packsaddle

OK, some of you will have to revise your image of me a bit but- I own numerous firearms and have a CWP. I was once a member of the NRA. I have received threats in the past and expect to in the future. My home is fully armed and ready for its defence. Every member of my family is trained in safe use and storage of the arms. That said, I agree completely with what Bob White has written especially, "Gun ownership doesn't worry me.....but some gun owners sure do." I also agree with NJ on this topic. I am shocked at the ease with which I am able to anonymously purchase and sell arms if I wish, and that there is less regulation in the arms industry than for the manufacture of a beany baby. I think gun ownership ought to be regulated and owners ought to be trained prior to being licensed and allowed the firearm purchase. I think owning a firearm should be a privilege based on training and ability to take on the responsibility (like driving an automobile). This, based on nearly 5 decades of firearm use and experience.

I love my work and I rank it #2, after my family, but I also like some other things: Hiking and backpacking, Playing and listening to music, Travel, Gardening, Wooden boat design/construction, Sailing, running whitewater, Marksmanship.

Seems like something in G2SS should already cover this. Either the wording about fireworks or the wording about firearms should fit the use of a black powder cannon. How about a carbide cannon? They make lots of noise and there's no projectile.

You have my sympathy. I have encountered similar problems but not with three successive councils! BSA recordkeeping is the worst I have ever observed for any organization. If I need records from a previous situation for a tranferring scout, I rely on the previous troop for those records, not his council. So far, thankfully, that has been successful. Good luck.

Ed, only if they're stone-ground and a bad job of it at that. FOG, you got me, I love grits, yum! The one thing I can't figure is why would anyone let them cool and congeal, spread tomato sauce on them, and then eat that?

OK, time to weigh in I suppose. My grandmother liked to warn us against needless argument. She'd say, "The more you stir a turd, the more it stinks." At the risk of raising the stench, Adrianvs, I can't find anything in your statements that I can disagree with. So there! Bob White, I feel the need to correct you...around these parts it's called, "The War of Yankee Agression", and incidentally, the way my acquaintances talked about it, until 6th grade I was convinced that the South had won. But it was your response, Fat Old Guy, that really got to me. I must rise in defense of pablum, put up your dukes. I'll have you know that under the right circumstances, I could feed you pablum and you'd like it. Crave it, actually. With a bad atitude like that I can't imagine your opinion of cream of wheat or my all-time favorite, porridge. Everyone have a nice day.

Hypothetically speaking, let's assume that everyone signed on in support of the petition. Can anyone show me evidence that either of the two objects of the petition will take heed? H'mmm?

Sturgen, I agree with you regarding safety. However, for MBs like the nature ones or the citizenship ones, I think it would be better not to do them at all if the camp can't do them well.

Back when I earned the merit badge, the requirement stated that the set had to be dated the same as the year of the boy's birth. I interpret the current requirement to mean that the boy may choose any year and collect all types of coins minted for that year, but I could be wrong. It seems too confusing any other way.

It's him. No question about it. A complete humiliation for a tyrant that has been stripped of all pretense to show the world the coward that he really is. I too hope this shortens our task there. Now to suffer through a trial.

Camping is ok with me. I see the connection being to troop outings and meetings. No big deal.

I agree with Ed. The scout isn't required to have the MB book but it is a good resource for the counselor. This troop maintains a lending library and when a new version is needed or if a boy needs one that we don't have, we get it. The boy is always free to purchase the book for himself. After counseling several MBs (natural history oriented) for a while, I tend to believe that few persons in their right mind would choose to sign on to be a counselor for more than five anyway.

Bob White, You're quite right, the CO's insurance limitations have nothing to do with individuals driving to troop meetings. However, there appears to be a gray area in which a limitation (18 year-old minimum age) might apply if that individual was a driver to a BSA-sponsored event (i.e. camporee, camping trip, scouting for food) rather than a troop meeting. This applies even if no other persons are in the vehicle with the boy. The policy (insurance, that is) is not clear, perhaps intentionally. I'm not arguing BSA policy. Rather, I'm just alerting everyone to look beyond BSA policy. There could be other factors that affect or limit transportation.

This has nothing to do with G2SS but our CO's insurance has restrictions that go beyond BSA's. You may want to check yours out.

What a great sense of humor!

I was cubmaster for years and I find his attitude incomprehensibly selfish. I agree that it is about the boys and they have a great time making the table decorations. We invited senior scouts from the troop to do the judging (impartial judges) and had gag prizes for the winners (bird feathers, etc.). We also had a "Dad's drop-dead-delicious dessert contest" that was popular, especially with the judges. The winner dad merely received name recognition (and attention from the mothers). And the winner den with the best table decoration was first in line to devour the desserts after judging was finished. Thinking back on it, it was so much fun for me I am tempted to go back to the cubs...

Dsteele, me too. Gonna spend more time with work and the boys.

Rooster7, A little more accuracy on your part would help. You accused NJCubScouter of nitpicking and claiming that the BSA policy is ambiguous. I just did a search of everything NJ has ever posted and I only found the term 'ambiguous' 7 times. None of them applied to statements relating to BSA's policy on gay membership. Only one of those occurrences related directly to BSA policy and in that he said that he thought that the policy was NOT ambiguous (Adults Smoking at Scouting Events). You on the other hand had an interesting statement on the ambiguity of BSA policy. I quote from Rooster7 (2 March 2002), "I submit, that frequently the BSA manuals use ambiguous terms such as "shouldn't" verses the more definitive "can't". "Can't" is a rule. "Shouldn't" is a recommendation. Scouters (on this board and elsewhere) have made declarations about BSA policy and/or rules that have not always been backed by the appropriate wording. This is why I used the phrase "perceived BSA policy" in my first post. In short, the policy or rule is not always straightforward. Furthermore, there seems to be a disproportional amount of condemnation for some "broken rules", especially since there very often seems to be some room for interpretation." NJ is usually careful of what he writes. His logic (a concept you seem not to grasp) is impeccable. On the other hand, you seem not to care about accuracy or consistency. You are willing to accuse another person, NJ for example, of claiming BSA policy is ambiguous (which he didn't) if their statements are not in support of your opinion. But at another time you refer to "perceived BSA policy" as not always straightforward, if you are trying to make your point. I am thinking of a term for this.....(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

In cold weather (even warmer seasons) the pad is a serious consideration because of its insulating properties. Even a good bag has little insulation value when compressed against the ground and he will be very cold if he's sleeping on cold ground without a pad. I require them for cold weather camping. I agree with the comment on open cell foam, the inflatables are more costly but they are compact and work well. Closed cell pads are inexpensive and effective. Well worth the weight on a backpack.

ProudEagle, I think you make good arguments for more clarity. If you read around the other topics you will read similar pleas for clarity in other BSA policies. For this issue, you have identified an interesting gray area but it is, as far as I know, merely a hypothetical. Does anyone know of a specific definition of 'avow' that is being employed by BSA?

OK, 54. Upper tail of the curve, it seems.

Good answer BW. I have Lyndon Johnson's signature, one of his first.

I confess. I was responsible for the digression. But I still have to ask FOG, why do you want to be a member of the SAR? I am eligible but never thought much about it. Maybe I should.

FOG, what's the genetic test for SAR?

I have a feeling that I will get showered with paper cups for this, but here's what I do for similar problems. I take the file, transport it onto my Macintosh where I have a utility (I think it''s called soundedit) that converts file formats and then export it back to the PC world. Sometimes it works flawlessly, sometimes not at all. I bet there's a similar utility for PCs somewhere. Check this one and see if it can do it: http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2140-10187266.html?tag=lst-0-1 Last resort, play it into a microphone with streaming audio recording capability.