see the analogy here to Fortress Fatpipes.

This one. No particular affiliation at the time, but seem to remember Wednesday going 2-up, only for Everton to win 3-2. Also a Cornish striker called Mike Trebilco ck got 2 goals for Everton as a stand-in striker for Fred Pickering, who was an England international at the time I think.

Much as Kingsland Red's experience. Went for three nights in May about 7 years ago. Took tours rather than driving, so got the commentary and guide which was helpful. Stunning scenery, still daylight at midnight, but was expensive - £85 for four pizzas and three cokes. Did the Golden Triangle tour with Geysers and waterfalls, Blue Lagoon and whale-watching, but didn't have time to get further into the interior. There's a church (Halgrimmskirke or something?) at the top of town with a really tall spire and a statue of Leif Eriksson outside. Worth climbing the bell tower for the view. Oh, and EVERYONE in Reykjavik goes on the p iss on Friday night. Our transit bus nearly ran down a sixty-odd year-old woman tottering down the middle of the road about midnight...

Clearly not seen us play this season then. Thought we played better against Man City TBH. That's not to take away from today's performance, which was excellent. Clyne MoM for me.

Why do all their players look like they've escaped from the exercise yard of an LA jail?

With such a track record he seems eminently qualified to be an MP. On reflection, perhaps a bit over-qualified...

Daughter owns an iPad mini, basically for her iPhone, itunes , etc. I've got a N7. N7 much better, more flexible device. Daughter jealous, but now too locked in to the Apple system. Friend has a Kindle Fire HD, but not a patch on either N7 or mini. Even more locked down, but I can understand it as a good easy choice for book buffs.

Used both. Nexus 7 is better. For expansion, use an OTG ('On-The-Go') micro-USB cable with a $1.99 app called 'Nexus Media Importer'. You can then use USB stick for movies, etc.

Mark Clattenburg = Egotistical ref with a downer on Saints Darren Lewis = Incompetent Journo with a Sky contract

Just seen Grant Holt's dive. Confirms what I've thought for a long time - he IS a sack of spuds.

Utterly pathetic. A stream is what I can pass in about 30 seconds. That was like the last drip that I shake off...