The photo was taken last week in Apache Junction, Arizona located just west of Superstition Mountain that appears in the background below the moon.

For many years I am sure most families have heard warnings to prepare your family for an extreme emergency. I know that many years ago we had cans of water , cans of beans, cans of flour, and dried fruits and meat stored in case food items were not available. Then there came a point that we either had to use the emergency items, throw them out, or destroy them. The water cans became rusty, and most of the food was not usable after five years. The dried fruits and meats could be used if used within the expiration dates on the packages. In addition camp stoves, propane, matches or lighters were recommended so families could cook or boil water for purification. Blankets , wood , methods of providing heat in case of power outages are recommended. A good supply of flashlights and batteries are recommended.

Canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned meats, and bottled water are some of the recommended items for food storage at this time. Cases of purified water are cheap when purchased on sale at many stores. Canned food items can be purchased on sale. If the water is rotated using the oldest first , the family should have a fresh usable supply of water. Depending on the items, rotating the food items can result in fresh food always being available in case of emergency.

My son’s family has a food storage area in their basement. He built a can rotating shelf with vertical channels the width of cans and high enough to hold twenty-four cans. When they need a can they pull a can out at the bottom. When the supply of an item is low they add the items to the top of channel. This method of food rotation should eliminate a lot of the waste.

When buying batteries for your flashlights and any emergency items using batteries like am AM FM Weather Radio, rotate the batteries by using them in other items and replenishing the emergency batteries so they will be fresh.

I have two very nice medium priced bicycles that I keep in good repair. It is amazing how far you can travel on a bicycle in a short time. I found a source for bicycle speedometers that cost about $6 each that you can use to see how many miles you are riding daily and cumulatively. I have gone over six hundred miles here in Arizona since we arrived November first. I will have gone over one thousand miles before we leave in May. The reason I mention bicycles is because if there was a fuel shortage and you were unable to buy gasoline or it was rationed, a person could run errands on a bike. You say, well a bike costs quite a bit of money! If you look on Craig’s List there are literally hundreds of bicycles for sale in the larger city areas ranging from $35 to over six thousand dollars. I have purchased bicycles in great condition on Craig’s List for $100 each and have helped a lot of people find bicycles in this area. One of the bikes was a Diamondback Wildwood 21 speed, the other was an 18 speed model 3400 Trek. I ride bicycles every morning with a group of men and women for a distance of 3.5 miles partly up hill and than come back down that area. We call ourselves “The Wild Javelina’s” as opposed to ” The Wild Hogs”. Each member has a badge with our name on it, and a photo of a bike, and a javelina on it.

When buying a bicycle look at the wheels and make sure they are perfectly round and not bent, that all of the spokes are there , and the tires are not checked and have good tread. Ride it and make sure the gears and the de-railer work properly. Make sure the brakes work evenly. If it appears the bicycle just needs adjustment, it still might be a good buy if the frame, wheels, tires , and seat are in good condition. Most older people want a wide comfortable seat. A new seat meeting that description costs $40 to $50 at a bicycle shop. Some bikes do not come with kickstands. If that is the case and you want a kickstand. Walmart has kickstands for less than $7. Walmart also has rear view mirrors that attach to the handlebars. On Amazon or eBay you can buy headlights and a tail light both of which can be set to flash for less than $10. Of course you also need a good bicycle helmet to protect yourself in case you fall and hit your head on the ground. A Schwinn helmet costs about $20 at Walmart.

Get ready to Ride, it is fun, healthy , and can save on gasoline

Before I get into the opportunities available to everyone that has considered writing a book, I will provide a few suggestions for the year 2016.

Are You Getting a Large Refund From The IRS?
If you are getting a large refund back from the IRS, why let them use your money all year so you can wait for it in early 2017? If you have this situation, possibly you should get a W-4 form if you are salaried and increase the number of exemptions. If you pay quarterly tax estimates possibly your quarterly tax estimates are too high. if you get a large refund on your 2015 Tax Return. A person in this situation has the option of applying the refund to their first or second quarter tax estimate in the new tax year , 2016 in this case.

If You Are Having to pay a Large amount when you file your 2015 tax return?
There is a good chance you are also going to have a penalty assessed plus interest for not paying quarterly estimates that match the period when you received the income. If you are paying estimates religiously, compute how much income is taxable in that quarter so you will not incur a penalty.

If you are having to pay a significant amount of additional income taxes, in addition to what was withheld by your employer based on your W-4 form, probably you need to decrease the number of exemptions you are using or enter a percentage you want withheld on the W-4 form.

The main requirement is to match your taxes paid to the IRS to the periods when the income was received.

Amazon Kindle What Can You Do?
I am sure most of you have heard of a Amazon Kindle. Recently Kindle offered a Kindle Fire for less than $40. The Kindle Fire can receive email if you have WIFI service and can access sites on the internet.
In addition just like the original Kindles that came out for the purpose of downloading and reading books sold by Amazon, the Kindle Fire allows you to download books and read them. The Kindle Fire has the screens in color just like a PC. Originally the Kindles only allowed a person to read books on black and white screens. I can assure you , that you are getting your money’s worth at $40 for the Kindle Fire Amazon is offering.

If you do not have a Kindle from Amazon, you have the option of going out on the internet and entering Kindle for PC as a search and it will direct you to software so you can purchase and read Kindle books on your PC just like a Kindle.

You Want To Write A Book?
Just about everyone has commented that they should write a book and later qualify that statement with the statement, “If I knew how?” First of all to write a book you need an idea and to act on that idea. Discipline yourself to write and expand on that idea every day until you have a complete manuscript. Then read and re-read the manuscript about ten times to get all the bugs out of it and improve what you have written. There are very reasonable services found on the internet that will proofread your manuscript , do a cover for it , and format it to match Kindle Direct Publishing’s requirements.

When you think your manuscript is ready to be published. Go to Kindle Direct Publishing on the internet and read the tutorial for getting a book published on for Kindle. There are several short books on Kindle that are guides on how to get your manuscript on to Kindle and how to market it. It is a tedious process to get the book ready but after you get it submitted and accepted by Kindle, you will have a great feeling of accomplishment.

Marketing Your Book on Kindle

Marketing the book is the most challenging part of the process. Kindle Direct Publishing offers you the opportunity to join an organization that will allow you to offer your book for free for several days two times during a three month period. The object of offering it free is to get a lot of copies in circulation and hopefully the people will write positive reviews about your book so it will sell copies after the free period ends.

I have a book called “Lottery Lingo ‘Sorry Not A Winner'” on Kindle and will be releasing another book on Kindle called “Single Male In Search of Single Female” very soon.

Writing is fun and can be rewarding. The marketing aspect is the most challenging.

Good Luck and I hope to read your book soon!