Stosh

Were a new troop < 1 year old and all the boys are cross over from last year into the new troop except one who is a cross over this year. .... We're not at that level either, but we do it that way anyway.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and take a wild guess on this one. Once you post you have 15 minutes to make any changes. If your changes take 20 minutes to make, the clock has timed out and maybe at that point you are no longer able to have authority to edit your own post. Just guessing.

I think from the comments from the Admin, he has it set at 15 minutes. Sounded like it was adjustable, but I don't think he'll be inclined to change it unless there are more than one or two stating concerns. I suspected there are a number of flexible settings that can be adjusted by the Admin, gender addition was already taken care of so what I suspected was true. I know the Moderators are limited as to what they can do, they moderate, nothing more, they don't change parameters, that's the Admin's prerogative. Then there are things the Admin can't change. He was adamant that with Firefox running on a PC the new thread listing was on the right. He had a screen shot to show it. I in turn showed a screen shot using Firefox running on a PC with the new comments listed at the bottom. So there are things the Admin has no control over and require the attention of product support to rectify.

I used to make suggestions like that to the new boys, but as a boy-led, patrol-method troop, it is entirely up to their PL and members to decide what's best for each boy. The PL does try to get the new scouts to buddy up to take classes together but doesn't insist on it. I do like it when the boys take at least one fun MB that is of interest to them besides the Eagle MB's. As long as the boys are having fun and I don't have to listen to parents complain, I'm good with the program the boys are following.

One also has to take into account the fact that the focus of the instruction is different and must be taken into consideration. Cooking for advancement is looking for proficiency. Is he doing the job correctly? On the other hand Cooking MB is developing a sense of appreciation for the job, not just that it is done correctly. If one is looking at it from that perspective, I would be hard pressed to think that the work of the scout could be accredited to both focuses. Either way, if one wants to just do the job, then it would qualify equally well for both.

I stay out of the MB selection process for the boys as well. Last year I had four of my Scout ranked (pre-Tenderfoot) sign up for Wilderness Survival along with Archery and Swimming and First Aid. Much to my surprise all four of them got at least 2 of them complete and two of them completed all four. All this in spite of the fact that they were strongly suggested not to do it that they should focus on the T-FC instead. Well, that was the 5th session so they took that too. I guess It pays to just sit back and watch because sometimes the adult wisdom thingy doesn't work too well and the boys end up kinda surprising ya. This year will be there second year, but the new Webelos boy has signed up for Swimming, First Aid, Cooking, Archery and Wilderness Survival. Really? The sad part of it all is that they are having so much fun that none of them have gotten TF yet. They work on the advancements, but the PL has some pretty high standards the boys have to meet. He insists that the boys be proficient in the skill before he signs off on it.

And here's an example of the latest posts at the bottom of the display using Firefox on a PC. One must always assume that when it comes to computers there are often unexplained glitches. My apologies for misspeaking on the HTML rather than RTF.

I like to take the approach that the two are mutually exclusive. Kinda like: You don't need the Bugler POR to take the Bugling MB and vice versa.

Faith, No need to apologize. You can be assured 100% you were not the snarky one. It's a guy thing. Like most guys, the tendency is to "know it all" and jump in and start working on a project. The situation heats up until the Mrs. comes into the room and suggests that maybe it would be a good idea to "read the Manual/Instructions." It's kinda like the guys won't stop and ask directions no matter how lost they are. I know these things from first hand experience... Well, I made a comment to such things that wasn't appreciated by everyone and I got my ears pinned back. Don't worry about it. I've moderated boards before as well and I know how crappy it can be at times. #73 - Posting was the culprit.

I don't know if it's "official" or not, but unless it says one can use prior requirements to fulfill it a second time, I wouldn't do it. The boys learned it well the first time, it'll be a piece of cake the second time. I have had SM's cut the corners on the T-FCrequirements. If the boys do the Cooking MB, First Aid MB, Pioneering MB, Orienteering MB , or Swimming MB, all the advancements for T-FC are covered. Sorry, I make them do it twice.

I'm a #1 ludidite when it comes to phones. Computers, no problem, phones... no way. I went years without a cell phone. Finally one Christmas my kids got me one of those Star Trek Beam-me-up thingies. Then they insisted I upgrade to having texting on it. That too a long time. I was too cheap to pay for other people's messages. Now I have the Smart Phone at their insistence. Cost me an arm and a leg each month and now I can Skype!!! And guess what. Now my kids don't call. Go figure.

I don't think it's much we can do about those glitches that occur between operating systems and browsers. My Firefox on Windows 7 is strange, but works just fine Firefox on Ubuntu Linux. Go figure. NJCubScouter helped me get that one straight after a few bumps in the road. Nothing either of us can do about it. I use Chrome on my Windows machine and Firefox on my Linux machine. Life is good.

Welcome to the forum. Pull up a chair and if you have any questions, ask away. You will get 50 different answers from 50 different people, but don't let it bother you. It doesn't bother any of us.

One of the first lessons my boys learn is a good cook fire has no flames. This is especially important if one doesn't want to scrape all afternoon on cast iron pans that have food burned on like cement. Golden brown, melted all the way through are the only ones that make it to the chocolate and graham crackers as far as I am concerned. I have actually had boys want to be taught to do it right. Lead by example. Sorry, marshmallows are a staple around the campfire.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/04/09/untreatable-tick-borne-virus-found-in-conn/?intcmp=latestnews I'm not in that area, but we do have Lymes in our area, many miles away. When I was a kid ticks were annoying, that's not the case today.

This dovetails into a double issue, but one of the reasons I think my boys do well with the food selection and preparation is because we attend a camp that doesn't have a mess hall. The boys get food from the commissary and do the cooking in the camp site. It focuses the boys with time as well. If they are going to get fed, the had better not horse around. So they get extra time for this? No, they have 5 MB session times on the schedule besides cooking all their meals. While I can't prove it, the perception is that the boys ALL have to pitch in to make it happen and I don't see one or two boys trying to do it all for the patrol, but everyone seems to pitch in or go hungry because they didn't all work together better. It is interesting in the at the Commissary provides the food and the instructions for cooking, but a lot of time the boys modify things so as to make do or specialize the meal. I didn't think one could do a cobbler in a fry pan. They didn't have a DO and it turned out pretty good.

When last I looked, the most common woods tool accident recorded at BSA camps was "knife closed on finger." - TAHAWK Hmmm. That's interesting. I have never had that happen, nor heard of anyone having that happen to them in all the years I have been in scouting. Usually it's some guy whittling and the knife "slips" that causes the most cuts around here. I wonder if "Knife closed on fingers" was because they were actually trying to close the knife improperly (one-handed, etc.). This would then apply to lock-blade knives as well. Either way, it is a positive point to be made for fixed blades. Conceal Carry in Wisconsin is any weapon, gun, handgun, baton, nightstick, tazer/stun gun, knife with blade > 1.5" hatchet and/or belt axe, etc. Alas, Stosh, we are showing age. I too recall when stainless steel knives were soft - or brittle. For some years, the decent knives with the hardest, most abrasion-resistant edges have been stainless steel. They are harder even that D2 tool steel, the standard for hard among "carbon steel." The large chromium carbides are close to diamond hard. Where can I get some more info on that, I may need to adjust my instruction notes when doing Totin' Chit.

How do we know packsaddle isn't a spoof account?

As I have said before. YPT has been mis-titled. I do not follow certain procedures in order to keep kids safe, I do it to keep the police off my front porch with a warrant. I have been working with youth for over 40 years, had a couple of false charges which I would have counter sued had the youth not been protected by disclosure laws. I was later told the boy was praised for his courage to speak up. It was all a lie, but that didn't matter. Ever since my radar senses have been at full warp speed.

It's priceless what one can learn in college! Love the story! made me laugh out loud.

Naw, this guy was great. He would know the bluff right away. He's the guy that when he saw 4 guys in a trench putting in sewer line without the massive metal forms to keep the sandy soil from collapsing in called to them to get out of there. They wouldn't listen, so he tossed stones at them until they got mad enough to come after him. After they got out of the trench and were ready to beat the crap out of him he said, "Go ahead and hit me, at least now I know you're safe."

Okay, here's the scoop on Linux. I have Firefox on my Windows XP and the editing menu does not come up. I have Firefox on my Ubuntu Linux and the editing menu DOES come up and works fine. It's an older slower machine that works better than my newer PC. Go figure. As the moderators have pointed out, NO they cannot fix many of these problems. They are moderators of the forum, not tech support.. Admins with greater flexibility in manipulating the forum settings may or may not be able to fix many of the concern either. The administer the software, they do not do tech support. However, (not being snarky here) with that being said, hopefully they can pass along some of the information being expressed (yes, gender is not a big issue that everyone has to lose any sleep over). I'm thinking that if the admins can fix it they can pass it along to the software people who are providing this so they know what to fix for future releases. They are not users, they can only speculate what they think the users might want. I don't know if the software developers can even handle many of the issues I have identified, but I have had 15+ years custom programming experience and have had to test hundreds if not thousands of pieces of code to make sure they did what they were supposed to do. And then,depending on on the platform, system software and program combination, not everything can be addressed. Why would Firefox work on Linux and not on Windows and Chrome and IE do just fine. I dunno, and I really don't care. I can make it work. I only passed along what I found out just in case someone up the food chain did care about the issues.

Do the admins have the ability to set what members can and cannot do in their profiles? Maybe there's a general switch that allows that feature to appear in the profiles that isn't turned on. Later today I'll get on my Ubuntu machine and see what Linux does with the website. I just thought that it was strange that the moderators (those with higher privileges) had the gender switch and the members didn't. Thought maybe that was a clue to help with the search. The HELP feature in the new software doesn't say anything about this "undocumented" feature.

My Ex used to get bent all out of shape when I went to the store and came back with a new dog food that was cheaper. Heck, we had a Collie/Shepherd and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that both ate like 15 year old boys. She would say that the dogs wouldn't eat it. But after a couple of days of not having to fill the bowls, things always would get back to normal. Works for boys the same way. When they get hungry, basic survival skills set in and they'll eat the bark off of trees if they have to.

I think the eating habits of people have gone a long ways to instigate both the allergies as well as the picky eaters. It was a number of years ago now but within a family of Mom/Dad and 2 daughters, one daughter was anorexic and she was basically a walking skeleton to the point where she ended up in the hospital and spent many years in counseling. The other daughter was way over weight and would only come to someone's birthday overnighter if the menu consisted of pizza and ice cream. In scouting we insist on balanced foods that are prepped basically from scratch. Occasionally we'll slip in some Bisquick, cake mixes and things like that. But when these kids are at home they are eating highly processed foods instead of home cooked meals. All the major grocery stores in our area have at least 1 FULL aisle of nothing but frozen pizzas. There is more display room given to pizzas than to the meat departments. At least the produce departments are getting better. But if one has some time go stand around the check outs at places like Walmart and grocery stores and see what these boys are getting for meals in a household of both parents working. This is a good place to start to understand why the boys only want burgers and chicken nuggets. Our society is the best fed, malnourished country in the world. The volume of empty nutrient foods kids consume is staggering. Even the school lunch programs are not decent learning opportunities for the kids. Give an infant a pickle and they'll go for it every time. Wait 10 years and try it again and they won't touch it with a 10' pole. The human body is not capable to maintaining this pace for very much longer. We're seeing the affects of this in the allergies and strange eating patterns of our youth today.