yellow_hammer

ScoutingMom,

Our camps have Webelos programs too. This boy is not going to one of those camps - he is going to scout camp with his uncle's troop. Dad was clear about that.

All,

Thanks for all of your input. My question is answered - they are bending the rules. In my experience this is a very bad thing to do because it sets a precedent and opens the door for others who want to do similar things.

This scout will most likely cross over to the Troop in which I serve as CC (not Uncle Scoutmaster's troop). I already know what my answer will be when the question of merit badges earned before becoming a scout comes up.

The dad was pretty clear that uncle scoutmaster told him that it was OK for second year Webelos to go to summer camp. I am certain that he has not earned AoL, and doesn't meet any of the other joining requirements.

Someone seems to have forgotten that a scout is trustworthy.

A fellow I know told me that his second year Webelos scout is going to summer camp with his uncle's scout troop. He is going as a scout and intends to earn merit badges. I politely told him that I didn't think that was possible.

Is this an accepted practice or are they bending the rules?

May: Canoe trip on the Cahaba River, AL

June: Summer camp at Camp Comer, AL

July: Rafting on the Ocoee River, TN

July: Venture patrol 50-mile backpacking in Wyoming

August: Camp in Racoon Mountain cave, TN

September: 10-mile hike and camp Mt Cheaha, AL

We also have some scouts scheduled for NYLT this summer. The September hike is the beginning of a quest for the hiking merit badge. The boys have planned four other 10-mile hikes and a 20-mile hike at Shiloh.

When we collected dues ($10/month) the treasurer would invoice the scout parents quarterly for dues and other costs that the scouts had accrued. At the beginning of the year the boys all had credits to their accounts from our fundraiser so the parents usually answered that the bill should be paid from their son's credit. When that ran out they would typically send a check with their scout which was given to the scoutmaster.

We've done so well with our fundraiser in the past couple of years that we no longer collect dues. But we use the same process described above to collect expenses that the boys have accrued.

Vasque is one of the best boot makers BUT their boots are not the best for everyone. Different boot manufacturers use different "patterns" for their boots so their boot will fit better on certain types of feet. You may have a Lowa or Salomon or Montrail or Merrill foot. Find out before you buy. Likewise, REI is a great store but they don't carry every brand. Take your time and look around.

SR751Fox,

Your interviewer sounds like like a real jerk - not because of his opinion on scouts but because he would talk like that in an interview. I would suspect that his attitude has less to do with the example of some eagles and more to do with resentment of an accomplishment that he didn't have. I hope you didn't get THAT job.

FWIW, I've met several people who got jobs because they were eagles. Depends on who you are inteviewing with and what their values are.

It has always puzzled me that a rabbit's foot is supposed to be lucky. It didn't seem to do the rabbit much good.

I'm still seeing Alpacas for sale and Alpaca and Llama scales at the top of the window. All this talk of rabbit stew may not be changing the ads but it is making me hungry.

Maybe so. But it can't compare to llama stew...

Genuine Chilean Llama Stew

NOTE: Recipe requires a quite large Dutch Oven, Recommended for entertaining V.I.P's in Camp.

3 Medium sized Llamas

1 ton salt

500 bushels Potatoes

1 ton pepper

200 bushels carrots

3000 sprigs parsley

2 small rabbits

1000 gallons of brown gravy.

Cut llamas into bite sized pieces, cube vegetables.

Place meat into pan and cover with 1000 gallons of brown gravy. Simmer slowly for 4 weeks.

Garnish with Parsley, Should serve 3800 people. If more are expected add 2 rabbits.

======

Apologies to Jim McGregor for shamelessly ripping off his camel stew recipe listed at http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/DutchOvenRecipes5A.html#5B8

Oak Tree and Hunt,

We are getting these results because of the vast alpaca conspiracy. Do your part to fight against if by NOT CLICKING ON THE ALPACA LINKS.

Viva la llama! Llamas son muy buenas! Las alpacas son muy malas!(This message has been edited by yellow_hammer)

An arrow that travels down a wire into the target never misses and travels slow enough that the flame does not go out.

We did an indoor ceremony in which the boys were "tested" by holding their arrow over a flame. If the arrow burned but was not consumed, they passed. The arrow was wrapped loosely with flash paper and the boys loved it.

It was pogie bait in the army. As someone has said, the origin of the term is not fit for this forum.

Pogie should not be confused with pogue (ue is silent) - a lazy soldier or a soldier with a cushy job.

If there is an Explorer Post close by that may be an option. The focus of an EP is around a career choice/profession instead of outdoor skills. They operate quite differently from a Troop/Crew.

Novice_Cubmaster said, "So, what if your religion doesn't do kneeling?"

Here are some options...

1. Whine about how unfair the world is to every "religion" no matter how small and demand that PRAY design a special patch for each and every sect known to man.

2. Forego the award and spend your time on other priorities.

3. Design your own patch.

4. Sue.

Hope this helps. ;-)

They are small flint and steel tools for starting a fire. Boys love them. We get ours at the council scout shop but you can get them online at scoutstuff...

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?ctlg=05NDC&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=CAMPING&C3=CAMPEQUIP&C4=&LV=3&item=01167

I just left our local middle school where I gave my version of the "campfire recruiting" pitch. (Details at http://www.inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm)

Out of about 50 sixth grade boys who attended there were 14 who signed the sheet asking us to give their parents a call about scouts. I was prepared to be happy with 2 or 3 sign-ups so I am thrilled with 14. Of course, not all of them will join but maybe we'll get half.

As I passed around the sign-up sheets and asked for questions I got stone silence. Not to worry... I gave them some questions to ask me and after a few of those the questions were coming in freely. I guess they just needed an ice breaker. Several of the questions were about shooting which were prompted by the used targets and shotgun shells that I had laying around. The biggest hit was the hot sparks. I had several and almost all the boys wanted to try them. Even a group of girls in the back of the auditorium came up to try them. So much for scouts not being cool with the chicks. ;-)

One boy stuck around after everyone left to tell me that he wanted to sign up but that he was afraid of bugs. I told him not to worry about that too much that he should just come try it out and we'll see how it goes. In a conspirational tone I told him that we had some boys who used to be afraid of bugs but now they had gotten over it and that he would too.

Next step: fifth graders this spring.

If you've been thinking of trying something like this then I encourage you to give it a try. It was fun!

All,

Boys are late for many reasons that we tend not to see in adults. They get distracted. They procrastinate. They underestimate. They lose things that they have to take with them. Sometimes being late is a form of protest for having to do something that they don't want to do. Sometimes they are just plain lazy.

What do we do about it? Motivate them. It is amazing what boys will sometimes do for a piece of leather with some wood and feathers attached to it. Give points toward the best patrol award for being on time to events.

Didn't have a best patrol award? Smack yourself on the head and resolve to do it next time. ;-)

Trevorum,

I've got one of those... she is late for everything. I occasionally play a trick on her and set every clock and watch in the house ahead by 15 minutes just to show her that she CAN be on time by planning to get there early. I've noticed some times that she is ready to go in plenty of time but tries to squeeze in one more thing before we go - which makes us late.

I too have learned to accept this foible of hers and decided to make it a source of amusement rather than frustration. But sometimes I can't be late and so I just have to leave her and let her come along later.

For most scout activities just about any old boot will do. It's only when they start taking hike of more that five miles or so and backpacking that they *might* need something better than the average boot. Often boots are blamed for improper foot care or bad sock selection. Socks should be wool or synthetic and padded.

That said, some people have sensitive skin and/or oddly shaped feet. A common "problem" is a foot that is wide at the toes and narrow at the heel. Just any old boot will not do for some people even if they are only hiking a few miles with no load.

sr540beaver said,

"Did you actually type that in reference to Coulter with a straight face? I consider myself conservative and my eyes will NEVER, EVER, NEVER read any of the tripe she produces. Conservatives should be as ashamed of Coulter as liberals should be of Michael Moore. Both of them are laughing all the way to the bank and are just opposite sides of the same coin."

I did actually type that with my own little fingers. Just because you don't like some things that she says doesn't mean that they are lies.

Time magazine, hardly a bastion of conservative apologetics, did a cover story on Ann Coulter. The author, John Cloud, makes the following observation:

Coulter has a reputation for carelessness with facts, and if you Google the words "Ann Coulter lies," you will drown in results. But I didn't find many outright Coulter errors.

There are many flavors of conservative. Some just want a little more sanity in the world, just want to slow down the pace of change. Others want to correct the insanity that has plagued us for decades and point out the absurd logic of the left. Ann is the latter type.

GernBlanston said,

"Foley is toast. I hope they prosecute him using the same laws he championed. Anyone who suppressed information that kept these kids in danger of this predator for even 1 hour because they were putting party over responsibility should resign immediately. I don't know how they sleep at night. For that matter, I don't know how any of these apologists sleep either."

This is unbelievable... we actually agree on something in a political discussion. Any of the Republican leadership that knew about Foley's antics and did nothing about it should go with him. But it won't happen because too many of them are unprincipled and believe that the ends justify the means.

Gernblanston,

"Ann lost me when she advocated converting all Muslims to Christianity and killing their leaders."

Not likely. I've seen your stand on issues on this site and I know Ann Coulter's. Surely she lost you somewhere in the first paragraph she ever wrote for publication.

Even the White House has distanced themselves from Ann Coulter. Hard truths are hard to take.

But about where she lost you... No Christian who truly believes could think that it would not be a good thing for a Muslim to convert. And aren't we already spending billions to kill some of their leaders? The same people who are trying to kill American civilians. I don't see the problem with her statement unless there is some context that makes it worse.

mmhardy,

Gotcha. I think that is a good idea BUT I would do it outside of myspace. It's pretty easy to set up a forum like this one or a blog even. Set one up and let the boys have at it.

mmhardy,

Your message sound an awful lot like "all the other kids are doing it" - which is an argument that carries no weight with me. The potential for really bad things to happen on myspace is too great for me to allow my kids to use it.

Hunt said,

"I guess I don't see much difference between spending an hour on Myspace and spending an hour watching Gilligan's Island, which many reasonably successful people of my era did every day after school."

Then you need to take another look at Myspace. Ginger never did some of the things that you'll see there - at least not on TV. Mary Ann, of course, never did anything wrong. ;-)

Myspace is banned at the yellow_hammer home - and will continue to be until further notice. I have a zero tolerance for web sites - if there is one instance of something that I don't like on a web site then it is banned.

I'm an IT professional and so people often ask me about giving their kids access to the internet. I give them this analogy...

Would you let your kids drink water from the tap if occasionally, if they accidentally turned the knob the wrong way, something other than water came out of the tap? Sometimes it could be alcohol, sometimes sewage, but most of the time water. Of course they say no.

I then tell them that they shouldn't give their kid access to the internet unless they intend to monitor it closely. The computer must have filtering software, it must be in a public place where other people will often see what is on the screen, and they cannot use it when no one is around. I also recommend logging software that keeps track of both sides of a chat sessions.

It is serious business, don't take it lightly.

Gern said, " Well, there is always the rapture isn't there?"

I'm sure you wrote this sarcasticly. Most christians I know (self included) don't think this way. But we do think that most of what happens in our short time on earth is insignificant when compared to eternity.

Not to say that we shouldn't be concerned about the problems of the world and work to change things, but in the end one's relationship with God is all that really matters.

Trevorum,

I'm glossing too. In addition to the countries that you list I would go back to the Roman empire to get lessons on what happens to dominant cultures. In all cases they wane because they lose their will to continue the dominance and/or because they lose their military superiority. We still have the latter but I see signs of the former. We are not the same people who believed that it was their destiny to dominate the continent. That's not all bad but still something admirable has been lost as our society changes.(This message has been edited by yellow_hammer)