packsaddle

Jblake47 wrote, "Just ask yourself, if MB's are supposed to be an opportunity for the boys to try out new and different things, how does Citizenship work into that?" I can only answer this in terms of what I experienced personally. I think your question applies critically to the citizenship series if it is offered by, say, a summer camp MB mill (see the other thread on this topic). But when I did this, my counselor for community was one of the leaders of a local charity organization. He was a paid professional in his position and I never would have imagined such a career otherwise. Another c

My old troop had two summer camps. The first one was the 'official' council camp (which doesn't exist anymore). It was a combination of MB opportunity and chance to learn all sorts of other skills. From the other thread on the gun theft you'll know that while I didn't learn about guns there, I did learn marksmanship there and have enjoyed it ever since. I spent every moment I could spare at the range working on my NRA advancement. I did earn a few merit badges but only the ones that I COULD NOT DO on my own outside of summer camp. Those consisted of basketry, leatherwork, etc. All of the other

I'm thinking there must have been a few prior threads on this topic but it's worth repeating once in a while. I've confronted this attitude locally in the past, not so much these days though. On those past occasions I've asked the persons who seem so adamant about preventing a boy from advancing, simply because they 'think' he's not old enough, to articulate clearly on paper the new rules they would be willing to apply fairly to all boys which would overcome their 'belief'...and to do it in a way that all boys, parents, and leadership could understand the reasoning. Not a single one has ever

Well I'm not worried about either the ATF or Barney Fife, lol. I do have other nice target rifles, just not one of those old sentimental favorites. Guess I could check out the next gun snow though. Or like I said, Craigslist and the flea markets. There's no telling how much stolen stuff passes through all of those things.

I don't know what kinds of rifles they had at that camp but if they are the same ones I used when I was a boy scout in that council, those were some very fine target rifles with proper slings and sighted in peep sites. We took really good care of them way back then and they should have lasted for a very long time. Many times I've wanted to get one like them.

How do you identify the 'hard' positions? I am skeptical of any prediction of the future that goes more than a few months or a year out. That said, I also admit that I've made my share of those predictions....and most of them were wrong just like I said they'd be, lol.

OK, I guess the Daily Mail must be your version of National Enquirer, neither of which I read. But the question that tyke seems to wonder about has a simple but complex answer and we 'dance' around this topic all the time (and I have tried to figure out how to make a sub-forum but continue to fail at the attempt) and that answer is simply 'religion', at least for membership by gays. The girl membership thing is more political, I think, but then I don't think about it much, lol. Gay membership restrictions are, OTOH, almost completely founded in religious beliefs which, because of that reverenc

"Natives"???? I'm checking for a bone through my nose. Edit: Oops, I get it now. That's a reference to "natural born citizens" and.....say, whatever happened to that whole thing about birth certificates?

As anyone who knows me will attest, I'm about as 'anything goes' as there is when it comes to discussions. At the same time, I'd have to admit that a dose of tolerance might be good for everyone if applied, say, to the Taliban, maybe a few others?

Daped01 is right. I could delete a thread and someone could start a new one. But 'Forums' are above the 'pay grade' of mere moderators. Edit: Oops, almost fogot...nit pick? (Now adopting my condescending-old-codger tone of voice) Nitpicking, nah that's not we would have called nitpicking in my time. THIS is what I'd call true nitpicking. There will be about 1461 days from the start of the 2013 Jamboree to the start of the 2017 Jamboree, assuming a start date of 15 July for both (I don't remember the 2017 planned start date)....call it 1460 so we avoid a fraction. Half way would be a

That's quite a resurrection you just performed, tyke. I hope everyone remembers to play nice.

Somehow, 'stupid' just doesn't quite say it. But I guess being stupid doesn't violate the Scout Law, lol. It does negate the word 'safe' though. Good grief. I just hope none of that hardware ends up killing anyone. That is the nightmare scenario. Edit: Just wondering if they might see if they can replace any of it from Craigs List or the local flea market or gun show...no questions asked, ya know.

Seems like it would have to be 2015 to be halfway. But the answer is that it is probably possible to change the title. But moderators do not have this ability. I suspect the N. Koreans could do it though if they wanted to.

I remember the 'augment' virus thing well...not personally of course, but it is part of the 'historical documents'. I have different reactions to this attempt to explain the change in Klingon appearance, but all of my reactoins are based in the fact that the explanation was way too unrealistic. I mean...a virus...really? And so what! Why would that make it something they didn't want to talk about? Well, the answer to that is, I think, that the virus was not a 'flu like' virus but rather one that was an STD. Ahem...NOW does anyone wonder why they didn't want to talk about it? Probably every las

SP, when I was CM we did something similar but with BBQ, not pizza. It was very successful and paid not only for all the kits for the boys but for the trophies as well. st0ut, others with a similar problem: I think the key is to be clear UP FRONT with the parents that the boys, not the parents, make the cars. Yes, the parents can do the power tool thing and offer suggestions but the boys have to make the cars. AND inform them that this will be strictly enforced at the derby and any car that had mostly parental construction will race but not for trophies. And then you have to enforce it.

Yep, lots of free time for a day or so. Might even go out to a movie tonight. Sorry I'm going to miss 'The Interview'. Actually, SciFi is a great place to play logic games, not least because whoever thought up the stories had to try to overcome logical flaws in the first place and this means the viewers have an opportunity to match wits with 'the Creator' and find the hidden flaws. And the best part is that in the end, it was all fiction in the first place so (theoretically at least) no one should have hurt feelings...except maybe for the original author - who can console himself with profit

I was hungry. This unit does it fairly well, the 'collective' approach. I think that even the CS pack has turned away from popcorn and individual accounts. The boys seem to have more fun when they 'chip in' on a group fundraiser for the entire unit - the important component here is 'fun' as opposed to 'personal gain' at which point I agree with Stosh regarding the spirit of the 'law' which, to me at least. clearly leans toward the 'socialist' model thus making me (as an advocate for this approach) a fellow bolshevik. Edit: Oops, almost forgot. While I don't necessarily agree with the 'ev

Well I can definitely say that all this has done nothing to lift my profound hatred of popcorn.

Hey, lighten up a little....we're just having some fun...not making a movie about you or anything....

True, So why the heck are all these characters the color of plants? Just finished snoozing through an Incredible Hulk movie (Bill Bixby) and I found myself wondering all the way through (when awake) if poor Lou was photosynthetic? Personally, if it was possible to take on some kind of endosymbiont that made us photosynthetic (like coral), that would be so way-cool I could overlook the color. The other troubling transformation for Star Trek was the change in the appearance of the Klingons. By the time Warf arrived I had to conclude that morphological evolution was in overdrive...without any k

BSA is promoting a socialist agenda? Wow! Wonder if the N. Koreans are aware of this.

Can't you see he's obviously the bolshevik Stosh as opposed to the bourgeoisie dcsimmons?!

As for the eyes, I find them... "Fascinating!" (yeah, I know it's the wrong character). The trucks on the other hand...for me not so much fear, more like 'horror'.

Ours was home-made out of plywood and it worked just fine. I bet it cost maybe 50$ in materials when we made it. It had two lanes and took a while to 'set up' so the lanes ran fairly. But other than that it was just as good as those expensive things sold here and there.