The Bloggers
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I was surprised to find the ways Google is using technology to auto-populate content on the internet. This blog is of course tied to my Google account, which is also tied to my Android phone. And as we may often forget, camera phones attach meta data to the pictures to record the location where the…
Last night we were challenged by the Order of the Arrow National Chief: "Dare to Do" for the next 100 days. Do an act of unselfish kindness, a good turn, each day for the next 100 days. What will you do? #DAREtoDO http://dareto.do
There is a great post by another blogger that tells all about NOAC, in more detail than I could put together. Find out more at Bobwhite's Blather .
Keep an eye on our journey to NOAC 2015: Amangi Nacha Lodge at NOAC
Day 6 (Friday): The last day of program time was used to wrap up merit badge classes in the morning. The afternoon consisted of free time again which saw another trip to the rifle range and two more sets qualifying for the Dime Club.
Day 5 (Thursday): Thursday was a more relaxing day for me as the scouts returned to their classes in the morning. I caught by on some email (personal email/scout stuff, not that "work" stuff fortunately). In the afternoon I spent some time at the .22 rifle range, and managed to get into the "Dime Club…
Day 4 (Wednesday): Wednesday is "Hike Day" at Camp Cherry Valley and the program areas are shut down. We choose the shortest one, but it also incorporated a morning of canoeing. We took two 8-man war canoes out to the Emerald Bay cove, about 2 miles away (the red course).
Day 3 (Tuesday): Merit badge classes switch to the morning, with free time in the afternoon where all the program areas are open, along with other optional activities. The great thing is the adults in camp have lots of options as well, including joining in on the ACE program (Advanced Camper Experience).
Day 2 (Monday): The morning started with a camp inspection after breakfast by our assigned commissioner. We found out we were in the "Baymax Clan". The troop scored a 67, which seemed low, but at lunch we found it was the high score for the group checked by that commissioner.
Pack 700's website got a little much needed updating, primarily in the photo gallery and news section linking the photo albums. Be sure to check it out, it has a lot more photos than I can provide here from events I've talked about recently.
Day 1 (Sunday): Wake up to meet the troop at 4:30 am. 5:00 departure for the drive from Sacramento to Long Beach. Not much traffic thankfully, we arrive at the Queen Mary by 11:30 am. A quick lunch in Long Beach and we are ready to get on the ferry to Catalina Island by 1:30…
So if there's one thing that sums up our troop's trip to Camp Cherry Valley, it is non-stop adventure. They made sure we had a full program and not a lot of down time (which is good to keep the scouts out of the campsite and out of trouble).
Probably everyone's favorite song of the week from Camp Lassen, we were singing it the rest of the week. (it needs a good Jamaican accent to replicate how the staffer sang it) This is a repeat after me song, with hand motions "Da moose, da moose (hands at side of head with finger spread like…
Another interesting post from Bryan on Scouting blog is the "10 reasons a week at Scout summer camp beats a week at the office" (as if you need ten reasons, one might be enough). So, let;s look at the list and see if my week and a half at two camps accomplished these reasons.
Here's a look at the number of merit badges earned in 2014. I took the data available on the Bryan on Scouting blog and sized the badges according to the number earned last year. Cooking was the most popular at nearly 100,000 (probably based on the change last year making it Eagle required, a lot…
Our Pack did this skit at Cub Scout Resident Camp. It think it was on of the better ones that night. Enjoy (sorry the audio is quiet).
Just spent 11 days at summer camp. A week of Boy Scout camp at Camp Cherry Valley , and then turned around the next day for 4 days of Cub Scout Camp at Camp Lassen . Good times! I'll be sharing a bit about each over the next several days.
I went to Twilight Camp last night. That's where parents and family can come up at the end of the day and spend a couple hours with their scout, doing the shooting sports (archery & BB guns) and watch some campfire skits.
In preparation for our trip to NOAC in August, my lodge, Amagi Nacha or "Amazing Nachos" as we've been nicknamed, has started a blog too. The scouts will be able to post messages and pictures of their journey to help document and archive our trip.
The summer camp season has officially begun for our family. Scout 2 is off to Cub Scout Day Camp. I'd post pictures later, but the district organizers said we can't take any unless only our child is in the picture and we can't post the to social media (child protection or religious reasons, I don't…
Sorry it's been slow on the blog lately. I've been busy with scout stuff, preparing for camps, helping plan some activities for Cub Scout Day Camp (hope the STEM activities are fun), taking part in the pack's annual planning meeting.
At ArrowTour for the Western region today. #OA100
Sad news reached the scouting community last week. A press release reached the Philmont mailing list I'm on, notifying about a death at the ranch. Extremely heavy overnight rains resulted in a flash flood that swept away four people. It apparently swept through a camp area (a staffed camp area I believe, but not sure)…
The pack had the Raingutter Regatta tonight. It's been an annual tradition for years. Ours is actually a Recycled Raingutter Regatta, as we use recycled water bottle and such for the boats instead of the official BSA kits. After 7 years of watching a sometimes participating in the adult category, I've realized building a mast…
The BSA announced a few weeks back that they had acquired Scoutbook.com. My pack has been using the service for the past year to track achievements and such. We had switched from Packmaster to find a more "modern" interface, Scoutbook was the closest think to a social media app and seemed to have some good…
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Scout 1 helped make this delicious Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble recipe I've been wanting to try since getting The Scout's Dutch Oven Cookbook . I can't copy the recipe, but basically to is ready-to-bake cinnamon rolls covered in blueberry pie filling and a floury-sugary crumble topping, and then…
The pack took part in the "Stay Aboard" program at the USS Hornet. Last year we did the USS Pampanito , which is a WWII submarine. The cubs really enjoyed that one, even though it was a small ship and pretty cramped.
The troop participated in the annual Flag Day ceremony that the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks holds every year. Though not a big holiday to most of the country, it is a very special one in the hearts of the Elks, and should be in all Americans.
Reflecting on the campout this past weekend, I think a review of weather hazards and lightning safety is in order. The BSA has a "Weather Hazards" training course that takes about 30-40 minutes at myscouting.org. I need to retake it I guess, as I can't recall exactly what it says in regards to lightning.
Scout 1 (I'll call them Scout 1, 2, & 3 instead of Thing 1, 2, & 3 - sorry Dr. Suess) went to the Order of the Arrow Ordeal weekend at Camp Winton this past weekend. He was a candidate last year and was going back for Brotherhood.
Prepared. For Life. That the BSA's current trademark catch phrase. I think it is a good one, because I think that what it does in a way. All the little adventures you go on as a scout hopefully prepare you for the real adventure of life.
Thing 3's troop bridged over to Brownies from Daises tonight. Great job girls!
We made some sushi last night for a party one of the kids was having. It looks like a great treat for a scout group, maybe even a fun activity that can be done. Or even a campout idea (I've seen scouts make rice krispies treats, it wouldn't take them much more to make them…
Here's the template for a troop brochure I made last year to help promote our troop when we have Webelos events. It's kind of like a sales brochure, highlighting what's important about our troop and what kind of things to expect. Obviously, update it to fit your own troop as needed.
(picture courtesy of R. Johnson) Den Meeting 5/25/15 - Handyman For this den meeting we worked on Handyman, which is mostly fixing stuff around the house, car, or bicycle. As much as I wanted them to wash my car, and it needs it, it didn't seem right, so we skipped that requirement, they can do it…
Scouts from several units joined together to help the Friends of the Veterans Monument conduct the annual county Memorial Day Ceremony. Here they are lined up waiting to march in the flags. We had a create mix of Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts ranging from Cub Scouts to Venturers, Daises to Ambassadors.
Here's another file template to share, our Pinewood Derby Award Certificate . (link is to a zip file of the PowerPoint document) For the few years I ran the Pinewood Derby for my sons' pack, I would make these certificates and print them out on cardstock to be presented at our Blue & Gold (which was always…
As we approach Memorial Day, let's take time to thing about what it symbolizes. It is a day to honor those who have died serving our country, protecting it and the freedoms we enjoy. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier pictured above is one of those symbols to honor the many of have fallen in…
This news article is worth sharing: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/travel/nepal-earthquake-teen-climber-matt-moniz/index.html
The troop had one of our quarterly events, the Court of Honor, to recognize the achievements of the scouts from the last three months. What made this one unusual was the recognition and awarding of two Eagle Scout honors. Often these are on separate occasions with a lot of pomp & circumstance to really emphasize the…
It's a good thing I just ate, because the recipes in The Scout's Dutch Oven Cookbook sound delicious. This was a book I picked up around Christmas, just after our ditch oven cook off with another troop. I could really get into dutch oven cooking I think, as the recipes are usually fairly simple, there…
A while ago, I was curious how other troops are run. I was pretty confident I understand how the scouting program should work, but wasn't sure if that was common knowledge among the greater scouting community. So I sent out a list of what I thought were key questions to a half dozen individuals I…
So I've finally seen the EDGE method at work...literally "at work"...like at my job. I was in a meeting and the were talking about moving a process from one facility to a new one, and who they would train the new people to do what the current workers do.
Den Meeting 5/11/15 Today we worked on our second woodworking project. I little simpler in scope, but still involved cutting, glueing, hammering, sanding, & sawing. This project was making coasters that look like shipping pallets. The idea was courtesy for someones Pinterest board.
The picture above are the Eagle Scout award kits I still have to give out (the troop had three new Eagles in April, and a couple back around the holidays). These are all scouts who started their journey well before my son and I were in the troop, and all the credit goes to the…
I created a new page that you find under the top banner for " Document Templates for Pack & Troops " to use as a quick link to the posts for the various templates I've shared. Expect that page to grow as I add more stuff in the future. Enjoy!
This week we are taking a look at Legacy of Honor : the Values and Influences of America 's Eagle Scouts by Alvin Townley. To be honest, I have finished it, I'm somewhere between and third and half way through the 287 page tome.
I created a new page that you find under the top banner for " Meeting Mondays " to use as a quick link to the weekly reports (when there's something of interest to report on that week). Enjoy!
Den Meeting 4-13-15 We continued working on the Craftsman activity badge, which requires two woodworking projects. We started the meeting with the den chief review various tools and asking the Webelos how they worked. Then we got into the project.
Thing 2's den earned their Webelos badge yesterday and the pack had the year end BBQ where everyone moves up to the next level. And that means I've successfully complete another year as a den leader. Just about nine months left, the countdown is on! You can see more pictures here: Pack 700's Facebook Page
