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qwazse

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Everything posted by qwazse

  1. Back when reliable filters were expensive and my troop was poor, we placed caches (gallon containers) of water strategically along the trail the day before our departure. It took some of the mystique out of it, but we didn't have to worry about contamination on ridge-top pasture land. If you are just starting out, and gear purchases are getting in your way. Re-purposed half-gallon plastic juice containers (especially the ones with little handles) make for fine canteens. Troop meetings should involve a lot of shake-downs. The first one, SPL and you bring your gear and unpack it in
  2. I've talked guys (and some ladies) down from a few metaphorical ledges. Spent too much time growing up in the beer business to put myself anywhere near where gents on the verge of fisticuffs. I know my grandma, uncles and cousins were respected (and feared) bar tenders who did not tolerate threatening behavior from patrons. I've broken up fights between scouts who had spent who thought their season of boxing lessons gave them the right to "throw down." Some parents thought that was dangerous, but nobody dared give me a MYOB lecture. When youth friend me on FB, they find out that I
  3. Patrol cooking allowed for our best learning experience, which was: DEEP FRY!!!! One patrol was asking if the could make potato chips instead of mashed potatoes (the assigned menu for Thursday's steaks night), so I told them how to set it up with their mess kits. They wound up making fries. The other patrol raided the trailer for some pancake mix and made batter-dipped onion rings. To top it all off, they dipped the Mrs. Field's cookies in the remaining batter. My arteries couldn't handle the thought of that dessert, but it looked delicious! The boys did miss open program that
  4. Fashion statement I figure. Bug's gotta eat: they'll go through your socks if they know there's fresh meat to be had! I prefer taller socks for compression. Pushes fluid from my ankles. Joints seem to ache less.
  5. Oh, I get it. Super mom wannabe. Best solution (easiest for me because it's my favorite activity): more back-country hiking. Second best: shakedown ala Seabase style. All personal gear must fit into a 12" br 24" mesh duffel. Sleeping bag presented empty and rolled before packing. Backpacks presented empty. Trailor provisioned and loaded. Packs provisioned at arrival site. Drivers may only drop off boys and no gear. I prefer the former because nature does a lot of the work for me!
  6. Thanks. Will pray.
  7. So, no winter camping, anyone? I'm asking because that seem's to be my crew girls' Achilles heel. Whereas the boys have already spent a couple of cold seasons overnight, the concept is foreign to most of the ladies. One of my youth also has a circulation problem, so I haven't pressed the issue. But a girl shouldn't have to wait until she's a venturer to gear up for sleeping out in the snow!
  8. Oooo, a WCC censure! Folks in these parts would wear that as proudly as some Orthodox brag about the papal bull the got 9.4 centuries ago!
  9. Got my first mentor pin. It's on my collar for now. But, I really like w's nameplate idea. Wait, are nameplates in the IG?
  10. Unit EBORs with a district rep for as long as I can remember in these parts. For most scouts, it's their last chance to frankly address the committee about what the troop should do differently. Boys have been very helpful in that position. And we listen to them VERY closely. I suppose with district EBORs, the reps might get a better feel for what the district could improve upon, but from the way you all describe it, that doesn't seem to be the case. Have what candidates told you at your district EBORs had an impact on district program?
  11. Really CC? Struggle sessions vs. singing? It's time for a word from the "A song from every boy and a big shiny brass whistle for every lifeguard" camp. In a related thread, I've already discussed how leaving your stuff behind is a heinous offense to your troop, your country, and your momma. Won't go there again. Let's consider the law of salvage. 'Fish rescues a boy's imperiled vessel. He has rights to a salvage fee. (Any of you who've actually had someone recover your boat after a flood or storm should know this.) By rights, he can claim recompense proportionate to the value o
  12. Anybody use cast aluminum for a box? how lightweight can a composite material be?
  13. I couldn't imagine it being any worse than sending a text saying: " A scout died in accident at camp - we'll contact you later." All that message does is create a ton of anguish and worry. I don't have to imagine. I can tell you that all the cell phones in the troop (including one with the FD dispatcher on speed dial) could not outrun the state trooper showing up at that parent's door. Simply put, the names of the dead or injured are not broadcasted until the families of the afflicted are notified. The SM couldn't hazard a guess until I (the trailing car) showed up, then we went over th
  14. Learn your gifts. Excersize those. Learn other folk's gifts, ask them to use those to do the jobs ypu're not good at.
  15. What don't they do? Winter camping.
  16. Just thinking how buff I'd be by now if only our troop did ...
  17. There already is a badge for scouting for boys. It's called First Class Rank! What you are talking about is a BS Beurarcracy badge! Leave it to the earner to decide what the "BS" stands for. That could even be requirement 9b!
  18. Scouting in this context has served as a yard-stick. It gave a boy a fairly simple "test" of his level of responsibility for his gear. Highly responsible (the end of the stick) would have been all gear returned to home and promptly placed in its rightful location. Completely irresponsible (the other end of the stick) would have been all gear set ablaze and left in a dumpster to avoid having to lug it back to the trailer. There are all sorts of marks in between. The convenient "parenting"/"policing" served to point out to the boy which mark along that stick applied to the boy. Than
  19. She also runs a Crew in town and has invited my son to join. I don't think she would do this if he is at fault and troublesome ... Don't presume that!!! Some advisors take perverse pleasure in assembling crews out of fault-ridden and troublesome youth. Regardless, help your son think through the options. He should pick a unit that offers more than the chance to resume his trail to Eagle with a minimum of effort. For example, if that crew is into dance and theater and has no interest in his desire to climb rocks and shoot guns, he may want to consider another unit -- even if resol
  20. We lost boys because of how we chose to handle discipline issues. Their parents dragged them to a more adult-led spin-off. I really don't consider it to be troop hopping. It was more a parting of ways. Mostly adult inspired. However, a couple of those boys would like to come back to our troop. Talked to one boy and his mom about it last week. He asked if it would be okay if he would transfer back. I replied "Are you a bad kid?" He said "No sir." I said "I'm sorry, you otta know we only take bad kids."
  21. Laws of natural consequences are handy, as long as they don't bring down the whole unit. Like with LB's son's crew: depending on how serious the backpacking is, the weight of that droid meant that a desert or packet of ice cream was skipped. Certain crews will not hesitate to point that out for the entire 50 miles! Or a dreaded Seabase scenario: A kid who blows off sunscreen warnings in the tropics might need to be hospitalized for second degree burns by the end of day one, leading to his/her unit terminating their cruise with no chance of refund. So, you may want to point out to par
  22. Never heard of anything this extreme. But keep in mind that your side of the story, no matter how much we agree with it, is only one side. The CO may very well take its good old time sorting it all out. Find a troop or a crew where the boy will be supported and challenged.
  23. MomO5, Our council offers a camp experience for venturers http://www.heritagereservation.org/eaglebase/index.php Some crews choose it on the same week that the troop is attending their camp on the opposite side of the lake. My personal preference is for a crew to make their own summer adventure, but that's just me.
  24. Beardad, they aren't mutually exclusive, both demand a good bit of the boy's time and require him to set priorities. Our athlete PLs and SPLs have to do a lot of extra communicating because we expect them to make sure the troop runs smoothly in their absence. Some athletes count the cost and do not run for SPL as a result. On the flip side, many of our school's team captains are seasoned PLs.
  25. So instead of re-writing national policy for 50,000 Eagles annually, could local councils not solve this by having our own little TARP fund for failed EPs? I'm not talking about another big, hairy program here, but just make it known among council and district advancement and Eagle committee folks that before a failed project becomes a big issue, resources are available to square the deal with the beneficiary. This is a good indication that your council's EPs are getting a little too big for their britches. You don't need TARP equivalents for 50 hour projects that might require two week
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