Scoutfish

AllFansome, Yeah, not them. The ones I bought are single color and very thin. Thin but they cover you without being see through. Fit like second skin. Come in black, white, gray, and blue. Worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned

Yeah, I noticed that on Wal-Mart's website. They show several different loose fit Starter shorts and other brands of loose fit shorts or boxers, but not the compression. Same with full length compression pants: They show Gold's Gym brand on website, but have Starter brand in store.

I know that many of you have no doubt own, or have plenty of experience with different brands or types of moisture wicking clothing/ underclothing...but I just wanted to give props to a company for at least one of their products; Starter athletic apparral's compression shorts. They are a thin spandex feeling , compression shorts. I work ourdoors basically. I install garage doors for a living, so while not completely in the sun all day long, I am exposed to the outside air, temperatures and worst of all - the humidity. I probably change my t shirt 4 times a day from mid July to mid August. Even thge Under Armor and Starter shirts designed to keep me cool and dry cannot keep up with how m uch I sweat in this high humidty we just love in NC. Problem was that the sweat works it's way down as I am sure you all know. Your shorts get wet, you underwear gets wet, you get chaffed and you get sore and raw down there. WEll, you can't run around naked and remembering that you are working does limit what you can/will wear for working around contrsuction sites/ metal/ wood, etc... So I thought I'd try the Starter brand ( from WAl-Mart) compression shorts. Now, I'll be honest: I am not su much using the compression supprt part of then as the non spandex feel of the spandex material and that they are fitted. Not a fan of loose or boxer type underwear myself. I like the support instead of the dangle if you know what I mean! Anyways, these shorts are fitted without being tight. They are anti-bacterial, anti- odor, moisture wicking Dry Star material and weigh half as much as regular "tighty whiteys" . The only downside is price. They are $10.00 each versus buyinmg a 3 pack of regular or boxer underwear for $8.00. Truth be told, I like Starter brand just as much as Under Armor - but for a cheaper price. Okay, wasn't trying to do a commercial for any one brand, pick whatever brand you want.....the point was this: If you haven't tried ANY of the compression shorts or moisture whicking shorts from any of the companies that offer them...do so now! The difference is like night and day!

Wow! Ours is definantly different: Beaver Day at Camp Bowers Scoutember 17th , 2011 " Beaver Day (Scoutember 17th) is a day long program during which units and individual volunteers work on improvement projects at Camp Bowers and Camp McNeill Cub Scout World. Projects for this weekend are determined by the Council Properties Committee. One major focus of this weekend will be painting the buildings at Camp McNeill. Feel free to bring any tools or painting supplies you feel you may need to help carry out this project. This event is completely free! Your unit can camp at either Camp Bowers or Camp McNeill Cub Scout World. All your unit has to do is provide your own fod andany additional equipment you feel you may need. In addition to the volunteer work, Scouts will have an oppertunity to take advantage of open waterfront on Saturday afternoon. "

WOW! You have to pay to go to beaver days? You'd think they'd bend over to get you there. We don't pay, but we do provide our own food and cook it ourselves...which honestly, we like better as we can decide on our own menu and what size the protions are. The camp will open up swimming for us with their qualified people, and will allow gun/ archery ranges to open as long as each group has a certified/qualified person available.

"The younger scouts don't get it yet, but I figure its because their young and haven't fully grasped the concept and logic. " Yeah, I agree. I won'r be upset or feel let down by a Tiger or even a Wolf who wonders what his take will be. Of coure he wonders what he'll get out of it....and yet, we are about to spend another 3 or 4 years showering him with patches and awards every time he does something. Of course, by Webelos I , I'd like to think they are starting to get the idea and concept of what true service or helping out means. Once they are in scouting, I hiope the know ity without having to think it. But then again, I guess there is something in it for me when I do stuff to help others: I get a warm good feeling inside and I feel proud of what I do. But you know, at the same time, even councils bribe the oldest scouts and adult volunteers: Go to Beaver Days and camp for free! Spend X amount of time doing "that" and get a discount on the next time you do "this".

Wow...according to the newspapers and any online articles and links I see posted...they are pretty famous and notorious threesome. Yet I never heard of them before today. Maybe you had to be more involved in scouting to know about them. Maybe this was the time I was head over heels chasing the sexy young woman who is now my wife and mother of my WEbelos II son. Maybe it was because IO have never been that big on watching tv that much except for things like Discovery Chanel or The History Channel- War Division. Whatever the case may be, it seems that everybody is talking about it. So what does it mean to you? What impact does/ did it have on you?

I hate popcorn. It sticks between my teeth and the kernal husks get stuck at the back of my throat right about where my gag reflex is. But when it comes to selling stuff, I know it isn't what I like that matters, but what the customer likes. But it's hard to sellwhen the customer points out that a handfull of Trail's End popcorn goes for $10.00 dollars while a 5 gallon can of a 3 variety popcorn goes for $4.00 at Walmart or Taget. Yes, some people will support scouting just because of what it is. But more give you an ugly look before turning away.

Here's another thought, althought it might sound a little shady, it is definantly not: Are there other packs near by? Are their parents in that pack who live closer to where your pack is located? If I was not the CM of my current pack, I might be a member of a new pack that just started last year. Let me explain. When my son decided to be a cub scout and came home all excited after the school rally, we had to drive 7 miles to his schoool for sign up. Of the three packs there..all were at least 12 miles to 14 miles away from us. They were the closest opacks too. Not just in the district, but in the next Council's ditrict too. I live about 3 miles from the next council's lines. Anyways, I signed my son up, and got bit by thye scouting bug myself. Went from committee to ADL to DL to CM in no time. Then last year...as I became the CM of our pack...a new pack styarted up that was about 2 miles from my house. Had that pack been there and established when I signed my son up...I might have went that route instead. I say might because while location and distance are factors, they are not the biggest factors. To me anyways. But you may find out that there are parents who would join because you are closer and also because they might like to take a crack at doing something "their " way.

Bsement brings up a great point: 4,000 scouts could go in thjosr woods and the best CSI team might not detect a single clue. Let one scout or former scout be a careless jerk and all scouts get a bad rep. I see it myself living next to a military base. 25,000 Marines ( just a random guess of a number) do awesome things for the elderly, the community, the parks, work fire and rescue on volunteer time, and all sorts of stuff. Let two young new Marines fresh out of boot camp feel a little bit too proud at a bar - and all Marines are just the worst thing ever! Then you have the extreme green environmentalists. They are the ones who will tell you that the woods would be even better if everybody including scouts just stayed out of the forests to start with. Of course, I don't know how they would know if we were trhere unless they were there too! Kinda like two kids at the dinner tables tattling on the other for not having their head bowed and eyes closed while saying grace. Just let the little stuff slide.

I'd call your DE right away. He should be bending over backwards trying to help you. The number of scouts in a district are the same as a job evaluation or productivity report for you or me. The more scouts in his district, the better his "report" looks. Bonuses and pay raises and such are tied into the number of scouts he has. And, while I realize it may be differenty in other councils or districts...in my council,. trhe DE are the ones who go to schools during the day to give the rallys, and the also conduct the sign up nights - but with all pack CM's ( or whoever substitutes) present to rep[resent their pack and help answer questions, meet the potential scouts and parents . Exceptions bein g when you have so many schools, that sometimes sign up nights are double booked. I am running 2 sign up nights for my DE as he will be at another school at the same time and night. But, if not for the conflict, he would be there. Anyways, it is in his best interest and the council's too for him to at least recruit you some help or get you some strong leads for potential leaders for your pack. Good luck!.

Granted, there may be issus or ramifications that I am not aware of...but I'd like to think that if I was the DE or SE of the council or district that this was happening in - I'd be proud and glad to have scouts like this. GIves you something to use as an example of community service and is covered by about 3/4 thos of the scout law.

Nope, we aren't the best. " It is their choice to cross over or not.... " See now, that makes a big difference. And tha falls into what I was saying. Also, working straight through summer does make a difference. That would put you 3 months ahead of us, calendar wise, but total time wise would be the same. My point, based on many comments over time and in different thread related to crossovers and AoL ceremonies is that alot of pack push the scouts to be finished by B&B and/or advancing as soon as possible to go ahead and get them into a troop because they can. Some even say that this works better for the troops schedule and boys can go to summer camp that year instead of waiting. Waiting? They will be active untuil the are 18 ( or longer as a leader) unless they get burnt out trying to get Eagle by 12 or as absolutely as soon as possible. Again, I did not say everybody did it for any one reason...and I also said that I would not lump all boys together since they do mature at different rates. Afterall, it was you who said your boys grow up a little quicker due to their environment , right? I imagine that single parent kids with younger siblings do the same as they have somehwat grown into the role of protector and child care provider to a younger sibling. But as a planned pre set goal of being done as soon as possible? Sometimes a trip is more than just the destination...sometimes it's about the journey. Know what I mean?

Not having ever been in a troop , and that my son is only 10.5 years old...I understand the need to NOT rush a scout to Eagle. So why is it that it seems people want to rush Cubs to AOL and into a troop? We do not have an exact AOL date set aside or planned. Each year it is a little different. The only thing that remains the same is that we do not use B&G as a "earn by" date for AoL. But one thing I have to say...ande I do not mean to sound condescenbding or preaching - but - if your Dl and pack are offerening a great , fun and exciting program, then you should have no problems whatsoever of having 2nd year Webelos. Sure, all our boys can't wait to be cub scouts in varying degrees. Tigers look at Boy Scouts with wonder, Wolves and Bears want to be able to shoot rifles and just be in charge of something ..anything. Webelos can't wait to get away from mom and dad. Especially when those mom and dads follow the boys areound with snot rags and napkins trying to wipe their mouths and fix their hair. And let's face ir: Younger boys can't wait to be with the oldert boys wether it has anything to do with scouting or not. But why the rush? And I think I might even see a point where adults in Boy Scouts might look down their noses at Cubs Entering Troops. Maybe it's not that they are cubs, but the fact that they get rushed through to an older more mature group that they do not really fit into yet mentally. KNow what I mean? You could give a couple classes to 10 year olds, and then test them and find out that mnany could easily pass the written part of a dribvers ed course. Given time to practice, they could also pass the driving part. But mentally...are they really ready? Same as AOL or Webelos rank: meeting all the written paperwork is not the same as being ready mentally. Now, I am not saying that they should all wait. I do know that every boy is different in mentallity and cannot be lumped into one group. But isn't setting fast standards for Aol and crossing them over as soon as possible about the same thing as lumping them all together? And thinking about it., maybe that's why BSA has the 10 and Aol exception: for those who are mentaly ahead and more mature for their age. They don'y have top be held back and wait for a lump crossing over. By hhaving the exception, they can advance naturally as it suits their abilities. Anyways, we never lost a WEbelos II because he was a Webelos II. We never had one zone out because he was sick of doing the sae old thing. Maybe we have great leaders, or a great program. Maybe the boys are not in a hurry to grow up. So far, the only boys we have trhat do not cross over are due to mom and dad making AOL a stopping point .

KC9DDI, Nah, it's cool! What I mean about kids possibly being confused remeinds me of a friend I had when I was younger. Ther used to be about 8 of us who hung out and always did stuff together. WEll, every group has it's witty guy or jokester. They are a load of fun to hang out with and could even make scapping dog poop off your shoes a cool and fun thing to do. WEll, I started noticing that one of the guys in this group started getting distant and jealous when the "cool" guy did something with the botrher guys. I talked to him and he says that he thinks he might be gay. He's all upset about it, ashamed about it, and is pretty sure he might be , but not 100% sure. WEll, after talkiing for a couple hours, and thinking about a bunch of girls he had the hots for, he started leaning towards thinking he was both ways. ( we didn't have the term "BI" back then). So Iask him if he could imagine kissing a guy and holding hands or hugging him. In about five minutes, he realized that what he was concerned were gay feelings were actually just feeling s of really enjoying hanging out witha good friend who could literally make you have a fun time scrapping dog poop off your shoes. And who doesn't like hanging out with somebody who just makes everythinfg fun and enjoyable? THose feelings are whuy we spend rediculous mounts of money going to see Jeff Foxworthy, or Eddie Murphy or Jeff Dunham. They make us laugh, make us enjoy the moment and forget everything else. Anyways,. my friend trhought he might be gay, turns out he was confused by his feelings. As a side note, I had a cousin who thought she was pregnant even though she only "did it" once. Turns out "did it" was letting a boy feel her breast under her shirt while playing spin the bottle. Yeah, sounds corny, but even in thsi day and age, not everybody knows exactly what "doing it" means or what all those diferent associated feelings are or mean when going through puberty. I also know that since some boys reach puberty early, and some reach it late..that the late guy who is hanging out with a couple early guys might wonder why he isn't experiencing the same feelings about girls that the other boys are. He may wonder or think he is possibly gay because he doesn't have that fascination or obsession with girls yet. And in todays society, if you aren't planning your wedding or who you are gona score with by 6th grade, everybody just knows you are gay. So, that is what I meant by being confused with what you might fel or based on what you think you know. Can't say what anybody else meant though.

Political support? Then I say NO!!! Because if it's political, you just took your units good image and people's good perception of your unit and cut it in half. Anybody with the same political views as hhat you are supporting will be convinced that your unit as well as BSA are just Jim Dandy spanking awesome! But anybody who does not follow that political beliefe, Just lost a lot of respect and sympathy for your unit. Might as well have your unit publicly and specifically annouce only support for people of "X" religious belief that also happen to only like in one particular state. My pack is a non sectarian, non partisean , and doesn't do politics. We do not politically support or have political opinions. WE just sing, camp, and do scout stuff!

I doubt you will find it , short of it being a unit rule. It can be committee, CC, CM, DL or any group or special AOL awards chair. In our pack, it is usually handles by the DL of that den and any ADL's and parents who want to help. I seriously doubt that BSA has, or could enforce a rule stating who is responcible....beyong the CM being responcible overall for making sure it gets done as part of the program...but it won't say the CM has to be the one to buy it or be responcible for placing an order or making it.

We use B&G as B&G. Not advancement time point, not for croissovers, not for AOL. B&G is when we get together, shove food in our face and talk about BSA's birthday and when /where it all gotv started. To us, B&G is a social function. And a time to recognize leaders and committee members. We used to have boys do prsentations and such, but they really didn't like it. Our AOL scouts usually like to do stuff together, For some reason, they do not want to cross over until at least a handfull are ready, and when asked, they rather have a crossover ceremony night of it's own self and witth all the boys together. Last year, we decided to do it outdoors , back at the edge of the woods behind the CO with the CO troop conducting the ceremony and anty troop that the boy was going to being represented by the SM, SPL , and whoever else they brought along. Afterward, we'd cook hotdogs and cheeseburgers. You know that since we are a southern pack, we have to find a way to make any event an oppertunity to eat and socialize. WE also had all our cub scouts to attend as an audience. Thius gives them something to look forward to and it lets the AOL's have their time in the spotlight. WE did this in mid April: Not too hot, not too cold. Nice weather for an outdoor ceremony with campfires and cooking out. Everybody seemed to love it including some Boy Scouts who wished it was done that way when they crosed over instead of a too formal indoor ceremony. Don't get me wrong, we had a nice ceremony. It wasn't casual kaos, buty wasn't a presidental innauguration or militray ceremony either.

John, where's the fun in that? LOL!

My son played soccer before he was old enough to join scouts. He played baseball just before he joined scouts. He was lucky enough to have coaches who became coaches for the love of the game and treaching youth instead of the love of winning and crushing the competition. I see alot of boys drop out of sports because of the yelling, the screaming, the fighting between coaches, parents and such. Yeah, scouting has that to - to an extent, but in a more civil ( read lesss physical) manner. Funny thing is..just on a guess and not any real numbers...I bet there are about 15 new things that happen, are invented/expected of kids these days. Way back, wen I wint to skool , you might have had about an hours worth of homework each night unless you were lazy ( like I was) ten it might have been twop. When my nephew went to school, he not only had 2 to 3 hours of homework each night, but also an hour after school of study hall and prep for prep ( preparing to prepare for college). When I was in school, most ball player practiced for about an hour and a half twice a week. My nephew spent 2 hours every day practicing for that brand new girl attracting sport called soccer. My oldest sister was a cheerleader and on the drill team. They practiced once a week for 1 hour after schooll and practiced 2 hours on Saturday. One of my neices was told that to qualify for JV cheerleding, she'd have to have 6 hours of jr high cheerleading and about 45 hours off dance and gymnastics over the summer at a specific dance school/gymnasium to even think about trying out . Summertime soccer camp, football camp, lacross camp, wrestling camp, gold camp, surf camp, kayak/hiking camp, computer camp, home schooling, after school tutoring, after school prefssional tutoring, gymnastics, science academys, afterschool scholastic advancement camps, science fairs, jobs., schools, community service for graduation as well as senior projects...you name it, somebody has time invested in it. When I went to school, homeroom started at 8am sharp, at 8:05 you went to your first class. We had five classes a day. You needed 20 credits to pass high school. Now days, its around 26 credits, plus "X" hours of community service, "X" number of extra cirricular ( I guess they forgot what that means) club activities, and you have to score a certain percentage on a PSAT test even if you have no desire to go to college. Now add that almost every home has at least one computer if not 2 or 3 ( we have a desktop and a laptop), so you have kids spending hours on those computers doing all sorts of projects that we used to do wit pen, paper and majic markers. They also go to social sites and who else knows where. Matter of fact, every year, my county debates wether they even want to have reces in school anymore. So maybe another reason why scouting has declined in that there are more requirements on todays youth, more choices, and less time. Between planning your career and financila portfolio at age 9, planning your future childrens college savings by age 11 and your alternative to social security by age 15...today's youth are burnt out, tired and probably just want to sit still for 5 minutes instead of learning more info and trudging through the woods. Incidentally, anybody happen to notice the decline in quality of education and scores? Coincidence? Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Well...I suppose I could say that : If everybody did everything they were supposed to do, and do it exactly right...then there wouidn't be a reason to have any of those skills taught in the first place. But, as we all know - scouts as well as leaders do not always do everything just right. Sometimes we plan, but somehow forget this or that, get caught in the moment and think something doesn't aply to us or we are above making a mistake. Maybe that scout figured he walked that route 3 or 4 times without getting lkost and figured there was no reason to have a buddy with him. I really can't say what went wrong. But once it did go wrong, the scout used skils that he learned in scouting ands it paid off. The point isn't that he was a perfect scout, but that he learned a skill, used it when needed , and it worked as we are not reading about another fatality in scouting.

No, not the perfect scenario, but it wasn't a "scouter died" story and he did use a skill he learned to keep safe and alive in 31 degree weather.

I've seen too many stories and links lately whenever something bad happens to a scouit or unit. Here's something to counter that: Scout Found After Building Tree Branch Shelter http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h25UQzxQX7fsfsYY02RwMYT36HHw?docId=b8b21377ebd04b34babdf34ec6b8a2c3

I'l follow acco40's lead and answer: NO! "I feel a Scout should feel they should help other people at all times but exactly how that help is rendered is a personal decision. " Exactly. If they see a homeless person , I do not expect a scout to sit and think and try ti figure out why that person is homeless, decide wether it was a self inflicted or deserved homelessness. I do not want a scout who comes off all uppity and snobish either. I have seen people who profess to wanting to help the needdy, but thw whole whiule, havce their noses turned up in judgement based on their own personal and mopst often times wrong opinions of those they help. I want my scouts to offer a friendly smile when they help, and I want them to help others because they want to helpo, enjoy helping and feel a compassion for their fellow man. Do they have an obligation to help any one particular program? No. THis is where free thought comes in. THis is where my scout can decide wether vto hand a homelss person a warm drink and a hot sandwich in the winter personally or decide to give their allowance to DAV ( Disabled American Veterans). THis is the time when they can choose to volunter time at a local retirement home visiting and performing skits or they can support scouting for food. I don't like the idea of saying :" You must support THIS program to help". And I do not see help as meaning 100 % support of any particular program in order to support the beneficiaries of that program. I am one of those people who will choose not to support a charity if 50% or more of procedes goes to admin staff. I'd rather give directly in those cases myself. And by directly, I dobn't necessarily mean handing over cash, but I might show up with the back of my truck loaded with food and holding receipts that the utility bills are paid up for 3 months. Scouts can support those supported by a program, but do noit have an obligation to support any particular program itself - regfardless of being government of not.

Perhaps that's you. Maybe he doesn't have anyone else he feels he can talk to. Which would be sad, but it's a possibility nonetheless. Well, without dfrawing one, I am thinking of a flow cdhart here i the way I'd handle this. I'd ask if tere was a family member of vfriend...but going with what you said.....that answer might be no based on the fact he's talking to me. Kinda like the flow chart, depending on what the answer is, I then go to te next step. Depending on his relationship with his parents and how uptight or strict they are - they may be the last people he wants to talk to. Yeah, it is sad .