orennoah

I'm not clear on what the wok and the spider-like cake have to do with one another. If you're looking to the use the wok as some kind of mold for the cake, my advice is to oil it, sprinkle it with flour and fill with your cake batter and bake in your regular oven. If, however, you're looking to bake a cake using your wok as the cooking vessel, you can try this Chinese sponge cake, which is steamed. This is a lovely no fuss, pretty much fool proof sponge cake. 5 large eggs at room temp 1 tbsp. water 1 tsp Almond extract 1 cup sugar 1 cup Brown OR White rice flour

"My" Troop proudly wears the full BSA uniform and uniform inspections are part of every meeting. Adult leaders set the example, and as SM, I do the inspection of the other adult leaders, while the Patrol Leaders inspect their patrols. The boys encourage the troop to wear the BSA (or Eagle) bolo, instead of the neckerchief, which is also acceptable. We have a supply of outgrown (and abandoned) uniforms for boys whose families cannot afford the full uniform otherwise. As to new Scouts, the SPL gives them a month or two to get their uniform together, depending upon the stock

I'm saddened to read these Scouts' postings about not have the opportunity to lead their troops. That's not the way the program is supposed to work. Regrettably, I'm not sure what they can do about it, other than to keep at the adults that stand in their way, well-meaning or not, and also to seek assistance from the district and council levels. These adults need to be reminded what their roles are. There's a very good reason why I don't interfere with my PLC's meeting plans. I don't know them. I spoke recently at a local Rotary Club about our Troop. I told them that we had a meeting

I'll try to look you up at the Jambo. More accurately, I'll try to remember to look you up at the Jambo. Please feel free to PM me just before Jamboree as a reminder. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 I will be the QM WE3-41-05

In our Troop, the Committee has at least four meetings per year. After introductions, so that parents know who is on the Committee (and, more subtly, who is not), the Senior Patrol Leader addresses the Committee and explains how he's run the Troop since the last Committee Meeting and what he plans on doing for next three months. This gives the Committee a good chance to see the SPL in action and he gets to "show off" to the parents. It really enforces the boy-led aspect of our Troop. After that, the SPL returns to the Scout meeting and the Committee discusses support issues, such as bu

Welcome Kahuna. My troop just made the decision last night to commit to attending your Camp Pupukea next summer. We want to tour Oahu for a couple of days before camp, including - of course - Pearl Harbor (Arizona, Bowfin & Missouri) and visit the Polynesian Cultural Center after camp. Any and all "insider" suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated. Who knows? We may see other, either at Camp or aboard the Missouri. Again, welcome. - Oren

The first Wood Badge beading I ever saw (and the first time I heard of Wood Badge) was at a district Webelos Woods, held at the Council camp. The event was for Webelos to get a feel for what they would be doing as Boy Scouts, each troop demonstrating / teaching a specific Scout skill. During the evening campfire, the Beading took place. I was impressed. Very impressed. I was "just a Dad" accompanying my Webelos son at the time. But, shortly after my son crossed over, I crossed over: from "just a Dad" to ASM. I took all the training and when the SM left town, I became the SM. Wou

I've got to agree Semper. I purchased one of their hat presses for my campaign hat and it's a beaut. - Oren

Me thinks that you'll be doing a lot of solos at Wood Badge events! - Oren WE3-41-03 "I used to be a Bear . . ." WE3-41-05 QM

Your son should have a great time. There will, most likely, be times of homesickness. But who said that spreading ones wings was going to be easy. Probably, though, it's harder on the parents. As Trevorum said, hazing is forbidden and any troop worthy of the name knows that new Scouts are the lifeblood and future of the troop. If your son shows that he wants to learn the ways of Scoutdom, I'm sure that the older boys will be happy to teach. To lower your anxiety, I suggest that you take the time to get to know the Scoutmaster and share your concerns with him OUTSIDE THE EARS

My son went through that at that same age. I was panicking inside, but I tried VERY, VERY hard to keep my disappointment to myself. I discussed his reasons and dissatisfactions with him and, by my actions, made it clear that I was going to "stay with the program." When he bowed out of an outing, I went without him. I think that it was some form on an independence test. Clearly he wanted to feel independent from me and maybe by seeing that his decision to stay in or leave Scouting wouldn't affect my participation, he felt he could make his own decision to stay in. In any case,

I think that it's absolutely wonderful that your son wants to continue the family Scouting tradition in this manner. As far as I know, it's an official part of the Scout uniform. The rule is that if a uniform part was official, it remains official. I know of at least one current Troop that REQUIRES its Scouts to wear the campaign hat. Personally, I think that they look great. WAY better than the silly tractor caps National pushes. Again, congratulations on having such a wonderful son. Most kids turn their noses up at family and Scout traditions. His attitude speaks volumes

It's fine to use soap and steel wool and LOTS of VERY HOT water to do the initial cleaning. You need to take off ALL of the factory protective wax/mineral oil coating prior to seasoning. After you've removed all of the coating, rinse thoroughly, towell dry and place in a 200 -250 degree oven for about 20 minutes to dry thoroughly. Then, the D.O. will be not enough to melt the Crisco or other seasoning oil on contact and season to your heart's content. Caution: Once you remove the protective coat, rust will start spontaneously. Hence, be reason with that oven to start the seas

How about some of the Scout games from Baden-Powell's times. Surely, there were still being played in the 1930s. Do a google search. - Oren

Yes, I DO have a favorite hat. It's sheltered my head in hot dessert sun and heavy rainfall. It's been frozen solid and covered in ice on back country snow camping trips. It's an Australian (Boy) Scout hat. They look a lot like the $125 Acubra hats, sort of an Australian Outback hat and are made out of quality fur felt with real leather sweatbands. The best part is that they only cost $35, including shipping from the Scouts Australia on-line store, www.snowgum.com.au. My Troop adopted them as our official leader hats. All registered adult leaders are entitled to wear them, as

I spoke a couple of months ago at our local Rotary Club about my Troop. I mentioned that if Baden Powell were to come along with us on a trip, he would be amazed at the backpacking stoves, the lightweight tents and the GPS receivers. Heck, he probably wouldn't even be able to pronounce polypropylene. However, he would fit right in and know exactly what we were doing. His patrol method is alive and well and teaching skills and building character now, just as it did 100 years ago. - Oren

I hate to bring confusion to the above clarity, especially after so much time has elapsed. But, at least in Western Region Three, the numbering scheme is "WE3" for, you guessed it, Western Region Three, followed by the sponsoring council's number, then the two digit year designation. My home council, Redwood Empire, is Council #41. Thus, I was a Bear in WE3-41-03 and will be the QM for WE3-41-05. I don't know how the other regions/sub-regions do it. - Oren

KoreaScouter: I've been trying to figure out how to beat the high cost of airfare and bring my Troop to Camp Pupukea, ever since our trip to Oahu around Christmas. A week there, with a day at Pearl Harbor and Waikiki and another day at the Polynesian Cultural Center would be awesome. Have you heard of any price breaks for Scout Troops on travel costs? (We'd be coming from the S.F. Bay Area.) - Oren

IMHO, the best source for information on what kind of bags your Webelos should be getting is the Troop into which they plan on entering. Surely the SM will have a very good handle on what criteria are important for way that that Troop camps. For instance, sure the rectangular bag mentioned above is more comfortable, but if the Troop does any serious backpacking in, say, the Sierra Nevadas, it would be way too bulky and heavy, especially for a young Scout. As an example, I posted my Scoutmaster Gear Tips on my Troop website and we hand them out to new Scouts (and their bill-paying parent

acco40: That's a great method. I'll keep it in mind, should the need arise again. In my troop, the need arose to re-align patrols a couple of years ago. We only had two and we needed to make sure that none of the younger Scouts felt the "last picked" syndrome. (I have not-so-fond memories of my own childhood when it came time to chose sides for sports!) What we decided to do was to assign two of the middle level Scouts as the nuclei for the two patrols. They each picked one at a time, but had to chose up all of the younger Scouts first, then the older ones. It seemed to work ou

Congratulations and good luck on your tickets. I enjoyed hearing your perspective as a Cub leader with limited camping experience. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 QM WE3-41-05

Even though I'd never met or heard of your Troop Guide, as a Wood Badger, I share your loss. We all do. I'll raise a glass of bug juice in his honor. Yours in Scouting, - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 QM WE3-41-05

Great! More BEARS! This world needs more Bears. We keep the prey patrols in line. Congratulations. One piece of advice, though. The quality of your second weekend (and thus your overall Wood Badge experience) is directly proportional to the efforts you and your fellow Bears put forth in preparation. Keep your lines of communication open and think BIG! Bears don't excel at subtlety. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 QM WE3-41-05

Congratulations. I'm right now in the process of putting stamps on invitations to my beading, which will be a triple beading at my Troop's Semi-Annual Court of Honor. Two Bears and an Owl will be beaded. It does us predators good to know that the prey Patrols are thriving. That means good times ahead. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 QM WE3-41-05

Say what? No one at my Council office knows that it was a one year only award. When my DE called National, in 2004, on one told him that the program was over. I looked again at the printed and website info, and I didn't see anything there about a one year only program. Really?