adanecito

Hi All, As a old Scout Leader with two Eagle Rank sons I created this FREE Android app when one of them decided to do a 430 mile back packing trip last summer on the Pacific Crest Trail. Had Help from NASA, USGS and JPL. It shows your location on a 3D Map, location of forest fires, High Resolution US Topo, Radar and IR layer of clouds and more. I also have a web page viewer and video viewer that focuses on first aid and map reading. I have for fun for Scouts and families also created a 3D Version of Mars for educational purposes. Please do not let the Scouts or their family wander down the Mars canyons since you may never see them again. They may even stop playing games since all the terrain is real based on data from USGS and help from JPL to get real elevations added. All for free and started by a Scout Leader for the desktop but wanted to do more good deeds on a global scale. lol https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myuniportal.android.apps.mapexplorer&hl=en Enjoy All Scouts and Families!! Please let others know if you like it and think it helps them stay safe! Tony Anecito MyUniPortal LLC http://www.myuniportal.com

Hi All, Several Scoutmasters have asked me to make available a project I have been working on the side. It is a portal system that as some of it's features I have mapping and testing. Besides being able to find a location by name I have viewing controls based on DDD MM SSS format and DD.DDDDD and DDD MM.MMM formats. I not only have 3D and 2D but also USGS map view since I am working with NASA (I use thier libraries) on this project. This is so people know about multiple map coordinate formats. I added the capability to load gpx files for viewing and to follow the gpx track and annotations. For testing I added tests for First Aid, Knots, Orienteering ect. I also have video viewing support. It is a free service and requires no login and has no advertising. This is something I made for kids to learn and have added features I hope will help Scouts, leaders and parents. The thumb sized screenshots for the portal is at : http://www.myuniportal.com/screenshots.php'>http://www.myuniportal.com/screenshots.php Just click on the thumbnail shots to get a bigger image. Any input appreciated since I am open to changes to support scouting since I am a ASM and teach orienteering. My contact info: Tony Anecito Founder, MyUniPortal http://www.myuniportal.com adanecito@yahoo.com

I agree the troop should be understanding of that. My son went to Japan for most of the summer to learn the language and then also went to New York to represent his state and school in a national competition. When his below acceptable attendence was brought up the SM excused him although another leader did not like that. When the attendence was adjusted he met the commitment requirements. I was happy of course and realized you will run into hardliners in any organization. There are good reasons sometimes for a heavy hand but I have a difficult time in believing it was needed.

Thanks Everyone for continued discussion. As I mentioned earlier we are slowly settling for 75% Meetings and 50% campouts for attendence which I realize to learn and experieince is important. What we decide to do as far as document for future use is anyones guess but I like all the ideas presented and have copied/pasted to emails some of the phrases to my SM who likes and agrees and will use some for his SM minute. I did start up an interesting thread with the SM about how those Scouts working on Eagles and working for future college funds or other activities to show up on there scholarship applications. We agreed it important not to discourage them from finishing Eagle and cut some slack for them regarding attendence. It will be interesting how commitment is discussed regarding that group (Life working on Eagle). Many Thanks the discussions give me hope for Scouting and the young men. -Tony

All great ideas/policies. Does anyone put these in the bylaws? Once you reach an agreement about commitments and rules what do you do to pass them along to the next generation of Scouters and Scouts? Where do you draw the line on putting it on paper? Would it be a bylaw or a guidence document? Thx, -Tony

Thanks Everyone, I agree with everyone and it helps to have the backing of parents/Scouters who feel the same way. Most of the people in the leadership have agreed to not expect 100% but to expect 75% to 50% and if a scout does not show up even that much to meet with the Scout to determine if the troop is meeting his needs or if the Scout really has too much going on his life to be able to get the most out of Scouting. Some good people think in either two colors rather than a rainbow. Regards, -Tony

Hi All, In my troop right now there is quite a bit of discussion around attendance. Some feel 100% or Scout should leave and others there should be exceptions for Sports, Clubs School events tests such as SAT, ACT ect. I believe a well rounded Scout should be involved in activities outside scouting and ask that question at Eagle Board of Review. If a Scout consistantly misses meetings and campouts year after year then I would talk to them about commitment and getting the best out of Scouting. Any thoughts on this subject? Thanks, -Tony