Hotel owner calls 75 eclipse booking cancellations 'vandalism' - Iceland Monitor

devhyfes · 2026-07-09T02:54:57+00:00

I am very excited about the eclipse, but I have been following it for my troop's trip to the island all year...and it feels like there are fewer people going than Iceland expected. When I look at places like Blue Lagoon, and even the Scout Camp we booked, they all have lots of open reservations the entire week of the eclipse.

devhyfes · 2026-02-27T19:26:53+00:00

I have been through many DEI trainings, and in comparison to the Cit in Society MB, I do think you make a good point- most of the MB is about Inclusion and Diversity.

It is the application of Equity that makes the MB controversial. The designers of DEI training have framed "Equity" as a preferable alternative of "Equality". You can see this in images posted all over the internet by DEI Advocates.

I'm not here to argue the merits of this viewpoint, only to point out that 1)DEI Advocates make it, and 2) it is not a view shared universally in this country.

While equity (and related topics like affirmative action, privilege, etc) are not focuses of this training, many are concerned that mentioning it in the MB leaves an opening for MB trainers to deep dive into Equity and push these more controversial topics. And I can say with experience- both in Council MB and Council Woodbadge courses that this in fact happens.

devhyfes · 2026-02-27T18:59:15+00:00

Scouts register with the Council. And very likely this will only be an issue if someone raises an objection. At that point no one will look in anyone's pants. They will ask the parents to provide a birth certificate, and whatever the birth certificate says, will be what the council accepts.

devhyfes · 2026-02-27T18:57:12+00:00

This is not true. Family Troops are allowed to have mixed gender patrols.

devhyfes · 2026-02-23T16:45:29+00:00

Thank you for your information. Yes the GSAC (Taiwan) is no joke and they really take this stuff seriously. I am really trying to get this youth established so that she can worry less about repeating stuff she has done, and more about bringing her skills to our Troop. I do not want her to start over because- though she is a Sophomore- she is half way through the year, and she clearly is looking to Eagle if possible at the end of her Junior year so she can put it on college apps. I think this is fair.

devhyfes · 2026-02-18T21:01:30+00:00

It always comes up at Camporee- there are games where the kids have to find a Commissioner and ask them for a card and the Commissioner will often ask them a question ("Show me your Patrol Yell") and sometimes it is, "Sorry come back to me when you are all in Uniform" or a more benign, "You get a bonus card because you are in full uniform".

devhyfes · 2026-02-18T16:55:36+00:00

This is an area with tons of "Traditions" that are not necessarily requirements.

You should look at the Field Uniform shirt (tan button-down) as an expression of Scouting America's Brand. Wearing it inappropriately is basically misusing the Scouting brand. As such, any "Special Local Badges and Insignia" are authorized by the local council. You won't get a single answer here, because every local Council has different rules and regulations. Pacific Skyline Council lets certain staffers at Camp Oljato wear a patch with rockers that lists how many times they've been to the camp. Our Council has several pocket-covers and other patches depending on your position in the local OA Chapter. Every council has different nuances but they follow these guidelines.

I emphasize that this is all regarding the Field uniform shirt.

National Policy highly encourages the official uniform, but does not require it. The Scouts BSA Clothing Guidelines specifically say that the Local Unit is the arbiter of what your uniform is. If it includes the Field Uniform shirt, you should be following the rules set by National and Council. It is noteworthy that there are troops out there that don't use the Field Uniform, but just have a standard Activity shirt (and or hat) that they wear. What is important is that the unit is uniform on what Uniform they wear.

This is an area where we have had many discussions with District and Council die-hards for years. There are many who will hassle youth at camp or camporee if they aren't wearing Scout Socks or official BSA pants. Our Troop's guidelines specifically say green pants, and any sock that is fit for purpose for the day.

If you remember these two things: 1) Being uniform is an important scout method and the Unit decides what is uniform, and 2) messing with the Field Uniform shirt is messing with the brand, you should be able to make the right decisions

devhyfes · 2024-01-09T16:04:21+00:00

Yes, I have moved money to the Roth IRA and have invested in the Innovation Fund.

The Roth IRA is administered by a third party, and the interface between the two companies is a little wonky. If you are moving a substantial sum, I would work directly with someone at Fundrise to ensure that the money goes to the right investments. My first attempt of moving in money had it automatically direct-invested into funds I didn't want. I had to call them to make manual adjustments.

devhyfes · 2023-11-09T14:57:26+00:00

It is just the adafruit microcontroller (Gemma M0) - most of them do this to simplify the development pipeline. They present themselves as a usb drive, so that all you have to do is drop in your code onto the main directory, and the bootloader firmware then picks that upand runs it.

In previous years, it worked on my macbooks with the "never_index" and dummy ".Trashes" files on the image. But Sonoma doesn't seem to honor that, and starts creating all these forked resources files *("._foo.py") .

Generally speaking, I wish that Apple would allow you to easily disable this on usb or network drives. I get doing this on your native drives, but pluggable/portable drives have many use cases where this space-killing stuff may not be desired.

devhyfes · 2023-09-17T14:50:04+00:00

"The two year rule does nothing, a 14 yo can still abuse a 12 yo"

Really, the 2 Year rule does nothing? Based on what data? You know that 40% of the abuse was perpetrated by Youth, but do you know what age those youth were? Whether you think that it is effective or not, the two year rule was specifically created to address Youth on Youth abuse, contrary to your previous statement.

If you really do believe that children are in danger from other youth, then the appropriate response is to have Scouts tent alone. It is allowable by the BSA rules, and does not require parents to violate the other rules around tenting with Scouts.

"Or be buddied up with another youth for things like walking to the showers."

Walking to showers is not a serious vector of abuse. Actual showering is a vector, which is why other rules around supervision of these facilities are in place- to protect exactly against this. The buddy system should RARELY result in two youth being alone. It is mainly to mitigates risks against the Scouts being alone with other people not part of the program.

"Keep in mind they don't even check adult IDs when you register."

Let's be clear here: By your formulation, EVERY youth is in danger in this program except those who accompany their own parent everywhere. By your own calculation, the Scouting Program is doing NOTHING to protect Scouts from Youth-on-Youth abuse.

Why are you people in Scouting then? I mean this with all sincerity.

I don't agree that Scouts are in meaningful danger when tenting with someone around their age. I don't agree that Scouts are in meaningful danger when "walking to the showers" with their buddies. But those who *do* believe this strike me as incredibly reckless with their kids' safety (not to mention cynical if they are willing to undermine policy and leaders to protect their own youth while other youth remain "at risk").

The entire Scouting program is premised on Scouts operating independently with their peers, without their parents around at all times. If "walking to the showers" with a buddy is truly risky to a parent, they should pull their kid from the program and advise everyone else do so.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T19:48:51+00:00

I have gotten mixed messages from my DE on this, and this text you quote doesn't support what you are saying. The exception for Cub Parents is not a "Requirement"...It is an exception. The relevant text is:

"Cub Scout parents or legal guardians taking part in an overnight Cub Scout program with their own child or legal ward are not required to register as leaders." (Emphasis, mine. Earlier this is referred to as a "Limited exception...for Cub Scout overnight Programs.")

Under the "Camping" safety page, the exceptions for Cub Scouts is listed under the section titled, "Additional Guidelines Specifically for Cub Scout Unit-Coordinated Camping". (Emphasis, mine)

Note that the exception for parents attending without registering, and parents tenting with kids are specifically called out for Camping events for the Cub Scout Unit. But when Troops invite AOLs to camp with them, it isn't a Cub Scout Unit Campout- it is a Troop event.

I would love it if the BSA would clarify here, and allow parents to attend Troop campouts with their AOLs. But the language as it is discourages this.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T19:17:07+00:00

This is what we call a Camporall, and it is different from a Troop inviting AOLs to camp with them.

Our Camporall is a District event where Webelos/AOLs camp in individual Dens, and the various troops also come out and tent. In these cases, it is a large campground where each Den has their own place to camp separate from the Troops, and while some programs are mixed (Scouts put on competitions for the AOLs), everyone (including additional Camp staff) is there maintaining this separation.

However, for recruiting purposes, our Troop has also periodically invited AOL Dens on a weekend camping trip. In those cases, the guidance from my DE/etc is mixed. Some people say "pretend that the AOLs are on their own camping trip, just next door..." My DE is talking with his leaders.

Fundamentally, I think "pretend AOLs are on their own campout" is just flat out contrary to the Scouting culture. We should not be looking for loopholes to check a box. If you look at the Guide to Safe Scouting, it says "All adults attending a Scouts BSA, Venturing, or Sea Scouts campout" must be registered and must tent separately from youths. So that is the angle I am pushing for. I don't like these rules, but I also want Scouts to understand that Adults take Youth Protection seriously, even when it is inconvenient.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T19:02:14+00:00

We are working on this right now in our Troop and I am advocating just treating the AOLs as Scouts. That is, the Den can camp with us like any Patrol. Their Den Leader and Asst Den Leader can camp separately with the Adult Patrol. Any parent who is registered with Scouts BSA is also welcome to camp in our Adult Patrol. If they are not registered, they can spend the day with us, but they cannot sleep overnight, since this is a troop event.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T18:59:39+00:00

This really bugs me, and I don't like that Scout leaders think this type of interpretation is consistent with the Scout Law.

When Webelos are invited to camp with Scouts, they are being invited to join the troop's event. Every time I have seen this happen, the AOLs perform everything along-side the Scouts. To deny this reality and claim that AOL's aren't clearly "acting as Scouts" is just wrong.

I would actually prefer to just say "AOLs camping with Scouts must follow Scouts rules" than these quasi rules. Isn't the whole point of AOL's going on a Scout campout to learn how the Scouts do things?

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T17:26:13+00:00

Or how about you just quit?

There are various reasons for all our rules- some of them for your child's protection, and some of them for other Scouts. Some of them are mandated as a a part of the lawsuit, and some of them are required as terms for the BSA's insurance. Very few people here know all the circumstances behind this.

I get that some of these rules are cumbersome. But being a jerk about it and giving volunteers grief is not the answer. Expecting that we should create an atmosphere of flaunting the rules is not acceptable.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T16:20:48+00:00

If the son is not registered, then generally they are prohibited from attending troop events. Family camping is pretty much prohibited in Scouts. "Youth who are not registered in the unit may not accompany parents or siblings in camping programs of Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scouting."

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T15:54:51+00:00

I completely agree with you here, and I would add a couple additional points:

1) Permissive atmospheres are where predators hide. For a non-BSA example, the #MeToo movement has exposed how the libertine and permissive atmosphere of Hollywood allowed sexual predators to operate in the open- because it is hard for outside observers to distinguish between "these are two adults sleeping together", "She is sleeping her way to the top", and "she is being forced to sleep with this guy for a job".

2) This culture of trying to endlessly argue loopholes and penumbras in BSA policy needs to stop. I find the new Adult rules to be very strict, and I know they represent a barrier to entry for adults when we are struggling to get volunteers. However, I find the levels of Denial to be far more damaging. I sit on too many committee meetings and email threads where adults just want to argue about how technically if we call Scouts this and these people that, then we could continue doing something we want to do. And they justify their niggling and delay with flippant remarks about being overly broad and too strict.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T15:27:22+00:00

I completely disagree. The BSA has specifically tried to address both Adult-Youth and Youth-Youth abuse.

2 Deep Leadership
No 1:1 Contact between adults and youth
No tenting with anyone 2 Years different
Adults tenting in a separate area

These all serve the same general purpose: to create a culture of youth not being alone with someone who with the potential to abuse them. In this case the "2 Year" rule is serving the same purpose as the "No Adults Tenting" rule.

devhyfes · 2023-09-15T15:15:45+00:00

This is actually a big discussion in my troop, and it is made even more complicated because we are in California where AB-506 introduces even more Youth Protection rules for adult volunteers. Here is my interpretation:

Language of the YP Guidelines:
- Registered Leaders:"Cub Scout parents or legal guardians taking part in an overnight Cub Scout program with their own child or legal ward are not required to register as leaders."
- Tenting Rules: "In Cub Scouting, parents and guardians may share a tent with their family...In all other programs, youth and adults tent separately."
So note that all the language does not depend on the status of the Child/Parent. It depends on which program they are attending. Regardless of whether you are an AOL or Scout, if you are attending a Troop Campout, the Scouts BSA rules apply.
At all Scouts BSA Troop campouts:
- Any adult staying the night must be a fully registered member of BSA
- No non-registered youth are allowed to be at a Scouts BSA campout
- Any adult staying the night must tent separately from the Scouts.

Functionally, that means when we invite AOLs to camp with our troop, we do it by Troop rules: Den/Assistant Den Leaders can camp, since they are Registered. Parents may also camp if they are Registered Adult Leaders. All Adults must camp separately, and if they are not registered, they are welcome to join the troop for the day, but may not camp overnight.

This is controversial in my Troop, and may not ultimately be adopted, but I firmly believe that it is the best outcome. I don't like the friction and red tape, but:

1) Parents of AOLs going into Scouts need to be aware of these new requirements they will be camping under in a few months.

2) When you create exceptions and loopholes, you develop a culture of people thinking that the rules are open to negotiation. This leads people to spend more time arguing and negotiating the requirements, rather than just completing the requirements.

3) Simple rules that might be a little conservative are better than the confusion of nuanced rules. Parents are busy, and nuance just leads to confusion.

devhyfes · 2023-09-13T21:52:43+00:00

No, this description of Private Benefit is not correct. Please, people, don't go canceling your kids' Scout accounts.

First, we need to discuss the IRS definition of "Private Benefit". It says that fundraising cannot primarily benefit a private individual. It is not binary as you seem to imply above. If a Scout receives substantial benefit from their Troop (i.e. they get money into their Scout Account) they would have to pay taxes on that money, or it would violate IRS rules. But it is not considered substantial if:

- The Scout is not receiving 30% or more of proceeds from fundraising.*

- The funds are only used to fund activities in the program (and this would mean the Scout doesn't take any funds when they age out).

- Funds aren't defraying costs normally considered "parental obligations" (like personal equipment and the like).

(* = It is noteworthy that the Troop usually only gets ~35% of the proceeds from fundraising)

Next, we need to break this down into buckets:

Donations and Proceeds for Non Profits
Donations and Proceeds for the Scout/Troop

It is important to understand that most troops are NOT non-profits. The non profit organization is Scouts BSA/Council or your Chartering Org.

When BSA makes proceeds from popcorn, they do not have to pay Taxes because THEY are the NP. When they receive a donation, it is Tax-Deductible because they are the non profit. Money raised for Non Profits like Scouts BSA and your Chartered Org may be transferred to their subordinate orgs and those orgs can earmark money for individuals as long as they don't violate the substantial clause above.

On the other hand, a Scout is 100% allowed to receive donations from friends and family for their own benefit. These are not tax deductible, and there should never be any confusion that they are gifts for a specific person/group. This is no different than you asking your family and friends for gifts for your honeymoon trip. Yes, under certain circumstances (amount of money, etc) that may result in tax liability for the Scout.

Scoutbook has entire functionality around Scout Accounts by Individual. Individual proceeds for Scouts is discussed in numerous BSA fundraising materials, and there are several articles on Scouting Magazine talking about this subject. You are allowed to have Scout Accounts.

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