Weekend Patrol Box #27

OK, so it's a bit cold for much of the country.  There is still a lot of Scouting going on, just under layers!

This week's Patrol Box kicks off a new year!

Actually, our first Cub Scout meeting of 2010 started with the Webelos den that will be crossing into our troop this spring, showing me their brand-spanking new...patrol box!  When one of the dads is a cabinet-maker by training, you can imagine how well built this is.  They built it for the Craftsman activity badge, which is the 20th for many of them.

Great bunch of energetic Scouts to add to the mix!

Whether you are headed out to the wilderness or hunkering down to survive the plummeting temps, enjoy this week's Patrol Box.

1. Merit Badge of the Week:  Cinematography Free software and lots of tips to make you a great videographer.  Oh, and you'll help expand your Scouts' universe. [Series resuming in 2010!]
2. Merit badge humor--should Wilderness Survival be required?
3. Contest: "Be Prepared" Solar Chargers from Powerfilm (Boys' Life advertiser)
4. ...and while you are poking around Amazon: Eagle Scout street signs to go with the Eagle Scout parking sign.
5. Easy project to get behind--more bike routes.  Where does your state fall?
6. The Price of Freedom leadership conference--only for Eagle Scouts, Venturer Silver Award or Sea Scout Quartermaster Award.  11-14 FEB 2010
7. Cub Scout Video Game belt loop:  think this will help? Great week for Scouting in the comics!
8. Scoutsigns' Top 10 Tweets for 2009.
9. Take Me Fishing--new patches and opportunities for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.  TakeMeFishing.org is also on Twitter and Facebook.
10. Venturers, Boy Scout and Cub Scouts--this idea could be for you.  S24O:  Sub-24 hour overnighters cycle trips  for the time challenged (could easily be adapted to other things--backpacking, canoeing, and more). Adventure Cycling Association

So what do you have planned for this weekend?  We are headed off to a lock-in at a local military academy to use their pool, gym and game room all night.  Big breakfast in the AM to compensate for staying up all night.  Check in with me on Twitter to see if I'm still up!  or have a connection!

2009 Top Tweets

Twitter was a new tool for me to explore early on in 2009. It was quirky and just beginning to get a lot of press. Folks were trying out if this would be a fad or a solution.

I read a lot about how to be a good member of the Twitter community--share information, try not to advertise yourself too much, retweet other people's comments to add depth and richness to everyone's experience.

Hootsuite became my tool of choice to manage the exploding amount of information coming to my screen.

7745 times someone clicked on a link that I found useful, interesting, odd or just great fun. (By the way, 21 APR 2009 was the biggest day with 218 clicks.)

Each month, I began to post the "Top 10" from the previous month. The point was to help you not miss anything a lot of other people found interesting--especially if you don't use Twitter.

A side benefit to me was to keep some older links alive longer to see which ideas "had legs".

The result? This is the Top 10 for 2009 from Scoutsigns:

1. Um, tasty and funny! Anyone else going camping this weekend? http://ow.ly/b4f4
2. Positive essay on the Boy Scouts! http://ow.ly/3rZL
3. Weekend Patrol Box #19 http://ow.ly/15NJmu
4. Weekend Patrol Box #18 http://ow.ly/15LUo7
5. Weekend Patrol Box #21 http://ow.ly/15R4fQ
6. #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #23 http://ow.ly/15TT05
7. ScoutSigns: 100th Anniversary Postage Stamp to be Announced! http://ow.ly/zQkO
8. Great American Backyard Campout--add to your calendar! http://ow.ly/2xC7
9. Excellent idea! Eagle Scout Parking Only sign.. (via @LatterDay_Scout) http://ow.ly/kQcK
10. ScoutSigns: New BSA Rank Requirements Coming http://ow.ly/h05l

I will continue to post the Top 10 each month--and I'd like your feedback.

Do you Tweet? Are you following me?

2009's December Tweets

December was a quiet month between work, travel and of course Scouting (including our big annual ski trip).

Here were the Top 10:

1. Wildlife Promise: Be Out There: The Ten Reasons Parents Should Care About Outdoor Time For Kids http://ow.ly/QoE6
2. Ah… what fun for the boys http://ow.ly/NqcX I love it when Scouters are good sports.
3. Great idea for cold weather Scouting... http://ow.ly/R9T4
4. National Scout Shops closed until 2010... http://ow.ly/P78I
5. Thought provoking--Amusing Ourselves Out of Our Manhood | The Art of Manliness http://ow.ly/IgzE
6. BSA timeline--great images to see here! http://ow.ly/Rp0C
7. Weekly Patrol Box #14 up http://ow.ly/2xmf What Scouting blogs do you like? Leave in comments!
8. Just in case you missed the Scuba merit badge officially on Scouting.org http://ow.ly/HWHi
9. Merit Badge of the Week: Backpacking http://ow.ly/15NraY
10. #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #23 http://ow.ly/15TT05

2009's November Tweets

November had a number of interesting topics, including "THE" stamp for the BSA Centennial.

November's Top 10:

1. ScoutSigns: 100th Anniversary Postage Stamp to be Announced! http://ow.ly/zQkO 
2. #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #26 http://ow.ly/15ZTqe 
3. Assorted BSA forms to tuck away for a rainy day... http://ow.ly/DrPB includes talent survey and adult/youth transfer forms 
4. #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #25 http://ow.ly/15YozR 
5. Merit Badge of the Week: Backpacking http://ow.ly/15NraY 
6. #scouts Weekend Patrol Box #24--enjoy! http://ow.ly/wklF 
7. #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #23 http://ow.ly/15TT05 
8. #scouts New Post: Merit Badge of the Week: Cinematography http://ow.ly/160Yb3 
9. BSA Pack Trainer qualifications and responsibilities http://ow.ly/Brla 
10. Cub Scout Pack Newsletter, Poster, and Calendar Templates http://ow.ly/yyFk 

A bit discouraging, I have to admit, are the numbers for the merit badge series--may have to rethink the approach--what do you think?

October's Top Tweets

According to Hootsuite, 1434 hits were registered in October on items posted to Scoutsigns or that I just found interesting on Twitter.


The Patrol Boxes seem to be the most popular items, and disappointingly the Merit Badge of the Week didn't do so well this month.  I'll have to try a little harder.  Is there something on the merit badges that you would like to see added or changed?


Here were the Top 10 tweets in October:

1.  #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #23  115 Clicks

2.  #scouts Weekend Patrol Box #24--enjoy!  99 Clicks

3.  Weekend Patrol Box #22  82 Clicks

4.  #scouts New Post: Weekend Patrol Box #25  73 Clicks

5.  ScoutSigns: (Unofficial) New Academics and Sports Requirements: Index  66 Clicks

6.  #scouts New Post: Merit Badge of the Week: Camping  52 Clicks

7.  Friday we can watch rocketships smash into the moon...  49 Clicks

8.  BSA licensed Outdoor Fire Rings...where can I get a price on one?  45 Clicks

9.  Wow--if this 3 min video doesn't motivate you as a Scouter, or make you want to be a Scouter, something is amiss.  44 Clicks

10. Knights Win Federal Court Victory in Pledge of Allegiance Case  36 Clicks

Catch the video if you haven't already!  Was anyone else glad to FINALLY see the new Academics and Sports requirements?  Even if they are unofficial so far.

September's Top Tweets

September was a busy month.  1477 times someone interested in Scouting clicked on a link that I thought would be of interest.


That is a lot of interest!  I appreciate your support to help make Scouting even better.


Here are the top 10 tweets for September:

1. http://ow.ly/15NJmu	Weekend Patrol Box #19	150 Clicks
2. http://ow.ly/15R4fQ	Weekend Patrol Box #21	121 Clicks
3. http://ow.ly/15ODKX	Weekend Patrol Box #20	118 Clicks
4. http://ow.ly/nX53	Different! Centennial BSA Program Helps for Cub Scouts...	99 Clicks
5. http://ow.ly/15RyU2	BSA "Nothing but Nets" Partnership	82 Clicks
6. http://ow.ly/nu57	Great idea! I hope someone at Nat'l is recording these great ideas! BSA logo corn maze	56 Clicks
7. http://ow.ly/15NraY	Merit Badge of the Week: Backpacking	56 Clicks
8. http://ow.ly/15QPex	Merit Badge of the Week: Bird Study	51 Clicks
9. http://ow.ly/qyTl	Hey, what popular youth program does this sound like? Simple Family: How to Steal From Your Kids	45 Clicks
10. http://ow.ly/15OnG7	Merit Badge of the Week: Basketry	40 Clicks

August's Top Tweets

August was a busy month!

Here were the top 10 since 31 JUL:

1. http://ow.ly/15LUo7	Weekend Patrol Box #18	164 Clicks
2. http://ow.ly/kQcK	Excellent idea! Eagle Scout Parking Only sign.. (via @LatterDay_Scout)	103 Clicks
3. http://ow.ly/k0Gp	New Merit Badges for 2009 & 2010 | Scouting News	53 Clicks
4. http://ow.ly/h05l	ScoutSigns: New BSA Rank Requirements Coming	39 Clicks
5. http://ow.ly/jOu8	Boy Scout Handbook Online--great website!	34 Clicks
6. http://ow.ly/khIW	No postage stamp for 100th BSA Anniversary? Fire up the email!	30 Clicks
7. http://ow.ly/k5uE	A minor obstacle for a good Scoutmaster to handle...(comic)	24 Clicks
8. http://ow.ly/jbz2	Boy Scouts turn away from Goshen Pass site | newsleader.com | The News Leader	23 Clicks
9. http://ow.ly/kRpY	Comic: Notice the subtle use of the Scout Sign... ;-)	22 Clicks
10. http://ow.ly/iLYh	Finally available today! 12th Edition Boy Scout Handbook	22 Clicks

Which one did you like the best? Which one helped your Scouts? Comment below (or tweet).

July's Top Tweets

1. http://ow.ly/h05l	ScoutSigns: New BSA Rank Requirements Coming http://ow.ly/h05l	87 Clicks
2. http://ow.ly/15GxdZ	Homeschooling and Scouting http://ow.ly/15GxdZ	69 Clicks
3. http://ow.ly/djkD	BSA Immunization Exemption Request form http://ow.ly/djkD New form and great solution to a common problem.	63 Clicks
4. http://ow.ly/b4f4	Um, tasty and funny! Anyone else going camping this weekend? http://ow.ly/b4f4	31 Clicks
5. http://ow.ly/15HJtj	Chainsaw...laptop...camping...perfect http://ow.ly/15HJtj	25 Clicks
6. http://ow.ly/h04R	ScoutSigns: Homeschooling and Scouting--Part 2 http://ow.ly/h04R	24 Clicks
7. http://ow.ly/15GI07	June Tweets http://ow.ly/15GI07	15 Clicks
8. http://ow.ly/f4gl	Good enough to transport the Royal Marines, good enough for Scout camping... http://ow.ly/f4gl	15 Clicks
9. http://ow.ly/gfVT	$3.99 t-shirt sale! http://ow.ly/gfVT	13 Clicks
10. http://ow.ly/9KqN	Weekend Patrol Box #17 http://ow.ly/9KqN	13 Clicks