ness

So how many people still don't have their flies?

I hear what you're saying, but the right Scoutmaster could do better for boys with the wrong fathers. There's no right answer -- each kid and each Troop should be looked at individually. When I was a kid my Cub Scout den wasn't the greatest, and I quit after Webelos. My brother went on to Scouts and thrived. Our dad took us hunting, fishing and camping too. My two sons went through Cubs and a couple years of Scouts. The two experiences were vastly different. The Cub Scout Pack wasn't run very well and there were a lot of disorganized, complaining trouble-maker parents in our Den who wouldn't lift a finger but were full of advice on what to do. One was a drunk, one was crazy, two were serial gossips. The kids were great and had a lot of fun though. When we moved to Scouts the whole dynamic was different and much, much better. Very well-run Troop who did things by the book. Honestly, at first, I thought they were maybe a little too by-the-book, but time proved me wrong on that. There were a number of kids in our Troop who NEVER would have had the outdoor experiences without Scouts. One kid had an absentee father and would have missed out on a lot more than outdoor experiences were it not for the families in our Troop. It's not for every kid or parent. It's worth checking out, and it's worth shopping around for different groups if you have more than one to choose from.

bed time.

NPR is great. I love Car Talk and Wait, Wait. I do read news on their website occasionally, but it seems kind of hit-and-miss (focus on a few stories, pass on a lot of others) so I end up elsewhere more often than not. I listen in the car on my commute, and what I hear then is pretty lightweight from a news perspective. Some of it's just plain bad. I can't do Diane Rehm. Don't know what else there is. I don't know enough about PBS news I suppose. The show I do see is on opposite our local news, and I usually opt-out on their show in favor of more general and local news. I just won't watch Washington/political stuff anymore. Regardless -- I try to think about what's being said, listen with a healthy dose of skepticism and filter out the BS. And, if they're shouting at each other I'm outta there.

I think you've got a few good points, Al. Yeah, they're superficial and ratings driven. Trotting out a so-called expert to color a story has become SOP -- but there's little true journalistic effort. It's mostly filling time with eye candy and promising even better stuff right after the commercial. Last night I broke my rule and flipped around the cable news channels looking for information on the OKC tornado. Now, I understand that it's very fresh and things are unfolding, but what a flipping waste of time that was. And aggravating. CNN put a swimsuit model and a slicked-back grease ball in front of some fancy animation. They weren't content reporting the EF4 and 1 mile wide info that the authorities had put out -- they had to jack it up to a 5, and put it at two miles wide. No support for that, no explanation, no context. They just moved up to the next whole number. But, she was hot. I find the best news coverage in a handful of the large newspapers -- New York Times, LA Times, other big-city papers (Phillie, Boston, Miami, etc.) Sadly, I can't put the Star in that category. Network (not cable) news (web, not TV) is secondary. They'll get into some depth and usually keep it pretty 'newsy'. Our local TV stations web sites are a joke. The writing is poor, with typos and grammatical errors, and often factually incorrect. They're so cluttered up with advertisements, bikini-clad women or tantalizing Kardashian teasers that it's laughable. Our local business rag misreported our earnings release last week, calling a $5 million gain a loss. It's not the first time they goofed. I'd love to think Scott Pelly's point will gain some traction, but I doubt it will anytime soon. I think the news reporting system as it stands now isn't sustainable. There's just too much with too little quality to keep people coming back. We've seen newspapers and news magazines fail, and others go to online only. My tummy tells me that trend continues, but also that local channels and network news -- especially 24-hour cable-style -- are going to need to drastically change their model. I'd bet there are a lot less of these outlets 5 to 10 years down the road.

Outstanding job on the blog! Got my day off to a great start.I love the Driftless area.

There are good troops, and not-so-good troops. Each kid is going to have a different take-away based a lot on that, but also on how they're wired to begin with. It gets kids outside and gives them a good alternative to sports.

Like this?

After about 3-4 paragraphs it was obvious to me that article was a hatchet job. I've gotten to where I just don't read or watch the crap anymore. Biggest problem is finding stuff that isn't crap.

Mine were the yellow poppers. You know, the crappy ones.

Thanks for that info. The workmanship on those is incredible. I've always wanted to get an airbrush, but have never pulled the trigger because I don't do much stuff that would require it anymore. What type are you using?

Ahhh -- overkill is fun! Here's a couple questions right off the bat -- what are you using for filler to get the hook slot covered up so nice? I've been using model plane/car/etc. filler, but that stuff seems to dry out so fast that I don't like it too much. Balsa or styrafoam? Are you putting on a clear coat? Would love to see a video.

Yeah, I will. Sure would love to pick your brain a little on your techniques.

Thanks for sharing that. I've become more and more jaded towards the media over the years for the very reasons he's talking about. Not the 'media bias' -- the quality. The blurred line between reporting and opinion. The constant filler with 'experts' speculating about the things that are unknown in a story or what the future holds. Some of it's just laughable. Last week our venerable Kansas City Star ran an article on their website and used the word 'busted' when describing someone kicking in a door. Our local Channel 5 had a story in their entertainment feed with an f-bomb in it a while back.

Aw man -- got mine, and wow! Lot's of great flies. I'm gonna try these out today. All except the painted popper. That's going in the China cabinet

Huh -- mine look different: ``

...cough

You're in pretty good shape there, man. I don't see anything glaringly wrong. That fatter tip section is kinda odd -- don't know what to make of that. Could it be combo fly/spin maybe? Anyhoo finish looks pretty good, wraps too. You're lucky.

LOL

Congratulations on 30 years of building a successful business! And for showing us that some fashions never go out of style

I got on Facebook when it was relatively new. My daughter had been begging me to let her sign up, and I said yes as long as I was her first friend. It has been a lot of fun reconnecting with people, and also a reminder why I didn't keep up with others. I've turned off notifications on probably more than half my 'friends'. The 'groups' function is a mess on there -- just not very good at sharing information with a bunch of people. This forum is far, far superior. I've heard more than one kid say they don't use FB anymore, because it's just adults now. They all tweet.

Ha -- no, not an attorney. Just an overactive imagination.

Details required before I can commit. You just want to find him, or do you want to convince him?

Ahhhh -- out of town, flies in the mail. That explains everything

Well, this is just silly.