CalicoPenn

So I wonder which came first - the Lewis Black starbucks comedy routine or the scene in the Christopher Guest movie Best in Show from 2000 about a Westminster like dog show where the yuppie couple from Chicago talk about how they met when they noticed each other at separate Starbucks kity corner from each other.

I prefer local places - nearby is a Spunky Dunkers which has great cake donuts - and if I'm passing one of the two that I know of, the Country Donuts in Elgin or Crystal Lake has the best melt in your mouth crullers I've ever had. But if I had to choose between a Dunkin Donuts and a Krispy Kreme (assuming there is no Tim Horton's nearby - and yes, there are places you can get Tim Horton's in the US) then I'm going to choose Dunkin based on two criteria: 1) Better Selection and 2) You can't buy them in a grocery store like you can buy Krispy Kremes - any donuts you can buy in a Walmart, T

I'm wasn't advocating more required skills courses - I was advocating that the BSA develop more advanced skills courses that can be offered to volunteers on an annual or biannual basis - someting interested parties in a District could offer across district boundaries, or even something that could be offered as a more formalized training at summer camp - while the Scouts are out earning Merit Badges, the Leaders could be spending time learning too. There are all these "commissioner college" courses out there - why no advanced outdoor skills courses?

Can you tell us what has been significantly watered down? Are they skipping some of the topics? Are they reducing the time on them? What does that mean?? Every once in a while we get this kind of topic - how the IOLS course isn't comprehensive enough, that it doesn't cover topics in much depth. And every time, I just silently shake my head and wonder what part of Introduction do people not quite get. It's an introductory course - it's enough to get you started - it's not going to give you advanced knowledge of outdoor skills. It's mostly designed to get folks comfortable with the out

Yep - that's the way to handle it. There are no right or wrong answers to this question (though I do know people that would disagree). Some things that might be desirable to some folks would be essential to others and vis-a-versa. A good example would be bottled water. In most of the United States, where good, potable water comes from the nearest tap, bottled water would probably be considered desirable. But if you live somewhere where the water has large amounts of lead, or where a disaster like a flood has overwhelmed the water supply, then bottled water would be an essential. I

I'd like to add a contrary voice - just to give you (and your SPL) something to consider, and how appropriate that you ask the day before Independence Day, arguably the United State's most sacred day and definitely the most patriotic day. One of the goals of the BSA is to instill patriotic citizenship in the Scouts. What's that phrase I've heard bandied about during some of our membership controversies? We want our Scouts to be the best kind of citizens they can be??? Do you have any veterans in your unit? Any of the parents veterans? How about in the sponsoring organization? Do y

Maybe we should allow some electronics in the field - I have a pad set-up to access the internet over a mobile network - in essence, the pad is it's own wi-fi device - and as long as it can reach a cell tower, it can access the internet - then statements like the above can be checked in the field (apologies to Stosh in advance - I admit to being a precisionist when it comes to facts which means I can come across as pedantic). "Not all evergreens are pine trees and not all evergreens keep their needles year around" - As written, partially true - spruce and fir are not pine trees and are eve

Armor polishing for ren-faire jousting knights?

Hi - welcome to the forum! The BSA admits the list is not comprensive (it surprises me that one of the most common power tools, the hand drill, is not mentioned) but you should be able to use the list that is there to determine what those age limits might be. For instance, I would equate a snowblower with a lawnmower so would say 16 plus (there is a "deck" between the operator and the rotating blade the same way there is a deck between the operator and the rotating blade of a lawn mower - and most lawn mowers and snowblowers have the same kind of safety handle where when you let it go,

I don't see what David's CO is doing as adding to any requirements, nor are they subtracting from any requirements - what thy are doing is denying Scouts the opportunity to advance at their own pace. It's just not the same as a Scoutmaster denying someone their advancement by requiring additional nights of camping, or requiring another merit badge. They aren't saying their Scouts can't advance, they're just delaying when Scouts going through their confirmation process can start earning service hours. If they want to do that, I suppose that's ok (though I can also see how some could inter

No one has noticed that the Boy Scouts approved Chunky - a FAT funny 15 year old Scout? Apparently the physically fit = not fat crowd weren't around then and the BSA was being run by people who know that boys come in all shapes and sizes.

What does your son want to do? Ask him and you'll have your answer.

The current charitable mileage write off rate is 14 cents per mile so a 1,200 mile trip will get you a write off of $168. Don't know what kind of mileage you get but lets assume 25 miles to the gallon - 1200/25 = 48 gallons used. Let's assume $2.50 a gallon x 48 = $120. Choice is yours

Dues = $10 Spring Fellowship (Ordeals, Brotherhood, Vigil) = $50 for Ordeal candidates, $20 pre-registration, $25 regular registration - all others Fall Fellowship - same as Spring costs - Vigil ceremony not done Banquet = $30 LLD = $10 Section Conclave = $40 pre-registered, $40 regular registration Assuming no pre-registrations and not an Ordeal candidate, and attending every event: $140.00 per year. $165 for first year Ordeal member. Not a bad deal at all

Forget about being a good Merit Badge Counselor - aim for being a GREAT Merit Badge Counselor. Knowing the strokes is a technical thing - you probably do most if not all of them already, you just don't know the names for them - that'll come (the best teachers are those that admit that they don't know everything they need to teach at the start of their careers but have realized that they'll not only learn it but master it as they're teaching others - and then once they master those, look for new things to teach for the challenge of learning and mastering new things. So what makes on a grea

Only one problem with that Backpacker challenge - it's impossible to do 42.9 miles across 4 states on the AT. The proposal starts in PA, goes through Maryland, West Virginia then Virginia. Only one problem. The AT in Maryland is 40.9 miles long. In West Virginia, a section of the tral is along the border of West Virginia and Virginia but there is 4 miles of unshared trali in West Virginia. If I've added them up together correctly, that's 44.9 miles through Maryland and West Virginia alone - which is 2 miles longer than called for in the "4-state challenge".

Snarly - it sounds to me like the Church is still wanting to sponsor the Troop. By all means, contact the commissioners staff - start with the District Commissioner (not the Council Commissioner - it's a fine idea but jumping over the District Commissioner directly to the Council Commissioner is a bridge you don't need to burn). But more to the point - the SM has absconded with the unit's gear - a unit that is controlled by the CO. You should also encourage the COR and IH to send a certified letter to the Scoutmaster demanding the return of all the unit's gear, as well as any keys he and

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers?

I'm sorry - a what? A Customer Satisfaction Survey? For a Boy Scout Troop? Whoever is asking for that really needs to get trained so they understand the Scouting program. It's not a business and your families/Scouts are not "Customers". There are two opportunities for every rank to see how satisfied the Scouts are (I don't really care if mom and dad are satisfied - I already know they'll never be satisfied because parents tend to have agendas quite separate from the Scouts). Your "surveys" are the Scoutmaster Conference and the Board of Review. The Scoutmaster Conference is a great o

I wear neutral colors in the woods - except during deer hunting season when I will wear a blaze orange vest when hiking, even if I'm not hunting. As has been mentioned, bright colors attract blackflies, mosquitos, deer flies and horse flies. They are also a signal beacon to every animal in the woods - ever want a chance to see a deer? Then don't wear neon colors - it's such an unnatural color that deer won't even wait around to determine if your a threat if they see it, they just go. If you're wearing neutral colors, they tend to stick around a little longer to make sure you're a threat be

It certainly can count and that's entirely up to you folks to decide if it does or not. I would suggest, however; that if the only thing done at the police station is a talk on bicycle safety that you consider not making it count towards the other requirement. I would want to add a tour of the police station as a component of the outing to qualify for the visit to an emergency response agency. Even then, I think I would still try to do a tour of a fire station, even if you don't count it towards the requirement just because Tigers and Fire Stations really seem to go hand in hand - and m

Welcome to the forums - I thought you said Sunny California - I always thought of Northern California as Foggy (or maybe that's just San Francisco).

I thru-hiked the AT from Katahdin to Springer (Maine to Georgia - most go from Georgia to Maine - I wanted to get the 100 mile wilderness out of the way early in the trip - not at the end of the trip when I would likely be far more exhausted) back in 1981. The trail has changed a lot since then. Back when I hit the trail, folks around the trail didn't really like thru-hikers much - there were places with hiker hostels but "trail angels" were very few and far between. You were as likely to be robbed, or beaten while heading in to town as you wetre to be offered a friendly ride. You never le

Don't sweat the small stuff - and remember, it's all small stuff

That sounds to me like a legislature trying to have it's cake and eat it too. In Illinois, though the universities are run as a public corporation with most operational control granted to the Trustees, the Trustees are appointed by the Governor with advise and consent of the State Senate, and the operations are subject to laws passed by the General Assembly. Because of this I used a much broader concept of State - I include things like the university system and the tollway authority where boards that are not elected but are appointed by the governor/assembly. I know the Trustee's have ha