Basementdweller

I about choked on my coffee. way too funny

I briefly participated in the Global warming thread two posts worth. I stopped when the argument went economic/political. The gay thread was completely ridiculous and should have been closed a couple of months ago. The GAHB thread was a bit heavy handed in my opinion.

Mr fish.....I bet our groups run similar program. I hope we meet some day. GAH I applaud your attempt to reach out to home schoolers. I find GA's monologue interesting and wonder why it is so controversial??? If people are embarrassed by the program they provide then so be it. Fix your programs. I understand that we all strive to be boy lead, What if the boys don't or won't do it??? There should be a measuring stick of some sort for troop performance. The quality unit award is ridiculous. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with GA choices for measurements.

Eagle.......so a tiger parent comes in and says their scout has earned it are you going to tell them no because it isn't allowed?????? Just asking the question so you go to the local street carnival and they have the ponys that walk tied to the carousel, does riding a pony in this manner count????

In reading the link it looks like a fund raiser for them. they are getting a portion of the sponsorship dollars which is great. I am glad National didn't waste any of our boys moneys on it. Thx for the link lj

Had a really great discussion with the den leaders the other night exploring this topic. You take a group of scouts to the Park for a trash pick up. there are two adults and ten scouts. One scout gets injured how will you manage the group. You cannot split the group. how long do you expect the other scouts stand around and wait? Two adults is not enough. in the discussion 4 is the minimum to follow youth protection guidelines. West Coast......A lot depends on the scouts. We do it all the time, lots of single moms and grandparents raising boys in our group.

Dave and scout... In reality our sons are the exception. We enjoy and are active in their lives. We have train and trust them. I remember one young man who was too frightened of the bb gun to shoot it.

I find it really alarming that it is being managed by a mental health agency, that sends a huge warning up. At least to me, are these men on meds to help regulate their moods. Who manages the meds? If the homeless shelter was there first???? Depends You could evaluate the residents and how it is run. Are the men just hanging around outside, is it clean, well kept and staffed. You could speak with the residents and make a determination of the type of clients. With that said it is then you choice to meet there or not.

Where are they going on the bus? Transformers is a poor choice, it is PG. Some racy moments especially in the young mans bedroom. Down and derby would probably bore the boys. Up Incredible Surfs up Monsters Vs Aliens Jungle book would be great Any of the Spy kids movies Never ending story Night at the museum My Bear said anything with Godzilla, gamera in it. made me chuckle, We watch the B movies I grew up on Friday nights.

Remember they are only guidelines and the Pack can do what ever they want. Remember the entire Cub winter camping thread. My cub hunts with 22 and he has a 20 gauge. but he can only shoot a spring action bb gun at camp. hmmmmm

I am ticked off. Sponsoring an IRL team costs in the neighborhood of 5 million dollars a season taken from http://www.healeymotorsports.com/sponsorship/ Here is the team http://www.dalecoyneracing.com/ I enjoy open wheel racing and have followed it for years, but please. let me see $25 per scout goes into $5 million how many times. of course the actual cost or any deals will remain top secret. So who decides on the disposition of the free tickets???? Who gets in to the hospitality tent???? I don't live anywhere near one of the tracks so how does it benefit local scouting. It isn't carried on major network TV, I think it is carried on ESPN Ocho, the one that carries dodgeball. Just another reason not to give to the Friends of Scouting this year. I will have to ask when the DE shows up to do the presentation during the presentation. Like moxie our camps can use some repair. We lost a lake at one camp because the dam was ruled unsafe and was removed, I am told it would cost $10k to make it right. How about fixing that???????? Yep, looks like I will not be donating any money to scouting any time soon. Trustworthy, Thrifty, Clean Don't think so, this is about as wasteful as it gets.

http://www.google.com/dictionary?aq=f&langpair=en|en&hl=en&q=ride # When you ride a horse, you sit on it and control its movements. VERB * I saw a girl riding a horse. V n * Can you ride? V * He was riding on his horse looking for the castle. V + 'on' * They still ride around on horses. V adv/prep It is just a belt loop. Relax, if the camp said they earned it then ok, they earned it. Looking at the requirements the could earn both the pin and belt loop in as little as an hour. Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain five safety precautions for when you are near a horse. 2. With help from an experienced horse handler, demonstrate how to safely mount and ride a horse and then how to safely dismount the horse. 3. Go on a supervised horseback ride for at least 20 minutes. Remember to wear a helmet that is approved for horseback riding (such as one approved for horseback riding by the ASTM, or American Society for Testing and Materials). Sports Pin Earn the Horseback Riding belt loop and complete five of the following requirements: 1. Learn about three famous horses. Explain why these horses were well-known. 2. Using pictures of these different animals, explain to your den or family the difference between a horse, pony, mule, and donkey. 3. Explain how a horse is measured and what a hand equals when measuring a horse. 4. Using a picture of a horse, point out the following main parts of a horse: forehead, muzzle, mane, withers, point of hip, knee, hoof, and root of tail. 5. Describe three different breeds of horses and explain what special feature makes each breed different from other breeds. 6. Using photos or pictures you have drawn, explain to your den or family at least three different ways that horses can help us. 7. Name five things that are healthy for a horse to eat. 8. Tell why it is important to wear an approved riding helmet when you go horseback riding. 9. Take a photo or draw a picture of the type of saddle you used during the horseback ride you took to earn the belt loop. 10. With your parent or adult partner, visit a veterinarian who cares for horses and large animals. Write the answers to three questions you ask him or her. 11. Spend at least 15 minutes before and after your ride getting to know your horse by talking calmly to it and stroking it slowly. 12. Go on a supervised horseback ride for at least 30 minutes. Be sure to wear a riding helmet. Show that you can safely mount and dismount the horse. Belt loops are no big deal and a black hole for your Packs money. I have spent hundreds of dollars on belt loops for boys who never wear them.

Depends on what the goal of the Poll is? Change scouting to attract new or additional youth Maintain the current scout base? Current CO base Current Volunteer base

Craigslist Ebay Thrift Stores I have sort of a standing order at the local thrift stores for any scout uniforms that come in. Some give them to me no charge, others I donate. Thru these I have accumulated a uniform closet for the Pack and Troop. It has taken a couple of years to gather them and get the patches sewn on. The problem is determining true need. I have Stay at home mother's asking for free uniforms who drive Ford Expeditions, wear expensive cloths and have the latest smart phone with expensive ring tones. I also have given uniforms to young men of need only to never see them again. Part of the deal I guess.

Policy is the Guide to Safe Scouting often refered to here as the G2SS There are a lot of copies floating around on the internet of varying age. Here is the link to the one on national http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS.aspx To answer your question. Something happened to force a new policy. lawsuit, injury, ect. Right after the Iowa tornado they came out with the severe weather training. When I was a Youth scout it was the Bicentennial and our Troop built a revolutionary war cannon. We marched with it in parades and shot it. 30 years later I laughed when I saw that artillery was banned in the G2SS. Now was it ban when we did it????? Did the G2SS exist then????? In the coming years it will be interesting what happens to scouting as they continue to remove it from the woods.

There is may levels of policies..... An example. Sheath Knives are not specifically prohibited by national. Some councils may ban them Some Districts may ban them Some Camps may ban them Some Troops may ban them. Now you ask what is the repercussions for National or Council Policy........ I don't know of any, I suppose they could remove you as a volunteer. I have been in Packs where anything goes and in Packs where we debate the rules for hours, guess which one was more fun to be a part of.....

The problem with cake bake sales is the money comes from the pack's families. To my mind raising money from the Cub Families is not a good thing and often counter productive. I like to raise funds from the public and not our families. You will be surprised how quickly they tire of being asked for money for a fund raiser. The Garage Sale is a great thing.....we have done it and raised some good $$$.

Cold night reading posts. The main problem is a precedent of tolerating poor behavior. Lisa....I have to ask what exactly is a desirable outcome for you? Kicking them out of scouting, Probation, Suspension, Blocking their eagle or behavior corrected??? When I enter a fight I want to know exactly how to determine a desirable outcome. As mentioned earlier you need to define the problem and YOUR desired solution. Time for a come to Jesus meeting with the entire troop. Letting the entire group know this behavior is over. of course you need the SM, CC on board. Do you get the sense they are still being protected? What personal cost are you willing to pay? Are you willing to have your son pay that cost?

That is fine, Time to fix it. Bake sale my friend. Everyone brings something. If your Charter Org. is a church a bake sale after Sunday service is fantastic. OR Saturday in front of a Walmart or Large grocery chain. Use your littlest cutest tigers to get them in.......and sell them chocolate chips

There is a price for every lesson.......

A quick bake sale out in front of a Walmart or local grocery store should net you a quick couple of hundred dollars. Your experience with popcorn is pretty typical. What I gather is you are using individual scout accounts for the money. A great move and I applaud your effort. Did you put 100% of the money in each scouts account? We have taken 10%-25% or so for the pack and then the remainder in the scout account. What you could do for the PWD is give the boys who sold popcorn their PWD cars and charge the other scouts for theirs explaining about the scout accounts. Dues are a funny thing too. Some den leaders view it as their money to buy crafts and what not, and some Treasurers view it as the Packs money. We don't bother with dues, too much of a hassle for the little bit of cash collected. Fundraising is perpetual problem in scouting. Goodie bag at the blue and gold banquet? you have got to be kidding me. I am guessing it is a difference in cultures between rich suburbanites and poor rural and urban folks. Our blue and gold is at the CO the boys make the decorations and center pieces. Everyone brings a side and the CM BBQ's a donated pig. Good cheep fun.

To explain the situation a tad further. This all happened in my sons Tiger year, I did not know the other CO or the Pastor involved in throwing us out. It was not the CM that ticked the Pastor of but the SM and the Pack was thrown out in the aftermath. Everything was great at the other church until it started getting colder. We joined in July so we had 5 months or so in the Pack before we started having problems with the drunks and drug abusers trying to stay warm entering the building. On more than one occasion we had an adult male jump out of the bushes and scare the crap out of our mothers. We had a drunk guy walk into a Committee meeting thinking it was an AA meeting, when asked if we could help and once he realized it was a boy scout meeting he asked if he could have a few dollars for gas money. We had a mom that was gonna actually give him some, I stopped her and suggested that he was just going to drink it. There was never any toilet paper because the homeless stole it, and they peed on the floor in the bathroom, that entire area of the CO stank like urine. We cleaned it every week and every week we returned the same thing. We worked the soup kitchen once a month on Saturday morning. We had to stop because of the fights and verbal abuse we were subjected too. On more than one occasion I felt in imminent danger. When the scout count dropped to 5 my son and I moved on to another Pack. The Pack is still there but it is down to the CM kids and nephews. There probably is decent homeless folks just down on their luck. Everyone who says it is a small town and it is different, I disagree. Some pretty horrible things happen in small towns too. If you believe it can't happen there you are sadly mistaken. A college educated man homeless for four months????? I bet here is much more to the story. If you decide to stay, please be on guard and super wary of the men and situation

Charge them for the PWD kits and move on. How did you do with popcorn? Might be time for another fund raiser. Candy bars are easy and pretty painless to sell. You will make people mad and people may leave but that is ok because you can't please everyone.

It is easy to get righteous on an internet forum but there is a reality. How many of you actually experienced it? here is what will happen because I have been through a similar incident. Our CM ticked off the CO and we were asked to leave. Another church picked us up who has a very active soup kitchen, AAA and Drug intervention program. We were very thankful to have them as a CO and have somewhere to meet. The first month was great and everyone was happy. Colder weather came, pretty soon we had Drunk homeless men wondering through our meetings. We had people hassling our parents for change and sexual favors as they entered and left the church. They damaged our cars in the parking lot and peed on the doors of the church when we locked the church doors to keep them out during our meeting. In a nutshell after 3 months of it most of the parents took their boys to other Packs. Some questions to think about Is it worth an incident with one of the girls? Are you willing to look a parent in the eye if something does happen? Are these guys Criminals? For the safety of the youth find another location. Single day community service projects are great, exposure to the homeless in a controlled environment like a soup kitchen is fine. Getting in and out of the church is another thing. (This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

I have about 20 tents. They are kinda like golf clubs to me. I am a gear nut. MSR, mountain hardware, Coleman, Big Agnes, Marmot, Golite,Sierra Design, alps mountaineering, LL Bean, BSA issue. I camp way too much. My opening question is What exactly are you looking to do? Car camp, back pack, family camp, camp with the troop. 2 season, 4 season Some Coleman tents are ok. The timberline and apex series are great. I don't like the giant cabin tents, they take to long to set up and take up too much real estate. Things I would find essential in a single tent 1. Free Standing, for camping on Professional Ball fields they don't allow stakes. 2. Has a full coverage fly that does not require staking out. for those wet weekends 3. Foot print must be available, cause plastic or tyvek hasn't worked well for me. 4. 2 entrances for those late night trips 5. Large vestibule for equipment, only bags and boys inside tent 6. Fly venting, either can be closed with velcro or zipper, stick hold opens are nice. control temp and condensation. 7. Three season I have three tents that I use most of the time, the son uses the rest. 1. MSR fling for backpacking single wall condensation is a problem but is weighs less than 2 pounds 2. Big Agnes Big house 6 with vestibule for taking the entire family 3. Marmot Limelight 2 harsh weather backpacking with son and outings requiring free standing tents. Far as reasonable decent quality and performing tents, I would not buy quest or Field and stream. I would look at rei outlet http://www.rei.com/outlet they have some good deals on great gear. Just my 2 cents worth, well maybe a quarters worth.