mrkstvns

It's sometimes easy to forget WHY scouts (and scouters) come to scouts....it's the promise of OUTDOOR ADVENTURE. When we lose sight of that, we lose sight of anything that makes scouting special and that differentiates it from ordinary youth activities. Here are 5 web sites that I think every scouter should visit periodically as they scout their way across the web... Outdoor Project: Excellent resource for ideas for places to explore, things to make the adrenaline rush, and ways to do it efficiently, safely, comfortably, and ethically. https://www.outdoorproject.com/

My son's patrol sometimes likes ramen --- especially on backpacking trips. At first glance, that might seem to be a cheaper lunch or dinner, but in practice, it's often not. The reason is because ramen by itself is not particularly satisfying. When the boys have ramen for a meal, they virtually always mix in something: occasionally dried peas, but more often, diced chicken (like Sweet Sue, which sells for about $1.50 per pouch). If you buy a pouch of chicken for every scout and 2 packs of ramen, you're up to about $10 for a patrol of 6 scouts (though the ramen itself is a small fraction

Could it be time for the scouts in your unit to earn an International Spirit Award? Maybe....especially since one of the requirements is to participate in Jamboree on the Air or Jamboree on the Internet and both events are coming up in about 6 weeks time...if you want it, now is the time to plan how to make it happen. Requirements and application: https://i9peu1ikn3a16vg4e45rqi17-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/International-Spirit-Award-app.130-044.pdf Info about Jamboree on the Air (October 18-19, 2019): https://www.scouting.org/jota/

Now hold on just one second there! I said I wanted QUALITY content, so any cash raised has to go to those who check their facts and write like professionals! The way I see it, y'all owe ME a whole heapin' pile of Benjamins... Please make the check payable to "mrkstvns".

Uh, yeah, sure.... And I'd like free donuts for life and hot swimsuit models to entertain me for free and a free Ferrari to get around town in. There's an old adage that "you get what you pay for<' and as the world has discovered, when information is available for no cost, it also tends to have no value (or even a negative value). I would prefer BSA pay professional writers to actually research their material, and to write it professionally using good communication skills that they paid real money to develop in real universities. I would prefer BSA to pay real fact checkers a

When you were a new scout, you had to explain to your Scoutmaster or ASM why patrols eat together. Do you remember that conversation? Have you ever thought about it since then? When we eat together as a patrol, we unite as a team and a family. We learn to rely on each other and trust each other not to always burn all of the pancakes. When we eat together, we talk, we laugh, we share stories and we know that we belong. All of us like junk food, but we all know it's not good for us and we can't live on junk food alone. When we get together as a patrol to plan our meals, we talk abo

I'm a white guy who burns pretty easily if I spend too much time outdoors. I live in Texas too, where the summers are even fiercer than in a lot of places with more shade and milder climates. Of course that means I worry about having sun block when I go outside, along with a water bottle and a hat. In recent years, I've added another weapon to my arsenal of sun defense: my shirt. Like most people, casual outdoor attire usually calls for me to wear a T-shirt. When I'm out with the scouts, that usually means I'm wearing a "Class B" T-shirt. The problem with the typical Class B is that it

I wouldn't wear one on the uniform, but I would certainly consider wearing it on a hat or jacket while out on the range.

ASPLs and SPL with older scout patrol (aka, leadership corps). JASM dines with adults because he is an ASM.

In another thread, several scouters said that their typical campout food budget is $10 per person. As an exercise in frugality, I've been thinking about how LOW I could get the cost for a reasonable menu that won't leave anyone hungry. For a patrol of 6 campers, I came up with the following menu that I can buy at my local Aldi (selecting their private labels) for $2.55 per person for 4 meals (2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 1 dinner). Note: prices vary at different Aldi stores, even within the same market Can any of y'all beat my menu? Breakfast: (this is enough for 2 mea

Well, scotteg83 said the current fee is $33, so I would guess that doubling that will cause families to pause. I think more than a $33 increase would be ill-advised.

This is not something I would stock in a first aid kit. I think the likelihood of scouts or scouters being opioid abusers is (thankfully) low, and the naloxone is best left to real emergency response personnel who are trained to recognize the symptoms and use. Our troop's "first" aid kit is already overstocked. It's more like a well equipped hospital pharmacy than a first aid kit. Except that it's chock full of outdated things we never needed (and really never should have had). But some adults just can't help but get carried away by the "be prepared" slogan.....oh my Gosh! What i

It's part of Surbaugh's new marketing campaign...."Scout me OUT!"

Some of our unit's fundraising activities put money into a scout account. Funds in that account can be used for various purposes, such as summer camp, troop activitiy fees, or the annual charter fees. The unit also has a small "training scholarship" fund that goes towards sending scouts to NYLT.

A military veteran will donate a trailer to the scouts to replace their stolen one. The local VFW also threw in a $300 check to use towards replacing camping equipment. Story: https://www.kmov.com/news/veteran-donates-trailer-to-boy-scout-troop-after-theirs-was/article_b65a1248-e0be-11e9-b184-13b39e0ebe0e.html

I think the markings help identify the trailer. It's also a sign of pride in the troop, and it may aid PR/recruitment. I don't think it hurts: after all, according to that article, 12 other trailers were stolen in the area, and I'll bet thieves got much more valuable booty out of those trailers than the tents and camp stoves they got from scouts.

Unfortunately, removing tires, putting the trailer up on blocks, and locking the tires inside the trailer is a lot of work to put on whoever the adults are who are pulling the trailer to/from campouts. I'll bet the process wouldn't last long.... To be effective, whatever locking solution you use needs to be easy enough that the trailer can be secured within a few minutes of arriving home from a campout, otherwise, your parents won't want to do it.

A Boy Scout troop in Beaverton Oregon had their trailer stolen from a church parking lot... https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/beaverton-boy-scout-troops-trailer-camping-gear-stolen/

Well, Latin Scot, you're right. That's what the policy says, but don't you think that maybe the policy is the MINIMUM amount of Flair we should put on our uniforms? And maybe some of us might want to express ourselves a little more loudly.... Look at perdidochas over there....he has 37 pieces of Flair on his uniform. No, I'm not saying you need to add lots of blinking lights and clown emblems to your uniform....unless maybe you feel it lets you be you.... Why do I feel like these discussions of rogue uniform practices always sound so much like Jennifer Aniston getting a lecture

🙂 Youch! That would be a painful mistake! A few of the funny grubmaster faux pas that I've witnessed include.... * Grubmaster planned a pork chop dinner for his patrol of 7 scouts. Dinner time came and ...ooops! .... looks like there's only 6 pork chops in the package! How did the scouts solve their problem? Well, there's 7 scouts and only 6 pork chops, so obviously, only 6 scouts would eat pork chops. Later, the Scoutmaster found out, and the patrol had a "Scoutmaster conference" about fairness and problem solving... * Grubmaster planned to serve hamburgers for dinner

Some people might think that McDonalds serves better breakfast food than the classic Egg McMuffin. They're wrong, but they still think it. The key to making an Egg McMuffin that looks like the ones you get at the drive-thru window is RINGS. You need a good ring mold to keep the eggs shaped correctly while it fries and to make sure the egg is the right thickness. Buy that handy little gadget, and you are on the road to fast food breakfast nirvana right there at your camp site! Here's where you can get the egg rings: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/tablecraft-1240-four-4-black-

Oh. And here I was thinking that we can't have our convicted felons learning to be "Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly...."

When I was little, my brothers and I engaged in a lot of sibling riflery. I miss my brothers...

A Virginia Scout sold $88,000 worth of popcorn last year, making him the #1 popcorn salesman in BSA. Over the last few years, he's racked up over $200,000 in sales. This year, he's helping other scouts learn how to sell more. The story: https://www.richmond.com/business/goochland-teen-was-nation-s-top-boy-scouts-popcorn-seller/article_68f766f4-f079-55ba-b81a-a90bed803e43.html

When marshmallows are outlawed, only outlaws will have marshmallows.