January Night Sky

I recall first learning the constellations as a young Boy Scout.  It might have had something to do with a merit badge and I have a specific memory of spending a winter weekend at someone's lake cabin and going out on the ice after dark to study the heavens.  Recently, the Pleiades has made the digital pages of The Platz.  

Asterism - a prominent pattern or group of stars, typically assigned a popular name but smaller than a constellation.

The Winter Circle (Winter Hexagon) is a winter asterism formed by seven brightest stars that dominate the winter sky in the northern hemisphere.  Included are Rigel in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, Capella in Auriga, Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Procyon in Canis Minor and Sirius in Canis Major.

Image credit Chris Vaughan Starry Nigh

Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is known as the Dog Star.  Procyon is known as the Little Dog Star.  This is a fun time to watch for these stars as beginning tonight and for the following evenings the moon will be passing among them.

Life Skill

 

 

I was rigging lines on the boat the other day and drawing-upon my vast knowledge of knot-tying accumulated over years of scouting experiences.  

Like riding a bike some things are learned and hardly ever forgotten.

Do kids learn knots any more?

(full-disclosure - my dock bumpers have Velcro straps)

Presidential Advisor

In case any of you readers are interested I received a call from the White House Sunday evening about my Saturday morning post.  No, they were not calling to rip me a new one or pick a fight.  It was all quite congenial.  And between you and me more welcome than a call from the Russian GRU.

As it happens Trump staff follows this blog and they called to ask for permission to use my idea about the notion of mask-wearing being patriotic to assist in boosting the president's poll numbers.

Being the fair-minded kinda guy I am and always ready to lend a hand I naturally agreed.  I suggested they knock themselves-out. Never forget I was a Boy Scout and continue to live the BSA slogan to Do a Good Turn Daily. Truthfully, if more people lived that slogan each and every day our world would be a better place. That's the stuff that already made America great.  But I digress.

Yesterday there was this. 

And you're welcome.  You read it here first, Be A Patriot - Not a Spreader.....

*That phone call came to me in a dream Saturday evening.  Strange but true.

Prepper Cheddar

From Wikipedia is this…
 
Survivalism is a primarily American movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who actively prepare for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. Survivalism also encompasses preparation for personal emergencies, such as job loss or being stranded in the wild or under adverse weather conditions. The emphasis is on self-reliance, stockpiling supplies, and gaining survival knowledge and skills. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, and build structures such as survival retreats or underground shelters that may help them survive a catastrophe.       
 
I will admit to having a wee bit of prepper running thru my veins.  I've got a couple of cases of MREs and a case or two of bottled water on hand for emergencies.  Plus a pantry full of canned and boxed goods that generally run-thru the daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal family grocery rotation.  That's just an old boy scout living the Boy Scout Motto - Be Prepared!   
 

However for you more serious and die-hard survivalist types there is this:  A 27 pound bucket of mac-and-cheese with a shelf-life of two decades.  Only ninety bucks!   Put that in your bunker for bragging rights.  You can even use the bucket as a privy when it’s empty.   
 
Each bucket includes 180 servings - in separate pouches - of elbow pasta and cheddar cheese sauce which calculates to about two servings per dollar.  Shoot. Suppose you don't even have a bunker.  If you live long enough you could put this in your regular grocery rotation and be good to go for regular 17-year intervals and leave the unused portion to your estate.  Kid in college?  Here is an affordable and convenient solution to after bar-time snacks solved with a semester-worth of mac-and cheese!     

Raising a toast to better living thru preservatives and pasteurized process cheese food.

Glop

This evening's repast is brought to you from years of camping and quick, one pot and one skillet meals.

Two skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces), one small garden onion (chopped) - seared in olive oil.

Add a pouch of Uncle Ben's brown rice and a cup of chicken base.

Season with Penzeys smoked Spanish paprika to add some zip.

Simmer.

And add a pack of frozen garden English peas. 

Simmer.

Serve. (When you spoon it into your bowl is goes - 'GLOP')

Channeling my Boy Scout skills.  And looking forward to doing more camping in retirement...

Boy Scouts Admit Girls - Dogs and Cats Get Along - End of World

Plenty of consternation on Facebook in the last 24 hours about the Boy Scouts of America possibly opening their membership to girls.   

Money-grab, power-grab, pillaging, you name it.   

As an adult with plenty of fond memories of scouting – including Cub, Boy and Explorer Scouts I’d like to weigh-in here where only serious minds gather.    

My involvement in scouting ended the first semester of my freshman year in college.  I had the distinct privilege of membership in Post #495 (sketchy on the number).  Admitting senior Girls Scouts in the early 1970s Post #495 was the first co-ed Boy Scout org in the  Milwaukee County Council.  I suppose my tenure in scouting throughout the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s speaks volumes nowadays.  But I digress.  

I think scouting today is more important than ever.  In an age of instant gratification and entertainment available at the touch of a flat screen our youth have become removed from the outdoors, personal challenges and service to others.  If scouting orgs in the future can harness technology to reverse that trend more power to them.    

In any event, I learned something today listening to satellite radio while on the road.  Scouting in Canada made the switch in 1998. Remarkably, the sky did not fall, the sun did not cease to rise and the world did not end.   Today it has grown to become the nation's leading youth organization.  Scouting rocks.    

You can learn more about scouting in Canada here:  http://www.scouts.ca/    

End of Rant.

Treasure Hunting Continued

Emptied-out a large plastic tote filled with stuff sacks, briefcases and duffels  - most of them sporting logo advertising.  They're going to Goodwill for someone to use to tote their books or groceries as I'm not making any use of them.

But in the bottom of the tote I found a couple of treasures.

Two official BSA (Boy Scouts of America) backpacks.  The smaller of the two (my first) is a Haversack Pack.  The larger of the two is called a Cruiser Pack.  The Cruiser sports an aluminum pack frame and larger carrying capacity for backpack camping trips.

They both are well-worn from plenty of outdoor use and have genuine brass fittings on their canvas.  The Cruiser has old-school leather straps (oiled-them up to keep them pliable).

Unbelievable what vintage scouting gear is selling-for on eBay.    

click to enlarge

 

Treasure Hunting

Been cleaning out stuff at the city house in anticipation of moving this spring.  There's nothing like hauling things to Goodwill, Habitat Restore and the dump over the holidays to keep you in the Christmas spirit.

Over the weekend I tackled the camping gear and stumbled across a couple of gems.

In the bottom of a box of camp cookware I discovered my original-issue Boy Scout mess kit and utensils.  

I also found this handy tool.  

Still in its maker's original packaging - a P38 can opener.

And a half a package of Glad Ziploc bags - Édition en langue française.  

A relic from a two week camping road trip in Canada.