DuctTape

For hand sewing, do not attempt to push through the entire patch. Instead "catch" a bit of the border only. Imagine sewing "from behind", and as the needle pushes through the shirt fabric, loop it under and through a few threads on the backside of the patch border. this also has the benefit of completely hiding the stiching behind the patch. I guess my method has a real name. Thanks HT.

Encouraging scouts to plan and experience more adventure will help develop not just outdoor ethics, but also outdoor safety. The more we encourage scouts to push to the next level the better. We do a disservice if we hold them back and only allow plop camping and disallow exploration and adventure. While boys are naturally curious and adventuresome, they also have innate fears which help them take small steps instead of too big, but only if it is they who do the planning and execution. IMO, the worst thing bsa has done in the last 20 years is not gays or girls it is the requirement of adults on all campouts and activities.

mine was held together with tape.

While it is technically ok for a scout to "complete all the requirements" before even meeting with the mB counselor, this denies the scout an opportunity to learn from, and grow from an expert in the field and minimizes the benefit gained from the adult association method. I do not condone the SM actions, it appears the SM and TC could use some help in transitioning the scouts to a less advancement is the goal troop. IMO.

I agree that the recourse is for exceptional circumstances. However I disagree that exceptional is synonymous with rare in this usage. I think it meant as "deviating from the norm" or "outside of accepted practices". It should be rare, but if the circumstances move beyond rare it could be an indication that the council is not doing its due diligence in vetting and/or assuring quality of the mB counselors.

In the summer years ago I worked at a camp, and noticed the canopy of a large tree in the woods. It was uniquely "elm" like. It took me a few hours to locate it, and I had the camp director make a call and a rep from the state forestry service stopped by a few weeks later. Samples were collected and it was an American Elm. Spared from the dutch elm disease. Turned out to be in the top 5 largest American Elms in the state.

Get a copy of a 1950s Patrol Leaders Handbook. There are a ton of games and patrol activities. And much better info re: Patrol Method too.

Paying your own way is only one part of being thrifty and I would argue the smallest part. More importantly being thrifty is not needing as much $ in the first place. My first uniform was a hand-me down from the assistant senior patrol leader. Boy's Life used to be chock full of "make your own gear", the older scout books gave instructions how to modify common items to be useful camp gear. Scout camp was a lot cheaper because it was not more than a piece of property with little/no improvements on which the scouts used their scoutcraft, and campcraft skills to "make camp". There are 3 commodities at play here, Time, Talent, and Treasure. The more of one that a scout has, or uses the less of the others. It takes time and talent to do things for oneself which minimizes cost (treasure). The higher the skill (talent) the less time it takes. Currently our culture is focused on buying everything (treasure) immediately with zero effort. One of the original goals of scouting was for boys to learn to do things for themselves and others. Thus I would argue that just buying gear takes away an opportunity for the scout. DIY gear and campcraft skills, etc... are a means to help the scout be able to do for himself and others. If $ is needed, the patrol deciding and executing a fundraiser would be a worthy exercise for the scouts. Imagine how much they would learn organizing a car wash. Just having scouts "work a table" to sell something completely organized by adults takes away opportunities.

I think MattR is on point here. I was at breakfast this morning with my wife, and we overheard (they were very loud) discussing youth soccer. These were coaches (possibly parent-coaches) .It was plainly obvious they were coaching kids like they are collegiate or pros without realizing the benefit of less structure, and playing the game. They were complaining about kids "not being committed to the sport" because they had other interests; athletic and otherwise. They fail to understand the benefit of the off-season, other sports, etc...

My only suggestion is to NOT email anyone. Instead call them, or better speak face to face. Electronic communication appears efficient, and is, to disseminate information. It is wholly inadequate for discussion and conversations. Do call, and either set up appountments to discuss in person or on the phone. Otherwise you run a serious risk of being misunderstood at worst, and at best taking longer to get the answers you seek.

Perhaps. But the actual tone of voice if the author said it aloud would be more compelling. We, as readers, project a lot into the tone and meaning of the written word. Without asking the author to clarify, we can only speculate.

There is a body of research that suggests "tone" is often shifted negatively by the reader. A neutral tone is interpreted as generally negatively; a generally positive tone is interpreted as neutrail, etc... I believe this is due in part to lack of other cues such as body language and the actual tone of voice of a speaker. This is even more common in digital communication, email, online forums, etc... Understanding this phenomenon, I give deference to the writer.

I disagree. Nothing in the LNT statements, nor the author of that article state no one else can visit. Both suggest being mindful of how geo-tagging and posting specific locations especially with gps coordinates can (and have) led to a negative impact on the area. This ethic is common for fisherman who recommend not posting on social media specific locations. Again, it isn't saying you can't go there or not tell anyone about it, only recognize how posting certain information on social media will lead to the destruction of what made that spot special to begin with. Be mindful, and make ethical decisions.

The biggest issue for most people with LNT, is they try to codify the principles into hard-fast rules. LNT, is not about don't do this, the principles and guidelines are for understanding how one's decisions and actions impact the environment and may affect others safety and enjoyment of the area. The principles are not rules, but a guide to help us make decisions while in tbe backcountry. For example, to lessen impact while hiking, single file on established trails is better but spread out very wide while on an off-trail bushwhack is better. The conditions and circumstances matter. I think the principles embodied in LNT are a perfect application of the BSA mission as it is a practical application of making ethical decisions.

Thanks OldScout. I think I got a piece of dirt in my eyes reading that.