King Ding Dong

Don't buy a flag! A) your uniform has one on the sleeve. you are always prepared! B) your congressman will send you a free one that flew over the Capitol. C) give your congressman a few months notice and he/she will likely attend your blue and gold and give a citizen speech. Cheap way to spice it up and impress the parents. Must send the request on pack letterhead. No, don't go to a printer, grab some clip art off the web and paste it into Word.

You don't need software for 5 scouts. The Scout should use his book, it is training for Boy Scouts. Maybe a spreadsheet if you must, but there are plenty of printed advancement sheets you can use. Keep your eye on the ball and don't waste time on all this other stuff. Remember what we said about the uniforms? If you really want to waste some time go poke around the scouting on the web subgroup but I would put that time into learning the program and working with the boys. If you must know we use Scouttrack. The UI sucks and there is no user manual. It gets the job done but for $50 a

I have no use for people like that around me and they can find another program that is willing to cater to their every whim. Ever send a group text? What a pain in the a$$ when the replies start flying. Some of the phones are improving the messaging client but they are few.

There is only one vote on a Committe and that is the CC. A unanimous vote every time.

Well that memo sure hasn't made it down to the trenches yet and you sure have to look hard to find it. As it stands now it "NO, wink, wink, nod, nod, say no more".

If you start them beginning of 5th grade you are going to have some 9 year olds and all they want to do is run around in the creek.

On this site just never say "but is says here on boyscouttrail.com". The. Mob will come out and kneecap you in no time.

How about we share our favorite Spam Recipies? Spam Apple Turnovers Ingredients 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 package cream cheese 1 cup diced apple 1/2 cup diced SPAM® Classic 1/2 cup frozen cranberries 1 package thawed frozen puff pastry sheets 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup water Directions Launch Kitchen View 1Heat oven to 350°F.2In medium saucepan, mix apple, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cranberries and water; bring to a low boil over medium heat. Remove from heat; mix in SPAM® Classic, cornstarch and vanilla. Return to a

Something I have not seen mentioned on this site are the three Troop Program Features volumes that are available as free PDFS and I suppose printed at the scout shop. We have not used them but a quick overview looks like they could be valuable to a troop looking for an outline on how to plan a program. They seem to provide the overall structure you are looking for without the adults telling them what to do. They can pick their theme and then run with it. Now if the adults turn around and say "No, we can't do xyz". You have a problem. My troop wants to do COPE and it is dirt cheap in m

WeeeeWooo, Weeeewooo, Weeeeewoooo! PC Police here! That is so racist! You ban an entire race of people just because of a few bad apples?

Or you can just say the hell with it and get an REI 3.5" XL (extra wide) self inflating pad and not be cranky in the morning. Close as I can get to my Tempurpedic. I have a enough crap to deal with wearing a CPAP. Constant condensation on your nose all night and the whistling of the moisture on the valve. My cheap slumberjack 20* bag has a neat feature. An 18" zipper down by the feet with mesh for ventilation when the toes get to warm.

Am I the only person on the planet that finds it easier to read an email that log onto FB ?

Alex as always you make some excellent points. However we still run into the problem that most boys 9 or 10 are just not mature enough to move to Boy Scouts. my 4th graders are banshees. All they want is silly time.

Haha, service projects? You mean beyond a couple of hours a year for scouting for food or the bare minimum for rank advancement? ROFL. "What's in it for me?" My troop is not as bad as LaCastor's, but everything still has to be big fun trip. $240 ski trip in January (adult planned) Remember my "cave camping" trip in a cave with electricity and flushing toilets, back again this year. $60 Some Mafaking orienteering cabin campout that the adults have to do all the planning and set up for. Sounds like LaCastor's boys have already figured out how to schedule activities that don't require muc

Well I can't help you with magic ceremonies because ours are always the same old, same old but in May we have a pot luck BBQ and a parents vs scouts softball game afterwards.

Thanks for reminding me Tahawk that we are entering the season of 2 straight weeks of overcast, no rain, no snow, just two weeks of straight gray.

Can I rant with you?

My 7th grader just read Hatchet. Was for school so not sure how much he enjoyed it. Will have to take a closer look at it.

That Sweedish Spam we received is really good.

Anything for the cause.

i can honestly say I had no idea what I was getting into when I signed my fist son up as a Tiger. Treated all the fine print the same way we all treat an EULA when installing software. It was clear my son was not going to be athletic so it looked like a fun program for him to get involved in. It's kids in blue shirts going camping, what was there to think about? I don't think I became aware of all the controversies until he was a Webelos and I know I wasn't the only one.

At BALOO several years ago a scooter told me he would put stones in the fire then bury them in a hole under the tent with an inch or two of soil over the rocks. Says it kept him warm. Anyone hear of that or tried it?

I understand. While the uniform is important it would probably have been better to just get t shirts for the moment until everyone's feet were wet. There is a lot to take in. Take it slow and enjoy it as best you can. Why did you start a new pack? Are there others close by?

Just one point. What is with this "Committee Approval" thing? There are no votes on a Troop Committe.

Chris, good point on finishing early and then dropping out. The more troops and packs start deviating from the program the more unforeseen problems arise. Even with the changes next year this pack could still continue to "go rogue" and mess things up. My son just passed the 10.5 cutoff for joining a troop by 3 weeks because he was so young at crossover.