Stosh

I disagree with your disagreeing SSScout and raise you one.

I figure that if the repellent I use can be used to cook with, sanitize dishes and drink, I can put it all over and not worry one bit about any adverse reactions.

Welcome to the adventure.

The boys of my troop have chosen to wear the old red loops. Can't buy them, but my ASM found ribbon to match the official ones and makes them for the boys as needed. If someone has a beef about it, they can talk to my SPL. By the way, the neckers are a problem, too. They don't have a troop necker, they have patrol neckers. The boys of the one patrol wear blaze orange square neckers with black trim and the adults wear blaze orange with silver trim. When we get enough boys for another patrol, there will be yet another color trim to the blaze orange necker. From 10' away they look the same, but they aren't.

What would happen if a scout were to turn in the completed project without the SM's signature? Would the Eagle committee deal with the SM or the boy? In either case, some "splainin' gonna need to be done. The more transparent this becomes the thinner the ice for the troop and it's overbearing leadership. It's the boy's project. Have him send it in on it's own merits and if the Eagle committee doesn't think the requirements have been met, THEY can say something. I sign without reading any of the boy's work on HIS project. If it isn't good enough, not my problem. I do not assign any coaches or advisers for the boy. He can read and he should be able to understand what's written and what's necessary to complete. The only thing I participate in is the SM's recommendation. I have held off on giving one to a scout that was too much a Paper Eagle with a serious maturity issue. There is no requirement that a SM has to give a positive recommendation. The council did and that's not my issue. It's between the boy and the council. The boy negotiated 6 months to prove his leadership and maturity. I agreed and he was a totally different boy from that point onward. He got his recommendation and his Eagle. Because troops are not part of the Eagle project requirement, I just leave it up to the council to work it out with the boy Except for that one little glitch, all my boys have gotten their Eagle rank completed without adult intervention of any kind.

Linux runs on just about any computer. Older machines just run slower, but that's no big deal. I use Ubuntu Linux that I over installed on a computer running Windows 98. Works just fine. The only thing I use it for is a few games, internet connection (Firefox) and Open Office (Same as Microsoft Office only more robust). The only thing wrong with this whole setup is the guilt I feel because everything is FREE!

I have a back country kitchen that works well for me. I bought a plastic bin that fits exactly into an old BSA Yucca pack. In it I have everything one could need for camping. Bowls, spoons spatulas, wisks, spices, knives, etc. etc. When I camp I carry it on the front to balance by back load. If I'm canoeing, it balances my duffle with the aluminum DO in it. Love it for canoeing in that one doesn't have to carry it except on portages. It is the second bag that gets tossed in on every weekend event. I do have a second Yucca pack that has the luxury items in it, like coffee pot, backpack stove, and the much used aluminum dutch oven that has all these extra goodies packed inside. The three pack setup is used only for plop camping. 1 Pack - campfire cooking with mess kit 2 Packs - campfire cooking with plates, cups and silverware, expanded recipe options 3 Packs - backpack stove cooking with all the amenities of home. Anything more than that, I just take the motorhome and Mrs.

My scouting experience? After 4 years of Boy Scouts I was Second Class with 1 MB (Stamp Collecting). Let this be a warning to you, if you don't do better than that, you could end up as screwed up as I am.

If I have a boy that I think is not progressing through the ranks at a reasonable pace, I have a SMC.... with his PL.

I have camped now for 60 years. I have done so using a single-person tent, I have done the under the stars camping, I have traveled in a Pace Arrow. I have used modern nylon tents and canvas tents, I have cooked on stoves and on campfires. When I'm with the boys on an outing, I use either canvas tent for longer stays or nylon tent for weekends. When I travel exclusively with the Mrs. it is a Class-B camper. She feels safer on long trips and in the more wilderness areas with a hard-sided set up. The pop-up didn't offer much protection against the bears and buffalo wandering through the campsite at Yellowstone. I seriously doubt the style of camping one learns as a scout makes one iota bit of difference. It's the love of the outdoors that sets the pace. The equipment is adaptable to the love of the adventure.

One dynamic that hasn't come up in this discussion is the positive aspects of no-kids scouters. TIME! If my boy is going on an outing, I'm going to be going too. However, if my boy is going to be doing XXXX activity on Camporee weekend, I'm going to have to choose between the two. Other scouters will fill in for me. The Mrs. has planned a family event and didn't check my Scout calendar, etc. The single Scouter doesn't have these problems to the same extent. It was soon after my son dropped out of scouting that my Ex filed on me. That allowed me a pretty open calendar of scouting opportunities which lasted about 15 years. This time around I married an outdoors woman and it's still pretty much open. Turned 64, got laid off from my job so now my calendar's completely opened. (Seriously, the first thing that crossed my mind when HR was telling me my position was being terminated was now I can spend all summer at summer camp, not just one week!)

Thanks for the updates! I have successfully found other substitutes and means to deal with ticks and mosquitoes so I haven't worried about DEET for a long time.

Don't put patches on.

That might be just a local problem. My boys are on emailing lists of other districts and nearby councils because they don't go to their roundtables and therefore asked to be. Everyone has gladly provided information when asked. Being turned away at pre-registration might be a problem some places, but we've never experienced it around here. It's too bad your boys can't participate in activities they would like because of adult politics.

Never said it was an overall Firefox problem. Runs okay on Macs, and on Ubuntu Linux, but is quirky on some PC's.

If council personnel can't trust scouters with being honest about patches, who can they trust? So a parent goes in and shows a card stating someone has earned the FC badge. How do they know it will be used only for their son? What difference does it make. The boy who needs impeccable records to Eagle, will be able to produce sufficient evidence with his handbook and cards regardless of how messed up the council has his records.

Same for me. I have everything on Firefox except when I want to visit this forum, I have to switch to IE, Chrome, or Firefox on my Linux box.

...allowing them to participate? Never heard of having to get permission to attend an out-of-council event. My boys do it all the time and never have to get permission. Just sign up and pay the fee and you go. When my former troop went to summer camp 4 states away, the camp was happy to have us...and our money.

There's nothing wrong with attending a campree in a different district or council. We do it all the time. There nothing wrong with attending a summer camp in a different council either. We do it all the time. We are boy-led which means they can pick and choose wherever they wish to go for activities. They get the activity flyers from all the surrounding districts within and outside of the council and pick the one that sounds the most fun. They really want to do the patrol-method at summer camp. Our council does not accommodate that so they attend a summer camp that does. Even with all this discussion going on. No one has ever suggested we switch councils. There is no need to, we go where the boys want. End of discussion. If the council wants our troop to attend their activities, better start putting on a better program.

Every time I sit down to contemplate the meaning of life, it always dawns on me that the whole process is not finished until the paperwork is finished.....

"Ya can't fix stupid" - F. Gump

Only those that can't hold their liquor....

What is their rationale for such a move?

I see two possible outcomes from such an unfortunate event. 1) the boys will be traumatized and have to spend the next 35 years seeking professional counseling because of what they saw and did or 2) the boys grow up to be EMT's, firefighters, police, military service, doctors/medical because of what they saw and did. If anyone is worried about seeing dead people, I guess my mother didn't do it right because when I was less than 7 years old I attended the funeral of an infant. What a terrible thing to expose someone of that age. Maybe though it was a way to prepare me for ministry and the fact that I served 15 years as a Nationally Certified EMT-A as a volunteer in a small community that needed our help. I guess the "...help other people at all times..." doesn't have any qualifications on it and that has always haunted me. If we have a disaster hit our town, I hope that I can help out a bit more than handing out sandwiches to the workers, but that's important too.

Alcohol or anti-bacterial soap (has alcohol in it) and a cotton ball is all I ever use. Lot cheaper and is part of my first aid kit. it works nicely on really small ticks that are barely visible. The tool blw2 talks about might be a bit big, maybe for the little guys? Don' know, never used one.