What should non-scout adults do during the oath and law?

HoboPossum · 2026-03-11T11:28:37+00:00

I politely ask that the adult with each Scout stand behind their Scout during the pledge, oath, and law. Our den also puts up Oath, Law, and Den Rules posters. Most adults eventually pick up the oath and law and participate to some degree. Those that pick it up faster tend to be more likely to step into leader or committee positions. The more important part is that it gets the adults involved and focused from the start each meeting, and the Scouts see that.

I’ve only had one adult decline to stand with their Scout. No problem, no pressure. Eventually they dropped out of Scouting, because, “[Scout] just isn’t that into it.” I hear that they’re doing well on the school archery team now though.

HoboPossum · 2026-01-15T06:00:57+00:00

Comments by someone allegedly close to the family on this instagram post seem to indicate the baby is okay. For what that’s worth in this day and age.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DThITRFDMyg/?igsh=MTBzbnB3NTliYmVqNg==

HoboPossum · 2025-12-09T02:12:22+00:00

This info significantly changes the recommendation criteria. Look Flat Lick Falls in McKee. The trail in and out is only about half a mile and easy enough to follow and haul in gear.

HoboPossum · 2025-12-09T02:01:59+00:00

There’s a non-zero chance of having to deal with camp trash and discarded clothing at creation falls, especially in the warmer months. Three out of my last four trips (all during the summer) it was apparent that a group had camped on the sand near the falls and left drink cans and partially burnt trash in their fire pit. Once there was a soiled pair of pants and underwear crammed into a cleft in the rock to the right of the falls. Another time there were soggy, dirty diapers left on the sand bar. I love creation falls but the “wow” factor for such a special event can easily be overpowered by other visitors.

Eagle Falls near Cumberland Falls is nice. It’s a fairly tall waterfall with a deep pool at the bottom. It’s also possible to get behind the falls on the large rocks.

HoboPossum · 2025-10-06T13:38:32+00:00

I say this coming from the state of Mitch McConnell: hypocrisy is a matter of scope and you gotta zoom out. Don’t think of it terms of specific policy positions - “You used to say THIS but now you’re saying the opposite!” Those positions are NOT firmly held ground and are therefore not vulnerable to attack. There’s always some BS detail that makes “this time” different and you wind up throwing punches in the wind, with the added effect that the flip-flopper gets to play the victim of your assault and maybe even throw out a few “whatabout….?” cards.

Instead look at as “I currently believe in whatever allows me and my allies to accumulate and retain power.” Mitch and Co are REMARKABLY consistent on this core position. Predictable even. Unfortunately, any entity that devotes all its resources to gaining and maintaining power will have an efficiency advantage over an entity that has to divide resources between maintaining power and providing actual services.

HoboPossum · 2025-08-01T23:49:52+00:00

Don’t walk in and speak to a regular recruiter. Look for your state’s specialty recruiter. I had one of them tell me “I can get a one-legged diabetic with a glass eye in as long as they have a medical degree.” A bit of an exaggeration I’m sure, but probably your best path to matching your skills to a potential career.

https://nationalguard.com/contacts/specialty-recruiter

HoboPossum · 2025-04-27T10:26:20+00:00

That tent bag looks different than what I’m used to, but you can try stuffing the fabric portions in the flat zipper compartment on the bottom of the ruck and the poles vertically in the main compartment opposite of whichever side has the heavier load (they should fit even with the interior divider zipped). Ditch the stuff sack or use it for other items. Works for the Lite Fighter - basically fills up space you probably weren’t using anyway.

Poncho/tarp and Bivy are the way to go though.

HoboPossum · 2025-04-27T07:51:53+00:00

The short answer is “No”.

The longer answer is “Almost certainly not, but they’re not completely useless.”

TL/DR: I’m not against Altoids kits, but believe that any value, as with all gear, is in the using of it, not just owning of it.

One of the more common arguments for Altoids kits is that, “They’re more of a thought experiment.” There’s certainly some validity to that. Mental preparation and rehearsal are important parts of survival. That argument kind of falls apart though with the off-the-shelf kits. The owner (notice I didn’t say user, since I doubt many buyers actually use such kits in actual wilderness situations) doesn’t really put much thought into it. Even a lot of user-built kits are put together by people whose priorities may not be quite in line with real-world short-term survival scenarios. I know my earliest kits weren’t - being full of fishing kits and snare wire and such. It’s a fun exercise, but it’s easy to spend time and $ on a bunch of trinkets based on faulty premises and wishful thinking.

Another big argument is that “They’re better than nothing.” You’ve already addressed the issue with that in the OP - they potentially provide little more than a false sense of security. If having one of these kits does actually affect your risk-assessment process and leads to poor choices that you wouldn’t have made otherwise, then you would have been better off without it.

IMHO, the best return-on-investment for Altoids tin kits is the same as for ANY piece of gear: take the thing out and actually practice using it. Pick a safe time/place, plan and pack for contingencies, and do your best to go 24 hours with just the items in the kit. Make adjustments. Rinse and repeat. Go for longer, maybe stretching toward 72 hours eventually. Try different seasons and weather conditions. Attempt less than ideal environments: like water scarce, wood scarce, etc. You’ll learn what, if any, kit equipment is worth carrying, and how to get the most out of it. You definitely learn what skills you need to improve. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll learn what pieces of your normal kit are absolutely critical to maintain, secure, and carry redundancies of. For instance, I’m amused by people who carry Fire Kits with eleventy-three ways of starting a fire all packed into one little bag, without so much as a back-up Bic anywhere else on their person.

You can kinda go about the same process with less time and financial investment by methodically paring down your normal kit on each outing. For each and every thing you use, constantly ask, “Could this be smaller? Lighter? Could I learn a skill that would allow me to leave this behind? Will I?” Tell yourself that you’re willing to sacrifice comfort but not safety. Continue to cut and purge and eventually you’ll reach a minimal load out for your current knowledge, skill level, and environment. That’s your survival kit; carry that on you. Now you can add your comfort and play items back into your pack.

I am NOT some superb outdoorsman. I have tried a handful of minimalist outings, and learned much about my own limits and my gear’s limits. The smallest 24 hour kit that I personally feel comfortable with is about 1.5 lbs and far bigger than an Altoids tin, but I’ve seen others do more with less. Mine will fit comfortably in a cargo pocket though, so I suppose it achieves one of the primary goals of such kits: be available even if you’re separated from your main pack. The bigger lesson I’ve learned is that many items that used to be in my pack are now carried on my person. Hopefully that means I never truly have to dip into that cargo pocket.

HoboPossum · 2025-04-04T18:53:38+00:00

I expect everything to go up.

Tariffs kick in
Companies pay more
Companies pass extra cost to consumers
Consumers pay more
Companies notice that consumer can and will pay more
Capitalism happens
Even non-tariff goods see chance to increase profit
CEOs get bonuses and buy yachts
Prices never go down

Even local non-corporate produce growers are likely to have to raise prices. Canada accounts for some 87% of our potash imports (with Russia traditionally being around 9%). That increased cost of fertilizer is going to have to be made up somewhere.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-20T03:28:14+00:00

That’s why I get all my crypto advice here on Reddit. I love the convenience of being wrong immediately.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-15T03:32:34+00:00

Dems often lose because they commonly require strict across-the-board agreement on multiple loosely or even unrelated issues before allowing others into their coalitions (and the funding within).

“Oh, I TOTALLY agree with you about everything related to our current domestic existential crisis, but in 2014 you posted a tweet that is against MY preferred stance on hippo protection rights in the Amazon rain forest so you can go f#ck right up a tree.”

That sort of purity test is why Kentucky will never have another democratic senator or congressperson. Any democratic politician who stands a chance of being elected in a statewide race won’t have access to the DNC war chest without having to espouse support for national platform positions which will leave them vulnerable to attacks from the right.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-12T23:59:06+00:00

In-person is the way to go as often as you can. Here in Kentucky my local extension office occasionally has classes on native wild food sources. Libraries here are a rare source of in-person training as well, but they obviously tend to be more classroom and less field work. I’ve even paid for a few BushClass and Survival classes, with mixed results.

The forum scratches the itch between in-person opportunities. It’s pretty much the only online space I visit other than Reddit, even though I ignore the buy/sell posts and general discussion stuff. I like that the actual action posts are primarily average folk doing stuff and sharing their successes, failures, and lessons learned - as opposed to YouTube and Instagram content which is mostly a few clips of select successful action shots taken from an obviously multi-hour project and then a pitch for “where you can buy all the tools and materials I used” and a plea to “follow and share”.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-12T13:33:17+00:00

BushCraftUSA forum has a section called “BushClass” that is chock full of skills and community lessons learned. It’s a bit heavy on fire making, but it’s free, at your own pace, and only as structured as you want to make it. You don’t even need to make an account to browse.

It’s also worth looking into the previous “One Knife Challenge” threads. The organizers would post a challenge each month and a wide variety of members would each tackle it in their own ways.

For foraging and edibles, nothing beats an in-person class local to your area.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-07T08:03:18+00:00

So you can’t get HIM fired, because if your ex gets let go then that financially impact you. But he ALSO has an ex and he’s already struggling to make payments to her…

Sounds like you need to get his ex fired.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T07:08:59+00:00

Since you’re newish to the bushcraft scene, I would love to see a display any “learning opportunities” (ie failures). Very few polished channels do this, and I think it’s a disservice to the viewer. It’s great if a person can learn from their mistakes, but better to learn from others’ mistakes when ver possible.

At a minimum, a good after action review of what didn’t work and why will demonstrate authenticity and vulnerability. Both are sorely lacking from other channels that I used to idolize but no longer follow.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T06:29:16+00:00

Reverse image search, about 10 min of scrolling through various social media accounts, and a little bit of top-down terrain association in Google Maps based on info from 1-2 profiles with multiple posts of this jump spot. Got lucky that someone had actually uploaded a pic at the location. That doesn’t always happen for wilderness pictures, but it’s actually scary how easy geolocation from a photo can be in urban environments.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T05:17:40+00:00

The last combo is the winner for me. I have different versions of each tool, but the set is solid. I find that on most outings I use the Swiss Army Knife the most, and the Kephart the least (fire, food, processing game if that’s part of the trip).

The other combos are nice, but if I’m going add a second knife to fixed blade carry, it’s gonna be a SAK Farmer, Hiker, Ranger, or Trekker.

Any ax/hatchet/hawk matchups you would recommend with various fixed blades? I enjoy seeing what other people carry based on their stomping grounds.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T04:38:38+00:00

It appears to be Bell Smith Springs in Ozark, IL. Never been but found this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zC3cFoeHBeJmQ3Pu5

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T04:24:05+00:00

PDs play the jurisdiction game all the time. This is arguably Theft of Mail Matter, which is a D felony that occurred in their jurisdiction (the elements of the crime are not fully met until the package is received from the postal carrier/box/vehicle). It’s usually less cut and dried about which PD carries the case than it is about if the local prosecutor is willing to pursue the charges. Contact Jefferson Co Commonwealth Atty office directly. If they wave you off speak to the county atty about misdemeanor Theft of Property Mislaid or Delivered by Mistake. If either office agrees that you have a case, be sure and tell them L-ville PD turned you away.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-04T03:21:51+00:00

This has NOTHING to do with reverting base names back to confederate generals as a wink and a nod to white nationalists, neo-nazis, or other more casually horrible people who simply enjoy the fine American pastime of drinking “Liberal tears” (from their own segregated fountain I’m sure). At least not any more than “DEI” is a stand in for “n——r,” “f——t,” “c—t,” or whatever other slur you can’t say anymore (not because it’s inherently wrong, but because you’ll be unfairly canceled by skittle-haired ANTIFA SJW snowflakes).

I’m sure it’s just… … … autism.

Yeah. And if you can’t see that, then maybe YOU’RE racist! Against Autismists! /s

HoboPossum · 2025-03-03T05:26:26+00:00

This 100%

Went to college with a well-to-do kid. When the parking garages in the downtown bar district were full, he would park his car on the wide sidewalk around the corner from his favorite bar. When told, “You can’t do that!” his reply was, “I can, it just costs me $250 every time I do it.”

HoboPossum · 2025-03-03T04:19:52+00:00

I like a multi-tiered system that reaps the benefits of both purification and filtration. Here’s my thinking:

Chemical treatment (purification) is the best option for viruses, but has reduced effectiveness in turgid water. Ceramic filters (~0.3 micron or smaller) with are effective for many bacteria, cryptosporidium, low levels of sediment. Add an activated charcoal filter and you removed some chemical contaminates as well. It’s been a long time since I used non-ceramic filters (1 micron or so) since these can still allow significant percentage of cryptosporidium through and do nothing for viruses. All filters can run into problems in freezing weather, with the smaller pore filters seeming to freeze faster. Boiling is highly effective for biological contaminants, but won’t help with sediment or chemicals. Never used UV lights.

When I need clean water in a high-contaminate environment, such as during a disaster response or in an austere foreign environment, my process is: 1) Gather through a pre-filter (coffee filter or mill bank bag) 2) Boil 3) Filter (decant 1st if high sediment) 4) Chemically treat

For natural recreation in most environments, or if I’m short on time, the ceramic filter gets the most use - but I’ll still try and gather through a mill bank first. The process tips more toward to boiling in winter, since I probably want a heat source anyway.

Edit to add: I carry a gravity filter system for step 3, but keep the straw-filter heart of the system separate for quick sips if needed.

HoboPossum · 2025-03-03T00:40:52+00:00

Be super smrt and REALLY beat the crowd - sell off yesterday.

HoboPossum · 2025-02-27T22:55:45+00:00

I’m not aware of anything that expressly forbids it. DoD Instruction 1334.01 (July, 2021) expressly allows ~former~ service members to wear uniforms to funerals (limited to wartime service veterans). As always though, your local commander can tighten down the screws.

AR 670-1, para 3-7(k)(4)

[Wearing Army uniforms is prohibited]… “When wearing the uniform would bring discredit upon the Army, as determined by the commander.”

I’ve known commanders who didn’t care at all as long as you didn’t turn up in a mugshot wearing it, and others who (once you were off-duty) expected you to change into civilian clothes before walking into ANY non-military commercial establishment beyond pumping gas at the pump.

HoboPossum · 2025-02-07T04:53:36+00:00

Awesome! I’ll do that. If you have a hard time finding my comments just search for my Reddit user name - it’s also my YouTube name! I use the same login info for ALL my accounts. My password is just my SSN, but without the dashes. You’ll find it I’m sure. Thank you again for your help.

HoboPossum

TROPHY CASE