packsaddle

No, they were the fruits but mostly in Mexico so there the comparison may be bad. I''ll have to abscond with one of the local ones to try it again. Regarding cholla, I understand your feelings regarding field work. I just find myself drawn to things that tend to irritate people, don''t know why. My wife hates it when I say things like that.

I''ve eaten tuna (cactus fruit) but I wouldn''t exactly call it deliciously tasty. Actually not much taste at all but really nice and juicy. I confess. I like cholla cactus. I wish it would grow around here. I tried to transplant some but it was too wet, maybe I''ll try again. I''m not sure why I like something that obnoxious but there''s just something endearing about it. Maybe that''s why I can work with the boys without too much stress.

I agree with Hunt. I am also having to confront some similar questions right now. Interesting thread.

I agree with Trevorum. I made a lamp using that once, still have it as a matter of fact, right there along side the trunk with the leisure suits. Anyway, it really is an interesting plant material to work with. Off topic, but it was mentioned earlier, the dried stalks from the Agave family (including yucca) make great spindles for fire by friction. You need to select the old flower stalks that are fairly solid (dense, or heavy) and not so porous that they just grind away easily. But, for some reason the density and texture of those stalks produces a nice balance between accumulating spindle dust and spark formation. Wow, I think I''ll go out and do this again right now, it''s so much fun. http://scoutmaster.typepad.com/firedrill.pdf

I suspect this is a "wolf spider". Go to Google. Near the top of the window select "Images" and then type into the search line, "wolf spider". You''ll get about a bazillion (technical term ) photos of these magnificent creatures. I suspect you''ll find your suspect in that lineup somewhere. BTW, these are really nice animals. I never harm one unless by accident. It probably came into your home along with all kinds of other crawling things because things are cooling off in the fall. Just let it live under your refrigerator or something and it will dine on some of the other crawlers. If you get rid of it, the roaches will applaud.

Trevorum, ...and he''s not alone. We can fuss and fume all we want but when we elect a representative, it is possible that the person really IS representative. Sometimes we get precisely what we ask for, it just takes a while for some element of reality to make itself known. While we condemn someone else for their self-deceptions, it may also be prudent to examine our own. And maybe next time elect a better one.

Scoutldr, There are many aquatic organisms capable of producing forms (spores) that are resistant to adverse conditions, including dessication. They include algae, fungi, bacteria, and many protozoans including free-living amoeba. BTW, I checked the literature and recent papers have discredited the circumstantial evidence for airborne transmission. The current wisdom is that infections are strictly waterborne. There is some hope if the infection is diagnosed very early. The problem is that anything that attacks one eukaryotic cell (the amoeba) is likely to be kind of rough on its eukaryotic host (us). And early diagnosis is unlikely. At any rate, permanent damage and impairment is likely for survivors. At one time there was a common wisdom that blowing one's nose would help prevent infection. I suppose it gave a sense of security or something. But for now, in reality we must swim at our own risk. Edited part: double quote fix(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

This is one of my favorites of all time and I have posted on this before. These organisms and several others like it are everywhere and they are always present in natural environments. Scoutldr has it right in that it is what we used to think of as a microscopic animal. However, it is now listed in the kindom: Protista or Protoctista, depending on whose phylogeny you want to follow. It is a eukaryotic, single-celled organism and mtm25653 has it correct in that the infection usually occurs through the nasal passage crossing mucous membranes and getting into the central nervous system whereupon it goes to the brain and starts eating brain cells. Most often the infection occurs associated with swimming or some other water-related activity but there is at least one documented case where a woman died from an infection by airborne spores from her dusty, recently-tilled garden. There was also an episode on "House" in which one patient died and the black doctor (whose name I forget just now) also gets infected. That's where the TV show leaves reality behind. They give the black doctor some drugs and he recovers. In reality, this organism is almost 100% fatal and it is a really, REALLY, grisly death. You start with 'cold-like' symptoms, then you start to experience hallucinations or start displaying weird behaviors and mood swings. Then you really start to lose it, maybe becoming violent or maybe chewing off your own tongue or something. Then, strapped down on a hospital bed, you scream in complete dementia for a few hours or days, later becoming unconscious, then death. We don't know if patients actually experience pain or not. It would be an interesting experience but the last one in life. OGE is also correct in that while it is present almost everywhere all the time, it takes on the parasitic form mostly in warm or hot waters. One of the classic places this thing is found in virulent form is hot springs or really warm lakes (such as in Texas, or other southern climes). Some people were killed in New Zealand, I think, swimming in pools fed by hot springs. When Ronald Reagan decided that this country needed to be able to bounce the rubble more often than the Soviet Union, we built a new production reactor (L-reactor) and a lake to cool it (L-Pond) at Savannah River Site. This lake was really hot, thermally, and one of the interesting things about it was that it was heavily infested with Naegleria fowleri, the parasitic amoeba. Doing work on that lake was so dangerous because of this organism that we were required to wear respirators and white suits. I did some work on this thing a few years ago and maybe with global warming, I should take it up again. Like I said, it's one of my favorite little aquatic nasties. Incidentally, despite what you may read, there is no way to avoid it. There is no precaution that you can take that will prevent it, should you go swimming. If you get it you are going to take the celestial dirt bath. You are totally at the mercy of your immune system and whether or not these things have tipped over to the dark side for that lake. I really love this stuff. Have a nice day. (This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Heh, heh, nope. That is, unless I messed up and your name is Ben. I was addressing Ben Stein in that sentence and maybe I didn''t make that clear enough. Sorry. If what the linked article says is true, Ben Stein lied. I am actually in agreement with you, Firstpusk.

Thanks for that link. Here it is in a slightly more workable format: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/science/27expelled.html?_r=2&em&ex=1191211200&en=2d7df8cdb5e2a971&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin&oref=slogin I was not aware of the deception aspect of this film. But when you study the events leading up to the Kitzmiller decision, the deception is perfectly in character for the creationists. That said, it doesn't really matter much because science will weather this attack quite nicely. The reason I am not bothered much by this film is because it has obviously been constructed primarily to make money off of whatever sense of outrage people feel about creationism. It is, at its base, merely entertainment. Aside from the fact that these people are liars, it doesn't bother me that much. Moreover, the actual issue that Stein and the film are trying to raise is not some argument between religion and science. They are attempting to USE such an argument in order to make the claim that free speech is being somehow trampled in academia and other places. If they are correct in their assertion (and I'm waiting to see some evidence of this, there sure isn't any here) then I support their promotion of free speech. THAT said, their assertion regarding denial of freedom of thought is absurd. The only way anyone can know what someone else is thinking is for the other person to express it in speech. We always have freedom of thought. No one can take that away, short of execution. Speech is another matter. And their assertion that speech is not being protected is, in my mind, subject to doubt given their lie regarding the interviews. So rail on Ben, and good luck. But you shot your credibility when you lied. I'll probably wait until I can see it for $1 at the local student theatre. The lowest denomination of the land. Edited part: Drat those double quotes!(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Yeah, Trevorum, I thought you''d like that article. Amazing! Gunny, long after my childhood I would turn on Championship Wrestling on the TV. Turn the sound off...and then put on the orchestral score to almost any ballet. Combined with a brew or two, it was another amazing combination for one more pleasant diversion. I now promote Championship Wrestling as "Redneck Ballet". Hey, it works!

This version of the link will work: http://www.mikemooneyham.com/pages/viewfull.cfm?ObjectID=012AF3FC-3048-826A-C420B4184D0EB886

warning, it is not what you think: http://www.mikemooneyham.com/pages/viewfull.cfm?ObjectID=012AF3FC-3048-826A-C420B4184D0EB886 A friend of mine had Sputnik as his neighbor when he was growing up. He tells some good stories. I thought that the anniversary of his namesake was a fitting occasion. I remember him as the bad guy we all booed. Those were the days. FWIW, championship wrestling is real. Or so I am told by people who seem absolutely convinced.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Heh, heh, heh, who says there''s no such thing as mental telepathy!

Wow! Great point! Just think about Imelda Marcos....and all those shoes...shudder!

Hey, who says they're bad? As far as I know, they're just more clean-cut American youth out having a good time, making some hasty withdrawals. GWD-scouter, Hey ever hear of a time warp? Three hours out from Hawaii puts you a long way from almost anywhere. I figure it was an alien abduction and I'm suspicious that Mrs. Howell was not really that clueless. She was really an alien replacement to keep track of the experiment. This also explains all those other extremely improbably events on that island. So...did you get the name of the island? Nice place, BTW. The big cruise ships don't go there. Really nice place.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Might as well face it, folks, with the libertarian kooks siphoning off votes to Paul and the Christian loonytoons charging off for a third party, we are probably going to have a POTUS from New York, one way or the other. Me, I am just sorry Fred Thompson hasn't shown better so far. I had real hopes for him. Actor, Senator, great TV series, great looks (if you're a Vogon). All the qualifications I need. But if he doesn't go the distance, I'm still hoping McCain can come back. Romney can kiss off the South, given what I'm hearing from the Christians in this region and I doubt the Republicans can win without the South. This is the kind of religion-on-religion stuff that I've heard for decades regarding Unitarians (understandably) but now redirected toward the Mormons. Faith sure hasn't brought many of us together in politics. In the final analysis the Republicans have championed a lot of issues. After this administration, and given that they had the whole cookie jar for 6 years, they failed on most of those things...miserably. The only thing that really drives them has nothing to do with qualifications, really. The only clear issue they have left is opposition to abortion and they don't have a candidate who can be trusted to carry that banner. And I'm so sorry for them, every last one of those small men clawing at each other to get to the top of a hill of their own dung. They stuck themselves in that tangled web and now they are screaming in tiny little voices, "help meeee, heeelp meeee". Edited part: drat those double quotes.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

The definition I like best is ''to cause to stop and think carefully''. Regarding neckerchiefs, I keep coming back to the guys in black hats, who were robbing banks in old westerns. Kind of fits in with the Myanmar gang, doesn''t it? If a scarf would qualify, I suspect you might find a few more instances, maybe in the RAF in WWI or something. I think a scarf is currently part of our Navy uniform, maybe someone else can give a more accurate account.

My idea was less of an urban hike, and more of a ''stroll'' punctuated with rides and stops for fun. I agree about the idea of 20 miles of pavement although I''ve been over some trails that, to my mind, would have been far more punishing than a straight line on flat ground regardless of surface. Anyway, the reason I suggested the idea was for the newly-crossed-over guys who, in my opinion, probably are not ready for the real deal...yet.

Calico, turn off all the buttons except for terrain. Punch in: North 13 degrees, 00 minutes, 35.39 seconds West 61 degrees, 14 minutes, 23.10 seconds Zoom in. This is the spot. The castaways were assimilated into native culture. Great place to go and hide if you want to be forgotten. One of my favorites anyway.

Two possibilities come to mind to explain this. First, the Google people may be a bunch of pinkos who would like to overthrow the empire, oops, I mean the Bush administration. Alternatively, they are ultra-right-wing religious looneytoons who have already figured out that the next occupant is going to be someone from New York and they are just setting the stage....

I''m not sure this fits this forum but here goes. I was using Google Earth the other day and it struck me: in the search box the instructions said, "Fly to". OK, that''s fine. But if you look at the example, it says, "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 20006" Is this some kind of sick joke? The first thought I had was, "why didn''t Google just give a fictitious address for the example?" I mean instead of giving the next hijacked airplane the address and a wonderful satellite image for a flight plan? Or maybe this is just my weird way to look at things. Another delicious irony for the collection. Anyway, it gave me pause. Sorry to interrupt your day.

Holy Toledo! I gasp when I think of subjecting newly crossed-over boys to something like that. Look at the requirements for TF and Second Class. Do you see anything there that remotely resembles such an activity? No. Why do you think nothing like that is listed there? Because those requirements are well-thought-out and offer age-appropriate challenges to those new scouts. Here''s a better alternative. Plan a trip to the city. Start at the upper end of Manhattan. Hike a short distance there and then stop someplace interesting, maybe the Dyckman Museum or the Cloisters. Then catch a subway south. Stop again and see something else interesting, maybe a snack, Riverbank Park or maybe Riverside Church (spectacular!). Then catch cabs or a bus or something over to Central Park. Hike Central Park. Eat lunch at the Central Park Zoo. Then catch the subway again or a bus and head further south. Stop at Times Square. Visit Virgin Records, see Rockefeller Center, get another snack. Hop the bus again and head south. Go to the South Street Seaport or check out about a million other things to do on that end of the island. End your ''hike'' at ground zero and then look across to the Statue of Liberty. If you time it right, you might catch the sunset. THAT would be a day to remember for those boys. Of course, I''m writing from the view of persons who don''t have immediate access to all that great stuff. Your guys might just shrug. I hope not. Just a few ideas.

eagle-pete, Former CM here, too. I say this as often as I can in these threads...I love the cub scouts. I miss the cubs. I''d go back to being a cubmaster if I had the chance. There are no perfect solutions. If your CM is weak, that is almost an unrecoverable problem. When I was CM, only investing one hour a month it was immediately obvious that the CM and the committee must be strong and work well to have a great pack. If the committee fails to live up to their duties then the CM is the source of strength. Working with volunteers almost assures you that problems such as these will arise in any pack. And that is where the leadership skills, not to mention the committment by the parents to the boys, will get things back on track and keep the pack alive. I inherited a weak pack that was dying. I had no idea what I was doing at first but every time I looked at those bright smiles from all those cubs, I knew that I was going to keep plugging away to keep those smiles. I got trained and I worked just a little more than one hour each month. And I was successful. Two generations after I left, the pack almost died again only to be reborn with another really-interested cubmaster. Although we DID combine two bear dens at one point and two wolf dens at another time, we never considered combining different age groups except for pack activities like pack olympics, etc. Man, I do miss those times. But, considering the small number of boys that you mention, I understand the decision to combine the dens. Anyway, all I can offer is encouragement to keep plugging away. I agree with you that the fundamental problem, as nearly always, is with adults. My advice is for you to approach the CM and offer to take over the reins. He might jump at the chance to lay this off on you. THAT would be the beginning of something very good for all those boys. Good luck!

Heh, heh, picture me as Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons". I''m sitting in my big leather easy chair in my paneled office, relaxing in my slippers as I view the trailer (here''s a better link) and rubbing my hands together. I say to myself in that wonderfully sneaky voice, "Exxxxcelleeeenntt!" http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php Why wait for a few months, let''s get started now. I say, "Go Ben!" I fully support his defence of free speech everywhere. Even in BSA! Heh, heh, heh.