nolesrule

Have the SPL use the Troop Meeting Plan. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34425.pdf When was SPL back in the day it was essential to planning out a proper well-executed meeting, and doesn't leave time for anyone to get bored because things were always moving. In a well-planned meeting, 90 minutes will feel like it's not enough time rather than too much time.

"Scouting is about the boys right??????? Not for some..... " Not sure what that has to do with this thread. The answers given to the question asked were spot on.

I'm in agreement with 5yearscouter. In the Scout handbook, there is the asterisk for this specific requirement at the bottom of the first page of requirements. There is also a separate note on the second page of the requirements about Alternate Requirements for physical or mentally disabled that meet the disabled criteria. The Tenderfoot and First Class ranks have the same Note about alternate requirements, but no asterisks pointing out alternatives to any specific requirments. I think it stands to reason that the asterisk can be applied to any scout who needs crutches or is wheelchair bound at the time they are attempting to undertake the requirment, not just for those permanently disabled. Besides, it seems to me the purpose of the requirement is the use of map and compass. If you look at the handbook pages referenced with the requirement, there's nothing about hiking. It's all map and compass use.

At least it wasn't pie. :-P

What exactly is a "unit leader"? Is it any adult with a unit registration? Is it anyone registered to an adult unit program leader position (DL, CM, SM, CA and assistants)? Is it specifically the person holding the top program adult leadership position (i.e. the person who signs on the "Unit Leader" line on various forms? And as a UC and former ADC, I do know what the actual expectations are and what the reality is. Perhaps I'm asking a rhetorical question, but then I've never seen "unit leader" (lower case) actually defined anywhere.

Before I earned my beads, I wore the Troop 1 neckerchief anytime I was in uniform. But as a district scouter, I did not have an everyday necker anyway. Now, I always wear the beads, but I wear the WB necker and woggle only to WB events, such as dinners and beadings. I'd probably also wear it to CoHs and B&Gs. If I was in a unit scouter, I'd wear the unit necker when representing my unit (including CoH). If my unit didn't have a necker, I'd wear the WB necker at "formal" unit occassions. The WB necker would come out for WB occassions, including beadings at a unit CoH.

The requirement is to camp, not think about going camping or plan to go camping.

Oak, yes, obesity is a disability regardless of the cause. I should have been more clear that for some people, what they do about it is a choice (and that choosing to ride in a golf cart over walking would be, as my cousin's wife likes to tell her 2 year old "a bad choice") and for others it is not.

"But is being Fat a disability????" The answer to that is that it depends on the cause.

No, I don't think they enjoy patting people down in general. But an extra patdown here, an extra bag search there. Sending someone to the back of the line, rather then just having them go through again right away. Having a perceived position of power over the passengers and abusing it every now and again by inconveniencing those in their charge intentionally? It adds up and can stroke their egos, reinforce their perception of power, all under the guise of safety. Do I think it happens often? No, but it does happen. What's the point of a random patdown anyway? If you aren't profiling to select your patdown "victims", you might as well not be doing patdowns at all.

"As a frequent flyer, my problem is not with the kids, it's the idiot parents." First thing I do is let the people sitting in front of us know that if my kid is kicking their seat to let me know, so I can do something about it. It can be easy to miss, especially if you've got more than one kid. Not only is that being a responsible parent, but it let's the people around you know you're going to be a responsible parent, and puts them at ease.

JoeBob, don't give them any ideas. The GOP convention is here next year.

packsaddle, care to share which airport the stupidity took place so I can avoid going there? When I travel with my family, we usually get something extra from the TSA, just because we have two small children and we're traveling with so much stuff that sometimes we forget to take something out of the diaper bag or backpack that needs to be x-rayed separately. Every once in awhile, it's something stupid like forgetting to take off my watch or take my phone out of my pocket. Usually, they just send the item through the x-ray no waiting, but my wife once got a random pat down ("I hope you have flowers and a box of chocolates"), we've had the diaper bag searched twice, and we've had an item or two go through the chemical test. But we've done it enough to get through relatively quickly without inconveniencing those in line behind us. We have enough items to send through... 2 strollers, 1-2 car seats, 1 kids stuff backback, 1 adult stuff backpack, 1 portable DVD player, 1 laptop, 1 diaper bag, 1 purse, 1-4 bags of liquids/gels, 4 pairs of shoes, 1-2 empty water bottles, jackets (in winter) and assorted pocket and wrist items. We've impressed many passengers, TSA employees, pilots and flight crews with our efficiency... and we don't exceed the carry-on limits.

My attitude on uniforming... I care about my correct uniforming. I don't care about your correct uniforming. I will give Insignia Guide answers when asked questions about uniforming, and will only point out uniforming issues to others when conducting a uniform inspection or if it's something really messed up, like getting sleeves or pockets reversed.

"Forms should not need an FAQ and a full page of directions to fill them out. " Tell that to the IRS.

I've only ever met one UC that was no longer visiting units, and that was because his health would not allow. He passed away not too long after he stopped making visits though. Our problem is the opposite. We don't have enough, so that some ADCs are having to make unit visits.

Of course you can. But as a web-based software developer, I find that to be a poor implementation.

72, I've used it on my phone.... that's why I know I'd prefer a mobile-optimized data entry or an app.

I like the idea. I mean ...Aye!

UTVS is okay, when it works. Why the heck they decided to limit the comment fields to 255 characters, I can only assign the blame to some clueless DBA. Our Council Commissioner and the District Commissioners push the system hard. Essentially, anything that requires Unit Commissioner visit data (JTE, commissioner awards, our council's commissioner service CSP, etc) they will only count the visits that have been reported in UTVS. I assume national wants the visits recorded for statistical purposes. Personally, I wish they had a mobile version or a smartphone app. I'd prefer to enter in my visits on my phone in the parking lot before I head home. I have too much on my plate when I get home from a visit to sit down and enter it in immediately, so it could be days (or weeks) before I get around to entering them in.

Agree completely with Beavah and 92. And earning a certification or taking a class does not necessarily give you the confidence, permanent knowledge and experience to lead a rock climb, as Eagle92 points out. I'm a BSA Climbing Instructor, but I would never do more with it than help set up and running of the climbing and rappelling towers at our camp. Taking the Climbing Instructor training, more than anything else, taught me how much I DON'T know about climbing.

Was the math involved ever published for peer review? He probably forgot to carry the 1, or something else just as stupid.

If you have Quickbooks anyway and know how to use it, then use it. It'll do what you want. But I wouldn't necessarily buy software just for it. Like Basement said, it can be done with spreadsheets. I've seen some great treasury reports done that way. I'm treasurer for my business network organization chapter, and I use Quickbooks for tracking our finances, but only because I already have the program for 2 other businesses.

My Wood Badge patrol did our presentation on shooting sports, but I've forgotten most of the details as that was over a year ago. I'm sure there are others here well versed on what is and isn't allowed based on various levels of scouting and the training requirements.

"Talking to some younger folk at work (late 20s) and they said that comic books now are more like PG-13 with sex, rape, murder, etc. and not really appropriate for 8 - 12 year olds like back in the dinosaur days of my youth. Is there credence to this? " There's still plenty of kiddie stuff for the younger audience (Disney puts out some nice fluff comics about Donald Duck), but yes, the subject matter of many comics is more mature than in the 40s and 50s. For the most part, the mainstream superhero stuff (Superman, Batman, Spider-man, X-men, etc) is written for a teenage audience with some more mature subject matter thrown in on occasion, but most of the independent or small studio stuff is aimed at older teens to adults. Part of the reason for this is the average age of the typical reader is older and more mature and more in control of their disposable income. But it's been that way for a few decades now. Sin City, Watchmen, V for Vendetta aren't exactly recent, and were all originally released as mini-series, not graphic novels. But even the more mature stuff isn't always about sex, rape and murder. There's been some great stuff released over the years that looks cutesy, but would be over the heads of most younger people (Beanworld & Bone just to name two older ones that I enjoyed). I think the real issue is that people perceive comics as kiddie material. But really it's just a story-telling medium that combines visual art and written word. As a story-telling medium, it's no different than TV, movies or books, where there's a wide selection of material for every age range.