clemlaw

Before anybody shells out $1799 for the "generator", I suspect that it can't provide anywhere near 1250 watts on an ongoing basis. It appears to be a very good inverter, a largish storage battery, and the panels. The _inverter_ can provide a maximum of 1200 watts. So if the battery is fully charged, it will indeed run something that draws 10 amps. There aren't any other specs given (not even the size), but based on the apparent size of the solar panels, they put out considerably less than 1200 watts. So if you only need to run your power tools for a few minutes after a long sunny

>>I just don't like them from a functional standpoint.

As my sainted ninth-grade English teacher taught, "loose goose lose whose". Just remember which one it rhymes with, and you can't go wrong.

I actually have very little experience with a Dutch oven, but my inexperience is actually a good thing, since I naively believed that it was a form of oven, and just like the oven at home, can be used to bake things, such as bread! My inexperience paid off, since the bread baked just fine. We have a bread machine at home, so I used it to mix some dough a few days before the trip, and refrigerated it. I let it rise for a while (in the DO, I believe) and then added some charcoal. I believe I let it bake for about the same amount of time specified by the recipe for a normal oven. I s

I actually have very little experience with a Dutch oven, but my inexperience is actually a good thing, since I naively believed that it was a form of oven, and just like the oven at home, can be used to bake things, such as bread! My inexperience paid off, since the bread baked just fine. We have a bread machine at home, so I used it to mix some dough a few days before the trip, and refrigerated it. I let it rise for a while (in the DO, I believe) and then added some charcoal. I believe I let it bake for about the same amount of time specified by the recipe for a normal oven. I s

>>>>Just a suggestion of additional important figures to add

I'll be on staff the second week of the Jamboree as Radio Merit Badge Counselor at K2BSA, the amateur radio station. It sounds like I won't be wearing the full uniform most days, but if I'm in uniform, you'll be able to spot me as the one wearing Cub Scout shoulder strips. My normal BSA position is Cubmaster of my son's pack.

I served as a Merit Badge Counselor this past weekend at a "Merit Badge College" type of event. The other counselor and I were only able to sign off one of the six scouts attending, mostly because the other scouts had done very little advance preparation. Now, in fairness to those scouts (none of whom grumbled about it), the e-mail that was sent out to them before the event wasn't totally clear on what they needed to do, and it was only sent out a couple of days before the event. The scouts have the contact information for the other counselor and me, and we're hopeful that some of them

I consider it humorous, although others might be horrified. At my Wolf Cub Scout's school, they had a table full of free books. My son spotted one with a BSA emblem on it and brought it home. From the vague description, my guess was that it was a MB pamphlet. It turns out it was an OA Handbook, circa 2000. It was in pristine condition, and had the price tag from a local used book store. My guess is that Junior went off to college, and the parents unloaded some of his old books. For those who are horrified, don't worry--I took it out of circulation. :-)

>>>>>I was in the Scout Hut last week, and I saw her weekly list of BOY Scout stuff she drills them on, and I call No Fun.

Most magazines are in pretty desperate shape these days, and if you shop around, you can generally get a subscription to almost anything for pretty close to zero. It's usually not quite zero, since they need to tell their advertisers that you're a paid subscriber. Sometimes (but not always), the renewal will be at a higher price. I wouldn't be surprised if BL was in that category. If you run across another such deal, I would recommend buying a subscription for a local library. My son enjoys getting his (and I'm careful to keep it in pristine condition if I get my hands on it befor

It looks like I'm a little bit late to this thread. (I've been away for a while, but the site seems to be working better now.) I'll be on the staff of the Jamboree, for one week. (Partly because getting away for two weeks would be difficult, and partly because I only have to pay half the fee, and I can handle $400.) I'll be on the staff of the amateur radio station, K2BSA, which will probably include serving as a counselor for Radio MB. My only prior Jamboree experience was in 1973 as a Scout, and it sounds like it will be much different. There were two Jamborees that year. I

>>>>>Then he asked those who achieved Eagle to remain standing. All I can remember thinking at that time is how I have been to about 30 Roundtables, staffed 4 district camping events, attended 6 or 7 district or council camporees, and served two years as District Popcorn Chairman. Why have I never met any of you?

Thanks, Turtle. Wow, I'm amazed that (1) you saw the page previously and (2) you remember it. That internet thingie is pretty big!

Mr. Anderson was also a ham radio operator, and I also saw this at a number of radio sites: http://www.arrl.org/news/scoutmaster-arthur-anderson-w9wph-stabbed-to-death-on-hiking-trip

On my website, I have the following web page: http://www.w0is.com/outdoor/Coffee.html This is a someone tongue-in-cheek description of how to make coffee without electricity. I wrote this after encountering many people who insisted on camping only in electrical sites, because they assumed that it was impossible to make coffee without the use of electricity. On that page, it mentions the fact that you can light your gas stove with a match, even if the power is out. Over the last couple of days, I've gotten hundreds of hits. Most of the people got there from Google, and mos

>>>>>>No, not the perfect scenario, but it wasn't a "scouter died" story and he did use a skill he learned to keep safe and alive in 31 degree weather.

I very rarely use "traditional scouting skills" because I need to do so. Somewhat more often, I use "traditional scouting skills" for some purpose other than an outdoors or camping activity. I've never had to do repairs by using lashings in outer space, but I frequently tie things to the top of the car, where most other people would use a truck to move the object in question. It turns out that "rope" is quite effective to solve many common problems. In fact, I'm surprised that more people don't use it, because most of the times I use it, a granny knot would actually get the job done.

I would simply include a sentence or two, in Spanish, at the bottom to the effect of, "if you have any questions about Cub Scouts, please call _________", and give the Pack Secretary's name and phone number. Maybe include one or two sentences paraphrasing the rest of the flyer, "Boys in 1st through 5th grade will have fun in Cub Scouts--Pack 1234 meets on Tuesday nights," or whatever. That way, you're not implying anything, and she can explain how your Pack works when they call. Chances are, you already have someone else's name and phone number for contact information. She's the lo

>>>>>Have the requirements become easier, or is that just a perception?

>>>>>>Generally speaking, I'd say it's easier to do than most people would think. Just nice, slow and steady.

I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall that I had "edible plants" for Second Class. This would have been about 1972, right before they switched over to the "improved" program. We actually ate a few, and ironically, from that exercise, I know the answer to number 12: 12. Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation. "Because you probably won't get enough energy from the few known safe things that you find to really be worth the trouble." But it's still fun. And I also know that after the collapse of society

A "pack activity" doesn't necessarily entail a lot of planning. IMHO, you could just send out an announcement that "we're going to meet at the ______ museum at _______ PM." Just make sure a couple of leaders are going to be there. If you meet there, then parents need to take care of transportation, and many or most of them will stick around for the event. We're also in Minnesota, and our two activities have consisted of fishing at a county park and a train ride (this afternoon--come and join us!): http://www.trainride.org For the train ride, we didn't worry about advance rese

I don't have any figures to go on, but I strongly suspect that the percentage is higher today. Perhaps part of the reason is the existence somewhere of the dreaded "Eagle Mills". But I think a much bigger reason for a higher percentage is not a higher numerator (number of Eagles), but a lower denominator (number of kids in Scouting in the first place). Back in my day, our troop contained mostly kids who had no particular interest in Scouting. They were there because (1) their parents thought it was a good idea, and (2) in general, they had fun at most of the activities, so they did

>>>>Lets see, who have we insulted so far: Young Eagles (like me). Scout leaders who are Eagles (like me). Dads who earned Eagle who encourage their kids to earn it (like me).