Twocubdad

Now that you mention it, Roy, I got my wooden knife idea from somewhere that they had use tongue depressors. The make the knives from two depressors, cutting one in half and gluing the two halves to one end of the other. This built up a handle on one end of the knife which made it a little easier to hold and a bit more authentic. They may have also pointed the business end of the knife blade, but that's purely for effect.

I agree that if you are attending a formal ceremony, dress shoes are appropriate. But if you're going to a troop or pack meeting. sneakers may be a good choice. The line between sneakers and hiking boots has blurred over the time since I was a Scout and sneakers meant Keds and hiking boots meant a 15-pound pair of Vasque Hikers. Depending on trail and weather conditions, sneakers could be a good option.

Not being familiar with all the Boy Scout literature, is there a sample first year calendar for getting everyone to First Class? Something similar to the schedules laid out in the Webelos Leader Handbook for getting everyone to AOL.

I'm not sure I'm following this. Do the stars rate the poster overall or do they reflect the thumbs up/down voting on each post? This morning I had 4.5 stars on one post and 2.5 on another. Now I seem to have 1.5 stars on all post. Unrelated to the stars, but an improvement I would find helpful is some means of tracking which threads have been added to since I viewed them last. Somewhat of an upgrade to the read/not read color coding on the hyperlinks. It would also be helpful if the "Today's Active Topics" menu had little links to specific pages like the main forums page does. Thank you for your continued efforts to upgrade the site. The formatting and spel cheker is an especially welcome improvement. Thanks!

Wow, Wheeler must be one of the greatest writers and researchers I've ever seen. He's managed to post several threads of several thousand words in just a few hours! Hmmmmm..... Do a Google search on some of the key words from his posts. It's enlightening (much more so than his posts). Much of this is based on the New World Order/black helicopter/Illumnati conspiracy stuff.

Since crossover is such a solem and sacred ceremony, can someone please post a copy of the requirements for participating for the Crossover Award? What have these Scouts done to merit this high honor? If your crossover ceremony has become a means to reward boys who have chosen to move forward to Boy Scouts at the exclusion of those who have not, then perhaps you need to rethink the purpose of the ceremony. Don't you think it is more signifcant to celebrate what the boy has actually accomplished over his Cub Scout carrer rather than just having completed a Boy Scout application? Would you feel better if he joined the troop then dropped out the following week? This has nothing to do with political correctness, social promotion, or watering down the program. There's nothing to water down. The leaders handbook refers to this both as a graduation ceremony and crossover. The Ceremonies book simply refers to graduation. That it has risen to some signifcant rite of passage from Webelos to Boy Scouting is a local tradition at best. If you want to make a big deal out of something, then make a big deal out of the AOL presentation. Bob's right, it's certainly no consolation prize.(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

The button loops and plastic sleeves are appropriate for the temporary patches worn on the right pocket. They certainly make it much easier to display a variety of patches (which I like to do) or to change your temporary patch when you receive a new on. Temporary patches are absolutely collectible, although I would say they are generally less so than OA flaps or CSPs, for example. The button loops and sleeves don't really have anything to do with the collectability of a patch, although the sleeves are a good way to protect a valuable patch if you want to wear it.

I'm going to disagree. While there is nothing wrong with pointing out to a boy and his family that the intent of the ceremony is to crossover into a Scout troop, I don't think it's worth creating hard feelings over. It's not as if this is some sacred religious ceremony that's being disrespected.So what if a boy crosses over the bridge and then takes a hard right to leave with his family? Maybe going through the motions of crossing over and receiving a handshake and warm welcome is the spark he needs to continue with he program.

There is no difference between a person who has their freedoms taken by force and one who voluntarily surrenders them. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures," is one of the foundations of the Republic, being prominent in both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Given the price paid to establish and defend that freedom, I'm surprised how inexpensively some are willing to give it away now.

Two words: probable cause. Back when I was young, had long hair, alot of free time and still knew everything, I spent a rather interesting hour-and-a-half on the side of the highway debating that concept with a police officer who couldn't understand why anyone with "nothing to hide" wouldn't agree to a friendly little look-see through his car trunk. After attracting the attention of three or four other officers, a supervisor showed up who decided being a smart-ass wasn't illegal and sent me on my way. If the government can establish probable cause before an independent judge for a proper search, they can look for anything they wish, even secretly if the situation warrants. But the Patriot Act short circuits the checks and balances of the Fourth Amendment by declaring whole classes of information to be fair game for warrantless searches. Notice that the sign in NJ's library doesn't say info may be obtained by agents presenting valid search warrants, but by those with "proper legal authorization." There is a huge difference. As to the government not having the resources to track data on everyone at this minute level, don't count on it. Take a look at the Google ads to the right of this page. Right now there are four pop-ups advertising either database searches for. The Total Information Awareness project, that John Poindexter was run out of town (again!) over is alive and well in the private sector. After the government caught so much flack over the project, they simply privatized it. ChoicePoint (yes, the same ChoicePoint that does criminal background checks for BSA) for all intent and purpose is well on the way to building the TIA system Poindexter wanted. They are doing it by buying up smaller companies that already have small consumer databases tracking everything from criminal records to real estate purchases to the brand of softdrink you like -- all with relatively little oversight or regulation. The government simply buys the information they want. ChoicePoint currently has contracts with the feds worth over $100 million to provide this info to various federal agencies.

All 15 of our Sr. Webelos are crossing over into two troops and all with their Arrow of Light awards.

Just taught this tonight with my younger son's den. I start with first aid for cuts. We then talk about the safety rules and then how to take care of a knife. When it comes to sharpening, we start with wooden knives I made by ripping strips of oak about 6 x 1 x 1/4 thick. To make them a little more authentic, I grind them into a knife shape using a bench grinder. I make whet stones using a small block of wood wrapped in sandpaper. The boys can practice with the wooden knives as long as they like, until the get the motion and angle down. I also have little 15-degree wooden wedges the boys put between the knife blade and the whet stone to get the feel of the correct angle. I also have real whet stones they can use once the get it. When it comes to carving, I cut neckerchief slide blanks out of soft pine. You can use any number of the slides in the BSA catalog for design ideas. The one thing I do differently is to leave a long "handle" with the block which we cut off with a small saw after the boys are through carving. This gives the boys a place to hold the piece that keeps their fingers back from the knife edge. I teach the boys three cuts: a simple, long away cut like they're sharpening a marshmallow stick; a fine cut where they hold the knife with four fingers and curl the knife toward them by squeezing their fingers into a fist (it's important to show them to keep their tumb below the line of the knife blade so they don't get cut); and finally a stop cut where they make a short cross-grain cut then carve back to it.

Dan, I'm not sure I'm following your post. Are you saying that Carter is an inappropriate speaker because he is against the war?

I wouldn't necesarily rule out all "politicians" as speakers. There is, however, a difference betwen an elected official and a political hack. I would consider Dole and Carter the former; North and Coulter the latter.

The Webelos badge on the Boy Scout uniform should be a moot point. If a boy has his Arrow of Light, why doesn't he have his Scout badge by his first or second troop meeting?

Neither. But using Gregg Shields rationale, either would be a good choice.

Am I the only one who finds it remarkable that P Diddy was the most restrained and respectable performer in the show? Janet's story now is that the routine was planned, but she was she was only supposed to flash a red bra underneath. What scares me is that after 24 hours, that's the best story they can come up with. As Leno said last night, everyone is so disgusted over Janet Jackson's boob, but it's perfectly acceptable to have a commercial showing a horse farting in a woman's face?

Congratulations, Packman, you win the prize for THE most off-topic hijacking of a thread so far this year. I've heard that certain feminine hygiene products will get rid of the skunk smell. And no, I don't care to try and explain why.

How about religious emblem square knots rolling over? Hypothetical: God and Family religious emblems are for fourth and fifth grade boys. A newly crossed-over Boy Scout earn his God and Family award during the spring of his fifth grade year. He is entitled to wear a religious emblem knot on his Boy Scout uniform. Does he have to take the knot off when he enters the sixth grade? What if he earned the emblem a month earlier, while still a Webelos? Can he wear the knot on his Boy Scout uniform? For how long?

I have a couple of questions for those of you who would support the law mentioned in the original post: Do you agree with the Kansas law that (according to Acco's original post) requires a disclaimer anytime any science is mentioned which is contrary to creationist theory? Or would you be satisfied with creation being taught only when evolution per se is mentioned? Secondly, would approve of other creation stories from other faiths/traditions being taught along with the story of Genesis? By the way, I ran a Google search on "Creation Stories" and got 3.16 million hits.(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

I'd love to know what you guys are talking about, but I've been disappointed to have learned week before last that our council's bi-annual WB course has been put off from this fall until next spring. Based on past experience, I anticipate it will slide a minimum of another six months and probably a year before it comes about.

I really hate recommending against the dutch oven, as it's a great way to cook and very versatile. But even with a fairly large oven, you are pretty much limited to serving a family-sized group with it. Among the families in our pack we can assemble 3-4 ovens if needed, but we usually are limited to making cobblers in them. We've got over 100 boys in our pack, so we look like a Marine division when we camp. Our whole pack cooks together when we camp and we've prepared meals for 50-60 people on two Coleman camp stoves. Paul is right that a good camp stove is a good investment and allows you the flexibility using whatever cookware you want. Coleman has even come out with drip coffee pots and bake ovens that work sitting on top of the stoves. The key to cooking for larger and larger crowds isn't the gear, but the menu. With big crowds we tend toward menu items that are easy to prepare in bulk, like soup or chili. Several folks in the pack have these high-BTU propane turkey fryers that are good for that. They usually come with large pots, too. One of our favorite campsites has a large double-wide grill, the permanent kind on a pedestal you see at many parks. The cooking surface on it is probably two feet by three. I had a piece of steel cut the size of the grill which we use as a griddle. We can cook over 200 pancakes in 15 minutes on that sucker. We mix the batter in a 5 gallon bucket with a paint mixer and electric drill. One guy ladeling the batter and two guys flipping. The piece of equipment that has me drooling is a new camp stove that Coleman makes. It's huge. It's essentially two commercial-sized propane burners that have independently-controlled inner and outer rings. You can boil five gallons of water or scramble an egg. All the legs and wind screens fold up unto a suitcase-size box the one person can carry. The legs are adjustable for uneven ground and drop down to knee-height if you're heating large pots of water for clean up. It's about $200, so you need to be doing some pretty serious camp cooking (or tailgating) to need it.

You're exactly right, TD. You need to let the parents know upfront that an important part of the program is to do things together as a den. They are short-changing their sons by trying to do the Go See Its by themselves. It's also unfair to the parent planning the event to go to the trouble and then have a half the den lay out. Even if a boy has completed a certain Go See It, they should still be participating in den activities.

I use the Earthlink blocker and it works well. How about something good for spam? I don't need "enhancement," cheap prescriptions drugs or the CD the government has banned.

We'll have to get back to you on that. Seems Spirit isn't talking either.