The Online Forms

There has been a lot of talk in a few of the Scouting forums about some new online forms that can be found on the scouting.org site. I would like to write about two of them today - the tour permit and the medical form.

The new Tour Permit is actually a writable pdf document in which you can fill in the blanks on your computer. I have downloaded to my computer and have used it for a couple of troop activities. It is pretty much the same information as the old forms, but since it is digital there are a few advantages. The first is that the committee chair, the council, and I can email it to each other, thus making it quicker to use. The other thing I like about it is that we can use digital signatures, which we discovered are very easy to set up and use. It has saved us time in trying to track each other down for those signatures.

Our council has posted this digital tour permit to its website and can be found at http://www.bsacmc.org/34426_Tour_Permit_App_2008.pdf . I am sure it can also be found on the national website, but I did not look for it there.

After looking at the new yearly Medical Form, I will admit that I like it. It is simple to follow and easy to understand. Best of all, this new form will replace the three current forms that are being used (Class 1, 2, and 3). It looks like the new form will be used by both adults and Scouts, and will even be used for high adventure bases.

This new form is broken down into three parts. Part A is the general medical information which is provided by the parents, similar to the old Class 1 form. It lists basic information including address and insurance stuff, plus has a section to list up to six perscription drugs. This part is for one day or weekend activities.

Part B of the form is for long term and strenuous camps and activities, like high adventure bases and summer camps. This is the part that needs to be filled out by a doctor or licensed health-care provider. A height and weight chart is also featured on this page.

Part C is a new addition to the form. It includes a "Hold Harmless/Release Agreement" and a talent release form for the parents or gaurdian to sign. To tell the truth, in today's digital age, I think this is an excellent thing to add to the form. This new medical form can be found at
http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf

I plan to hand out the new medical form to all the Scout families this month, even though it looks like they will not be required until next year. I want to get a headstart on this. I also plan to email the digital version of the form to parents in case they would like to fill out the personal information on their computer before printing it off.

I think these two forms are an excellent step to making things a little easier for troops, crews, and packs. Now the councils and districts just have to get these units to begin using them. I would not think it should be too hard to get that done.

Out With The Old

As the new year begins I cannot help but think of A Scoutmaster's Blog and the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. I have been writing posts to the blog for over two and one half years already. (Wow, time flies fast.) This is the 374th post to the blog. If I would have know in high school how much time I would be spending on a thing called a computer, I think I would have taken a typing class.

The MSPP podcast currently has 58 videos, with another to be posted later today if I find the time. I have enjoyed putting the videos together. I hope you have enjoyed watching them. I also hope I can keep finding new material to post to the podcast. It is getting harder finding material for videos designed to entertain Scouts, leaders, and parents. I guess Buttons may have to start making more videos each year.

When I started the podcast I had the help of Mr. Bob of the Akela's Adventure podcast. He was able to steer me in the right direction on how to write the xml pages and prepare the videos. Last summer, Cubmaster Chris and I made a few changes to the tech side of things and created a new feed so that I could get better statistics of the visitors to the site. We left the old feed up and running for people to continue finding the podcast and make the switch to the new feed.

It has been over six months since the new feed was created, and from the looks of the stats, nearly everyone has switched over to the new feed, so today I have taken the old feed offline. If you have not switched yet, the new/current feed is found at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
If you prefer to follow the podcast through iTunes you can find it at
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=251187870

The old feeds that will no longer work or be updated are the following:
http://melrosetroop68.org/podcast/podcast.xml and
http://feeds.feedburner.com/MelroseScoutingProductionsPodcast
If you are still linked to one of these feeds please switch to one of the current ones.

By the way, you can also find the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast as a part of the PTC Media family of Scouting podcasts. The link for that site is http://www.ptcmedia.net/

Once again, I would like to thank you for reading the blog and watching the podcast. I invite you to leave comments and let me know what you think about them. I also challange you to invite two or three more people to check out the blog and podcast. The higher the numbers of viewers become, the more excited I get about keeping things going. And to tell the truth, I could use more viewers.

Cub Scout Polar Plunge

I do not consider myself crazy (although their are some who think you need to be crazy to be a scoutmaster). For example, they are a number of people each year who decide they need to take a quick dip in a hole cut through the ice of a frozen lake in Minnesota. Would I do that? No way! I am not crazy.

But this year in Lake Minnetonka near Minneapolis, Minnesota, hundreds of people decided to bring in the new year by getting nice and cold in the icy water. Crazy, huh? Well, what caught my attention this year is that a group of Cub Scouts decided to join in the festivities. Here is the article from the KARE 11 website:

They came from all over the globe, just to say they did it. Hundreds of thrill seekers leaped into Lake Minnetonka New Year's morning, for the 19th annual Polar Plunge. Organizers say 388 people registered to take the plunge this year, far above last year's record of 298. Hundreds more showed up and registered Thursday morning. In all, 908 people jumped into frigid Lake Minnetonka to welcome 2009.

Among them, Cub Scout Pack 116 from Princeton, Minnesota. The boys recently learned their assistant cub master, Dar Durant, had been diagnosed with cancer, so they took pledges, collected money, and jumped into the lake. The money raised will go to help the family.

Plunge organizers say people from Canada, England, Iran, and Jamaica registered to take the annual dip this year.

I have to give those Cub Scouts and their leaders the credit that is due them. They did a great job of putting others first and helping someone in need. I am sure this is one plunge they will never forget.

By the way, the link to the KARE 11 website also has a couple videos showing the Cub Scouts taking their Polar Plunge. I am not sure how long the video will be available so check it out quickly.

Twitter Me This

The internet has many ways to be "social" in this online world. What began with simple emails has developed into something much more. Now we have sites like Facebook and Myspace to keep in touch with friends and family.

One social site I have been using for several months is Twitter ( http://twitter.com ). Twitter is a very simple site. All you do is leave the occasional short message about what is on your mind for your Twitter friends to read. And I do mean short. Each Twitter message can only contain a total of 140 letters, numbers, and characters.

One thing I like about Twitter is that you must approve your "friends" before they will receive your messages, and they must approve you before you receive theirs. Thus, so far, I have not received any spam through the site. There are also no nagging and unsightly ads on your Twitter page, unlike Facebook and Myspace.

I am not one of those people who tries to get as many people as I can to be a "friend". In fact, I only have about two dozen followers. Most of them are people involved in Scouting from around the country, including my podcasting friends Chris, Jerry, and Shawn. Look me up if you would like to add me to your Twitter list of friends. You can find me at stevejb68.

MSPP #58: Rapping Bunny Foo Foo

I am sure that you have heard the story and sang about Little Bunny Foo Foo at some point in your time involved in Scouting. You may have even lead the song during a campfire or pack program. Cub Scouts love the song. Boy Scouts think it is cutesy. And adults groan at the punchline. But everyone agrees it is a classic song for a Scouting event.

Now what happens to our bunny friend when some Boy Scouts decide to update his story? They give the song a harder beat. And they perform it in a (gasp!) rapping style. The result is a slightly new version of the song with a touch of comedy thrown in for good measure. The words are unchanged, but the melody may never be the same again. Be warned, this version may stick with you a while after watching it.

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Please leave a comment using the link below, at the iTunes Music Store (were we could really use some more reviews), or at the PTC Media forums. Drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org. It is great to hear what you think about these podcast videos.