SR540Beaver

NJ, mmmmmmm, SR71 Blackbird! My favorite plane of all time. I'd be tempted to give up my selection for Jamboree just to fly in one.

Matua, I've asked the big Scout Master in the sky to approve your application. Hope to see you there too. Dancinfox, Congrats back at you. How big is your contingent? Ours is 144. Actually, it depends on when those Webelos II's birthdays fall. My son's birthday is in late February and he would not be 18 until 2011. He could squeeze two Jamborees into his Scout years. However, from what I've been told, the majority of Scouts attending Jamborees run more in the younger ages than the older ages. That said, I've got to recruit 8 more boys.

It is official! I got a call today from our Council's 2005 National Jamboree Coordinator to inform me that I had been selected to attend as an ASM with out Council's contingent. I figured I had no chance of going. My son is a Webelos II and will crossover next month. So all of our experience so far as been in Cubs and I've only been a registered leader this year as our Committee Chairman. Our Cubmaster's son is also a Webelos II and he has been selected as well. We will be in the same troop with a gentleman who will serve as our SM that originally inspired our Cubmaster to get involved with Scouting a few years back. There is a lot to get done between now and July 2005, so wish us luck. I'm looking forward to the whole process and getting to go to the Jamboree! To quote my friend Barry (Eagledad), I love this Scouting stuff!

I'm glad I got my spousal unit to buy me a Jac-shirt for Christmas when it was still $100. She supports me and the male offspring unit's Scouting, but probably would have told me to take a hike for $150.

Laurie, You would be correct. Now I'd take a "real" fire from a holodeck any day.

I like George Will. His best columns are the ones he write on baseball. I admire Pete Rose's baseball career. I've been one of those people that in the past have felt like he has paid his penance and deserves his place in the Hall of Fame. Then I watched him on ABC last night. Yeah, he finally admitted he bet on baseball and his own team. But he is still in deep denial. He is only admitting his guilt as a ploy to get what he feels is his due, not because he is really sorry for what he did. If he ever "gets it", I'll be all for him being reinstated. If he never does, I'm willing to bet (pun intended) that he will not get in the Hall of Fame until after his death. That said, yes there is some strong teaching material here for Scouts. Actions carry consequences. Once you lie, how do you regain trust? A part of forgivness involves repentance.

They can have my fireplace remote when they pry my cold dead hands from it! Actually, I have a switch instead of a remote. My old house had a gas assist fireplace like Dave's. I MUCH prefer my gas fireplace. No more tramping out in the snow, cold or rain to get firewood which was usually buggy, rotting or wet. No more dropping crud all over the floor. No more having to open the door to create a draft to keep the smoke from rolling back into the house. For Pete's sake, we wanted a warm fire, not a door open to the cold. No more having to clean the fireplace and making a mess. No more having birds in the chimney. It did keep the cat mystified however. No more chimney sweep. No more rain down the chimney. No more worrying about it burning out at bedtime. I do miss the crackle, pop and smell though. But like I said, they can have my fireplace remote when they pry my cold dead hands from it. Simply flip a switch on and flip it off. Good trade for me.

BW, NJ and I want to know if you are taking any cold medication and if so, what kind?

KS, While I certainly understand the sentiment behind the Patriot Act, any erosion of our civil liberties is too much erosion. Give the government an inch and they will take a mile eventually. There will be abuses. And it will all be done in the name of national security. Here is an example of our civil liberties slipping away. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-csecret08jan08,0,7173642.story Miami federal court has 'secret docket' to keep some cases hidden from public I would have posted the whole article, but it is fairly lengthy.

What the....!? Did BW just lighten up a little?

RobK, Just curious if you read your own link. If so, how did you draw the conclusion that Fascism is liberal. Mussolini himself spoke out against liberalism in the article. I read nothing in the definition of Fascism to remotely suggest the left would support its ideals. I did see a number of things that resemble the current neocon movement however.

Well gee FOG, give me enough credit to know better than to shoot a gun in the general direction of my family. I would after all be trying to protect them, not kill them. When I've hunted birds, I was smart enough to know not to shoot the dogs.

lasteagle, Your only mistake was in not making him finish changing your tire for free at gunpoint!

FOG, I'll take a shot pattern of a few inches over a 9mm wide bullet any day if my family's safety is at risk.

I have no problem with gun ownership for home protection as long as the gun owner is trained in the use of the gun. Years ago I heard a statistic that was fairly high of how many homeowners were killed with their own handguns during break-ins. Buy a gun and protect your home, but don't wait until you need to use it to learn how. I prefer my shotgun. Hearing a shotgun pumping a shell into the chamber in the dark can be very disconcerting for a criminal. Besides, the aim does not have to be quite as accurate.

TP, Mad just seems to intense. Couldn't we call them Unhappy Cows instead?

I for one enjoy feeding and wrestling the beast from time to time. I do get tired or rehashing the same subjects though. The beast needs FRESH meat!

A new pair of uniform pants, a leather scout belt, a Wood Badge belt buckle and the BSA red jac-shirt. Almost everything on my list! Missed out on the Leatherman Wave Tool and a field watch, but got a new screaming Porche of a PC I was not expecting. Santa was VERRRRY good to me this year.

Rooster, You are employing situational ethics. One of my favorite classes in seminary. Just to play the devil's advocate, do you think that a lie told for any reason can be justified before God? Is not a sin a sin in God's eyes?

Sign me up. I have my own opinions about who does what that I won't bore you with. It sometimes devolves into pettiness and would be best handled in an offline private message mode instead of subjecting everyone else to it.

A few posts back, I spoke in favor of Lil after she lost the contest. I've had more time to reflect and have some new thoughts. I still think she did well under the circumstances and learned some lessons she can impart to her Scouts. That being said, I went to the CBS website and viewed her audition video. In it she was in her Scout uniform and talked extensively about her Troop. She sold herself to the show as a Scout and chose to wear her Scout uniform for the show. She admitted in the final tribal council and at their reunion that wearing the uniform had been a liability because they held her to a different standard. That is true, they did and it was not fair. BUT, I'm now convinced she originally did it as part of her strategy for the game. She wanted them to recognize her as a leader and to let them know of her outdoor skills. In the end, it backfired on her.

Being a Christian and a Scouter, I understand being held to a higher standard and sometimes it is frustrating and hurts. I never held anything against Lil because she was after all playing a game by its rules and not living in her everyday life. Even if she had been, does each of your Scouts live the Oath and Law in every circumstance every single day? Is that what we expect of them? You can do 999 things right, but 1 lapse in judgement puts a black mark next to your name for Scout Spirit? Or do we expect them to "do their best"? I think that in the end, Lil made a choice to "do the right thing" and it cost her the game. As soon as she decided to take Sandra to the final two with her, I told my wife that she had lost the game. I was proud of her for doing the right thing as a Scout should, but disappointed that the other contestants could not appreciate and reward her actions. I think she can hold her head high as a Scout Master and will be able to better understand the trials and tribulations her Scouts go thru every day. It was a $900,000 lesson for her. Who thinks she will counsel her Scouts to "do what you have to do to look out for number one" like Sandra or to do the right thing and think of others first at their own expense? My son could be in her troop anytime.

Barry, I'm sure you already know, but Backwoods on North May offers scouts and scouters a 10 or 15% discount. My apologies to those of you who don't live in Barry and my area. I got a promotional e-mail from Coleman the other day with a Christmas tent sale. Some folks might want to check them out. The prices were greatly reduced in some instances.

Fog: I will agree that Jackson is a sick puppy. It may show my age but I remember when Jacko looked like a human being. And he was a very handsome young man back then! Sad!

NJ, There is no reason to be ashamed of wearing your Scout uniform in public or for enjoying Star Trek. You GEEK! BTW, here in OK they show Enterprise on Wednesday nights and replay it on Sunday nights. I get two chances to catch it if I'm busy. Heck, sometimes I watch it on Sunday after I watched it on Wednesday!