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mrkstvns

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Everything posted by mrkstvns

  1. If you get somebody to listen to you, they might point out that kids might then believe us and demand that we GO DO STUFF. We'd have to train leaders to GO DO STUFF and not sit in University of Scouting classrooms talking about Religious Emblems, Commissioner College, etc. We'd have to tell our out-of-shape, old-timers and Weight Watchers to stay home if they need a CPAP and an oxygen tank and a wheelchair and a parking spot next to their tent and a.....
  2. Steaming hot comfort food, smothered in cheesy goodness. Nothing satisfies a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy quite like a meaty, cheesy, potato casserole... INGREDIENTS 2 pound bag frozen tater tots 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 pound ground beef 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup milk DIRECTIONS Heat coals for dutch oven. Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain fat. Add soup and milk to ground beef. Mix. Line dutch oven with foil. Put a layer of tater tots in Dutch oven. Cover with meat mixture. Top with grated cheese. Repeat la
  3. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll make a comeback one day. Hopefully, along with leisure suits, nehru jackets, and platform shoes!
  4. The New York Times ran an interesting in-depth article about how it's going with girls being welcomed into BSA. An interesting take-away that I saw was that BSA recruitment numbers have been down in recent years, and that the new opportunities for girls may represent a potential growth opportunity. That's really "potential" though so far, since the article pointed out that while 8,000 girls have joined scout troops, there are still more than 1.7 million girls who are involved with Girl Scouts USA. Perhaps the people who seem gloom and doom in girls saying "Scout Me In" will end up seeing
  5. Many scouts have precisely that view. OA is often viewed as something that comes automatically with First Class rank (since most scouts will have enough camping nights and most scouts will not get an automatic rejection by the SM). Then the OA election becomes a kind of "reverse popularity contest" with all but the quietest or quirkiest kid getting voted in. I wish the OA in practice was closer to the OA described in theory (i.e., the honor organization).
  6. Ah yes, the turned under collar....I haven't seen that done in years (though it might because our unit prefers the bolo). Do very many scouts today turn their collars under?
  7. Right. Arbitrary "rules" made up on the fly are obstacles to the scouts. They are inappropriate and reflect bad leadership. Scouts and parents are 10,000 percent right to feel surprised, offended, and cheated by these kinds of policies. On the other hand, SM discretion is important. The kinds of problems/issues/abuses that qwayse described in his post are valid reasons for a SM to exercise his discretion. The SM needs to guide and lead the troop on their path to development as quality young men with leadership and strong values.
  8. Just to clarify general BSA camping requirements.... First Class requires participation in 10 troop activities, 6 of which include overnight camping (so it's not, strictly speaking, "nights of camping", but more "campouts") OA eligibility requires 15 nights of camping over a 2-year period Camping merit badge requires 20 nights of camping
  9. Thanks for your comments, SSScout! You better be careful about inviting me out for coffee and pie. I grew up in D.C., have family in Maryland so "pass through" the area often, and I can eat quite a lot of pie...
  10. An interesting point... By extension, the Scoutmaster and SPL should keep that in mind and offer the Scouts Own Service as an opportunity for those who choose to participate, but attendance should be optional --- not required for everyone in the unit.
  11. It's a puzzler, isn't it? Unless a troop is hyper-active and has multiple campouts every month, I'd also wonder how a scout is able to meet the camping requirements in less than a year...
  12. Have you ever noticed how different scouts often wear their neckerchiefs very differently? Some roll them up tight and wear them perfectly even. Some just loosely roll them with a couple flips before stuffing them into a neckerchief slide. Some troops opt for the bolo instead of a neckerchief, and some scouts seem to forget that neckwear is even a part of the uniform. Check out this picture: the scout on the left has a very tightly rolled neckerchief, while his friend and right-hand-man barely rolls it at all... How do you like to see a neckerchief being worn??
  13. Scouts working on their "Communication" merit badge need to lead one of 3 types of troop events: a Court of Honor, a Campfire, or a "Scouts Own" Interfaith Worship. Over the years, I've noticed that the boys view being the Court of Honor MC as the most prestigious of the three, leading a Campfire as the most fun, and that leaves "Scouts Own" Interfaith services as the event that is least often done (but by extension, is the most available to any scout who wants to knock out the requirement because most of the other boys won't be fighting over the role -- view that option as an opportunity
  14. That was always my understanding as well. But lately, I've seen Nova Counselor application forms that are submitted to District and that also seem to be asking you to "specialize" in certain awards... http://big-cypress.shac.org/Data/Sites/4/media/attachments/shac_stem_novacounselorapp.pdf This struck me as odd because when the NOVA program first rolled out, I attended a training where we were told Nova Counselor was a unit-level position whereas Supernova Mentor was a district- or council-level position. The more things change, the more things confuse the absolute bejee
  15. One question that I have about these new awards rolling out is whether Counselors and Mentors are supposed to fill out a new information sheet / application form. The form that I recall having completed when I registered as a Counselor and Mentor asked for specific awards that I would counsel....of course, these new awards aren't listed on my application, but I definitely do want to help scouts work on them (they sound pretty exciting!).
  16. The BSA just rolled out several new NOVA awards for Cubs, Scouts BSA, and Venturer/Sea Scouts. The new STEM awards focus on long-obvious gaps in the STEM disciplines of computer science and biological sciences. Computer science awards (TECHNOLOGY) include: Cub Scouts: Cub Scouts Can Code Scouts BSA: Hello World Venturers: Execute Biological science awards (SCIENCE) include: Scouts BSA: Mendels Minions (Genetics) Venturers: What a Life NOVA Counselors, Supernova Mentors, and Unit leaders and parents who want to explore BSA's STEM award progra
  17. I'm kind of embarassed to admit it, but until I started reading the forums on this site, I had NO idea who Bear Grylls even was...
  18. Regional Jamborees sounds like a great concept. I enjoy scouting events of all types and really enjoy meeting my fellow scouters from other troops, towns, states etc. We've got a lot of excellent people in this organization! Wish I had a chance to shake hands with all of 'em...
  19. Perhaps the 2016 event is what precipitated the change in policy... From the kids' perspective, what's the point of buying a bow if you can't shoot it?
  20. It's troubling that today's society allows this kind of thing to happen.
  21. When snipe season is outlawed, only outlaws will have a snipe season.
  22. You must not be a hunter or you would know that it comes right after snipe season.
  23. IMHO, the best way to handle these situations is to let the kid race his car, but quietly, disqualify it from moving past round 1.
  24. So surprising that the Momoa thing happened at all....after all, the newspaper article said mom was "a marketing professional". Most professionals I know have heard of ethics and intellectual property. Professionals know you don't use images that aren't your own. On the other hand, I would definitely buy that Sofia Vergara Hot Hot popcorn...
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