packsaddle

As I remember, Algebra was a swayback mare.

I never use repellant. I manage just fine by hanging around persons known to be fresh meat for the invertebrates. What's that popping sound?...people slapping themselves silly trying to kill the flying hordes. Maybe I'm just too mean but they don't bother with me. A few bites now and then but the itching goes away quickly. And anyway, once you survive West Nile you don't have to worry about it again. But here's one thing that you can do. Mosquitoes usually don't travel far so if you use a fine mesh sweep net to clear the area, it will last for quite a while. We used this in the blackwater swamps of south Georgia, camping in July and August, and it worked fairly well.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

If it's soft or crumbly it may not be flint, at least not in my experience...it must really be low quality stuff. I'll be glad to send you a few hundred pounds of the quartz stuff from my garden. It just makes cultivation tough so I toss it aside and pile it around a tree trunk. It's an old pegmatite dike, I think, from the Southern Appalachians. But you'll find some closer I expect.

I have to agree with Merlyn. I can remember Jewish boys and their families who were ostracized by local government because they objected to school prayers to Jesus. This was, of course, prior to the Supreme Court rulings.

Any old hunk of quartz from the side of the road and an old worn-out file will work great. Chert will also do just fine but you should be able to locate something fairly easily in Missouri. Char cloth is easy to make. You take an old flannel shirt made of cotton. Holding it in one hand and letting it hang down, light it at the bottom and let the flames travel up the whole hanging length. Prior to charbroiling your hand, let it drop and smother the flames with a board or even a newspaper. Make sure all sparks are out but don't use water to put it out. The blackened pieces will catch a spark and start a fire very quickly. Polyester and nylon don't work. Tee shirts work too, but make sure they're cotton. If you want to blow the boys away with a dazzling display, take the hunk of quartz and the file and strike a good spark into some clean, plain steel wool (Brillo pads won't do it). The spark will catch and if you blow on it the steel wool will erupt into a huge display of flames and sparks as the steel burns. The whole thing occurs in just a couple of seconds and the boys are saying, "Whoooaaa!" Another trick is to scrape the soot from inside a chimney. A spark into that will develop into a coal that can be carried or transported for quite some time. Something similar can also sometimes work with powdery-dry rotten wood (crushed into a fine powder), sort of the way a cigarette smolders but never goes out. Finally, collecting fine fibers from juniper bark and wrapping them, using bailing twine, into a sort of large juniper cigar, maybe 2 inches in diameter, will hold a smoldering coal for a very long time. Long enough for a significant few hours of backpacking between campsites. Need to keep it dry though. Hope this helps.

Who chooses the song?

boleta, as I said there is a wide range of behaviors in the spectrum of mutilation. I will send you a PM to see if you find something objectionable about it.

Oh Morticia (OGE), you spoke French! But it's still self-mutilation whether viewed positively or negatively. The range is already quite large...and tattoos and piercings are down on the scale when compared to the cutting and removal of parts that some cultures think is necessary. Nevertheless, a piecing requires inserting a foreign object through part of our body leaving a semi-permanent hole that is maintained by keeping a foreign object in the resultant hole. Tattooing employs a needle (that is often shared by many persons) as an instrument to insert colored dirt into a permanent position in the skin. An ear ring may be minor compared to FGM but they are both still part of a single continuum of mutilation. The question that BSA evidently does not address is where the OK line is drawn. I feel clear about the answer for the extremes but I too am undecided about the position of the line.

Ed, I share some of your interest in blackjack and poker, mostly because of the probability problems they pose. However, gambling seems to support a 'value' that states, 'it is good to get something for nothing'. I think the lesson that many lose while few win may be weakened by self-deception, specifically that we will be the exception. I know my children will try this eventually. I hope their first experiences are as losers and that they keep this perspective as their first impression. Fuzzy Bear, I can think of many activities that are far more gratifying than winning at the slots. These include good food and many others, some of which are unmentionable. But I do see your point. Just remember that saying about love of money.

As a devoted fan of public places for the purpose of watching phenotypes, this discussion is interesting. We seem to be the only animals who engage in self-mutilation for any reason. I wonder if it is because an instinctive behavior requires an adaptive advantage, whereas a conscious behavior doesn't necessarily. So I am fascinated by these acts. I suppose I could justify self-mutilation if it endowed the 'carrier' with some advantage in choice of mates, and this very well could be the case. However, if such advantage exists, that means that a sufficient number of potential mates actually view these self-mutilations as attractive so as to make the practice advantageous. This circularity is the really interesting part. How did it begin and how far will it go? I doubt that I will ever be granted the necessary observations to answer the second question, at least not at the airport. But it is possible that it began with smears of dirt (cosmetics) to make us more attractive.??? Just a few thoughts on this topic of self-mutilation.

ENTP

Hello, hello...calling Rangoon....do I get to sing? Or not?

I see the point about hazing. I'll still sing to them though. But one thing is for sure, for sure. I'll be doing some serious dumpster diving after future outings!

Twocubdad, this might give you the info you asked about: http://www.aegis.com/news/wsj/1996/WJ960903.html I think there are three states in which it is illegal to perform tattoos. MA and SC come to mind, I'm not sure about the other. The public health issues (not to mention personal preferences) make this controversial. Laws are likely to change in the near future.

OK, a serious comment. If you want to give blood, assuming you're 17 and weigh more than 110 pounds (some programs will let you in at 100lbs), you'll be turned away if you've had a tattoo within the last 12 months. It's one of the critical questions, right there with the ones about sex, drugs, and disease. But it's your choice. http://www.mayoclinic.org/donateblood/faqs.html That alone would stop me from getting a tattoo if I were so inclined. It represents as many as 6 pints.

Goshen is actually several camps in one. I liked it for our boys who are on the young side, 12-14 years old mostly, because we actually camped at the camp, prepared our own meals, etc. The merit badge program was top notch and it was the first time we'd had the ability to pursue sailing and powerboating activities at a camp. Don't know too much about Powhatan so I can't compare them.

Uuuuughhhhh, Welcome to the forums, scoutmaster106. Wow, for some strange reason I feel like I've done this before. Deja vu all over again?

Welcome to the forums, scoutmaster 106. Great topic! I see you've discovered the mystery of the double post as well. That puts you ahead of most newcomers. This smiley face is as advanced as it gets for me. I also would like to know if any such survey has been taken in order to rank the camps. The best one we've been to was Goshen. But I know of a few out west that sound great as well, just haven't come up with the resources (time mostly) do go there and give 'em a try.

OGE, I'll see your Gunther Toody and raise you: tell us about the character who raised the window and shouted, "Hello, world my husband is a nut!".

I agree with boleta. We also take the approach of ASM59 of general improvement. I'd like to see some adult leaders take this on personally each year...be fun to watch.

We try hard to use the blue cards. But we accept any record method that has equivalent information. After SC, I photocopy ALL the records, original and TWO copies. One set goes to each scout. Another set to the advancement person. I keep the final set just in case. This is similar (but not equivalent) to separating the three panels of the blue card. DO NOT RELY ON COUNCIL RECORDS. If they have good records, great. Our experience with them has been dreadful and if you don't manage your own effectively, tough luck if the council lost theirs (good chance of this happening).

The edit kept getting cut off so here it is... Edited part: I must add (and this is going to be not-PC) that this is not unique to Boy Scouts. I have observed this in church youth groups, marching band trips, virtually every organized youth trip of any kind. However, it seems to be worse for males than for females. I could be wrong, but perhaps that defective Y chromosome?

Without commenting on their motivations, the electronic games and music devices get left almost as often as the socks and shirts. We tell them to label their stuff prior to every major outing. Some don't even put their names in their handbooks. I know one boy who owns three copies but can't seem to find one when he needs it. I tell him he's not allowed that condition until age 40. boleta, from the perspective of the boys of this unit in regard to my singing, that would read, "Especially if the scoutmaster does it, it is hazing."(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

The answer that I understand is that he CAN do the conference with his son. However, some want their sons to confront the same situation that other boys confront...a conference with someone who is not their parent. As you suggest this also would present a different appearance (I'm not sure how important this is). But it is left to the parent/leader to make the choice. I have no problem with that. And if requested, I am pleased to perform the duty.

NJ, Oops, missed your point first time through. In SC the legislature also approves such plate designs. A court recently threw out a 'pro-life' design. I guess I see scoutldr's point about state property but I find it difficult to get worked up over what amounts to just another bumper sticker. Especially if the state makes money off it. However, I do remind scoutldr (since Rooster7 hasn't pounced on this) that the rainbow is the biblical symbol of a new covenant (sometimes alternatively viewed as 'renewal') after the Noachian flood. I also think of Jesse Jackson's rainbow coalition using it as a symbol of inclusiveness. There are others.