Stosh

I had an Eagle who was a year ahead in school and turned 18 at the beginning of his senior year of high school. He took IOLS the next spring and WB in the summer. When he gets out of the Air Force where he is doing his ticket, he's going to make one hell of a SM some place. Now all he has to do is wait until he's 21 and he's ready to go. He never mentioned during that whole time that he was wasting his time or money. Stosh

I wonder how long before someone figures out selling nickle-bags is a great fundraiser. Stosh

No, wait, I wanna hear what it is!!! Stosh

I pull that stunt all the time, especially with first aid. I pick a kid and tell him to sit down, he just "sprained his ankle". I used to pick the last guy in line of march, but my boys have caught on and have the Assistant HikeMaster always bringing up the rear and they no longer have to go back and find the injured boy after walking a half hour before noticing he's not with them anymore. My HikeMaster would carry a 6' closet rod walking stick as would the Assistant HikeMaster. A limber is a lot easier than taking turns carrying the boy on their backs back to camp. Flint and steel, and bow-drill are nice, but as Tampa pointed out, he should have waterproof matches in his essentials. I always carry a magnifying glass in my gear. It can get soaking wet and still work on a sunny day. Magnesium is my secondary backup, works quite well even on damp tinder and dry pith. Also, the pine 6' walking stick makes a ton of whittled tinder, too. Worse case scenario, they have to buy a new rod for $6. Stosh

This is why one wants a 2 blade knife. Very narrow handle and makes it easy to use by either hand. Stosh

Brief comments on locking knives. One side will say the locking knives are safer. I have physical scars on one of my fingers that says the locking mechanism can fail and the damage is not pretty. When unlocking a knife, it requires a secondary step to close, release mechanism while applying pressure to close. On the other side, while using a non-locking knife, you know it can close on your fingers at any time you apply it improperly. Use extra precaution and do not rely on it not closing with lock. Also when closing the knife, it is one process, pressure to close. I have handled knives since I was 8 years old, I'm now 63. Sure I have a number of knife nicks over the years. The vast majority of them have been done by fixed blade knives in the kitchen. Second comes in with non-locking blades, I love to whittle. Only once was I injured by a lock blade knife, and it was the worst, the only time it needed stitches. I was using it while field dressing a deer. Now it's 100% fixed blade, I know it won't close on me no matter what. I have also see boys slip the lock mechanism (and not get hurt, but surprised) when they realized that by pushing down on something while holding the handle also pushes down on the mechanism. Blade gets stuck they pull back, continue the pressure grip on the handle and the blade unlocks. If you simply go by the statistics above, go with the lock blade knife. But today I do not own, nor will I ever buy a lock blade knife again. Just personal experience. Stosh

The local town's summer celebration is sponsored by the troop's CO. They have a huge beer tent and the boys help sell at a separate booth, food products. The CO pays for all the boys' registrations out of these funds along with other financial support as needed. And of course in another room in the building where the troop meets is a full bar. Been doing it for years and no one has mentioned it as a problem. Stosh

It's gonna be a real sticker shock for some of these people when they realize there have been actively gay scouts earning Eagle prior to Jan 1st. Stosh

What's that you say? I couldn't hear you, my dog was going nuts barking. Stosh

So go ahead and put them up, it's your Constitutional right. If they don't like yours up there next to theirs, they are free to move theirs to a better, less distracting location on private property where they have control over what gets put up. In a public place, it should be open to all to express their opinions, INCLUDING religious ones. Stosh

If you talk to survivalists, the first thing they always tell you is, conserve your energy for the important things. You need water and shelter first. Then within the next 30 days, you can think about food if you have enough energy left over. Big John got lost in the woods and survived for 2 weeks on bugs and berries. No, he survived 2 weeks on body fat. Anyone that can down 28,000 calories of bugs and berries ought to get some kind of award. Stosh

OMG, where in the wild do you find sirloin steaks, potatoes and carrots. I want to camp there! Stosh

Yep, but be sure you take it out of your dad's new pickup truck bed before you start hacking at it with a machete!

The guidelines I use: 1) BSA policy as it pertains to scout leadership. If they can't get by the background check, end of story as a registered leader. 2) State/Federal laws as they pertain to who felons can associate with. Normally sex offenders cannot be around kids, schools and youth activity programs and felons cannot be around guns/weapons so they couldn't participate in gun-range activities. These are "requirements" that go beyond the incarceration period. Otherwise if a parent has been convicted of a white-collar crime, for example, paid his/her debt to society, they can attend/participate with their child just like any other parent. Parolees are a grey area, and until they have paid their debt in full, I would suggest they not participate. I have more problems with non-felons, i.e. the dad who's into drugs or alcohol, than some of the felons I know. Stosh

... or how about "Spin Speak" or "Politicalese" Stosh

In most "survival" situations, one doesn't necessarily have all the proper equipment. And the point I was making if the boys need to learn how to cut down a 2" sapling they can get the same training cutting a 2" log from training equipment. It doesn't have to be in the pickup, but when it is all said and done, the sapling is still standing and the boys learned their lesson. Stosh

I don't live in New York or Virginia. It's their problem, not mine. It's kinda like watching a car accident in slow motion. As long as you're not in the car, it ain't gonna hurt. Stosh

I wasn't bitching, I just enjoy pushing whiny people's buttons. I've gotten some of those whines at an octave only dogs can hear. Stosh

When it comes to Scouting I am a very responsible person.... If something goes wrong, everyone says I'm responsible. Way back in the far reaches of my brain, I have a little tape recorder that plays "It's all for the boys!" over and over again. At times, it's the only thing keeping me sane. For a brief moment in time, I had a CC come to me and say, "You take care of the boys, I'll take care of the politics." Best 3 years of Scouting I ever had!!! Within 2 months after he left, I was asked to leave. It sure was great having a wing-man. Oh, by the way, he was the former SM of the troop and knew full well what was going on! Stosh

For whittling, one needs a knife with a small handle. He doesn't need a Swiss Army that is big and bulky. I find that even BSA is smart enough to realize this in that they have historically had two knives, the Camp Knife and the Whittler. They are appropriately named. The Whittler does not have the fat blade of the Camp, nor the screwdriver, can opener, bottle opener and awl for leather. Instead the Whittler has 3 blades, one thin, long, one short for fine work and a third small blade with a flat cut. All blades designed for whittling. The newer Whittlers have stainless steel blades which dull quicker than the older carbon steel blades. I have both, and like the older knife because I don't have to 1) sharpen it as often and 2) staying sharp makes it a safer knife. Any carbon steel pocket knife with one long and one short blade should do the trick nicely regardless whether it has a BSA logo or not. Stosh

"Changing hats" is a lot easier than changing patches or shirts. Stosh

Definitely! I have taken scouts to BWCA for a 9-day trek, cheaper than had they gone to summer camp for 5 days. Stosh

Not a problem, the black back in the 60's did something about it, women did something about it back in the 20's, it's an ongoing process. People whine to make things change and others whine that it changed. What's new about any of that? It just depends on what day of the week it is and who's ox is getting gored. It's part of life, get over it. Stosh

In survival training ONLY, one can teach without having to actually do the real work that would normally be non-LNT. For example, with the boys out in the woods, identify saplings that would be useable. Okay. Fine, do you have an axe to cut it down? No? Okay, what's your Plan B? Yes? okay, which ones would make a good shelter, how many do you need, and with other materials brought in for training purposes, 12? Pick out the twelve trees you need. Then go to the pickup and get 12 poles, then demonstrate by doing. As with First Aid, training equipment is NOT the things you will be actually using in the field. Stosh

I'm thinking that when Moses sent the two spies into the Promised Land to check it out, he set a precedent that everyone afterwards has followed. This stuff has been going on for 4,000 years and now people are surprised? Yeah right. OSS, KGB, NSA, U2, Enigma,...? ring any bells? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intelligence_agencies Smoke and mirrors people, nuttin' but political smoke and mirrors. Well, at least until two or three black Escalades show up outside your front door. Stosh