BrentAllen

Reviving an old thread, with an update. SPOT now has a product that turns your cell phone into a satellite phone that can send small text messages or emails. Note this is one-way communication - it cannot receive any type of messaging. After talking with another Troop down the road that is using a SPOT, we have decided to take a look at them. We have a Crew headed to MOHAB (see the April, 2011 issue of Boy' Life, article on ultralight hiking) where we will be out of the cell contact for just about the entire trip. MOHAB doesn't provide sat. phones and recommends that the Crew bring one. Before everyone goes off on "helicopter parents" please note that Northern Tier provides either emergency radios (Ely) or satellite phones (Canada). The SPOT Connect works with the IPhone or Android, and also has the other features of a regular SPOT (911). Cost appears to be around $170 with a $100/year service contract. Text/email capability is extra, at either .50 per message or a package: 100 messages for $29.99 or 500 for $49.99. I think the biggest benefit is the GEOS Search & Rescue program that can be purchased for $12.95 for the owner. This provides $100,000 in SAR coverage ($50,000 each for 2 events). Additional memberships can be added for around $18 per year. The company also offers a Medivac+ program that will fly you to a hospital near your home, which could be very expensive. The Medivac+ program is available in either a short-term plan at $2.25 per day or an annual plan at $98.95 per year. A few years back, the SPL of one of our local Troops had a "Hey, watch this!" moment and jumped across a fire ring, made from a corrugated metal pipe buried in the ground. He missed, cut his arm on the pipe, and burned himself pretty good. This was at Summer Camp, at Woodruff. The staff took him to the local hospital and he was flown by chopper to Atlanta to Grady Hospital, to the Burn Unit. The flight cost was around $18,000, so I heard. That cost would have been covered, under the Medivac+ program, along with up to $10,500 in medical costs. I think for our High Adventure Crews, this is something work looking in to. SPOT Connect: http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116 GEOS SAR: http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=104 Medivac+: http://www.geosalliance.com/medivacplus/index.html

Lisa, Carter's cozing up to dictators as president was minor compared to what he has done since leaving office, which is the time period I was refering to. He continues to do it to this day. Tell me any ex-president who has done so (after leaving office)?

Sorry, Lisa, but Carter goes out of his way to do it. Sure, others may have had to deal with them while in office, but few have continued to cozy up to them once they left office.

There is still questions about whether Reagan actually knew the arms sales were going on. They happened under his watch, so he has to take some of the blame. I also don't forget that this was taking place to try to free some of our hostages. Arming our future enemies has taken place before (Afghanistan & Bin Ladin), and may well now be happening in Libya. I don't like it, but when we get involved in the affairs of other countries and choose sides, we shouldn't be surprised that it does. You can still go attend Carter's Sunday School class and even take your Scouts, if he isn't off having dinner with some evil dictator. Troops around here do it occassionally. Check dates at http://www.mbcplains.org/ Me, I'll pass. My ancestors bought property from Carter's ancestors, I believe it was just after the Civil War. The properties ajoin. I grew up hunting deer right across the street from the Carter family cemetery. My mother worked under Carter when he was governor, right before he was elected president. Neither of my parents voted for him. I've been on Habitat builds with him; he would probably be a nice neighbor. He amazes me in that the only evil he can see in the world is in the Republican Party and in Israel. Don't forget about his book and subsequent apology to the Jews (when his grandson decided to run for office in an area heavily populated by Jews).

You really want to compare Carter to Reagan? The Reagan that defeated Carter in one of the biggest landslides in the history of our country? OK, go ahead. Carter's support of Robert Mugabe: "The Boston Globe reported in December, 1979 that "Carter Administration officials feel they have scored a major foreign policy success in Rhodesia." (Zimbabwe was formerly known as Rhodesia). The purported success was a settlement that set the stage for Mugabe's rise to power. This was months after the Washington Post described him as a "scholarly, avowed Marxist." In August, 1980, Carter's former UN ambassador Andrew Young wrote in the Washington Post of "Mugabe's Endorsement:" The president's best investment of the past four years has just begun to pay off. The visit of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Robert Mugabe sparked an enthusiasm in black America that may well rekindle the fires that Jimmy Carter so desperately needs for reelection. Here is a president, being questioned by the liberal wing of his own party for supposedly abandoning his commitment to human rights at home and abroad, suddenly receiving accolades from Robert Mugabe -- Africa's "black diamond" -- for making a truly non-racial democracy possible in southern Africa." Of course, we all know how that has turned out. You can read about Carter's role in helping Castro and Chavez here: http://vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200408310659 Carter makes Neville Chamberlain look brilliant.

We were ready for the storm, and ended up barely hearing some thunder. It all went north and south of us. Some of the communities I work with were really hammered. I've heard the schools in Ringgold, GA are closed for the year - they won't have them repaired before the end of the school year. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost family members. May God bless them.

One thing you can say about Carter - he never met a dictator he didn't like.

Calico, You'll have to argue with the scientist on the NOVA program about the switchgrass - you can pick up the alcohol brewing around the 34 minute mark on that link.

DWS, You are correct - I've been watching too many Samuel Adams commercials. It was barley they mentioned, but they actually end up using switchgrass, an agricultural waste material. And it was a tablespoon for $100 grand, not a teaspoon. See the whol program at http://video.pbs.org/video/1873639434 NOVA Power Surge

pack, I watched a NOVA program the other night on green energy. It featured the Chinese company manufacturing all the solar panels being used over there, and talked about how many (100's) new nuclear plants are being built. How many are being built in the US? Zero, zilch, nada. The Chinese are building the new Westinghouse design which is far more advanced and far simpler than what we currently have (70's technology). However, neither of these really address transportation fuel issues, because electric vehicles just aren't a serious solution to the problem. The show also featured a lab producing an alcohol-type fuel that can go directly into the tank, using hops and special yeast. It works. Cost? 1 teaspoon? $100,000. That's not a typo - cost is $100,000 per teaspoon. Bottom line - there are no easy or short-term solutions. We should be drilling now and using the most economical solution - oil. Instead we have a president who ties the hands of the producers and says there isn't anything we can do while high fuel costs send us into a double-dip recession. So much for him being a genius.

"...our failure to use our ingenuity and creativity to develop and pursue alternatives to oil,.." I don't agree with this - we have plenty of resources for energy. Congressional Research Service just came out with a report saying that the United States has the most energy reserves in the world by far, more than Saudi Arabia, more than Russia, more than anybody. http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=04212e22-c1b3-41f2-b0ba-0da5eaead952 As for Obama being American or un-American, I found this article interesting: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/04/22/about-the-birth-certificate/ Excerpt: How could so many people question President Obamas birthplace? How could they wonder about his origins? Are they all simply racist? The answer, of course, is that Americans are desperately seeking an answer to a simple question: why does President Obama appear to be so un-American? The term un-American here is not synonymous with anti-American (though Obama has been that on occasion); instead, it merely signifies that President Obama is unconcerned with typical American principles and traditions. He sees capitalism as selfish and evil, religion as dangerous and oppressive; he sees the Constitution as antiquated and entrepreneurialism as exploitative. He is the representative of the Fareed Zakaria ideology at work, celebrating the post-American world.

I stuff the sleeping bag, stuff the hammock & tarp, stuff the tent (when I take one). I think the last time I folded a tent was 4 years ago, on a Cub Pack Family camping trip. That was a big family tent.

lrsap, Congratulations on the new SM position. It can be very challenging, and very rewarding. Good luck! A few points, as I was in similar shoes back in 2007. Focus on quality of program, not quantity of boys. If you stay focused on quality program, the rest will take care of itself. As others have mentioned, get a copy of the 3rd Edition, Scoutmaster Handbook. Read the sections about starting a new Troop and becoming a new SM; they were a great help to me. Don't worry about an SPL until you have at least 3 patrols. The boys need to learn how to be PLs before they need to worry about being an SPL. In our Troop, the most important leadership position is the PL. The patrol is wear Scouting really happens, and the PL is responsible for that. As soon as the Troop forms, start planting the seed that Eagle is not the end of the trail. Teach that Eagle is a very high honor, but it is another rank. The highest honor a Scout in our Troop can earn will be the one he receives if he ages out as an active Scout (we are still working on a name and form of this award). Order a copy of Working The Patrol Method, A Scout Leader's Guide to Youth Leadership Training today - http://www.scoutleadership.com/ It is sort of a modern version of the 3rd Ed. SM HB. I think you will find it very helpful. Finally, I think one of the most important things we do to instill the Patrol Method is planning and cooking our own meals at Summer Camp, instead of eating in the Dining Hall. A week of working as a team to prepare meals and clean up is one of the best excercises the boys can experience.

lrsap, Congratulations on the new SM position. It can be very challenging, and very rewarding. Good luck! A few points, as I was in similar shoes back in 2007. Focus on quality of program, not quantity of boys. If you stay focused on quality program, the rest will take care of itself. As others have mentioned, get a copy of the 3rd Edition, Scoutmaster Handbook. Read the sections about starting a new Troop and becoming a new SM; they were a great help to me. Don't worry about an SPL until you have at least 3 patrols. The boys need to learn how to be PLs before they need to worry about being an SPL. In our Troop, the most important leadership position is the PL. The patrol is wear Scouting really happens, and the PL is responsible for that. As soon as the Troop forms, start planting the seed that Eagle is not the end of the trail. Teach that Eagle is a very high honor, but it is another rank. The highest honor a Scout in our Troop can earn will be the one he receives if he ages out as an active Scout (we are still working on a name and form of this award). Order a copy of Working The Patrol Method, A Scout Leader's Guide to Youth Leadership Training today - http://www.scoutleadership.com/ It is sort of a modern version of the 3rd Ed. SM HB. I think you will find it very helpful. Finally, I think one of the most important things we do to instill the Patrol Method is planning and cooking our own meals at Summer Camp, instead of eating in the Dining Hall. A week of working as a team to prepare meals and clean up is one of the best excercises the boys can experience.

For us, the adults camp, cook and eat as a patrol. We have invited the SPL, ASPL and QM to eat with us, but they usually ask a patrol if they can eat with them (they each ask a separate patrol, not all asking the same patrol). I guess they would rather eat with their peers instead of with the adults, which I think is a good thing. Works for us.

pack, You'll have to wait a month, but here is your answer: Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President [Hardcover] http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Birth-Certificate-Eligible-President/dp/1936488299/ I've heard what Kahuna said - that getting a birth certificate in Hawaii is easy - that Hawaii has/had a statute that allows a Certificate of Live Birth to be issued simply on the statement of one family member (with so many islands as part of the state, I'm guessing there may have been many births outside of hospitals at that time). If that is the case, then a big can of worms is opened. As for the birth notices in the paper, I understand they are generated from the Certificates of Life Birth. IF Obama was born overseas, the question as to why the parents/grandparents would go to the trouble of trying to say he was born in the US isn't answered. IF this actually happened, I seriously doubt it was so he could one day be president, but may have been for other rights of citizenship. Regardless, as others have stated, Obama appears to have something to hide.

CNN: "Developer and reality show host Donald Trump has been pushing the claim that President Obama was not born in the U.S. -- a myth that has dogged the president since he took office..." "...a myth that has dogged the president since he took office..." Read that line above, and give it some thought. I'm sure there are some birthers who think Obama was born outside the US, but I believe many are just using the birther issue as a political hammer on him. If the issue continues to dog Obama and create doubt in the minds of voters, we will continue to hear about it. It's just politics. I watched a program about the 9/11 Truthers on NGC last night. Some of those people are very intelligent, but they deny any evidence that proves their theories wrong. It just leaves you shaking your head. I'm sure some Birthers are the same. I do find it interesting that Obama doesn't produce the long form. Anyone with an ounce of curiosity has to ask why? I also found it interesting when the new Governor said he would produce the birth certificate, and then couldn't, and then said the long form may not exist. I'm guessing he isn't on Obama's Christmas card list anymore. Oh, wait - Obama is Muslim, right?

No, not me. I rode the ride at Disney World over Spring Break - that may be as close as I get to Everest. Anyone following the climbs this season? If you are interested, this is a good site. http://www.everestnews.com/ For the IMG Team, their sherpas reached Camp 2 (21,000 feet). I may have to get Krakauer's book out again; its been a few years since I last read it.

So Oak, your Cubs never got to shoot archery or BB guns? I'd say that is depriving them of some of the most popular Cub activities. drewASM wrote, "A council camp that has tent platforms that are rotting and cots that collapse." Where do you think the money to repair and replace those items comes from? FOS. So keep your money, and see where that gets you. None of your dues goes to council. Council basically gets funded through a cut of popcorn sales and FOS. If you don't know what your DE is doing to earn his pay, then you aren't paying attention.

Being a big fan of the Golden Rule, I would never tell one of our parents how to raise their son. That was one of those silent promises I made to myself when I became a Scouter - I would never cross that line. That being said, I let the parents know that when their son is on one of my trips, he is no longer their son, he is my Scout. If a Scout is doing something on one of our trips that I don't approve of, the excuse "I do this at home" will not cut it - he isn't at home, he is on my trip. As for the drunk driver dad, I wouldn't have called LEO, but I would have insisted we get someone to drive the dad home. If drunk dad refused and became belligerent, then I would call LEO.

I have acquired a few bags over the years, but only use two - a 15 degree down bag and a 45 degree synthetic. I also use a Coccoon Coolmax liner frequently, in both warm and cold weather.

SP, Yes, I am a big fan of Green Bar Bill. I'm sure you are aware that he is generally credited with saving the BSA program from it's experiment in the 1970's. You are also visiting a web site that is dedicated to him. The quote I use is from the Scoutmaster Handbook that was in place for a number of years, so it is the text the SMs used to run their programs. If you reread the quote, it doesn't say to build "the" best Troop - it says to build "one of the" best Troops. And you are correct, there is no metric to measure that, and I don't think there should be. A Scout Troop should have to work hard to earn the respect of others in the Council to be considered "one of the best." The way you and I would decide which Troops are among the best might be very different. I put a ton of clout in how many older boys are in the Troop (I'm not going to say "active" because that should be the case for any boy on a Troop's roster) - how many boys age out instead of quit. I put a lot of clout in % attending events - meetings, campouts, Summer Camp. You can't work with the boys if they aren't there, so active participation is a big sign for me. You may not feel the same. The Boy Scout program does promote the idea of striving to be the best. It is in our Oath. Every Summer Camp program I have been to had camp inspections, and award ribbons for earning different levels. Again, not trying to be "the best" but "one of the best." Camporees usually do the same. Our boys get to decide on parts of the program every week. Each boy gets to decide if he wants to wear the uniform or not. We don't kick them out or make them sit in the corner - they participate just like everyone else. Their patrol may give them a hard time for costing them points, or they may not care, if they aren't trying to earn Honor Patrol. It's their decision. Same with the Camporee contest - not all of our patrols were trying to win the contest. Some of our patrols had several new Scouts and the PL was more interested in letting the new Scouts participate and have fun than just going for the win - again, their choice. Scouts are constantly offering up suggestions for changes in the Honor Patrol competition. The suggestions have always been to add more categories to the game - none have wanted to remove any parts. Some we are able to work in, but some don't turn out to be workable. Again, their choice. You know what the grand prize is for the quarterly Honor Patrol competition? Besides the pure honor of winning, they get to hang a pendant from their flag signaling they are the current Honor Patrol, they get first choice of campsite locations when we arrive at camp, they get first in line for peach cobbler desert if I make it on a trip, and they get enough funds for the patrol to go out for pizza or a movie or something similar. Believe it or not, the patrols compete hard for this. Some here seem to think that if our Troop decided to go to a waist-up uniform policy, that would be a sign of real leadership from the boys. Horse apples!! For us, that wouldn't be leadership, that would be laziness! The boys joined the organization, they should respect the uniform. If they don't like it, they can try to change it through National or leave. This isn't a leadership issue, this is an issue of respect. I have Scouts who are trying to get into the military academies. Should I teach them that if they don't like the uniform culture at the Naval Academy, they should just ignore it and "show leadership" by coming up with their own idea of what they want to wear? Yeah right, that would be interesting. No, we are teaching them to respect the organization and its uniform, and to work together as part of a team, to put team and others before self. If you think some wishy-washy uniform leadership lesson is more important than that, and should be learned at the expense of that, then knock yourselves out. I find plenty of other ways to teach leadership through the Patrol Method, so I don't have to do it in a manner that teaches disrespect. So, Beavah, you admit you really don't know enough about our program to make any real judgements about it. That's what I thought. Carry on.

SP, No, I don't check for socks - the PLs do. And yes, they must be Scout socks to count. The boys enjoy playing this game, earning points for Honor Patrol, and they are probably harded on each other than I would be. Your ragging on us for doing so is similar to the attitude that is plaguing our education system - the kids at the bottom of the class ragging on those at the top for working hard and succeeding. Those at the bottom seek to bring everyone down to a mediocre level so no one looks bad. Beavah, you wrote, "But yeh don't have real youth leadership unless the youth can change da rules and culture and way things are done." You have obviously studied our Troop very closely and, with all your experience as a leader and as a commissioner, you surely see some areas where we need to improve. So, please, help me out - give me 5 or 6 specific items we need to work on. I'm sure you have more, but I'll be happy with 5 or 6. Feeback is a gift. I look forward to seeing your experienced suggestions.

Seattle, Page 33 - "The BSA's official uniform includes a Scout shirt, Scout pants or Scout shorts, Scout belt, Scout socks, and shoes or hiking boots." So, of course, the boys in our Troop need to wear socks to be counted as "in uniform." Why ask about the neckerchief and hat? Because they are decided upon by the boys. Our Troop doesn't wear either one - their choice. I really wish they would come up with a custom neckerchief, and they may in the future, but that is their decision and I respect it. You seem to think that since I have a vision for our Troop that I rule it with an iron fist and the boys don't have any opportunity to lead or make decisions. If that is what you think, you couldn't be more wrong. At the Camporee, the SPL let me know where the Patrols were camping, so we in the Old Fogey Patrol took the area that was left. I had one PLC meeting Friday night to remind the PLs to watch out for their new Scouts, that they would probably be leaving water bottles and rain gear behind at events. After that, they were on their own. I had to go set up an event to run first thing Saturday morning, and I was there until lunch. After lunch, I went around taking pictures and visiting with other SMs I knew. I didn't know 3 of our OA Scouts were participating in the Tap Out ceremony until we got to the campfire. I did suggest to our SPL that we invite another Troop over for a campfire program, since our site had a nice big fire ring with benches. He took it from there, finding their SPL and working out a plan with him for skits, timing, etc. I never heard another word about it until their Troop showed up and our guys were building the fire. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the program since I had to take one of our Scouts to the emergency room for a cut he got using my Gransfors Bruks hatchet, but from what I heard, things went well. The Scout got 3 stitches and we were back by 1:00 AM to enjoy some very heavy rain.

BadenP, I completely agree, and I don't think I have ever said a Troop needs to be in full uniform to be a good Troop. On the other hand, I can show you plenty of examples where others have said, to the effect, "the full uniform Troops I have seen never went camping," or "the full uniform Troops were adult run," or "the full uniform Troops were Troop method," etc. It seems there are many, many Troops that claim to do great with every method, every part of their program, except uniforming. What I have said is I don't see why our Troop and another down the street can be full uniform and the others can't. I don't see why Troops accept and call themselves "waist-up uniform Troops." They still have an expectation (just like we do) but with a lower bar. For me, to "do my best" means to follow the program as outlined by the BSA, to wear the uniform as described by the BSA. If other Troops are "doing their best" I have no problem with it. I've had many discussions with other leaders that show they aren't doing their best - they say they can't get the boys to wear the pants or the socks or whatever, and they give up. Or they say if they pushed the full uniform, they would lose boys - they would quit. Well, then why aren't we losing boys? Why is our Troop growing while there's are shrinking? Seattle, instead of asking about socks, you should have asked me about neckerchiefs or hats.