For those who were interested in Check Install that I mentioned in the meeting, the URL is http://asic-linux.com.mx/~izto/checkinstall/. From the website which describes it better than I can:
"CheckInstall will create a Slackware, RPM or Debian compatible package and install it with Slackware's installpkg, "rpm -i" or Debian's "dpkg -i" as appropriate, so you can view it's contents with pkgtool ("rpm -ql" for RPM users or "dpkg -l" for Debian) or remove it with removepkg ("rpm -e"|"dpkg -r")."
It does this from your source packages.
Kyle Sexton