117 Degrees In Phoenix...And Jephyr Gets A New Home A/C Unit

Hi all,

After a week or two of some nice cool weather here in Phoenix, the weather people had begun forecasting some VERY HOT temps were on their way.

Sure enough last Friday, 6-28-13, we hit a SCORCHING 116 degrees and then Saturday we FRIED under 117 degree skies! 

The last two days it has been a blistering 113...and today it's supposed to be triple digits PLUS again! 

^ ^ ^  That's a screen shot I took off the TV on Saturday, 6-29-13 showing 117 Degrees (top left corner).

I inserted the image of the Psychiatric Hospital over that part of the screen...because you might just have to be crazy to live here!

hahaha

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A bit before this massive heat-wave hit...I'd noticed that my A/C unit was struggling to keep the house cool.

I'd had a problem with it last year, and Kevin Anderson from In-Phase Air Conditioning (Contact Information Below) had come out to take a look at it.  He thought then I might get another year or two out of that faltering unit. 

So I crossed my fingers and hoped for at least another two years.

Chris, Karen and Kevin from In-Phase Air Conditioning 

But this summer when the ole A/C started struggling once more, I called Kevin again, and this time after a diagnostic look, it was suggested that a new unit would be the best move.

So Kevin gave me a quote for a Trane with a lot more cooling ability than my old one.

I thanked him and told him I'd let him know my decision soon and got to praying...and researching that model...and comparing it with past quotes on different units etc.

Fairly quickly I confirmed that he had given me a very good price for that unit, and felt good about having him do the install...and began putting funds together etc.

A number of days passed before I could call Kevin again...but when I did...he agreed to do the install for me the NEXT day!



In-Phase Air Conditioning at my home:  The old unit off the roof and in the left foreground...the new Trane going up

So, last Thursday morning, when temps were already beginning their forecasted climb, Kevin and company showed up with my new Trane unit and a crane.

I'm sure for them, working in the hot sun, it seemed a lot slower...but to me...it felt like only a moment later they had the old unit off the roof and the new one installed...and cool air filling my home once again.

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Now after several days of use during triple digit temperatures I can say for sure that I love this new unit!  It has kept my home comfortably cool even when it was 117 degrees outside.

While my old unit started and stopped abruptly...the new Trane "ramps" on and off...so it's much quieter too.  And the thermostat stays rock solid on whatever temp I put it on.




In-Phase A/C's Chris and Kevin on the roof with the new Trane

If you need A/C work done...I'd definitely make Kevin and In-Phase A/C your first call!

He is extremely knowledgeable and each person on his team is very personable and hard-working!

After dealing with one questionable A/C company after another...it's great to feel like I found someone who can be trusted!

BTW...Kevin didn't charge me for either of the two service calls before the installation...and I understand that this is an In-Phase policy.

Karen and Chris from In-Phase with my new Trane prior to installation

Contact Kevin Anderson at:

In-Phase Air Conditioning
Refrigeration
Appliance

2551 East Lockwood ?Street

Mesa, AZ  85213

602-418-5049

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Thanks as always for stopping by my blog!


More artwork coming soon!





Early June 2013: Jephyr's Most Recent Sketchbook Drawings

Hello,

Hope your summer is off to a good start!  We've already been having 105 to 111 degree days here in Phoenix.

I'd promised myself that I would tame the jungle in my yard as soon as the spring semester ended so I've been working both early in the morning and late in the evening...avoiding some of the heat...to accomplish that. 

I'm nearing the half way point...at least on the initial go-round...but these temperatures are ridiculous.  Whew!

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Fortunately, as I wrote in my last post on 5-22-13 I've still been finding a lot more time to work on my own art since school ended too.

I have several digital "paintings" I'm working on...and have been enjoying drawing a LOT in my sketchbook.

It's pretty interesting to discover how quickly I get rusty if I don't draw all the time...and then how rapidly it seems to comes back once I start up again.

Today, I thought I'd share some more of my latest sketches:

^ ^ ^ ^  Not to sound like a broken record...but this guy started out by using the "scribble technique".

I just begin putting down some random scribbles on the page and then look for patterns in them.

Once I start to "see" something in the scribble I begin to work that into a final sketch.

Since the human eye is fine tuned to see faces many of these wind up as my cartoony/caricature people like the guy above

In this case I kinda saw Keith Richards at first and worked toward that. 

Later I began to see more of F. Murray Abraham's, "Salieri" (from the movie Amadeus), and finished it with more of that in mind.

- BTW...as I sat in a coffee house finishing this drawing two separate guys came up to me to talk about it.

When I mentioned Keith Richards and the movie Amadeus, neither of these two 20 somethings really knew who/what I was talking about.

That made me feel ancient...like some old codger when I was a kid going on about a silent movie star I'd never heard of.

OUCH! 

LOL    ;)

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I wish every drawing I did was as easy as this guy!  ^ ^ ^ ^

 

I started with another scribble and immediately saw that magnificent profile.  As I worked on it...it was like it was almost drawing itself!

 

I'd just watched all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies and clearly had pirates on the brain.

 

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^ ^ ^ ^   Not a whole lot to say about this guy...just another chance for me to play with exaggeration and "caricature" of the face. 

If this was going in a portfolio...there'd be a lot I'd tighten up.  But I called him "done" so I could move on.

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^ ^ ^ ^  I tend to like drawing craggy old male faces because they can be a lot of fun to exaggerate...shading and rendering all those nooks and crannies.

But for this one, I decided to draw the face of a young woman I'd seen in an old movie on TV.  She had amazing eyes...and so I set out to capture her from memory.

The final drawing above ain't even close representing her...but I was enjoying just letting this drawing "happen"!

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Man did I sweat over this one!   ^ ^ ^ ^

I call it Prisoner Jx-25.

I met with my friend Elkanah to have some grub and draw...and was scribbling on the page to get started.  At first I "saw" an astronaut type guy in a space chariot and kinda sketched some of the details in.

I kept saying that I wasn't happy with it at all but Elkanah said he was confident I'd figure something out.

I found that to be very encouraging...and so over the next few days kept working on this page.

Finally a weird head with horns all over it began to emerge.  I still wasn't very happy with it...but as I eliminated some of the horns...I began to see a wart-hog type head...and at last I felt like I had something going on.

Then I began to add the body...and later even used some reference photos and anatomy books...trying to make the musculature, though exagerated, a little more legit (although I still took a lota liberties in the end).

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place when I was looking at this drawing across the room and realized I had it's eyes too high on the head.   Once I moved them down to where you see them now...this sketch/character design finally felt right to me.

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Well...that's it for now.

Thanks as always for stopping by!