The executive director of the National Biodiesel Board is not just a country music fan, but also a country music singer… well, for his wife and kids at home at least. But today, Joe got a bit more exposure than a home audience. He performed live on the Dave Nemo Show on XM Radio with renowned country music singer/songwriter Michael Peterson.
Michael and Joe also delved into energy issues, renewable fuels and where all that fits in with public policy. Joe says the National Biodiesel Board is aiming to have biodiesel replace five percent of the national supply of diesel fuel. He says that is equivalent to the amount of diesel the U.S. if refining and importing from in Iraq. In other words, he says the National Biodiesel Board is aiming to replace the diesel fuel we get from Iraq.
Some critics arguing against renewable fuels point out that the alternative fuel sources will never fully replace the need for oil. But, Joe says that’s not the point, “That’s like saying if you can’t do everything than you shouldn’t do anything.” Joe says The National Biodiesel Board simply doesn’t share that frame of thought. That’s why it has launched the BioTrucker Fuel Card. The card offers card holders cash price on all biodiesel fuel at 5,000 participating locations and special discounts at select truck stops all without any transaction fees. Those interested can sign up for the card at BioTrucker.com.
Both Michael and Joe lauded the farmers that make up the nation’s ag industry. Joe says agriculture is a powerful industry that fosters cutting-edge, technological innovation. “Ag is slow to move but powerful to respond,” Joe said.
You can listen to the entire broadcast of the Dave New Show with Michael and Joe here:
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I also got some videos of Michael and Joe while they were singing and strumming their guitars. You can watch the videos here:
Here’s our Secretary of Agriculture speaking to the NAFB group here at their Washington Watch program a few minutes ago.
You’ll notice the Macbook Pro sitting in front of him. That was streaming his remarks live on AgWired Live TV using the built-in camera and microphone.
Here’s what it looked like on the Mac screen from my vantage point. You can still watch the event since I also recorded a portion of it.
I’m posting from the Mac while our next group of speakers from USDA is speaking. This group includes FAS, FSA and RMA.
Here’s Rick Tolman’s new ride. He’s the CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. I was in St. Louis today to have a little strategy session about Corn Commentary. You can read the Rick’s Ride story there. We’ve been working with NCGA on Corn Commentary for 6 months now. Kind of hard to believe. While I was there I did an interview with Mimi Ricketts and Jennifer Crichton about the project which I’m going to feature in next week’s ZimmCast.
I also spent some time at the Apple store getting a couple lessons on things like their iWork ‘08. I think I’m just going to quit using the old Microsoft Office stuff (Word, Excel, PPT, etc.). You’ll find the iWork programs way more feature rich and easier to use. Plus I can still open and save to those files types for you who are still stuck in a PC mode. I really shouldn’t talk though. Cindy’s not on a Mac yet and doesn’t want to so we’ve still got them all over the place. Macs are just more fun.
Since I’m getting pretty comfortable with my Mac now I might from time to time let you know about some things that make using it even more fun. One of those is a cool little app I found from Joesoft called Jax. If you want to load video onto your iPod and you want it to be easy then this little program is what you need. It even lets you load YouTube videos which is what got my attention. The best thing about it is that it integrated right into iTunes.
Joesoft says their software is “Software for the Average Joe.” After downloading and trying it I would agree.
It’s been a while since I’ve given you a Mac update. This one got triggered because I’m writing an article on using a Mac for farm use for Country Guide.
It’s made me think through why I have a Mac and why I like it vs. my PC. I really think I can sum things up in these words, “The Mac is faster, simpler and easier to use.” It boots up faster. I was on my way to the airport last time and realized I didn’t know which airline I was flying on (symptom of frequent flyer disease). I reached over to my Mac which was off and within less than 60 seconds I had my answer. On my PC this would have taken about 3 minutes. I don’t know about you but every minute counts in my day.
Another thing I’ve got to say about the Mac has to do with antivirus software. I’m having lots of problems on my PC’s with Norton Internet Security 2007. It has cost me hours and I’ve even had to pay a tech to help get things resolved. On my Mac I’m not currently running any antivirus software. Here’s a big reason to have a Mac!
If you’ve been in an airport recently, look around. There’s more and more computers showing an Apple logo on them. I think I know why.
Our presenter here at the appleJAC Mac Users Group meeting is going through the different types of digital cameras there are available. He hasn’t mentioned the iSight built in to most Macs today.
So while he’s talking my buddy Steve Mays here and I are doing digital photography and I’m posting to AgWired.
I know this doesn’t have anything to do with agricultural marketing but we’re having fun. I hope that I’m also showing you how quick and easy it is to post onto your website (if you’ve got a blog) and from anywhere.
Steve has told me that I can do everything on my PC that I can do on my Mac but, and this is key, it will be a lot more fun doing it. I agree.
Here’s a new/next step in my Mac conversion experience. I’m attending my first appleJAC Mac Users Group meeting.
“Hello, my name is Chuck Zimmerman and I’m a Macaholic.”
Actually we’re getting a presentation on digital photography right now. There’s about 25 of us in attendance. I’m hoping for some time to meet with and ask some questions of these folks who have been Mac users for a long time.
On my way out of the house Cindy told my daughter, “Dad’s going to his Apple support group.” Wrong. It’s an Apple “User” group. There’s a difference.
I know you can’t tell here on the website but everything I’ve posted onto AgWired in the last couple weeks has come off my Mac. However, today I fired up and used my PC for a couple of things. Gotta keep in touch with my other side you know.
Hello from South Florida. This has been my first trip with the Macbook Pro and I thought it would provide a good context for an update on my conversion experience. First of all, I thought that in a week or so with the new box I was pretty well prepared for this but it has been a challenge. When you’re on location doing “live” posting of images, video and audio you’ve got to be able to edit, upload and post fast. Almost as fast as say an Indy car at full throttle.
My biggest challenge has been audio editing. The built-in Garage Band software isn’t quite as intuitive as I thought and then there’s the file conversion factor. I start with an MP3 file and need to end with an MP3 file. To use Garage Band I have to convert the file to edit it, then convert it back to post it. I don’t like that. I’ve also found the conversion process a hassle since there are so many settings in each program to deal with. I was using iTunes to do the converting and found out that I have two different iTunes libraries on my hard drive. I have no idea why. So I downloaded the free audio editing software, Audacity. Then I found out it needs an extra MP3 plugin with I had trouble finding and installing. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to download/install/use the software and this was done in a working newsroom with high performance race cars screaming by outside. I’ve also found some compatibility issues between the MP3 files created in Audacity and some other programs. So, I’m still working on this issue.
For image editing I’m using Photoshop Elements and that works great as I mentioned before. For video, I only shot one little video clip but editing it with iMovie HD was a snap. Very cool tool. It uploaded to YouTube and works just fine. The only thing was I was missing some kind of little plugin for Quicktime that took me about 45 minutes to find and download. My little Casio Exilim shoots .avi files and all I could get to start with was a white screen with audio until I found this little plugin through an online user forum. Works great now though.
So there you have it. I made it through my first road test with the Mac and survived. Now my last issue besides the audio editing thing is being able to use my Sprint broadband account with the Mac. I think I know the answer to it but I haven’t got it taken care of yet.
It’s been an interesting day. Activities included getting ready for the NAMA convention and our ZimmComm/Truffle booth as well as numerous client calls and new project discussions. The first quarter here at ZimmComm has been record setting and a benchmark for the future.
Even with all the calls and activities though I had a chance to get in a little Mac lesson. My good friend, Steve, said he just couldn’t handle the Apple Mighty Mouse so he said I could have it if I liked it. Well I do. This is a mouse without a tail and there’s nothing protruding from the Mac either since it’s connected via Bluetooth. It took almost 1 minute to plug in the batteries and connect. Then maybe another 2 minutes to set the buttons the way I want and there’s one less cord to deal with. This little dude isn’t shaped quite like a “regular” mouse. The little scroll button on top lets you navigate 360 degrees, not just up/down or right/left. There’s only one button on the front but it knows the difference between a left and a right click. And finally, if you give it a gentle squeeze on the sides it kicks in a function called Expose which allows you to see all your open windows at once. When you have as many windows open as I usually do this is very handy. I don’t think a PC can do that can it?
So, I’ll have some more posts coming soon but in the meantime I thought I’d give you a Mac update.
Here’s a little “move to Mac” update. After a week or so of using my new Macbook Pro I’m starting to feel comfortable with it. I can’t say that I’ve mastered it quite like my PC but then what’s a week compared to my whole computer life so far?
With only a few exceptions I’ve found the Mac to run faster and all of the setups and installations have been easier and more intuitive. I did download Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac though since the one thing that iPhoto doesn’t do is optimize a photo for the web as small as I’d like. When you load as many photos to a server as I do that becomes an issue. I’m also thinking about putting Windows on the Mac so I can use Adobe Audition to edit audio with. Garage Band is fine but it doesn’t convert audio types and maybe I just haven’t mastered it yet so I’m thinking about this option.
I’m using Microsoft Office for Mac so when it comes to documents I’ve got PowerPoint, Excel and Word and for email I’m using Entourage which runs very much like Outlook.
One of the interesting things that I like is how easy it is to connect to a wireless internet connection. I’ve done this in two locations now and the Mac Airport card just finds the right local signal and boom, I’m on. Very simple and easy.
I pulled all my Outlook email data over with the use of a very simple little program called O2M. If you decide to make this move you have to have that.
I haven’t had the computer lock up on me which is something that I had happen periodically with my PC. So, I guess you could say I’m a happy camper so far.
I’ve been asked more than a few times what news feeds I subscribe to. I actually change them periodically although some of them have remained the same for quite a while now. One way to share your news subscriptions is with an OPML file.
Since I moved to a Mac I’m now using NewsGators’s NetNewsWire which syncs with the online version. This way I have my news feeds on my hard drive or I can check them from any computer.
So if you’re interested, here’s where you can find my OPML file. Let me know if you want to suggest any feeds that I should be subscribing to.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know what company this logo stands for? When I got home this afternoon from a blog training session in Kansas City I found that my Mac had arrived. You’ll notice that the apple is not lit up. That’s because I haven’t had time to turn it on yet and yes, I’m typing this on a PC.
As I go through my Mac conversion experience I thought I’d document it and periodically post some pictures and thoughts about it for you. I’m hoping this will be good for both of us. I’ve always thought of Apple computers as some sort of mysterious gadgets that geeky people used. If you’ve thought the same thing then maybe I can take some of the mystery out of it. We’ll find out together is this box is everything they claim it to be.
I’ve also created a photo album for the experience too. It’s just got a few unpacking photos in it right now but I’ll be adding to it periodically. I guess my first comment on the experience is when I visited the Apple store. I had an appointment with an advisor who spent a lot of time with me and not only answered all my questions but showed me how he’s personally using his Mac. When I started to unpack I was struck by how simple the unit is packaged. There’s not a ton of stuff here. You’ve got the box, the ac adapter, a remote control and a get started booklet. Simple. Not a lot of junk that seems to come with a PC. Score one for Apple in my opinion.
Well you know what I’ll be doing this weekend. I’m going to set it up myself and tranfer all my PC data to it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Cindy attended the AEM AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis and captured it in photos.
Dairy Expo Talk
This week's program features a couple of interviews from World Dairy Expo.
First up is Stephanie Gable, who talks about her new job with Novus International, then it's Lindsay Hill, who talks about the new website and brand decisions at ABN Radio.
The executive director of the National Biodiesel Board is not just a country music fan, but also a country music singer… well, for his wife and kids at home at least. But today, Joe got a bit more exposure than a home audience. He performed live on the Dave Nemo Show on XM Radio with renowned country music singer/songwriter Michael Peterson.
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Here’s our Secretary of Agriculture speaking to the NAFB group here at their Washington Watch program a few minutes ago.
Here’s what it looked like on the Mac screen from my vantage point. You can still watch the event since I also 
I couldn’t let this opportunity to promote 
Here’s Rick Tolman’s new ride. He’s the CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. I was in St. Louis today to have a little strategy session about Corn Commentary. You can read the 
Since I’m getting pretty comfortable with my Mac now I might from time to time let you know about some things that make using it even more fun. One of those is a cool little app I found from 
Our presenter here at the appleJAC Mac Users Group meeting is going through the different types of digital cameras there are available. He hasn’t mentioned the iSight built in to most Macs today.
Here’s a new/next step in my Mac conversion experience. I’m attending my first 
It’s been an interesting day. Activities included getting ready for the NAMA convention and our ZimmComm/Truffle booth as well as numerous client calls and new project discussions. The first quarter here at ZimmComm has been record setting and a benchmark for the future.
I’ve been asked more than a few times what news feeds I subscribe to. I actually change them periodically although some of them have remained the same for quite a while now. One way to share your news subscriptions is with an OPML file.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know what company this logo stands for? When I got home this afternoon from a blog training session in Kansas City I found that 
This week's program features a couple of interviews from World Dairy Expo.
