Big_Dog

DUDE: I saw some of those punkin shooters on TV. From catapults to cannons, they were firing those punkins a half mile away!! Welcome to the forums. bd

Just had a quick thought- Flags are still flying at half-mast, so does that affect the flags carried on parade for the 4th of July Parade? Is there something we should do different? I've never heard of carrying a flag at half-mast, but maybe there is a custom for this????? BD

Hey, Our District covers a large geographic area and it takes some folks an hour and a half to drive to roundtable. So, roundtable is not that well attended. Other than having two roundtables, do y'all have any ideas to get people involved? I'm trying to think of ways that are "out of the box" that might appeal to some of the younger folks. bd

Hi, Just clicked on the Headlines section at the top of the Scouter banner and read an article about a Scout troop running a fireworks stand as a fundraiser. Isn't that taboo, or just the possession of fireworks? BD

Tiger Dad, We try real hard not to keep more than $15k in our account. Anything over 15 thousand we just give away. At first, it was hard to raise this kind of money, but with time and experience we learned that no one ever suspects cub scouts of knocking over 7-11's. Seriously, our money is pretty much gone by the time to sell more popcorn! BD

SA, No, I was not suprised, at least not after the way you baited us. Ok, I was suprised they got involved, but you know what they say about atta-boys: "it only takes one you-know-what to wipe them out" I guess I'm just in a happy mood, but I feel like a rousing chorus of: Why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends.... bd

I believe if a scouter earned the religious emblem as a scout, there is a knot he can wear as an adult. So, in that line of thought, I guess you could call it a "God knot". Don't want to get too much on the "God knot" issue or we'll draw Merlyn in here. I just believe that wearing a knot to let a scout know that you are "gay-friendly" (from the original article) is just trying an end-run around the stance BSA has taken. bd

Hello, Fred. Greetings and salutations from just up hwy 281. I'm in the Wolf Mountain district of the Capital Area Council. BD

LPC, I guess there are several things working here for the district chair to think of us. Our district is very large in area, but very small in numbers of troops. The district includes most of five counties and encompasses several thousand square miles, yet there are less than 15 troops in our district. Towns are far apart and very small. Troops that are here are well established, especially when it comes to fund raising. They host annual bar-b-ques at city wide events or have something else that they do every year. Our troop is less than a year old and still looking for something else to do in addition to popcorn sales. The donor of the boat wanted to help a local troop and that means one of three in a 30 mile radius. Maybe the DC thought we could use the help, I can't really say. Also, our district is in dis-array. We've just lost our DE, and he was the first good one this district has had in several years. He had to move for hardship reasons, and I don't blame him a bit, but once again we're starting over. Anyway, things are not bad here, scouting is on the rise. I agree with your advise of being careful - that's why I sought the advise of this good group of folks... bd

Hi, y'all. Need your advice on this topic. I received an email from the district chairman that he had been contacted by an individual who wished to make a donation to one of the scout troops in our area. The donation is a ski boat. Laying aside the issue of it being a boat (definition of a boat: a hole in the water you throw money into), what guidelines are there for this situation? The fellow donating it suggested we just clean it up and try to sell it, or keep it for our program. I took our COR, who is a salesman for the local boat/water ski shop with me to look at it, and he thinks we could sell it easily. What I need are scouting guidelines. I know you might need more facts, so I'll answer questions as they come. Thanx, bd

I guess they found out it wasn't like the government, you actually have to pay for things as you go... bd

I kinda' look at it in the same way as if I were to go to a forum that supports planned parenthood and started railing against my government using my tax dollars to fund the wholesale slaughter of millions of babies. What kind of response do you think I would get? No, it isn't fair that my government forces me to be a part of that, but going to a forum that supports it won't do me any good. And, BTW, if you don't believe in God, or life after death, why waste the few precious years you have here arguing with folks that do? You better enjoy the here-and-now for that is all you have! bd

I believe I heard one time, that playing words like that is called 'spoonerisms'. That is where you take the first letter of one word and switch it with an adjacent word. It can be funny like: if you want to catch a pransome hince, be sure to slop your dripper, but make sure you talk through the story b4 you tell it. Changing letters can sometimes get you in trouble. We had an ASM telling a story like that one time until he came to the word firetruck. He stopped in time, but still was embarrassed. bd

One of the troops that my sons were involved with had fun making up stories. One lad would start the story and build it up. Maybe 3 to minutes, then suddenly stop and pass the story to the guy on his right. Then he would continue the story in his own train of thought for a few minutes and pass it on to the guy on his right. This works pretty well with boys that are a little older, like 13 or 14, but the younger ones like it, too. Younger ones' stories usually involve boogers or flatulance, but heh, it gets their imagination going. bd

John, COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT BETTER, MYSELF!!! You da man, bd

FOG- 'A depressed gay person, isn't that an oxymoron?' That's why I don't refer to a homosexual person as 'gay'. 'Gay' in my vocabulary has a much more pleasant meaning... bd

To repeat FOG's question, Why was 'rebels' ruled out?

I've never had a problem with foil. Maybe I don't stir quite as hard as you, fp. A little water between the foil and the DO and biscuits cook great. Foil, though is only for baking for me. And, you don't have to wash foil, you chunk it. Maybe that should be: Big_Lazy_Dog. bd

Just a question, In this article, http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=39675&newsid=10&rubrik1=Regional&rubrik2=All&rubrik3=All&sort=1&start=1&sparte=4 some ex-scouters are trying to advance the usage of a 'homosexual friendly scouter' knot. (I shortened it to ho-knot). Do you really think this would help, or would it be like wearing a scarlet letter? FOG - should I order you one??????? just kidding, FOG bd

OGE- Now that ain't fair, we'uns has hillbilly musick, two... Actually, UNT has one of the largest schools of music in the nation. Rather well known for Jazz. Oh, BTW, I didn't know there were war brides in PA.. bd

Mrs. Smith, Actually, a UNT alum... Go mean green!! Best place for a music major in Tx. BD

If I'm baking, sometimes I'll line the oven with foil. One good example is the pineapple upside-down cake. With heavy duty foil, it was easy to lift the cake out of the oven and flip it onto a plate. I hate to think of trying to flip the DO! Cake pans are ok, but then you still have to clean them. Foil, you just throw away. I guess you can tell I like to cook, but hate to clean. I cooked a bananna pudding in one without the foil and it cleaned up easily. Of course, I bargained with one of the ASM's - a bowl of puddin' if he'd clean up. bd

Something else to look for on some of the less expensive DO's is the bail. (sp?) I received a huge DO for Christmas, but the bail is not big enough to let the lid slide out easily. It was not a Lodge oven but another brand. Lodge is probably not the only manufacturer of quality cast iron, but I've never had a complaint with my gear. bd

OGE - another question... How many aggies does it take to eat an armadillo? Three: one to eat it, and two to watch for cars. bd ps gig 'em Aggies!

Eagle, Now you in d big dogs house. Don't live too far from that hunk of granite. It is a nice place, isn't it? There are so many great places to camp in Texas, but don't wait until June or July to try them, right? North Tx has some really nice scout ranches, also. The Davis mountains in Big Bend, camping on the beach on Padre Island, Piney woods in East Tx. Shucks, I could go on forever. You know what they say: "Texas is a whole 'nother state of mind" ycvt bd