ianwilkins

15 hours ago, CNYScouter said:

What is a quiz night?

You lot are blowing my mind again! Is that not a thing in the US? Hmmm, thinking about it, I guess it stems from our pub culture where pubs started having quizzes, then schools and scouts started doing them as fundraisers...right, here goes...

The Quiz Night.

You gather yourself into teams, it's usually just adults, though I've been to a few family quizzes too. You sit round a table. In a big room. A scout hut. A church hall. A school hall. Maybe 10 to 20 teams, depending on the room size. Each round their own table. There are pens, paper, maybe a few snacks, sometimes there's a bar.

How the evening works...

There's a series of rounds of questions. They may be themed*. There's a quizmaster. They read out the questions in each round. Each team tries to answer as many questions correctly as possible. Usually at the end of each round, the answers from each group are handed in, and a couple of adjudicators mark the papers as we go. Sometimes there are score updates during the evening. Whoever has the most points at the end of the evening is the winner. Maybe a very small trophy is awarded, but mostly it's just qudos.

Usually there will be food. So there'll be a break halfway through were we all chow down.

Money is made by charging a per head ticket price. Say $10-$15. And if there's a bar, that usually makes money.

Usually the question setter tries to make the questions not too dry, a bit of humour, nothing too specialist.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy them.

* For example, rounds from quiz nights I have been to...they may get given more interesting names...or all the questions in the round may be further themed on a particular subject...

Film (e.g. Who directed Titanic? Or maybe all the questions are on Bratpack or Sci-fi or Rom-Com movies)

Sport (e.g. What city do the Tennessee Titans play their home games in?)

TV (e.g. Name the Brady Bunch children)

Colours (e.g. all the answers are to do with a colour, what city is Red Square in? Who wrote 50 Shades of Grey? What colour are Toulouse Rugby Club's home kit shirts? etc)

Or you can have picture rounds...

Flags of the world

Country outlines

Movie posters with the film name removed

Name the famous people

If you can get a venue for free, a quiz night has almost zero cost. Okay, if you have food with it, might cost a bit, but then, if tickets are bought in advance, you know how many you're catering for. Takes a bit of time to organise but...

17 hours ago, blw2 said:

I've been curious about hammock camping for a long time, but have been uncertain and unwilling to spend $$$$ not knowing, since I'm a side sleeper.

Another side sleeper here. In my hammock, I hang it fairly tight, so there's not much droop in the middle. Actually, it's a while since I've been out in it come to think of it. I sort of curl up half sideways, with my knees wedged against one side, and my backside wedged against the other. Doesn't sound comfy, but it is for me. Always feels like I don't get much sleep in it, but always wake pretty refreshed so can't be that bad. Mine isn't the flat type,  not the hung from a palm tree net type you lay in while sipping a pina colada, chance would be a fine thing. More like, well, we got a load of them from a UK company called DD Hammocks. Basically a sheet of fabric folded over with webbing straps hemmed into the ends.

45 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

I work down the hall from some Fire Inspectors who all have many years working out of the station and as paramedics. Yeah some of those stories are both funny and horrible at the same time. 

I once went on a training course at the London Underground, about how to work on the underground safely. Yep, had a few funny and horrible stories in there too, like the driver that decided he needed a whizz, like he often did, so opened the door in the middle of the end of the carriage, and didn't wave it about as much as he normally did, didn't break the stream. Apparently 400v DC through the .... is not good.

11 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

I love going to summer camp and swapping 'worst stories in our Troop' with other scouters.

I think I could probably trim the fat from anecdotes about last year's summer camp down to about a 20 minute stand-up set.

I'd probably quite enjoy coming to said US scout camp about now and doing the same as you, I could pull out all of the co-ed stories just to frighten the pants off you.  

Won't put any of it in writing, we have a rule about "not bringing the scout association into disrepute" 

I went on a three day first aid course for work a year or two back. You know when you go on courses and there's that one person that always has a story or anecdote or two. I got about halfway through the course before I suddenly realised...I was the anecdote guy! Nothing too serious, but I'm not sure anyone else on the course will be signing up to be a leader any time soon, as one of them said "Scouts sounds dangerous!" Ooops!

On 26/03/2018 at 7:39 PM, The Latin Scot said:

They tried flipping the neckers in the air a few times and then loosely tying them in a knot (they had slides there mind you!), and they ended up looking like little blue tableclothes strewn haphazardly over their shoulders with big bows in front.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCE ALERT!

You mean you don't roll your neckers? Mind. Blown.

1 hour ago, Cambridgeskip said:

Ian may have other comments as Explorers are more his thing than mine!

Well, yes, okay then, all that cambridge skip says is true. There's also in some troops a drop out towards the end of scouts, this can be for many reasons, peer/life pressure from outside scouting, having nothing to look forward to (as they don't want to join Explorers or it's not close or whatever), or don't enjoy being a PL. There was the same drop-off, in my experience, in the old UK age ranges when scouts went up to 15.5 not 14.

Of course, in the UK, you split into scouts and explorers, and that means it's 13 year olds leading 10 year olds, not 17 year olds leading 11 year olds. In explorers, while you can run as "patrols", and some units do, most do not, and just split into teams as and when needed, there isn't so much of the hierarchy, but more of a collaboration. Very different to the US as I understand it. 

8 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

#4 at state was also fired today.  

Was it phone calls, Tillerson backing the British over Russia or North Korea?  Who knows, but I’ll go with blaming the British.  They got us Tillerson fired AND girls in Cub Scouts.  What’s next?? 😀

Tea?

43 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Aye..I dream of the crisps I am missing..., English Breakfast, Prawn and Curry, Ham and Pickle, Roast Beef and a hundred variations....what kind of flavor mad scientists does your school system produce? The UK may no longer have an empire but still is a Snack Food Superpower!

So glad we're known for something of such high worth and value to society. Forget the contributions to history, art, science, etc etc. It's Pickled Onion Monster Munch that's the thing. Marvelous!

I think I've said on here before, Worcestershire Sauce flavour crisps really confuse Portuguese Scouts. The pronunciation, the flavour, everything. Opinions ranged from "hmm, okay, I guess" to "why would you even do that?". Cultural exchange at its finest.

On 3/10/2018 at 2:28 PM, qwazse said:

Good news, we're not British.

Cor blimey squire, strike a light! I can't adam and eve you said that! We ain't so bad is we? 

12 minutes ago, gblotter said:

If your desire is to strip me of the World Crest for supporting single-gender Scouting, you will get your wish soon enough. 2018 will be my last year as a registered Scouter. After BSA is rid of folks like me, there will be no obstacles for your utopia of unity.

Thank you then for your time over the years and the difference you have made in boy's lives.

17 minutes ago, gblotter said:

This is exactly what I see happening. If you want a to maintain a single-gender boy troop, the available program options for summer camp, camporee, merit badge midways, etc will just push you aside. The girls will prevail and the boys will walk. That is essentially what happened with coed Scouting in Canada. Scouts Canada is now primarily a girl movement and just a shadow of its former self after dramatic membership losses.

And the UK is growing, and has also been co-ed for a fair while too. We can all pick and choose stats to lean on.

6 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Scout Queen/King as needed.

Not sure, might get a tad confusing with UK and Commonwealth Queen's/King's Scouts.

"Uncle" Ian

16 hours ago, Col. Flagg said:

You see it as "a gun problem", but it's not as simple as that. It is much more than that.

Actually, I don't, up to a point. I know, all those guns would happily sit in a drawer or cupboard and not do any harm to anyone. And yes, it's way more complicated that that, sadly.

UK used to have a Mining badge, probably not going to make a comeback...different times...

"A Scout must have a general knowledge of one particular branch of the mining industry, such as coal, iron or other mineral, with the special dangers involved, and safeguards against them, and must have worked below the surface for not less than six months."

I'm not sure the classification matters. There was a list of 17 kids who were the same age as my Explorer Scouts when they were shot and killed. Same age as my own children. They are gone and the lives of those around them are in tatters..

38 minutes ago, Gwaihir said:

That's because it isn't true.  It's a nonsense number with no actual facts to back it up.  If there were 18 school shootings 6 weeks into the year, there would be 3 school shootings a week and Trump and Russia would have NEVER hit the news cycle. 

Yes, it's not true, I usually go to snopes, when I don't know who to believe, and it tells me....

https://www.snopes.com/2018/02/16/how-many-school-shootings-in-2018/

Firearm attacks during school hours: 7 (incidents resulting in injuries or deaths: 5) 

22 January: Italy High School, Italy, Texas – A 16-year-old student opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun in the school cafeteria, wounding another student.

22 January: NET Charter High School, Gentilly, Louisiana – An unknown person fired shots at students from a vehicle in the school parking lot. One person was injured (though not by gunfire).

23 January: Marshall County High School, Benton, Kentucky – A 15-year-old student opened fire with a handgun on school grounds, killing two and injuring 18.

25 January: Murphy High School, Mobile, Alabama – A student fired a handgun into the air during a fight with another student. No injuries were reported.

26 January: Dearborn High School, Dearborn, Michigan – Shots were fired during a fight in the school parking lot. No injuries were reported.

31 January: Lincoln High School, Philadelphia – A fight during a basketball game resulted in the shooting death of a 32-year-old man outside the school.

14 February: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida – A 19-year-old former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, killing 17 and injuring 14.

But what struck me wasn't the number, the amount, the statistics, fuel for a good discussion. I saw this list on a BBC article, with their ages, and it really took the wind out of my sails, not ashamed to say I get a little teared up every time I look at it...

The students who died were:

Alyssa Alhadeff, 14

Martin Duque, 14

Alaina Petty, 14

Alex Schachter, 14

Jaime Guttenberg, 14

Cara Loughran, 14

Gina Montalto, 14

Luke Hoyer, 15

Peter Wang, 15

Carmen Schentrup, 16

Nicholas Dworet, 17

Joaquin Oliver, 17

Helena Ramsey, 17

Meadow Pollack, 18

36 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

If you are the cop  school resource officer. I am not so sure about arming teachers...some of my son's teachers seem nuts. Really.

I'm slightly hesitant to wade into this sad and dispiriting mire, and I won't presume to know what's right for your country, I really hope for all our sakes that change is made for the better.

12 minutes ago, WisconsinMomma said:

Thanks for the discussion, this is good.  My concern with my sons' troop is that the camping coordinator tells them up front -- don't say Disney World -- on your survey about where you want to go and what you want to do.

And my thought is -- why not Disney?  Sure, it is expensive, but let them dream big and figure out how to make it happen or decide for themselves to adjust their plans.

I think I know where that co-ordinator is coming from. Every time he sits your boys down for a "where shall we go camping then?" and they all shout "DisneyLand!" and they get all excited and talk about DisneyLand and nothing else and when he says okay boys so that's $300 for the long weekend and they get all deflated and switch off.  The co-ordinator has heard it all before and they want to nip it in the bud. They probably don't mean specifically the mouse, but generally excessively expensive campouts that aren't necessarily very "scouty". Setting the scene to manage expectations possibly.

It's like when we do programme planning and ask our explorers what they want to do, and it's "yeah let's go paintballing and go-karting and quad biking and sky diving and buy a plane and all become pilots and and and"...and we go "yep, your budget for the term is £150. No, not each, total. So which three of you are go-karting while the others watch?"

11 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

I take it, the hotel is for American tourists?

And people attending weddings at Gilwell Park (additional revenue streams eh?), and scouters that just fancy a bit of comparative luxury.

9 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

It has an odd off taste...I read it was based on quinine water. It can be cheaper to drink Beer. I'd like to save the sugar for the excellent chocolates over there. (I was just talking about this at the scout meeting last night!) When our family was touring/backing the UK a few years ago we lived off the sandwich combos. It was a fun part of the day trying to decide which Crisp flavor to try "hmmm look Prawn, English Breakfast with HP sauce all in one chip".

I like the idea of calling together scouters...

Can't remember the last time I had Irn-Bru. I think I would drink beer in preference. Crisp flavours are entertaining, Worcestershire Sauce flavour *really* confused some Portuguese Scouts that were camping with us, on so many levels, from "they're ok I suppose" to "why did they do that?", then there's the pronunciation of it...

24 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

You (scouters) can ask questions and vote at a National meeting?  And the meeting is outdoors, not in some hotel?

I've never been, but I am fairly sure people can, yes, and it's at a campsite, but inside, in a big meeting hall, I think, or a giant marquee, there is a hotel at Gilwell Park.

On 2/12/2018 at 2:35 PM, Tampa Turtle said:

I dunna know get 2 Scots in a room and get 3 opinions.

Maybe sponsored by Iron-Bru. It's made from girders you know.

Apparently they changed the recipe recently, so it didn't have 15 spoons of sugar in every glass (my guess). Some Scots have been stockpiling the "old" bru.

Anyway, the UK also has a Gilwell Reunion every year, y'all are welcome, I think they have the UK AGM there at which anyone can attend. I assume votes and questions can be asked.

I was quite impressed, I went to an event at Gilwell Park for Explorer Scouts, just the 4000 or so, and the Chief Commissioner was there (basically the right hand man of Bear that does all the grunt work while Bear gladhands and signs autographs) and he was quite happy for me to ask him a specific question I had, and I'm pretty lowly.

I thought it was a UK thing too. But hey, world scouting is just an extension of Empire so we're all good selling i.scout to the great unwashed of WOSM

Actually, I do know that the world scout shop is run on behalf of WOSM in the UK. Maybe there's a crossover.

That iscout game, I suspect once the world scout shop get wind of it they'll get a cease and desist warning for infringing trademarks or copyright or something.

I thought it was just branding, a set of casual clothing that makes clear that the wearer is a scout. A play on iPad iPod iEtc.

Almost as soon as it was created, and PR people seem to nearly always have the UK high-ups in their iScout hoody and scarf tied in a friendship knot, supposition started that "proper" uniform was on its way out and we were basically a youth club and it was all going to hell in a handcart with all the casually dressed iscout degenerates.

49 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Proper pancakes with chocolate spread or nutella? No wonder we revolted.  We wanted freedom to cover our pancakes with maple syrup.

I'll let you have that one. At least that's sweet and not savoury. And my American History is sketchy at best so thanks for the history lesson.

49 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

I  cannot recall a Fat Tues before Valentines Day so I have to get Mrs.Schiff her sweets today. Already bought her some GSUSA lemon cookies which the Girl Scouts kindly placed in a Happy Valentine's Day bag.

You old romantic.

I bet there will be some awkward moments tomorrow as chocolates are given only to receive the reply "I've given them up for lent".

You mean like @Pselb?

If so...You type an @ sign and start typing the name, and select it from the list.