fotoscout

Everything the young kids do today is a competition. All of the youth sports key on competition over sportsmanship or skills development. School, clothing, toys, even YuGiOh is a competitive card game. And then theres Gameboy, a one man (boy) competition against the computer. Lets not forget that the kids are very keen to the competitive outcomes and they are not shy to say YOU LOSE, I WIN. Everyone needs to compete once in a while to prove himself and hopefully have some fun at it, but I think its gotten out of hand. I have boys who truly dont understand anything unless its explained in a competitive context. Some cant engage in an activity without turning it into some sort of competition. I happen to think its very sad. Complete dont Compete is something I constantly repeat to my boys, I hope it sticks.

I especially like the blue socks with the orange trim. Socks must be a high profit item. This uniform topic was brought up at a District meeting this week. Everyone laughed and shook their heads. Apparently the DChair and DC had previously talked about this. They had the greatest laugh, and kiddingly let us know that this particular discussion had to be continued in the parking lot. To say the least, there was not much support for this change. I would not be surprised to see our Council come up with a plan of their own. Maybe, Pack tee shirts and uniform pants. The official notification puts this in the contexts of more fully integrating the Tigers with the Pack. To me this sounds utterly ridiculous. The issue of integrating the Tigers is a training issue, not a uniform issue. As it is right now, some Packs fully integrate their Tigers and some dont. All it would take to have full integration is an instruction to make the Tigers and equal part of the pack. Remember $92.36!

Its always fun to survive the rain, and I like listening to stories about those who braved the weather as much as anyone else. On the other hand I have great respect for those that pack up and leave when the weather begins to trend in a direction that they are not comfortable with. I am even more impressed with those people who talk about leaving their campsite because of the weather! Safety first, bragging rights much later.

We've been told that if a lone youth female in a Ventureing crew goes on an outing, there must be another adult female present. Even if the youth's father is on the trip. The reason given is that there are "things" that the girl might not be comfortable talking about with her father. One could assign the same logic to this problem, and require that there be another female on the trip.

I dont think that any parent could get away with only one blue uniform than move to the tan & green. The boys grow too fast, the size difference between a Tiger and a Bear is huge. Personally I really dislike seeing the boys in uniforms that are way-way too big for them, it just looks sloppy. A little big is OK but too big is NG. Aside from that, many of the parents dont bother to shorten the pants which then become a real safety hazard. I also think that it would be a shame to do away with the blue uniform requirement. That blue uniform is a billboard for Cub Scouts nationwide. I happen to think that it is more recognizable than the BS uniform and has been thru all the iterations of the BS uniform. If what ScoutNut tells us is true, the Cub Scouts will never be uniformed. Some will wear blue, and some will wear tan & green. Uniformed means everyone in the same uniform. Is this a move forward or backward?

I've not heard anything about this. But, I guess it's not such a bad idea. It's one less uniform to purchase! With the Webelos move to the khaki uniform, the number of blue uniforms ordered by BSA was bound to drop off and result in higher prices. This would probably keep the number of blue uniforms made by the supplier fairly constant and with it the price may remain steady. There are certainly a ton of question that go along with this, like, will Tiger parents be willing to pay $92.36 (yes thats the catalog price for a full CS uniform), for a Tigers uniform? Hey, I didn't realize that the tongue was animated! That's pretty cool.

Bob, the suspense is killing me! Which ones did you pick?

I staffed a Webelos event last weekend. It was about 200 kids and the same number of adults. The chairmen of the event wanted to make sure that the staffers, adults & boys, were visible to the participants so he got us all some really neat hats to wear. He shouldnt have bothered. What a motley looking bunch of people. We, the staff, were clearly visible as the only ones in a proper uniform. Not more than 25% of the kids had on a full uniform. Of the parents, probably 20% of them were leaders and almost none of them were in a proper uniform. I couldnt tell who looked sloppier, the kids or the parents. Its no wonder FOG saw what he did at the BS event he attended.

He was just talking, and there is no reason to think that anything detrimental to the Troop would come of it. Please remember that this man is not a Scouter, and is not connected to the CO. I'm quite sure that his son would be the first to know if something was stirring that would impact his Troop.

Before I did anything I would ask if there was another parent willing to take the position that was also willing to take the training. Once you've established this fall back position, you can confidently go the ADL that refuses to take training and make your case. If she still refuses, you can tell her, "thank you for your service, but I have another interested parent that is willing to be trained". Alternatively, you could offer her some other less demanding job, and suggest that she use her extra time to be trained. Perhaps next year she can return as a Den Leader.

Hi Folks, I wont say which side of the issue he was on because it really has no bearing on why I started this thread. The man is entitled to his beliefs; I just think he could have found a more suitable venue to discuss them. As for talking to his son the SM, I wont do that either. Its not my place to meddle in, or instigate a family dialog, and, the discussion had no bearing on unit issues that I should be aware of. FOG, I suspect that youre probably on the right track with his intentions.

Maybe you want to save those two big flags to be used in a stand alone flag ceremony that is not connected to some other event?? You would have more time to effectively use them if you did that.

Wednesday night I had the privilege of presenting for the District at an Eagle Court of Honor. Actually, Im still a little humbled by the invitation. Anyway, it was a really nice ceremony with all the trimmings including a live bugler. Afterwards I hung around for a while talking to different people. At one point, I entered into a conversation with the new Eagles grandfather. Although the grandfather was not a scout, the boys father is the SM for his troop, and I expected the boys grandfather to be focused on his grandsons achievement. But with everything thats was going on that evening, this man wanted to talk about the issue(s). I gently moved the conversation in another direction and ultimatly I was saved by the IH, a Pastor no less. I cant help but think about how out of place that discussion was, and about the extent to which the issues(s) have shaped the national dialog about Scouting. How disappointing! foto. (This message has been edited by fotoscout)

Im a huge advocate of buying high quality equipment, but I have to agree with Eamonn. Cubs, even Webelos cannot camp during the colder weather months and unless you have a bunch of real camping families they are not going to tough-it-out during very bad weather at other times of the year. So I dont feel that there is a need for the parents to spend big bucks on high quality gear just yet. A 30-40 degree bag is probably OK. They are not backpacking, so packed size doesnt matter either. If it rains, well so what, even if it was a good bag it might get wet anyway, and this has little bearing with respect to a short local trip for Webelos. Aside from that, no bag is entirely waterproof (suffocation hazard) the better bags just dont lose their insulating qualities when they become wet, but thats not important because you wont be camping when its really cold. The one thing that you may want to do is to instruct them to buy a Youth Size bag. They will be warmer, and a little less bulky. As a Webelos leader, your task is to get the boys thru the Webelos program, and yes that includes some camping and outdoor activities. But the Heavy Duty camping should wait until they are Boy Scouts. The remaining issue is one of MONEY. Some of the boys may not move on to Boy Scouts. Some Troops have very specific sleeping bag requirements. You dont want some parent going out today to buy a $150.00 sleeping bag that will be unacceptable by the Troop standards next year.

Packing the gear, and how many pockets the pack has are really secondary issues (not unimportant, but secondary), in time you'll learn to deal with those things . External and Internal framed backpacks carry differently, as do different manufactures and styles of packs. You should really find a local store that will help you fit the pack and allow you to try on some different models. Then choose from the most comfortable models. I have an Internal frame Gregory Whitney. The great thing about Gregory packs is that they can really be customized to your body. Its true that you can hang everything including the kitchen sink from an external frame pack, but do you really want to do that? It might be wiser for you to build into your system, some kind of limiting device like an internal frame pack. In that way you will prevent yourself from carrying too much stuff.

I have a Thermarest Backpacker lite. It's a little narrower than my Thermarast Camp Rest, but it's fine for short trips. I've had the Camp Rest for 10 or more years, and it's held up VERY well. Remember to store it in the inflated position, with the valve open! That way it will not take on any memory and will re-inflate much faster.

Someone needs to explain to the ODL that actions speak louder than words. He had an obligation and failed to meet that obligation. He loses! The parents and the committee no longer have faith in his ability to bring the program to the boys.He can redeem himself by supporting the new DL. Since he likes to talk so much, he should have no trouble understanding this plain talk.

Gee, I really put a show stopper on this one, didn't I?

Youve gotten some good advice about the rules and raingutter regatta. Its also been suggested that you might want to look into a different pack. But what might you want to look for? You seem to think that the leadership is an exclusive group, with most of the pack business being done at church. Thats entirely possible. Each BSA unit (Cub Scout Pack or Troop) is Chartered (or what we loosely call owned) by a Chartered Organization. Its possible that the Chartered Organization for your unit is this groups church, and quite possibly the vast majority of the families in the Pack also attend this church. You may very well be an outsider. Ive gone through this explanation so that you can better understand at least one of the things to look for should you choose to move to another Pack. It would be perfectly acceptable for you to ask, Who is your Chartered Organization, and, Where do most of your members come from. You may find a Pack that is chartered by the local VFW or Rotary and draws most of its members from the local public schools or community at large.

Heres my boot secret, no laughing please! I buy womens boots. You all know the story, if the shoe fits, wear it!!! Womens boots, even the wide sizes, are built on different lasts than are mens boots. When you buy boots to hike in the most important thing is the fit. Womens hiking boots are indistinguishable from mens boots, so dont be to vain to try them on! By the way, I own two pairs of hiking boots, one powder blue, and the other is pink.(This message has been edited by fotoscout)

MSR Wind Pro, I do not like liquid fuels and this little stove will accept the largest number of gas bottles from different manufacturers.

There are a number of questions that youll need to answer before selecting a filter or purifier. Duration of trip, type of water you expect to encounter, volume of water youll need/throughput of the filter, are you packing for just yourself or more than one person, will the boys be using this filter, how much are you willing to carry, is there a possibility that he filter will freeze with water in it, level of purification you're comfortable with, and there are more. For starters, if the boys are going to be using the filter I would stay away from the ceramics, they can be fragile. I use a PUR Hiker; its served me well and is adequate for what I do. Although its advertised as a personal filter, I would not hesitate to provide two or even three people off of it. Katadyn had recently purchased PUR, and is now the largest producer of filtration equipment. Here is their web address; the site has a lot of information in it. http://www.katadyn.ch/site/ch_en/home/ It just so happens that Campmor has the Katadyn Hiker on sale this week. If you're going to follow the BSA guidelines to the letter, you'll need a second method of purification. Katadyn also makes purifcation tables that I'm told do not leave a 'taste' in the water.

Each day at the daily closing of our Cub Scout Spring Camp, the CD would gather up the boys and prepare them to sing the daily song. The boys would immediately begin a chant of NO NO NO, arms flailing and feet stomping. She would wait until the chorus stopped and give them a 3 count to get started. They would then sing their little hearts outs with as much animation as anyone could ever want. I guess singing is one of those things the kids love to hate.

There is a Cardinal difference here Bob, robes are mandatory in the choir. Regardless of the outcome the robes will be worn! You want to sing, you wear the robe! You dn't like the robe, you don't sing! Certainly the people who wear the uniform need to be happy with it. But there is a crucial premise missing from this thread. Why is the uniform being changed. You seem to assume that it's change for the sake of change, I assume it's an attempt to change the uniform to something that more people will wear. Neither of us knows what the proper premise is, but yes it does have a great impact on who it is that you listen too.

Eamonn, Please don't misunderstand. I would include them as well. But I would not limit the survey to that exclusive lot. foto