DancesWithSpreadsheets

In my humble, and admittedly biased, opinion, "Taps" well played on a tuba will make you forget about the best bugle rendition you ever heard. Revielle(sp?), on the other hand, sounds a bit silly in the bass register. Regards, DWS

They had a monkey bridge at the last Council C.S. Family camp I attended. It was fairly long, four trestles I believe, one at either end and two in the middle dividing it into 3 sections. I wasn't invlvved in running it, but I was asked to help spot when it was our group's turn for that activity. They put two spotters (one on each side) on each of the three sections of the bridge, and let crossers on so that there was no more than one per section on at any time. If a crosser reached the trestle at the end of the section before the preceding crosser had completed that section, he or she was held there until the way was clear. Don't know if the way they did it was compliant with BSA policy, but it seemed fairly safe to me. Regards, DWS

Speaking just for myself, as someone who had to earn the required skill awards to get to First Class, I liked (and still like) the idea that you could focus on one set of requirements and earnd the recognition that you had acheived a certain level of mastry in the subject, and also had a springboard toward the related merit badge requirements. What I didn't like were the beltloops. They were noisy and made it difficult to put on your belt. If you picked up your belt the wrong way they fell off. I'm pretty sure I stopped wearing them as soon as I got to 1C, if not sooner. By all means, bring the skill awards back, but leave the belt loops for the Cub Scouts. Regards, DWS (whose Wolf Cub son refuses to wear the belt loops he's received, and no I had no input on that decision).

Only if you lost your flannel nightshirt too. Regards, DWS

I've had good luck with Sanyo eneloops, they seem to hold a charge a lot better than others I've tried. A good source for batteries and chargers (and other toys) is Battery Junction (www.batteryjunction.com). I have no interest in the outfit other than being a satisfied customer. Regards, DWS (edited to correct mental malfunction)(This message has been edited by DancesWithSpreadsheets)

Eagle92, on that I agree with you. Regards, DWS

The way that's worded, it would appear that a participant could be excluded from a HA activity for failing either standard, so even if you meet the height weight standard, you can get the boot for having more than 25% body fat. There is nothing in there that says if you meet the body fat percentage limit that the height weight test will be disregarded. Regards, DWS

What time zone are you in? Perhaps the BoR could convene on GMT. I know you (and the committee) are trying to do the right thing, but the phrase "pole vaulting over mouse scat" comes to mind. Regards, DWS

At least for me, I think the best answer would be a combination of on-line and in-person training. The online training is great for it's convenience. I can sit through an interactive presentation whenever I have 30 minutes or so to spare, get a refresher whenever I want and keep up with those things that require periodic renewal (like YPT) when I need them. That said, I would also like the opportunity to ask questions and network with my peers. Discussion forums like this are helpful in that regard, but knowing how things are done in my district/council would also be beneficial, as well as having local contacts for a "sounding board". What I don't want is to give up a whole Saturday drinking bad coffee and watching "This is Scouting" and other titles on DVD while sitting in an uncomfortable chair, then when I'm about at the point where I can't take any more have the traning coordinator turn up the lights and ask "Any questions?". Let me do the online training on my schedule and then hold an (optional) session to discuss and ask questions. Even better if it's in an outdoor setting. I guess roundtable could meet this need, but so much of roundtable time is dedicated to the topics that the DC/DE want to cover it doesn't leave much time for general Q&A. Regards, DWS

When I looked at that, the first thing that came to my mind was inner tubes, but that may be bigger than you want to scale up to. Regards, DWS

evmori wrote: "Just because on ASM thinks a comment like that has sexual overtones doesn't make it a YP issue." That's true, but when an ASM thinks that it is, and doesn't say anything about it, it makes you wonder what else he's not coming forward with. Regards, DWS

What happens when Webelos cross over to Boy Scouts? Does their registration carry over, or do they have to pay a separate registration fee for their new unit? If the latter, it would seem to be a good argument for rechartering at cross-over time to prevent duplication. Regards, DWS

Eye don't think spell czech wood help if the word is spelled write but used incorrectly. Regards, DWS p.s. I think the word he was looking for was "entail"

Thanks for the reply, although I see now that your original post was not lost, I just didn't scroll far enough down to see it. I would love to come to the meeting, however I am living about 500 miles away now and if I started righ now I don't think I could make it on time, but thanks for the offer. Best wishes to you and the lodge, DWS

It looks like Buffalo Skipper's post about his OA ordeal last weekend was lost in the server shuffle, so I'm starting a new topic to (unoffically) welcome him as a brother of the Yustaga Lodge. (I say unofficially because I'm about 28 years behind in paying my lodge dues). Anyway, I'm interested in knowing how it went for you. Was it at Euchee? Regards, DWS

Muchos Gracias to both of you for the links. Regards, DWS

Excuse me if I hijack this thread a little but I'm curious, those of you who use alcohol stoves, what do you use for fuel? Rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, or what? I seem to remember reading somewhere about a certain brand of fuel additive that worked really well in these, burned clean, etc. but I can't seem to find where I saw that. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Thanks, DWS

Mr. Allen, you are correct, and provide an apt illustration of why I am not an investment advisor. But the point I was trying to make is that profit margin is not a very good indicator of the success or falure of a business or an industry, and that in at least the one case I cited a company with a low profit margin can still have good returns for its shareholders. Is the fact that a company (or an industry) underperforming the market (especially today's particularly volatile equity market)reason enough to conclude that healthcare reform is unnecessary at this time? Regards, DWS

That I can't tell you JoeBob, I'm an accountant, not a psychic, or even an investment advisor. I can tell you that one year ago a share of AET was trading at less than $23.50 a share. Today it's about $31. That's about a 32% increase. Like I said, not too shabby for a company with such a narrow profit margin. Regards, DWS

Excuse me JoeBob, but that reads like a press release from an insurance industry PR firm. Profit margin can be a misleading statistic, especially when making comparisons across different industries. Insurance is an unusual sort of business, not very capital intensive, just money in and money out. No inventory, no factories, not a lot of real estate or even equipment (computers are pretty cheap these days). If I was considering investing in an insurer I'd be more interested in return on assets or return on equity. Just for fun I looked up some information on the largest for profit health insurer I could think of, Aetna. Here's what I found in a supplement to their latest earnings release (from http://www.aetna.com/news/newsReleases/contentMgtAssets/documents/pr_4thquarter2009_earnings.pdf) (all amounts in millions) Total Revenue... Total Revenue 34,678.90 Net Income 1,276.50 Net Margin 3.7% Total Assets 38,550.40 Total Equity 9,803.80 By my calculations that means that Return on Assets as 3% and Return on Equity was 13%. 13% return on investment, and thats after interest and taxes is not too shabby. Sorry, if those results are typical, I don't feel too sorry for them. Regards, DWS

Did the punishment fit the crime, was it a sufficient penalty? You may not think so but I don't think that's really relevent here. Mafaking did not decide on this punishment, it was meted out by the PLC. Their opinion is what counts and I don't think it should be our business to second-guess them. If you're serious about having a boy-led program, then you need to support the PLC's decisions unless they clearly violate BSA policy, and I don't see that being the case here. Kudos to Mafaking for not hijacking the process, and to the PLC for thoughtfully addressing the situation. Regards, DWS

First of all let me say that I generally agree with the sentiment that there is no such thing as a partial uniform, either you are in (full) uniform down to your socks or you are out of uniform. That said the only problem I see with enforcing the rules and regs section cited above is that it effectively eliminates the so called Class B uniform. If a scout uniform shirt with blue jeans or other non-uniform pants is against the rules, then so is uniform pants with a non-uniform shirt (even if it's a scouting related T shirt) unless National has blessed such a configuration. Now, I know the "class B" is generally only used "in the field" and not for meetings, COH and BORs, but are we sending a mixed message when we allow scouts to break the rules when we think it's appropriate but enforce them rigorously on other occaisions? Regards DWS (whose Tiger Cob son refuses to wear scout socks or a neckerchief)

One difference I noted between nos. 1 and 3 is that #1 has about 6" zippers on the bottom hem to allow them to be removed over shoes or boots, the centennial pants lack this feature. If you order the traditional switch-backs, be sure to get the right inseam length, as hemming them is a bit more complicated. Regards, DWS

from the OP: "The SPL's mother was very upset and demanded to see the bylaws of the troop that specify the troop's proper uniform. She was shown the bylaws that state that for Class A uniforms, the Scout should wear the official BSA pants or other similar olive green pants (camouflage pants are not acceptable). BTW, this was my first time that I has seen the bylaws!" Calico, it looks like the reference to the by-laws was to determine WHAT this particular troops proper uniform was, not whether it was actually required for the BOR. While the official "field uniform" is defined in the U&IG, there are some options (such as hat and necker) that would be appropriate for inclusion in a troop level document, such as by-laws. Personally I'd rather see those things be set by the PLC, but maybe the PLC wrote the by-laws. I agree that requiring that the scout be in full uni before the BOR will talk to him is adding to the requirements, but as others have stated or implied, being out of uniform at a BOR makes demonstrating Scout Spirit a bit more difficult. Regards, DWS

addendum; this might have been what I saw: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4664258