It's all good so far

Watching the fallout from the recent decision by the scouts to change their membership policy. The decision was a compromise that was thought to preserve/extend the program. National thinking that the decision would satisfy the majority and get the corporate donors back.

The words of the compromise have been about inclusion, they push ” Duty to God” back to the unit level. I have one group of dedicated volunteers that see the program crumbling, their mainstream denominations with a definition of sin that conflicts with a litigious group wanting inclusion. Good people who have given their time and talent in what they have always viewed as an extension of their ministry, are leaving the program. These people are not backwoods bigots, they are main same middle America. They are the living examples of Duty to God & Country. They believe the program change conflicts with their core beliefs.

I don’t know the percentage of youth that have been denied participation in the program. The original policy was aimed solely on the primary adult leadership and somehow over the past ten years this has refocused on any member youth or adult.

Some of the folks wanting change are not satisfied with the compromise. For them it does not go far enough. They want full inclusion for their “open and avowed”, regardless of the conflict with the Churches that sponsor the vast majority of the units. I am afraid that the next set of battles, will be framed on God being the problem to be removed from the program, so that the atheists and open and avowed can have full access.

Then there those of us still in the program, trying to find the balance. To be sure that the program/ministry is provided to all youth, but also maintaining the core values of the Chartering unit, the Church and the Scout Council. Youth protection will still be youth protection. We are still going to screen our unit leadership. They will have to live within the precepts of the Church.

None of us are perfect. But, we are still responsible to be sure that we as adults conduct ourselves in a manner that does not distract or disrupt the program.

Most of us have not spent a great deal of time having to define or discuss our core values. There will be many of us doing just this in the days ahead. This is not a bad thing. I come from a credal denomination, I am comfortable professing my beliefs. It may not be as easy for others, but they too should have a voice. It is going to be a challenging time ahead for us.

Updating my EDC for a series of semi-audits. Trying to see what works best with the electronics and other gear. Still think I can shrink some more. Four different notebooks (daily log, expense field notes, and full spiral and a note pad. Three rounds of electronics. iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. Assorted cables and charger plugs. Other miscellanea stuffed into the backpack including a magazine for the periods of no electronics use.

Looking at the crowd at the gate. Another round of travel underway. One would think that some of the faces would be familiar, but with a boom going on and New York hotel pricing it is just a business trip.

I just saw my first hard hat. A reminder that there is real work being done out there. Its the extraction economy which is a little more tangible than the vapor-voodoo financial sector.

I will have to trust the locations have them available. Perhaps it is time to look at some climbing packs that are helmet friendly. Something that can hold the tech and the PPE

First business select flight. Eased through a check in line which was only delayed by an entitled cow who insisted on holding us up while she finished her bottle of water. We cleared security and and she clicked off to the closest shop for a replacement.

I was surprised with an A1 boarding pass. I will get the first opportunity to overload the overhead. I will be the first person they will go around while I mark my aisle seat. Cool. Time to work on the coffee and do some more people watching g.

It has been a while since I have done the breakfast cafe entry. I had to hunt for the WordPress app since I have been cleaning up the IPad. Now that that MacBook has become the primary device, this one has been relegated to the nice reading tablet that can do more when called upon.

Tomorrow I have another scouting event. This time the unit I am with will be demonstrating a different set of skills. The nerd herd will handle registration at the event. We will have a wireless network set up and do the checkin on laptops linked to a shared spreadsheet on a common drive.

With all the electronics I mess with, the apple id’s and iTunes accounts are the biggest pain. We started out with one iTunes account and have added computers and users, all with the goal of some limited parental control. Now we have 4, users on multiple devices and have unfortunately matched, attached, scrambled iTunes libraries to where I have much more Taylormusic than I ever wanted or needed. Apple ID’s abound, all with different passwords, and with the password paranoia I can’t use my standard password or usual derivatives. So setting/resetting the wife’s account required a little strong language. Cost me some breakfast karma but now she has her own custom tailored Zite.

It is a footloose Saturday. No agenda, getting around to places we don’t normally get to. Garden supplies to replace the drowned marigolds. Dogfood resupply, wine resupply, and what ever else strikes us. The coffee is cooling, and the restaurant is crowding. Let’ get it started.