Two Penny Travels

Selling the LED Business

For the last five and a half years I have sold retail LEDs to the RV market. It started when I met Kelly Walterscheid at Quartzsite and became a dealer, then a distributor for him in the 12v RV LED bulb business.

One of my dealers, Nancy Lesser-Adamo, became my business associate and ran a booth in Yuma during the last two winters at the Arizona Market Place. I have now sold my share of the business to her and she will be carrying the banner forward from here. She is Nancy, the LED Lady, and has an Internet domain called BriteLEDIdeas.com. She is working on getting that website into an Internet store.

In the meantime, I will continue to sell her LED product line at prudentrver.com until she is up and running. I am acting as a dealer for her, and she will be doing the shipping while I get a small commission. She will also take responsibility for all the dealers and for working with Neutek in Mesa, AZ, on the procurement of product to sell.

It has been a good time in the LED business, and I think I have made some contributions on the direction of that market. But now it is time that I try once again to do the retirement thing. I will try to not flunk out again.

sam

 

Have a Happy 2012 New Year

To all our friends and readers, have a good 2012, even if the news seems it could be somewhat sour. Keep a healthy spirit and go with the flow. Be prepared and keep you fuel and water tanks full, your waste tanks empty.

The price of fuel may rise during the year, but get out and do some exploring while you still can. Maybe we will meet you on the road.

While you are out, visit our booth at the Arizona Market Place in Yuma, or just come by www.prudentrver.com and get your LEDs. Oh yes, also visit www.WasATimeWhen.com to keep up on my new book. The kindle version is available; the paper version will be ready later this month.

Hugs, Sam and Alice and Wolf

"Was a Time When" Published on Kindle, Dec 27, 2011

It's done, or at least the Kindle part is done. I published my new book last night as a Kindle book. It is available at Amazon for $3.98 and ready for immediate download. The paper copy book will be available around mid-January.

I am very interested in getting some professional reviews of the book. If you have a blog where you discuss books or the fate of the world in the next 75 years, let me know your background and how to reach you and I will send you a review copy, either a .pdf or a paper copy (when available), free of charge.

For your information, here is my product description.

This tale began in 2006 as the autobiography of my fictional great-grandson, Sam, yet-to-be-born in 2015. Sam would live through the greatest cultural transition ever experienced by the human race. I encased his memoirs in a short story telling of an expedition of Neu-human archeologists from a thousand years in the future, 3100 A.D., who return to the Pacific Coast searching for their roots. They find Sam's recorded life story and hear a first-hand account of the “Great Collapse” of human society as they had come to call it.

Sam Hardy's life begins at the peak of the tremendous spurt of technology and social advance in the second decade of the 21st century, powered by what many still thought at the time would be an infinite supply of energy and a stable world of commerce and trade. Sam writes the history of humanity's course through the transitions that result from expected natural disasters, resource depletion, climate change, over-population, and economic and cultural failure as his family and tribe struggle to learn to live in a new world of limited resources and crashing dreams.

There are many possible worlds our progeny could face, but in my mind the world described here unfortunately seems to be one of the more probable. My goal is to tell of some of the changes that can be expected as our society searches for its future, and as those technologies and resources on which our civilization depend fall away. This is a tale of retrospection, as seen through the eyes of someone who lives through it and remembers that there Was a Time When things were so different.

And yet, in Sam's final words, there is still hope: “So this is goodbye. Maybe I have been wrong in my pessimism and damnation of humanity, and there really is a future for mankind on this planet. At least I have joined a group that is beginning the steps to future recovery. God willing, I will have the chance to watch that future blossom. I pray this band I join will build the roots of a better civilization than what my peers built for the last one.”

I will be discussing the book and offering ideas on other options and how to cope with the future at www.WasATimeWhen.com. Come by for a visit.

Recent Travels in AZ and CA

We recently returned from a week in Yuma, AZ. We expect to be in Jojoba for the next four weeks.

We joined Nancy in Yuma to get the Arizona Market Place booth up and running. She actually did most of the work as we got things organized for the coming season. The period started with hot weather, but it has turned reasonable.

Before going back to Yuma Alice and I had done a number of doctor appointments during the month of October, including dental work, Alice's colonoscopy, a heart checkup, and Alice's eye checkup. The big thing is that Alice is now scheduled to have cataract surgery next week. She has been diagnosed with some small amount of macular degeneration in both eyes. We hope the surgery will clear things up and the meds suggested by Dr. Philip will control the degeneration.

I have agreed to go in for a heart ablation to try to stop my atrial fibrilation. This is yet to be scheduled.

One of the more pressing matters is that I am in the process of finishing my latest book, "Was a Time When" and it should be going to print by the end of the year. It will be interesting to see well the book goes. I hope it will become a best seller, but who knows.

So, we will keep you informed on what is going on.

sam

Life in the Desert, Sort Of

We are staying at our basecamp this year, at least so far. It is really pleasant. We live in the high desert of southern California, near the base of the Palomar Mountains, and the humidity stays low (at least so far). Even when the temperature gets into the 90s, we are still comfortable.

Of course, that will change later in the year. In August the monsoons will start to come in more and more frequently, and the humidity will rise. It will get muggy, and the thunderstorms will start to form. That will be the time of the fires (though we have already had three around us this year).

But for now, it is a really pleasant time. We are living the life in the desert.

Sam, the Prudent RVer

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

I am waiting for the Federal Government to decide how they are going to handle the Debt Ceiling and Deficit debate. I personally prefer the balanced approach offered by the Democrats because I see less disruption of our economic future. But at the same time, thinking how this country is hell-bent on running into the wall and having to deal with the results of a self-induced recession or depression has its appeal.

Our family unit here in southern California is getting along well. My garden is surviving now that I have found a fence strong enough to reject the rabbits. Of course, it helps that the plants have gotten bigger. Now a rabbit cannot destroy an entire crop by eating a single shoot. I planted eight English Pea plants a couple of days ago. And we are harvesting cucumbers and tomatos now.

So, not much else to say. At least I got a new post in before a week had passed.

sam, the Prudent RVer

 

Back at Home Base

Friday afternoon, and we are back at Jojoba Hills. This is our Home Base. This is where we always come back to in time, though it may take a while.

The weather here today is cloudy and rainy. Down in Palm Desert where we were it was warm and broken clouds. I guess we are going to have to get used to the cool climates again, after six weeks in Yuma and the Sonoran desert.

While in Palm Desert we went up on the Palm Springs Tram to the 8,000 foot level on San Jacinto Mountain. It was cold and snowy there, but at least we could come back down. The view was great and we had a good time with our friends Jessie Herr and John Berry. Had a great dinner that evening at the Daily Grill. Then last night we visited with my sister Janet and her husband Michael. Good Spaghetti a al Michael.

But now we are back home. The dog came in and immediately went to sleep. He is enjoying the peace and quiet. I expect I will enjoy NOT hearing a train or diesel truck drive by at all hours of the night tonight.

It is good to be back at Home Base.

sam and alice

 

 

 

Wrapping up Yuma

We are nearing the end of our sojourn in Yuma, AZ. It has been pleasant, and I have been awfully busy working on the LED business. Nancy and I are trying to get lots of things going and planning for the summer.

Alice and I will leave for a short stop in Palm Desert next Tuesday. Then we will go back to Jojoba Hills. The weather is turning cooler, so I hope we can survive the new climate in the higher desert.

We are doing fine, and the dog is enjoying life in the desert. It will be good to soak in the hot tub.

sam and alice

Beginning to toast in Yuma

We have a bit more than a week left on our stay here in Yuma. I did the Gypsy Gathering rally last week, so that is now over. I have to help get things in order for closing the Arizona Market Place kiosk for the summer. And then we head up to Palm Desert to see friends and then back home to Jojoba Hills.

It has been a good time here. The temperatures have been higher than up around Aguanga, and sometimes the dust has been a bit of a nuisance, but all in all, the stay have been pleasant. Wolf has enjoyed it, and Alice and I have found several good places to eat, one of them being Eat Asian Food just off Pacific north of WalMart. Recommended.

We are starting to think about this summer. We may try to get to Gillette for the Escapade, but that is a lot of miles. The current price of fuel in Arizona is $3.879 for diesel. Ouch! That means we drive a short distance and sit. Else we spend all our money on fuel.

That's it for now. Take care.

Coasting into the end of summer

Finally, the weather has turned more moderate, down to the 70s. However, it is climbing here in the high desert and will reach the low 90s early next week.

We splurged on ourselves and upgraded to HD. We changed out the old TV a couple of weeks ago and got a new 40" LED flatscreen. The black is awesome. Then yesterday, the DirecTV guy came out with a new HD receiver/DVR to provide us with HD signals from the satellite. Guess this means I need to watch more TV to make it worthwhile. I must admit, the differences are pretty nice.

Some of our neighbors are starting to return from the summer. Soon we will have a full park here at Jojoba Hills. Volunteers will get out on the slopes, and committees will fire up. The pool and spa are back into functioning mode, so we should have a pleasant fall and winter here in the southland.

Oh yes, I made a resolution to restart and finish my novel "Was A Time When." I also need to make a commitment to exercise more and lose weight and get in shape. We will see how well I can do.

sam, the Prudent RVer