Tampa Turtle

Why two pack meetings a month? Why not den meetings?

When I started digitizing and consoldating my digital photos I got a Seagate Backup drive (A tetrabyte for about $79) and it automatically backs up the photos and documents. We would grab the drive in an emergency. About 4 times a year I burn some CD's of the files and place in the Safe Deposit Box. This is because when we did a 30 minute bug out during Hurricane Charlie in 2004 the main things we took were laundry baskets of photos off the walls...that and the kids.

I ran into some anti-Catholicism in the '80's when I lived in South Georgia. Seemed like everyone belonged to 1st Baptist or 1st Methodist in every town. Catholic church had maybe 200 folks in a county of 50,000. It was like being in a cult. Got challenged a lot. Well it was the bible belt where they burned the Beatles records. (The famous picture of the kid holding a beatles record in front of the fire was in Waycross.) The brother of my great grandfather was a Catholic Priest lynched in New York City in an anti-Catholic/anti-Irish riot. But I married a pretty Georgia Methodist and no I am are one! Go figure.

While I do not utilize the online Picassa much I highly recommend the free desktop download. It is really good at organizing photos, changing them while preserving the original file, and can even recognize faces so you can pull up all photos of "uncle joe" if you are willing to teach it. Amazing!

I should hope not, Brooks (for whom Brooksville FL is named) beat Sen Sumner so severely (he kept hitting him way after the man went down) that he had head trauma and took years to recover and he was never the same. All those bad feelings led to the Civil War so lets sure hope we aint going back there again. But it was colorful.

Weak areas-- We scored Gold pretty easy but was reminded on the boy led, adults getting trained up, and the minimum number of outings I recall. It came at a critical moment when some adults were pushing hard on returning to an adult led Troop and cutting back on outings to accommodate the scouts on outings. It helped frame that discussion in "yeah we are going in the right direction".

It has been said many a time but in presenting the scout program even the Tigers highlight the excitement of outdoor adventure, campfires, camping, and values. Get the boys excited and the parents reassured. Bring tents and sleeping bags and stuff.

Basement, I beg to differ and I understand the frustration BUT IMHO a benefit of the Patrol system is to get boys of differing backgrounds and abilities, fat kids and skinny kids, lazy kids and energenic kids, jews and goys, whites and blacks, etc, etc to work out reasonable accommodation. (I would agree on the over banning of peanuts--we have seen that) I think segregating into a separate patrol would not be the first choice. When we do the Sausage and Eggs Dutch Oven Breakfast the serious kosher kid brings his own, the casual Kosher kid eats around the sausage. Sometimes we have used Turkey bacon. Sometimes we go Vegetarian. And a lot of times boys eat things that are far from their first choice. This is all part of growing up. A place to start is to have the boys start out with a table of what they CAN eat. As a diabetic I am constantly working with my wife on what I CAN eat--she concentrates on just the foods I should avoid. And a lot of times I can eat part of what she makes and make the rest myself.

I do not know if your Pack is school, church, or whatever based. Also if you have nearby competing Packs. Never underestimate that most busy parents with young children have NO idea you even exist. Also you need to have high visibility. Wearing uniforms on recruiting day at school (we did that) and at Scout Sunda/Sabbath helps. Doing service projects and getting in the local paper/news generates traffic -- and little boys in uniforms look cute and get press. Also boys need to try to recruit other guys.

It smacks at the kinda mindless management BS we have to do at work. But as much as I hate it there were a couple items that jogged us a but that we had to admit we needed to tighten up on. So not a total waste of time but not really worth it.

So much camping gear --some of that high end-- is made in China or at least the raw materials. I think a big problem is that BSA has demanded high enough quality control of the finished product. That said some of my older BSA gear that was made in USA and pretty $$ in my opinion was very well made and had great value. Like many who have commented on these boards I was disappointed that the prices stayed the same when it was made in China. That seemed like pretty much price gouging on Nationals part.

When I was cubscout camping we were always the first family there and the last to go. Partially that was because my wife had our only car and needed to get back for family obligations. I never understood "blitz" campers who would show up late Saturday and leave at first light Sunday. Some even left late Saturday night. Tent would not even be up 6 hours. Trainerlady, I think for Boy Scouts that is a pretty unsatisfactory schedule; seems dictated by uncommitted adults or to cater to over-committed boys. Yes we usually have a cold breakfast Sunday but sleep in a little as boys stay up late Saturday night. We leave as early as practical on Friday and leave to arrive late on Saturday. Our boys sleep when they get home because they are exhausted from the activities--best to keep healthy young men good and tried. What kind of activities are you doing on your campouts? Is car camping or patrol camping or quasi-patrol camping. (We do quasi- as far apart as we can do on site provided they can hear us yell or the bugle.)

I have eaten the TVP "meat" and used it in Chili and Sloppy Joes. My sons, who are big meat eaters, could not tell the difference.

qwazse, not so touch that I didn't eat! We usually eat very well thank you. However, we now do a "Golden Spoon" competition for best dish or most ambitious Patrol menu and the quality of the boys own meals has really stepped up. Much less pringles, ramen, and pop tarts.

Our Troop typically leaves Friday after work and returns early afternoon on Sunday. Some SM's push for earlier arrival on Sunday which messes stuff up--parents expect you back about the announced time +/- 1 hour. If we have to travel far we may push back the arrival time to 4ish Sunday. That still leaves a good 1/2 hour of unloading and cleaning to be done on arrival. To be honest I think arrival times has been dictated largely by whoever is the current SM's need to do some stuff on Sunday to keep his wife happy. Sometimes we have cut out the Scouts Own to save the 15/20 minutes which I have a problem with. Now we don't. I think that and a closing Roses/Thorns and a SM minute is important for event closure. I would not rush that. As for doing the work it is all hands on deck. Yes the adults are helping but the boys must do as much work as possible. We usually help the younger scouts lift the heavy gear so they don't hurt themselves; while they are the weakest they usually are the most helpful. And the adults do most of the work (but not all) like hitching the trailer and boats to avoid crush injuries. Of course the adults will walk the line during a "final sweep" to police the area; mostly to show that no one is above the work.

Any member of congress must also refrain from any campaign activity, expenditure of campaign funds or receipt thereof. Furthermore any member of congress leaving early will lose their senority for the purpose of congressional office space allocation --they bump down to the crummy building. And we turn off their government provided blackberry's.

We have a few vegetarians and sometimes thats what the Patrol cooks. I know because my youngest will come home saying something was pretty good and wants to make it at home.

I saw Michael Moore speak a long time ago. I think while the OJ trial was going on. While I agreed with some of what he said politically he was a real rude jackalope; very rude and condescending to everyone who asked questions.

I think hiking with the older boys does foster a little more respect -and pity- from the older boys. I was limping along after a long hike recently and half apologized for holding the group at the trail crossing for a few minutes as they waited. "Sorry" I croaked. One of the boys said "OK. I don't see many of the other Dad's here."

My oldest will gag and have cheese alergies to a storebought frozen pizza or a homemade one. Pay more $ at a restaurant or take out and no problem. It's a miracle! He once proclaimed the pizza he ate at a bowling alley was the "correct kind". I saw them carry out the boxes--same brand as at home... If a boy has a real legitimate medical issue with food scouts is a good opportunity for him to start managing and advocating for his condition on his own.

I enjoy Roosevelt-the last good republican!

Wow it all seems you guys have the same equipment room we had and went on the same campouts. We have an adult QM adviser who is solely a resource for the Troop QM. Mostly he helps in bigger issues (like welding or getting the trailer repaired). The Troop QM is responsible for the Troop gear and the Patrol QB's for the Patrol Gear. Patrol gear is marked for each patrol (because the forgetful patrol often "liberates" gear on campouts. Patrols are responsible for replacements, etc. If a Patrol forgets their stove, hose, fuel, food (which a;; have happened) the adults do not bail them out. They may wheel and deal to figure out a solution. Sometimes a patrol will be helpful and donate food or share their stove. Other times the forgetful patrol will have to trade washing dishes for fuel, etc. The tough love really works. The number of incidents has gone way down and boys are checking things more carefully. It is tough to chow down on your adult breakfast when a bunch of boys is going hungry though.

As a diabetic I have similar options. For example if my wife makes a hamburger helper dish she cooks up the meat for the dish and before adding the pasta (carbs) and sauce (sugar and fat) she sets aside a potion of meat for me. I then eat that and doctor it up myself. She then cooks the meal for the rest of the family normally. I suppose you could do the same thing with a dish -- spoon out the vegetarian part first and then add the meat in for the rest.

I'm with Lisa Bob on this. The Patrol will have to figure it out. I have seen this and eventually it works out. Yes there needs to be a meal plan to avoid Potato Chip sandwiches. Sometimes there will be a good alternative sometimes a boy can pack his own food. If a boy packs his own food he better have a meal plan too. I think the Patrol should eat together as much as possible; too many individuals packing their own food seems to increase the use of junk food for medical reasons. I have had to crack down on a few cases. As a diabetic this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I used to pack all my own food but the as the rest of the adult patrol gets to know me and get educated about what works and what doesn't for me they have altered the meals to allow me to have some options. In general we have eaten healthier. So it does work.

And cut off their health insurance and parking privileges while you are at it.