Stosh

Guide to Safe Scouting vs. Rules/Policies for Safe Scouting Guide to Advancement vs. Rules for Advancement Troop Guide vs. Troop Dictator

Why does BSA insist on vague language when it deals with important issues?

Crisco used to be cotton seed oil (now it's a combo of soy and palm) and you're using flax seed oil. I'm thinking the seed oils might take longer to go rancid, but eventually all oils go rancid. Your heating of the oil may change it's properties, but the finish one is going after is different than mine. For permanence I like the wax. Like honey it can never spoil or go rancid. It also doesn't need to be burned on to be effective.

Yes, I was seeing your screen print, but it didn't have the black arrow in the upper right of the blue box margin. Thanks for trying to help! Appreciate the effort every one put in, but with Internet Explorer showing everything I can at least post dynamically now. Firefox settings were somehow blocking the website. Even the site layout is far different between the two. I'll have to do some research on this and find out what Firefox is up to. Thanks again.

Okay guys, call off the dogs! NJCubScouter tipped me off. I switched to Internet Explorer and I get an entirely different layout and all the editing features. Make sure the admins become aware of this. Firefox is the browser I have been using. When I come up with a browser solution to the problem, I'll pass it along.

I figured if I was the only one with this problem, I had better reboot my machine. Did that. Same old, same old.

Sorry, my screen print didn't download. Okay when I go into the reply box, I get: Reply to this topic in upper left corner. My avatar just below that. A blue box to type in with a triangle in the lower right side to resize the box. A Post button at the bottom right along with a more reply options. That's it, nothing more.

HTML Markup code is not seen at all: 1) put your curser into the message box as if you are going to post a message. Okay 2) At the top there is al light blue top margin that says "Reply to this topic".. Okay 3) Below that is your icon and to the right is a darker blue border box.. look at the top margin of the dark blue border box.. Follow it to the very top right corner.. There should be a tiny arrow surrounded by a tiny square.. NOT Okay This is the problem there is nothing in the upper right hand corner of the reply box. I have tried clicking when there is nothing there, hovering to see if something appears, etc. etc. but no arrow, no menu, no greyed out anything. So here's the crux of the problem: simply put: in most courteous and friendly, kind manners: WHERE IN H..L IS THE D...M ARROW!!! Please and thank you very much. I have also looked in the profile settings that HELP says is a toggle switch that goes back and forth between the basic editor and the HTML editor. Well, that is exactly the same problem as the "little black arrow", it doesn't show up anywhere so as to set the editor. 4) Click on the arrow. It should display the HTML markup.

Okay, okay, I said it was no big deal to not be able to have HTML edit capabilities, but it is to the point where it is annoying me. How does one get HTML ability? (/bold) Test (/b)

I have often wondered why BSA has titled this little document GUIDE to Safe Scouting instead of something like Safe Scouting Policies. Policies seem to invoke strict rules where Guide seems to invoke a more lenient guidelines approach. So are they guidelines or are they mandates? I put this under issues and politics for a reason.

Use a kitchen colander. I have a set up with a 5 quart ice cream pail lined with plastic garbage bag. and a colander that that fits across the top. Food gets strained off the top and liquids go into the pail.

I have done whitewater canoeing for 25+ years with scouts of all ages and swim ability. All canoes are two-manned. Unless there is an odd number, then either the strongest canoeist goes solo or a non-swimmer gets to enjoy the scenery. All boys, whether they are swimmers or not, undergo training on canoes prior to the trip. Each canoe has one experienced canoeist in the rear and a less or no experienced canoeist in the front. The non-swimmers are always with a swimmer adult or their parent. The reason for the newbies in the front of the canoe is to give them experience with the canoe and basically provide ballast for the canoe to keep the front down. This is how one of my boys earned the nickname "Box-O-Rocks" when he dumped me in the drink. The whitewater river I use has only 1 and 2 level rapids and is pretty much knee to waist deep in the rapids areas. Two experienced kayakers always go with the group because they have the speed and agility to react quickly if necessary. Block and tackle, sheath knife and hand-axe also accompany the float. Know your limits and the limits of the group and adjust accordingly. Have I had boys spill in the rapids? Yep. Have I seen empty 17' canoes come down the rapids end over end? Yep. Have I had to cut boys out of a canoe that got tangled in gear? Yep. Has anyone been killed? Nope. Seriously injured? Nope. Injured at all? Nope. Gotten soaked and scared half to death? Yep, but then that's what makes it an adventure.

Items like soap and oil and any other item that will leak is placed in a gallon sized ziplock bag. It may still be a mses, but it's inside the ziplock.

Here's where the PL needs to start teaching "leadership from the back seat." By this I mean the boys doing the KP need to be doing it because they are taking care of their buddies in the patrol, not because a job has to be done. PL's who are having a challenge getting the boys to do a task are trying to accomplish a management task. Good Luck! Instead approach it from the human perspective and start teaching leadership instead. Are the boys following people or following instructions? I have had PL's tell their buddies that they weren't allowed to do KP because the job was never done right when they were involved. They thought that was great, until it came time for officer elections and none of them were ever nominated for anything and the SPL never appointed them anything either. It would seem that if one is going to be a PL, they had better roll up their sleeves and making themselves indispensible to the others in the patrol.

Hit the antique stores and resale stores for cast iron. I have taken some really bad stuff (as long as it isn't cracked) and brought it back to life. And once you get a small fry pan and maybe a couple of other pieces, skillet, griddle, etc. you can have a set of your own and SHMBO can be can be as happy as you are. Warning: Always make sure that the stuff you refurbish NEVER looks as good as her stuff. If you refurbish it correctly, you may have to hide it for a while.

Duct Tape, Sorry you don't use it much, but you're a man after my own heart if you're using your mess kit as a DO. Not many can do that anymore. That used to be a standard lesson for all scouts 50 years ago when I was in scouts.

When it comes to teaching the advancements, I don't do it any more. My boys generally teach it because I got in trouble once when I had a scout horsing around instead of learning his first aid requirements. I simply told him he would have to learn this stuff or accept the possibility of standing around watching a loved one die because the ambulance took too long getting there. Some of the adults and parents felt that was a bit harsh to tell an 11 year old. Now my PL's get into trouble for the same reason. The fire-starting skill is always a fun one. My new boys all had their lessons on fire building but per the requirement, didn't have to actually start it. Well the first time they really needed to have a fire to heat up tomato soup and do grilled cheese sandwiches, they had a problem. What was to be a nice lunch ended up cheese sandwiches and the soup stayed in the can. Bacon? Oh, there's the best lesson ever. Breakfast Saturday morning, bacon's on the menu and no fire. The look in their eyes is priceless. I would say EVERY boy in my troop now knows how to start a fire with no problems. In a boy-led, patrol-method program there are no adult safety nets to save anyone from failure. The best remedy for failure is to pay attention in the first place.

What seems to be the problem with the aluminum DO? I've used mine for BWCA and had no problem doing what I normally do. Including portaging with it. It doubles as one of the dish washing buckets that can heat it's own water. I even have an aluminum insert for baking that weighs little to nothing to go with it. Anyone wanting to get rid of their aluminum DO's send them to me, I'll pay the postage. I have also used my aluminum mess kit as an individual serving DO and it has never failed me. The only difference is the clean up. I use soap and water just like I would any other non-cast iron cooking vessel. By the way, yes, I use wax regularly on about half my cast iron. The stuff that doesn't get used as much. Unless one does something really stupid like pouring cold water into a hot fry pan, or taking out of the self-cleaning oven before cool down or dunking it in the lake after over heating it or dropping it on a cement surface while winter camping, the DO is pretty hard to ruin. Grandma's skillet? No problem most of my cast iron is either Lodge, Griswold or Wagner Ware. All have seen a campfire and survived with no problem. Show me a Club Aluminum or Revere Ware or any Circulon, or whatever they sell in stores today that has seen a campfire and I'll show you an abused piece of cookware. What boys do to their mess kits in the name of cooking is really sad. A large part of cooking is learning how to take care of your equipment, too.

I have taught my PL's that when someone demonstrates their ability on an advancement, they will really know their stuff if they teach it to someone. This takes the whole ballgame to a more comfortable level of accountability. PL: Johnny, you need to demonstrate you know how to tie a square knot for advancement. How about you teach me how to tie a square knot. PL works with Johnny on his presentation of the lesson and his teaching skills. PL: Good. Now it's for real. You need to each someone for real, I already knew how to tie the knot, but your mother over there never has (or for older scouts, pick a younger boy to be taught), go teach her and let me know how it went. By the time the boy has done all that, he will forever be able to tie a square knot. At a SMC when I ask the boy if he knows his square knot, instead of a simple yes/no answer, he just jumps into his teaching routine. They know that if they do a good job at that, I won't ask more testing kinds of questions in the SMC.....

Yes, WAX....! For those who have ever had to reseason a Dutch oven because the oil went rancid, with wax I have some of my older Dutch ovens and cast iron cookware that hasn't been used for many years and is just as "fresh" as the day I packed it away. Be sure to use bee's wax (natural) and not regular candle or canning wax (parafin is petroleum based). When I store my large, not often used DO's I put the hot waxed cover on and seal it shut. Never have to worry about rancid oil in foods ever again. There is a draw back to wax. It makes a really great smell of honey when cooking. As far as liners are concerned. I have used cast iron for 20 years every day in my kitchen and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER heat beyond a medium heat on anything. Things stick because they burn on, For me my cast iron is better than Teflon or any of the new ceramic finishes on the market. If you scratch it, no big deal add extra oil and reseason. Brand new finish! If a large piece chips off, toss the whole thing in a self-cleaning oven, run a cycle, wash the rust and ashes off. Reseason and you're done. Brand new again. Just remember to keep the heat to 3 up/3 down for medium heat on a DO and don't go beyond that unless food is not touching the oven walls or bottom.

My boys keep a written record of all the meals they "learn". They know how much to buy according to how many boys are coming. Recipes are broken down so that when they go to buy they know how much of each item they need. Recipe is for 8 boys, 4 going, cut everything in half. The record also shows how much the stuff cost the previous time the meal was made so that they can budget and know how much to ask up front to cover the cost of food. They also learn that as prices go up or down at the store, they can jump on a bargain if need be. If hamburger is a bit high and there's a sale on chicken, spagetti and meatballs gets changed to chicken primavera over a bed of noodles on the fly. A written record also makes good lessons for the newbies who have to come up with menus for their advancement requirements. The only difference is the new kid has to come up with a totally new recipe, break it down, shop it, cook it, serve it and record everything so that it becomes part of the patrol's cookbook. Menu planning for an older boy patrol can take up to 5 minutes for a weekend. We want this, this, and this. 6 are going, GM pulls those recipes, ball parks a cost based off last time's figures and announces it will be about $12 for food. Bring it next week. Done.

Yep, but one can always ask how honestly he "passed" all of his advancement requirements as part of the SMC. Little Johny just put an ax into his shin. What are you going to do? Scream and yell to get someone else to come and do first aid or what?..... My boys know that an extensive discussion is held with PL and SM when it comes time to sign off on Scout Spirit. PL's know that the welfare of their patrol members is their responsibility. Just like my PL's getting the boys ready for their SMC, I get them ready for their BOR. Technically there is nothing one can do to change any of the sign offs, .... well at least not this time around, there's always next time...... Knowing all this, my PL and their patrol members don't spend a lot of time worrying about the technicalities of getting by. It's a lot easier just to learn the skills and do it right.

I stand corrected! I just posted a new topic on DO's (Dutch Ovens) and the double caps went away. It has nothing to do with the editor, the software made the changes on it's own in that I'm posting on a PC with no editor capabilities or spell checking.

It might be a bit interesting to find out how and how one works with Dutch ovens. There's been quite a bit of talk about them, but as a scout we never used them. It wasn't until I became a leader did I see a more general use for them. 1) Do you use Dutch ovens? 2) Wood or charcoal? 3) Troop cook or patrol cook? 4) Size(s) used? 5) Uses: stove top style (Stews, soups, oatmeals) or Oven (breads, pies, cobblers, casseroles, pot roast, etc.) 6) Do you own an aluminum Dutch oven? 7) Do you use DO's on activities other than plop camping? 8) Aluminum foil liners or clean as you go? 9) Oil or wax? 10) Troop use any other cast iron other than the Dutch Oven?

When it comes to some adults in the program with their rules and regulations, the BS in BSA doesn't always stand for Boy Scouts. I noticed that most require their boys to be FC+ to sign off on requirements. In my troop only the SM and PL can sign off and the PL can be of any rank. It is his job to take care of the boys in his patrol and if he's a TF in the NSP he signs off on the requirements. In cases like this these boys do rely on mentoring from the SPL and TG, but the SPL and TG do NOT sign off only the PL and SM. The highest ranking officer in my troop is the PL. The SPL and TG only support the work of the PL as needed. (same for the SM).