I’ve been ripping discs and converting them to MP4 files all day (again). I finally figured out an efficient workflow and converted all six discs in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection in just a few hours.

Then my new toy arrived, a UHD-capable Blu-Ray reader. Our late friend John had given us a Blu-Ray of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty a couple of years ago and we hadn’t gotten around to watching it; I thought it would be only fitting to make that my first Blu-Ray rip.

Ripping it was easy; converting it has been a bit of a battle. I use Handbrake to do the conversions, and it’s happy to use every bit of CPU power it can get. It typically converts a DVD in about 15 minutes – no problem. A Blu-Ray requires a lot more work – so much that the CPU in the MacBook Air got hot (over 180F) and slowed itself way down to protect itself. When I started the conversion, it was running at about 24 frames/second; by the end, it had slowed down to 6 frames/second.

I’m going to use my Mac mini for the next Blu-Ray conversion; it’s slightly slower than the Air, but it has a fan and should be able to run at full speed for a lot longer.

Shabbat Shalom!

Shir Hadash will be bringing in a new Assistant Rabbi in July, and the first candidate visited today. She held two teaching sessions, and I was at both of them.

I was a bit out of place at the first session, which was part of a continuing series about Nashim: Remarkable Jewish Women. The series is always open to everyone; the only men there today were Rabbi Nico, our Temple President, and me (I think that’s two more men than usually attend). Our candidate led the session and took us through some of what the Talmud says about Beruriah; she sparked a lot of discussion and I learned a lot.

The second session was a short Torah Study and informal discussion with the Board; she talked about social justice and the interesting coincidence that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s initials, MLK, are also the root for the Hebrew word for “king”, melech (מלך). Again, I learned a lot and really enjoyed meeting her.

We have another candidate coming on Saturday evening; I’m looking forward to meeting him, too.

I’m glad I’m not on the selection committee.