Photo Credit

I was just made aware that one of my photographs taken on a business trip to San Diego, California has been published in Schmap San Diego Guide (Seventh Edition). The image was taken from the San Diego Convention Center terrace, which looks out over the harbor toward Coronado Island. It was certainly not one of my best pictures, but it was recognized and used none the less.


No financial gains on this one, but I was given photo credit. Not so bad.

Coronado Island
Link here...

2009 DistribuTECH Conference

This past week I attending the annual DistribuTECH conference. It was held in sunny San Diego California where attendance was actually the best ever. I believe I heard the total figure to be near the 5,700 mark. Very impressive since we're in the middle of a recession and most companies are closely monitoring their travel expenditures.

The topic of the week was centered around Smart Grid and Intelligent Electrical Networks. Nearly every vendor in the massive exhibition floor had some reference to their smart grid offerings. In some cases this was just a marketing ploy, but others are really positioning themselves as a modern gird innovator. All the usual software vendors were in attendance, however some vendors appears to scale their booth and personnel back to minimize the impact this conference has on travel and non-billable hours. The traffic on the showfloor appeared to be less fruitful than in years past. I expect that most of the buying public is on hold and therefore do not have a serious interest in browsing the exhibit hall.

Noticeably more involvement in the conference hosted breakfast roundtables too. The breakfast roundtables were well attended and seem to provide a great format for exchanging ideas in a non-commercial atmosphere. I anticipate these to be more beneficial in years to come.

The conference sessions also appeared to be well attended. There was several presentations that were standing room only. These sessions were mostly centered around the Smart Grid topics.

Toyota Sienna XLE Limited - JBL Navigation Problem

Puzzled by the inoperable navigation system, i decided to do some research. A little history first. On very rare occasions, the JBL head unit would not come on at all. We experienced this problem less than five times in the 2 years we've owned this van. The unit would not come on for a few minutes after starting the vehicle, but would eventually become operable (usually after 5 minutes). Two weeks ago, the unit would not come on at all. Every button was unresponsive. The rear entertainment system worked fine, however no audio was heard thru the speakers due to the head unit being off. After looking at several RAD (radio) fuses in the engine compartment and driver's side fuse panel, as well as removing the head unit and ensuring proper connections, the JBL navigation unit suddenly began working again. It word for less than 1 day before returning to the dreaded "black screen". I found a list of all radio fuses from Sienna.org and inspected all of them. They all appeared to be in good condition. After re-installing the fuses, the radio again began to work.


My understanding at this point is that there is some poor connections in the fuse box that is prohibiting the correct amount of current to be supplied to the JBL head unit. This could be due to rust or not properly seating the fuses. Either way, the problem appears to be solved. BTW, the JBL head unit costs $3,700 from the Toyota dealer. Glad this didn't require a replacement!


Now, if I could just figure out how to fix the heated driver seat problem without taking the seat apart or going to the Toyota dealer for service.

TPMS Lights-up Again

After a week in the airport parking lot, my SC430 alerted me upon return that the tire pressure was low. I checked all the tires the following day and found that the pressure was around 30 psi for all 4 tires. I increased the air pressure up to 33 and the light turned off. Very sensitive. A cold front went thru the area and that probably reduced the tire pressure. All is well.

Just 2 weeks later and the light came on again. Again, cold front came thru over the weekend and the car was sitting outside. I started the car up on a cold Monday morning and, bingo, the light is on. I have not checked the pressure in the tires again, but will take a look later in the week. Just a major design flaw. These TPMS' are not what I expected.

USER ERROR! Actually, the tire pressure was low in one of the tires. It was only a few psi below normal, but did require me to put some air in it. The roller coaster ride continues.