BartHumphries

They have to be there the Wednesday before the campout or they can't go, unless someone died or they bring an actual doctor's note.

It looks like they extended the sale one more day. If only I had more money set aside to spend on Scout uniforms, but it's too close to Christmas and my money is allocated elsewhere. I guess I'll just have to wait until next year.

My dad, who hasn't really done anything with Scouting in the last 15 years, just received a very nice Christmas letter from the local Council Executive (which letter also asked for a donation). I, who've worked a fair amount with the Scouts in the last year, have not received any letter or email from the Council Executive. Oh, there is one difference -- my dad made wrote an FOS check a few years ago and I've just given cash. I can see where my Council's priorities lie and what they value more.

Large is large, though, right?

I really Lake Perris State Park down here (well, I really like climbing there, occasionally I'll camp). It's also open to hunters -- mainly rabbits but I think they might be able to hunt other things as well. I've never had a problem with hunters, or heard about a problem or seen anything in the newspaper or anything. I've heard the hunters shooting before, but I've never actually seen anyone carrying a gun openly. I think hunters are as well behaved as Boy Scouts. By and large, we're all pretty great people, but it's the very few that act like jerks that give the larger group a bad n

Giving back to troops? Perhaps OA could volunteer to teach something when they came to do elections. An election shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes, right? that leaves a whole bunch of time for OA members to teach something and demonstrate how knowledgable/fun/whatever they are.

Part of the National Scout Store's "12 Days of Scouting" event, today (Tuesday the 13th of December) all uniform pants/shirts are 20% off: http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsa/promos/12-days-of-deals-day-10.html?dir=asc&limit=30&order=position&SRC=ET&ET_CID=ET_12daysofchristmas_day10_12132011&Page=20%25+on+all+uniform+shirts+and+pants&ET_RID= EDIT: You're going to want to be careful with what you purchase. http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsa/promos/12-days-of-deals-day-10/centennial-boy-scout-male-leader-long-sleeve-supplex-nylon-uniform-shirt-1.html is $35.99 (small/medium/la

I still haven't found anywhere that talks about a 7.7 trillion bailout (or anything close to that) that's in any way connected with Scouting. I'm not even seeing that anyone involved with anything like that was even a former Scout.

In that case, I would give him a POR and kick it up to the Council and National to tell the boy that he didn't complete in time for his Eagle (or to let them say ok, fine, whatever happens). I have no problem letting them be the bad guy in a case like this (presuming that the boy did actually work and continue in his POR, etc. and ended up about two months short of the six months he needed). I don't get paid enough to be the bad guy.

I think a garrison cap is practical when it's large enough to come down to just over the ears and the side folds aren't sewn in so that if it gets really cold you cal pull the folds down straight over your ears. Basically, they're practical when they're brimless thinner versions of a deerstalker hat that can be tucked in between a belt and your pants to hold them when you go inside. Most of the time nowdays, though, they're basically like big skullcaps (kippa/zucchetto) which look nice as far as a "hat" goes but they really serve no practical value. But, if you have to hold it on with some

"Especially in the LDS troops"? Say what? I haven't seen any newspaper articles that talked about pedophiles in the Boy Scouts which said that it was in an LDS troop. Actually, I haven't ever seen any mention of a charter organization, the newspaper articles just mention Boy Scouts.

I thought the point of multiple councils was that if one council was massively sued for doing something really really stupid it wouldn't pull down all the rest of the councils and force all the camps in the state to close to pay the legal fees. It's like firedoors on submarines and ships -- in most subs they're never used because nothing ever happens that might require their use. The unsinkable Titanic sank because it didn't have good enough firedoors (or water doors or whatever you want to call them).

I chat with the Council office to get my membership ID.

I don't see a problem with how Scouts Canada followed things. Apparently, they turned over all relevant information to the police or social services as they were supposed to. Kudos to them! They also kept a confidential list that blackballed people from coming back to the organization. Well, every big company has one of those, doesn't it? I mean, at every big company I've ever worked for, if you did something crazy like that guy in the Office Space movie who burned down the building because people kept taking his stapler, or if it turned out that you were molesting kids or whatev

Nice, Kudu, we'll get there.

I think someone applying to a military academy would be able to handle a POR while he sought after his appointment. One of the main things that basic training does is to give a person more than they can possibly handle to see both how they respond and how they prioritize. For instance, about halfway though boot camp (or sooner or later, depending on when people are catching on), instructors will start unbuttoning the odd button here and there on a shirt or pair of pants when they inspect a person's hanging clothes. A 2nd surprise inspection the same day then turns up the improperly hung clo

That's a good idea.

I looked at those Switchback pants, but they have a cheesy built in elastic belt. I like heavier pants, pants that feel "tougher". I've never been bothered by a bit of damp -- even in snow hiking, as long as I'm not trudging through deep snow, my jeans rarely get damp enough for me to even feel anything in my socks. I think that air whipping through my pants from a cold breeze blowing would cool me off a lot faster than some dampness. That being said, I like a tough pair of pants, ones where I can roll around on the ground doing Indian stick wrestling or sit crosslegged in the dirt without

The pants aren't even comfortable in warm weather. You have to unzip them into shorts for that. So, they don't really work in warm weather, they don't really work in cold weather, where are they good? Meanwhile, blue jeans work great in the cold and work pretty well even in hot weather (as long as I don't try to go in a long run with them). If they came out with Scout blue jeans at a comparable price to the Cub Scout Jeans (I realize they'd likely have to charge more because it's more cloth), I would absolutely switch to Scouter blue jeans instead of the Centennial pants.

I recently purchased a motorcycle and have now had the opportunity to ride around a bit wearing some different generic bluejeans and the new centennial pants that're in the store now, while in 20 degree weather (and then add the wind chill on top of that). The centennial pants are not really designed to work well with cold weather.

For an adult-led troop to continue as it always has, the net cost is zero. To transition to a boy-led troop is going to cost both time and money. Pay for gas, pay for missed work opportunities, pay for the boys to attend a week-long NYLT... Not to mention, boys can't usually drive themselves anywhere and you're going to have to get them to come to the planning meetings even though you're already trying to balance ASM schedules... "Ah, the Council's just trying to push this on us because they want more money. Do you know how much we already pay every year in FoS contributions?" It

Independence and self-confidence in a teenager is a major threat to parents in today's world. If my boy grows up to be independent and self-confident, he may leave home and make a life of his own. Seriously, there are a lot of parents that can't handle that idea. My brother did that. At 14 -- going to work in the construction industry initially moving lumber and other bottom-of-the-run jobs and later as a framer. When he was 15, someone outed him to Child Protective Services and since he was too young to be working the construction job he was at, he was sent back. When he was 16 or so, he

I just compared http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/eagle.aspx with http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/star.aspx and this is what I'm seeing: Works for Eagle for a Troop, Team, Crew: Senior Patrol Leader Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Patrol Leader Scribe Librarian Instructor Chaplain Aide Junior Assistant Scoutmaster Order of the Arrow Representative Webmaster Leave No Trace Trainer Works for Eagle in a Troop, but not a Team or Crew: Historian Works for Eagle in a Troop or a Team but not a Cr

I don't think IOLS really helps teach the "patrol method". Sure, the structure of the patrol method, just like that diagram in the Scout handbook or that one slide in Troop Leadership Training. But the actual patrol method, especially regarding "boy led"? I mean, we're all adults. We all treat each other and react to each other like adults. How does that help us learn how to act/react with kids? "Well, this patrol can be sent off to learn and do things because they're adults and have long experience, can draw on that experience to more easily figure things out and learn, yadda, yadda

It seems like it's possible to get past a peanut allergy by slowing building up to eating whole peanuts. I just read http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011-11-30/Program-helps-girl-sneak-peanuts-past-her-allergy/51496028/1 "The first dose she received was the equivalent of 1/250,000th of a peanut..." "It takes a really, really dedicated, committed family that's really invested in this process," she said. "They have to come in every week for five to six months and they have to be extremely diligent at home, that they measure their doses carefully, that they get them at the right time,