Scoutfish

trainerlady, Actually, I didn't try to buy one yet. My dog ate my unifron shiret after a weekend Pow Wow. Yeah, we did some awesome cooking! So I am going to have to replace it and a few patches. I waslooking them up on National just to get an appoximate idea of cost. Then I noticed the "restricted" statement to the left of the patch. I'm pretty sure that if I bought my "trained " patch and "Cub Master" patch without paperwoprk, I probably ought to be able to buy the veteran bar.

That was an AWESOME answer Twocubdad!!! I didn't even notice the typo at all until I read your comment! LOL!

"This is a restricted item. Available only in your local council trading post or Scout Shop with required paperwork." Seriously? My pack is 28 years old. I am planning on wearing the 25 year veteran bar . What is the restriction? I did by my TRAINED patch and my Cub Master patchwithout any question or paperwork whatsoever.

I'd tell the woman that she is not GAINING anything. She is only recovering what she had lost or taken from her. But aside from that, the courts should still hold the driver/insurance company completely liable and responcible for paying the full amount. As for wether or not the woman takes it ...then it is up to her and her religious views. Thus the laws are based on equal fair to all/non religious point of views, but the people are still free to follow their religion.

Stupid law, should be repealed! LOL! Nah, just kidding. Yeah Gern, I agree with yah on that too.

I see nothing wrong with creating that law myself. Nah, there might not be an epidemic concerning tnat law, but ....... A woman won a $2,000,000.00 lawsuit against MacDonalds because she shoved a steaming hot cup of coffee - contained in a styrofoam cup - between her legs of her own free will..and the almighty 1/16 inch layer of styropfoam did not hold up! As stupid s that case was, and even though I think the judge should have not only tossed it out, but also fined both the woman and her lawyer....you have to admit: That was a slick lawyer. He did a great job - dispicable as it was. So what's to say a lawyer can't - in the unforeseen future - have a jurt clear a man of plain old fashioned murder by claiming that the man only followed his religious priciples as he was raised and followed all his life...thus not actually committing murder, but clensing his home in the name od Sharia. Yeah, far fetched right? But so was spilling a cup of coffee in your own damn lap and collecting $2.000,000.00 from somebody else because.........YOU DID IT!

As far as I know, our pack has only ever had 1 ACM at a time. But i'm thinking along the lines of the program here. As much as we hate to admit it, over time, we might get stuck in a rut, get stuck along a limited line of thought or just plain rn out of fresh ideas. I do not think I am there yet , or that I will be there any time soon, but then again...would I know it if I was? By having two other people who are also very attuned to the kids...well, I'll have two other perspectives or fresh points of view.(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

Okay, real short background here: Our pack used to consist of basically the parents who steopped up to be leaders. Most of them wore at least two hats, sometimes 3 or 4. Our Cub Master was actually acting like a CC, Treasurer, secratary, Publicist, UC, and general Committee member. Our ACM was pretty much acting as CM and ACM as well as a den leader. Our DL's were doing great jobs as DL's but also pretty much handles the various committe sub-chair positions such as advancement, B&G, PWD, Camping, etc... So, towards the end of last year, a dad who was on a committee in CA, decided to step up and be our CC. WOW! He is doing a great job. We actually have a full committee made up of just committee members and not people wearing 3 hats. I became CM in June this year, but have had a pretty easy job of stepping into the CM shoes compared to our last CM who did it for 6 1/2 - 7 years. But as is normal, our ACM, CC and Pack Advancememnt chair will cross out this year. What I am thinking of doing, while we have the willing parents, is ask 2 people to become ACM's. One is awesome with creativity, activities and planning...but gets the "deer in the headlights" look if you ask him to sing or dance. The other, well, he'll sign, dance, jumpup and down, etc... but might not be so good at the planning or enacting plans. He can follow a script or go along, but not necessarily create. Both are great with kids, get along well with kids - but most importantly, they both have the ability to see and understand the kids point of view and mentality. My thoughts are this: Use what you got before it slips away. These guy will definantly be a great benefit to the pack. And if I could not attend a pack meeting or other events, I have no doubt that either one could take my place. And speaking of that, one is a Wolf dad and the other is a Bear dad compared to my being a first year Webelos dad. So, have you had more than 1 Assit Cub Master before? How did it work out?(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

We use soar and it's great. But it's not Packmaster. We use packmaster too. Matter of fact, I think most of our den leaders are going to start using TRAX spreadsheets because they are easier and more organized than Packmaster. But here's the thing: Soar is not a packmaster type of site. It's more of a private facebook or myspace type homepage for your pack/troop. It's not a records keeping/ advancement tracking kind of site. It's not for generating reportts or printing lists for council or scout shops. It's just a scout oriented/themed website home page.

I don't know why, but this particular event has REALLY gotten under my skin. It's been bugging me since i read it. So I did some digging..sorta. I am a CUB Scout leader( CM ) instead of a BOY scout leader , so the reference materials are not quite the same. BUT.....in the CUB Scout Leader Book (#33221D) - Under "Policies of Cub Scouting - Section 8/ page 2 - and under the subject of "COMMERCIALISM" : " *No BSA member, unit, or local council may enter into a contract or relationship of a commercial nature involving the BSA unless duly authorized to do so by the National Executive Board." "*No local council or unit may enter into a contract or business relationship with a business, corporation,commercial agency or INDIVIDUAL ( emphasis mine) that could be construed as using the scouting movement toconduct busines, sell or GIVE ENDORSEMENT ( emphasis mine again) for comercial purposes." Then it says the policy doesn't apply to scouts earning their own money for scouting related equipment as long as it's real work and not just using the BSA name for personal reasons. Again, I'm only a Cub Master uin CUB Scouts, but I am assuming that BOY Scouts has a similar book with similar if not the exact same policies?

WEll, like I said in a similar ( yet different ) post, because the DE is an awesome salesman! He went to my son's school and when he was done....my son was all drool and googly eyed about scouting! I've always been proud of the fact that my son loves the outdoors, loves riding a bike, throwing a ball, bon fires, exploring, etc... He plays video games when he doesn't have anything else to do. But he started sliding towards playing video games more and more. Scouting prett much reeled in his interest in those games. He's all about hiking, fishing, playing outside, camping, cooking over fires, you know.....outdoorsy stuff. How can you go wrong with that?

WELL! That puts it into perspective!

Well, by no means am I saying "Throw caution to the wind", but i do think the bags are pretty safe overall. Maybe I never cooked an omlette in one before, but stoting food, tossing in the microwave as well as oven bags....well, you get the picture. Then we drink out of plastic bottles, we cook on steel, aluminum, teflon, cast iron, hold food over direct "raw" fire , drop aluminum in direct contact with coals. Thing is, maybe a deer came by and peed on the exact spot that those glowing red coals are on. Might not immediatelt affect me, but what about 20 years fromnow? Might be that the teflon ( over a period of time) causes big toe cancer. When you heat metal - wether aluminum, cast iron, steel, stainless - there is some reaction. Harmfull? Might be. Has anybody ever done a 20 year, 30, 40 , or even 50 study of it? I drive 30 miles to work each day. About 5 miles from my shop, you start to notice a distinct sharp chemical smell. I ask myself, am I smelling the paper plant, the plastics factory, the pharmaceutical plant, the concrete plant, the coffee brewery( say what you want, preparing beans stinks!), corrugated pipe plant, electronic chip factory or the aluminum and bromine autoparts manufacturers. Wet, let me resay that: About 5 miles from my shop, you start to notice a distinct sharp chemical possible cancer or other infliction causing smell. Water? Could be something in it, cars( from vinyl seats/dash/interior, plastics, elsctronics, foam cushoins)household objects/furiture/appliances... Just saying, I don't see cooking in a plastic bag to be that much more of a risk than anyth8ing else. Of course, my bags didn't get stuck to the side of the pot and melt either.

What I find strange is that the scout shop is open only one Saturday a month, from 9 til 1, and there are no links to or mention of an on line shop. If you click the link you provided, the shop will not open until todays (Friday) date? Our council shop is a National store, open 6 days a week and you can shop online via national website. But the local store still does not have it's own website. Kinda hard to imagine that a 1 weekend a month store would have a website.

"He's been decidedly aggressive in trying to get the other troop leaders to provide him with business, to a point that gets beyond comfort levels, and has met with limited success. I heard through the grapevine that he plans on giving a talk to the Scouts at our next meeting about the services he provides, and will finish up by giving the Scouts forms to take home to their parents which advertise what he does and how they can sign on for it." Okay, I am only a Cub Master in CUB scouts, so I do not have any practical experience in te running of a troop meeting. BUT...I do know that scout meetings are supposed to be about scout stuff. I also know it is one of the duties of a Scout Master to help develop,lead, or direct a good SCOUT PROGRAM for the troop and the boys. A SCOUT PROGRAM. Not a sales pitch, infomercial type meeting or a buisness recruiting drive. Personally, as both a scout and as a parent, I'd be pretty PO'd to be wasting all my time as a scout, wasting all the money I'vre tied up in uniforms, trips to and from trhe CO, trips to and from any camping, council events, district event, expenses, time for projects and any other efoort ...to just sit and here a "supposed" scout leader give me a sales pitch about his buisness and expect me to drum up more buisness for him. SCOUTMASTER Job Description: The Scoutmaster is the adult leader responsible for the image and program of the troop. The Scoutmaster works directly with the Scouts. The importance of the Scoutmaster's job is reflected in the fact that the quality of guidance will affect every youth and adult involved in the troop. Scoutmaster Duties: Train and guide junior leaders Use the Methods of Scouting to achieve the Aims of Scouting Work with responsible adults to bring Scouting to boys Meet regularly with the Patrol Leaders' Council (PLC) for training and coordination in planning troop activities Attend all troop meetings or when necessary arrange for a qualified adult substitute Attend troop committee meetings Conduct periodic parent meetings to share the program and encourage parent participation and cooperation Take part in annual membership inventory and uniform inspection, charter review meeting, and charter presentation, and annual troop budget planning Conduct Scoutmaster conferences for all rank advancements Provide a systematic recruiting plan for new members and see that they are promptly registered Delegate responsibility to other adults and groups (assistants, troop committee) so that they have a real part in troop operations Supervise troop elections Make it possible for each Scout to experience at least 10 days and nights of camping each year Participate in Council and District events Build a strong program by using proven methods presented in Scouting literature Conduct all activities under qualified leadership, safe conditions, and policies. If the man wants to take a minute or two during down time or at the end of a meeting and say: "Hey, here are some of my buisness cards, pass them out IF you know somebody who might be interested". Then I wouldn't have an issue with it. But if he sees the troop meetings as a place to conduct buisness INSTEAD of scout related stuff.... then face it, he is failing his duties as a Scout Master to both the troop and to the boys. For the good of the troop, he should be removed at once!

Funny you mention frezer bags. The instructor at Pow Wow was using the frosted side Ziplock freezer bags. I bought freezer bags too. Not frosted, but double seal . As I was looking at them, I figured freezer must be better because of the extremes it was designed for. maybe a micro millimeter thicker or something?

Dean, Makes me wonder: Maybe (I should go out and buy 3 or 4 air rifles and donate them toi the camp. Maybe Daisy 880's . I think that's actually the one my son has , but relabeled 8800 because it came with the $4.00 scope and yellow shooting glasses. I suppose it could be limited to Webelos age scouts? Have a secondary set of targets that are 30 foot away? No doubt the scope would have to come off. Hmmmm....Maybe I'll call our program director or SE.

I use my DO inside alot too. Matter of fact, I even started using the one my wife bought me that has the red ceramic coating outside and white inside. I wouldn't put it in a fire, but when inside, it sure cleans easier and i don't have to worry about seasoning it. But food absolutely testes better cooked on ca,mping equipment. We have an indoor electric grill. Used it a few times if it was raining outside. Stuff just doesn't taste the same as if it's gooked on the outdoor grill.

Funny you said that...I buy my son the copperheads. Saw some in a modified drink bottle bb holder thing at camp. Thought they were copperheads too. Had that reddish tint to them. Nope, just a little bit rusty.. I'm suprised they even shot through the barrel.

We cooked these this past weekend at Pow Wow. All camping or outdoors aside...I'm thinking this is gonna be a real common occurance at my house from now on. Why? Lets compare: Things that get dirty when making "normal" scrambled eggs or omlette: Mixing bowl whisk or fork used as whisk frying pan spatula plate eating fork Things that get dirty when making bag omlettes: ziplock bag Yeah, I can see doing this way more often. I even just bought some Jimmy Dean pre cooked and crumbles sausage. Cost double, but still don't have to dirty my stove or a pan cooking it!

"Resistance is futile" Am I gonna have to wear a rubber outfit and have one of those flashlight/ scanner things bolted to the side of my head too?

ULTRA MEGA RULE #1: Make sure all sock are clean! I say create a safe zone...cause there is always that one scout who freaks out. After that, let 'em go at it till they are tired! Burn off all thet energy.

Ohyeah, when I vote, I walk up to an election offical who is sitting at a table. I state my name and address. They then look it up in stapled together booklet. They cross off my name ands give me uinstructions on how to use the latest greatest voting gizmo. This year they stepped it up. I had to sign a piece of paper stating that I was indeed an honest to goodness US citizen. I swear on my momma's good name! But still no id had to be shown. I have NO PROBLEM with having to show a picture id ton prove who I am to vote. it IS NOT an invasion of my rights or privacy. Matter of fact, it enforces my rigfhts by (helping to) prevent voter fraud committed by a guy who knows who I am who could walk into my voter distric, state my name , and place my vote his way, then leave and do it again in another voter distric. In this case, when it comes top proving who you are by picture id: "If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about!"

"If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about" WRONG! If you aren't doing anything wrong, you SHOULDN'T have nothing to worry about. SHOULDN'T being the key word. With an embedded chip. everything would be great amongst all the honest folks. But it stops there. You could have your identity stolen just by walking within distance of a reader. Or I suppose a buncj of school kids in scienceclass as well as a bunch of scouts, scout leaders and scout p[arents could be "wiped out" if they make electromagnets. And people can say what they want about "security and safety" but it something is made safe and secure, somebody is making something to get past it! Who embeds the chip? Who sticks it in me> who programs the info? Ever go to a hospital and see a pre op patient with NO written on part of their body? TheDr wrote it so he wouldn'yt accidentally work on the wrong arm, leg, lung, etc... Suppose he implants the wrong chip or the info is wrong?

No, I am not challenging BSA on their shooting policy, nor am I in any way implying or suggesting ways around the policies concerning BB Guns. NOPE! Just my observations of scouts using BB Guns. My son has a Daisy "Air Rifle" I'm sure most of you know the difference between a BB "gun" and "rifle". My son's gun is somewhere in the middle between those $1,200.00 high power .22 calibre competitions guns and the Red Ryder spring/air guns. My son's gun is a "pump up to ten times" 700(and something) feet per second velocity rifle. It can be used for killing small game ( sigh ...another vague definition) and shooting. The thing I notice though, is that, when my son uses a concil owned Red Ryder "spring/air" bb "gun" , he is less acurate and does not do as well. But i also notice the trigger is stiiffer and causes him to pull or snatch the trigger in order for the gun to fire. Meanwhile, his own air rifle has a smoother , easier to pull trigger, He can squeeze it to fire the gun. Thus he doesn't snatch on the gun and keeps it pretty much where he aims it. He also owns a single shot, bolt action .22 rifle. It's caled a Chipmunk. He's pretty acurate with it too. He has plenty of experience shooting a .410 too. Well, he's as accurate as you expect somebody to be with a .410 I mean, it shoots black pepper or something pretty close to it! So, just as a passive thought, and not any kind of challenge, it seems that the very basic bb gun si the hardest thing to shoot!