In Phoenix for a conference

I'm speaking at the EEBA conference tomorrow about energy saving strategies and modeling techniques for the wild west of the efficiency world: lighting, appliances, and miscellaneous electric loads. I'm co-presenting with one of the partners of our company, but really that means that I create the whole presentation, and he gets to present it with me. The part that is going to be fun to watch is how Brad is comfortable standing in front of 75 people and talking to them as if they were in the parlour at his house. I'm not that experienced of a presenter to be at that point. However, this presentation is about as unscripted as I've ever had it, as I probably know the material more than any other and have written much less than any other. It is going to be conversational no matter what, because I have gotten all wrapped up in modeling and the conundra involved in that side of things that I have very few slides actually prepared. It'll be interesting...

These photos are of the resort/conference center where it's being held, and where I'm staying. The top picture is of the resort from the restaurant looking over the water park toward the building where my room is (building on the left).

Each building has two pools in the courtyards. Here is the view from the door to my room at 8 this morning.
This is where I've spent most of my time here so far.

They even left me a teddy bear on the bed! Yay! Now I have something to cuddle up with and not miss my family as much. :)

I'm sure it'd show up as a $99 cost on my room bill if I were to take it with me. I accidentally broke the seal on the refrigerator not realizing it was sealed with a plastic device that breaks irreparably into several pieces when you open it. That way, they know to do an inventory and charge for the drinks in the fridge.

Here is the reception area. You drive in under these chandeliers and park to check in. The valet takes the car away, and they drive you to your building and room in a golf cart. Kinda silly. Anyway, these two fixtures have something like 50 lamps in them each. That's 100 bulbs! At least these are all compact fluorescent candleabra bulbs. So, 100 times 7 watts each is 700 watts of installed lighting. That's more than all the lighting in our house. If they were incandescent bulbs, it'd be around 2,800 watts! The electric water heater that Bethany uses to boil water for tea draws 1,500 watts.