5 Minute blogs with tips on camping, the outdoors, and Scout Advancement.
1- When I started these blogs, I made an internal commitment to myself and to you the reader that this was not about me. I was writing to help and encourage youth-age Scouts and their Scout Leaders. But for the past couple of months, I have had a massive writer’s block. You know the stuff … Read more
1- Slogan: A motto, a short, memorable phrase expressing an aim of a group. The word “slogan” comes from Scottish Gaelic. It dates from about 1513 and is the derivative of the earlier word “slogorn.” Slogorn, is the Anglicisation (put into English) of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm. Sluagh-ghairm breaks down and means “army cry.” The … Read more
1- One habit I installed into my Troop was to do a “Hot Wash” after a camping trip. Some folks call it a “debrief.” It was simply a few questions that asked: What went well? Did learning take place? What was missing? What could we have done better? Were there any weak links in the … Read more
1- Scouting: Ask every Scouter you know what their life would be like without Scouts? What did they learn & how did they use that knowledge or skills from Scouts? What would they have done differently in Scouts? What kind of Leadership roles were learned in Scouts? What kind of Service Projects did those Scouts … Read more
1- “To me, a winner is someone who recognizes their God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills and uses those skills to accomplish his goals. Even when I lost, I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses into strengths.” – Larry Bird. … Read more
1-This song is titled “The Happy Wanderer” by Florenz Friedrich Sigismund. First verse: I love to go a-wandering, Along the mountain track, And as I go, I love to sing, My knapsack on my back. 1B- Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “The Way Through The Woods.” Here is the second verse. Yet, if you enter … Read more
1- In this July heat I think about winter camping. It seems to me that it is easier to warm up than to cool down. Unless you are camping beside a body of water that you can go sit in till the heat & sweat are more under control. Winter camping also has fewer bugs … Read more
1- We know that the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere is called the Troposphere. And the next layer up is called the Stratosphere. Atop the stratosphere is Mesosphere. The next layer up is called the Thermosphere. And the last layer of Earth’s atmosphere is the Exosphere. These layers are based on temperature. Also, as you … Read more
1- Most building codes have SCIENCE behind them. Let me share what I dealt with. The INVERTED GENIUS that built this house put water lines between the house & the detached workshop about 6″ deep underground. On dark cold winters, the “frost line” here in this part of North Carolina is 12″ deep. That means … Read more
1- I talked about a schedule already. Here are some more of Scott Kelly’s thoughts: “And don’t forget to include in your schedule a consistent bedtime. NASA scientists closely study astronauts’ sleep when we are in space, and they have found that quality of sleep relates to cognition, mood, and interpersonal relations — all essential … Read more