TAHAWK

I had noticed some really expensive tops for sale. Today at the super market, eight different models at $2,99 each were ranged with the chap sticks, lighters, and candy bars at checkout. The two teenagers ahead of me bought three each. We survived Pet Rocks. [so there!] Mod. Note: Ok, ok.

I did wonder what it felt like as the cold, clammy water-burdened tarp pressed down on the sleeping faces before the ultimate collapse. But I heard no screams - until after the collapse. Next day it was on the trail to backpack to Saturday night's campsite - wet sleeping bags and all. They decided they had "discovered" a cool way to collect rain water. Lemons. Lemonade. I guess. But they never pitched a tarp as shelter that way again. Nobody died.

When I was a Scout, some troops had rules barring comic books. After the transistor was invented by Bell Labs, some troops barred "transistor radios." Over the years, a number of troops have barred candy, potato chips, and/or ramen noodles. Guess what all these rules have in common?

ian, Your story reminds me of a conversation that began: "But if you pitch your tarp totally horizontal like that (so three of them could "fit"), what will happen if it rains hard?" And it did. Interesting noises when the hundreds of gallons of collected rainwater provided enough leverage to pull out the pegs about 3 AM.

Or North Elbonia?

Gǣð Ä Wyrd swÄ hÄ«o scel!

Flaming Arrows ----> Ice Cubes = Flaming Ice Cubes. Patrol Call: "We're melting !!!" Eagles ---> Hawks = Eeeks. Patrol Call: Eeeeeeeek !!! Love it.

I kant tipe ether. Butt itz knot mi jobb to doo the kounsil webbcite.

I would pick almost anyone here to do the rewrite. Council? Not so much: "The Council reguires that BALOO-trained leaders are also trained in Wouth Protection. The BSA reguires Wouth Protection training for all registered volunteers."

4.2.1.2 The Scout Is Tested The unit leader authorizes those who may test and pass the Scout on rank requirements. They might include his patrol leader, senior patrol leader, an assistant unit leader, another Scout, or the unit leader himself. BSA, Guide to Advancement

This is a kind of plant because it has leaves and plants have leaves. This is a different kind of leaf. That's two. This is a nut. That's three This is a different nut. That's four. This is a seed. That's five. This is a different seed. That's six. This is bark. Different bark. Wood A root. Each came from a different plant in the woods. Evidence of 10 different kinds of wild plant ?? Don't have to identify any of them as that would be "identify"

I have no problems with Scouts. It's the adults at training who come with lists of questions about requirements. Three weeks to the next round. Some here have said ignore the requirements - usually by substituting better, logical words that could or should have been said but clearly were not. That is not an option for me, at least, when training Scoutmasters and SAs. Some have said interpret words this way or that. If native means naturalized in historic times and wild means (individual animals) that are not pets, the biggest quibble goes away. (After all, the "Eastern Coyote" is supposedly a coyote-domestic dog hybrid.) No one here has really dealt with "identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds" That has been brought up three prior years running by someone at training. Many adults seems focused on finding the easiest possible way for a Scout to get rank. CP, Mollusca is not a Kingdom. Animalia is. But I simply tell them this is not about binomial nomenclature or formal taxonomy. I only brought it up because whoever wrote the requirement knows far less than I do about classification and put a phyla on the same level as classes. I haven't dealt with classification since I was a lab assistant in Zoology as a history major (only one willing to deal with snakes) in 1964.

And that is one way to deal with requirements one does not like - write your own. So tempting given some of the language we are given to work with and the lack of a mechanism to even ask for clarification, much less rationalization, of that language. I write my own when BSA is unclear. It's a decision I made decades ago. If you cannot say what you mean you invite such behavior out of necessity. I will not write my own simply because I disagree, as I disagreed with the requirement of Life Saving MB for Eagle, which prevented my best friend, and the best Scout in our troop, from Eagling. Following the rules, when one can understand them, is part of the "deal." So I tell Wilderness Survival candidates that they must memorize the seven "priorities" in the invariable "order" dictated by BSA, even as we agree that priority will vary according to the facts on the ground and that STOP (SOTP), shelter, and fire are not needs but tools to meet needs whose very utility to meet actual survival needs vary according to those same facts. A middle ground that you come close to is to argue that a given plant, brought here in merely historic time, has been so naturalized as to be "native." That, to me, is easier to defend than "do not limit their list of ten to just 'native' plants." As I am sure you know, Star Jasmine is an alien species that arrived in recent historic times and survives in the U.S. in Climate Zones 8-10.

RE: "Can you folks planning and running the event (and not as Scout Leaders or Scouts) join this club and run the event through them? Since they've already run it for a number of years, those pesky tax issues would likely not apply if its still a Club event." Not sure what tax issues are referenced, but once upon a time I knew for sure that charities selling goods from a "fixed location" in Ohio (not, for example, Girl Scouts selling cookies door-to-door) had to collect Ohio sales tax. That is probably still true based on recent purchases from the Volunteers of America and Good Will.

Or you could be right and he/she/they simply cannot write clearly. You are, however, arguing for "native" meaning "native or naturalized." Because "or naturalized" could have easily been added, but was not, normal standards of interpretation leave us with "native."

New requirements mandatory as of Jan. 1, 2017 Where can I find the new Boy Scout requirements?The BSA has made it easy for you, providing this printable Handbook insert and this PDF. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/524-012_BS_Requirements.pdf 5a Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in your local area or campsite location. You may show evidence by identifying fallen leaves or fallen fruit that you find in the field, or as part of a collection you have made, or by photographs you have taken

We have made the big leagues - Giant Hog Weed here and there all around us. Only requirement beyond poisonous is "common." Given how bad GHW is, I'd opt for common enough. Poison Ivy everywhere. Poison Sumac in the wetlands. Yew everywhere we planted it and nothing to mess with.

Surely poorly written, as is too often the case. And I think they meant or intended the three fire requirement to require three fires started by expedient methods, but they clearly said otherwise just as they clearly said "identify or show evidence of." The distinction between the disjunctive and the conjunctive was covered in Third Grade in California when I toyed with pubic school teaching: "an apple or a peach" vs. "an apple and a peach. Which means you have two pieces of fruit?" Perhaps we live in a declining age and lawyers, or grammar experts are required to tell the difference rather than Third-Graders, but I think not. Try it with any Third-Graders at your disposal. A lawyer would point out that intent cannot overcome the plain meaning of the language used. "Aside from the apparent headaches caused by the ten, the change in the requirement from "found in your community" to "found in your local area or camping location" is a good one. Being able to fulfill the requirement from (almost) anywhere on Earth is a plus." Definitely. Especially for Scouts from deep in the city in view of "native" and "wild."

Not overthinking is just fine. What are the requirements we are to not overthink? This is a kind of plant because it has leaves and plants have leaves. This is a different kind of plant because the leaves are different from the other kind of plant. That's two. One thing is clear, the ten kinds of plaints must be "native," whatever meaning one assigns to "native." This is a kind of plant because it has leaves and plants have leaves. This is a different kind of plant because the leaves are different from the other kind of plant. That's two.

Over half the cat tails are gone due to an invasive grass that provides no habital for native species and is a tremendous fire hazard. And I wish the requirements were to identify BY observation or signs ten different animals/plants.. It isn't. It's to identify OR show evidence of ten different kinds of animals and ten different kinds of native plants. Disjunctive.

"On our nature walks, I ask scouts to close their eyes and determine what they could identify, (calls, footfalls, feel, smell. A fantastic way to have them learn by doing something. BSA: "identify or show evidence of" This is an animal track. It is evidence that a kind of animal was here. This is a different animal track so it is sign of a different kind of animal. That's two. This is a kind of plant because it has leaves and plants have leaves. This is a different kind of plant because the leaves are different from the other kind of plant. That's two.

Good advice. Intent should always guide interpretation. Always good if it is a game. Helps develop true enthusiasm. One could believe we are supporting good citizenship by developing interest in the natural world on the theory that those interested in nature are more likely to support government policies that preserve nature. Now if we can only get it expressly said rather than depending on inference. And clear English might also help with determining intent.

"Do the plants have to be native? or are imported or invasive plants valid?" "10 kinds of native plants"

We lose body heat by several mechanisms: radiation; conduction; convection; evaporation; and respiration. The reflective coating helps reduce only radiant heat loss. The Mylar coating you seem to be describing, as on "Space Blankets," adds slightly to the reduction of heat loss achieved by by plain plastic by reducing loss of heat by radiation. The plain plastic would be as effective against evaporative and convective heat loss. The "bubbles" increase insulation value by creating "still" or "dead" air. Plus. Experiment with plastic sheeting and plain bubble pack. http://undergroundmedic.com/2016/10/some-life-saving-advice-about-mylar-emergency-blankets-and-28-alternative-uses-for-them/

Danger! Logic approaching. "Extrinsic" to official B.S.A. pronouncements?